[X] Plan Keeping Quiet
The Guns of Old John Brown
- Thread starter notbirdofprey
- Start date
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan Keeping Quiet
- Location
- Minnesota
[X] Plan Keeping Quiet
[X] Plan Keeping Quiet
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Keeping Quiet
Some passing thoughts about what could be done to make the territory Brown takes more productive, generate better material conditions, and cheap-ish military options.
Books. Not modern eBooks or pulp print, but those massive encyclopedia sets and old textbooks. They're imperfect, but they're already together and relatively convenient. Found a new Library of Alexandria.
Also see about a copy of the USGS. Maps save lives and you can have better ones than anyone you're fighting downtime.
Seeds. Many libraries in the 2020s have seed collections. Taking a few out and bringing them downtime could dramatically increase yields in a few years. Viva Green Revolution! (You might need to hit up a religious colony settlement for some of the trees, grains and pulses, but so it goes.)
While you're at it, stash some notes on food forest designs. They aren't best for everything everywhere, but options are great.
Fowl play. Poultry has seen some of the largest increases in production efficiency and eggs are fairly portable. Slide a few in and see about skipping human generations of selective breeding.
Mortars. There have been mortars before this point downtime, but modern mortar teams don't happen before the First World War without intervention. Fire support is a great leveller.
Rollin' rollin' rollin, yeah! Bicycles! Near modern designs are still getting started downtime. Skip thirty plus years of picking at problems and make your troops faster than marching on foot, but without having to add an entire second or third supply train to keep things moving. Or get off and use them as very narrow pack animals. It worked in Vietnam at least.
Books. Not modern eBooks or pulp print, but those massive encyclopedia sets and old textbooks. They're imperfect, but they're already together and relatively convenient. Found a new Library of Alexandria.
Also see about a copy of the USGS. Maps save lives and you can have better ones than anyone you're fighting downtime.
Seeds. Many libraries in the 2020s have seed collections. Taking a few out and bringing them downtime could dramatically increase yields in a few years. Viva Green Revolution! (You might need to hit up a religious colony settlement for some of the trees, grains and pulses, but so it goes.)
While you're at it, stash some notes on food forest designs. They aren't best for everything everywhere, but options are great.
Fowl play. Poultry has seen some of the largest increases in production efficiency and eggs are fairly portable. Slide a few in and see about skipping human generations of selective breeding.
Mortars. There have been mortars before this point downtime, but modern mortar teams don't happen before the First World War without intervention. Fire support is a great leveller.
Rollin' rollin' rollin, yeah! Bicycles! Near modern designs are still getting started downtime. Skip thirty plus years of picking at problems and make your troops faster than marching on foot, but without having to add an entire second or third supply train to keep things moving. Or get off and use them as very narrow pack animals. It worked in Vietnam at least.
- Location
- Te Ika-a-Māui
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Modern push bikes are definitely a excellent speed boost for personal transport in the period, especially since they're still using penny-farthing style designs.
So I just had a silly idea: if we can import the tools down time we could make Sten guns chambered whatever down time made metal cartridge ammo we can get our hands on.
- Location
- Here & There
[X] Plan Keeping Quiet
Vote closed
And three sets of 5d20, just like last time.
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Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
Rolling some dice.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Rolling.
Oh ow. Looking at the rolls, I don't think any of our Industrial actions completed.
Oh ow. Looking at the rolls, I don't think any of our Industrial actions completed.
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Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
Nice rolls, all average and above.
Industrial Phase 2 Results - June 7, 2059
As ever, there are crackdowns. Arrests are done, sometimes in the night, sometimes in public. Labor organizers, minority rights activists, socialist reformists, even some of the state-sanctioned union members are targeted in a crackdown.
But like every expression of the power of capital, it is not complete. They miss people, their attempts at breaking organizations fail, unity prevails over division. The strength of the left grows, even if it remains hidden and frail.
But into that strength steps the police, relying on bulk and numbers where more precise, targeted methods fail. Even some of your members are arrested, albeit it seems they weren't being targeted, just a general sweeping up of "revolutionary scum."
It is a reminder of the danger, and the importance, of your task however.
Resources in Reserve: 2
Resource Income: 48
Secrecy: 61+10-5+5+2+5+1+1-??=69
Buried Gold Caches, 14+8=22/25
The economy is teetering, the news says. There's not a lot of people selling gold right now. People are hiding it away, burying it in their closets and under their beds in case things get bad enough that there's another Bloody Summer.
You buy a few pieces, and some similarly valuable materials - silver and a half-dozen different gems, mostly.
But there's a lot of competition for what precious metals can be bought, and you are repeatedly outbid.
Result: Action incomplete.
Renewable Power Stage 2, 3+62=65/75
The order of solar panels is placed, along with several dozen batteries to provide power during the night. A few members even bring in an improvised wind turbine to give the compound a little extra juice.
But there are an unexpected series of delays and disruptions, and even a semi-successful strike on distant shores that results in the order being lost.
Although your members cheer at the victory for the working class, it does have some annoying consequences.
Result: Action incomplete.
Sugar and Flour, 28/30
More contracts are made and signed, payments delivered - being a legitimate business with a legal bank account makes handling such transactions far easier. And so when strikes disrupt the logistics, your new partners promise that they'll get you your supplies. It will just be delayed a little.
Result: Action will complete next Industrial Phase automatically.
Medical Supplies, 16+25=41/50
Just as contracts were made to supply your "bakery" with supplies such as flour and sugar, your "drugstore" was in need of medicine. From bandages to painkillers to basic medical manuals, all the goods an over-the-counter shop could possibly want were ordered.
Of course, it wasn't that simple, and there still remained some paperwork to complete and payments to process before the supplies would be delivered.
Result: Action incomplete.
Become a Legitimate Business, 31+62=93/45
With help from some newly suborned civil servants and a few former paralegals with crippling debts and grudges against the world, the paperwork to become a new collection of businesses which totally aren't a front for a gang have been completed. The licensing fees have been paid, and the "licensing fees."
Given that the new "shop" was in a bad part of town and didn't actually have anything to sell, it made perfect sense you didn't have any customers. Hopefully, things would stay that way.
Result: +10 Secrecy, some options modified.
Underground Union Contacts, Pt. 1, 23+50=73/60
This was going to be a bad summer. Everyone knew it. The police were preparing for crackdowns, the rich were fleeing the cities for their summer homes, the government was stepping up its propaganda and preparedness. And of course, the workers were readying themselves too. Some just hunkered down, some betrayed their class, and some were getting ready.
You have made contact with a number of men and women in the third category, experienced and hardened union leaders ready to take advantage of the chaos to get a better deal and grow the power of the working class in this country.
And they want your help.
Result: -5 Secrecy, 13/30 Strike Support, some options modified.
Off-Grid Membership, 9+64 = 73/30
The deed is done. Two false suicide notes, two bodies fallen into the cold waters of the lake.
Two lives retrieved from its depths and wrapped in blankets and given hot coffee.
The apparent deaths did not make even a blip on the radar of even the smallest news organization. A couple more suicides is nothing in this city.
Now, you are faced with a choice.
Do you keep using this method, or do you try and add some variety in the hopes of avoiding creating any concerning patterns?
[] [OFF] Stick to what works. Project becomes Fall in the Lake, costs 1 die, gets two Operatives in the downtime.
[] [OFF] Find additional approaches. Project becomes Other Ways Off the Grid, 0/40, 2 Resources per die.
And who are the two Operatives who volunteered?
[][OP] Rebecca Tillman. Traits: Chemist, Compelling Speaker, Social Radical
[] [OP] Floyd Olsen. Traits: Mentally Flexible, Boxer, Respects the Chain of Command
[] [OP] Celia MacDonald. Traits: Compelling Speaker, Historian, Social Moderate
Backroom Contacts, 43+87 = 130/50
The civil servants and government of this city are just as corrupt as anyone. Needing bribes to accomplish anything is normal, an expense already factored into your plans. The expenses to get closer relationships with some of these people are worse.
But they have been budgeted for, all the appropriate deals have been made, and you have an opportunity even. You have managed to get some smuggled paperwork from...
[] [CORRUPT] The Firearms Department and their Civilian Permits, giving you legal access to some basic modern firearms such as hunting rifles and pistols.
[] [CORRUPT] The Development Department and their Planning Forms, letting you propose some changes or additions to the city if you can justify why they would be profitable, and outbid all the competition of course.
[] [CORRUPT] The Medicine Department and their Pharmaceutical Licenses, permitting your over-the-counter drugstore to become a real pharmacy and start stocking some stronger and more useful drugs and better quality medical supplies without legal complications.
The Inner Circle (Business), 83/40
Creating a tradition of the executive board of a business spending some of their time perfectly alone, with armed guards to enforce that, is simplicity itself. No one wants to interfere with the unelected tyrants if they want to spend some time among themselves instead of enforcing labor discipline.
Result: +5 Secrecy, chance of catastrophic leak drastically reduced.
The Inner Circle (Politics), 2/40
It proves much trickier to do the same with a democratically governed socialist organization. Ideas are bandied about in secret. But none of them seem to be good enough.
Result: Action incompleted.
Repeated Outreach, 31+46 = 77/60, 17/60 overflow
But that does not stop you from doing your ordinary work. You pamphlet and poster, meet disgruntled workers and exhausted toilers, agitate for justice, attack imperialism...
It is thankless, often depressing, work. Hours and days go by, with seemingly no reward.
But you do get a small trickle of recruits.
Result: +1 Resources per turn.
Protection Fees, 30/25
And the other side of the business does its work too. Small displays of threats and violence, chosen with care to harm as little as possible and avoid hostile attention, see a small trickle of money flowing into your coffers.
Result: +1 Resources per turn.
But like every expression of the power of capital, it is not complete. They miss people, their attempts at breaking organizations fail, unity prevails over division. The strength of the left grows, even if it remains hidden and frail.
But into that strength steps the police, relying on bulk and numbers where more precise, targeted methods fail. Even some of your members are arrested, albeit it seems they weren't being targeted, just a general sweeping up of "revolutionary scum."
It is a reminder of the danger, and the importance, of your task however.
Resources in Reserve: 2
Resource Income: 48
Secrecy: 61+10-5+5+2+5+1+1-??=69
Buried Gold Caches, 14+8=22/25
The economy is teetering, the news says. There's not a lot of people selling gold right now. People are hiding it away, burying it in their closets and under their beds in case things get bad enough that there's another Bloody Summer.
You buy a few pieces, and some similarly valuable materials - silver and a half-dozen different gems, mostly.
But there's a lot of competition for what precious metals can be bought, and you are repeatedly outbid.
Result: Action incomplete.
Renewable Power Stage 2, 3+62=65/75
The order of solar panels is placed, along with several dozen batteries to provide power during the night. A few members even bring in an improvised wind turbine to give the compound a little extra juice.
But there are an unexpected series of delays and disruptions, and even a semi-successful strike on distant shores that results in the order being lost.
Although your members cheer at the victory for the working class, it does have some annoying consequences.
Result: Action incomplete.
Sugar and Flour, 28/30
More contracts are made and signed, payments delivered - being a legitimate business with a legal bank account makes handling such transactions far easier. And so when strikes disrupt the logistics, your new partners promise that they'll get you your supplies. It will just be delayed a little.
Result: Action will complete next Industrial Phase automatically.
Medical Supplies, 16+25=41/50
Just as contracts were made to supply your "bakery" with supplies such as flour and sugar, your "drugstore" was in need of medicine. From bandages to painkillers to basic medical manuals, all the goods an over-the-counter shop could possibly want were ordered.
Of course, it wasn't that simple, and there still remained some paperwork to complete and payments to process before the supplies would be delivered.
Result: Action incomplete.
Become a Legitimate Business, 31+62=93/45
With help from some newly suborned civil servants and a few former paralegals with crippling debts and grudges against the world, the paperwork to become a new collection of businesses which totally aren't a front for a gang have been completed. The licensing fees have been paid, and the "licensing fees."
Given that the new "shop" was in a bad part of town and didn't actually have anything to sell, it made perfect sense you didn't have any customers. Hopefully, things would stay that way.
Result: +10 Secrecy, some options modified.
Underground Union Contacts, Pt. 1, 23+50=73/60
This was going to be a bad summer. Everyone knew it. The police were preparing for crackdowns, the rich were fleeing the cities for their summer homes, the government was stepping up its propaganda and preparedness. And of course, the workers were readying themselves too. Some just hunkered down, some betrayed their class, and some were getting ready.
You have made contact with a number of men and women in the third category, experienced and hardened union leaders ready to take advantage of the chaos to get a better deal and grow the power of the working class in this country.
And they want your help.
Result: -5 Secrecy, 13/30 Strike Support, some options modified.
Off-Grid Membership, 9+64 = 73/30
The deed is done. Two false suicide notes, two bodies fallen into the cold waters of the lake.
Two lives retrieved from its depths and wrapped in blankets and given hot coffee.
The apparent deaths did not make even a blip on the radar of even the smallest news organization. A couple more suicides is nothing in this city.
Now, you are faced with a choice.
Do you keep using this method, or do you try and add some variety in the hopes of avoiding creating any concerning patterns?
[] [OFF] Stick to what works. Project becomes Fall in the Lake, costs 1 die, gets two Operatives in the downtime.
[] [OFF] Find additional approaches. Project becomes Other Ways Off the Grid, 0/40, 2 Resources per die.
And who are the two Operatives who volunteered?
[][OP] Rebecca Tillman. Traits: Chemist, Compelling Speaker, Social Radical
[] [OP] Floyd Olsen. Traits: Mentally Flexible, Boxer, Respects the Chain of Command
[] [OP] Celia MacDonald. Traits: Compelling Speaker, Historian, Social Moderate
Backroom Contacts, 43+87 = 130/50
The civil servants and government of this city are just as corrupt as anyone. Needing bribes to accomplish anything is normal, an expense already factored into your plans. The expenses to get closer relationships with some of these people are worse.
But they have been budgeted for, all the appropriate deals have been made, and you have an opportunity even. You have managed to get some smuggled paperwork from...
[] [CORRUPT] The Firearms Department and their Civilian Permits, giving you legal access to some basic modern firearms such as hunting rifles and pistols.
[] [CORRUPT] The Development Department and their Planning Forms, letting you propose some changes or additions to the city if you can justify why they would be profitable, and outbid all the competition of course.
[] [CORRUPT] The Medicine Department and their Pharmaceutical Licenses, permitting your over-the-counter drugstore to become a real pharmacy and start stocking some stronger and more useful drugs and better quality medical supplies without legal complications.
The Inner Circle (Business), 83/40
Creating a tradition of the executive board of a business spending some of their time perfectly alone, with armed guards to enforce that, is simplicity itself. No one wants to interfere with the unelected tyrants if they want to spend some time among themselves instead of enforcing labor discipline.
Result: +5 Secrecy, chance of catastrophic leak drastically reduced.
The Inner Circle (Politics), 2/40
It proves much trickier to do the same with a democratically governed socialist organization. Ideas are bandied about in secret. But none of them seem to be good enough.
Result: Action incompleted.
Repeated Outreach, 31+46 = 77/60, 17/60 overflow
But that does not stop you from doing your ordinary work. You pamphlet and poster, meet disgruntled workers and exhausted toilers, agitate for justice, attack imperialism...
It is thankless, often depressing, work. Hours and days go by, with seemingly no reward.
But you do get a small trickle of recruits.
Result: +1 Resources per turn.
Protection Fees, 30/25
And the other side of the business does its work too. Small displays of threats and violence, chosen with care to harm as little as possible and avoid hostile attention, see a small trickle of money flowing into your coffers.
Result: +1 Resources per turn.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[] [CORRUPT] The Medicine Department and their Pharmaceutical Licenses, permitting your over-the-counter drugstore to become a real pharmacy and start stocking some stronger and more useful drugs and better quality medical supplies without legal complications.
If we could give the army modern medicine it'd empower it so, so much.
If we could give the army modern medicine it'd empower it so, so much.
Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
Our luck continues to be bad in the first section and good in the second section. I agree that getting a regular supply of high quality medicines would be the best thing we could do with our business right now.
- Location
- The Underdark
Hunting rifles would be decently useful. Small numbers of uptime guns can have a seriously outsized influence in allowing Brown to establish a sniper corps. Medicine is probably more useful, although the best would be to get Penecillin production put together and sent back.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Honestly, we can probably boost Brown's weapons a lot just by telling him and whatever gunsmiths he produces what turns out to be the correct way to do things. For instance, it probably wouldn't be difficult for us to implement needle guns and the like down time just via up time knowledge.
- Location
- USA
The usefulness of downtime weapons will be very strongly hindered by the continued use of black powder as a propellant. Black powder is an intensely dirty propellant that will make any intricate firing mechanism useless after just a couple dozen shots, and that's not even mentioning the noxious black smoke it creates that mark your position and obstructs your line of sight
We need to be able to produce smokeless propellants if we want to give Brown an actual technological edge, even with extant downtime weapons.
We need to be able to produce smokeless propellants if we want to give Brown an actual technological edge, even with extant downtime weapons.