[Raellus]

For some reason, I started thinking about this topic again today. I've been toying with the idea of a campaign where the PCs are crewmen on a gun truck convoy for quite a while now, but I couldn't come up with any kind of story hook beyond the standard "stuck behind enemy lines" trope. Then it dawned on me- make the gun trucks mail trucks and send the PCs on an long-haul interstate mail run. Now I've got a clear objective for the group. And it's not going to be a milk run point A to point B type mission. One washed out bridge and the mission's going to be anything but routine.

Here's a generic Mail Delivery Unit. This ad-hoc team is embarking on the first of-its-kind interstate mail run between relatively secure American city X and relatively secure American city Y (location of campaign TBD), a round trip of several hundred miles, much of it through unsecured territory.

Scout: M1009 CUCV w/ siren/emergency vehicle lights, spotlight, and loudspeaker

Command vehicle: HMMWV ARMT Carrier, Armored: M1025A1 w/ M60

Mail truck 1: Hillbilly armored M35 2.5 ton truck w/ M60 & M79 GL

Mail truck 2: Hillbilly armored M35 2.5 ton truck w/ M60

Repair & refueling vehicle: HMMWV, CGO/TRP Carrier: M988A1 w/ 1000 liter (1 ton) tank trailer

The M35s are essentially classic gun trucks, with a gunner's box forward directly behind the crew cab. The mail (thousands of letters, a couple hundred small parcels, and a plot twist or two) is stored behind the gunner's box in an armored, covered compartment. Each vehicle in the convoy will have a crew of 3-4 men.

The mission's importance can't be overstated. Reestablishing interstate mail service will add legitimacy to the military government by demonstrating it's ability to restore services to an area largely abandoned by the federal government for going on two years now. It will also boost the morale of the communities that it serves. Of course, there are certain elements at work that wish not to see this happen...

Aside from the expected (by now, perhaps, cliché) obstacles, I've brainstormed a couple of curveballs that should be new to the players. The more I think about this, the more I want to do it. I only wish I had more time to devote to gaming.

Constructive suggestions are welcome.