The Guns of Old John Brown

The war begins not with a bang, but with a whimper. After the sound and fury of the Battle of New Chicago, people expected more. But instead an army broke and nothing came to replace it. There was no foreign intervention, no explosive retaliation. Only inexplicable silence and a quiet formalization of what is already true - that this nation is at war against its workers.

The new Revolutionary Government responded by claiming all territory in the Continential Union, provoking an immediate outcry from various separatist factions, but none were in the city and so for the moment they were ignored. They all had a common enemy, in any case. A series of decrees were passed by the Executive Committee, a formal governing body was established, and a Provisional Constitution, based on a prior incarnation, was written. With a modicum of stability and legitimacy achieved, the government turned to other matters.

Namely, war. The Revolutionary Worker's Army was ramshackle and chaotic, made of hundreds of different militias forcibly amalgamated into a single structure. One of the government's decrees established a set of procedures and a chain of command, which units were required to follow in exchange for aid and support, although democratic measures were entered at several levels to ensure the workers stayed in control of the armed forces. This half-formed structure proved sufficient to let them seized significant swathes of territory, as they were often opposed only by local militias who were no better trained or equipped. A core of deserters gave the RWA an experienced backbone and small stocks of heavy equipment that let them overwhelm immediate opposition. A huge swathe of territory in all directions was taken, although control of it was already proving difficult, and resistance both internal and external was materializing.

Meanwhile, other revolutionary, separtist, and generally anti-government movements rose up. Many were unprepared and unorganized, shocked by the sudden turn and attempting to capitalize on the momentum. Some were even successful. A new Mexican Republic was declared south of the Rio Grande, the Yukon and northern Alaska quietly withdrew from the government, and the Pacific Communal State rose again. Others were crushed under the batons of police, the bombs of the miltary, and the bullets of militias.

And the government moved against all these actions. There was no military coup, no sudden transformation, no collapse. Only the steady drone of requests for foreign aid, the desperate triaging of what would be crushed first, the confused accounting for resources as lines of communication and supply collapsed.

The stage was set for bloody battles, the curtains raised high, the actors standing, waiting for their cues...

And all the while a second revolution was going on, under everyone's noses. One you were working hard to support.

Resources: 55 per turn

2 Free Dice

Industry - 3 Industry Dice

[] Buried Gold Caches: While Radical Reconstruction has a number of ways to provide advanced support to John Brown, from better weapons to medicine to MREs, the simplest thing we can give him without giving away our origins is to donate gold to his cause. Though purchasing it will be expensive, increasing his financial resources will help him with everything from recruiting to rallying public support. (2 Resources per die, 22/25)

[] Chemical Production: If you want to make good supplies for Brown, especially things like explosives or medicine, you will need to be able to produce chemicals, especially since a number of the ingredients you would want to work with are dangerous, watched, or both. Carefully making large stainless steel reaction chambers, acquiring good quality laboratory equipment from schools and colleges doing fire sales, and finding good reasons for purchasing various precursors will enable you to set up production of a variety of useful materials without raising your profile. (5 Resources per die, 3/45. Chance of catastrophe during rolls.)

[] Machine Expansion: The machine shop is constantly busy now, supporting the steady expansion of the factory in downtime Troy and providing an additional trickle of income through the sale of high-quality tools. The infrastructure is straining current power supplies, but it could be expanded to provide a further increase in support for Brow. (8 Resources per die, 0/75)

[] Historic Weaponry: In addition to making machinery for Brown, we could make weapons for him. Our best options are likely to be Ferguson rifles or Sharps repeaters, which are still much better than anything he has access too and can be resupplied in the downtime. We can also provide him with some other military-related gear, like good boots and camouflage cloth. These would substantially improve his military position for the raid. (4 Resources per die, 0/60, small ongoing Resource cost)

[] High-Quality Printing: We won't be able to do as much as we would like when it comes to printing, but we can still produce large numbers of high-quality pamphlets and posters to bombard people with (metaphorically) and win the propaganda war. (1 Resource per die, 8/50, small ongoing Resource cost)

[] Drug Farms: To extend the supplies of medicine we can deliver, we can start constructing greenhouses to grow simple herbal medicines, painkillers such as marijuana, or perhaps harder drugs, given that they used as such downtime. With this, we will be able to expand the amount of medical aid we can give to Brown. (3 Resources per die, 4/30)


Acquisition - 4 Subterfuge Dice

[] Specialist Weapon Purchases: While we cannot supply significant numbers of troops with modern weapons, we could acquire a few highly lethal weapons and small supplies of ammunition, which might allow a few men and women to turn the tide of battles. Purchasing sniper rifles, high explosives, and other weapons will not come cheap in any way, though. (10 Resources per die, 10/25)

[] Good Guns: You don't need the best weapons to have a huge advantage over downtime soldiers. A few dozen hunting rifles will let you decapitate enemy armies with ease. The only limitation will be the amount of ammunition you can bring...that is needed for battles uptime as well. (2 Resources per die, 10/25)

[] More Medicine: Although medical supplies are dearly needed by our comrades uptime, they will be just as vital for our comrades downtime. Some small shipments could be diverted to go to the aid of Brown's uprising, keeping leaders and fighters alive for longer. (5 Resources per die, 0/25)

[] More Radios: While New Chicago has factories to produce many basic goods, some secured agricultural land, and an excess of raw resources from numerous seized mines, electronics are in short supply and solar-powered radios and the like are hard to come by. But they would be so very useful...(10 Resources per die, 0/30)

[] Uptime Expertise: There are a plethora of socialists, anarchists, communists, and more at a loss now that they have succeeded, even partly. Some of them are genuinely lost, the scope of their victory overwhelming them. Some of them could be inducted into Radical Reconstruciton and sent on "special missions." (5 Resources per die, 16/20)

[] Good Rations: While food is not in desperately short supply, there is a shortage of the sort of food you can easily take along on a military campaign, both for the slowly forming Revolutionary Worker's Army and our own needs. See if some military surplus MREs or trail foods can be scraped up. (3 Resources per die, 0/40)

[] Seed Stocks: It's easier to find seeds than military rations, although the sort of high-performance seed used in modern farms is strictly controlled. But given the greater relative importance of agriculture in the downtime, any sort of advantage on that front will be incredibly useful. It will be something of a slow-moving, if powerful, advantage. (4 Resources per die, 0/25)

[] High Explosives: The greatest part of what is coming will be won with rifles and perhaps even daggers, but explosives will be invaluable as well. Modern versions of dynamite and C4 will be useful for destroying infrastructure and inspiring terror. However, they are also important for the war effort in uptime as well. (5 Resources per die, 0/40)

[] Winter Gear: The cold is as deadly a weapon as disease, hunger, or slaver's bullets to newly liberated masses who lack many material goods. It will only be a drop in a bucket, but the supply of warm clothes, ranging from jackets to socks to hats will save lives. The scale of such an undertaking would be formidable...(2 Resources per die, 0/80)

Activity - 6 Activity Dice

[] Industrial Reworking: You are not working on this alone, but it is a vital project, and one in an area you have some expertise with. The industry of New Chicago has been shattered by buyouts, neglect, and violence. While it is still formidable, it needs substantial reworking and modification. Small-scale shops to manage repairs and modifications need establishment, machinery needs installation, workers need training and retraining. A race is coming, and the engine must be in good shape. (6 Resources per die, 0/500)

[] Renewable Power Expansions: You are not working on this alone, but it is a vital project, and one in an area you have some expertise with. The power grid has been cut off from all sources outside the area controlled by the newly formed army, leaving the current grid strained and prone to brownouts. Generators and existing renewable sources are struggling to fill the gaps, but both need significant expansions. (4 Resources per die, 0/1000)

[] Biofuel Collection: You are not working on this alone, but it is a vital project, and one in an area you have some expertise with. The oil supplies of New Chicago are insufficient, and so alternative methods are being pursued. While some are establishing algae forms, stopgaps are needed, in the forms of pursuing wood gasification and biofuels from waste, both plant and animal. (2 Resources per die, 0/400)

[] Continue Reconstruction: You are not working on this alone, but it is a vital project, and one in an area you have some expertise with. The city has been badly damaged. Homes and factories lie in ruins, rubble-strewn areas and damaged infrastructure remain obstacles. There's no clever trick or way around the problem - the destruction needs to be repaired, and that requires labor. (2 Resources per die, 0/600)

[] Metal Reclamation: You are not working on this alone, but it is a vital project, and one in an area you have some expertise with. Countless resources went into wasted vanity projects and disposable consumer goods. They can be put to much better use. Dig through dumps, seize status, reclaim property and smelt it down for useful metals, strip out useful materials. (1 Resource per die, 0/400)