Sorry I haven’t had time to really hammer down the history or edit it to make sense but in the interest of getting this going I thought “What the hell?”

Oh and if anyone would like to be CoGM or write a better history please feel free to volunteer

….How it all began few know and the rumors many but in the end that no longer mattered it was the end of the world that once was and the beginning of a New world, a world of struggle. No place was left untouched as far as anyone knew and society had fallen apart. Many chose to act like beasts blaming it all on the disaster in the end they were always animals.

But some men kept their humanity, tried to hang on to what was left knowing that the future was decided now and one such man was David Comber who was once a parachute instructor with the Screaming Eagles or should I say the Commander of their jump school Colonel D.Comber who retired after only twenty years to take care of his granddaughters who had lost their parents in a plane crash 2 years before the disaster. He was at the time working as the Chief Forest Ranger of Mount Hood when it went to hell and like most he was off balance but quickly recovered when he found his family in danger.

He and men who were from various services and who knew each other from the local VFW and had come to respect Chief Comber and looked to him for answers. He was immediately pressed into service as the local emergency commander because the Sheriff had fallen to the dead.

Organizing sweeper teams Comber took advantage of the ground he was forced to fight on and observed his enemy and soon knew their weakness and exploited them channeling them into killing pens constructed of the local produce Lumber in the form of logs. The battle had lasted 3 weeks and welded the people of Lasthope into a community of fighters and survivors.
Collecting all the data his patrols had brought him Chief Comber saw a chance to use the craggy terrain to his people’s advantage and seal off a safe zone to raise crops and herds to feed everyone through the northwest winters. He was in luck to have a Korean war Seabee engineer who taught the local loggers and heavy equipment operators the best way to build quickly. The first structures weren’t designed to be permanent and built like the Roman Legion forts which Caesar used to conquer Gaul and in this case hold back the horrors.

Next came the town of Lasthope which was built to last taking advantage of the fact it had a concrete factory, lumber industry, and a working hydroelectric plant. No one was allowed to shirk their duties in the construction of the town unless they were under the age of 8 years old the adolescents assigned to minor tasks under elder supervision.

The Founding population of Lasthope built the center of town in only three months and had provided so well for the Winter that they were even able to take on 400 rescues brought in by the mounted patrols. They quickly developed into a Socialist Society founded around Democracy based on the motto “We Dare to Live” fostered by the Chief.

It was because of his uncompromising leadership before and after those long gone days that Comber has been elected Chief of the Band of Mount Hood Year after Year. He is a planner, a logistics expert and leader who is backed up by like.

Earl White a man of no military training but a skill in understanding Cavalry tactics that comes naturally; it is Earl who drove off the first attack by the Portland Pirates at the “Battle of the Locks”

Then there is Comber’s wife Candice who runs the orphan’s home of Lasthope and the educational system. It was because of her that some of the first sweeper patrols brought back every book that could be found for 20 miles in every direction.

Next is Art Newbury son of William Newbury who had been the founder of the Construction corps and has taken over for his deceased father without missing a beat.

After him is Betty Craft a former High School Botany teacher whose work building the farming system the town uses has kept them fed and able to enjoy out of season crops by greenhouse growth and hydroponics.

The Mount Hood Band is made up of over 2,675 people and of those number they could field an effective cavalry force of 550 and have over 2,600 head of horse along with 8,000 cattle and most importantly a hydroelectric power station that is still functioning.

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Lasthope is Built along the Shore of Bullrun Lake using Shipping containers, Cinder-block, Concrete, and Brick using Mill Creek and Taylor Creek as barriers to the Dead and the Living. It’s fortification came complete with earthen revetments and only one gate with a military watch system on all walls and 12 reinforced watchtowers made of concrete and manned by at least 4 reserve troopers each (reserve troopers are the oldermen of Lasthope, 45-65)

The Gate is constructed of 16 40 foot steel containers and 10 20 foot containers serving as Towers.

(More town details forth coming as soon as I have some input from people)

The Sasumata of last hope come in multiple sizes and are commonly made of Hardwood shafts 4’-12’ with a flexible steam shaped Ash bow 12”- 3 ½” across. These Polearms are useful in controlling a walker at better than arm’s length by 2 to as many as 6 people at once.

Her is one example of what a Sasumata look like and how they are used even by the police

Some more clues Sasumata and here’s another picture showing a rough idea of how they’re used Sasumata Diagram

These types of weapons are usually kept in the hands of the larger troopers because they can finish a Walker in a single blow.
Both can be used on horse back some warhammer's the lenght of polomallets

Thought I'd keep track of the questions you all ask along with my answers to save repitition

Question Why not cavalry sabers? Baseball bats would be more available, but if you're already having customized weapons such as 8ft pitchforks, I'm sure whoever is making them can make sabers--maybe melting down scrap metal that would be easily scavenged (compared to more valuable items). It'd work with the cavalry aesthetic you've been playing around with too.

Answer Actually, the polearms are made of a hardened wood shaft turned at the local lumber mill then add what looks like a Wooden bow without a string made of steamed ash peg mounted then bound with sinew to the shaft. They are used in groups of two or three with a batsman and the reason for the use of wood is that it is an abundant local resource.

The tactic is easy and adjustable, one traps the walker at the waist, the other traps a leg usually against a building or they trip the walker then pin it to the ground, once pinned the Bat is swung it's length giving it extra force as well as keeping the attacker at a safe distance to deliver the ending blow

These weapons can be scaled up to be used from horseback

Cavalry Sabers are as yet uncommon but I can see at least 100 being found in the course of 14 years and worn by only those that prove themselves as leaders and capable of using the weapon. The Primary weapons of Troopers are Lance, Bow, Lariat, and issued firearms under a special provision. Scouts are more likely to Carry Firearms but their main weapons are the Bow or Tomahawk which they are experts in the use of.

The reason there is no production of sabers is because Lasthope is currently working on making revolvers and lever action rifles, they have a Black powder mill that is picking up production enough that at least the town can allow weapons practice with new black powder stuff

Oh forgot to add that they are also working on nitrocellulose-based but the production pace and quality need work

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Question Fair enough, but I imagine the pitchforks would need to be replaced often. Even if they're meant to trap zombies, we can look at historical examples of medieval lances breaking on the first charge because of the force of impaling someone. And black powder weapons are cool and loud, provided if they hit their target or don't explode in your own hands.

Answer Got to work within our capabilities and off of what is locally available

Don't worry though Lasthope is sending out long-range patrols to map out resources and machinery especially electrical manufacturing stuff, wiring, motors, tools, educational books, and anything else the patrol commander thinks of as an asset to Lasthope. They will also be looking for skilled craftsmen which they will try and recruit.

One group is going to the Warmsprings Indian reservation on a horse and cattle roundup.

I like swords myself but in practicality fighting walkers that respond best to massive blunt force to the skull a large bat is better and doesn't get stuck in the target most of the time.

Mount Hood has a huge logging and lumber industry around it and like the Russians, the people of Lasthope carted all sorts of industrial material and equipment to the site of their town. Then there is the Concrete industry that mined the Potash and Limestone which is considered a priority industry equal to the lumber industry

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Question Love the idea! One question though -- I know in TWD universe if a zombie is deprived of food for long enough it becomes extremely weak (still 'alive', just lethargic and such).. will that rule apply here? If so, after fourteen years and serious human depopulation (presumably), will many of the zombies have this affliction?

Answer The number of mobile Zombies is way down because of the lack of victims but with people still dying it's still possible to run across the mobile ones.

Lasthope isolates people who get sick and as soon as the doc says you are dead the skull penetrated to prevent rizn and the body burned within 48 hours (Rizn is slang for the obvious; sorry my attempt at humor)

Name: Amir Asadi Jones
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Description: Amir stands at 5'10" with a mop of dark brown hair and a pair of near-black eyes. He is of Iranian descent and quite handsome, with a reasonably muscular build developing as a result of his training as a Trooper when he was a kid. He doesn't like to keep a beard, but he'll often let his hair grow out to stubble. A huge old scar runs along the inside of his right arm from when he was a child. He usually wears jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt, along with his black leather jacket that he's had for years.
Profession: Doctor
Skills:
1 - Medicine: Amir learned much from his father before he passed, primarily how to treat wounds, diagnose illnesses, and develop rudimentary medicines. He began assisting his father when he was only ten years old, and now has almost fourteen years of experience in the craft.
2 - Charisma: When he was a boy, Amir became infamous for getting himself into situations in town, before quickly working his way back and out of them by 'talking it out'. The kid had a knack for persuasion and charm, and those skills only grew as he got older.
3 - Resilience: As a whole, Amir's life has made him an extraordinarily resilient person. He has developed a sense of optimism and perseverance that gets him through even the darkest times, and tends to get other people to do the same.
History:
Amir was born in Seattle to Omid Asadi, an Iranian immigrant and lawyer, and his wife Leila, a professor at the University of Washington. His family was quite well-off, and since Amir was an only child he had his parents' entire devotion, but his mother insisted that he attend a public school in Seattle so as not to 'lose sight of things'. When the outbreak hit Washington, his father was away in New York on business. His mother knew that she had to get them out of the city, and began to drive south, into the more rural parts of Washington. Each town they arrived at was dealing with their own personal hell: bandits, riots, food shortages, and of course the walking corpses themselves. They kept moving, kept going south. They made it to the Oregon border, before Leila's car ran out of gas, and she was shot dead in the street while trying to siphon gas out of an abandoned vehicle. The murderer was a scared teenage boy, maybe seventeen. He had seen her backpack and thought that there might be some food. When she refused to let him steal it, he shot her. Amir was twenty yards away in their car -- his mother had told him not to make a sound. Still, fear overtook him, and he bolted out of the car and across the street, attempting to hop a wire fence and getting his right arm caught. The frayed steel wire tore a gash in his arm, where a scar still exists today. Amir found a nearby warehouse and locked himself inside, tearing up his shirt and wrapping it around his bloody arm.

He stayed in the warehouse for at least a day, until a middle-aged man named Robert Jones found Amir while he was out on a supply run. Jones took Amir back to his settlement in Mount Hood, and began to care for the boy. Robert was the town's doctor. He had run a clinic on Main Street since two decades prior, and when the walkers came he stopped charging his customers and announced that he would be on-call to help no matter the time. Amir began to look up to him, and in turn Robert took him under his wing at the clinic. Eventually Amir Asadi began going by Amir Jones, and Robert became his adopted father. By the time he died, Amir was twenty-one And had taken over much of the day-to-day affairs of the clinic. In time, he began to be confident enough to travel out of the colony, embedded with the soldiers to tend to any wounds sustained in the field. He mourned his death for a long time, before resolving to help the community of Mount Hood in any way he could, just as Robert had done.