Explorer,  journalist, or writer?  Twin Port University has given Adam Lambert many titles- but he is  proudest of the term “biographer”.

Lambert is a member of the University’s Geography Department but spends most of his time in the field.    He works for The Twin Port University Journal (a weekly newspaper) and is famous for his reports on the lives of specific individuals.

The citizens of Twin Port are grateful for any information from the “outside world” and biographies are very fashionable.   Adam Lambert has travelled with many individuals and groups.  He has written biographies of Mailmen, Shipmen, Truckers and Wanderers.

Naturally, Lambert would be fascinated by any encounter with The Morrow Project.  He would ask to observe the MP team in its day-to-day life.  HIs plan would be to stay for 8 to 10 weeks, then go back to the University and make his reports

Note 1: Lambert carries numerous notebooks, pens and pencils (as might be expected, he is good at sketching and making maps).   He’s aware of photography – but cannot afford a camera. He would pay well for a working, salvaged camera

Note 2: Lambert might be encountered anywhere within 500 kilometres of the great lakes.  He would be on good terms with whoever brought him to the area (Truckers, Wanderers, etcetera)

Age: 40
Sex: Male
Strength: 10
Constitution:12
Dexterity: 10
Movement: 3
Endurance: 15
Accuracy: 8
Charisma: 15
Psionics:0
Luck: 15
Structure and Blood Points: 220
Blood Type: O-
Hostility and Motivation: 16

Equipment:

Hiking/Camping clothes
Several notebooks
Small binoculars
2 boxes of pencils (40 pencils each)
2 fountain pens & 1 bottle of ink
Multitool
2 changes of clothes
Gold &  silver coins
Toiletry kit
First Aid Kit

Weaponry

Adam Lambert has a Liberator Pistol but will never show it unless he has to shoot

Background:

Leetown is a  Mocambo:  a community of escaped slaves.  Such communities can be found near the KFS, the New Confederacy and any other group that operates a system of slavery.  Mocambos are hidden, camouflaged and fortified.

Like most mocambos, Leetown is not entirely self-sufficient and the inhabitants often cause substantial problems – they are likely to attempt theft, extortion and raiding. (They often raid for women.  The majority of escapees are young men)

History:

Leetown is hidden among the trees that now cover the ruins of Wilson, Arkansas – and was  ”founded”  by deserters from a KFS Janissary regiment, in 2112 .   It has always welcomed escapees and has grown to approximately 850 people.  However, there are still far more men than women and an interesting form of polyandry has evolved.

Economy:

The main types of food production are  hunting (deer, wild pig, birds) and the gathering of mushrooms, pecans and persimmons.  There are a few, isolated plots where maize, beans and squash are grown but these are deliberately kept small and are camouflaged – because the community always worries about attacks from the KFS Air Force.   When supplies are low, Leetown will conduct raids into the KFS and/or extort food from  river merchants

Defences:

Leetown has a few Trade rifles and almost every inhabitant is competent with a crossbow.  The forest that surrounds the mocambo contains many pit traps, snares and concealed sentry posts.  These sentries are equipped with crude grenades that are more useful as alarm signals than weapons.  Also, rubble has been carefully placed along the old roads and rail track.  Even a tank would find it difficult to navigate its way along the trails.

Technology:

Leetown has a blacksmith (who can also make crossbows) but otherwise, technology is minimal.

One variant of the “undershot” waterwheel is the Boat Mill: a waterwheel mounted between 2 barges and anchored in the river.

A simple and inexpemsive/crude wooden  structure, the Boat Mill has a few advantages over a mill built on the banks of a river

1.   Continuous operation The waterlevel of a river will rise and fall with the seasons. In winter, a fixed watermill on the bank of a river might find  its blades above the waters. Conversely, rising water levels (after the Spring Melt) could partly or completely submerge the wheel.  Historically, the solution to this problem was to build dams and sluicegates but these colutions are expensive and complex.

2.   Security.  A Mill is a vital asset and restricting access, or being able to move it, are useful capabilities

3.  Efficiency.  The ‘catamaran’ style of Mill Boat results in faster water flow into the wheel.  This can be improved further by placing the Mill Boat near bridges and other features .

PD NOTE: A Morrow Project team will want to know about capabilities.  The Boat Mill pictured above can generate about 5 Horsepower, or 4000 watts (in other words, about the same as a portable Honda generator).  It can grind 200 sacks of grain per day

Adventure seeds:

1.  The Boat Mill is adrift! If the Team can rescue the Boat Mill, they’ll gain the gratitude of an entire village

2.   What’s a jenny-rater? The Reconstruction Effort needs electrical power.   The team have to explain why the Village would benefit

This Red Stripe facility is known as “Intersection Market & Motel”. It is located on the outskirts of North Platte Nebraska, near the intersection of I-80 (east-west) and I-83 (north -south)

The facility is robust even by Red Stripe standards of fortification: the walls are concrete and reinforced with steel rails (taken from the nearby marshalling yards of Union Pacific).   The only external decoration is a stripe of red paint around the upper edge of the exterior wall

Initial impression: A hollow square, 2 storeys high, and over 150 metres wide.

The “courtyard” is approximately 100 metres square and open to the sky. Once inside, the visitor is welcome to visit any of the stores and businesses that operate here. The more established enterprises have permanent facilities in the many niches and openings that line the walls, while other entrepeneurs operate from temporary stalls that are dotted around the courtyard. Some of these stalls might only be present on Market Days (about once a week)

Established businesses

Red Stripe Motel: The upper floor is mostly used for accommodation.  Many merchants pay to live “above the shop” (and appreciate such decadent luxuries as indoor plumbing) but there is enough space to provide 30 private rooms and two dormitories. For the convenience of Badge or Slaver customers, each dormitory is lockable from the oustide and only has (small) skylights

Red Stripe Stables: food & shelter for horses. A small blacksmith shop is also found here

North Platte Bodyworks: Craftsmen working with wood, plastic or sheet-metal can provide all your repair & maintenance needs (they manufacture & repair horse-drawn wagons/carts, also repair the bodywork on trucks & cars)

Intersection Fuel and Service: Mechanics and distillers. This business has both the equipment and the skills needed to perform routine maintenance on most vehicles (although Bikers & Truckers usually just rent the space and tools and do all work themselves). They make ethanol fuel, and “brew up” biodiesel.  One valued service that they provide is the repair of tires.

Red Stripe Savings Loan & Pawn (SLAP): You can’t run an economy without some sort of money and this is where the “money” is stored. Currency used within the Trading Post is “Red Stripe Cash” or RSC. All other currency (anything from scrap metal to manufactured goods to gold to KFS credits to Texas Dollars) is converted into RSC and becomes basically a bookkeeping exercise – this avoids the problem of bartering (“I’ll give you 2 sheep for that saddle” “But I don’t need sheep, I want a revolver”). The SLAP also provides a valued service by issuing “certificates of deposit” . It’s a lot easier for merchants/truckers to tranport a piece of paper to another Trading Post than transport the goods they exchanged in return for their original stock. Bandits are also discouraged because these certificates can be queried by other Red Stripe Trading Posts (the network operates a crude morse code radio system). Certificates can be cashed at any Red Stripe facility

US Mail: Local mailmen operate from this establishment. It is a safe place to leave/collect mail and staff will make local deliveries (they have horses and a couple of motorbikes with sidecars). They also provide a writing/reading service for customers who are not literate. At least one Mailman will be designated to escort any mail which is being forwarded on to the next Red Stripe facility

Slaughterer: Animals are killed and processed here. Meat and raw materials are sold to a wide range of businesses. Some of the businesses include: butchers, tanners, candlemakers (and biodiesel makers), catgut makers, glue makers, etcetera

Red Stripe Mall: This is where the Red Stripe sells goods to the general public on Market Days. They like to showcase rare/expensive items

Law Office: Disputes, arbitration, contracts and accusations are dealt with by the “Judge” , her staff of clerks and 5 large, quiet men with steel clubs. The judge is also a representative of the local Overlord and has a great deal of influence.

Freddies Bar & Grill: a restaurant/cafe/bar, “Freddies” is usually busy and is renowned for having the best beer and the prettiest waitresses (some of whom may be available for “other services”)

Keela Bakery: Producing bread daily for the facility and local families. The bread is rumored to have medicinal powers. (advertising slogan “Electric Bread made with ELECTRIC ovens”)

Red Striper Brewery: The Platte river isn’t ideal drinking water – but the products of the Brewery are a lot safer to drink than the local water. Most of the “beer” is pretty weak (and often diluted further by customers) but it’s not a bad way to rehydrate after a day’s work

Power & Light: The facility’s electric hydropower generator is controlled from here (most Red Stripe facilities use hydropower and this location uses a generator attached to the I-83 bridge). Customers can also charge batteries.

Clinic: An Emdee & a couple of nurse/midwives are welcome guests of the Red Stripe Corporation (no rent is charged)

Security: A dozen men & women patrol the facility. They are usually armed with clubs & revolvers – but have access to heavier weaponry

Types of Market Traders

These are stall-operated businesses and are often only present on market Days – many are operated by local farming families and craftsmen

Saddler
Soap-Maker
Cutlery (knives a specialty – handles are made from horn)
Gunsmith & Ammo (after a few unfortunate accidents, Red Stripe policy is not to allow ammunition manufacture inside the facilities)
Butcher
Cheeses & smoked Meat
Glass goods (modern manufacture)
Jams & preserves
Preacher
Printer, Bookseller & Bookbinder (some old, some new)
Paper (poor quality stuff – more like papyrus or parchment)
Tailors (also sell buttons, thread)
Rope & strings (rawhide & catgut)
Bootmaker
Smokes (dried tobacco and ‘herbal’ substances)
Plastic-worker (melts & recycles old plastic)
Bone-worker (needles, buttons, buckles, decorative handles)
Winesellers
Entertainers
Hardware (nails, screws, hinges)
Candles & Lanterns
Kindergarten – a safe place for kids while you shop or go to the bar

When the Truckers, Bikers, Salvagers and Wanderers come by, the Courtyard Market is a crowded, noisy place – with a wide range of goods & services available. It’s a particularly BIG day if some Balloonists make an entrance or a tribe of Amerindians appear.

NAME: Red Stripe Trading Company
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Anywhere
H & M AVERAGE: 12
NUMBER FOUND: n/a
TECH LEVEL: C
POWER/RESOURCES: Micro-Hydropower is commonly used.  If unavailable, will operate steam or diesel generators
WEAPONS:  Firearms in good repair, including some light automatic weapons.  May sell hunting rifles
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES:   A network that provides secure locations for ANYONE to trade ANYTHING.  Uses couriers & radio to disseminate commercially important news & information within the network

History: the Red Stripers began as a loose association of River Traders and Truckers.  Eventually, the association developed into a formal network of trading posts situated along trade routes (usually rivers or remnants of the Interstate system).   They communicate by a mixture of couriers and radio.   The radio network uses CB radios for short range communication and spark gap transmissions for long range

The network is often welcomed; they have good contacts and many communities considered it lucky to have a local Trading Post.

Red Stripe Merchandise & Services: Local products and services are exchanged for manufactured goods (usually from the nearest “high-tech” group).  They usually provide accommodation (for humans, animals and vehicles)  fuel and a secure place to leave mail.  Mailmen, Emdees and other “useful wanderers” are offered free room and board

The Morrow Project might be pleased to encounter such a network.   But not everything is benevolent.  Elements of the Red Stripe will cooperate with anyone who will pay their fees;  Slavers, Inquisitors, Badges or even the most unpleasant Overlords can be valued customers.  Also, very few Red Stripe Trading Posts are completely independent – most are at least under the influence of local government – and large sections of the Red Stripe network have been infiltrated by the Frozen Chosen.  [As specified in this post it is often used - as a "front"-  by "Missionary Teams" of the Frozen Chosen.]

I would suggest the following for an introduction to the Red Stripe.  Details have been left vague and the PD should be able to drop it into a game without too many problems

“Pull”:  The Team have picked up radio transmissions.  They are in Morse and appear to use a simple substitution cypher (For example: one of the transmissions is: “morrison elephant kangaroo”,  another is the single word “cryotube”

Time: approximately one hour before sunset

Location: on the shores of a major river, near the ruins of a bridge .  Remnants of the steel framework are being used as guides for a fairly big rope ferry (it might be able to handle a small truck)

First Impressions:

1. A small town with only one large building.   This is a new and sizable two-storey structure which seems to be a fortified motel.  The only windows are on the top floor (these are shuttered) and there is only one entrance.  The design is a hollow square built around a large courtyard. approximately 100 metres across.   It’s clean and whitewashed;  but the only decoration is  a wide, red stripe is painted along the top of each wall.  A signpost  identifies it as “Red Stripe Mall & Motel  OPEN 24/7″ .  The word “Vacancies” is displayed beneath the sign

2. Like most of the town buildings, the Trading Post is apparently constructed from logs and scavenged material which have been reinforced with concrete.  However – unlike most nearby buildings – the workmanship appears to be competent

3. Two (electric?) cables run from the building into the water.   A third cable runs to the bridge

4. Three family groups (men/women/children: a total of 18 individuals) arrive and depart during the 1 hour period before dark.   Most walk,  some are on horseback and one group (3 males, 4 females one small child) arrive with 2 horse-drawn wagons. The contents of the wagons appear to be leather/hides and are exchanged for something from the Trading Post.

5. There are electric lights mounted on the exterior of the Trading Post (they appear to be truck headlights).  After dark, these lights flicker into action and illuminate the interior of the trading post, the sign, the shoreline and the ruins of the bridge

It the Team gets close enough they can see that there is a single entrance, wide enough for a truck.  The courtyard is open to the sky, and the inside walls of the enclosure are outfitted with a number of  alcoves/bays/rooms to accommodate various businesses and shops.  Most bays seem to be vacant, or set up for temporary users, but there is one obviously permanent enterprise with a large plate glass window and a well-painted sign that says “Red Stripe”.  This houses the Post’s merhandise and provides access to the 2nd floor

Eventually (?) the team will enter the Trading Company.   The staff will be polite – but will react differently if the MP personnel
insist on carrying weapons (anything that fits in a holster is acceptable)

The Ingram M10 has a number of problems. It’s cheaply made, difficult to control on full auto and its rate of fire is VERY high (resultant” barrel climb”. means that it absolutely CANNOT be fired one-handed).  However,  it does have the advantage of being small enough to fit in a holster and its suppressor is very effective

Picture & video after the fold

The TM1-1 rulebook includes a good picture of an Ingram M10 with stock extended and suppressor attached, but the above photo shows it in a more compact form.  However, please note that (in real life) this weapon is usually carried in a SHOULDER holster – not a hip holster.  It can be carried in a hip holster – but not with a fullsize magazine

The following is a video of firing the M10 on full-auto.  Note how quiet it is (and how quickly the magazine is emptied)

KFS Secret Police have recently completed an analysis of a recent conflict between a Morrow Project Science Group and a force from the “Warriors of Krell” (Wok).  It should be noted that the MP forces consisted of approximately 80 personnel and the Krell forces were in excess of 1,000

The Krell were defeated.

BACKGROUND BRIEFING

There are 5 aspects to a paramilitary culture: creativity,  authority, personal initiative,  technical proficiency and group loyalty

1.  Creativity

Morrow Project teams have a certain method of approach:  to state (identify) a problem and then to  make an “appreciation”.  This “appreciation”  will examine all aspects of the problem then provide  potential solutions  for the Team Leader to select from.   In other words, the Morrow Project has found a way to engender creativity.  A way that also applies to armed conflict.

The Warriors of Krell actively discourage creative thinking.   They are indoctrinated to believe that “quantity will always beat quality” and that an individual Warrior does not need to think – only to obey

2.  Authority

The Morrow Project emphasises decentralized authority.   Personnel are encouraged and expected to make command decisions on their own.  Training emphasises that they need not seek authorization from their superiors

In contrast, Krell (when “awake”) personally determines the activities of every unit, handing down his orders via radio to his senior officers, who then relay them, unchanged, to their subordinates.  Officers are neither authorized nor encouraged to make decisions on their own. Rather, if Krell fails to communicate precise orders, they are expected to stop and consult him for further instructions, in person if necessary. As one Warrior put it,  “He communicates commands to us by radio message, regularly. If a week goes by without getting radio messages, then our commanders go to visit Krell”.

Krell makes it clear to his subordinates that he will not accept any deviation from his orders once they have been issued.   If anyone questions the orders, he has them executed, often immediately and in public. For example, when a fresh recruit questioned why the Warriors had been ordered to kill and maim civilians and steal their property,  he was immediately shot. According to one witness of the event, “no one… uttered a word again.”

3. Personal Initiative

The Morrow Project expects and rewards those who exercise personal initative.   Examples are numerous of well-motivated personnel taking appropriate and timely action.

The Warriors of Krell do not emphasize personal initiative. In fact, Krell specifically stifles personal initiative among his subordinates. For instance, as mentioned above, he does not permit subordinates to develop orders on their own, even to the point of requiring them to leave their positions in the field and visit him to obtain new orders.   Consequently, his officers are not likely to feel comfortable launching new operations on their own initiative. Moreover, his propensity to execute anyone who even questions his orders destroys any willingness to show initiative – because the risk associated with displeasing their supreme commander, by deviating from his stated plans, is too great for even the most ambitious and skilled subordinates.  Krell seems to deliberately create “mindless obedience”.

4.  Technical Proficiency

Morrow Project personnel were frequently observed training and retraining with their vehicles and weapons.  It was also noted that – if they encountered any new/unfamiliar technology or weaponry – they would quickly learn how to use it effectively.

Warriors of Krell have very limited technical proficiency.  Although new “recruits” go through an indoctrination process that they call “basic training,” this does not involve encouraging the recruits to learn how to use their weapons effectively.   On the contrary, the process forces recruits to observe and take part in deprivations against civilians, including beatings, rape, mutilations, torture, and murder.

Apparently, the Krell training process is designed to transform recruits into sadistic killers rather than trained soldiers.

5. Group Loyalty

From a KFS viewpoint, the Morrow Project’s internal cohesion appears similar to the esprit de corps of our better Regiments, however it is subtly different.  Personnel of all races – and from many different backgrounds – appear to be genuine friends with each other.   Human nature being what it is, there are examples of “office politics” and personality conflicts – but these are rare and discouraged.  Discipline on and off the battlefield seems to be excellent

In contrast , the WoK do not prize group loyalty.   Warriors are aware of this from the moment they join, since almost all were conscripted against their will during raids on civilian settlements.  During these raids, any potential recruit who offered concerted resistance would be executed in front of the rest to demonstrate that there was no possibility of escape. This also informed the new recruits that their commanders see them as expendable and might murder them on a whim.

Anyone who tries to “desert” from the Warriors is  immediately and publicly executed, without discussion or attempts at reconciliation, as a warning to the others. In addition to these threats, the WoK compels their disloyal personnel to remain by constructing a kind of “social prison”.    For example, many conscripts are forced to kill their own friends and families before being taken away to a Krell base camp.   Also, new recruits are usually tattooed and/or branded -  forever identifying them as Krell.  As one Warrior put it “Anyone seeing the branding will have the right to kill me”

The Quad-mount has also been well-received by KFS troops operating from static defensive positions.

Like many KFS “innovations” this copies a 20th century design: the (lightly-armored) M55 trailer with Maxson Mount.   Historically this was intended as a cheap Anti-Aircraft weapon but became used as an anti-infantry weapon.   The KFS does not face any threat from aircraft (with the possible exception of the Morrow Project’s Airscout) but it has encountered groups that use snipers, or “human waves” .   It also has the occasional need to totally demolish stubborn villages.

The Quad-mount is equipped with three jacks, on which it can be lifted, and then, after removing the wheels, the base is lowered onto the ground (providing good support for its guns). For transport the procedure is reversed; the Quad-mount is lifted using its jacks, which allows the wheels to be replaced.

Tactical use

The quad-mount has proved particularly effective in dealing with snipers and skirmishers in forested areas.  The quadmount gunner rarely attempts to fire at the enemy; he simply aims at the base of the trees and fires. The high concentration of projectiles literally mows down the trees – taking out the snipers/skirmishers at the same time.   The quadmount has also been effective against “dug-in” positions in mountainous areas.  For obvious reasons, it has been affectionately nicknamed the “buzz saw.”

see here for youtube video

Specifications

This type of vehicle is representative of the “heavy weapon”  that is sometimes held by a community (or a wealthy Farmer).   It is obviously derived from a pre-collapse tractor, and has moderate cross-country capability.  Its main purpose is to transport a Heavy Machine Gun and provide the firepower necessary to fend off raiders.