Guide to Webstral's Scenarios

[Tombot]

Hey Webstral!

Did you play your campaigns as GM, or do you just enjoy the writing ?

At what "scale" did you play typically with your players, if you did ?
(I mean, you could play with several, very different groups in each.
Or play them as a series of tactical wargames, covering only the major battles.)

I am asking, cause your storys encompass big territories and i like to know with what kind of a mindset you built them.

Exciting stuff for the T2k-US, anyway!

[Webstral]

I haven’t GM’d in years, I’m sad to say. The best analogy for my thought process when it comes to a specific area is the reverse of the way most people put together a puzzle. I start with a small idea and work outward. Usually, I have some sort of personal connection to the small idea. As I work outward, I learn more about the bigger picture framing the small idea, which obliges me to go back and revise the smaller idea. This is how most of my named ideas (Thunder Empire, Poseidon’s Rifles and the rest of the New England scenarios, Silver Shogunate, Blue Two, The Final Solution, and Roadrunners) have come into being. All of these ideas morphed from something else over time.

At the other end of the spectrum is big picture thinking. How do the big pieces fit together, quite aside from anything lowly player characters might be doing? This is where Manifest Destiny comes from. Putting on my strategic intel hat, I ask myself what the big players are going to be trying to do now that the food situation has more-or-less stabilized. Sometimes, the big picture thinking can stimulate ideas for the little pictures. For instance, The Final Solution came about as a result of thinking about the Snake River and Milgov’s interest in reestablishing rail-and-barge traffic between Colorado and the Puget Sound. Roadrunners came into being partially as a result of looking at the operational picture of the Mexican Army on or about 01 JUL 00 and thinking that someone would want to take advantage of the dramatic change in the correlation of forces in the area.

[Tombot]

"Manifest Destiny", "Blue Two","The Final Solution", "Roadrunners"
- i checked the forum on those, but not sure what these are exactly.
Could you elaborate on those a bit,too ?
Maybe a little summary like you did for "Thunder Empire" & "Poseidons Rifles"
(Would fit fine into the thread-topic!)

I share your approach, starting out small, by the way. But i always need to know that i can use that stuff i develop on my group in the foreseeable future, to not loose interest in the middle of the creation-process.
Admire your love to the game, even if you did´nt GM for a longer period and still coming up with so much interesting T2k-material.

[Webstral]

Tombot, in effect you’ve just asked the guy at the end of the bar to tell you his story. I suppose the good news is that no one actually has to read along.

Manifest Destiny is a big picture idea. For the purposes of all my work, I ignore the drought in Howling Wilderness. Essentially, Colorado Springs concludes that the country has reached a crossroads. The food situation has more-or-less stabilized, though obviously the availability of food is neither uniform nor as great as the redevelopment of the economy demands. Concurrently with the stabilization of the food supply is the overall completion of consolidation process in which the survivors band together in defensible cantonments based on the center of the old municipalities or, in the case of large cities, in distinct defensible areas. Small marauder bands (less than 100 members) find themselves unable to tackle cantonments with well-organized defenses. As a result, many of the surviving marauders have started banding together into new super-groups called hordes.

Hordes change the picture dramatically. Whereas large and successful marauder bands sometimes turned warlord in the past, hordes tend to be too large to assume control over a community. They take a cantonment by sheer weight of numbers and ferocity and consume everything inside. It doesn’t take a senior MI officer to see where that leads.

The crisis with New America underscores another difficulty: warlords consolidating power. Although hordes pose a more immediate danger, the long-term hazards of warlords setting up shop permanently are very considerable. Warlords who gain control over large populations with good resource bases might be able to challenge Milgov (or Civgov, who is the least of evils from Milgov’s point of view) down the road. This, if course, is why a special operations team was sent to bring in Carl Hughes.

In a nutshell, Manifest Destiny is Milgov’s counteroffensive against chaos while at least some of the pre-Exchange knowledge base and skills survive. Manifest Destiny is based on a simple idea: reestablishing the connections between the surviving Milgov cantonments. Once a measure of the interdependence that characterizes industrialized society can be restored, Milgov will be in a position to restore the country. This is not much different than CivGov’s plan or even Milgov’s concept in 2000. The big difference in 2001 is that Milgov has airships, plus the industrial and knowledge base to build more. While a small fleet of small airships (which is what Milgov will be constructing in 2001) isn’t useful for transporting bulk goods, skilled personnel and high-value parts can be transported great distances in much greater safety than on the ground. Cue the PCs.

In the big picture sense, Milgov’s ability to consolidate or dispatch people with special skills means that critical bottlenecks. One idea under the Manifest Destiny umbrella is for characters to be in a first-generation Milgov airship that crashes en route to the Milgov enclave in southern Illinois. Aside from the PCs, the cargo would be parts and technical expertise to repair the refinery at Cairo, IL. The PCs are along because the airship is making another stop before returning to Colorado Springs, and the PCs are bound for the second stop. Once the crash happens, though, they have to take on the mission of getting the parts and personnel to Cairo. I haven’t developed this idea very much, but it gives the PCs the chance to explore some new ground in the Midwest.

[Webstral]

US Naval Infantry Battalion 2 was brought into being on August 11, 1998 by amalgamating personnel from the US Navy, USMC, and US Coast Guard. In the wake of the evacuation of the military facilities in San Diego at the start of the Second Mexican-American War, literally thousands of seamen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen were brought to the San Francisco Bay Area. The greatly reduced number of operable Navy vessels left the Navy in San Francisco with “excess” personnel. The Army had been demanding the transfer of personnel from the sister services since the nuclear exchanges began the previous July; in mid-1998 those demands assumed an even greater level of urgency.

As a compromise solution, the Navy divided its personnel in the San Francisco Bay Area into three groups: some would remain to support ongoing naval activity and maintain facilities, some would be released directly into the Army, and some would be formed into a Department of the Navy security unit that would release Army units in the Bay for duty elsewhere. The new Naval Infantry Battalion 2, which soon earned the moniker Blue Two, used its unique blend of experience and available equipment to form a waterborne patrol and quick reaction force. As of April 1, 2001 Blue Two operates on the waters and ashore from the Golden Gate to Sacramento and from Petaluma to San Jose.

Location: San Francisco Bay (HQ: Alameda)
Subordination: Sixth US Army
Manpower: 500
AFV: 0 (the battalion does possess a number of armed boats)



Blue Two is a compromise solution that has worked quite well, even though the solution makes few of the higher-ups happy. The consolidation of much of the Navy’s surviving West Coast assets at Alameda in San Francisco left the Navy in the awkward position of having a large number of personnel who were not performing their MOS functions. Under enormous pressure from the Army and the USMC, the Navy had been transferring less-critical personnel to replacement depots for employment in the ground forces. The unique situation and geography of the San Francisco Bay Area offered the Navy the opportunity to create a force of Department of the Navy personnel who could conduct security missions with an efficiency and effectiveness the Army could not match.

In a nutshell, Naval Infantry Battalion 2 is organized as a waterborne infantry formation intended for security and combat operations throughout the San Francisco Bay estuary. Utilizing its unique mix of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel and equipment, Blue Two patrols the waterways throughout the Bay Area and assists local militia and law enforcement. Although supplied and supported by the Navy, Blue Two is under the operational control of Sixth US Army. Troops of the Blue Two combat the re-emergence of piracy in the Bay and ensure that waterborne commerce can move freely. Though the “squids” of Blue Two are equipped as light infantry, they can count on fire support from their watercraft.

Sixth US Army would like to have full control over the men and resources of Blue Two. However, the command recognizes that supporting Blue Two out of Army resources would be undesirable, if not unworkable. Besides, the squids do the waterborne job quite well. Periodically, the Sixth Army absorbs some trained replacements out of Blue Two, which somewhat satiates the Army’s appetite for manpower.

The Navy at Alameda dislikes providing logistical support and manpower for an organization that is under the control of the Army. However, Blue Two basically does the same job under the Army that the Navy would have them do. The periodic transfer of riflemen from Blue Two to the Army is a genuine irritant; however, Blue Two actively poaches from the militia of the Bay Area. The most promising recruits manage to stay in the Navy.

Tactics and techniques for water operations largely came from Navy and Coast Guard personnel. Expertise in infantry operations and landing operations came from the Marines who were available. Former members of municipal SWAT teams rounded out the capabilities of Blue Two. Blue Two seldom operates very far from water. While riverine patrols reach as far inland as Sacramento, very rarely does a member of Blue Two get to Pleasanton, South San Jose, West Marin, or Napa. Despite its proximity to San Francisco, Pacifica is essentially outside the area of operations of Naval Infantry Battalion 2.



Then, too, there are the gunboats of the US Navy Infantry Battalion 2, known in its area of operations, San Francisco Bay, as Blue Two. Unlike the Gunryo, which has a very limited number of machine guns and a few mortars for its improvised gun trucks, Blue Two has the advantage of operating with support from the Navy base at Alameda. The selection of weapons is much better, and the availability of materials and technical specialists means that the various gunboats of Blue Two are well-designed, well-built, and well-armed [1].

Although the gunboats of Blue Two vary considerably in dimensions, armament, and draft, all combine direct fire weapons with indirect fire weapons. Usually, the gunboats of Blue Two have a principle gun or guns, such as a 25mm autocannon or twin-mounted .50 caliber machine guns. The primary gun usually is mounted in a full turret built for that purpose or a high-walled firing position with a gun shield for the crew. Secondary guns typically are M60 or M240B machine guns fired from pintle mounts behind gun shields. The most common indirect fire weapon is a 60mm mortar, although several Mk19 AGL are in use as well.

The troop carriers also carry a machine gun, but their role is not to engage in combat. The troop carriers of Blue Two are intended to put the naval infantry ashore, then withdraw while the gunboats provide direct fire support.

1 None of the gunboats used by Blue Two are custom-built. All are pre-Exchange vessels that have been modified.

[Tombot]

Thanks for the summarys. I think most people on the board will be quite interested in what the guy at the end of the bar has to say.

I personally like the pretty grim outlook coming with the drought (and will use it, when the time comes), but i do like these other two different campaign-settings you described.
The riverine/coastal one of Blue Two & the airships of Milgov in Manifest Destiny are very neat.
I hope you post more about it, Web!

[Webstral]

One thing I love about Gateway to the Spanish Main is that I'd never have thought of it. The creativity!

[Webstral]

I was at my evening job thinking about Twilight: 2000 because I had been doing some reading on using the Sabatier process to turn electricity, water, and carbon dioxide into methane. I started thinking about Blue Two because the US Navy in San Francisco is in an excellent position to exploit this process, what with having nuclear carrier and nuclear submarine docked at Alameda. My thoughts turned to Naval Infantry Battalion 2 and what their lives would look like. I started wondering if there isn’t a narrative in there somewhere. I tried to imagine what the major turning points of the story might be. Towards what crisis would a story centered around a few bluemen build? I considered how such a story might open and set the mood. The idea of starting with a military funeral in the rain for all those lost in the past week, including guys lost to Twilight: 2000 ailments, seemed good. How to set a contrast, though? Starting a narrative with such a downer is bad form. Then thought about babies. Perhaps the post-funeral gathering for some of the troops of Blue Two could include a wife with a young baby. The other wives and some of the husbands cluster adoringly around the little symbol of hope for the future.

Then a wife who has lost a child or children just loses her bearing with grief and envy. The other members of the party are understanding, to a degree. Then it hit me that unlike so many of my previous narratives, Blue Two might not be about building to a major climax. Whereas Thunder Empire really builds towards the rapproachment between Huachuca and Milgov; whereas Silver Shogun builds towards the raid on the New Americans at Boise and the legitimizing of the Tokugawa governorship-for-life over Nevada; whereas Poseidon’s Rifles builds towards the alliance between many of the surviving governments of New England and the defeat of the Blood Horde, Blue Two feels more personal. I feel the presence of the wives and girlfriends. The fighting in and around San Francisco is a crucial aspect of the story, to be sure. But what happens in Alameda is just as important and interesting. These terribly damaged people, men and women, troops and civilians, cling to life and grope towards an uncertain future in various ways that are timelessly human. Maybe I’ve watched too much Army Wives, but I find myself very interested in the stories of the warriors of Blue Two and their partners.

Living on Alameda in late 2000 is the best situation available in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the same time, Blue Two ensures a steady stream of casualties. The conflict between security and insecurity, between love and anxiety, seems rich in storytelling potential to me. Not that I will do anything with these thoughts anytime soon. I still am trying to make the time to turn Silver Shogun into a finished product. I just thought I’d share a perspective on Twilight: 2000 that hadn’t really occurred to me.

[Webstral]

I’m thinking about changing the narrative for Poseidon’s Rifles. Now that I am a little better educated about synthesizing natural gas using electricity and about the feasibility of converting gasoline or diesel engines to run on natural gas, I am reconsidering options for USCG First District along the coast of New Hampshire and southern Maine. I’m thinking now that the reason for a successful resurgence of a Milgov associated government is the Yankee nuclear plant. I know that the canon material in The Last Submarine states that New America is in control of the inoperable plant. Having already kicked that portion of canon to the curb, I’m willing to make a few more alterations to pursue a narrative I hope the boys at GDW would have liked if I could go back in time and talk with them then.

I’m still on board with the basic thesis that the Maine Yankee is inoperable because there aren’t enough technicians left. I don’t have a detailed story yet about how these technicians and engineers became unavailable, but those are details for another time. For now, what matters is that Maine is left with an out-of-order nuke plant that could be brought back online if the right people could be found.

As it happens, there’s also a nuke plant in southern Vermont. As with all the other nuke plants, this one goes offline at the end of 1997. Vermont Yankee is located just south of Brattleboro, VT. This is the where the tsunami of refugees from the urbanized portions of the Connecticut River Valley breaks. The Vermont State Guard and State Police pull out as soon as they realize how bad things are. The Black Watch, a modest survivalist group, moves in to establish order with no shortage of violence. It’s very ugly. The leadership of the Black Watch holds a serious grudge against the government of Vermont for abandoning them and against the federal government for not even trying to help them.

(In fairness, federal forces are pretty sorely taxed in December, 1997. Southern Vermont is the high water mark of the tide of refugees fleeing the southern Connecticut River Valley and metro New York. Things are truly horrible throughout Connecticut and western Massachusetts following the Thanksgiving Massacre. As Montcalm was told during the French and Indian War regarding his request for several thousand infantry for Quebec: “One does not worry about the stables when the chateau is on fire.”)

A number of the workers of Vermont Yankee find themselves living under the protection of the Black Watch. The plant itself, shut down, is occupied by refugees who need someplace—anyplace—to get out of the cold. It does not take much imagination to think about how much damage to the facility unruly refugees might do. To make a long story short, even when then Black Watch manages to eject them from the facility, the surviving plant staff declares that they cannot reopen the plant without resources the Black Watch cannot even think of providing.

By early 2000, First District has gotten word that nuclear power types are alive and well in southern Vermont. The problem becomes how to get hold of them. It’s no secret that the Black Watch is not friendly. Getting a party from coastal Maine to southern Vermont, assessing the situation, and perhaps devising a strategy for making the surviving nuclear experts available to Maine Yankee might make for an interesting short campaign. This mission being completed in the early part of 2000, Maine Yankee comes back online. Having a vastly increased source of electricity changes everything for First District (even though Maine Yankee is operating at a fraction of its full capacity). As a consequence, there’s a sharp uptick in manufacturing, fuel for transportation, and agricultural output (as a result of ammonia synthesis). This is why and how First District comes out of its corner swinging in early 2001 when prior to this de facto control of the southern New England coastline was ceded to the UBF and others.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Webstral

I’m thinking about changing the narrative for Poseidon’s Rifles. Now that I am a little better educated about synthesizing natural gas using electricity and about the feasibility of converting gasoline or diesel engines to run on natural gas, I am reconsidering options for USCG First District along the coast of New Hampshire and southern Maine. I’m thinking now that the reason for a successful resurgence of a Milgov associated government is the Yankee nuclear plant. I know that the canon material in The Last Submarine states that New America is in control of the inoperable plant. Having already kicked that portion of canon to the curb, I’m willing to make a few more alterations to pursue a narrative I hope the boys at GDW would have liked if I could go back in time and talk with them then.

I’m still on board with the basic thesis that the Maine Yankee is inoperable because there aren’t enough technicians left. I don’t have a detailed story yet about how these technicians and engineers became unavailable, but those are details for another time. For now, what matters is that Maine is left with an out-of-order nuke plant that could be brought back online if the right people could be found.

As it happens, there’s also a nuke plant in southern Vermont. As with all the other nuke plants, this one goes offline at the end of 1997. Vermont Yankee is located just south of Brattleboro, VT. This is the where the tsunami of refugees from the urbanized portions of the Connecticut River Valley breaks. The Vermont State Guard and State Police pull out as soon as they realize how bad things are. The Black Watch, a modest survivalist group, moves in to establish order with no shortage of violence. It’s very ugly. The leadership of the Black Watch holds a serious grudge against the government of Vermont for abandoning them and against the federal government for not even trying to help them.

(In fairness, federal forces are pretty sorely taxed in December, 1997. Southern Vermont is the high water mark of the tide of refugees fleeing the southern Connecticut River Valley and metro New York. Things are truly horrible throughout Connecticut and western Massachusetts following the Thanksgiving Massacre. As Montcalm was told during the French and Indian War regarding his request for several thousand infantry for Quebec: “One does not worry about the stables when the chateau is on fire.”)

A number of the workers of Vermont Yankee find themselves living under the protection of the Black Watch. The plant itself, shut down, is occupied by refugees who need someplace—anyplace—to get out of the cold. It does not take much imagination to think about how much damage to the facility unruly refugees might do. To make a long story short, even when then Black Watch manages to eject them from the facility, the surviving plant staff declares that they cannot reopen the plant without resources the Black Watch cannot even think of providing.

By early 2000, First District has gotten word that nuclear power types are alive and well in southern Vermont. The problem becomes how to get hold of them. It’s no secret that the Black Watch is not friendly. Getting a party from coastal Maine to southern Vermont, assessing the situation, and perhaps devising a strategy for making the surviving nuclear experts available to Maine Yankee might make for an interesting short campaign. This mission being completed in the early part of 2000, Maine Yankee comes back online. Having a vastly increased source of electricity changes everything for First District (even though Maine Yankee is operating at a fraction of its full capacity). As a consequence, there’s a sharp uptick in manufacturing, fuel for transportation, and agricultural output (as a result of ammonia synthesis). This is why and how First District comes out of its corner swinging in early 2001 when prior to this de facto control of the southern New England coastline was ceded to the UBF and others.

Also note that any Nuclear vessel (and most WW2 museum ships) can be modified to run on Biomass (solid fuels). You simply need to bypass the reactor feeds to the steam powered electric generators and install a boiler system to heat water to turn the steam generators again. Most oil based WW2 ships use the same system of boilers and generators. A bit of cutting and welding would convert any oil fired system to wood/coal. The range would be reduced as a result of the bulk of Biomass fuel (and its storage would need to be factored into the ship's floor plan). I used the Sailing Brig Niagra in a couple of my campaigns. All of its cannon are functional and blackpowder is easy to make.

[Webstral]

Interesting! That's very valuable feedback.