Red Markets Inspiration

[Jace911]

Something occurred to me while playing Dying Light and thinking about the parallels between it and Red Markets; for those who aren't familiar with it, in Dying Light there's a drug called Antizin you can take to suppress the symptoms of the zombie virus, much like Supressin in Red Markets. Unlike Supressin however you need to keep taking Antizin regularly to keep the virus at bay, otherwise you start suffering seizures and delirium before eventually turning. This means that a large part of the game's plot centers around runners venturing from safe zones solely to retrieve government air drops of Antizin--the survivors' reliance on it dominates their existence in the quarantine zone.

By contrast Supressin is much less vital to life in the Loss--it's great to have if you're bitten and infected, but once you go Latent it's obsolete and worthless to you. However, as Caleb mentioned in one of the latest episodes of GDW Supressin might be turning into something similar to Antizin from Dying Light where Latents need regular injections to maintain their condition and prevent turning Vector.

And if Vectors need Supressin, that means that they'll need Immunes.

If that particular lore change comes to pass I suspect the "symbiotic" relationship between the Latents and Immunes of Leper will become darkly parasitic, as will the relationships between Latent and Immune player characters.

[clockworkjoe]

If latents had to take a drug on a regular basis, they would be EXTREMELY rare and would all live near places that manufactured the drug. In Dying Light, there's one overrun city. In Red Markets, it's most of the planet. The few factories that could produce it would probably be focused on basic meds like antibiotics and pain killers. Why keep a latent around at the cost of so many other medications when a bullet to the head is so much cheaper? The government would have teams of latents for spec ops missions and shit like that, and the rich would have some but that's about it.

I did suggest the idea of special latent drugs that could benefit them in ways - for example a drug that made them look more human or made them less infectious. Those would cost upkeep obviously.

[Jace911]

If latents had to take a drug on a regular basis, they would be EXTREMELY rare and would all live near places that manufactured the drug. In Dying Light, there's one overrun city. In Red Markets, it's most of the planet. The few factories that could produce it would probably be focused on basic meds like antibiotics and pain killers. Why keep a latent around at the cost of so many other medications when a bullet to the head is so much cheaper? The government would have teams of latents for spec ops missions and shit like that, and the rich would have some but that's about it.

I did suggest the idea of special latent drugs that could benefit them in ways - for example a drug that made them look more human or made them less infectious. Those would cost upkeep obviously.

I'd have to listen to the episode again, I thought Caleb mentioned he was considering it. I do like the idea of Latents requiring maintenance, whether it's from regular shots or Supressin or in the form of supplements like the drugs you mentioned.

[clockworkjoe]

Loot an active bombing range for scrap metal? Sounds like a job for takers!

https://youtu.be/I4pFat3VTkI

[Jace911]

After trying out the quickstart of the new 7th Sea (And our brand-new microphone!) our group decided to make another Red Markets enclave just for fun. After contemplating locales they decided to return to New Orleans from the first one-shot I ran, with some changes (Since everything I wrote the first time was GM Fiat).

Name: The Boneyard

Location:

The abandoned Six Flags park on the edge of Lake Ponchartrain, just outside of New Orleans.

Defenses:
The restored barbed-wire fence encircling the perimeter of the park, a town guard of military diaspora, clear sightlines all around.

History:
During the Crash the park was one of the major evac sites in the Mississippi Delta area, and when the quarantine was established it became home to the remaining evacuees who missed the last buses across the Lake. Joining them in exile was an understrength company of National Guardsmen who refused to abandon the civilians in Camp Six. For this they were declared homo sacor and abandoned with everyone else, leaving them all with a healthy resentment for the DHQS and Recession government just across the Lake. Over time the survivors organized into a micro-government with representatives elected to a survivor's senate, countered by the executive arm of the Guard.

Top Exports:
--Scrap metal from the unused sections of the park
--Guardsmen contracted out as mercenaries and security for other enclaves
--Food, primarily rice

Top Imports
--Medicine; malaria and other insect-borne diseases are murder
--Ammo; lots of guns need lots of bullets
--Engineering Expertise; more battery power is burned on Skype calls to trained engineers for consultations to reinforce the makeshift living structures against flood and storms than any other electrical device in the camp

Competition:
--Cajun Boys; swamp folk who trade with the Boneyard for scrap from time to time
--Anglermen; semi-nomadic group of survivors who fish off the Ponchartrain bridge and trade with nearby enclaves
--Lakefront; an airport on the short of Lake Ponchartrain, contracts Boneyard mercenaries for protection from raiders and Casualties
--The Crypt; Mercendez-Benz Superdome was once an evac site in downtown New Orleans, then a mass grave until a large group of Latents cleared it out and turned it into a fortress. Hostile groups like the Voodoo Kings and more than one ambitious Taker crew found out the hard way that they didn't clear out the entire dome--Casualties make good metaphorical crocodiles
--Voodoo Kings; ruthless gang that wears a shallow pop culture image of traditional Louisiana diaspora folkways, much to the exasperation of actual hoodoo practitioners. The Kings raid the flooded ruins of downtown New Orleans for plunder with their fleet of canoes and riverboats. Boss operates out of a salvaged casino boat that serves as a floating palace of post-apocalyptic hedonism
--Ascension; cult of Believers who live in a secret enclave somewhere outside of New Orleans, not quite as zealous as the Meek but still unsettling in their pursuit of their leader's unknown agenda. Occasionally sends emissaries to certain enclaves to preach about God's plan and the Crash

Social Structure:
The survivors of the Boneyard are primarily separated into two groups, the Senate and the Guard. The Senate is made up of elected representatives from the many evacuees who were left behind when the government closed off the Recession and bombed the Ponchartrain bridge, while the much smaller Guard is composed of the various ex-military volunteers from the National Guard company assigned to protect the evac site. The Senate itself is unofficially divided into two primary parties, the Settlers (Those who want to set aside the past and push for DHQS resettlement as soon as possible) and the Sovereign Party (Those who want to remain independent of the DHQS, whether out of self-interest, resentment, or fear). The Senate votes on decisions affecting the entire enclave, while the Guard carries out executive actions, enforces the law, and can veto Senate decisions.

Neighborhoods:
See Map
Ponchartrain Beach: The marketplace, or as close as Boneyard has to one
DC & Looney Tunes: Two main scrapyards in the park where rides are torn down for surplus metal and building material
Cajun Country: Largest plot of farmland in the park
Main Street Square: High-class living for Senators, Guard officers, and other powerful citizens
Goodtime Gardens: Latent ghetto, separated from the rest of the park by multiple barbed wire fencelines and a Guard checkpoint
Mardi Gras: Poorest neighborhood in the enclave, a shanty town of corrugated metal, cardboard, and tarp tents.

VIPs:
I haven't been able to come up with very interesting NPCs, so I'll just post the inspirations they gave me:
--National Guard Major
--hoodoo witch doctor (Mentor to one of the PCs, who is totes a hoodoo practitioner)
--doomsday prepper Senator (MY TIME HAS COME)
--fake (?) Supressin dealer

[constructacon]

I have been collating a pinterest page with art for red markets inspiration. one of my players suggested i share the link here

https://www.pinterest.com/constructacon36/red-markets-inspiration/

[Twisting H]

Re: The Boneyard

What a great idea for an Enclave location Jace.

[EndersLegend]

So I didn't notice it anywhere in the thread yet but Season 1 of Jericho might make for some good inspiration.


Warning Spoiler Heavy

So to go into the basic idea of it, twenty one major cities are destroyed and most of the US is left to fend for itself. Jericho is a mostly farming community that has to adapt and deal with various outsiders that are trying to take advantage of their ease of access to food. Eventually, they come into conflict with another nearby city that was pretty much just a factory town. Factory town needs Jericho's food so they turn their factories into munitions factories and start a war. Ignore season 2 for the most part.

It seems like it would be a good representation of conflict between two enclaves as well as other interested elements, like the local criminals trying to get a foothold, small-town politics coupled with the apocalypse, abundance of some resources and a lack of others, capitalist mentality when the US economy is gone. Definitely something to look into. Not the greatest show but interesting elements.

[EndersLegend]

Might be cliche to set zombie apocalypse survivors in a mall but could be fun to set up an enclave for Mall of America

[EndersLegend]

Also, Dominion, the follow up to Legion. Set in Vegas where the former elite have set up major Governing Houses and if you're not a member of a house, you're a secondary citizen. Interesting set up for an Enclave.

[The Lost Carol]

@Jace

I love that concept. After a Facebook post about a shut down beloved local amusement park (that was partially ruined by Six Flags) I've had amusement parks on the mind. It looks like it would be a very interesting Enclave, with a great potential for scenes and schemes. Are any of the rides still active? Might be good for morale.

@Enders
An Enclave in the Mall of America? I think you could have an entire campaign and never leave the mall. I mean, I've known it's big, but it's own hotel? It's own MEDICAL CENTER? Yeesh, that's huge.

[constructacon]

I love that concept. After a Facebook post about a shut down beloved local amusement park (that was partially ruined by Six Flags) I've had amusement parks on the mind. It looks like it would be a very interesting Enclave, with a great potential for scenes and schemes. Are any of the rides still active? Might be good for morale.

i've thought about that too i want to do one set in Disney Parks, where each park is a seperate enclave, got a lot of inspiration for it and EP from the book "Down and out in the Magic Kingdom"
http://www.amazon.com/Down-Magic-Kingdom-Cory-Doctorow/dp/076530953X

[Jace911]

@Jace

I love that concept. After a Facebook post about a shut down beloved local amusement park (that was partially ruined by Six Flags) I've had amusement parks on the mind. It looks like it would be a very interesting Enclave, with a great potential for scenes and schemes. Are any of the rides still active? Might be good for morale.

I'd imagine that there's some sort of cobbled together playground for kids, but I can't imagine any of the rides being anywhere near functional after being left to rust for over a decade and a half. And even if they were the noise would draw Casualties.

[Jace911]

While thinking about Interludes and how they would work I inadvertently came up with a Taker roadtrip/campfire game for PCs to play on long trips: "Three Wishes"

It's similar in theme to games like "Never Have I Ever", except instead of talking about things you've never done (Which everyone else has) you talk about things you miss from before the Crash, and if someone else also misses that thing they have to put one of three fingers down. The last person with a finger up wins.

Now it'd probably be really easy to win by saying "my family" or "my wife" or "my leg" (For Takers with missing limbs) but then you're just being an edgelord and nobody wants to play with you. The goal is wistful indulgence in nostalgia, not depression--though there's probably a fine line to be walked there.

If the GM wants to add mechanical incentive to the game they could even reward one free Humanity to the winner or make everyone roll Self-Control checks if someone is an asshole and says "my dead daughter".

[Twisting H]

Might want to advertise the Red Markets subreddit.

I only found it randomly today by looking for an rppr subreddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RedMarkets/