Quote:
Originally Posted by Enfield
It seems to me that there is sufficient distance between the areas they control according to the Pacific Northwest book. So does this mean that conflict between these parties is highly unlikely?
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Designer's intent follows; individual referees are free to use or ignore as they see fit. Two main principles of design for
The Pacific Northwest were (1) the setting is in a state of change and (2) PC groups can have a significant impact on its future.
The Cascadians
The sourcebook's date is May 2001, three months after the Cascadian/Proconsular split from the Joint Chiefs. The people who make up both of the Cascadian enclaves fled Seattle in winter and are still stabilizing their new homes (indeed, three months is arguably not enough time to accomplish everything they've done, but I was writing within the constraints of canon dates). In the short term, most Cascadian energy will be focused inward to establish their principles (pp. 30-31) throughout their territory. Once they have a stable political and sustainable production base, they'll likely start trying to spread their areas of control to ensure long-term access to natural resources and good salvage/scavenging sites. This future phase is where additional conflicts will arise with both the major regional powers and the little guys (e.g., O-RTF and the remnants of the Oregon state government).
As positioned, neither the main Cascadian stronghold in the Willamette Valley (western Oregon) nor the secondary one in the Okanagan (north-central Washington) is immediately in conflict with New America. However, recall that the setting is in motion: NA Idaho is expansionist. It will come into conflict with the Palouse first. The troops who established the Okanagan Cascadian presence got there because the Proconsul ordered them east to reconnoiter NA Idaho, so they are certainly aware of the threat - though their intel is likely incomplete and inaccurate. It's up to the ref to decide how aggressively they're pursuing this mission and how they're likely to interact with the Palouse, should the authorities in Pullman-WSU request assistance or offer alliance.
The Cascadians likewise fled far enough from Seattle to avoid immediate conflict with the 47th ID. This is driven by both pragmatism and kinship (after all, all Cascadian forces
were Milgov forces until a few months ago). From the Joint Chiefs' perspective, the Cascadian military is traitorous and has made off with a significant chunk of U.S. government combat equipment, so the Colorado Springs regime is likely to pressure Commodore Ellis to do something about it sooner or later. There's also the probability of resource conflicts as the Willamette Valley enclave and the 47th ID both attempt to scavenge resources from the Washington and Oregon coasts and the cities along the Columbia River.
It's out of scope for the book, but there's also a chance for the Willamette Cascadians to encounter probes from the NA cell in northern California.
The Palouse
The Palouse Autonomous Region is there primarily as a first "friendly/neutral" faction for PCs to encounter if they enter Washington from the east - for example, if arriving in the region after the events of
Going Home. It is on the verge of conflict with New America and, quite frankly, will be outgunned if NA decides to make a serious push on Pullman-WSU, which is the Palouse's center of governance, education, and (very limited) cottage industry. Because NA is expansionist, this
will happen... at a time of the referee's choosing. In some ways, this is a regional twist on the classic T2k (and Western film, and D&D) trope of "protagonist gunslingers help an outmatched small town defend itself from bandits."
The Palouse isn't in direct conflict with the Joint Chiefs and won't immediately fire on troops claiming to represent them, but it sure isn't friendly to them. It is definitely a polity that supports the federal government in Omaha, though this is more a matter of principle than practicality. Recall that Pullman-WSU is built around a university, with all the problems inherent to a bunch of ivory-tower academicians involving themselves in civil affairs during a protracted state of emergency...
The 104th ID
I didn't cover them in great detail because of scope creep issues (and because I didn't want to write up
another regional campaign), but the 104th ID is the place to go if you want direct conflict between NA Idaho and the military government's forces. This will resemble
Red Dawn more than
World of Tanks, but the region as a whole is light on armor and heavy on skirmishers.
It's also a poorly-documented adventure seed for PCs coming to the region from points east. It's resource-poor and is relying on a USAF Security Forces squadron for its reconnaissance, so newly-arrived troops with experience operating away from supply lines will be a precious asset. PCs traveling across the country who encounter the 104th may well be asked/hired/ordered (depending on their duty status) to perform reconnaissance into and past Idaho to determine the ground truth. The 104th, the 47th, and Milgov as a whole lack current intel on the status of eastern Washington, most of Idaho, and all of Oregon. In a world with limited long-range telecommunications and effectively no aerospace reconnaissance, gathering that information is once again down to the time-honored method of "send someone to see and hope they come back."
Hope that all helps. If there's interest, and if I have time, I may do a Google map that captures the key locations and the major geographic relationships in the setting.
- C.