To Struggle and Strive: The Combined Syndicates of America in 1932. A Kaiserreich Quest

Nathan had wanted to be a poet, not a soldier. But only one of those options kept his belly full, and so the other was relegated to half-imagined lines and scribbles on the back of the letters he sent home.

But sometimes there were moments that could not help but force words from his mouth.

This was one such moment, as he jumped out the train to view a scene from the depths of hell. A burned church towered high over a shattered town, a place of shattered windows and blood-stained walls. Dust piled up like snowdrifts in hundreds of places, and from some of these drifts thrust out bits of flesh. The smell was indescribable, rusty and rotten and dry as bone. And staring down with a pitiless gaze at all was a sun rendered red and hazy and distant.

"Behold, Armageddon has come to the Midwest. Behold, man is rendered into ash and dust." he whispered.

The lieutenant barked commands, and they split up into sections, marching down the ravaged streets. They had seen many towns and villages scarred by the fighting and the dust, but this one was by far the most ravaged. He wondered if they would find anyone alive. He wondered what had driven everyone insane. There were signs of what happened everywhere, but nothing that told him. Perhaps it was buried.

He shivered slightly, despite the heat of the summer sun.

"Blood, skull, and bone bleached under the hateful sun. Humanity now has fled, life has turned and run."

They tramped down the streets, choking, blinding clouds rising that they struggled to see through. The only sounds were the ones they made, and they seemed distant and faded. Gradually, they made their way out from the train station until they reached the edge of town.

On the train, they had laughed and joked about yokels scared of a little dust, about Reds and Longists who would scatter as soon as they fixed their bayonets. None of it seemed funny now. No one joked. The town had died, and it had not been a clean death.

The piercing shriek of the lieutenant's whistle cut through his thoughts, slicing another morbid line of poetry and sending them scurrying back to the train station.

The company soon formed up there, and whispers spread through the ranks. The whole town was empty except for the dead...but some people had left, walking away, abandoning their cars when they failed to work.

Somehow, Nathaniel found that idea more terrifying than the thought of them all dying as they were set to work digging mass graves and hurling the bodies into them, the chaplain saying a brief prayer as corpse after corpse was thrown into the pit.

Fresh fluids began to stain the ground as fresh soldiers staggered out of line to vomit and heave. As the painful duty ended, the company cooks came around with beer for everyone. Not a single person said no.

Rumors and News

The violence in the Midwest has trickled to a halt. The dust storms get worse and worse, burying men alive and leaving towns blanketed in darkness for days at a time, which certainly helps, but the main contributor is the Federal Army, at least if you believe their official reports. Various reporters are far more likely to credit either the Minutemen or the Red Guards, depending on location and attitude.

You are more popular in Iowa and Missouri, while Long...Long has recovered significantly from previous missteps, with the help of one of the commanding generals of the intervention, who eagerly accepted the humanitarian aid sent by the AFP in a variety of forms, ranging from preachers carrying messages of hope and salvation to stockpiled grain. Long himself even went to visit, bringing a message of hope and solidarity. Significantly, small portions of the aid were diverted specifically for minority groups, securing Long applause from many groups even as other bands of his supporters continue their policy of rapine and terror.

The rest of the federal intervention is broadly competent, with failures and successes in equal measure, seemingly dependent on the skill of the officers under MacArthur. Angry reports of refugee mismanagement causing children to suffocate on a train clash with paeans of praise for the brave soldiers who dug into buried farmhouses out to rescue families.

Your impression of the army seems correct - they have been given strict orders about starting fights, and there's nothing more than a half dozen skirmishes between Red Guards and federal troops. Unfortunately, the Red Guards did not use their time all that effectively. They are not skilled organizers, and many of them were not pleased with their accommodations, the food, or the attitude of the people they had protected from bandits or militia. There have been some cases of poor behavior reported to you that have been dealt with through internal discipline or by the town sheriffs.

Some units have even decided to leave after voting on the matter, choosing instead to return to their homes and families and continue the struggle from there. Similarly, members of the CSA and the SPA have begun to question your intense focus on the rural areas. While you are undeniably gaining support in those places, the number of unemployed workers continues to rise, and many of them are being radicalized against you.

From Canada, a single letter is smuggled across the border. It reads "They are hunting us."

And around the world, tensions begin to rise. Border tensions in western India lead to a series of brief skirmishes between National India and The Free Nation of Baluchistan, with Japan supporting the warlord master of the separatist state. Iran begins to make overtures to Egypt as the Ottoman Empire manages to attract significant German investment, including the establishment of two new arms factories.

German and Japanese support continues to spread, presumably in an effort to counter syndicalism. South Carolina, Florida, Hawaii, and California all see generous deals made with desperate businessmen.

[Slight gain of support in rural areas, slight decrease in urban support.]

Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee has turned their attention to expanding municipal governments, using the expansion of employment to weaken the recruiting efforts of the slowly suffocating reactionary militias.

The State Legislative Committee is working on relief programs, desperately trying to stem the endless bleeding the shattered capital system is inflicting upon millions of workers. They are struggling to overcome resistance in bureaucracies and on the local level.

Norman Thomas, meanwhile, intends to continue his efforts in minority protection. Getting serious legislation through is going to be impossible, but he intends to make as much noise as he possibly can.

You have 7 Influence and 2 Authority total. 0 Authority and 1 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any foci.

Mandates: Successfully propagandize towards farmers in 2 months (from The Syndicalists).

Party Actions

Hold a Rally: It's a classic for every political party for a reason. There's nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 2 Resources and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: "The importance of unity in the socialist cause," "The corruption of the Hoover administration," "Why feminism and socialism must go together," and "Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA." Can synergize with other actions.

Send Social Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe's supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. Cost: Significant and dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 70/140/180/220. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing Influence or Authority. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining Influence.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times.

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/180. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence.

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn't a structural reason for their failures. Cost: Write-in. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

Acquire Expertise: You are only one man, you cannot know or do everything. Having trusted subordinates who can do part of the work helps, but so too does having trusted advisors, people who can offer you advice for dealing with things you don't quite understand. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Find assistant for chosen subject who can give bonuses and penalties to rolls and other situations.

Push for Rural Assistance: The priority for most of the SPA are the urban areas and the mining strongholds. Between the fact that most farmers are petty producers and their famed social conservatism, there is relatively little concern for their fates beyond vague acknowledgements. Even the rural relief bills many are advocating for are primarily focused on keeping a large supply of food for the cities available. Despite the revolutionary potential of many rural groups, they are being effectively abandoned to be turned into the footsoldiers of reaction. Though it will strain the limits of your position, insisting on more effort will hopefully encourage the party to give more thought to farmers and farmworkers. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 2 months. DC: 40/80. Result: Unlock new actions focusing on supporting and recruiting among farmers,

Anarchist Organizations: Anarchists are no longer as prominent a scare-word as they once were. Socialism and syndicalism are the new words to make the bourgeoisie and their running dogs wet themselves in fear. The reduced propaganda against them makes them potentially quite useful...and you remember hearing that the Black Army was highly popular among Ukranian peasants. Perhaps approaching them to form an Anarchist Grange may help you gain support in the Bleeding Midwest. And if they fail, most of the party will be unconcerned. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: You and the CSA select a rural-focused organizer from The Anarchist faction, gain in Strength for the Anarchists.

Union Actions

Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Rural Unions: Rural areas are utterly lacking in the sort of density mines or cities have that labor organizers and workers used to create their powerful unions. A new approach will need to be devised, or more likely multiple to approach the different situations you will doubtless encounter. Perhaps some of the newer unions or the Montant and Colorado miners have some insight? Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/100. Result: Improved chance of success for actions in rural areas.

Establish Community Gardens: The cities of America are filled with vacant lots and crumbling buildings. Reclaiming the buildings will have to be part of a larger effort, but the lots can be used to the benefit of the people by establishing gardens. Though they will take many months, the fresh vegetables will improve the quality of the food served by the soup kitchens...and hopefully reduce expenses. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60. Result: +2 Resources per turn after 3 months.

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/150. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won't be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as "market socialism" and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: Small chance of -1 Influence, loss of relations with the Syndicalists. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/100. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Small chance of gaining +1 Influence, increase to relations with the Right.

Push for Reduced Hours: With an enormous influx of unemployed workers, the capitalists of the cities are able to find fresh sources of scabs, or else they suffer and languish without any work. The reactionary militias, despite the increasing suppression they are enduring, also gain the majority of their recruits from these unemployed masses. Reviving a measure used before would help fix both these. The union workers would reduce their hours, working less time and therefore requiring more workers. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Amount of unemployed workers is reduced.

Support Housing Cooperatives: The existing housing cooperatives are...poorly designed. Often ill-equipped, uncomfortable, utterly lacking in privacy, and frequently without many or any basic amenities, you have been rightfully pilloried for their quality. Even with the recent and substantial influx of support, they have not improved as much as you would expect. Further investments, for them and the Tenant's Unions, will hopefully allow the situation to get better. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100. Result: Improvement in living conditions, increase in support.

Unionized Only!: As the number of potential scabs in the cities increase, measures need to be taken to prevent them from diluting the power of the unions and stealing their hard-won benefits. Begin establishing "union-shops" in the factories, forcing the owners to promise that they will not hire anyone if they are not willing to join the unions. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/45/90/135. Result: Increase the amount of people in unions.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/125/150. Result: Large, one-time boost to income.

Street Brigades: Another proposal to deal with the immense number of potential scabs, reactionaries-in-waiting, and unemployed workers that are flocking to the city is to hire them for various jobs neglected by the municipal government such as fire services for poorer neighborhoods, street-cleaners, and other such tasks. While potentially costly, the work and the pay will fill their bellies and salve their pride, while giving them opportunities to be exposed to socialist rhetoric. Cost: -3 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Begin recruiting unemployed workers into labor brigades and exposing them to socialist rhetoric.

Militant Actions

Additional Weapons: The armaments of your "regular" Red Guards are highly irregular, and the "irregulars" who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of "non-lethal" weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 10 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Instilling Discipline, Pt.1: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) Every branch of the Red Guards contains at least a few who do it more or less full-time. These are some of your most dedicated and radical supporters, and when the time comes they are the ones who will form the hard core of the Red Army. So they are the ones who need training and discipline the most. Based on what you saw of the Bolsheviks in Russia, the first thing that men who wish to be soldiers must be taught is discipline. And so that is what the training shall begin with. Regrettably, the fury in them at the moment will make it harder to convince them not every rich man is their mortal enemy. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 4 months. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Improve discipline of Red Guards.

(1 Influence Committed) Integrate the VFW: With Butler on your side, the VFW is yours for the taking. Formally integrating them into the Red Guards will give you a significant increase in the number of experienced soldiers in your ranks. The organizational merging involved is going to be somewhat complicated given the number of differences in structure, but increasing the strength of your paramilitaries will be vital for your success. Cost: Loss of relations with the Parliamentarians, Gain in Relations for all other factions. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Veteran Cadres: With veteran soldiers having joined your rank in large numbers and more looking to rally to the red banner, it is time to truly take advantage of their expertise and begin forming cadres so that they can better develop the skills and discipline of your Red Guard. You are well aware that they will not be the equal of U.S. Army soldiers for some time, but closing the gap even slightly will be a major advantage. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30. Result: Lower DC and improve Results for training actions.

Go Hunting: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) In every city and town of America you face enemies. Hostile police forces, reactionary militias, mercenaries and Pinkertons hired by capitalists, and more. They all seek to oppress and suppress the workers. This cannot be borne. While the Red Guards continually battle in the streets, protecting protests, defending meetings, guarding agitators and organizers, they only rarely go on the offensive, and keep it strictly to retaliatory strikes on those most responsible for attacks. Asking for a more general attack would help weaken opposition, and perhaps see some justice done. Cost: Reduces support, reduces relations with the Parliamentarians, chance of it going badly. Time: 1 month. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards begin attacking class enemies, chance of gaining Resources, Support, Influence...

Street Medics: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 40. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these "self-defense groups" and "protectors of the American way" and "private security forces" and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/??. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Keep Supporting Left-Farmer-Labor: Though it may displease them, their work in the Midwest is not yet complete. Left-Farmer-Labor is not yet secure, the area is not stable, there are still lurking reactionaries and dangers. Have the Red Guards stay in the areas they protect for a time longer, and discourage the trickle of desertions that has already begun. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100. Result: Red Guards encouraged to stay in the Midwest.

Stop Supporting Left-Farmer-Labor: The Red Guards are not happy with the reception they have received in the Midwest, and the worst of the danger has passed for the rural workers. Already, some are returning to their home cities to continue the struggle there. They have done all they have been asked to do, now it is time to encourage them to leave and carry on their struggle. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Red Guards withdraw from the Midwest, letting any established organizations take over independently.

An Investigation Arm: With the increasing size and activity of the Red Guard, malcontents and informers are likely slipping in, taking advantage of your activities to line their pockets or using their positions to gather information. Neither can be allowed. To counter them, some have proposed the creation of an anonymous reporting system and selecting some trustworthy individuals to investigate these reports. Though generally unpopular, you can see the potential benefits. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Reduction in corruption, increased chance of catching spies.

Take the Docks: In many cities, the powerful Dockworker's Unions could stop the transfer of goods at will, or smuggle goods past customs inspectors. While this is mostly used for their own benefit, it could be a potent measure to increase the party's resources and power. Unfortunately, given the suspicion being directed at the docks currently, such an action could provoke severe crackdowns that would have significant support. Cost: Severe risk of backlash, will likely increase corruption. DC: 0/40/80/120. Results: Gain income, easier smuggling, new options unlocked.

Recruit Butler: Butler is on your side. While currently he is still the head of the VFW, he may be willing to take up a position under you as the commander of the Red Guards. He is widely respected, famously popular, and a skilled and disciplined leader. His influence will be invaluable for strengthening your paramilitaries and preparing for the bloody conflict to come. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Commit 1 Influence to Butler, get him as a subordinate.

Striking Soldiers: The news that several hundred soldiers have gone on strike has been greatly celebrated in the SPA. Even if it is not truly solidarity, it is a seed that can be watered. Careful efforts on approaching the soldiers who have gone on strike can be begun, hopefully before they are broken up or thrown in prison by untrusting army officers who are desperate to protect their class privilege. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/80/120/160. Result: increase to the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Cultural Actions

Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of "Christian socialism" and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it's time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn't hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it's time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, 'rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 6 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 3 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America's shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None.
Time: 3 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.

Socialist Radio Networks: Huey Long has used the radio to spread his reactionary babble to thousands of Americans. We can do the same. Through speeches and interviews, your message can be broadcast. While some may turn off the radio rather than hear the truth, the more you reach the more you can convince. The first step will be to purchase...whatever it is that produces radio waves for broadcasts. That was never something you needed to learn in school. With migrant hordes crossing the land east and west, a way to reach them grows increasingly important. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 5/25/50/75. Results: Significantly easier recruiting, increased support.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss's back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/80. Results: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, ease of recruiting.

Propagandize The Rural Areas: Farmers are intensely reactionary. The Southern smallholder made the greatest contribution to the Confederate armies during the War of the Slave Power, the yeomen resisted the creation of a bourgeois democracy during the War of American Independence. But with multiple crises of capital ravaging them economically, perhaps some can be persuaded to support you and join the most advanced segments of the working class. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/30/60/90. Result: Begin propagandizing farmers.

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Political Actions

Impeachment: If President Hoover has been unable to leave the White House grounds for two months, he is clearly no longer fit for office. The two-thirds majority impeachment requires is veritably impossible to achieve, but even making noises about it could help gain you support and allies, especially if you are high-profile enough. Some in your party consider it nothing but a waste of time, others feel it is a tactical error. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Syndicalists. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/40/90/200. Results: The Socialist Party initiates an impeachment motion for Hoover, chance of gaining legislative allies or support.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions have left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/120/180. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Press the Progressives: The Progressive Party is now the second-weakest in America. Even the newly formed America First Party has surpassed them. They hold a few scattered seats in the west and Midwest and little more. This weakness is also what makes them vulnerable. They will collapse as a national party without intervention, you suspect. And you can offer this intervention. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Results: You convince some members of the Progressive Party to switch allegiance to you.

Pro-Worker Legislation: It would ordinarily be unlikely to pass, at least on a federal level, but demanding it will make a statement in and of itself. And you will not just push this legislation on a federal level. These laws will focus on the things workers have fought for. Better wages, workplace safety, price caps for company stores...with the stroke of a pen, they can be spread across the country, and it will be the SPA that will take the lion's share of the credit. Unfortunately, the current mood in Congress is intensely hostile to you. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Syndicalists. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/90/100/120. Results: You pass worker-protection laws on the state and possibly federal level and can gain varying amounts of support.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 40. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Local Elections: Mayors, sheriffs, county judges. All positions of undeniable importance to the people who elect them. Beginning a campaign to get favorable individuals elected into those positions in the areas you don't completely dominate will help set favorable ground for future elections or revolutionary actions. With the chaotic situations in many Midwestern states, the potential leverage is immense. It is highly likely there will be attempts by corrupt sheriffs and mayors to disrupt any rural organizations unless that danger is countered through the creation of favorable local governments. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/30/75. Results: Increase support on the local level.

Staff State Offices: The state bureaucracies are often intensely hostile to the efforts of the SPA, but while they are an obstacle they are one who can be defeated, or at least gone around. Beginning to hire loyal socialists and syndicalists will allow you to gradually begin purging these hostile organizations. The expertise and loyalty of these offices is a vital resource, one often denied to your supporters. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/45/90. Results: Begin gradually purging and replacing hostile bureaucrats, slow enough that there should be minimal loss of institutional knowledge.


Wealth Taxes: The federal relief bill you passed has dramatically eased the financial costs of the states working to protect their people, but they will run out eventually. The grants were large, but the state's income streams have not changed. Correct that, by passing savage wealth and inheritance taxes that will ensure the upper-class pay their fair share. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50. Result: Begin passing state-level wealth taxes.


Intellectual Actions

The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won't matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 6 months. DC: No roll. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Who Supports Who?: If you looked out the window to see New York City, you would think nine in ten supported you. You are not fool enough to think that, of course. The Payment Army alone disproves that, let alone the bullying your daughter has experienced, the endless attempts at suppression, the thousands of letters denouncing you. Beginning to get an accurate count will be vital for effectively directing your efforts. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Get a general idea of where your support is strong and weak and what people are concerned about.


Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

Proletarian Unity: The workers of the world must be united. There are false divisions embedded deep into the American psyche. Racism is the greatest but by no means the only one. Target these divides, weld them together as best you can. Make promises of restitution and justice, publicize what you stand for. It will be difficult and potentially dangerous, but you have to start somewhere. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence, chance of losing support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Counter racist narratives, increase support from minorities, small chance of +1 Influence.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA's ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

The Legacy of the Grange: The Grange was a vaguely socialist, mixed-race organization for farmers to help them progress and grant assistance through a variety of methods, from community support to political activism. The sudden rise of Farmer-Labor and the current devastation has caused it to decline greatly. But it can rise again, better and stronger. With Farmer-Labor on your side, a remnant of the Grange is as well. Begin a program of revitalization and create a new ideology for it. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: New, more socialist/syndicalist/anarchist/some form of leftist ideology for the Grange, new options for dealing with it unlocked.

Intrigue Actions

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party's financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.

Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That's going to be really hard to find...but at the same time it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child's play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Revolutionary Guards: People have been threatening to kill you and your family and other leaders for a long time. You have developed protection against overt attacks, but perhaps it is time to begin developing a more covert sort of protection as well. Cost: - 2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Create organization of plainclothes bodyguards for you, your family, and other important figures. Unlock additional counterintelligence actions.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/45/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Contact with the French and British: With the ports opened to French and British ships, the possibility of contact with your fellow syndicalists has just grown dramatically easier. The providing of support for you during the Revolution is a guarantee, what is less likely is them assisting you during this lead-up due to the difficulty of it, but the Syndintern will surely be able to provide something. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/??/??. Result: Contact the Syndintern

Personal Actions

Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions


Tweak a Subordinate's Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only once per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate's priorities (change order, add one, remove one).

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no focus.


A/N: 2 hour moratorium

Push for Reduced Hours: 1 Authority

You bring your proposal up to the CSA after spending many hours sounding people out on it. It's not a popular measure, but it is just barely palatable. You are faced with questions though. Money and time and blood has been spent on the rural farmers who will make up the armies of scabs you are trying to evade. Laws have been passed to support them, efforts have been made to integrate their leadership into the party, Red Guards have been sent to protect them and their homes.

The mood of the unions and the party is that these people are ungrateful and unreliable, but the threat they possess is recognizable nonetheless. And so union after union agrees to the measures, cutting down the number of shifts each member takes.

You have to insist and push it through ample resistance, to bear down upon those who defy you, and you threaten to expel a few of them from the Combined Syndicates - an empty threat, but one that shows how seriously you are taking this.

It has cost you some of your status, but as you walk through New York and see the streets emptier of the lost and listless, you count it a fair trade.

Result: -1 Influence, number of unemployed drastically reduced.

Unionized Only!: 1 Authority + 1 Influence, 45+46 = 91

Your next demand is met with far more enthusiasm. Even the AFL is convinced to join in the measure. A resolution to strike and walkout in any factory that hires ununionized workers passes with acclaim, and the day after city after city finds its factories grinding to a halt as the men and women who labored in them march out. Scabs are hired in vast swarms, protected by militias and strikebreakers...until police and Red Guards arrive and arrest them, marching the reactionaries off to rot in jail.

Their feeble attacks upon the rights of workers defeated, the owners are forced to capitulate. As a gesture of mercy, dozens of those arrested are released after agreeing to join a union and encouraged to partake in educational activities.

The Bethlehem Steel Foundry stood empty, it's fires banked, looming over the town like a giant's skull. A small band of nervous men approached, most in filthy shirtsleeves, their leader in a worn suit. "They can't make getting a job illegal, and all you gentlemen are willing to work, not like these lazy union..."

He trails off as the houses lining the street spill out large, ruddy men with heavy steel bars and tools and even a few guns. "Lazy? Who you calling lazy Martin? We forged the steel, we smelted and shaped it. All you did was stand there!" a figure in the crowd cries out.

Martin can't tell who, he's surrounded by angry faces and there's no one to protect him. The workers he recruited are backing away nervously, just as terrified as he is.

Suddenly, he sees salvation! A policeman approaches.

"What's going on here?" the officer demands.

"These ruffians attacked me, attacked me! Arrest them!" Martin shouted, leaping up and waving, frantic to get the man's attention.

He felt his guts freeze as he was ignored completely, the policeman instead walking over to the union men. There was a quick whispered conference, and then he saw a gun rise.

"You are under arrest, all of you!" he was told.

Martin started to protest. He never got to finish.

As the world faded to black, he heard someone say "He was clearly resisting arrest."

Result: Significant increase to the size of unions in many cities, union-only agreements signed with many factories.

Support Housing Cooperatives: 1 Influence, 43+15 = 58

The housing cooperatives need blankets and beds, they need coal and cleaning, they need better education and organization. It's a massive project, one you devote many hours to, and you are not alone. Dozens of people with experience in a variety of fields, from construction foremen to landlords who have joined your ranks to politicians help with this complex effort to improve the shelters so many live in.

Some are responsible for the ordering and delivery of supplies: coal stoves, privacy curtains, blankets, medical supplies, clothing, all the mind-boggling variety of things homes need.

Some are responsible for construction, as dozens of crews work to repair cracked walls and patch damaged roofs and establish functional sanitation.

And some work on re-establishing the social contracts of these cooperatives, reaffirming your commitments to democratic management and human dignity.

All these tasks are long and difficult. It will be many months until they are complete, but hopefully the inhabitants of the cooperatives can begin to take more of a leading role in the process as time goes on.

Result: Improvements to housing cooperatives have begun.

Veteran Cadres: 1 Influence, 97+10 = 107

There are hundreds of veteran soldiers, dissatisfied with their lot, who have joined the Red Guards in dribs and drabs. Dozens more have rallied to the red banner after seeing the failures of capitalism, or the bloody lengths it must go to in order to maintain itself. They have given their advice and support to other Guards in skirmishes and battles from Seattle to Washington, D. C., but they have not been truly taken advantage of by the organization as a whole.

It is time for that to change. Local party offices and union organizations put out a call, asking for those with military experience to join special Guards units who will be given the responsibility for training and assisting their comrades.

There are limits on what can be done, limits on weapons, limits on ammunition, limits on space, limits on time...the extensive and intricate pipeline the United States has for training soldiers and officers is practically non-existent.

But they begin doing their best nonetheless.

Result: Veterans in the Red Guards spirit removed, all training or combat actions have their DCs reduced by 10 or more, results improved.

Integrate the VFW: 1 Influence committed + 1 Influence, 88+64 = 152


The Veterans of Foreign Wars have formally dissolved themselves. They are no more, for a new organization has come to replace and supplant it. Those unwilling to serve the cause of socialism have drifted into other groups, formed pitiful remnants or allied with the forces of reaction, but the majority have become Red Guards, typically joining the veteran cadres to show their youngest comrades how to fight and how to win...although some of the younger ones have decided to take a different role instead.

A cousin of the Pullman family was supposed to be traveling to Toledo on a private, armored train to fire a dozen managers for giving in to the unionization demands. He was never going to make it, that had been agreed.

Anthony had voted against it, uncomfortable with the notion of attacking a man like that, but then he remembered the blood money he had made and how it had ended up in the pockets of robber barons like this fellow.

He found himself much more comfortable now. This was familiar work. Not in the details, but he had launched ambushes against hostile forces before.

Billy, a former army engineer and VFW like him, crawled back into the hiding place.

"Tracks are blocked," he whispered.

And indeed, logs and branches had been hauled across it.

Anthony lifted his head just an inch and shouted "Alright you bastards, get low and stay low. If the Pinkertons don't get you, I'll blow your fucking heads off myself!"

These are good lads, they just need a bit of discipline, he thought as he did his best impression of his old sergeant, laying into them with blistering insults until finally the last of them was hidden from the rail.

The train's whistle echoed around the bend, and then it slowed to a stop.

A dozen armed guards leaped out.

Hold, hold...don't fire till I do!

He adjusted his aim, shifting so that the gun was pointed right at the chest of the oldest guard, gambling that he was the-

The crack of gunfire exploded through the air. "Fire!" he roared.

A hail of bullets cut down the guards and bounced off the train.

"Rush 'em!" Billy shouted.

Firing from the hip, yelling, the two of them led the charge. Gunfire came back as the remaining guards, the ones who had stayed on the train, shot at them, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.

The cousin died, alongside his mistress. His disappearance was first noticed three days later.

Result: Increase in size and capability of the Red Guards, large numbers of veterans formally integrated into the organization.

Recruit Butler: 1 Influence

Actually Recruiting General Smedley Butler is...simple. You know he is open to supporting you, but you expected he would have something he wanted. Even Norman demanded that you tolerate his iron and sometimes inconvenient principles as part of gaining his assistance.

As soon as you knock on Butler's door, he comes down, packed and ready. He is practically vibrating with impatience as the two of you walk to your car, and the drive to SPA headquarters is filled with him discussing how he could support the cause.

He has three ideas. He could take a leadership role in the Red Guards and help "whip them into shape," working with the organization as a whole. He could focus on a smaller scale unit like the Blair Brigade and focus on making them as capable as possible. "Not elite troops, but elite organizers," he explains.

Or he could do what he has been doing and work on recruiting soldiers and officers to your side.

Of course, if you need him to shift his focus, all you need to do is ask.

[] The General: Recruit Butler as a commander in the Red Guard. -1 Authority. His initial priorities will be developing discipline and structure for the Guard as a whole. He will have 3 Influence.

[] The Organizer: Recruit Butler as an organizer for the Red Guard. -1 Authority. His initial priorities will be forming a professional cadre of trainers and logistics. He will have 3 Influence.

[] The Recruiter: Recruit Butler as a recruiter for the Red Guard. -1 Authority. His initial priorities will be identifying sympathetic officers and turning lower-ranked soldiers. He will have 3 Influence.

Wealth Taxes: 1 Influence, 16


The passing of these laws are frustratingly fraught, as remaining conservative groups pull out every stop they can. The courts are no longer willing or able to defend them in many places but by no means all. Private militias and militaries form, often supported by deserters from the National Guards. Protests and marches are staged in front of state capitols and other major buildings, and on several occasions shots are fired. Several magnates, including the Hearst and Vanderbilt empires, have formed companies for the sole purpose of helping people hide as much wealth as possible.

Worse, a series of low-level revolts have fired off in the bureaucratic strata. Records are lost or misprocessed, staff walkout in mass protests, and the machinery of government threatens to stall.

All this over a 20% tax on all income derived from investments and a 50% inheritance tax on estates larger than 1 million dollars.

Result: Moderate wealth and inheritance tax passed in several states, severe backlash ensues.

Report from the Coordination Committee, 92+5 = 97

Even as state governments find themselves struggling with sudden shortages of experienced personnel, literate individuals find themselves recruited into local governments, serving as understudies for various administrative duties and being given more manual jobs such as repairing roads.

The programs begin to expand as rapidly as it can be managed, despite the various towns and cities beginning to go into debt, as their administrations begin assisting the overstrained remnants of the state bureaucracies.

Report from Norman Thomas, 37+10 = 47

With more substantive matters on race relations tabled by the ferocious infighting within Congress, Norman decides to take a different approach, and begin making a tour of minority-dominated areas, starting with Harlem.

There were some unfortunate gaffes in the advertising for his speech that left it rather poorly attended.

Report from the State Legislation Committee, 65+5 = 70

While the wealth taxes have increased the influx of income to the states and enabled them to push through several expanded relief bills for urban and rural workers both, actually implementing these bills has proven difficult. The Committee descended into squabbling about who was responsible for what.

Personal Attention: Support Housing Cooperatives

One of the worst parts about the cooperative fiasco was how it damaged the image you try to present and the ideals you want to champion. Images of homeless men being clubbed by Red Guards stand in stark contrast to your promises of democracy for all and economic justice.

The social contract you are trying to write has been pissed on, and so you must work to write a new one. You spend long hours crafting official promises, and then longer hours still traveling across the country to make them in person.

Choose a Focus: Propagandize the Yeomen

The middle-class American smallholder is vanishing day by day. They are driven off their lands by violence or dust or poverty, the crisis of capitalism destroying their farms by the hundred. And they do not know who to blame.

MacArthur tells them to blame themselves. Long tells them to blame you. But you must teach them the truth: it is nothing but the pitiless turning of the gears of history, the artificial workings of a cruel system grinding up those who supported it and spitting them out. You must tell them it will happen again and again, until and unless the system is broken through revolution and reformation. You must convince them to join your cause.

Result: Focus completed, +10 to the next 4 rural propaganda actions.