[headquarters]

LA has suffered badly after the terrorist attacks of 2004.The acts of terror destroyed several blocks of the city and killed tens of thousands of inhabitants.The breakdown and consequent efforts to restore law and order and stabilize the supply situation immideately after, killed hundreds of thousands.

The retaliatory attacks made by the US of A -its last move as a sovereign and undivided nation - prompted a response in kind form the former partners in the mutual assured destruction death pact.The exchange was limited however ,for reasons unknown.

Having been the target for several nuclear devices on two differnt occassions did not do much to improve the LA smog at first .But as the milions of citizens flooded the countryside and the makeshift FEMA camps north and north west of the city and the fires that ravaged it had died down ,it began to dissolve never to return.The city ,nuked,burned and the scene of bitter fighting between various agencies and their civillian opponents soon settled into its routine as a ghost town of immense proportions.The wind blew down empty streets filled with wrecked cars and litter .It seemed desolate .But it really wasnt .Scavengers scampered over the debris to get what supplies they could.Small groups of survivors huddled in their makeshift fortifications squinting into the dark at night to spot any marauding intruder bent on taking food or women.

Shots rang out from time to time as a pack of dogs got to come too close for comfort or two different groups came upon the same cache at the same time.

Gangs in gaudily painted vehicles -some of them grafittied LAPD cruisers roamed the streets .Being alone and unarmed made it a matter of time before you succumbed.

The sudden and violent grab for control by the organized and well supplied Praetorian guards of General Pain and his cult of postapocalyptic acolytes sent shocks through the precarious system of gangland rules and territorial agreements that had become LA 5 years later.

Shock troops wearing body armour and wielding AKs with plenty ammunition mowed down any and all opposition ,quickly establishing the new order.

Years of relative peace followed.Although war against outsiders still raged .MilGov bombed the ruined city from time to time .Small rebellions occured that gen.PAin put down with as much collateral damage as possible in the rebel camps.

As the supplies became steady order and loyalty increased.Give a man food enough to live and you would be amazed of the lengths he will go to for you.

The relative peace was shattered after 9 years of steady growth and prosperity.The crops from all the little and big plots in LA and the herds of livestock, (much of it was rabbits and rats - but hey -they taste like chicken with enough salt) ,were almost feeding 250 000 people by then .The fisheries another 100 000.

General Pain went missing in the middle of a threatening MilGov offensive.

Without any warning LA was hit by nuclear weapons a third time the summer of 2019.Later Pains analyzis would lead him to believe that this attack was the largest to date but locally and globally.As far as limitations in a nuclear exchange go ,he predicted that this round had seen as much as 10 000 warheads in the air .Whereas the earlier exchanges had been "token" in comparrison.

The empire broke up. Various heirs to his position - related or not - emerged with their own hierarchy of military units scrounged from his chain of command.

The gangs threw of the bonds of control he had imposed and rearmed.(They were already being armed as a "peoples militia" to ward of the expected MilGov offensive from Arizona in the spring that year.

Infighting broke loose in earnest when it became clear that PacGov wasnt coming back from this one anytime soon -and supplies were not going to be restocked.

LA is divided roughly into 5-6 general zones.
NORTH : a confederation of heirs aligned in the common cause that the man in the library tower is an impostor and should be fought -the question of succession is not settled among them either .A typical two act piece if ever there was one
West : The would be usurper Zorg George Michael Pain ( named by both his parents independently) and his loyal EndoGuard ,mostly former Pretorians and loyal auxilliaries.With his legitimacy as the oldest son and the emergency powers he has been able to utilize the 14 year old has taken control over a sizeable chunk of land and resources .His issues with daddy runs deep.This is one serious teenage trouble.

east :unconsolidated ganglands -a multitude of small and big gangs fighting eachother as much as everyone else

south : marauders and petty warlords robbing what they can and trying to copy Gen Pain and jis friends way to the top by building cantonments.Unconsolidated - largely.

Interspersed and strewn about the map are small groups of survivors and communes that try to make it .They live of whatever they can , primitive farming,all sorts of animals are eaten-and they do sometimes rob someone that wont be noticed when he doesnt return.

General Pains disaster contingency plans allowed for the situation LA is in now.Storages with supplies and caches of resources are sprinkled about the city to facilitate the defense in case of siege and/or occupation by MilGov or anyone else.The various factions are busy helping themselve sto the contents.

The Library Tower and the blocks adjacent to it is a citadel in the middle of the mayhem.no one tries anything here .It ha sartillery and sniper detailson watch all the time.