Yeah, there's other states that could probably produce the gas / oil needed that would fare better in the nuclear apocalypse. I mean, frankly... A few cities in Texas might get struck, but a lot of it isn't very high priority, and there are oil wells in those regions.
Everyone could just use sail and peddle power tho! Imagine it... militarized swan boats! I guess you could also do rowing like triremes or canoes too heh.
Yeah, there's other states that could probably produce the gas / oil needed that would fare better in the nuclear apocalypse. I mean, frankly... A few cities in Texas might get struck, but a lot of it isn't very high priority, and there are oil wells in those regions.
If we're going for MAD then chances are they would get fucked. The only thing effecting the number of nuclear weapons would be ICBM defense systems filtering out incoming missiles, but the anti-missile defense network may not be big enough to down them all and we'd get a significant enough rain. And a lot of big population and industrial centers will probably be targeted by several to assure their physical annihilation.
<Snipped quote by Dinh AaronMk>
That would be an issue. I would say biofuels but even today we aren't really implimenting those so that's off the table.
The contested refinery could be an interesting plot point tho.
It's an issue today because it means higher food costs and people actually want to eat. Food cost would be even more contentious in the apocalypse than it would now when you actually need to put more people in the field to pick crops than we do now (we have GPS-controlled combines that do the work of an army with only the button press of one, modern society has stepped way back from rural agricultural life).
I'll be honest... I was very close, after you first asked me to keep my focus in the U.S., asking if I could make a nation of Carribean pirates that attacked the shores of New England on motorboats converted into attack boats.
I thought better of it. Gonna shoot you that PM, by the by, so I can do all my editing in one fell swoop.
EDIT: @Dinh AaronMK Point taken, there. ...The nuclear arms race is a silly, scary thing.
EDIT2: You know, I could see the whole "squandering resources that could be used to feed people so we can get battle-ready vehicles made instead" being a really fun plot point, too. Argh.
You know, I could see the whole "squandering resources that could be used to feed people so we can get battle-ready vehicles made instead" being a really fun plot point, too. Argh.
Just to make everything a bit more grim dark. Ain't going to lie, I kinda like if xD
I'll be honest... I was very close, after you first asked me to keep my focus in the U.S., asking if I could make a nation of Carribean pirates that attacked the shores of New England on motorboats converted into attack boats.
I thought better of it. Gonna shoot you that PM, by the by, so I can do all my editing in one fell swoop.
I've been trying to half-ass encourage someone to do that since they're there on the map. There's some interesting possibilities with the Caribbean, while not directly relevant to the US itself.
While not being Vikings they'd be the source of some exotic goods unavailable in the mainland. I've called it to my friends the Rum Road, and like the Silk Road that's its name-sake you'd have Jamaican, Cuban, or Trinidadian merchants sailing for the mainland to sell rum, sugar, tobacco, and other exotics in exchange for staple crops otherwise unavailable on the islands. They'd be getting their daily bread while providing high-value produce to the north.
There's also the matter of Jamaican pirates, but you already know that.
And it's not to mention that sugar cane is actually a more efficient means of producing ethanol. While not high in energy output like petroleum (you're not going to be powering diesel motors like large ships, trucks, tanks, or power-plants) they'd still have a high-grade enough fuel to power smaller ships they could use to ply their trade or raids to America so long as they keep to the blue waters of the coast.
EDIT: @Dinh AaronMK Point taken, there. ...The nuclear arms race is a silly, scary thing.
Russia now too is determined to no longer reduce the size of its arsenal but make it larger and produce a wider array of nuclear delivery methods. They recently boasted they produced a torpedo with a nuclear war-head that can evade modern submarine detection systems to deliver a nuclear explosion directly to ports and coastal targets.
I've been trying to half-ass encourage someone to do that since they're there on the map. There's some interesting possibilities with the Caribbean, while not directly relevant to the US itself.
While not being Vikings they'd be the source of some exotic goods unavailable in the mainland. I've called it to my friends the Rum Road, and like the Silk Road that's its name-sake you'd have Jamaican, Cuban, or Trinidadian merchants sailing for the mainland to sell rum, sugar, tobacco, and other exotics in exchange for staple crops otherwise unavailable on the islands. They'd be getting their daily bread while providing high-value produce to the north.
There's also the matter of Jamaican pirates, but you already know that.
And it's not to mention that sugar cane is actually a more efficient means of producing ethanol. While not high in energy output like petroleum (you're not going to be powering diesel motors like large ships, trucks, tanks, or power-plants) they'd still have a high-grade enough fuel to power smaller ships they could use to ply their trade or raids to America so long as they keep to the blue waters of the coast.
Again, something I can accept but I'd think it'd only really be an issue for the southern most nations as I don't think small ships can get from the islands to the north without stopping.
Although that does bring up the interesting idea of them having pit stops along the way north in territory where they're grant special permissions and contracts by the local rulers to dock there for a certain fee or mercenary work. It could also be a clan-by-clan sort of deal where collectively they're known as the "Rum Roaders" <working title> or something but they're actually a whole bunch of different factions with some being more trade focused and others more raid focused.
Again, something I can accept but I'd think it'd only really be an issue for the southern most nations as I don't think small ships can get from the islands to the north without stopping.
Although that does bring up the interesting idea of them having pit stops along the way north in territory where they're grant special permissions and contracts by the local rulers to dock there for a certain fee or mercenary work. It could also be a clan-by-clan sort of deal where collectively they're known as the "Rum Roaders" <working title> or something but they're actually a whole bunch of different factions with some being more trade focused and others more raid focused.
I'd think Cuban cities would be the earliest places for them to stop where sugar cane may be grown to enough of an effect they can continue on to the mainland US. Travelling around the Florida keys and into Southern Florida itself might be the next earliest stop. And then like the Silk Road they sell everything there or most of it, get their staple foods and stuff to trade back on the route home and then go back to Jamaica or beyond. It'd be such a bucket-line as the Silk Road was that no one might ever see a Jamaican, but they'll certainly handle their rum as it travels beyond along the Mississippi or other river routes.
I'm willing to bet there are coves of anti-NeoConfederacy rebels in our universe's Florida coast that would be more than happy to resupply Cuban or Jamaican pirates for the right price. If someone were to make such a nation, I'd totally point them toward OOC collaboration with that player.
EDIT: And yeah, the trickle of trade is a very realistic thing, too. You might not see a Jamaican in Massachusetts, but sugar cane could worm its way up there.
@Shorticus@Dinh AaronMk We should probablly leave that up to the people who are actually down there. Like @Trigani and @Byrd Man, they should have the final say if they really want little Jack Sparrows running around down there since they'll be the most affected xD
When you read a recent post, see "OOC" "in" and "app", and think "Oh whoops guess I shouldn't post it in the OOC like everyone else did hurr durr" and then put it in the wrong place.
The eastern area of the Commune was completely devastated in the war, and is mostly radioactive wasteland. The areas of the nation west of the mountains are significantly cleaner, as are some of the smaller, more isolated towns in the east. Extensive cleanup efforts have managed to revitalize pre-war farmlands in the east. The coastal town of Beaufort in particular was cleaned as best the government could. The rest of the land is as it once was, though with a bit more deadly, cancer-inducing radiation.
Government Type
Military Dictatorship
Capital
West Jefferson, a town established as a destination for countless refugees in the early days of the country, the capital of the Commune now supports a rather significant population in its former shops and various makeshift dwellings.
Head of State
Who the "Head of State" is in the Commune is a rather complicated question. If one is to be technical, it would be Niall Lister-the man who originally founded the state. At the same time, he keeps his two advisers-John Smith and Jessica Ansbach-exceptionally close and while he is supposedly the leader of the country, it is quite clear that he and his advisers are what truly forms the government. They are all in the same party, that party being the American Reclamation Party. (Profiles in the Other Important People section, because this is getting long)
Other Important People
-Niall Lister: A USN fighter pilot who was on standby in the US following the sinking of the USS George Washington in the Northern Sea. He was at home in the mountains of North Carolina when the bombs were dropped, and was spared from the fallout thanks to his location. In the days afterward, he and the two other founders of the nation organized the survivors and took power simply by virtue of the fact that they were the first to take action. As far as military dictators go, he's rather easygoing, and seems to have tried his best to cultivate a popular, lovable image for himself rather than use fear to stay in power. It's a closely-held secret of his that he only joined the Navy because otherwise he thought he would have been drafted into the Army or Marines, something he didn't think he would be able to take because as he himself said before the war "I don't think I could pull a trigger if I could see the blood". -Jessica Ansbach: A US marine in every sense of the word. She fought in Korea during the war and was part of the hard-earned first assault on the North, during which she single-handedly captured an enemy machine gun nest and became the second America woman to be awarded the medal of honor. Shortly afterwards, however, she was severely injured in combat and brought back to the USA for treatment. It was just after she had been discharged from the hospital that the ICBMs were launched. She is generally considered Lister's right-hand woman, and is generally the one who appears whenever the military (which encompasses the police, of course) is involved, since she is known for being significantly harsher than her two comrades. As a side note, Jessica and Niall went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis together. -John Smith: More commonly known as "Yes, that's his real name", John Smith is the only one of the founders without any military service. He was, in fact, a genetic engineer whom worked on simple things like cold-resistant crops before the war. This happened to be a significant boon afterwards, since having crops resistant to frost and cold is generally useful after a global temperature drop. At the request of Ansbach, he was set to work on adapting crops to the new, post-war conditions. Far from the grandiose, far-off dreams of the other two founders, John Smith's only higher agenda is to make sure as many people survive as possible. It is worth noting that, ever since an ill-fated expedition to Durham two years ago that put he and his crew in the hospital, John Smith has refrained from appearing in public. -Connor Allen: A Commune ranger famous for supposedly killing a Yeti alone. Though an officer in the military, he was kept from having any political power and instead assigned to escort parties heading into irradiated or dangerous parts of the land. He was one of the escorts for Dr. Smith's party, and claims to know the truth of what happened there. However, he has never actually told the story, despite his penchant for good moonshine. -Norman Elliot: The owner of the Blue Ribbon Diner-a favorite of Ansbach and Lister's-in the capital. His establishment has turned into a community center thanks to the patronage of the founders (which some believe might involve giving him priority on the cleanest rations). Using the profits, he's also opened up a gun shop and a saloon. All of these endeavors are on the same block (another topic which makes many suspect the government intervened to give him a favorable position), which has only increased the number of people who flock to the place to do nothing more than simply socialize.
Population
1.6 Million
Attitude Towards Evols
At first the founders appeased the population, being staunchly against Evols. Ansbach in particular was outspoken about them being an impurity to be eliminated. About two years ago, however, they seemingly reversed their position and stated that the Evols were simple humans that needed to be purified of their illness, instead of an to be killed off.
Economic System
The Commune, despite being a Commune, is actually capitalist. If the words of Ansbach are any indication, though, that's only because it's hard to implement most forms of socialism after a nuclear war.
Resources
What kinds of stuff does your nation produce?
Currency
What do you use to barter with or do you just plain barter?
Technology
How advanced/industrialized are you. Again, keep it balanced.
Official Religion
Do you use an old world religion (ie Mormonism, Baptism, Catholicism... Scientology...) or do you follow some new gods and cults?
Religious Information
Describe your new religion or how you've changed the old ones if at all.
History
How did your nation start? Keep it simple so I'd say 3 paragraphs at max more or less. I don't care if you make it longer than that but I might just start skipping over bits and pieces
Culture
Some notable cultural traits of your people.
Military Numbers
How big is your army? Remember, keep it proportional and balanced
Military Units
What kind of units serve in your military? I personally have more of a focus on this than numbers.
Really sorry.
Anyways, all major nuclear targets have multiple missiles aimed at them. You can see this in the declassified maps of Cold War nuclear targets. Also, pirates would be great. It sounds like some fun stuff, and also an opportunity for me to do something. Not sure what, but I can do something. Maybe have some fun over at Beaufort? Second pirate invasion, anyone?
@KeyguypersonLooking pretty good so far, but you do realize its been about a century since the bombs dropped right? It ain't 2016 no more boy :P
Also, your population is pretty low , you sure you okay with that?
@All I forgot to mention this before, but if you have any ideas for the beasties of the wasteland please do share! Same if you have ideas for raiders, independent settlements, caravan companies, merc groups, etc. I'll look them over as well!
