Before the Shadows

You might have met her already.

If you played Mystic Rogue's Super Duper Quest and Add-On Pack for Sim Settlements 2, you already met Gloria Marlowe, the ghoul artist. The one who turned her trauma into comics—True Tales—because telling the truth was the only weapon she had left.

It started with Fred, the comic book guy upstairs in that Super Duper Mart plot. He sold you on a story that seemed too real to be fiction. A pre-war actor. Corporate betrayal. Vault-Tec experiments. Shadow players pulling strings behind the curtain. Fred didn't know how right he was.

You followed the trail. He told you the latest issue was waiting at a pickup point, and gave you directions. It should've been simple. It wasn't.

The moment you stepped inside, ferals swarmed you. A lot of them. You fought your way through, cleared the building, and finally grabbed the comic. And it was worth it. The story hit hard. Pre-war corruption, betrayal, experiments that didn't stop when the bombs fell. It felt real. Like someone was trying to tell you something that mattered.

Then a note fell out of the pages.

Come by for more issues.

That's when things got truly messy.

You went to the address. Gloria's house was a crime scene. Blood on the floor. A key left behind like breadcrumbs. You followed it to a satellite station, tore through raiders, synths, and hired muscle, and found a door that key finally opened. Behind it? A nightmare. Human thugs. Synths. And Gloria—buried alive, left to rot by people who wanted her silenced.

You dug her up.

She told you just enough. Vault-Tec. Betrayal. Experiments that didn't end with the bombs. A shadow organization—still active, still dangerous, still hunting people like her. The comics she'd been writing weren't just stories. They were warnings. Evidence. A way to get the truth out before they could bury it, and her, for good.

Then she handed you a key to her home, said you could have it, and maybe you'd see her again if you really wanted to help.

That was supposed to be the end of it.

It wasn't.

What happens next

Shadows of the Old World picks up where that story left off. Gloria needs your help again—and this time, it's not just about survival. It's about something bigger. A network of ghouls and human allies called the Underground, fighting against that shadow organization Gloria told you about.  They’re called the Directorate and they have a very twisted vision of control and "eternal progress." And you're being pulled into the middle of it.

If you didn't play the prequel, don't worry. You'll get caught up. The mod is designed so newcomers can jump in and figure it out as they go. But if you did play it… you already know this isn't going to be simple. You know Gloria doesn't ask for help unless things are bad. And you know that the people after her don't stop.

The comics weren't just stories. The danger was never theoretical. And Gloria? She's not done fighting yet.

Neither are you.

The world you're stepping into

This isn't a lighthearted mod. It's not about saving the Commonwealth with a smile and a thumbs-up. It's about buried histories, dangerous truths, and people who've survived the world by refusing to let it erase them.

When?

We're deep in development. Voices are recorded. Scenes are being built. The CK is... well, the CK is being the CK. But progress is happening. And soon, you'll get to step into this world yourself.

Gloria's calling.

The question is: are you ready to answer?

Coming soon.

Shadows of the Old World: Beneath the Surface. A story-driven quest mod for Fallout 4.