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Rhona, a well liked deputy in Pleasant Valley (PV) walks into the Truck Stop/Garage which is the staging point for all of PV's roadcrews. You were told last night to prepare for a run tomorrow but the details were unknown.
Road Crew Four she says addressing your team, The sheriff and mayor want to see you.
Unsure what this is about you guys gather your team and meet at the town hall. Sheriff Biggs walks out and tells you the Mayor is waiting for you and needs to talk to you.
Inside the Mayor appears even more stressed then his already worrisome demeanor. The Sheriff takes his side.
As you guys know the long range roadcrew has never returned home and it has been over three weeks. Road Crew Three which followed their path has not been heard of or seen from again.
We cant afford to lose any more people and we cant afford to stay buttoned up any longer. Almost apologetically he informs you,
Roadcrew Four - you are the towns new long range roadcrew. Our first harvest was over a week ago and we cant afford to sit on the produce any longer or it will go to waste. You need to get it to the town of Fish Camp (FC). At FC, retrieve their engineer so that he can come back and repair Air Turbine 12, which is close to failing, and remind their pediatrician, again, that we have the only known orphanage left and we need him here.
You cant fail. With the loss of two road crew teams I dont need to tell you that our town defenses are seriously impaired. Get the supplies delivered. Pick up their engineer and doctor; get them back here first and do a perimeter sweep. We cant afford to get attacked.
The militia will fill in your crew as needed Normal guys that try hard but are out of their league. 2's across the board for attributes/skills. No pursuits. Just average guys doing the best they can.
When you are ready you meet at the northern gate.
Lined up in march order with a plan; the militia drive the armored trash truck off the road.
The open highway and the wastelands lie ahead.
Moracai - Lucas "Stinker" Sanchez - Nomad Scavenger
Tenro - "Chop Shop" Dean - Bartertown Hauler
Bantamweight - James John "Slim" Corbett - Nomad Road Warrior
YoricksRequiem - Estelle Beaumont - Bartertown Healer
Darkwolf445 - Remnant Greaser
Arknight - Steader Sentinel
Campaign info updated as well
The gate rolls out for you (an armored garbage truck that blocks the road) and the highway and wasteland lay ahead.
Almost as soon as you round the first bend and are out of sight from Pleasant Valley the familiar black smoke signal appears from somewhere on the mountain tops to your left. “F+%!ing roadrats” you all agree. For the past six months Pleasant Valley has been under constant surveillance from an unknown presence.
As soon as anyone comes or goes into the valley a black smoke signal appears from one of the surrounding mountain tops. Always from a different place, but always the same method, a tire is set on fire to signal to the roadrats (you assume it is roadrats but nobody knows for sure) below that you are coming and the town is more vulnerable.
No large scale attack has happened but the disappearance of the previous long range team and road crew three has everyone on edge. Are the smoke signals and the disappearance of your teams related? Nobody knows. The outlying communities are getting spooked and travel to PV is dwindling. Less travelers and convoys means information and essential town supplies are becoming scarcer.
The roads are clear, for at least one lane usually, as travel on the roads over the years has opened them up. The sides of the roads, especially around the remnants of civilizations, are a completely different matter. Piles of debris, broken cars and remnants of a world gone to waste litter both sides of the road channeling you into tight corridors of rubbage. In many places the skeletons of lives long over join the refuse. An ambush could come from anywhere.
The surrounding land is a recovering scorched desert. Fires commonly raged out of control in California's desert terrain leaving the landscaped blackened and open.
I think the terrain would be pretty difficult for the off road stuff. You could definitely go around most obstacles slowly in the terrain, but you have to worry about getting stuck and any distance and the broken terrain would have ditches and just general obstacles to passage. It's good terrain for a dirtbike however.
"Sheriff, you want that perimeter check pre- or post-range?" the trucker asks of the law-man.
***
When the time comes to load, the trucker is all business, behaving like a true professional looking to eliminate any silliness from untested militia members and make sure there is no complacency on the part of the road-hardened crew members.
"Alright, let's get her loaded up." "Chop Shop" Dean says to the militia and any other box-kickers around. He has a piece of old, over-laundered cloth stretched over a small, flat wooden board that he carries, and writes on with a grease pencil. He writes down the items as they are loaded on to the truck, eyeballs the load to make sure it is balanced and secured inside, and locks the hatch from the inside, crawling forward to the trailer's front opening just behind the cab.
He does a walk-around, climbing in the cab to ensure the vehicle's controls and other necessities function properly.
"Those in my truck, time for pre-range checks. Stand in a line, I wanna see your weapons and I want to see ammo counted. Water, food, you best have these or the trip's gonna suck for you." Dean walks up and down the group, making a check on his makeshift clipboard for each of them once he deems them fully prepared.
When all are ready to load up, he climbs in the cab and slams the door shut, securing it with a makeshift latch he welded on years ago. Picking up the handset, he calls on the CB, "PV this is Chop Shop, you copy?"
Post op makes the most sense. I dont want you to risk taking our produce or passengers on the perimeter sweep.
The militia on your rig are intimidated and impressed at the same time. Some of them havent been into the wasteland since coming to PV. One is armed with an assault rifle, another has a shotgun and the third has a handgun and a bullet proof vest. Makeshift armor covers the other two. They are noticeably nervous.
The sheriff gets on the radio Good luck guys, Be Safe! We cant afford to lose you. Times are getting desperate.
FC is located North in the mountain foothills. Travel is slow go due to the winding roads and travel can take up to a day depending on road conditions. A fast vehicle can get there in about 5-6 hours.
There is one road that leads through FC. If you take the long way around it will require an extra day of travel through the wasteland.
We still have Zeb joining the convoy. He is already with you guys for game purposes
For the rest of you... head's up. It sure didnt take long; Black smoke rises into the air on the horizon.
There's never an easy milk run in the wasteland.
When he hears the sheriff's voice over the clamour of the truckstop, "Slim" Corbett slides out from underneath his mustang. He stands up, leaning on his car while listening to what the Sherriff has to say.
After the address, Slim gives his militia a look over.
Alright, listen up Jubes. You see this here seat?
He motions to whichever seat Stinker usually takes.
This seat belongs to a buddy of mine, so keep your backsides out of there alright?! You see this rig here?
He motions to Chop Shop's truck.
If you ride with me, our single solitary duty is to keep the rats from biting my pal up in the driver seat there... Actually there are a few more duties like heavy lifting, loading, maybe repairs and that kind of thing. But those aren't the sorts of things you mention when you're readying up so forget I said 'em!
Slim goes on for a while, until at least one of the militia men cracks a smile. He then tasks them to help the others while he does the final checks on his chariot.
As the road crew head out the city gate, Slim grins to himself. The roar of the V8 is like music to his ears. He eyes the smoke in the distance, and subconsciously reaches down to touch the familiar and worn handle of his sidearm.
Just a note for the gm, Slim has loaded up with whatever supplies he needs to take that wouldn't fit on Chop's rig. If there is surplus ammo he'll take some of that too, otherwise maybe a spare crossbow and some arrows? What are the load out limitations?
What are the load out limitations?
Pretty generous. If you can think of it and its realistic I have no problem with it. Definitely have a spare crossbow and all the ammo you need for it. You even have a spare rifle - bolt action hunting type of weapon. About 12 rounds of ammo for it. You'll have some medical supplies, some spare parts for your vehicles, basic tools needed and small trade items not counting your cargo.
Belt fed machine guns have 200 rounds each.
Personal weapons have full magazines and one reload.
Personal melee weapons and as many back ups as you want in the vehicle.
If there are more things you want and its realistic just assume you have them. If you think its something I need to know just ask. If its a game changer you can always use your Fortune points for the item (such as a spare can of .50 cal ammo when you need it the most.)
You have enough fuel for the story; I'm guessing 2-3 days worth.
Stinker chuckles at Chop Shop being all pompous around the recruits. The chuckle sounds all metallic cuz of his mask. He sits at the gunner's seat in Jim's car, gives him a respectful nod, and makes sure the MG is ready to rock.
As soon as he spots the smoke plume rising from the mountainside he let's out a yell: Eyes left and forward! We're headed to target-rich environ.. envir.... area!
You can have a pistol and a crossbow. The melee weapons and non bullet weapons you can have anything you want. Guns are the only hot commodity items but you guys are armed well. Everyone can definitely have a side arm as well as their primary weapon and as many melee weapons as is realistic.
Sid moves towards the vehicles, looking at each. Setting his toolboxes down he gestures at each. His ever present gas mask muffles his voice, but it is clear he is asking which vehicle he should get in.
Seeing Sid wondering, he points up to the turret.
"If you're a good shot, wouldn't mind you up in the turret keepin' an eye out."
Estelle frowns at the Sheriff's information. "Hell. Two teams." she mutters. She'd assumed the worst, but it didn't make it any easier to hear. The mention of the doctor brings a stern nod from Estelle. She knew nothing of children, and wasn't good with them anyways. This time there was no way he wasn't coming with them. "I'll remind him of his priorities," Estelle says, her eyes hard.
After the briefing, she runs up to Chop outside. "Hey, you got room in your truck for some extra medical supplies? I know running into the missing teams is a long shot. But... you know. Better to be prepared." She forces a smile, her eyes glinting with a touch of hope that others expected her to have lost by now.
"Gonna take the bike, too. It's a bit faster than your truck, might be I can do a touch of scouting... After we drop the supplies, of course." She quickly adds. No sense making him think she'd jeopardise the mission.
Sid nods and moves towards the turret. He hoists his boxes up and looks around before scrambling up into the gun seat. After looking over the weapon he peers over the turret's side and gives a thumbs up to Chop Shop.
"Plenty of room, just don't get yourself killed on that bike," replies Chop Shop, and seeing Sid's thumbs-up, he responds with a thumbs-up of his own before checking the box on his makeshift clipboard.
As Stinker takes up the gunner seat, Slim moves toward him with a grin "She has a tendency to jam, if she gets stuck give her a good whack here. " he says, pointing towards the bolt handle while making a striking motion with his other hand.
Over hearing that Estelle will be on the bike, Slim digs through a cache of equipment looking for a riding jacket that will fit her slender frame
Sure thing, Slim says Lucas and whacks the MG to the magic spot right away. Then he proceeds to eyeball the recruits and by judging from his hmpf, he apparently is unimpressed by the soft city-folk he sees.
Slim hands you a jacket that is a perfect fit. There is a hole in the jacket over your heart. Is that a knife hole? It sure looks like one. And you know well to ignore the odd rust color stain that just couldnt be washed out of the inside of the jacket.
Other then that the jacket is a perfect fit, its thick and protective and lets face it; it looks pretty damn cool.
Estelle gives a bit of a chuckle as she puts her fingers through the hole over her heart, and looks up with a wide smile. "Thanks, Slim. I'll do my best to return it without any more holes. How's it look?"
"Don't you worry about holes in the jacket, just mind what Chop said and don't go getting yourself killed out there.
It looks great Estelle, very bad ass."
Slim replies, with a smile and a wink.
"Now, we're losing daylight everyone! We ready to roll out yet?"
Leaning out the drivers side window of the rig, Chop Shop throws out a thumbs-up.
"Ready!" he yells, pulling forward to their staging location.
Estelle gives a salute to Chop Shop and hops on her bike, anxious - but also excited - about what the trip may yield.
Sid looks past the turret and down at the group. He mimes shooting a machine gun, then slaps the side of the turret and points his left hand forward, pointing out the gate.
If only there was something you could do to take out whoever keeps watching the valley. It's just too big of an area and not enough people.
Speaking of people. It seems like everyone you know has died yet somehow there is always plenty of s~#$heads in the wastelands to make life difficult for you. Why is that? Maybe there is just too many people still and more have to die.
It's not worth thinking about. The roar of the engines and the smell of diesel fumes drown out the voices in your head.
Damn. Not even 30 miles out and already there is activity over the horizon..
Estelle on her bike notices first and just a moment later Sid on the turret catches sight of it as well.
Over the horizon black smoke is rising into the sky. There is potential trouble on the road ahead.
Chop Shop waves a warning flag out the driver's window so Slim can see, then points directly ahead to indicate there is possivle danger ahead.
Slim sticks his arm out the window, his 'thumbs up' gesture indicating he understands. He turns to Stinker, saying "Looks like trouble up ahead, mi amigo. Stay sharp, alright?"
Pulling up alongside Chop Shop's hauler, motions for him and Estelle to pull over. Killing the engine, he steps out of his car.
"I think we need to figure out what the hell we're doing guys. We've all been in this position before, and I'm sure we can all handle ourselves. Chop, I reckon' you just coast along doing your thing while Estelle takes point to see what this smoke is all about. I'll play midfield, Stinker and I should be able to make it back to you or up to Estelle if either of you come across something mean and nasty."
"Estelle, does the horn on your bike still work? Otherwise, have you got something you can use to make a some noise if you run into trouble? If we're gonna do this make sure you keep your eyes peeled, if it's a bunch o' rats up ahead they'll more than likely have some kinda trap waitin' for us. You see any spikes on the road you tail it straight back to me and we'll come up with another idea."
Slim speaks to the crew with a matter-of-fact tone reminiscent of a military man. If only his father could see him now!
Estelle slows down, pulling her bike alongside the other cars. She nods, "Yeah, horn works." She cocks her head. "Think maybe it's the missing teams?" With a frown she continues, "Reckon that you're right, could also be a trap."
"Want me to scout a bit closer? Don't want to risk the truck with our supplies." She nods behind her. "Enough room on the back for a copilot if someone wants to join."
"I'll chug along as best i can, should be find with crazy-eyes in the turret and if you all don't stray too far."
Everyone makes ready. As you know from experience - always expect the unexpected. The militia take deep gulps of air and tighten their grip on their weapons. They expected this but nobody expects it this soon. It seems as if life is getting worse around here, not better.
Estelle takes off down the road as Chop and JJC push down on their throttle lurching their vehicles forward. The roar of the V8 and the Peterbilt Diesel throws exhaust in the air and kicks off dirt from the road.
Estelle shoots forward down the road like a well aimed crossbow bolt. 80, 90, 100mph as easy as a flick of her wrist. The debris of a society gone to waste is just a blur on the side of the road. She rounds another curve, pops over a hill and easily slides her bike into a controlled side skid, ignoring the human skull her bike tire sends sailing down the road like an unwanted soccer ball.
From the hill she can see down the road . A wrecked vehicle is engulfed in flames where it has smashed into a side of a small overpass. Over a dozen men, definitely more, are running around the wreck, on the bridge, on the road. She raises the dusty goggles off her eyes and takes a better look at the scene below...
The men down there, they're too erratic. She steadies her gaze.
Crazies. People driven to madness from the horror of loss or those raised so feral they could never even be considered human. Even the roadrats tried to avoid the crazies. You almost want to feel sorry for them. But after you see the carnage they leave behind its hard to feel anything for them at all.
Estelle watches for a few more seconds to make sure she has the situation completely understood. Almost 20 crazies are hooping and hollering and dancing around the wreck. Oh no. They have someone alive down there you see. They're stringing him up to the bridge, hanging him from one foot. He's about to turn into a meat pinata. Or worse.
Estelle hears the roar of her convoy catching up. Better let them know whats going on. It's decision time.
Estelle squints down at the scene below her, wishing that she had a pair of binoculars on hand. Still, she was able to make out more than enough.
Besides, there were some things that you didn't want to see.
She swallows hard, weighing a series of decisions. The urge to lie to the others was overwhelming. Not about the crazies, they'd be able to see that for themselves. But about someone being alive down there. Even at their best they were outnumbered two to one, and the Crazies didn't exactly fight in a way that was either predictable or fair. "Hell." She mutters.
The doctor - the student, the good person in her wanted so much to cut the man down and bring him to safety. But she had to consider their mission, too. Things went bad down there, wasn't anyone going to be getting supplies, wasn't anyone going to be coming home with a Doc and Engineer. And the society that they were all working hard to build would be down another team. All for one man. Hardly seemed worth the risk.
Estelle spit dryly into the dirt, thinking how much the old world never had these kinds of decisions. Someone was sick, someone needed help, you did what you could. Now, you were responsible for so much more. She hated the word Crazies - it was a distancing tactic, a coping mechanism, a way to separate them from us. They were lost, but she wanted to think they could be found again. Nothing had ever shown that she could be right. But maybe that was a coping mechanism, too.
As the other cars slowed to approach her, she turns towards them and shakes her head. When their engines shut off and they are able to hear her, she opens her mouth to speak, and nothing comes out. She turns back to the scene, thinking that she may have sacrificed a lot of things to survive, but this couldn't be one of them.
"Crazies." She says, deadpan, feeling the hollowness in her chest that she may not be long for this world. "Maybe 20 of 'em. Got a man down there - alive. Least for now." She looks almost hopelessly at Chop. "I know the mission's important, but I don't think I can just ride by. Hell, they might come after us even if we try to."
Sid hears the word, "Crazies" and cranks back the machine gun's firing mechanism. Snorting sounds can be heard from behind the gas mask as he swings the weapon into a firing arc. The weapon holds steady, waiting on the word.
As Slim's car rolls to a stop he can't help but notice the anxious expression on Estelle's face. Hopping out of the car, he looks down the hill to watch the scene unfolding below.
He turns to Estelle. "I agree. If we're gonna do something about it we gotta act fast though." He says, reaching in to the cab of his mustang to retrieve the long rifle. "I reckon I can hit one of 'em from here, the noise might spook the others enough to run for cover or head up here after us. Chop can follow you down the hill, you take my car so Stink can handle any trouble on the way down and I'll cover you from up here. I can ride down once you've freed the hangman." As Slim speaks he reaches into his pocket, pulling out the heavy .308 rounds and loading them into the chamber one by one.
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