Note: I haven't gotten motivated yet to key in my full writeups of all
the cities from old notes like I did for Davenport, but I did finally just
throw in a few snippets about each city here for any who care. I will
eventually get them all typed up like Davenport, but hey, I'm slow..what can I
say.
- Brown River
-
This river runs from the northeast of the map and meets the Yak river
south of Davenport. The river is clean, however, west of The Sinkhole, it
empties into the polluted Toos River.
- Red River
-
This runs from the West of the map down to the SouthEast. The river is
clean.
- Toos River
-
This river in the North-Central section of the map runs South through the
Bedford Forest to join the Red River. The river is a polluted deathtrap from
Bermenham down past The Sinkhole and on to Mabeel.
- Yak River
-
This river runs from the East of the map and meets the Brown river south
of Davenport. The river is clean.
- Clay Hills
-
A range of hills north of Jasper and west of Acton. More to come.
- Bedford Forest
-
Large forest between the Toos and Brown Rivers. More to come.
- Jasper
-
Jasper is a dangerous place. The mining town is situated at the edge of the
Clay Hills and some foothills. Wedged in between these hills and the
radioactive wastes surrounding Ghost Town, Jasper seems to be a pitstop for
travelling scum. Most of the miners are decent folk, although rough and rowdy.
Gangs and thugs from the wastes pass through to buy/sell/trade and usually stir
up trouble when in town. The city has somewhat of the atmosphere of a typical
mining boomtown of the old Wild West (minus all the "Western" elements).
More details to come.
- LaGrange
-
LaGrange used to be a feared name that conjured up rumors of live metal. Some
years back, the large city was conquered by the Knights of Genetic Purity and
so it is still feared, but for a different reason. The Knights activities take
them to the west of LaGrange. It is no wonder, since the radioactive wastes
between LaGrange, Ghost Town, and Jasper give them no incentive to pursue a
campaing to the east of their new holding.
More details to come.
- Ghost Town
-
A ruined Ancient city. Lots of lingering radiation insures that Ghost Town has
few visitors.
More details to come.
- Acton
-
Acton is a medium-sized town dominated by lumbering. Drawing upon the resources
of Bedford Forest, Acton does a booming lumber trade with most of the cities in
the region. Farming is also important as the fertile plains to the north of the
city allow it to grow a surplus that is profitably traded with Jasper for the
minerals and metals mined there.
More details to come.
- Hunt
-
The Ancient city of Huntsville (now called Hunt) is ruled by a ruthlessly
efficient Artificial Intelligence named MIRVNN (pronounced mer-vin). This city
does not appear on the map above, but is even further north of Bermenham.
The Military Robotic Vigilance Neural Network is the name the Ancients gave to
the AI that still runs Hunt. The nomenclature Neural Network does not begin to
describe the sophisticated AI, but the Ancients kept the name in honor of the
first simple computer system in Huntsville that was capable of providing
sentient, automated defense and maintenance of Redstone Arsenal and the
spaceport.
It is unknown why the Ancients who attacked Hunstville dropped dirty bombs,
rather than destructive ones, but since it is usually the case when dirty bombs
or biological weapons were used by the Ancients, one can assume that the intent
was to kill organic life and preserve the large stores of military and
aerospace equipment there. By the last days of the Ancients, Redstone had
become a vital logistics base, housing vast amounts of the material of the
military machine. The Aerospace Command also had a rather large military
spaceport there, which had grown out of the humble beginnings of rocket
assembley and fuel plants in the days of solid-fuel rocketry (latter 20th
century, early 21st).
More details to come.
- Bermenham
-
Most travellers who pass by Bermenham (the Ancient city of Birmingham) do not
go too near for fear of live metal. Even at a long distance, however, all can
see the huge statue of Vulcan, his torch aloft and burning with a bright green
atomic-powered beacon, guarding the city. The 120,000 pound, cast-iron statue
itself is 55 feet tall, situated atop a 125 foot pedestal, which in turn is
high on the top of Red Mountain overlooking the industrial park and the city.
Bermenham was a huge industrial center of the Ancients. High levels of
radiation still abound in parts of the city. The AI MIRVNN in Hunt remotely
controls the surviving live metal and automated defenses running on atomic
power. He uses these permanent Bermenham forces to guard the industrial
sections of the city from intruders.
The mining of coal and ore, the quarrying of limestone, the making of iron and
steel, and the fabrication of these materials into finished products are still
carried on by robots and androids under the control of the AI. MIRVNN uses many
of his mobile live metal minions to transport resources from Bermenham to Hunt.
These powerfully guarded caravans ferry materials back to Hunt where they are
used to further solidify the defenses there.
MIRVNN ignores all of Birmingham that doesn't deal with the major,
concentrated, defensible industrial sector. The rest of the city is home to
small pockets of beings who try to survive in the ruins of the Ancient city. As
long as they do not attempt to trespass or interfere with MIRVNN's caravans,
they are left unmolested.
It is rumored, but unsubstantiated, that a crazed cult worships the great
statue of Vulcan. The statue itself is of no consequence to MIRVNN, but since
it occupies the high ground above the industrial park, periodic patrols comb
the area to ensure that no hostile forces are on the mountain. If this cult
doesn't worship Vulcan from afar, then they would have to be crazed indeed to
risk the patrols simply to prostrate themselves before the statue's base or to
touch it.
A radical Zoopremist cult worships a small statue in the center of the city. No
signs or writing explain the statue, but it is obviously of Ancient origin. The
statue depicts a large humanoid goat with one hand holding a staff and the
other holding an open book. The goat is surrounded by several other
statues of animals in poses that make them appear to be listening
intently to the words of the goat.
More details to come.
- Bedford Heights
-
Bedford Heights is a city dominated by an old fort atop the highest of the
foothills in the region. The stronghold comprises the city proper, but small
shanty-town mining communities are sprawled in the surrounding hills.
Bedford Heights is ruled by the overlord Demothi Randell. Demothi's family has
held court in the stronghold as far back as any historical records report. He
has held the heights throughout all manner of attacks from abroad. While
Demothi is a decent enough ruler as monarchs go, it is undoubtedly his
protection from the troubles of enemies that has endeared him to the populace
of Bedford Heights. He maintains a very professional standing army, usually
numbering about 200 (PSH, Altered Humans, and Mutant Animals). The city also
has a loyal reserve of approximately 600 civilian militiamen.
More details to come.
- Bogwater
-
Surrounded by the deadly Black Bogs, Bogwater is a dangerous hellhole. Bogwater
is a wretched hive of scum and villany.
Assassins, thieves, and even unpricipled mercenary bands abound in Bogwater.
More details to come.
- Sinkhole
-
More details to come.
- Black Bogs
-
The Black Bogs is really a huge area of swamps cradled in the Yak, Brown, and
Toos river deltas. The natural denizens of the Bogs make it an even more feared
area than the dreaded BlightWood. The Sinkhole and Bogwater lie in these
gruesome swamps.
More details to come.
- Ithaca
-
Were it not for the Ithaca Gunworks, the city would be most famous for its
agricultural bounty. Ithaca produces far more food than guns..and it produces a
lot of guns. Doubly profitable because of the trade in agricultural products
and weapons, the people enjoy a high standard of living. The 3 huge weapons
factories, prosperity, and a cooperative alliance with Davenport has allowed
Ithaca to also remain a city free from the harsh rule of any of the cryptic
alliances.
Like Davenport, the populace of Ithaca value their freedom and will fight to
the death to preserve it. Unlike Davenport, however, Ithaca is ruled by a
beneficent oligarchy. Oberon Wymark has been the Chancellor of the Ithacan
government for the last 10 years. Oberon is a strong and charismatic leader.
Davenport and Ithaca happily share technology with one another and lean on one
another in matters of defense. Surprisingly, First Citizen Artemis of Davenport
has not been tempted to extend his totalitarian regime to include Ithaca. He
has been nothing but trustworthy in his dealings with Ithaca, even though he
had numerous opportunities to easily take over the city before he helped it
become a power itself. Apparently, he wants a strong ally instead of another
large population center that he would need to micro-manage as he does
Davenport.
More details to come.
- Blight Wood
-
This deadly forest is haunted by large concentration of Blights, thus its name.
More details to come.
- Free City of Davenport
-
-
|
Ruler
First Citizen Artemis rules the Free City of Davenport. His People's Liberation
Army rescued the town from the clutches of the supposedly beneficient Peace
Brigade. The Brigade had been unable to defend the town from attacks by other
alliances, and the people were tired of the tax burden imposed to support this
"defense". The government under the First Citizen, however, is sometimes
brutal, but always efficient. They bow to no alliances and fiercely protect
their freedom. The citizenry also cherish this freedom and are willing to put
up with the First Citizen's occasional misdeeds because he keeps the chaos of
the wastes from creeping into their corner of civilization and always seems to
look out "for the common good".
The government has a few layers of bureaucracy, but is generally efficient.
Transportation
1) River: The wide, deep channel in the Brown River makes for great barge
traffic. The Yak River is a bit more narrow and is given to many shoals. Both
rivers are relatively clean and safe for drinking water.
2) Roads: Decent city roads, some paved, most not. Large, fairly-decent road to
Acton in the NorthWest. Large paved, well-maintained highway to Ithaca in the
NorthEast.
3) Railroad: A working Rail Line exists between Davenport and
Ithaca. At least 2 locomotives, numerous boxcars, a few flatbed cars, and a few
tanker cars are known to exist.
Police/Military
The actual number of the Davenport "PeaceKeepers" (not to be confused with the
Peace Brigade Cryptic Alliance) is unknown by all but the highest government
officials. The force, however, is very large by all accounts.
The Ithaca/Davenport trains are always heavily guarded, and large weapons have
been seen mounted on some of the flatbed rail cars. Ithaca and Davenport
cooperate to protect their commerce, and Ithaca Militia make up about half of
the train garrisons.
The PeaceKeepers are pretty well-armed and actually do seem to serve and
protect the wealthy and middle-class sections of town. They are sometimes blind
to goings on in the slums, after all, who cares if some of the dregs of
humanity there kill and rob each other.
Dumaine General Hospital
Nestled in the North of the town by the government offices and the Brandfire
Institute, lies Dumaine General Hospital. Named after the great White Hand
Healer, Joseph Dumaine, the hospital strives to meet the needs of the populace
regardless of their genotype or ability to pay.
The charitable Dumaine was just a journeyman healer who came to Davenport when
it began to grow again after the War of the Ancients. His compassion for the
sick and poor prompted the grateful populace to band together to build the
hospital.
Charles Kettering ,
the current head of the hospital, is the local leader of the traditionalist
wing of the White Hand Alliance. He is an altered human with four arms, which
makes him a very able surgeon.
The Hospital recently battled an outbreak of the bone plague that seriously
threatened the town. Healers were able to neutralize the plague with powerful
antibiotics, but only after hundreds in the slums had died.
|
Brandfire Institute
While the Dumaine General Hospital predates the existing government of
Davenport, the Brandfire Institute was actually founded by the First Citizen as
a facility of higher learning. The institute was named in honor of Johann
Brandfire, a pure strain human who was the preeminent examiner in the First
Citizen's People's Liberation Army.
The Institute has been tasked to delve into all types of scientific research:
medical, historical, military, engineering, etc. for the betterment of the
people.
The construction of the city walls, and the restoration of the Davenport-Ithaca
railway were the first major accomplishments of the Institution. Institute
engineers are also said to have contributed to some repairs at Ithaca Gunworks
factories. That knowledge has enabled Davenport to upgrade it's own toolworks
and mills. Also, a few years ago, Brandfire provided the necessary repairs to
the printing equipment now used by the Free Press.
Davenport Free Press
Lou Granderson founded
the Free Press after he and Johann Brandfire discovered equipment in the
ancient rubble of Davenport. Lou is an altered raccoon and a decorated hero of
the People's Liberation Army. His wounds in the Liberation Day offensive
brought an end to his military career, but he has devoted his life to news and
information since.
Central Rail Station/Town Hall
The historical ceremonial government offices share the same building as Central
Rail Station. The government offices here are actually a shrine, while the true
government offices are in buildings to the North of the station. There is,
however, a large PeaceKeepers precint office and a Customs office here.
Central Rail Station acts a hub of shipping activity for government and
merchant interests.
Lumber is brought in from Acton in the Northwest. Agricultural goods and Guns
are brought in from Ithaca in the NorthEast.
Stadium
The First Citizen ordered the old stadium repaired. Parades are held here on
Liberation Day each year,
Also, every other Saturday, public executions
of vile criminals are held, followed by gladitorial games fought by
professionals and/or some of the death-row inmates who chose the chance of the
games rather than the gallows.
Park
Liberation Park is a very pleasant place. The park boasts wonderful
landscaping with picnic areas, ponds, trails, etc, along with statues and
monuments to the heroes of the Liberation.
Slums/The District
The slums are a pretty hard district. The crime center of the city, it
also boasts The District - the obligatory red light district.
|
- Federation of Mabeel
-
|
The Federation of Mabeel is the rebuilt northern fragments of what once was the
Ancient city of Mobile. The Gulf of Mexico reclaimed all but the most northern
parts of the Ancient city.
The rebuilt city survived and prospered, but several decades ago was conquered
and is now ruled by the mad tyrant Heinrich Himmler. Himmler is a very powerful
esper who conquered the city with a force of loyal espers.
The Peace Brigade had fortified the city and held it under their control. Like
the city of Davenport, the populace of Mabeel hailed Himmler and the other
espers as liberators. Unlike Davenport, however, the populace of Mabeel is now
enslaved by their new masters.
All beings without mental mutations are treated as cattle. They are used as
cannon-fodder, much like peasant troops were in the old feudal societies.
Himmler is fanatical in his belief that those with mental powers are destined
to rule over all beings who have no mutations, or only physical mutations.
Himmler found inspiration in unearthed historical readings of Adolf Hitler and
Haakon Goldberg.
Hitler was the "master race" dictator of the 20th century who nearly destroyed
the Jewish people in Europe. Goldberg was the 21st century tyrant who came
closer to achieving genocide than even Hitler had when he nearly destroyed the
Indian sub-continent with a plague that was genetically engineered to kill
non-caucasians.
Rather than destroy the inferior races, Himmler reasons that by enslaving them
and using them up, one day he can fortify Mabeel to the point where it would be
possible to begin a campaign to extend his little empire. The police force has
been busy fighting uprisings recently as food riots have sporadically flared up
throughout the city. These riots have, of course, been put down brutally.
|
The government agenda of agriculture is inefficient and under ideal conditions,
could barely feed the populace. Lately, things have been far less than ideal.
The city depended on fishing in the Gulf of Mexico for a large portion of its
sustenance....that is until fishing became so deadly. Lately, huge mutated
behemoths from the sea have been terrorizing the gulf. Many boats have been
lost, and few dare to brave the terror of the deep.
While Himmler is an evil sadist, he is more pragmatic and intelligent than most
people think. From the beginning of his rule in Mabeel, he and the esper
government have fostered excellent, cooperative relations with the Cambarid (a
civilization of sentient mutant crayfish that live in underwater cities in the
gulf near Mabeel).
The Cambarid people have been invaluable in providing scouts to help Mabeel
fishermen avoid the behemoths. Although it is still risky, and not much fishing
is attempted these days, the Cambarid have helped as much as possible, and the
council constantly confers with the Mabeel government on possible ways of
ridding the gulf of the behemoths. No solutions have been found yet. Even the
combined power of the espers and the Cambarid have been no match for the sea
beasts.
In the early days of Himmler's reign, the Cambarid provided invaluable
assistance as they brought up wondrous artifacts of the Ancients from the
sunken city of old Mabeel. A prosperous trade evolved as the espers were eager
to get artifacts they previously thought beyond hope of retrieval. These
artifacts helped Himmler's regime solidify its hold on Mabeel against all
outside threats.
More details to come.
|
|
