Necroverse

The Necroverse is a shared fictional universe shared by a group of bands of varying degrees of affiliation. Bands may operate 100% in character with the bandmembers existing as characters in universe, or may only have one or more songs taking place within the Necroverse while the band as a whole only exists and operates solely within the "real world". In some cases versions of bands (or some of their members) that do not have any songs that explicitly take place in universe may still exist as characters within the universe, usually due to some kind of affiliation or shared membership with bands strongly tied to the Necroverse.

Most bands within the Necroverse play some version of Industrial Music or Heavy Metal, but this isn't an explicit rule and bands of other genres are welcome to operate within the Necroverse if they want to.

Necroverse Overview
The Necroverse is set in the distant future in a high-tech space faring society. Faster than light (FTL) space travel is commonplace and humans inhabit a multitude of other planets and space stations. Many members of different extraterrestrial species live alongside humans on Earth as well.

Sentient Entities
On Earth, any entity whether organic, artificial, or other, that is capable of passing a Baseline Sentience Test (BST) is considered sentient, and is treated as being equivalent to a human in the eyes of the law in most countries. This includes native terrestrial humans, extraterrestrials, artificial intelligences, energy beings, and anything else capable of passing the BST. Some activists feel the test is insufficiently inclusive as one of the primary requirements of the test is the ability to communicate in a manner comprehensible to humans.

Technology
Both due to centuries of human development as well as interaction and trade with a multitude of other species, technology within the Necroverse has reached incredibly high levels. Humans and most other corporeal sentient entities are capable of FTL travel and it isn't uncommon to visit other planets for business or recreation. Science and technology have even reached such a point that any phenomenon that appears to be supernatural to an individual are referred to as Technomancy, and it is assumed that such phenomena could be broken down, understood, and replicated with sufficient study. Individuals who work in highly specialized fields of science or technology are often referred to by others as Technomancers.

However, there is a significant population which is opposed to Technomancy, the unbridled development and use of technology, and dealing with things or entities that the majority of people do not fully comprehend. One large portion of this segment is known as The Mountain People.

Connection to the Cthulhu Mythos
The various entities and locales of the Cthulhu Mythos exist within the Necroverse. It is now understood that many of the supernatural elements of the mythos were simply due to natural phenomena that were not yet understood or technological advancements implemented by different entities. While people of the past may have gone insane when encountering creatures such as The Great Old Ones, people now have enough of an understanding of the cosmos to be able to understand what they or seeing, or at worst, dismiss it as Technomancy.

It is not uncommon in the Necroverse for Great Old Ones and other Eldritch Things to interact regularly with humans in different capacities. Some Old Ones still believe they are above humans and other sentient beings, and treat them as pawns for their own machinations. As a result several cults dedicated to them operate on Earth and other planets. Others believe that in taking their place among the stars, humans and similar beings are on comparable footing with the Old Ones and will interact with such beings more or less as equals, sometimes trading and conducting business with them, or at least treating them amicably.

Role of Bands
Bands who operate within the Necroverse are made up of characters within the universe. There is typically some reason why the members of a given band are affiliated with one another beyond simply being in a band. Examples include the band members being a spaceship crew, running a company, operating a mercenary group, or working together as a group of scientists.

Typically a band's lyrical content reflects what role they take in the Necroverse and describes the band's adventures and operations. However, it is also not uncommon for a band to have one or more songs that serve as more of a description of some aspect of the Necroverse itself or events taking place within it rather than any event directly involving the band itself. There also isn't any reason a band could not entirely dedicate all of its in universe lyrical content to these descriptive types of lyrics and not have any songs directly referencing the acts of the bandmembers.

The in-universe explanation as to why there are so many bands is that a band is the easiest type of business entity to form within the universe so individuals will form a band, conduct whatever business they have together, but meet the minimum requirements of creating and performing music necessary to maintain their status and legal protection.

Joining the Necroverse
Any musician or band who wishes to participate by writing songs that take place within the Necroverse and/or act in character onstage or in other media is welcome to do so at their leisure, however the band is not inherently recognized as an official part of the Necroverse without approval. To be officially recognized as part of the Necroverse, a band with approval authority must approve the membership of the new band. Bands may request formal recognition from a band with approval authority, or bands with approval authority may directly invite a band to join in which case official recognition is implicit.

The exploits of officially recognized bands are considered cannon in terms of the broader Necroverse storyline. Recognized bands are also allowed to expand on the existing broader story and setting of the universe.

History of the Necroverse
The name Necroverse comes from the band Necro Construct, whose songs all took place within what is now the Necroverse and whose members were characters within that universe. When the band retired, they agreed to allow any former member of the band to continue writing songs that took place within the band's universe, as well as continue operating as their respective characters in any new project they started. When Milan Thompson started Construct0 and Chris Martinez started Necro Corp after Necro Construct retired, they both decided to stay within universe and maintain their characters of Xanthus and Rivet respectively.

Shortly after forming Necro Corp, Martinez had the idea that if two bands were sharing the same storyline, it might be even more interesting for additional bands to operate within that universe as well. After getting the blessing from the other former Necro Construct members, the Necroverse was created, and a select handful of other bands were asked to join. The first outside band to join the Necroverse was Voicecoil.