No one remembers when the necromancers first appeared but by bullet and blade all of humanity wants to remember when they will be last seen. Separated by hordes of mindless undead and clever necromancers each settlement is a city-state. Linked by treaties and often expanding it can look like humanity is winning but even the lowest citizen knows that only victories are reported. If your leaders bother to put up a fight at all.
You are a gang leader in a fallen world where each legitimate leader holds onto power through the will of the armed masses. Grow your power. Maybe you'll make the world a better place.
This quest will be superficially CK2-ish in that you will be taking control of a group and then leading it to (hopefully) victory but mechanically a lot has been changed. Select your settlement and the sub-district where you spend most of your time:
[]Kodiak City. This northern city is furthest from the farmlands in the centre of country so naturally it sees the most attacks from the undead. It has thick stone walls that protect it from the ordinary undead. However once a necromancer turned a stolen artillery cannon on the city so they now send out month long patrols into the dangerous wilderness daily.
-[]The Prison. Convict labour is the only way Kodiak City survives. If the convicts aren't so lucky then they'll just be one more sacrifice the city makes.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]Emma's Stand. A riverside settlement that was founded by a refugee who stopped fleeing and started fighting. Geologically this place is in an advantageous position just east of the largest mountain range on the continent. Known for its constant export of soldiers to allied cities.
-[]A mountain training camp. You're surrounded by zealous fighters put bursts of gunfire into dummies and targets.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]Rhubarb Village. Of all the settlements in the protected centre Rhubarb Village is the biggest. It's not notably different it just outperformed it's neighbours and so grew. A farming town it owns fields segmented in an immense network of fences and walls that run right up to the surrounding villages.
-[]A Hamlet. One of the only places in the entire country where privacy can be found. Shame that the undead like privacy too.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]Whaleton. Whaleton is named after the favoured prey of its fishing fleets. Mud flats and sand banks make a poor place to fight the undead so a marina was built inside the walls. The sea is one of the most physically demanding places to work but the true danger is by no means a little bit of salt water.
-[]A Whaling vessel. You oscillate viscously between a small ship and a large town, constantly overwhelmed. Luckily everyone else is in the same boat.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]Grantville. A small town founded nominally on trade. Grant was very stubborn and to this day caravans set out from here to exchange knickknacks with the other settlements. Realistically however everyone in this bleak world tries for as much self-sufficiency as possible.
-[]A Caravan. Capable of going anywhere and supplementing the freight capacity of Station City, these convoys are in constant but mild demand. It's not an easy life but none are.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]The Factory. This large munitions factory politically dominates the east. They produce far more bullets and shells then they use but only trade a little begrudgingly. The truth is that generations have stockpiled and stockpiled until the habit has become almost a pseudo religion. The city uses as much political power as it has to gain resources for this cause.
-[]A production line. The constant clanging of machinery is your day and night. The munitions must be made.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]Station City. Perhaps the single most important part of the country that keeps the various de facto city-states together is Station City. Although they don't own the stations they visit they do own most of the rolling stock. And they have the only means to construct more.
-[]On The Line. Every train needs to move. If a necromancers throws a tree trunk onto the line then the train stops, repairs are made and then the train moves on. Assault rifles and machine guns provide over watch.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[]The Ruins. The birthplace of the first necromancer. In the generations since that time The Ruins have been mostly recaptured and rebuilt but this place will never regain its reputation. Its inhabitants are a hardy people, well capable of the desperate melee that most room-to-room urban combat descends into.
-[]The ruined patch of the city. Most of the city has been repaired but resources are tight. Those who choose to live in filth won't get a handout to fix the place up.
-[]A manufacturing facility. The truly hard to create objects and machines are specialised goods made and shipped from one place. However, every settlement makes the simple things in life. After all a bayonet from The Ruins stabs as well as a bayonet from Whaleton.
-[]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
-[]Commercial District. Everyone needs a way to get things and currency is a decent way to distribute resources when central authority is rare.
-[]Political Quarters. Leadership is an inevitable part of the human condition. When its onerous or incorrect it's a blight. When its light and prosperous its obviously a scam. You rub shoulders with these people.
-[]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
-[]Residential District. Street level scum hang out here. Unwilling to contribute to society. Pathetic.
-[]The Church. You travel around the settlement providing comfort. Its simple but its important. You're on the psychological front lines and necromancers target your kind with a passion.
[x]Emma's Stand. A riverside settlement that was founded by a refugee who stopped fleeing and started fighting. Geologically this place is in an advantageous position just east of the largest mountain range on the continent. Known for its constant export of soldiers to allied cities.
-[x]The Police Station. Men and women who want to order about to masses but are scared of serving on the wall end up here. Small, contemptible and under funded, you have to investigate crimes in a resisting population.
[X]Whaleton. Whaleton is named after the favoured prey of its fishing fleets. Mud flats and sand banks make a poor place to fight the undead so a marina was built inside the walls. The sea is one of the most physically demanding places to work but the true danger is by no means a little bit of salt water.
-[X]A Whaling vessel. You oscillate viscously between a small ship and a large town, constantly overwhelmed. Luckily everyone else is in the same boat.
[X]The Ruins. The birthplace of the first necromancer. In the generations since that time The Ruins have been mostly recaptured and rebuilt but this place will never regain its reputation. Its inhabitants are a hardy people, well capable of the desperate melee that most room-to-room urban combat descends into.
-[X]The Walls and Patrols. The mindless undead are everywhere grinding down all of the humanity in the world. Each settlement needs protection and you provide it.
[X]Kodiak City. This northern city is furthest from the farmlands in the centre of country so naturally it sees the most attacks from the undead. It has thick stone walls that protect it from the ordinary undead. However once a necromancer turned a stolen artillery cannon on the city so they now send out month long patrols into the dangerous wilderness daily.
-[X]The Prison. Convict labour is the only way Kodiak City survives. If the convicts aren't so lucky then they'll just be one more sacrifice the city makes.
You've always wanted more out of life. When you first put to sea you quite enjoyed the experience of better food and honest work. But now that you have a birth you want more, you need to be better. Buying your own ship and becoming a captain is one way to elevate yourself but that takes cash.
No you're not going to wait years to accumulate wages. You're going to inspire. You're going to lead. You're going to conquer.
You currantly have one assistant: Yourself. Pick one:
[] Your self-help book says to be confident. OK, lesson mastered. The next book costs $49.99 in easy monthly instalments. This option increases the size of your dice.
[] Every leader needs mooks. But you probably shouldn't call them that to their faces executives, maybe? Recruit some executives.
[] There are many threats out there: the undead; the police; and the teenager who lives across the hall and insists upon playing loud music at three o'clock in the morning. Acquire some weapons.
-[] Knives
-[] Swords
-[] Revolvers
-[] Semi-auto pistols
-[] Full-auto pistols
-[] Shotguns
-[] Bolt-action rifles
-[] Burst fire rifles
-[] Sniper Rifles
-[] Machine Guns
-[] Grenades
[] Ammunition is the only currency the undead understand. Get some then grind it into their faces. Gives you some assorted ammo.
[] Armour is a bit of a problem. At the Rhubarb village they issued helmets to all their troops and found that within six months all the undead were wearing them. How are you suppost to kill zombies without headshots? In Kodiak City they banned helmets, now all the necromancers up that way carry sniper rifles. Shit.
-[] Get some body armour
-[] Get some helmets
[] Your grand master plan to avoid going to sea requires cash. In Whaleton the easiest way to make cash is to go to sea. Go make some money.
[] The more you do the more the police will investigate you. Infiltrating them seams like a sensible option. On the other hand you might want to commit a few crimes before you worry too much about justice.
[] Explore. Go see what there is in:
-[] Charter a boat and see the sea
-[] The industrial quarter might be interesting
-[] Wonder the walls, annoy the guards.
-[] The Church. You can pray that you don't become prey.
-[] The commercial district. Sale-ho!
-[] The police station. Nan needs bailing out again, huh?
-[] The residents in the residential district are a curious bunch. Go stare at them.
-[] The political quarters are filled with politicians. Go tell them to lick your shoes if they want your vote.
You are capable of doing only one thing at a time. Executives are minions with a nice title. They can't do anything without supervision but may assist you or Assistants.
You and each assistant you control have an associated die which is rolled to indicate the results of your actions. As of game start you are rolling a D20. Assistants are hero units. These guys are capable of independent actions and oversight of executives. Dice may be increased in total (so a D20 might become a D21) or split from a D40 into two D20s (Bigger die may also be split but then you would be left with a D20 and the remainder rather than two equal dice.)
When you or an existing assistant roll a multiple of ten while doing a task with executives a new assistant is spawned.
[X] Your self-help book says to be confident. OK, lesson mastered. The next book costs $49.99 in easy monthly instalments. This option increases the size of your dice.