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RPGs / Red Markets Campaign: No Place Like Home, the Reboot
« on: July 19, 2016, 09:29:18 AM »
My group and I are just about ready to start our Red Markets campaign, and I figured I would post it here for public consumption. We do record our games, but I chickened out when it came time to send Caleb the APs for the beta test, and I'm not terribly tech savvy, so who knows where, when, or if the audio will ever see the light of day, but I do have aspirations!. In the mean time, I figure I'll just do session write ups and post them here.
The players chose to keep the enclave they made during the beta, as we only got to play through a handful of jobs, but decided to create new characters, as we've had a couple of new folks join the game. Here's the enclave write up, PC bios will follow once everybody gets their characters done.
Red Markets Enclave
Enclave Name: New Eden
Location: Walled off section of Albuquerque, New Mexico, containing Albuquerque International Airport, the attached Kirtland Air Force Base, and a nearby public zoo.
Defenses:
-Tiered walls with twisting switchbacks and dead falls, designed to corral any casualties that wander towards the city.
-The wall is capped at multiple points with reinforced pillboxes, several of which have large freight elevators that travel up and down the wall, which are the only entrances and exits to New Eden.
-Pre-Crash Albuquerque boasted a large community of hot air balloon enthusiasts, and the military units from Kirtland AFB were quick to capitalize on their abandoned supplies, deploying balloons as high flying, tethered, observation posts. At least two brightly colored balloons fly above New Eden at all times, acting as a beacon in the Loss, and allowing observers to see for miles in every direction, while safely flying a few thousand feet above the ground.
-Between the military, international airport, and copious salvage within the city, New Eden has an extensive internal communication network made largely of reclaimed I-pads and laptops located in public terminals throughout the enclave. This communication infrastructure is largely powered by the near-ubiquitous rooftop solar panels within the enclave.
-As a final emergency measure, should casualties ever enter the city, one of the subway tunnels beneath the airport has been excavated out to the Sandia mountains which directly abut the city limits, providing an escape route which bypasses the enclaves cargo elevator bottleneck entrance.
History:
In the early months of the Crash, military units stationed at Kirtland AFB did their best to protect and defend citizens, flying medical personnel in and evacuating people to safety. Sadly, despite their noble efforts and intentions, they were on the wrong side of the line. Rather than turn rebel, the command staff decided to stand fast, fortifying what they could, giving themselves, those under their command, and the large population of civilians in the area, the best chance of survival until rescue came. Thus was New Eden born, a beacon of hope and safety in the Loss.
Lack of food supplies necessitated the recruitment of several local ranchers and farmers into the community, and a local zoo was turned into pens for food animal containment. Those few zoo animals that had survived the Crash were assessed as to their ability to be bred in captivity and if they required more than a modicum of effort, they were quickly eaten to make room for easier to raise domesticated farm stock.
A schism soon began to develop between the established “benevolent” military dictatorship and fledgling meritocracy, culminating in a short, violent rebellion which was quickly and ruthlessly put down by well trained military personnel. Wanting to avoid another rebellion, the military bloc installed figureheads in a puppet government over the main sources of export production within the enclave, and an uneasy peace between the various political blocs has been maintained through fear, coercion, and corruption.
New Eden, once a place of hope and safety, has become a cesspool of corruption, it's name spoken with derision and scorn. However, given that the only other choices for living spaces are the barren desert, or the casualty filled streets of nearby cities, New Eden continues to see a steady stream of people joining the ranks of its working and lower classes.
Top Exports:
-Animal Products: Meat, sinew, hides, etc.
-Medical Knowledge and Treatment: The veterinary facilities at the zoo have been modified and stocked to accommodate both human and animal patients. Kirtland AFB was host to numerous medical first responders during the Crash, so there are at least a dozen medical professionals on staff at any given time.
-Potable Water: Albuquerque sits above a massive aquifer that has been referred to as “an underground Lake Superior”. One of the first priorities of the founders of the enclave was to get as much pumping equipment up and running as possible.
Top Imports:
-Food Crops: The few fruits and vegetables grown within the confines of New Eden are used to feed the cattle and other domesticated herd animals. Virtually all other forms of nutrition have to be sourced from outside the enclaves walls.
-Medical Supplies: Reserves of medical supplies needed to carry out complex operations and basic sterilization practices ran out early in the Crash, and a constant supply is needed to allow the medical professionals to keep doing their jobs.
-Ammunition: Everybody needs gun food, and very few have the skills, equipment, or raw materials to make it.
-Energy: Solar panels provide almost enough power for basic needs during the day, but a different source is needed for night time, or when the weather is more than slightly uncooperative.
-Entertainment: As a work or die enclave, with only a small artist commune, residents of New Eden are desperate for anything to break up the crushing monotony of everyday life, and voraciously devour any books, movies, drugs, performance art, etc, that gets brought into the city.
Competition:
-Narcofarmers: A small commune of grow houses in an abandoned skyscraper on the far side of the city, producing a number of chemical products that were less than legal before the Crash.
-Raiders: Former super-max prison inmates that escaped during the Crash, and weren't eaten by casualties, have banded together into a roving pack of violent raiders.
-OSB Biopharmaceuticals: Roughly thirty employees of the biotech giant managed to barricade themselves inside the company's production facility, and were subsequently rescued and forced to restart production by StopLoss, which now provides for their protection and basic food needs, and holds the work contract for all their produced wares. Any trade with this OSB has to be kept secret, lest the wrath of a private military corporation be brought down on any interlopers.
-The Absolvers: A reclusive religious group who believe that God made people into casualties because of their sins, and through toil their sins will be absolved. Rumors abound of lush, verdant farms in which casualties are used as beasts of burden, with teams of them yoked to plows, wagons, millstones, and other pieces of farm equipment, and the humans that drive them rely only on faith to assure their safety.
-The Gargoyles: A rival taker group within New Eden, made up exclusively of latents. They live a few fuselages down from Whiskyjack in the Playground.
Social Structure:
New Eden is a military dictatorship, with a puppet oligarchy installed and run by the former military, which itself has become more of a mafia than any branch of the armed forces. The various group are all fairly insular, and there is almost no upward mobility for the common citizen.
-The Unit: Remnants of the armed forces which had been serving at Kirtland AFB, now the true rulers of New Eden.
-Caretakers: Collective title of the governing council made up of the heads of each social group within New Eden.
- Butchers: Those who control the production and slaughter of livestock.
-Whitecoats: Doctors, EMTs and other medical professionals.
-The Voice: The middle class, those responsible for actually working and producing.
-Stock: Derogatory term for the teeming masses of underclass, those who responsible for cleaning up the messes made by the production groups, or clearing out the dead fall pits of slain casualties.
-The Family: Underground movement violently opposed to the military rulers and their puppet oligarchy.
-H.A.S.H: Small hippie and artist commune within New Eden, known for staging large, non-violent protests against the upper and ruling classes, usually consisting of elaborate pieces of performance art.
Neighborhoods:
-Citadel: Military HQ of the Unit, known as Kirtland Airforce Base, pre-Crash.
-The Farm: Territory of the Butchers.
-The Chop Shop: Salvaged veterinary facilities in the old zoo, home of the Whitecoats.
-The Green Zone: Common living area of the middle class, so called because every flat surface that doesn't contain solar panels has some sort of garden for growing animal feed or subsistence agriculture.
-Transfer Station: Trash strewn slums, home to the lower class.
-The Playground: Latent quarantine zone. A fenced off runway at Albuquerque International Airport, with some hacked up airplane fuselages to provide living accommodations.
-The Solarium: Artists district, home to H.A.S.H
VIPs:
-The Commander: Leader of the Unit, actual name unknown.
-Dr. Moreau: Longest practicing, and thus de facto leader of the Chop Shop.
-Cattleprod: Head of the Butchers. Thoroughly enjoys is work. Rumors that he makes hefty bounty on the side by disappearing dissidents are completely unfounded.
-The Smiths: Leaders of the Family. There are always two, a man and woman, no matter how many times they are arrested or killed.
-Foreman Michaels: Speaker for the needs of the middle class, appointed by the Caretakers.
-Salvador Vangoghsso: Avant-garde performance artist, and nominal leader of H.A.S.H.
-Delight: Madam at New Eden's Den of Delight's, and a skilled information broker.
I'm trying to come up with a better title for the campaign, but am having trouble. I was thinking something catchy like "No Sale Left Behind", although that might be a bit copyright infringey.
The players chose to keep the enclave they made during the beta, as we only got to play through a handful of jobs, but decided to create new characters, as we've had a couple of new folks join the game. Here's the enclave write up, PC bios will follow once everybody gets their characters done.
Red Markets Enclave
Enclave Name: New Eden
Location: Walled off section of Albuquerque, New Mexico, containing Albuquerque International Airport, the attached Kirtland Air Force Base, and a nearby public zoo.
Defenses:
-Tiered walls with twisting switchbacks and dead falls, designed to corral any casualties that wander towards the city.
-The wall is capped at multiple points with reinforced pillboxes, several of which have large freight elevators that travel up and down the wall, which are the only entrances and exits to New Eden.
-Pre-Crash Albuquerque boasted a large community of hot air balloon enthusiasts, and the military units from Kirtland AFB were quick to capitalize on their abandoned supplies, deploying balloons as high flying, tethered, observation posts. At least two brightly colored balloons fly above New Eden at all times, acting as a beacon in the Loss, and allowing observers to see for miles in every direction, while safely flying a few thousand feet above the ground.
-Between the military, international airport, and copious salvage within the city, New Eden has an extensive internal communication network made largely of reclaimed I-pads and laptops located in public terminals throughout the enclave. This communication infrastructure is largely powered by the near-ubiquitous rooftop solar panels within the enclave.
-As a final emergency measure, should casualties ever enter the city, one of the subway tunnels beneath the airport has been excavated out to the Sandia mountains which directly abut the city limits, providing an escape route which bypasses the enclaves cargo elevator bottleneck entrance.
History:
In the early months of the Crash, military units stationed at Kirtland AFB did their best to protect and defend citizens, flying medical personnel in and evacuating people to safety. Sadly, despite their noble efforts and intentions, they were on the wrong side of the line. Rather than turn rebel, the command staff decided to stand fast, fortifying what they could, giving themselves, those under their command, and the large population of civilians in the area, the best chance of survival until rescue came. Thus was New Eden born, a beacon of hope and safety in the Loss.
Lack of food supplies necessitated the recruitment of several local ranchers and farmers into the community, and a local zoo was turned into pens for food animal containment. Those few zoo animals that had survived the Crash were assessed as to their ability to be bred in captivity and if they required more than a modicum of effort, they were quickly eaten to make room for easier to raise domesticated farm stock.
A schism soon began to develop between the established “benevolent” military dictatorship and fledgling meritocracy, culminating in a short, violent rebellion which was quickly and ruthlessly put down by well trained military personnel. Wanting to avoid another rebellion, the military bloc installed figureheads in a puppet government over the main sources of export production within the enclave, and an uneasy peace between the various political blocs has been maintained through fear, coercion, and corruption.
New Eden, once a place of hope and safety, has become a cesspool of corruption, it's name spoken with derision and scorn. However, given that the only other choices for living spaces are the barren desert, or the casualty filled streets of nearby cities, New Eden continues to see a steady stream of people joining the ranks of its working and lower classes.
Top Exports:
-Animal Products: Meat, sinew, hides, etc.
-Medical Knowledge and Treatment: The veterinary facilities at the zoo have been modified and stocked to accommodate both human and animal patients. Kirtland AFB was host to numerous medical first responders during the Crash, so there are at least a dozen medical professionals on staff at any given time.
-Potable Water: Albuquerque sits above a massive aquifer that has been referred to as “an underground Lake Superior”. One of the first priorities of the founders of the enclave was to get as much pumping equipment up and running as possible.
Top Imports:
-Food Crops: The few fruits and vegetables grown within the confines of New Eden are used to feed the cattle and other domesticated herd animals. Virtually all other forms of nutrition have to be sourced from outside the enclaves walls.
-Medical Supplies: Reserves of medical supplies needed to carry out complex operations and basic sterilization practices ran out early in the Crash, and a constant supply is needed to allow the medical professionals to keep doing their jobs.
-Ammunition: Everybody needs gun food, and very few have the skills, equipment, or raw materials to make it.
-Energy: Solar panels provide almost enough power for basic needs during the day, but a different source is needed for night time, or when the weather is more than slightly uncooperative.
-Entertainment: As a work or die enclave, with only a small artist commune, residents of New Eden are desperate for anything to break up the crushing monotony of everyday life, and voraciously devour any books, movies, drugs, performance art, etc, that gets brought into the city.
Competition:
-Narcofarmers: A small commune of grow houses in an abandoned skyscraper on the far side of the city, producing a number of chemical products that were less than legal before the Crash.
-Raiders: Former super-max prison inmates that escaped during the Crash, and weren't eaten by casualties, have banded together into a roving pack of violent raiders.
-OSB Biopharmaceuticals: Roughly thirty employees of the biotech giant managed to barricade themselves inside the company's production facility, and were subsequently rescued and forced to restart production by StopLoss, which now provides for their protection and basic food needs, and holds the work contract for all their produced wares. Any trade with this OSB has to be kept secret, lest the wrath of a private military corporation be brought down on any interlopers.
-The Absolvers: A reclusive religious group who believe that God made people into casualties because of their sins, and through toil their sins will be absolved. Rumors abound of lush, verdant farms in which casualties are used as beasts of burden, with teams of them yoked to plows, wagons, millstones, and other pieces of farm equipment, and the humans that drive them rely only on faith to assure their safety.
-The Gargoyles: A rival taker group within New Eden, made up exclusively of latents. They live a few fuselages down from Whiskyjack in the Playground.
Social Structure:
New Eden is a military dictatorship, with a puppet oligarchy installed and run by the former military, which itself has become more of a mafia than any branch of the armed forces. The various group are all fairly insular, and there is almost no upward mobility for the common citizen.
-The Unit: Remnants of the armed forces which had been serving at Kirtland AFB, now the true rulers of New Eden.
-Caretakers: Collective title of the governing council made up of the heads of each social group within New Eden.
- Butchers: Those who control the production and slaughter of livestock.
-Whitecoats: Doctors, EMTs and other medical professionals.
-The Voice: The middle class, those responsible for actually working and producing.
-Stock: Derogatory term for the teeming masses of underclass, those who responsible for cleaning up the messes made by the production groups, or clearing out the dead fall pits of slain casualties.
-The Family: Underground movement violently opposed to the military rulers and their puppet oligarchy.
-H.A.S.H: Small hippie and artist commune within New Eden, known for staging large, non-violent protests against the upper and ruling classes, usually consisting of elaborate pieces of performance art.
Neighborhoods:
-Citadel: Military HQ of the Unit, known as Kirtland Airforce Base, pre-Crash.
-The Farm: Territory of the Butchers.
-The Chop Shop: Salvaged veterinary facilities in the old zoo, home of the Whitecoats.
-The Green Zone: Common living area of the middle class, so called because every flat surface that doesn't contain solar panels has some sort of garden for growing animal feed or subsistence agriculture.
-Transfer Station: Trash strewn slums, home to the lower class.
-The Playground: Latent quarantine zone. A fenced off runway at Albuquerque International Airport, with some hacked up airplane fuselages to provide living accommodations.
-The Solarium: Artists district, home to H.A.S.H
VIPs:
-The Commander: Leader of the Unit, actual name unknown.
-Dr. Moreau: Longest practicing, and thus de facto leader of the Chop Shop.
-Cattleprod: Head of the Butchers. Thoroughly enjoys is work. Rumors that he makes hefty bounty on the side by disappearing dissidents are completely unfounded.
-The Smiths: Leaders of the Family. There are always two, a man and woman, no matter how many times they are arrested or killed.
-Foreman Michaels: Speaker for the needs of the middle class, appointed by the Caretakers.
-Salvador Vangoghsso: Avant-garde performance artist, and nominal leader of H.A.S.H.
-Delight: Madam at New Eden's Den of Delight's, and a skilled information broker.
I'm trying to come up with a better title for the campaign, but am having trouble. I was thinking something catchy like "No Sale Left Behind", although that might be a bit copyright infringey.