In and around Fort Jericho and El Dorado:
Fort Jericho
Fort Jericho: Newtown had been a member of the Coalition States since 102 P.A. Shortly after the Juicer Uprising in 105 P.A., the Coalition States decided that the only way to “rehabilitate” Newtown was to completely remove almost half of the inhabitants of Newtown and resettle them in other parts of the Coalition States. Most of them were “resettled” to the C.S. state of Missouri. This had the added bonus of breaking up old networks and relationships while increasing the migrant’s reliance on their government for assistance in assimilating into their new communities.
Fort Jericho now has a civilian population of about 25,000, but, as a military training post and industrial complex, it is garrisoned by nearly 7,000 troops with an additional 5,000 new soldiers undergoing their initial training at any given time.
Most of the civilian inhabitants of the Fort are former residents of Newtown, but a significant portion are newcomers from Lone Star. They primarily work military contracts or in the production facilities that manufacture Coalition war materials. Still, there are at least 8,000 civilians engaged in agricultural pursuits.
The old “Border Wall” that once protected the western edge of Newtown is gone, as are many of the old buildings in the town. In its place is a forty-foot high wall that is 100 feet thick that now surrounds the entire nine square mile area that comprises the fort. Like the original wall, the new wall is hollow and acts as a bunker and barracks for the troops. Within the enclosed portion of Fort Jericho, there are training areas and buildings that house production facilities. Still, a great deal of training takes place outside of the walls including marksmanship training on advanced ranges and unit training exercises.
Within the wall, there are several places of interest including:
Headquarters 1, 2, and 3: This massive building, the site of the old Governor’s Palace, sits on top of the tallest hill in the fort. Since the declaration of martial law after the Juicer Uprising, the building has been entirely remodeled so that it can support a Corps-level headquarters along with two division headquarters as well as the garrison command.
C.S. Army Biotechnology Multi-Use Facility: While nowhere near as capable as the labs in Lone Star or even Chi-Town, the Biotech Multi-Use Facility, located in the former UTI Biotech Division building, represents a facility that can implement a wide variety of Biotech initiatives and conduct research into quite a few different scientific areas. The B-MUF produces new Coalition Juicers and ‘Borgs, and even conducts a little bit of biotech research. Secretly, many of the scientists at B-MUF are there because of the lack of oversight that they would otherwise be subjected to at the labs in Chi-Town or Lone Star. Dr. Alicia Hammond, Chief of Neuro-Medical research, is charged with developing stronger systems for maintaining brain function in Coalition Borgs and with increasing the capabilities of the neural intelligences in Coalition Skelebots, but she has been researching Psi-Netics and has even installed some systems in dog boy and human subjects. Her counterpart in the genetic area, Colonel Landon Pickens, M.D., has been conducting genetic modification experiments on embryos he has used in fertility treatments for several female soldiers and spouses of Fort Jericho personnel.
Wynn Medical Center: Wynn Medical Center is the largest dedicated hospital between Lone Star and New Chillicothe. Major surgeries throughout the C.S. of El Dorado are conducted at Wynn Medical Center, and the Medical Center maintains a small fleet of helicopters to facilitate the transport of patients. The Medical center has 150 beds and is capable of providing comprehensive trauma care.
Fort Jericho All Ranks Club: Open to any authorized resident or visitor to Fort Jericho, the All Ranks Club is located in the former Royal Casino, but there isn’t much gambling going on. Instead, the All Ranks club hosts organizational banquets, sporting events (especially boxing and mixed martial arts), and other entertainment events like musical performances. There are two bars and two nightclubs in the building, as well as other attractions including virtual reality games and old-style games like bowling and billiards.
Fort Jericho Officers Club: The Fort Jericho Officers club is much more exclusive than the All Ranks Club. Open only to officers and their invited guests, the Officers club represents a meeting place where power brokers in Fort Jericho’s micro-society can meet and negotiate deals, or where young up-and-comers can rub shoulders with the kingmakers that can catapult them to the top.
Housed in the same building that used to house the Golden Delight, the area surrounding the club was razed and an 18-hole golf course was installed in what used to be the Riverside neighborhood.
Fort Jericho Memorial Museum: Built after the Juicer Uprising, the Memorial Museum commemorates the heroes of the Coalition States Army.
Wills Memorial Chapel: Wills Memorial Chapel is one of three chapels on Fort Jericho. What sets Wills Chapel apart is that the senior Chaplain is a pagan and is actually a level 7 priest of Odin. He keeps his association with the god secret and allows the CS High Command to think that he is simply a practitioner of some ancient mythological religion. The CS is not fond of religious institutions, but it has found that religion can serve as a unifying force and as a bulwark against many of the evils that venture forth from the rifts.
There are a total of 23 chaplains on Fort Jericho that minister to the needs of soldiers and civilians alike. The vast majority are your average priests (use the Catholic Priest OCC from Warlords of Russia), but there is a specific sect, Deliverers, that has an unusual group of clergy that are all the equivalent of a Sea Inquisitor.
Deliverers are secretly repressed by the Coalition government despite the fact that their anti-demon, anti-magic theology fits well within the C.S. philosophy. The C.S. dislikes them because they are a power unto themselves and they hold sway over many of the ignorant masses both in the fortified cities and in the ‘burbs. Still, the Deliverers are effective in reinforcing the message that the C.S. leadership wants to send, so the relationship between the C.S. and the Deliverers is carefully managed. There are two Deliverer chaplains on Fort Smith, the equivalent of a level 5 and a level 4 Sea Inquisitor. Deliverance chaplains, unlike other sects, are required by their denomination to have served in the military prior to receiving their ecclesiastical endorsement. Most will have a dual O.C.C., most often Coalition Grunt frozen at level 2 or 3, though there is the occasional Commando.
Lieutenant General Abram Strider has reformed the forces at Fort Jericho to fit his concept of a modern fighting force. His ideas are being reviewed by members of the Coalition High Command, but it is unlikely that his ideas will take root in the Coalition War Machine.
Military Forces at Fort Jericho:
XXVII Corps (Storm Riders, 120 military specialists) Note: This Corps structure is not standard to C.S. Army and will eventually consist of two divisions with three combined arms brigades, essentially tripling the size of the Corps. Right now, the Corps-not counting training units-consists of 6596 soldiers. Also, Lieutenant General Strider has authority over all C.S. Military permanently stationed at Fort Jericho. Otherwise, he would not be able to roll the non-standard Special Forces and psychics into his corps headquarters.
-234th Artillery Regiment (432 Coalition Grunts, 72 Mark IC Missile Launcher Vehicles)
-194th Aviation Regiment (336 Flyboy Ace, 28 Demon Locust, 28 Black Lightning, 14 Scout Rocket Cycles, 42 Warbird Rocket Cycles, 56 Windjammer Skycycles)
-678th Intelligence Regiment (128 Rangers, 256 Commandos, 64 Special Forces, 64 Military Specialist)
-54th Anti-Aircraft Battalion (280 soldiers, 54 Sky Sweeper)
-657th Logistics Brigade (400 Technical Officers, 200 Logistics Vehicles)
-19th Air Wing (180 Flyboy Ace, 60 Talon Fighters, 10 Deathbringer APC, 2 SkyLifter)
-455th Special Troops Battalion (20 Military Specialists, 40 Psi-Stalkers, 80 Psi-Hounds, 40 Juicers, 40 EOD Specialists, and 20 Master Psychics[Bursters, Zappers, Psi-Nullifiers, and Mind Melters])
Total for Corps HQ and Corps-level elements- 2500 soldiers
209th Infantry Division (Lighting Warriors, 60 military specialists)
-229th Light Infantry Regiment (90 Military Specialists, 540 Grunts, 180 Cyborgs)
-165th Light Infantry Regiment (90 Military Specialists, 540 Grunts, 180 Cyborgs)
-159th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (60 Military Specialists, 300 Grunts in Exoskeleton, 50 RPA Elite, 50 Mauler PA, 8 Mark VII Slayer, 4 Mark V APC)
-277th Support Battalion (100 Technical Officers/Medical Officers/etc., 50 support vehicles)
Total for infantry division: 2190 soldiers
113th Armored Division (Thunderstruck, 60 Military Specialists)
-525th Armor Regiment (204 Elite RPA, 24 Hellfire, 12 Skull Smasher, 12 Abolisher, 24 Terror Trooper)
-201st Armored Cavalry Regiment (372 Elite RPA, 124 Super SAMAS, 248 Smiling Jack SAMAS)
-323rd Tank Regiment (880 Grunt, 44 Line Backer, 88 Grinning Skull)
-278th Support Battalion (150 Technical Officers, 50 support vehicles)
Total for Armored Divison: 1606 soldiers
75th Training Command (Fit to Fight)
-234th Infantry Regiment (Basic Training, 400 cadre, 2700 trainees)
-832nd Infantry Regiment (Basic Training, 400 cadre, 2700 trainees)
-456th Armored Regiment (Advanced OCC Training, 900 cadre, 4000 trainees)
-921st Infantry Regiment (Organizational Training, 200 cadre)
Camp Victor: Almost 30 miles due south of Fort Jericho, Camp Victor sits on the banks of the Poteau River. Camp Victor was originally built in 103 P.A. to protect the trade routes between Newtown and El Dorado. Now that the town of Sun Down is part of the Coalition State of El Dorado, most of the original garrison has relocated to Sun Down. Still, the facilities at Camp Victor, rough though they are, provide for a great training environment for company and battalion level training exercises, especially now that half of the barracks are empty.
Camp Victor has a full-time force of about 300 Coalition soldiers. Of these, 100 are tasked with staff training and assessment. The remaining 200 soldiers act as opposing forces and face off against their sister C.S. units. These soldiers are experts in the tactics utilized by Free Quebec, the Pecos Raiders, Northern Gun, and several of the major mercenary companies of North America. Additionally, they can mimic the capabilities of some magically empowered forces.
Part of an Arkansas adventure build, but I will post it here
Moderators: Immortals, Supreme Beings, Old Ones
Re: Part of an Arkansas adventure build, but I will post it
Coalition State of El Dorado
El Dorado: The total population of City of El Dorado is about 140,000. This means that two thirds of the entire population of the Coalition State of El Dorado actually lives within the city limits of El Dorado.
El Dorado is still known for its oil fields and refineries as well as its natural gas power plants, but it has become more well known for its factories.
Shortly after El Dorado joined the Coalition States, it seemed that new factories were going up weekly. Despite heavy automation, the various factories in El Dorado pollute the local environment to a degree that can make visiting parts of the city unbearable. Nearly 50% of the inhabitants of El Dorado work in the factories and make decent wages (which continue to increase since El Dorado’s incorporation into the Coalition), but it is pretty clear that Chi-Town has shifted the dirtiest parts of Coalition manufacturing operations to El Dorado.
El Dorado is well defended, both because it has a thirty foot fortified wall surrounding most of the city and because it has more than 3,000 C.S. Regular Army troops spread across two outposts as well as a base within the city, and this number is expected to swell to 8,000 within the next two years. More importantly, roughly half of the CSED Regional Command forces are based out of El Dorado as well. While the CSED troops are less experienced and use older equipment than Coalition Regular Army Troops, there is a division and a half of troops (nearly 9,000) in the city. Of these, more than 400 are Juicers.
Most of the major places of interest from four years ago are shut down now, but several of the businesses have simply been moved to a dedicated mercenary district. While C.S. leaders aren’t particularly happy with the mercenary district, they understand that the mercenary community in El Dorado has always been important to the area and they further realize that mercenaries operating out of El Dorado might be easier to control and they might be directed towards enemies of the Coalition. In fact, nearly half of the contracts offered in the El Dorado hiring hall are sponsored by the Coalition, and at least 75% of the contracts are on behalf of a Coalition citizen or interest.
The mercenary district is distinct from the rest of the city and has its own entrances on the south side of the city wall as well as an interior wall the separates the mercenary district from the rest of the city. Some places of interest within the mercenary district include;
The Killing Ground: The Killing Ground’s new location is expanded and the new owner is a human named Vern Seward (Vern bought Pecos Hill out and Pecos Hill moved south to southern Texas; Pecos Hill still secretly owns a 51% interest in the business and Vern will occasionally hire mercenaries to transport Pecos’ earnings to him on an annual basis). The Killing Ground no longer offers Naruni equipment, but the store does offer equipment from just about every other manufacturer on the continent. The Killing Ground was looking at an exclusive contract with Northern Gun to sell their equipment, but Pecos Hill nixed that idea.
Vern Seward is growing tired of Pecos’ demands and it is only a matter of time before he sends mercenaries to visit Pecos with bullets and bombs instead of Pecos’ cut of the profits.
The Stuart Arena: The C.S. is not a huge fan of Juicer sports, but even they recognize that citizens need an outlet. When the C.S. agreed to allow El Dorado into the coalition, it knew that the Arena would have to be retained so that King (now Governor) Stuart could keep his property. When the mercenary district was designated, it was no mistake that the new, exclusive area was centered on The Stuart Arena. Profits are down from local attendees, but total profits are up now that the economy can support season ticket prices of more than 1,000 credits (a 500% increase over 4 years ago).
Cambridge Arms: This hotel in the mercenary district features conference rooms and a convention center as well as all of the amenities you might expect in a 3-star hotel. It is the nicest hotel in the mercenary district, and, at 350 rooms, it is probably the nicest hotel of its size in the city. The hotel has a bar and restaurant that serves food that is known throughout the region and many negotiations that occur outside of normal channels happen in the back rooms and booths of the hotel.
Garris Productions and Public Affairs: Every major player in the mercenary community needs a slick promotional video, right? That’s the service Garris will provide. In the past couple of years, Garris has begun handling marketing and outreach in addition to creating video and print advertisements, and the company is looking at acquiring Bartins and Associates in order to provide legal counsel, representation, and management to the many mercenaries, athletes, and competitors that find their way to El Dorado.
Garris Productions has also started production of several programs that include educational programing, documentaries, and fictional docuseries and entertainment programs. Several of the major stars of their programs are juicers (as are most of the stunt men and women).
Skunkwerks: Owned and operated by Yancy Cartwright (level 12 Operator) Skunkworks is a weapons and armor customization shop. Skunkworks can modify just about any firearm (+1 to strike) or armor (reduce prowl and movement penalty by 5%) for a small fee. Customization can also include aesthetics as well, and it is not impossible (though very costly) for Yancy to install the mechanisms of one weapon system into a similar weapon system so that it superficially resembles the design of another manufacturer. Lately, Yancy has been doing quite a few Naruni conversions.
South El Dorado Bank and Trust: Need to fund an expedition? Need to cover payroll? That’s what SEDBT will help you do…but you better be good for it! SEDBT is more than capable of hiring other mercenaries to collect on their debts. SEDBT employs 12 security guards (all Juicers, level 4-6) that have successfully thwarted the past four robbery attempts.
Devolved Art: Devolved Art is a tattoo shop in the mercenary district that offers some of the most intricate body art in North America. If you uncovered the secrets of Devolved Art, you may find that you have an opportunity to have a Tattoo of Strength inked into your skin (don’t tell your CS handler, though).
Tansa Dojo and Physical Combat Center: The Tansa, as it is known throughout El Dorado, is a center for all manner of combat disciplines. Many of The Tansa’s members attend to work on their craft or as part of their physical fitness regimen, but more than a few like to participate in or to watch the sparing events that occur nightly. On Friday and Saturday nights official bouts are held as part of testing, and, after testing, semi-professional fighters engage in a tournament-style contest.
What few people realize is that the Tansa Grandmaster, Jacques Riquard, is actually a level 11 Shikome Kido-Mi dragon. He has a group of twelve acolytes that act as his personal assassins and mercenaries. They are level 5-9 Master Assassins and each one is capable of 1-4 Mystic Martial Arts powers. Members of the Dojo may gain access to a mystic martial arts power, but the cost would be extreme and would likely involved actions that are dangerous and very unsavory.
Places of interest in greater El Dorado:
Timmons’ Scrap and Recycling: Timmons’ Scrapyard abuts the mercenary district which is good since more than 50% of the scrap Timmons processes comes from mercenary companies. The scrapyard contains parts from just about any common, non-CS robot. A truly legendary operator could probably do something with those parts…Frankenstein? For the non-legendary operators, Timmons probably has a used part for cheaper than new…but it might be dinged up a little-and it will still cost you!
Timmons employs four Borgs for security.
Starlight Lounge: The Starlight is the premier nightclub location in El Dorado with big name musical and comedy acts featured every weekend in the small theater in the rear of the building. Music, dancing, and drinks are available at almost all times. If you try hard enough, you will find professional escorts and illicit chemicals available for a price.
Fraternal Order of the Sword and Dagger: The Sword and Dagger is a club, a bar, and a social institution. Most of the members of the Sword and Dagger are retired members of the C.S. military, but a few members still serve actively. What might be considered a veteran’s fraternity is just as much a secret society of kingmakers within the C.S. military and a political lobbying organization. This particular chapter is new and consists of more than 100 members, 80% of home are retired CS soldiers and while 20 are currently serving (most actively serving members are posted to Fort Jericho). The group is more than just a group of untrained thugs and, while they would rarely engage in violence towards anyone in El Dorado, they have the training and equipment to pose a serious threat to just about anyone they encounter.
Magnolia: Magnolia is the second largest population center in the C.S. of El Dorado with 30,000 residents.
Unlike El Dorado proper, Magnolia is idyllic and peaceful. While there are some factories, they tend to be well outside the city limits. Most industrial centers near Magnolia involve chemical and mineral production including crude oil, bromine, and lithium. Factories produce batteries and fuel cells, and there is some limited production of E-Clips and even some disposable consumer electronics.
While Magnolia is not often a target of raiders and bandits, the CSED Regional Command maintains a force of more than 3,000 troops at Magnolia.
Magnolia has ore processing facilities that are fully capable of processing aluminum ore into aluminum and finished aluminum pieces. Magnolia is seeking an opportunity to gain access to the bauxite mines in either central Arkansas or just southeast of Little Rock, but, so far, a workable solution hasn’t been identified.
Ozam: Ozam was originally a logging community in the forested area near where the Little Missouri River met the Ouachita river. It had always been associated with El Dorado, and when El Dorado joined the C.S. it was obvious that Ozam would be part of the bargain.
While Ozam is one of the primary towns for harvesting and processing lumber, what makes it most important to the Coalition States and to C.S. El Dorado is the fact that it controls the bridge over the Little Missouri River and it is one of the two stops on the Reynolds-El Dorado Railroad line. It has several factories that produce would products in addition to its lumber mills.
More than 70% of the 3,500 residents of Ozam are engaged in the forestry industry, but this is changing. The town recently build a textile factory and several hundred acres of cleared land have been turned into cotton fields. It is likely that Ozam will be capable of producing hundreds of tons of textiles, cloth, and finished clothing within the next couple of years. CSEDRC maintains a force of 120 troops at this location.
Rainbow: Rainbow is a relatively new community established at the southeastern end of DeGray Lake in order to control narrow strip of land between DeGray Lake and the Ouachita River as well as the first stop on the Reynolds-El Dorado Rail Line.
Rainbow is a town with only 1,000 residents, but it is growing quickly and will probably exceed 5,000 within the next two years as the railroad becomes more important to El Dorado and El Dorado begins its anticipated expansion to the north. CSEDRC maintains a contingent of 240 troops at this location due to the greater risk of attacks from bandits following the eastern banks of the Ouachita.
Reynolds: Reynolds sits at the bend in the Ouachita River to the east of Lake Ouachita where the Ouachita River changes its course from east-west to north-south. Across the Ouachita River, the ruins of Malvern have been swallowed by forest, but there is still a “roadway” that leads north to Little Rock. Shortly before El Dorado joined the Coalition States, John Reynolds, a wealthy resident of El Dorado, began work on a railroad track that would connect El Dorado to Little Rock. His track reached as far as Reynolds before the problems with Newtown resulted in his company’s bankruptcy (and his subsequent suicide).
Since his death, C.S. El Dorado took control of the rail line and established an outpost at the line’s terminus that was named after John Reynolds.
Reynolds has become a trading hub between El Dorado and Little Rock and the town has bloomed to more than 1,500 residents. There are an additional 360 CSEDRC soldiers protecting the town from potential threats like the inhabitants of Hot Springs just a few miles away with another 100 CS regulars conducting patrols and seek and destroy missions between Reynolds, Little Rock, and Pine Bluff.
Sundown: Until a year ago, Sundown was a mixed community of humans and D-Bees that numbered nearly 3,000 residents. More recently, though, the C.S. State of El Dorado has annexed the community and “evicted” all non-humans and magic users. Most of these have re-settled in Haven, but some hide in the wilderness that surrounds Sundown, harrying C.S. troops and facilitating attacks by Pecos bandits.
It is the Pecos Bandits themselves that prompted El Dorado to take the town of Sundown. Sundown represented an opportunity to secure the north western part of the El Dorado territory, and for the past few years the area between the northern headwaters of the Mountain Fork of the Little River and the Ouachita River has been the primary point where Pecos raiding parties have attacked El Dorado from the north (normally following the northern bank of the Ouachita River or to the south along the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains or more directly south towards Day Queen.
Today, Sundown is a community of 2,500 human residents with a CSEDRC garrison of 600 troops.
Day Queen: Day Queen is a community of about 3,200 that sits between the Little River and the Cossatot River Northwest of Millwood Lake. Day Queen was inhabited before El Dorado joined the C.S. and it had already been nominally allied with El Dorado. While involved in the forestry industry, Day Queen’s primary source of income had always been the cultivation, slaughter, and processing of livestock. Today, Day Queen is a processing center for all forms of agricultural goods and crops and livestock are delivered to the town from the Kansas area to the west. Day Queen’s processing center not only butchers the livestock, but also produces hundreds of tons of canned, preserved and dried meat and broths per year.
CSEDRC maintains a force of 600 troops at this location to keep the peace and defend from Pecos Bandits. CS High Command has installed a further 64 special forces and ranger troops to conduct reconnaissance and attack missions into the Kansas territory.
Haven: When Newtown was razed by the C.S., the people fled. Seeking a place that would be relatively defensible and out of the way, they ended up settling west of the Poteau River between the Petit Jean and Fourche Lafave Rivers.
Originally, Haven looked more like a military encampment than a town, but eventually permanent structures were built.
Darrin Gallant, a level 13 Justice Ranger, was elected Sheriff and Public Safety Commissioner shortly after the town was established and, with the help of the town’s commissioners, established the framework for a successful community with a nascent economy.
The town’s progress was almost derailed in the past couple of years when the population tripled to 4,500 as D-Bees that were forcefully evicted from the El Dorado territory flooded to the community seeking to establish a new life.
Once again, Haven is a town of tents, with small encampments spread throughout the valley away from the town center.
Still, Darrin Gallant keeps order with his force of more than 400 Gunfighters, Gunslingers, Psi-Slingers, Justice Rangers, and Mercenaries.
The town is even well protected from magic since the technowizard Barcuss Clover (apparently a level 15 technowizard, but actually an adult dragon) created the Negator Lights, TW streetlamps that have create a perpetual cloud over the center of the town. The five street lamps create a 1 square mile area centered on the town where the effects of an anti-magic cloud spell are in perpetual effect. The streetlamps consume 13,000 PPE daily, so it is lucky that a ley line runs almost through the center of Haven-and, luckier still, Barcuss was able to have someone build six stone pyramids all along the Ley Line, effectively eliminating the flow of PPE throughout the valley. These stone pyramids are networked so that they provide PPE to the streetlamps daily. About once every three days, the streetlamp PPE requirement overwhelms the pyramid network and the streetlamps shut down for six hours (Roll a 1D12 every six hours the players are in town. On a result of a 1, the streetlamps go down and will be down for the next six hours).
And why would Barcuss Clover do all of this for Haven? Well, so that he could have a secure area to rest, of course! Barcuss is actually a dragon prince that was forcibly removed from Freehold more than ten years ago (long before the C.S. invaded Tolkeen). He participated in the Juicer Uprising and, when Newtown was crushed, he relocated to Haven with the rest of the refugees. About two and a half years ago, he was attacked by another dragon prince from Freehold that had a grudge against him.
Barely surviving the attack, Barcuss thought he might need to leave Rifts Earth entirely (and abandon most of the treasure he had accumulated for the past 100 years he had spent on Earth). At about the same time, a group of magic-empowered bandits attacked Haven and, in his guise as a techno-wizard extraordinaire, Barcuss cast anti-magic cloud and enabled Sheriff Gallant and his deputies to win the day. Sheriff Gallant asked Barcuss to create something that would prevent magic users from using their powers in the town again, and Barcuss agreed knowing that he would be able to use the devices to protect himself against any future attacks by his former compatriots (Dragons and other creatures of magic will lose half of their MDC upon entering Haven and will be unable to cast spells-a vulnerability that does not apply to Barcuss since he is the creator of the lamps!). Because of the massive drain of PPE, most magic users avoid Haven completely.
C.S. forces in the area largely ignore Haven. Haven’s is largely tucked away from C.S. El Dorado, and Haven shares the C.S. fear of magic and the supernatural. Prior to Haven’s establishment, the valleys and hollers between the Petit Jean and Fourche Lafave were a breeding ground for monsters and supernatural beings. Since Haven was built, there has been a huge reduction in the number of monsters attacking El Dorado from the north. Additionally, Haven represents a nexus between the New West and Colorado Baronies, Lazlo, and the Pecos Empire. As such, it is a great place for the C.S. to place spies.
Hot Springs: Hot Springs is a hedonistic community that caters to just about any whim a visitor could desire. From blood sports, to gambling, to prostitution, Hot Springs has it.
In a town with 4,000 permanent residents, it could get pretty chaotic with 2,000 transients in town looking for an opportunity to practice their debauchery, but the town “Mayor”, Freejack Longfellow, and his associates keep a firm hand on the town. “Freejack” is a level 9 Borg associated with the Black Market and he maintains a force of 500 “associates” that help keep order in the town. More than half are just City Rat thugs and Juicer Wannabes (level 1-4), but a significant portion are highly trained soldiers with a full 100 of them being survivors of either the Jucier Uprising or Tolkeen, many of them even being enhanced with bionics, juicer modifications, or M.O.M. implants. Hot Springs even maintains two cybershops where individuals can get the M.O.M. enhancement!
El Dorado: The total population of City of El Dorado is about 140,000. This means that two thirds of the entire population of the Coalition State of El Dorado actually lives within the city limits of El Dorado.
El Dorado is still known for its oil fields and refineries as well as its natural gas power plants, but it has become more well known for its factories.
Shortly after El Dorado joined the Coalition States, it seemed that new factories were going up weekly. Despite heavy automation, the various factories in El Dorado pollute the local environment to a degree that can make visiting parts of the city unbearable. Nearly 50% of the inhabitants of El Dorado work in the factories and make decent wages (which continue to increase since El Dorado’s incorporation into the Coalition), but it is pretty clear that Chi-Town has shifted the dirtiest parts of Coalition manufacturing operations to El Dorado.
El Dorado is well defended, both because it has a thirty foot fortified wall surrounding most of the city and because it has more than 3,000 C.S. Regular Army troops spread across two outposts as well as a base within the city, and this number is expected to swell to 8,000 within the next two years. More importantly, roughly half of the CSED Regional Command forces are based out of El Dorado as well. While the CSED troops are less experienced and use older equipment than Coalition Regular Army Troops, there is a division and a half of troops (nearly 9,000) in the city. Of these, more than 400 are Juicers.
Most of the major places of interest from four years ago are shut down now, but several of the businesses have simply been moved to a dedicated mercenary district. While C.S. leaders aren’t particularly happy with the mercenary district, they understand that the mercenary community in El Dorado has always been important to the area and they further realize that mercenaries operating out of El Dorado might be easier to control and they might be directed towards enemies of the Coalition. In fact, nearly half of the contracts offered in the El Dorado hiring hall are sponsored by the Coalition, and at least 75% of the contracts are on behalf of a Coalition citizen or interest.
The mercenary district is distinct from the rest of the city and has its own entrances on the south side of the city wall as well as an interior wall the separates the mercenary district from the rest of the city. Some places of interest within the mercenary district include;
The Killing Ground: The Killing Ground’s new location is expanded and the new owner is a human named Vern Seward (Vern bought Pecos Hill out and Pecos Hill moved south to southern Texas; Pecos Hill still secretly owns a 51% interest in the business and Vern will occasionally hire mercenaries to transport Pecos’ earnings to him on an annual basis). The Killing Ground no longer offers Naruni equipment, but the store does offer equipment from just about every other manufacturer on the continent. The Killing Ground was looking at an exclusive contract with Northern Gun to sell their equipment, but Pecos Hill nixed that idea.
Vern Seward is growing tired of Pecos’ demands and it is only a matter of time before he sends mercenaries to visit Pecos with bullets and bombs instead of Pecos’ cut of the profits.
The Stuart Arena: The C.S. is not a huge fan of Juicer sports, but even they recognize that citizens need an outlet. When the C.S. agreed to allow El Dorado into the coalition, it knew that the Arena would have to be retained so that King (now Governor) Stuart could keep his property. When the mercenary district was designated, it was no mistake that the new, exclusive area was centered on The Stuart Arena. Profits are down from local attendees, but total profits are up now that the economy can support season ticket prices of more than 1,000 credits (a 500% increase over 4 years ago).
Cambridge Arms: This hotel in the mercenary district features conference rooms and a convention center as well as all of the amenities you might expect in a 3-star hotel. It is the nicest hotel in the mercenary district, and, at 350 rooms, it is probably the nicest hotel of its size in the city. The hotel has a bar and restaurant that serves food that is known throughout the region and many negotiations that occur outside of normal channels happen in the back rooms and booths of the hotel.
Garris Productions and Public Affairs: Every major player in the mercenary community needs a slick promotional video, right? That’s the service Garris will provide. In the past couple of years, Garris has begun handling marketing and outreach in addition to creating video and print advertisements, and the company is looking at acquiring Bartins and Associates in order to provide legal counsel, representation, and management to the many mercenaries, athletes, and competitors that find their way to El Dorado.
Garris Productions has also started production of several programs that include educational programing, documentaries, and fictional docuseries and entertainment programs. Several of the major stars of their programs are juicers (as are most of the stunt men and women).
Skunkwerks: Owned and operated by Yancy Cartwright (level 12 Operator) Skunkworks is a weapons and armor customization shop. Skunkworks can modify just about any firearm (+1 to strike) or armor (reduce prowl and movement penalty by 5%) for a small fee. Customization can also include aesthetics as well, and it is not impossible (though very costly) for Yancy to install the mechanisms of one weapon system into a similar weapon system so that it superficially resembles the design of another manufacturer. Lately, Yancy has been doing quite a few Naruni conversions.
South El Dorado Bank and Trust: Need to fund an expedition? Need to cover payroll? That’s what SEDBT will help you do…but you better be good for it! SEDBT is more than capable of hiring other mercenaries to collect on their debts. SEDBT employs 12 security guards (all Juicers, level 4-6) that have successfully thwarted the past four robbery attempts.
Devolved Art: Devolved Art is a tattoo shop in the mercenary district that offers some of the most intricate body art in North America. If you uncovered the secrets of Devolved Art, you may find that you have an opportunity to have a Tattoo of Strength inked into your skin (don’t tell your CS handler, though).
Tansa Dojo and Physical Combat Center: The Tansa, as it is known throughout El Dorado, is a center for all manner of combat disciplines. Many of The Tansa’s members attend to work on their craft or as part of their physical fitness regimen, but more than a few like to participate in or to watch the sparing events that occur nightly. On Friday and Saturday nights official bouts are held as part of testing, and, after testing, semi-professional fighters engage in a tournament-style contest.
What few people realize is that the Tansa Grandmaster, Jacques Riquard, is actually a level 11 Shikome Kido-Mi dragon. He has a group of twelve acolytes that act as his personal assassins and mercenaries. They are level 5-9 Master Assassins and each one is capable of 1-4 Mystic Martial Arts powers. Members of the Dojo may gain access to a mystic martial arts power, but the cost would be extreme and would likely involved actions that are dangerous and very unsavory.
Places of interest in greater El Dorado:
Timmons’ Scrap and Recycling: Timmons’ Scrapyard abuts the mercenary district which is good since more than 50% of the scrap Timmons processes comes from mercenary companies. The scrapyard contains parts from just about any common, non-CS robot. A truly legendary operator could probably do something with those parts…Frankenstein? For the non-legendary operators, Timmons probably has a used part for cheaper than new…but it might be dinged up a little-and it will still cost you!
Timmons employs four Borgs for security.
Starlight Lounge: The Starlight is the premier nightclub location in El Dorado with big name musical and comedy acts featured every weekend in the small theater in the rear of the building. Music, dancing, and drinks are available at almost all times. If you try hard enough, you will find professional escorts and illicit chemicals available for a price.
Fraternal Order of the Sword and Dagger: The Sword and Dagger is a club, a bar, and a social institution. Most of the members of the Sword and Dagger are retired members of the C.S. military, but a few members still serve actively. What might be considered a veteran’s fraternity is just as much a secret society of kingmakers within the C.S. military and a political lobbying organization. This particular chapter is new and consists of more than 100 members, 80% of home are retired CS soldiers and while 20 are currently serving (most actively serving members are posted to Fort Jericho). The group is more than just a group of untrained thugs and, while they would rarely engage in violence towards anyone in El Dorado, they have the training and equipment to pose a serious threat to just about anyone they encounter.
Magnolia: Magnolia is the second largest population center in the C.S. of El Dorado with 30,000 residents.
Unlike El Dorado proper, Magnolia is idyllic and peaceful. While there are some factories, they tend to be well outside the city limits. Most industrial centers near Magnolia involve chemical and mineral production including crude oil, bromine, and lithium. Factories produce batteries and fuel cells, and there is some limited production of E-Clips and even some disposable consumer electronics.
While Magnolia is not often a target of raiders and bandits, the CSED Regional Command maintains a force of more than 3,000 troops at Magnolia.
Magnolia has ore processing facilities that are fully capable of processing aluminum ore into aluminum and finished aluminum pieces. Magnolia is seeking an opportunity to gain access to the bauxite mines in either central Arkansas or just southeast of Little Rock, but, so far, a workable solution hasn’t been identified.
Ozam: Ozam was originally a logging community in the forested area near where the Little Missouri River met the Ouachita river. It had always been associated with El Dorado, and when El Dorado joined the C.S. it was obvious that Ozam would be part of the bargain.
While Ozam is one of the primary towns for harvesting and processing lumber, what makes it most important to the Coalition States and to C.S. El Dorado is the fact that it controls the bridge over the Little Missouri River and it is one of the two stops on the Reynolds-El Dorado Railroad line. It has several factories that produce would products in addition to its lumber mills.
More than 70% of the 3,500 residents of Ozam are engaged in the forestry industry, but this is changing. The town recently build a textile factory and several hundred acres of cleared land have been turned into cotton fields. It is likely that Ozam will be capable of producing hundreds of tons of textiles, cloth, and finished clothing within the next couple of years. CSEDRC maintains a force of 120 troops at this location.
Rainbow: Rainbow is a relatively new community established at the southeastern end of DeGray Lake in order to control narrow strip of land between DeGray Lake and the Ouachita River as well as the first stop on the Reynolds-El Dorado Rail Line.
Rainbow is a town with only 1,000 residents, but it is growing quickly and will probably exceed 5,000 within the next two years as the railroad becomes more important to El Dorado and El Dorado begins its anticipated expansion to the north. CSEDRC maintains a contingent of 240 troops at this location due to the greater risk of attacks from bandits following the eastern banks of the Ouachita.
Reynolds: Reynolds sits at the bend in the Ouachita River to the east of Lake Ouachita where the Ouachita River changes its course from east-west to north-south. Across the Ouachita River, the ruins of Malvern have been swallowed by forest, but there is still a “roadway” that leads north to Little Rock. Shortly before El Dorado joined the Coalition States, John Reynolds, a wealthy resident of El Dorado, began work on a railroad track that would connect El Dorado to Little Rock. His track reached as far as Reynolds before the problems with Newtown resulted in his company’s bankruptcy (and his subsequent suicide).
Since his death, C.S. El Dorado took control of the rail line and established an outpost at the line’s terminus that was named after John Reynolds.
Reynolds has become a trading hub between El Dorado and Little Rock and the town has bloomed to more than 1,500 residents. There are an additional 360 CSEDRC soldiers protecting the town from potential threats like the inhabitants of Hot Springs just a few miles away with another 100 CS regulars conducting patrols and seek and destroy missions between Reynolds, Little Rock, and Pine Bluff.
Sundown: Until a year ago, Sundown was a mixed community of humans and D-Bees that numbered nearly 3,000 residents. More recently, though, the C.S. State of El Dorado has annexed the community and “evicted” all non-humans and magic users. Most of these have re-settled in Haven, but some hide in the wilderness that surrounds Sundown, harrying C.S. troops and facilitating attacks by Pecos bandits.
It is the Pecos Bandits themselves that prompted El Dorado to take the town of Sundown. Sundown represented an opportunity to secure the north western part of the El Dorado territory, and for the past few years the area between the northern headwaters of the Mountain Fork of the Little River and the Ouachita River has been the primary point where Pecos raiding parties have attacked El Dorado from the north (normally following the northern bank of the Ouachita River or to the south along the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains or more directly south towards Day Queen.
Today, Sundown is a community of 2,500 human residents with a CSEDRC garrison of 600 troops.
Day Queen: Day Queen is a community of about 3,200 that sits between the Little River and the Cossatot River Northwest of Millwood Lake. Day Queen was inhabited before El Dorado joined the C.S. and it had already been nominally allied with El Dorado. While involved in the forestry industry, Day Queen’s primary source of income had always been the cultivation, slaughter, and processing of livestock. Today, Day Queen is a processing center for all forms of agricultural goods and crops and livestock are delivered to the town from the Kansas area to the west. Day Queen’s processing center not only butchers the livestock, but also produces hundreds of tons of canned, preserved and dried meat and broths per year.
CSEDRC maintains a force of 600 troops at this location to keep the peace and defend from Pecos Bandits. CS High Command has installed a further 64 special forces and ranger troops to conduct reconnaissance and attack missions into the Kansas territory.
Haven: When Newtown was razed by the C.S., the people fled. Seeking a place that would be relatively defensible and out of the way, they ended up settling west of the Poteau River between the Petit Jean and Fourche Lafave Rivers.
Originally, Haven looked more like a military encampment than a town, but eventually permanent structures were built.
Darrin Gallant, a level 13 Justice Ranger, was elected Sheriff and Public Safety Commissioner shortly after the town was established and, with the help of the town’s commissioners, established the framework for a successful community with a nascent economy.
The town’s progress was almost derailed in the past couple of years when the population tripled to 4,500 as D-Bees that were forcefully evicted from the El Dorado territory flooded to the community seeking to establish a new life.
Once again, Haven is a town of tents, with small encampments spread throughout the valley away from the town center.
Still, Darrin Gallant keeps order with his force of more than 400 Gunfighters, Gunslingers, Psi-Slingers, Justice Rangers, and Mercenaries.
The town is even well protected from magic since the technowizard Barcuss Clover (apparently a level 15 technowizard, but actually an adult dragon) created the Negator Lights, TW streetlamps that have create a perpetual cloud over the center of the town. The five street lamps create a 1 square mile area centered on the town where the effects of an anti-magic cloud spell are in perpetual effect. The streetlamps consume 13,000 PPE daily, so it is lucky that a ley line runs almost through the center of Haven-and, luckier still, Barcuss was able to have someone build six stone pyramids all along the Ley Line, effectively eliminating the flow of PPE throughout the valley. These stone pyramids are networked so that they provide PPE to the streetlamps daily. About once every three days, the streetlamp PPE requirement overwhelms the pyramid network and the streetlamps shut down for six hours (Roll a 1D12 every six hours the players are in town. On a result of a 1, the streetlamps go down and will be down for the next six hours).
And why would Barcuss Clover do all of this for Haven? Well, so that he could have a secure area to rest, of course! Barcuss is actually a dragon prince that was forcibly removed from Freehold more than ten years ago (long before the C.S. invaded Tolkeen). He participated in the Juicer Uprising and, when Newtown was crushed, he relocated to Haven with the rest of the refugees. About two and a half years ago, he was attacked by another dragon prince from Freehold that had a grudge against him.
Barely surviving the attack, Barcuss thought he might need to leave Rifts Earth entirely (and abandon most of the treasure he had accumulated for the past 100 years he had spent on Earth). At about the same time, a group of magic-empowered bandits attacked Haven and, in his guise as a techno-wizard extraordinaire, Barcuss cast anti-magic cloud and enabled Sheriff Gallant and his deputies to win the day. Sheriff Gallant asked Barcuss to create something that would prevent magic users from using their powers in the town again, and Barcuss agreed knowing that he would be able to use the devices to protect himself against any future attacks by his former compatriots (Dragons and other creatures of magic will lose half of their MDC upon entering Haven and will be unable to cast spells-a vulnerability that does not apply to Barcuss since he is the creator of the lamps!). Because of the massive drain of PPE, most magic users avoid Haven completely.
C.S. forces in the area largely ignore Haven. Haven’s is largely tucked away from C.S. El Dorado, and Haven shares the C.S. fear of magic and the supernatural. Prior to Haven’s establishment, the valleys and hollers between the Petit Jean and Fourche Lafave were a breeding ground for monsters and supernatural beings. Since Haven was built, there has been a huge reduction in the number of monsters attacking El Dorado from the north. Additionally, Haven represents a nexus between the New West and Colorado Baronies, Lazlo, and the Pecos Empire. As such, it is a great place for the C.S. to place spies.
Hot Springs: Hot Springs is a hedonistic community that caters to just about any whim a visitor could desire. From blood sports, to gambling, to prostitution, Hot Springs has it.
In a town with 4,000 permanent residents, it could get pretty chaotic with 2,000 transients in town looking for an opportunity to practice their debauchery, but the town “Mayor”, Freejack Longfellow, and his associates keep a firm hand on the town. “Freejack” is a level 9 Borg associated with the Black Market and he maintains a force of 500 “associates” that help keep order in the town. More than half are just City Rat thugs and Juicer Wannabes (level 1-4), but a significant portion are highly trained soldiers with a full 100 of them being survivors of either the Jucier Uprising or Tolkeen, many of them even being enhanced with bionics, juicer modifications, or M.O.M. implants. Hot Springs even maintains two cybershops where individuals can get the M.O.M. enhancement!