Red Markets Inspiration

[trinite]

I think it's time for a centralized thread for cool stuff to inspire Red Markets games. I'll start:



I could see an airport terminal as a potential enclave location. Most of the main levels are elevated, so easy to fortify. Lots of open interior space for farming, and salveagable high tech communication equipment that could be barterable. It would probably take quite a lot of work to clear out all the casualties at first, though. It would most likely have to be an enclave founded a year or two after the Crash, rather than one existing from the beginning.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Inspiration!

[pigsinspaces]

Power stations are going to be hot spots of activity ... Particularly renewable sources like hydro could form the nucleus of a haven or enclave (missions to other plants for parts etc). Nuclear stations might be a bit of a mixed blessing.

http://www.vox.com/2014/6/12/5803998/the-us-energy-system-in-11-maps

[trinite]

Also rivers. With no reliable gas supply, and with the countryside rendered dangerous by roving Casualties, rivers are going to once again become the fastest mode of travel. I could especially see the Missouri River becoming a massive  transportation route, since it flows all the way from Montana right to the gates of the Recession (I'm curious what Caleb does with St. Louis - primary smuggling hub? Anarchic Mogadishu town? Post-urban combat hellscape? All of the above?).

Of course, wherever there's concentrated transportation, that's where the pirates and highwaymen set up shop. I'm kicking around this idea that every bridge across the river becomes a potential toll spot for local warlords to extract rent from passing boats. Much like the original "robber barons" did along the Rhine during the Middle Ages.

[Jace911]

Tomsawyer and I were discussing the setting while painting his house (Passed the time) and we seized onto the idea of using New Orleans and southern Louisiana as the backdrop for our Red Markets game. That night when I went home I opened up Google Maps and image search and went crazy.

New Orleans Regional Notes
When the military drew the lines for quarantine many in New Orleans breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that their placement on the east side of the Mississippi would guarantee them a place in the Recession. However, rather than expend scarce resources to clear out a city already half overrun with Casualties the military instead opted to use Lake Pontchartrain as a natural barrier, leaving Louisiana's largest city just outside the safe zone. The interstate bridges and the twenty-five mile causeway stretching across the lake were bombed with the rest when the Border closed, leaving countless survivors trapped between the Mississippi and the waters of Pontchartrain.

When they were finished despairing, these people set to work banding together and building enclaves to survive, as they did elsewhere in the Loss. However over the next few years many of these enclaves were wiped out by the escalating floods that breached the Mississippi levees with increasing frequency, leaving only those who had the fortune or foresight to build on high ground. When Hurricane Judy rolled through and caused the Mississippi to overflow in the Big Surge, most of New Orleans and the parishes were drowned in a meter or three of river water. The city became a swamp of brick and mortar, and the surrounding neighborhoods decayed into a vast bog of rotting suburbs shrouded in mist.

The Big Surge was not the end of New Orleans, however. The city had withstood Katrina, and its surviving inhabitants were determined to survive Judy. With water everywhere and Casuaties trapped in the muck, ready to gnaw on the ankles of unwary swimmers, boat travel became the primary mode of transportation for the region. Ferrymen from the Exchange sold their services to Takers, nearby enclaves, Shepherds, and anyone else who needed to get from A to B without running afoul of C. In the downtown area and French Quarter the buildings were more than tall enough to stand above the floods, so people constructed elaborate rope bridges and pulley lifts to connect the rooftops into spiderweb enclaves--this had the side effect of allowing certain rooftops to be quarantined in case of infection simply by disconnecting the bridges and letting them drop into the waters below.

One benefit of the Big Surge was the increase in river traffic from the north. With the banks of the river higher and wider than before merchants could more safely skirt the western edge without fear of being fired on by DHQS soldiers to the east, bringing trade to the enclaves in the south. This led to a moderate economic boom in the New Orleans marshes until the DHQS established their settlement in Baton Rouge (In order to reoccupy and restart the city's Mobile-Xtract oil refinery) and constructed the Lock, a new river gatekeeping system intended to stop the new trade dead in its tracks. Smugglers and adventurous Takers still find ways to bypass the Lock, but this makes any goods coming from the northern enclaves very expensive.

The New Orleans region is defined by its proximity to the Recession, the geographic changes undergone in the wake of the Great Surge, and (Until recently) trade from the north. Although there are a variety of enclaves scattered throughout the city and parishes, there are a few which dominate certain aspects of trade:

The Exchange
Established on the freeway crossings tangling together near the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Survivors used the abundance of abandoned cars for materials to construct a sprawling shanty town on the overpasses and ramps. By moving buses and other large vehicles to block entry and exit ramps they were able to effectively wall themselves off from the teeming masses of undead below, and when the floods began to scour the land of settlements they were again saved by the high ground. The increase in water level also led to the rise of the Ferrymen, who control most of the boat traffic through New Orleans and are the enclave's primary source of income. The Exchange is not one self-contained settlement, but rather consists of the central settlement on the overpasses as well as a number of outposts established on rooftops for farming, waste disposal, and other projects.

ShipRekt
This enclave owes its existence to one thing: pure luck. Among the many vessels that capsized or beached themselves on the banks during the Big Surge, the three components of ShipRekt are a cargo freighter carrying sheet metal and other raw construction materials, an oil tanker holding half a million barrels' worth of crude, and a naval destroyer that expended its heavy ordnance during the Crash but still retained stores of personal and crew-served weapons. These three vessels drifted from their respective anchor points during the Big Surge before being discovered and lashed together by survivors fleeing the low terrain. With some ingenuity and the treasure trove of resources in the ships' holds these survivors built one of the most powerful and secure enclaves in the New Orleans region. The cargo freighter was converted into a makeshift refinery for processing the crude carried by the tanker--the yield is only 30% gasoline, but it still makes them the best independent source of fuel in the entire state--and the weapons from the destroyer ensured that even the most Darwinist raiders would think twice before testing their defenses. ShipRekt and the Exchange are close trading partners thanks to the latter's fleet of boats and the former's lack for space for growing crops.

Lakefront
When the Big Surge washed through New Orleans it redrew the shorelines and turned this small peninsula of an airport into an island, making it the perfect candidate for an enclave. Lakefront is home to the military deserters who disobeyed orders and stayed behind in the Loss to rescue civilians before the bridges blew. It has been fortified with enough sandbags, scavenged concrete barriers, and weapons to turn it into a respectable island fort. The inhabitants, a mix of former US soldiers and the refugees they were able to save, sell their services to enclaves as guards, escorts, and mercenaries.

Muck
Even in the apocalypse, there's a pecking order. The people of Muck are at the bottom of that pecking order, working in the marina bayou cleaning Casualties out of the mud and scavenging their IDs for the meager Bounty. None of them are slaves, but many of them have been so worked to death that leaving to find food and shelter outside the Dockmaster's barracks terrifies them more than being bitten on the ankle. This is where survivors go when they have no marketable skills and no other refuge, to be slowly used up and tossed aside.

Cajun
The sports dome in Lafayette is home to the Cajun Boys, Louisiana's biggest and meanest gang of Darwinist raiders. Led by the ruthless "Missy", they are a mobile and well-armed force that preys on the smaller enclaves west of New Orleans. Rather than attacking ad taking what they need outright, the Cajun Boys prefer to extort tribute from their neighbors through medieval means: they enjoy making examples of defiant enclaves by rounding up captives, infecting them with the Blight, and then releasing them outside the enclave walls just as they are entering the Vector stage of infection. Regardless of whether or not the Vectors overrun the enclave in question, the tactic is quite effective: nobody wants to venture out into the Loss knowing that a gang of crazy bikers might kidnap and turn them into infected Trojan horses to eat their loved ones. Because of their reliance on motorcycles and cars the Cajun Boys stay out of the flooded zones to the east, but they will happily nip at any travelers they find in their territory.

I have more notes on salvage sites--the Superdome is a big collapsed pile of rubble trapping thousands of Casualties, as well as a huge score!--that I'll put up later. What do you guys think?

[trinite]

Super cool, Jace!

[Cthuluzord]

Reading all y'all's Red Markets stuff makes me giddy 

Keep it up!

[Jace911]

Places of Interest

Mercedes-Benz Superdome
In the early days of the Crash the military and FEMA responded as though the Blight was just another humanitarian issue. Evacuation centers and emergency supply stockpiles were established in major cities across America as the government struggled to deal with such an unprecedented crisis. The largest of these in New Orleans was the Superdome, which had been used for a similar purpose when Katrina struck the city in 2005. With a seating capacity of over 70,000 people it seemed like the perfect choice for a safe zone and rally point for the evacuation efforts...until someone snuck a bite through and the entire thing became a charnel house. With military checkpoints throughout downtown and the parishes already in danger of being overrun, orders were given to seal the Superdome and everyone inside. Then the bunker busters were dropped, collapsing the building and burying everything inside beneath a million tons of rubble.

Five years later old Casualties still manage to find their way out, leading many to speculate that the Superdome's lower levels--including the extensive parking garages--remain intact. Of even greater interest is the fact that civilian refugees were required to scan their IDs before entering via the stadium's modified ticket readers. If the readers' computer backups survived the Superdome's destruction they could provide proof of death for tens of thousands of lost souls, a literal fortune of Bounty for any Takers brave or foolish enough to find a way inside. Of course, there's no telling how many of those tens of thousands became infected before the Dome collapsed and are still waiting hungrily for their next meal to come wandering in...

Museum of Art
Although City Park is now a Casualty-infested swamp following the Big Surge, the Museum of Art has fared relatively well thanks to its placement on high ground. Countless works of art remain inside ready for the Taking, but since most fine art dealers are in the Recession to the north there is a shortage of buyers willing to pay for anything retrieved. Then there's the building's security system, which is still functioning on backup generators and could bring a thousand Casualties down on top of any would-be burglars who don't take the time to disable the alarms.

Mercy-Baptist Medical Center
One of the largest hospitals in the New Orleans area and naturally one of the first places to be overrun during the Crash. There are undoubtedly Archivists who would pay handsomely for any records retrieved from the building that document the early spread of the Blight--the hospital's staff would have coordinated with others to try and determine where the disease was originating from.

Mobile-Xtract Building
The tallest building in New Orleans and Louisiana at 51 stories, this skyscraper served as the oil company's regional headquarters before being evacuated in the Crash. Although the company still exists on paper the abandonment of so many oil fields in the Loss has effectively rendered it comatose, but there are still plenty of people who would pay for the retrieval of computer hard drives and physical documents left behind in the panic--data which could hold some very interesting company secrets, such as the whereabouts of the lost Atlantis-II oil platform last seen being swallowed by Hurricane Judy.

Treasure Chest
Not quite an enclave, this riverboat casino travels along the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain entertaining those with the Bounty to afford the buy-ins at tables. Although the odds are always stacked against players, the pot is always sweet enough to lure Takers fresh from a job with more Bounty than sense. Rumors persist that the riverboat's owner is an agent of a Valet in Jackson and is a front for smuggling goods and people between the Loss and the Recession via Lake Pontchartrain.

Camp Taylor
During the Crash the abandoned Six Flags park in New Orleans was repurposed as a "last stop" refugee camp for those fleeing across the bridges into the Recession. When those bridges were blown, stranding hundreds of civilians and heroic military deserters, it dissolved into a Vector buffet. Now it remains abandoned and flooded yet again, only with a new layer of bodies--dead or otherwise--and some leftover supplies the deserters couldn't bring with them when they fled to Lakefront. The parking lot is home to plenty of Casualties, but the amusement park is a playground for something much worse.

[Alethea]

I can picture so many stories taking place there!

[trinite]

From the Alpha Playtest Thread:

I would like to throw in my little contribution.

Since RedMarket is all about scarcity of goods, here is some figures to take in consideration when generating settlements and enclaves.
All figures are in metrics, but they are easy to convert.

How much food to I need to feed my settlement?
Depending on the farming practices, skills, lands and weather, a grain crop (typically wheat) will yield between 1.5 to 8.2 ton of grains per hectare (1 hectare = 2.5 acres). Current EU and US yields are around 7-7.5 ton/h.
Considering a calorie intake of about 2’000 kcal/day/person (a bit less for woman than for man) and that a kilo of grain supply 3’270 kcal (it includes moisture content and indigestible fibers), one hectare of grain producing 7.5 tons of grain can support the calorie intake of 33.5 persons for a year.

But that’s the best case scenario: it requires good lands, capable farmer, adequate supply of fertilisers and good seeds. It is very reasonable, in dire circumstances, to see this value divided by 5 to the lower end of the spectrum so 6 persons will be fed per hectare.
For a settlement of 1’000 persons, between 30 to 170 hectares will be needed. That’s  300’000 sqm (550x550 m) to 1’700’000 sqm (1300x1300 m) (to convert, keep it simple 1 meter = 1 yard).
Keep in mind that with this serving of calorie, considering mostly physical work, the population will very quickly become “lean” (for physical work, the calorie intake can climb easily to 2’500 or even 3’000 in harsh condition like winter). Five years after the beginning of the Blight, being overweight will be a clear sign of wealth.
Also, this diet on grain is not balanced and will be missing several micronutrients unless multiple crops are grown. Finally, potatoes field can feed about the same quantity of person as the same field of grains.

Additional points to consider, a large proportion of American grains are from Monsanto. These grains are sterile, which means that contrary to traditional practices, the farmer cannot save some grains to seeds his field for next year crop: he has to buy new grains.  Those facilities manufacturing such grains are out of order (only a few are on the right side of the Mississippi), so unless there was some old grains left by an institute or some organic farmers, once the stock is depleted, nothing will grow.

If seeds from old crops are used, do not expect the same yield. Very likely, they will be sturdier and less fragile than the one coming from GMO and selective breeding, but they won’t be as performing. And worse, they might not resist the latest Round Up version, which have been specifically engineered not to harm Monsanto seeds, but might could very well burn other crops…

We are not bird, we are meat-eater !
Not for long my friend, unless you belong to the 1%...
To grow one kg of beef meat, 7 kg of grains need to be spent.

Hold on, we don’t need to give grains to cows, they can graze!

Sure my friend, as long as you have ample grass growing. And you need much more land to grow pasture to feed your cow that to use grains. And considering that grains will be used to feed people, feed cattle and manufacture biofuel, there is not much chance that a fertile patch of land will be left for grazing.
Other figures that can be useful: 4 kg of grain for a kilo of pork meat, 2kg of grain for a kg of poultry meat and a bit less than that for a kg of fish.

Idea for an Enclave:
I would not be surprised to see some huge mall being completely sealed, filled with water and converted into giant fish farm. Hint: uncontaminated dead bodies are an excellent source of protein. Cremation is such a waste of precious resources when you can convert them into fish…

[trinite]

A lot of those modern estimates, though, are dependent on heavy equipment (i.e. tractors and combines, etc.) for maximally efficient plowing, sowing, and reaping.

Maybe a better source of metrics would be pre-industrial subsistence agriculture. Here's what seems to be a pretty good table of average yields during the Medieval period in Belgium: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/thelemur/ars/mundane_background/General/medieval_agriculture.html

After a few seasons of trial and error, I suspect Loss farmers would be able to do a little bit better than that. We do have a better understanding of fertilization and soil chemistry than the Medievals did, and also tech like steel plows that make farming easier but don't depend on cheap fossil fuel inputs.

As for animal husbandry, it will probably only be done with marginal, non-plantable land, as was the pre-industrial norm. Also, with the decline of human population density and livestock grazing, wildlife populations will likely return to higher levels, meaning hunting will probably be a significant source of meat for enclaves (at least in areas with relatively low casualty density).

[smalltowncinema]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/6/9107131/swincar-flexible-electricy-buggy

What all the Takers are driving this season.  Put a dome over it ala the Pope Mobile and you're good to go. 

[trinite]

Preliminary write-up of Jefferson City, Missouri as an enclave:

JEFF'S CITY
With gasoline scarce and the countryside crawling with random casualties, the Loss has turned to the oldest and best transportation system known to man: rivers. Rivers are virtually the only way to move significant amounts of goods over long distances, and the Missouri River is the biggest of them all. It's a highway going all the way from the heart of the Loss to the gates of the Recession. And he who controls the River controls the wealth. The enclave of Jeff's City intends to do exactly that.

Location
Jeff's City is centered on the old downtown area of Jefferson City, Missouri. It's anchored by the gigantic Missouri state capitol building, which overlooks the Missouri River like a massive fortress (which it now is). The anti-Casualty fence encloses the high ground of the downtown area, with spurs off to various strategic locations including the Missouri River Toll Bridge, the old St. Mary's Hospital, and several major ex-state government buildings. Construction work on expanded fortifications is ongoing.

Defenses
The northeast side of the enclave is well protected by the massive cliffs that rise up from the river. The other fences are a collection of barricades and fences, slowly being upgraded and replaced with tall, Medieval-style walls (designed primarily by Governor Jeff). The soundness of these impressive-looking new fortifications has not yet been seriously tested.

The Toll Bridge is heavily fortified with steel plating, structural reinforcement, and heavy gun emplacements. It isn't hard to figure out that it's the most important place in town.

History
Organized almost single-handedly by Jeff Carnavan, who seized control of both the local and remaining state governmental power structures in the wake of the Crash. It was the first location to enforce compulsory tolls on river traffic (ostensibly as "emergency state tax revenue"), and extorted massive amounts of wealth from the desperate refugees fleeing eastward as the quarantine dropped. Virtually all of those profits went into fortifying and improving the Toll Bridge and building up the Governor's personal power base.

Exports
Seized goods from the river toll system, agricultural goods, counterfeit Missouri bounty*.

*Jeff's City possesses the only functional equipment for printing new official Missouri IDs, as well as all the remaining stock of blank cards. Jeff has secretly kept the entire ID printing system operational, and periodically uses it to produce new, counterfeit bounty when he needs quick infusions of cash. The problem is that this counterfeiting has begun to be noticed by DHQS authorities, who might eventually decide to either discount the value of Missouri bounty to factor in the artificial inflation, or else simply declare all Missouri bounty invalid (which would wreck the entire regional economy, especially for Takers). Whatever other talents he may have, Jeff doesn't seem to have a lot of wisdom when it comes to running an illegal local monetary policy.

Imports
Trade goods and supplies expropriated from river tolls, forced agricultural labor, quarried stone for fortification, beer and wine from the Rhineland settlements downriver.


Competition

The River Cities League
Proposed by the mayors of Omaha and St. Joseph, the RCL is an effort to coordinate the various toll-charging enclaves along the Missouri and ensure that they don't compete with each other and overcharge to the point of stifling traffic. Jeff's City is opposed to the RCL idea, since Jeff wants to remain free to gouge the traffic as much as he pleases. His considerable influence has kept the other bridge owners in Missouri on his side. But if Kansas City flips into the RCL camp, the idea might become a reality.

Rhineland
The prosperous agricultural lands along the eastern stretch of the River weathered the Crash surprisingly well. An influx of Mennonite farmers with expertise in pre-industrial agriculture cushioned their food crisis significantly. They also still produce significant supplies of wine and beer for export. They do not practice toll collection at their bridges. However, they have developed a strong sense of cultural superiority surrounding their religious practices, industriousness, communal land ownership, and Germanic heritage. They have been reinforcing an insular ethnic identity, mandating Low German as their spoken language and anabaptism as the de facto official religion. They do not welcome new settlers who are unwilling to commit to their communitarian practices.

Laker Takers
Southwest up the Osage River, the Lake of the Ozarks has been an anarchic zone filled with valuable salvage and lots of Casualties. Recently the Laker Takers, an outfit specializing in marine jobs, has been successful enough to declare it their exclusive territory. They're heavily armed and know the area better than anyone else. Jeff is keeping an eye on them as potential military rivals or allies.


Social Structure

Government:
Monarchy - ruled by Governor Jeff Carnavan, HQ in the Capitol Building
Jeff and his loyal followers control the river tolls, agricultural production, security, the construction of new fortifications, and (secretly) counterfeit bounty production. He maintains an iron grip on all major decisions for the enclave.

Important Groups:
Roman Catholic Church - headed by Bishop Joe Schultz, HQ in St. Peter's Cathedral
Jeff has been happy to let the Church take care of the practical welfare of the enclave's citizens, on its own dime. Its manpower includes a few dozen priests and nuns who work full-time
to serve the citizens, supported by only by communal donations (and the occasional supplement from the Governor's treasury when they Jeff needs to remind them who's boss). There's constant tension surrounding Bishop Schultz's close relationship with Jeff, with some considering the Bishop a mere toady while others think he works subtly to restrain the Governor from abusing his power.

State Patrol - headed by Captain Derek White, HQ in city jail and toll bridge
Made up of leftover members of the Highway Patrol, local law enforcement, and National Guard, the Patrol provides the enclave's security, enforces toll collection, oversees the indentured laborers, and ensures loyalty to Governor Jeff.

Average residents are mostly remnants of the pre-Crash local populace, as well as refugees and settlers from up the river.

"Indentured tribute" (IT) laborers are passengers from shanghaied from river traffic who couldn't otherwise afford the tolls. They are de facto slaves.

Neighborhoods/Locations

The Capitol
Once the state capitol, the building and its grounds have been transformed into a fortress/palace for Governor Jeff and his closest underlings. A sentry on top of the dome always keeps a lookout for incoming river traffic and other threats.

St. Peter's Cathedral
The Church and its attached school building are the center of Catholic service to the enclave. Located right next to the Capitol grounds.

The Toll Bridge
The bridge across the river has been massively fortified with armor, large guns, searchlights, and dropable barriers to prevent unauthorized passage of boats. Landings beneath the bridge are used for boarding vessels and offloading seized cargo. Both ends of the bridge are heavily fortified against Casualty mobs and human attackers as well.

Cedar City Fields
Across the river from the enclave are the river bottom fields that provide the populace with food. Field work is dangerous, as it is away from most of the enclave's defenses. As such, most of it is done by IT workers with armed Patrol overseers.

VIPs

Jeff Carnavan was a charismatic history teacher at the Jefferson City high school, known as a well-read Medievalist, a natural leader, and a somewhat ruthless self-promoter -- all traits that would prove quite valuable when the Crash hit. After organizing a small group of survivors to form a basic enclave, he immediately recognized the similarity of his position to the Medieval "Robber Barons" who extorted tolls from ships along the Rhine River. He convinced his followers to start fortifying the bridge and demanding tolls. As refugees streamed toward the Mississippi, the wealth rolled in.

Jeff is a charismatic and fairly popular leader, ruthless in his pursuit of wealth but not unnecessarily cruel or brutal. He styles himself the Governor of Missouri, and might think about expanding his territorial control outward if the opportunity arises. So far just about all of his projects have been successful. But he can't possibly be as smart as he thinks he is.

Bishop Joe Schultz is a very practically-minded prelate. He quickly recognized that Jeff's rise to power was unstoppable, and committed his priests and nuns to serving alongside the new governor's regime rather than opposing him. He's been walking a fine line between supporting Jeff's regime for stability, and trying to influence him to pay more attention to the welfare of the enclave's populace. Recently he hasn't had the sort of effect on the governor that he'd like, and is beginning to feel more like a convenient tool in Jeff's bid for continued legitimacy.

Captain Derek White is Jeff's loyal enforcer. He reaps a lot of personal benefits from the tolls and the ID labor system. Though he devotedly follows Jeff's orders, he's very willing to get his hands dirty for personal gain -- and doesn't quite realize how easily Jeff could have him replaced if he becomes a net liability.

[The Lost Carol]

All these Enclave ideas made me want to think of one. But like y'all, I think it's easiest to think of where you're from. But I'm from Ohio, which is in the Recession. How would that work?

...Prequel Time!

The Cleve / Beliveland

Location & Defenses

In the early days of The Recession, The Mississippi AND the Ohio were the original lines of defense. Part of the past five years was recapturing everything north of the Ohio, while fortifying the Mississippi to create the 'permanent' border of The Loss. In Ohio, the North faired poorly with the higher population density. Northeast Ohio is divided in two pre-reclamation; The Cleve and Believeland

The Cleve: Cleveland and the surrounding metropolitan area, devoid of life for the most part and overrun by Casualties.

Believeland: the City of Akron, specifically the University of Akron and downtown. With the high bridges of the All America Bridge and Route 8, there is an easily defensible means for relative safety from the Cleve, and by maintaining State Routes 8 and 59 and Interstate 77 the city is encircled. By having the roads be the border, however, the suburbs and East Akron, and many important locations have been cut off and overrun.

Exports: entertainment, food, information via Z88

Imports: arms, raw materials, takers

Potential Exports: rubber, metal, medical supplies, air travel

Competition:

The Green Militia
Based in Green, a city between Akron and Canton. While Akron was used as the fall back spot thanks to convincing by the Dean of the University, many Guardsmen's family and friends resided in the suburbs between Akron and Canton. Many deserted rather than leave their families to die, forming the Green Militia, headed by Second Lieutenant Jaeger. Although kept around for saving tens of thousands of lives, they don't trust the official Guardsman and act on their own.

The Hallsmen
With Akron being the more defensible city, Canton was left to die. Which it did. As a source of pride for the region and separate from downtown, The Pro Football Hall of Fame was chosen as the fall back spot, and is home to most survivors of Canton. The survivors in the Hall are mostly insane due to survivors remorse and knowing they were left to die. Led by the Hall of Fame's chairman Tom Brunn, the Hallsmen form an end of days cult, obsessively keeping the records of football in a misguided means of keeping a record of humanity, and protect the Hall at all costs. Any jobs in Canton are made that much more difficult as you have to go past the Hall to get in. They also mistrust all outsiders and non-Canton natives as the savages who left them to die.

Neighborhoods:
UoA
The University of Akron makes up a large section of the Enclave. With the massive amounts of relatively new dorms and older class buildings secured by the Akron PD and National Guard, UoA is the home for many people in the region. The University PD has been fully deputized and maintains order with the National Guard. The University has a full stock of departments, including robust science labs that have switched from polymer studies to studying The Blight. The student radio station, 88.1 FM, can be heard for upwards of 40 miles around, is of vital importance since it is in the safe zone of UoA, and maintains a connection with the rest of the region.

Downtown
With Akron being situated on a plateau sharply cutting to a ravine, the casualties were easily defeated; push back and over. The downtown section near the cliff is where the final battle took place, and thus sustained a lot of damage. Canal Park has been turned into a playground and respite for the region, with the Aeros and Rock Cats continuing to play in the vain hope they can continue to. The Akron Art Museum is used as the chief meeting place in Downtown outside of City Hall, and the FirstMerit Tower is of primary importance as a lookout tower.

Potential Missions:

Summa Akron City Hospital / City Hospital

The good news: Akron General Hospital is within the borders of Believeland. Better news; the other, bigger hospital, City Hospital is nearby, directly across from Route 8. Bad news; across Route 8. It wasn't defended by the Nation Guard and as such was overrun. There's likely many supplies ripe for the taking, and is the likely first step in expanding the borders; if you can survive the Casualties, that is...

Akron Zoo

Across the way on the west side of Believeland, the Zoo is fairly big for a city Akron's size. People might give bounty for exotic pets, researchers at the University might want the monkeys for experiments, and who knows what the carnivores might do to the populace...

Summit County Juvenile Court Admin & Marine Corps Reserve

On the North, past the Route 8 bridge are the Summit County Juvenile Court Administration building, which can house up to 100 inmates and maintains a lot of records, and the Marine Corps Reserve post. The Guardsmen, while appreciating the dorms as housing, would prefer the symbolism of retaking the Marine Corps Reserve building, especially considering its the Weapons Company. They'd also like the Juvie building as a prison. Hard work, but ripe for bounty...

Goodyear HQ

The Goodyear Tire Company is based in Akron, one of the few major corporations that never left. However, they're on the East Side, well past Route 8. The Government would kill to get and keep the factories that remain and the trade secrets inside, and get people in there to restart the plant. The Guardsmen can't sacrifice enough men to clear it, but if Takers can spot for them and they can do a tactical assault... The same is for the former Bridgestone HQ, which still houses a lot of offices and the factory, but is located on the South Side.

Akron Fulton International Airport

In the Southeast of Akron is the airport. While not a personal travel hub (That would be Akron Canton International Airport, north of Canton. Definitely a That One Last Job if you can take it, but good luck with that,) this airport does house international services and is a business flight hub. Also houses the Goodyear Blimps, and a Lockheed Martin warehouse and offices. Retaking this would be a massive undertaking, but would not only give vital resources to the City, it would make it all but a certainty that Believeland would be made a recognized settlement, providing more government protection faster. But taking the whole airfield? Definitely That One Last Job worthy...

Canton

Canton is presumed a total Loss. Even with a ton of Hallsmen still at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the north side of the city, they don't leave, and the Guardsmen and Green Militia don't want to spread their already thin forces even thinner. Still, Canton is a major city in the region, and might hide rewards for those foolhardy enough to get past the Hall...

The Cleve

Cleveland is presumed a total Loss. With many national landmarks and museums for salvage of social items, professional sports teams with mementos for wealthy clients (and the Hallsmen), many (vacant even before The Crash) factories with spare parts, the county seat of Cuyahoga County with a treasure trove of documents, the Horseshoe Casino with massive amounts of pre-Crash money... That One Last Job might mean going back up north...

VIPS
Mayor Eric Patterson
After years of scandal for the City, Patterson was elected and finally brought some order to the city... just before The Crash. As head of the city, he tries to keep the vast network of egos in check to make sure the survivors don't damn them all. Works with Dean Butterworth and Brigadier General Tulane as the ruling council of Believeland.

Dean Jane Butterworth
After years of scandal for the University, Dean Butterworth was elected and finally brought some order to the University of Akron.... just before The Crash. Realizing the need for housing, she opened up the dorms for the National Guard, in exchange for protection. By this idea she allowed for the survival of Akron and its creation into an enclave, saving tens of thousands of lives. She lets the professors teach and research into the causes of the Collapse, and personally oversees Z88 and ZTV as the chief means of communication in the region after the fall of The Cleve.

Brigadier General Lucas Tulane
One Star Army General and the regional head of the National Guard; responsible for keeping the peace and maintaining order in Believeland. Unbeknownst to all, has a direct line with the U.S. government. He knows they are retaking Ohio, but, like the government, doesn't know where or when. He and the Guard are to maintain order and facilitate the reuse of the factories to provide rubber and metal for the government to use once the region is retaken, but he doesn't have enough men to protect everything.

Hanley Reyes and Xavier Jones
Hanley was the Indians former manager 'retiring' by coaching his hometown Aeros. Xavier the reigning AL MVP on rehab assignment. After The Crash, they, their teammates, and the visiting New Britain Rock Cats were stuck in Akron. At first, they continued to play ball as a means to keep calm and keep the populace placated. As weeks wore on to years, the play was simply to keep spirits up. With Tulane and the Guardsmen heads as patrons, the teams are allowed to play as their main job. The Akron League, consisting of these two minor league teams and any local 'rec' groups, play throughout the week and compete for the Believeland Cup. The League is headed by Reyes, Jones, and Rock Cats Manager Bud Walker.

Second Lieutenant Hannah Jaeger

Head of the Green Militia. She lives in Green, so the prospect of sacrificing her family when they were so close to Akron was implausible, which was the same for many people in the National Guard. She rounded up a considerable group of deserters, and managed to save their families and many other residents of Green and the surrounding suburbs by fortifying Green High School and the luck of no Vectors. She continues to mistrust Brigadier General Tulane, but works with the National Guardsmen to rid the region of Casualties and maintain order in the surrounding Akron suburbs.

Tom Brunn

Super Bowl winning quarterback from the Cleveland Browns, after retirement he worked for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. During The Collapse he stayed holed up in his office in the Hall. The staff, visitors, and some Canton residents stayed in the Hall as hell broke outside. It soon became apparent that the National Guard grouping around the region was not going to save Canton. Although they survived, most went mad knowing this. Looking to the also insane Tom for guidance, he created the Hallsmen, a cult revolving around football and trying to keep it's records and memory alive as a means of preserving humanity, like the Archivists. They have immense distrust for the military and anyone not from Canton. While Tom can whip the cultists into a fervor, he himself is a coward and hides in his office.

[Shallazar]

First game will be the 30th of August, wrangling expats is hard work.
We're going to vote on either Japan or my hometown of Lansing, MI.
Due to limited time we will be running more Boom than Bust.
I have my recorder with me so I'll try to get you a recording.
Heading into Tokyo to get Red and Black dice for the group next week.

I've been doing lots of research on the Japan angle. Gun control laws have made the ready availability of firearms as appears in the default setting kind of not a good (realistic) option. However, Japan's actual military projects and other tech have given me some interesting options. (.6 firearms per 100 people, handguns completely illegal, only guns a citizen can actually obtain are shotguns and air rifles, after  a course, mental and physical health evaluation and yearly police inspections, every location of a citizen gun logged, heirloom rifles turned over to the police for impoundment etc)

HULC suits, prototype mechs, (they have developed one that shoots water bottles and BBs out of gattling guns), and 3D printed guns are some of the ideas I'm playing around with.

3D Printed Guns have In Demand, Hungry, Fragile, Loud, Wear n Tear. With upgrades able to buy them off, they start at normal handgun Upkeep with all the Qualities.

Currently you face horrendous jailtime for owning 3D printed guns but after The Crash, it wont matter and the 3D printed infrastructure is already in place and the blueprints will be available on lifelines and others in high demand.

Regular bullets fired through a 3D printed gun eventually wear out the piece but there are schematics for bullets designed to be fired in the fragile guns, but these have to be machined with metal and cannot be 3D printed.

As for what happened during The Crash, Okinawa and Hokkaido are the current government stronghold. The main island fell quickly and once vectors made it onto a ferry bound for the other side, both Kyushu and Shikoku also similarly fell. The Japanese government has absorbed the US troops stationed on Okinawa after the US deemed their retrieval financially unsound. The train tunnel to Hokkaido was destroyed and currently the Japanese DHQS, National  Quarantine and Infrastructure Agency wages a naval battle of that ebbs and flows with the seasons and is working on establishing footholds on the smaller islands before assaulting Honshu. Hokkaido is the promised land but some societies hail back to their island roots and set up enclaves on highly defensible fortress islands dating back to WWII.

Wake Island, Iwo Jima, and Midway have been revived as military and civilian assets. Everywhere old castles have developed into the war fortresses of old.

Smaller mountain towns fared the best but any lowland areas were quickly overrun due to the high concentrations of people.

A neat feature I like to think about is the Salaryman Stampede. A millions strong stampede of casualties that migrates with the weather up and down Honshu. Those casualties at the back drop off going one way and are swept up or trampled by the stampede going the other way. Though less and less every year it is still one of the largest and most dangerous spots of Dead Weather.