Adapting Allegheny Uprising to my Campaign

[WallShadow]

When does the Crazies Virus get loose? I could give you a great "Dawn of the Dead" vignette/scenario.
If the Big Sneeze happens in late July/Early August, you might have a seriously eye-catching/mind-blowing sight up I-79 North of the Turnpike. Swaghauler has probably driven by it and wondered "What the hell are those people doing there????"
Each year at the cusp of July and August, for a bit over 2 weeks, over 10,000 medieval reenactors from all over the world coalesce at a large campground located on the northwest corner of the intersections of Rte 422 and I-79. Imagine several thousand Crazies in armor with shields and swords and bows and crossbows all dressed in Middle Ages garb. Welcome to the Society for Creative Anachronism's annual Pennsic War.
Heck, it could be Ground Zero!

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

When does the Crazies Virus get loose? I could give you a great "Dawn of the Dead" vignette/scenario.
If the Big Sneeze happens in late July/Early August, you might have a seriously eye-catching/mind-blowing sight up I-79 North of the Turnpike. Swaghauler has probably driven by it and wondered "What the hell are those people doing there????"
Each year at the cusp of July and August, for a bit over 2 weeks, over 10,000 medieval reenactors from all over the world coalesce at a large campground located on the northwest corner of the intersections of Rte 422 and I-79. Imagine several thousand Crazies in armor with shields and swords and bows and crossbows all dressed in Middle Ages garb. Welcome to the Society for Creative Anachronism's annual Pennsic War.
Heck, it could be Ground Zero!

That's an awesome idea! What a great notion for an encounter! I'll work on that. Especially as they're moving up into the hills. Infected with glaives, swords and axes, armoured and with great numbers, Infected in long dresses.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

When does the Crazies Virus get loose? I could give you a great "Dawn of the Dead" vignette/scenario.
If the Big Sneeze happens in late July/Early August, you might have a seriously eye-catching/mind-blowing sight up I-79 North of the Turnpike. Swaghauler has probably driven by it and wondered "What the hell are those people doing there????"
Each year at the cusp of July and August, for a bit over 2 weeks, over 10,000 medieval reenactors from all over the world coalesce at a large campground located on the northwest corner of the intersections of Rte 422 and I-79. Imagine several thousand Crazies in armor with shields and swords and bows and crossbows all dressed in Middle Ages garb. Welcome to the Society for Creative Anachronism's annual Pennsic War.
Heck, it could be Ground Zero!

This could be interesting BUT Pennsic is located in Slippery Rock PA about 50 miles North of downtown Pittsburgh and more than 90 miles North of New Stanton and I70W. An alternate option would be to have the Infected be from the Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire. This "Faire" runs EVERY WEEKEND throughout the month of September and into October and is located just East of the Walt's Mills exit of I70W. It is two miles South of the interchange at I70W and RT 31 South. This is about midway between the Monessen River crossing at Rt88 South & I70W (at the town of Monessen) and the New Stanton exit on I70.

[swaghauler]

The stretch of Rt 119 between Connellsville and Uniontown is fairly open and not highly populated. The roadway is ever steepening rolling hills. Visibility is reasonable but can drop to 100m or less from over 1000m in the space of a single hill. Structures are often located 10s of meters off the side of the roadway (to any parking lots). This region has a MAJOR interchange just East and North of the town proper. This interchange includes Rt 119, Rt 51 South, and Toll 43 (The Mon-Fayette Expressway) which connects Pittsburgh to Wheeling WV. Rt 119 then continues on towards Morgantown WV after passing THROUGH Uniontown.

Rt 40 South crosses UNDER the Rt 119/Rt 51S "Superloop" North of Uniontown and drops into the West side of downtown and runs South out of town. It is 4 lanes + turning lanes through town (and as open as Rt 30 between Monroeville and Greensburg) and divides downtown from the Hospital located on Rt 21 West (to Waynesburg) halfway down the hill from the exit off of Rt119. The road narrows to 2 lanes and becomes closed in (10m ranges) as it climbs outside of town through a residential district. Rt 40 has SEVERAL interesting landmarks such as Fort Necessity and the Laural Caverns along it and is VERY windy and twisting as it follows ridge after ridge into West Virginia.

Rt 21 runs East and West through Uniontown and connects Fayette County to Waynesburg and Green County to the West. The Hospital is located on Rt 21 (about 1 block from Rt40) as is Uniontown's mall. There is also a Water Purification Unit from the 99th ARCOM just outside of town on Rt 21 W (about 2 miles from the mall). This unit is a detachment of the Greensburg Water Purification Unit (which was hit by a Scud attack in the 1st Gulf War) and the unit's drill hall is COMPLETELY fenced in. There may be supplies available here.

Downtown Uniontown is very tight on space (like most 200-year-old US towns) and most likely overrun by infected from the hospital on Rt 21 East.

[swaghauler]

All of the towns you are interested in have Wiki pages and also are listed on sites like citydata.com WITH photos. I'd suggest that you look up those sites to look at the photos of those regions so you can get a good idea of just how mountainous, rural or congested each town is. The imagery will help you describe those towns to your players. I would also look at Google Maps for the major intersections I describe. They almost always have a Surface Street View of the intersection and this can help you see just how these interchanges are laid out.

The Containment Plan: There is NO Doubt that the 99th ARCOM (out of Oakdale PA just south of Rt 376 West) and the NG units in the area would attempt to secure the PGH airport (located between Rt 51 and Rt 376W at the border with Beaver Valley), I79 South, and the South Side of PGH. These regions will allow the unobstructed flow of material around the region. They would complete their "security box" by securing I70 West and The Turnpike (I76). This would contain the Pittsburgh outbreak inside a box about 50 miles long per side. To achieve this, the units in question would have to control I79 about 12 miles West of PGH at the juncture of Rt 65 West and I79 South. This critical intersection in Kill Buck township would need to be secured at ALL COSTS. They would also need to control the Turnpike THROUGH Allegheny Valley (Monroeville to Wexford) which will be difficult. Finally, they will need the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin (South of the Monn, near Monroeville) to safely transfer men and supplies by air.

There is one more "Target" I forgot to mention in the Rt 51 area of PGH. Jefferson Hospital (Allegheny Health Systems) sits between Rt 855 and Rt 837 on the ridge between the Allegheny County Airport and Clairton PA (on Rt 51 South). It is only a couple of miles from BOTH the airport and the Century III Mall complex (which is designated as a refugee shelter by PGH Civil Defense). This hospital MUST be cleared and secured to ensure that the Soth Side is secure. It is a smaller hospital (around 300 beds) in a single stand-alone structure 6 stories high (per the elevator). You can drive completely around it and it occupies most of the ridge it sits on so it could be surrounded fairly easily. This would be a good "research center" once it's secured.

The Southern Tier: It will be critical to the security of the Turnpike AND the I70 and Rt 119 region to secure Greensburg. I think the "plan" would start by securing Arnold Palmer Airport and using it as a FOB. This would allow a forward deployment of "sweep teams" to clear Greensburg from the south to the North. Rt 119 would still need some form of barricade or "skirmish line" to prevent the infected from moving West out of Greensburg. Due to the close nature of the terrain, this WILL be dangerous. The ultimate goal would be to open a SAFE land route to Arnold Palmer Airport.

I would think that either the Army or the ARCOM would set up their HQ at Walt's Mills due to the high security at the GE plant there (and to protect the plant itself). All relief efforts would center on the UPS and FedEx Distribution Centers in New Stanton (due to proximity to BOTH Walt's Mills AND the major regional highways). The abandoned/empty industrial parks SOUTH of New Stanton could be used as secure "Refugee Centers."

That's how I see the initial containment being set up to support operations ACROSS the Southern Tier.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

All of the towns you are interested in have Wiki pages and also are listed on sites like citydata.com WITH photos. I'd suggest that you look up those sites to look at the photos of those regions so you can get a good idea of just how mountainous, rural or congested each town is. The imagery will help you describe those towns to your players. I would also look at Google Maps for the major intersections I describe. They almost always have a Surface Street View of the intersection and this can help you see just how these interchanges are laid out.

The Containment Plan: There is NO Doubt that the 99th ARCOM (out of Oakdale PA just south of Rt 376 West) and the NG units in the area would attempt to secure the PGH airport (located between Rt 51 and Rt 376W at the border with Beaver Valley), I79 South, and the South Side of PGH. These regions will allow the unobstructed flow of material around the region. They would complete their "security box" by securing I70 West and The Turnpike (I76). This would contain the Pittsburgh outbreak inside a box about 50 miles long per side. To achieve this, the units in question would have to control I79 about 12 miles West of PGH at the juncture of Rt 65 West and I79 South. This critical intersection in Kill Buck township would need to be secured at ALL COSTS. They would also need to control the Turnpike THROUGH Allegheny Valley (Monroeville to Wexford) which will be difficult. Finally, they will need the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin (South of the Monn, near Monroeville) to safely transfer men and supplies by air.

There is one more "Target" I forgot to mention in the Rt 51 area of PGH. Jefferson Hospital (Allegheny Health Systems) sits between Rt 855 and Rt 837 on the ridge between the Allegheny County Airport and Clairton PA (on Rt 51 South). It is only a couple of miles from BOTH the airport and the Century III Mall complex (which is designated as a refugee shelter by PGH Civil Defense). This hospital MUST be cleared and secured to ensure that the Soth Side is secure. It is a smaller hospital (around 300 beds) in a single stand-alone structure 6 stories high (per the elevator). You can drive completely around it and it occupies most of the ridge it sits on so it could be surrounded fairly easily. This would be a good "research center" once it's secured.

The Southern Tier: It will be critical to the security of the Turnpike AND the I70 and Rt 119 region to secure Greensburg. I think the "plan" would start by securing Arnold Palmer Airport and using it as a FOB. This would allow a forward deployment of "sweep teams" to clear Greensburg from the south to the North. Rt 119 would still need some form of barricade or "skirmish line" to prevent the infected from moving West out of Greensburg. Due to the close nature of the terrain, this WILL be dangerous. The ultimate goal would be to open a SAFE land route to Arnold Palmer Airport.

I would think that either the Army or the ARCOM would set up their HQ at Walt's Mills due to the high security at the GE plant there (and to protect the plant itself). All relief efforts would center on the UPS and FedEx Distribution Centers in New Stanton (due to proximity to BOTH Walt's Mills AND the major regional highways). The abandoned/empty industrial parks SOUTH of New Stanton could be used as secure "Refugee Centers."

That's how I see the initial containment being set up to support operations ACROSS the Southern Tier.

Thanks. I already do use visuals, since we live in a computer age, to enhance descriptions, so for instance how a bridge looks and the terrain surrounding, what a city's landscape is, how open country is, etc. My game is skype based so we do a lot of that already.

As has been the case, your info and suggestions are very helpful. I made use of them in yesterday's evening session actually describing their journey from Munroeville to New Stanton. One of the party members is an intelligence operative attached to the intelligencestaff now based out of Ft. Detrick and so the info you are providing will flesh things out very well.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Enfield

Thanks. I already do use visuals, since we live in a computer age, to enhance descriptions, so for instance how a bridge looks and the terrain surrounding, what a city's landscape is, how open country is, etc. My game is skype based so we do a lot of that already.

As has been the case, your info and suggestions are very helpful. I made use of them in yesterday's evening session actually describing their journey from Munroeville to New Stanton. One of the party members is an intelligence operative attached to the intelligencestaff now based out of Ft. Detrick and so the info you are providing will flesh things out very well.

Glad I could help. I do have to admit that it's weird describing these places in writing that I have driven through at least a hundred times in the last decade. It makes you really think about them and then they seem "new" when you reread your descriptions of them. I have never had call to do this until now.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

Glad I could help. I do have to admit that it's weird describing these places in writing that I have driven through at least a hundred times in the last decade. It makes you really think about them and then they seem "new" when you reread your descriptions of them. I have never had call to do this until now.

That's an odd factor in such games, is that they take place in the real world with some imaginary elements. You really fleshed out the entries in Allegheny Uprising, which included no info on local economics. Mind, it would have required a lot of library research back then whereas now you can just check online including with local experts.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

This could be interesting BUT Pennsic is located in Slippery Rock PA about 50 miles North of downtown Pittsburgh and more than 90 miles North of New Stanton and I70W. An alternate option would be to have the Infected be from the Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire. This "Faire" runs EVERY WEEKEND throughout the month of September and into October and is located just East of the Walt's Mills exit of I70W. It is two miles South of the interchange at I70W and RT 31 South. This is about midway between the Monessen River crossing at Rt88 South & I70W (at the town of Monessen) and the New Stanton exit on I70.

I guess I was mistaken about the run dates. The Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire actually opens next weekend.

www.pittsburghrenfest.com