Crosspire Messenger

[size=200]Crosspire Messenger [/size]
[size=150]Your local source of news and all the information that’s fit to print. [/size]

Winter Stores Good To Go
The harvest was good this year, so it looks like we’ll be well stocked for Winter no matter how long it lasts this year. General Silva himself was said to appreciate the extra bags of apples, pumpkins and carrots we were able to provide.

Free State Milita Recruiting Season
The Messenger would like to remind all young men and women between the ages of 13 and 17 that the FSM recruiters are starting to do the rounds of the Territory. If you’ve always dreamed of protecting those that need it and giving back talk to the FSM when they come to your town or settlement.

Monthly Slave Market Brings Protest
Tense scenes welcomed the Paradise slave traders when they arrived in Crosspire this month. They brought slaves to be sold at the Crosspire market as they have always done. However there was a stand off between some locals and the Paradise guards when it was claimed one of the slaves was a Crosspire local. While shots were fired Mayor Harris was able to calm the situation and the market finished peacefully. It will be interesting to see what happens when they arrive next month.

Bounty Notices Increasing
There has been a marked increase in bounty notices being posted, especially from out East. The defeat of the Clement Republic has seen a number of their senior officers desert and as such the Republic has posted a bounty on any of these officers brought in alive or with proof of their death. New New York has also seen a number of bounties. For full details of the notices please see the Classifieds section.

And don’t forget folks, if you have a message you want put out there this is the way to do it.

Warning Savage Queen In Vicinity

The Savage Queen of the Zenobians has been seen encamped about a days walk away from Crosspire for several days now. It is not safe to approach her no matter your abilities. It has been 50 years since we have last seen Zenobian Queen travel from her tribes land. Then she burned down a village and kidnapped 6 men whom were never seen again. This is not a hoax. The Zenobians are cannibals If you are not careful you could end up dinner or worse married to a Zenobian maiden. EXTREME CAUTION!

A scribbled word appears on some FSM notices from an unknown source

LIARS

Life expectancy in the waste, 1 hour into the game :wink:

Who Wants Candy?

The Candymen are due for their monthly visit to Crosspire soon. Make friends! Join our gang! Trade stuff!

Remember our 3 golden rules:

  1. New blood is good blood.
  2. Just because you don’t know what is, doesn’t mean it’s not useful.
  3. Everybody worth liking, likes candy!

:mrgreen:

We should totally have an in-game noticeboard with this stuff pinned to it.

Oh that is the plan :slight_smile:

[OOC] Sometime shortly after dawn following the day of chaos and raids, Doc reads a prepared speech to the citizens of Crosspire. Afterwards he pins it to the noticeboard for anyone late to the party. It’s pretty obvious he’s exhausted and worked on it all night, and judging from the content, either got a lot of assistance from someone else, or more likely, paraphrased as many speeches as he could from his assortment of books. At any rate, shortly afterwards he starts barking orders at people and doing a passable impression of being a real mayor for at least the next few hours. He attempts to gauge interest from individuals towards working out who will stay, and of those, what specialist skills or equipment they may have that can be utilised. And yes, this is deliberately cheesy and over the top :wink:[/OOC]

~Doc’s inaugural mayoralty speech~
My friends and colleagues,
as darkness fell last night, and the last of the echoing gunfire faded, I surveyed my beloved town with pride. We have faced and survived a time of chaos and turmoil the likes of which the people of Crosspire had never seen before. Raiders and militia alike surged upon the town, and we stood firm, resolute against the immoral forces raised against us. And I am proud of all of you. Residents of Crosspire and wanderer alike, you are forever bonded in blood.

The conflict on our doorstep is not of our making. The Free State and Clement Milita have been rivals for years as they struggle for primacy. Our families have long acknowledged the Free State Militia as our protectors, but now they face a threat far dire than any before. The impact of which will shape the future of Crosspire.

My friends,
I bring word of forces working in concert with the Clement militia. An association of Clement and modernised foreign forces are moving directly towards the Free State Militia compound. While General Silva has gathered additional support, it is likely he will be too late to resist the overwhelming forces arrayed against him. We must face the reality that the Free State Militia as we know it may cease to exist.

We count a number of militia amongst us. Those remaining here have bravely stood by our side. Bled for us. Fought alongside us. Helped us when we needed it. While the people of Crosspire are not warriors by choice, we will not abandon them in the face of Clement aggression. They are welcome to stay, and we will protect them as they regain their feet. As we would for all who stand with Crosspire. Outright conflict is not the only means to resolve differences. I bear your trust and authority as mayor, and I will see this threat neutralised with words or bullets - the choice is theirs.

There is much to be done.

Over the next few hours, I will be approaching individuals to assist me in my new role. There are marvels beneath our feet that rival any technology emerging from the Arcs. We have experienced soldiers and a fortified position. We have explosives, high powered weaponry, and key pieces of information that gain us a critical advantage over the Clement alliance. They will not take us unawares again.

There are events taking place beyond the walls of Crosspire that will reshape the world that is around us. We will be part of that future.

My friends, today I ask for your trust and help.

As mayor, I am instructing our young to spread the word to friendly towns that the alliance forces are coming. The outlying Free State Militia members will be brought to Crosspire. We are recalling our people from the farms and fields back to within our walls We are setting observers and scouts. We will prepare for all contingency’s. We will get through this.

But for today we bury our dead. We say our prayers. We shed our tears, endure and survive.

Thank you.

[OOC]So I wrote all this up ages ago in the hope it might help people with their inter-game plotting. You know, from a Mayoral ‘Help us!’ point of view. Essentially Doc makes these workstreams known to anyon, particularly those leaving temporarily so as to possibly keeping their eye out for resources or key needs. Please feel free to use any of these as prompts for your character goals or write-ups, and feel free to approach me in character at the game to discuss. My presence on the boards is sporadic so no guarantee’s I’ll see mail responses! Sorry if this is a bit chaotic looking, brain is mush.[/OOC]

After Doc emerges early on Day One and gives his inspiring (to his ears anyway) speech, he quickly makes it known that the conflicts have taken a fair chunk out of the non-renewable resources such as gunpowder and medicines. While these can be replaced, the threat of a clash with incoming forces is enough to spur a more rapid gathering campaign. Doc quickly assigns some workstreams and team leads. Doc does note that aside from the obvious leaders in their fields, there’s a whole mass of townies off screen able to help if needed. Yes, most of this is related to the potential incoming threat, but better to be prepared now and rest tomorrow if the threat bypasses us.

Military
Doc appoints Sosa to lead up the actual physical defence of the town. While Sosa is injured and recovering, his expertise is vital in determining where and how defences should get made and can do it from the medical tent. The tasks under this workstream are:

  • gather ammunition/gunpowder - town will pay good food and services for ammunition or related components
  • place some of the younger non-combatants out as scouts in the surrounding countryside equipped with flares/fires/radio’s/horses etc to give us some early warning.
  • start a training camp so anyone who wants to learn to defend themselves can
  • determine how the walls can be defended, or if it is possible against an opposing force with vehicles
  • determine if chemical weapons or explosives are feasible outside the city and where
  • Loot the raiders and enemy combatants, place the bodies a few miles out of town on the main road in from the direction we’re expecting trouble.
  • hang up a deceased former-dome inhabitant on the walls. Mark the walls with bright red lettering ‘Plague keep out’.
  • take a stocktake of supplies, ammunition, and weapons

Engineering-ish
Doc asks Christa to work with all the townies, both PC and NPC to do this as it is a combination of physical engineering knowledge, hard work, and knowledge of our resources and capability.

  • repair the city walls, ensure the gates are easily blockaded if need be
  • prepare an internal stockade defence, places where explosives could go as last resort to collapse buildings to create choke points
  • create maps of nearby areas, locate and mark a rendeavous point if town needs to move swiftly (will advise separately)
  • investigate moving the turrets and battle robot if possible
  • investigate looting ammunition from “mechanism’s” if possible

Medical
Doc keeps this for himself, but asks Cara and Allen to do most of the day to day work on this if possible. Doc cares for Sosa personally.

  • Need to replenish bandages - tear up some bedsheets darnit!
  • doc provides a list of chemicals he needs to make medpacks. If anyone is out and about scavenging, please keep an eye out.
  • takes voluntary blood tranfusions from townies
  • make as many medpacks as possible

Scientific

  • Please talk to Doc or Ted Rogers if you wish to help, or have anything to offer, on this. Actually, probably Ted. Doc might just stare blankly for a while until his eyes glaze over.

Also, not to make anyone nervous, but given the Clement State was based in the east, which is where the ‘British Forces’ were coming from. Can anyone elucidate what happened to the Candymen, given their heavily fortified but peaceful enclosure was far to the west? Completely acknowledge that the same forces may be responsible, but in the time frame seems unlikely. Some minor concern there’s two forces incoming.

Day #2 after the fallout, sometime during the night a notice appears on several posts, the door of the Bar, Clinic & Diner.

MISSING: Dr James Perkins, Sc.D BChem
Last known location: Crosspire
Destination: Arc Eustonia

6 Weeks ago, various parties stopped receiving communications with Dr Perkins.
Anyone who has spoken too, or heard from Dr Perkins need to get word Dr Maddison at the Langone Research Facility.
Reward for any information that leads to contacting or retrieval of Dr Perkins.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The notice is typed on rather high quality paper, something one would expect to come from an Arc.

[quote=“Surrealfish”]

After Doc emerges early on Day One and gives his inspiring (to his ears anyway) speech, he quickly makes it known that the conflicts have taken a fair chunk out of the non-renewable resources such as gunpowder and medicines. While these can be replaced, the threat of a clash with incoming forces is enough to spur a more rapid gathering campaign.

Also, not to make anyone nervous, but given the Clement State was based in the east, which is where the ‘British Forces’ were coming from. Can anyone elucidate what happened to the Candymen, given their heavily fortified but peaceful enclosure was far to the west? Completely acknowledge that the same forces may be responsible, but in the time frame seems unlikely. Some minor concern there’s two forces incoming.[/quote]

On Day One, Tic is running around like a headless chicken, trying to organise someone(s) to help take her brother back to Playland for the burial ritual and to see what happened with the rest of the (Candymen) gang. If their timetables coincide, this may well involve a specific couple of PCs (was it Tom and Drake? A girl with a truck, in any case…), and the gods [GM] have agreed she/they will be back in Crosspire by Day Two or Three.

I suspect that whatever Tic finds at Playland, will make her:

  1. extremely pissed at whoever it was who broke up her gang and messed up her playground [I’m thinking she will bring back any evidence of who might have done that, to show the “good guys” at Crosspire], and will want some kind of revenge.

  2. let Doc (or whoever’s handling it) know that the Candymen’s main weaponry skill is with bows, which are far easier to provide ammunition for than guns, and that for what it’s worth, she’s more than willing to lend her fletching/shooting skills to the Crosspire cause if that helps hit back at the bullies who beat up her gang [In theory she’s happy to teach people how to shoot a handbow, but just so everyone knows, Tic can do it well but Kate can’t…].

  3. really want to repopulate the Candymen and Playland, cos that’s her home and her gang. Depending on what condition Playland is left in when she goes back, it could be a strong possibility that she might suggest to Doc that the Good Guys at Crosspire could come and live at Playland and be Candymen. Apart from the recent lack of varied diet, they lived pretty well there. Just a thought…