Red Star, Lone Star

[Caradhras]

I am running the above 1st edition TW2k campaign in the coming weeks - my revisit as a GM of the original campaign is now sailing across the pond from icy Poland following the 'Going Home' scenario.

I noticed that one of the regular posters is from Texas and realise many others probably have played this campaign may have some good info/ideas to help.

Me being a Brit who has never been to the US am finding reading the campaign more 'alien' to me than the Polish material. Mexicans? Mexican-Americans, Texians?!, Ranch folk then add Russians and maruaders sheesh

I am sure it will be fine but no harm in posting my ramblings.

[jester]

Oh we can go even more in depth than that!

Like Texans, oil people, gulf coast folks, ranchers and then city folk or "city slikers."

Texans are a totaly unique type of American, and much like Europe each region of the US has a unique cutlure and even dialect and food mmmmmmmmmmm.

And these regional differences are not totaly defined by the states either although they are a rough guideline.

Red Star Lone Star as the example deals with Texas of course, so here are some of the ehtnic groups in Texas, and I am sure to omit some.

Mexican Americans, these are two or three groups! The desendants of the original settlers, old immigrants who came eh, WWII and before and recent LEGAL immigrants who came circa 1960 and on. Most of these would in my mind be loyal Americans they would just have darker hair and hispanic names.

ILLEGALS- in a T2K world these would probably have more alleigance to the invading Mexicans as well as be a large majority of looters and some banditry and petty theft.

Native Americans; these are the Indians we see in the movies, although they would be in the West if I recall right, although they can live anywhere.


Marauders can be anyone of the groups as well.

I would also add that Texas has several military bases as well and all of what goes with them, a slew of military retirees, a large portion of military persons who got out near their bases after a few tours, civilian contractors, and of course a military hospital.

Texas is also very liberal with their gun laws, yes you can own a fully automatic weapon in the state, actualy weapons. And it has a large proportion of the population owning firearms.

It is rural in many places and the distances between some of the cities/towns are rather great as well.

Oh yeah, most Texans have a terrible accent that is worse in many places and they all have an ego from hell!

[TiggerCCW UK]

I only ever met one Texan when I was in the US, a student we moved when I was working for a moving company in Boston. We got to talking and I mentioned that I'd been out working as a shooting instructor on a summer camp. She said that she shot a lot at home and missed it now she was "up north". Apparently she had a carry permit for a 12g pump she kept in her car at home! Not sure if she was winding me up, but she certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about.

[chico20854]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

I only ever met one Texan when I was in the US, a student we moved when I was working for a moving company in Boston. We got to talking and I mentioned that I'd been out working as a shooting instructor on a summer camp. She said that she shot a lot at home and missed it now she was "up north". Apparently she had a carry permit for a 12g pump she kept in her car at home! Not sure if she was winding me up, but she certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about.

I'm not sure why she needed a permit. In most states you can keep a gun in your car with no problem. (Some, but not all exceptions: California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachussetts and Hawaii).

Caradhras, keep in mind, Texas is BIG. When you cross the state line in the east it's over 800 miles until you hit the next state line to the west. There are big cities (Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston are massive, San Antonio and Austin are nothing to sneeze at either), deserts and mountains out west, endless miles of pine forest in the east, endless flat plains out in the panhandle, hills south from Dallas to San Antonio. Some counties are bigger than some of the smaller states (but have less than 5,000 people in them).

To clarify what Jester said, some of the groups to keep in mind:
-city slickers & suburbanites - pretty much like anywhere else in the U.S. You get your gangbangers in the inner cities and pretty much regular civilians elsewhere. Some cities are very liberal.
-Tejanos: Mexican-Americans, whose families have mostly been in Texas since before there was a Republic of Texas (before Texas joined the US). They are VERY pro-U.S., as are most of the later Mexican immigrants. (Their attitude is: Mexico is a third-world, poor country, riven by crime, corruption and drugs. Why would we want to leave the U.S. to be part of that?)
-Rural folks: hearty, self-sufficient and no-nonsense. Lots of firearms.

And I also see 2 attitudes towards personal behavior/morality in Texas. One is a fun-loving, party all-you-like and do as you please, so long as you don't bother other people attitude (if you do, see the bumper sticker: "Don't Mess with Texas"). The other is a deeply devoted religious attitude - you'll see churches that are truly massive and packed with people. They can be quite aggressive in enforcing their vision of morality - with things like "dry" counties, where sale of alcohol is illegal. So there is an interesting dynamic there that you can play up in your game - maybe a marauder band that is composed of a bunch of "good ole' boys" who ride pickups and are looting the countrside in search of beer and women, while another is under the influence of a preacher who is determined to wipe out the enclave of sinners that don't believe in whatever his particular belief is.

So you have lots of possibilities! Have fun with it!

[pmulcahy11b]

Since part of that module takes place in and around San Antonio, and I'm a San Antonian, I'm open for questions.

Here's a little tidbit: In the T2K timeline, Kelly City Base would still be Kelly AFB. It has only one runway, but it's a huge, long runway. In the T2K timeline, it would still be a dispersion base for B-52s and B-1s. Randolph AFB, where Air Training Command is headquartered, is still a dispersion base for bombers. Might find some interesting stuff there.

Another: There have been a hell of a lot of military retirees in San Antonio ever since Kelly became the Army Air Corps' first base in the late 1910s. Lots of talent to be tapped for resistance movements, and firearms laws in Texas are lenient, and a lot of retirees are armed. Heck, a lot of citizens are armed. Like the module says, "Even the mosquitoes carry pistols."

[TiggerCCW UK]

I think the sheer scale of America is something that can come as a big shock to UK players and GM's. Here in NI we think its a long way from Belfast to Londonderry, which is about 90 miles. When I was in the states I got an eye opener when I met a guy who commuted from Boston to New York 3 days a week, which is 200 odd miles!

[jester]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

I think the sheer scale of America is something that can come as a big shock to UK players and GM's. Here in NI we think its a long way from Belfast to Londonderry, which is about 90 miles. When I was in the states I got an eye opener when I met a guy who commuted from Boston to New York 3 days a week, which is 200 odd miles!

Yes the scale.

I know many people and I have done it, commuted 90 miles one way to and from work. In the Western US this is actualy very common.

As for the whole of the British Isles, they can easily fit into many of our counties. An example my city isn't that large at 280,000 last time I looked a couple years ago.

Now if anyone wants to do City of the Angles I can pick out all of the mistakes and give ALOT more detailed info, other than per what the PCs have the module would be near impossible to accomplish without the badguys. The whole logistical and transport aspect of crossing the desert without maintained roads, water and fuel.

Oh yeah Tigger you don't need a carry permit for a long arm in your vehicle in almost all states. <Even Cali and Hawaii who have some of the most Draconian laws, pistols are another storey> I am thinking she had a shotgun she had, as well as a concealed weapons permit, again in the free states these are not hard to get if you are without mental or criminal issues. Some of the free states also allow open carry with no questions asked....okay some folks may ask questions but it is fully legal. Arizona comes to mind as one of these states so in theory you can strap on a holster and sidearm and walk down the street and it is perfectly legal.

Again, out in the West away from the coast states it is FREE! And like I said you can even own mortars, 20mm boffors, M2 .50s, M60s and any other weapon you desire as long as you are of sound mind and without criminal history and of course can afford the tax stamp and the weapons system and ammo.

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by jester

Oh yeah Tigger you don't need a carry permit for a long arm in your vehicle in almost all states. <Even Cali and Hawaii who have some of the most Draconian laws, pistols are another storey> I am thinking she had a shotgun she had, as well as a concealed weapons permit, again in the free states these are not hard to get if you are without mental or criminal issues.

Generally speaking, most of the states with CCW licensing have "shall issue" laws, meaning that the local authorities are required to grant a license to any applicant who qualifies. A few (notably California) are "may issue," which means applications are approved only at the discretion of the issuing authority - usually the county sheriff.

Some of the free states also allow open carry with no questions asked....okay some folks may ask questions but it is fully legal. Arizona comes to mind as one of these states so in theory you can strap on a holster and sidearm and walk down the street and it is perfectly legal.

It depends on the locale, not just the state. I live in Kentucky, a state with some of the most permissive firearm laws in the nation. Open carry is legal statewide - but in the major metro areas, exercising the privilege is likely to result in someone making a panicked "man with a gun" call to the police, and the metro departments tend to be less than amiable toward citizens who choose to go armed. Outside the metro areas, local law officers tend to be a lot more accepting of such things... as long as you look and talk like a native.

- C.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by chico20854

Caradhras, keep in mind, Texas is BIG. When you cross the state line in the east it's over 800 miles until you hit the next state line to the west.

Yawn.

Nothing compared to what we've got here in Australia. The country is roughly the same size as the US but instead of the 50 or so states they've got over there, we've got just 6 (plus two territories, one small enough to walk across in a day).

Western Australia takes up roughly a third of the entire country and besides the south west corner, it's essentially EMPTY. Get yourself lost out there and maybe somebody might find your bleached bones in a century or two...

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Western Australia takes up roughly a third of the entire country and besides the south west corner, it's essentially EMPTY. Get yourself lost out there and maybe somebody might find your bleached bones in a century or two...

Kind of interesting; in 10,000 years you may be part of someone's archaeological dig!

[weswood]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Another one will be puzzled to find one of my friend's wallet carried by a kangaroo. Some years ago he hit a kangaroo with his car. Put his wallet and jacket on the beast to take a picture. Saddly, the kangaroo was only KO and it jumped away with their papers, money, traveler checks...

Wasn't there a movie made about that?

I agree with Paul & Jester and especially Chico as far as the types of people you'll find here.

It's more of a shock to meet some one in Texas who doesn't have a gun cabinet full of stuff, pistols, rifles and shotguns.

I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but there's a hell of a lot of pickup trucks here too. Pull up at any red light and 50 - 75% of the vehicles will be pickups of one type or another. Lots of horses too, you'll even find them in big cities, stashed in stables here and there.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Nothing compared to what we've got here in Australia. The country is roughly the same size as the US but instead of the 50 or so states they've got over there, we've got just 6 (plus two territories, one small enough to walk across in a day).

Western Australia takes up roughly a third of the entire country and besides the south west corner, it's essentially EMPTY. Get yourself lost out there and maybe somebody might find your bleached bones in a century or two...

So true. I've roamed all over Western Australia since I was a kid and I've only seen a tiny fraction of it. I know the US has some impressive deserts but the continent Legbreaker and I live on is MOSTLY desert. Huge, desolate, unexplored tracts of it.

In mid-April I'm flying to Melbourne to meet my girlfriend and we'll be driving back to Perth. Have a look on a map and you'll see what a truly enormous drive that will be. I've done it a number of times so I'm not daunted at the prospect but large stretches of the trip are going to contain scenery that doesn't change very much.

[Caradhras]

Thanks for the input all - 1st session went well - they are all astounded by the sheer scale of the place (It is a big trip to Manchester for us and it is 50 miles!) and also the mixture or race/factions has them befuddled.

Will mull on your posts in due course.