TEXT: CALIFORNIA  
  1) NUCLEAR TARGETS 
  BEALE AIR FORCE BASE (Yuba City, north-east of Sacramento)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SIERRA ARMY DEPOT (Herlong, CA; north-west of Reno, NV)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SACRAMENTO (Capital; central Sacramento River Valley, north-east of San Francisco)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SACRAMENTO ARMY DEPOT (outside Sacramento)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  MATHER AIR FORCE BASE (just outside south-east Sacramento)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  RANCHO SECO 1 NUCLEAR REACTOR (outside Sacramento)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  CASTLE AIR FORCE BASE (northwest of Merced, CA; central Sacramento Valley)  
  MISSILE: SS-19 (MIRVx6 300Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SAN FRANCISCO (Central Coast, on San Francisco Bay)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  HUNTER'S POINT NAVAL SHIPYARDS (southeastern San Francisco)  
  MISSILE: SS-18M1 (single 25 Mt warhead); Off Target, struck Mt. Shasta, CA; Ground Burst  
  OAKLAND (east of San Francisco, on the Bay)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  BERKELEY (north of Oakland)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  VALLEJO NUCLEAR SUBMARINE YARD (NE of San Francisco, off San Pablo Bay)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  US NAVAL STATION PORT CHICAGO (Concord, CA; east of Vallejo) 
  MISSILE: SS-16PS (single 1 Mt ground penetrator warhead); On Target; Sub-Surface Burst  
  
  TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE (Fairfield, CA; SW of Sacramento & NE of San Francisco)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  LIVERMORE NUCLEAR WEAPONS LABORATORY (hills south-east of Oakland)  
  MISSILE: SS-19 (MIRVx6 300Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SHARPE ARMY DEPOT (Tracy, CA; east of Livermore)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target*; Low Air Burst  
  VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (Lompoc, CA; north-west of Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  FORT ORD (outside Monterey)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); Off target, struck 12 miles E of Fort Ord; Dud  
  FRESNO (south-central Sacramento River Valley)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  LEMOORE NAVAL AIR STATION (south of Fresno)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  LOS ANGELES (Southern Coast)  
  MISSILE: SS-18M1 (single 25 Mt warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  LONG BEACH (S. Los Angeles; The Harbor)  
  MISSILE: SS-16 (single 1 Mt warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  TORRANCE (south Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  GLENDALE (hills north of Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  PASADENA (north-east of Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  ANAHEIM (SE Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SANTA ANA (south-east of Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-19 (MIRVx6 300Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  MARCH AIR FORCE BASE (Riverside, CA; east of Los Angeles)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  
  FORT IRWIN (Barstow, CA; NE of Los Angeles & SE of Bakersfield, in the Mojave Desert)  
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE (Lancaster; NE of L.A. & SE of Bakersfield, in the Mojave 
  Desert) 
  MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRVx4 200Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  SAN DIEGO (Southern Coast, near Mexican Boarder)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-8 (single 2 MT warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  CAMP PENDLETON MARINE CORPS BASE (Oceanside, CA; just north of San Diego)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst  
  NORTH ISLAND NAVAL AIR STATION (San Diego, on the Coronado Peninsula)  
  MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRVx3 500Kt warheads); Off Target, hit offshore of Imperial Beach; Low 
  Air Burst 
  2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS  
  Regional Supply Base Xeta Base: Located 15 miles due east of Indio.  
  Morrow Rail Center R-1: Location unknown, but somewhere near the Colorado River. 
  Contains the resources to build a new bridge across the river as well as rebuild railroads and 
  engines.  
  Morrow Steel Mill M-1: Location unknown, but somewhere in the Mojave Desert. This mini-
  mill uses electric furnaces and scrap steel to make new steels, then rolls, presses, and machines 
  them. The Project buried a fusion reactor nearby. This facility, once reactivated, can produce 
  anything from steel rails to flat plate. Nearby equipment adds the capability for making braided 
  cable, nails, and even small arms and shell casings.  
  Service and Support Team IS-2: Bolthole located in a small, caved-in mine shaft north and 
  west of Ludlow, about 40 miles east of Barstow. A specialized team tasked to repair the railroad 
  lines and bypasses in the Mojave Desert area. Because of the possibly of severe radiation 
  hazards, the team was assigned a High Capacity Armored Tractor (HCAT) with an Engineering 
  attachment trailer.  
  High Desert Command Team CA-2: Located in a graveyard near the town of Ballarat in Inyo 
  County, under a gravestone marked "Bruce Morrow". Team still sleeping.  
  Recon Team CA-4: 5 men with one V-150 w/25mm. Bolthole located four miles west of 
  Darwin in Inyo County near a cement plant near the northern edge of the China Lakes Test 
  Center. Team still sleeping.  
  Agro Team CA-7: Bolthole located in Kern County near Stallion Springs. Awoke around 100 
  years ago and began doing the good work of the Project. They formed the "Lazy Eight Ranch" 
  after clearing out some Mexican bandits and their descendents still live here today.  
  Engineering/Science Team CA-6: Bolthole located in Iron Canyon in the El Paso Mountains, 
  about a dozen miles north of Mojave. Their objective is to establish the reliable supply of water 
  from Owens Lake through the Aqueduct if possible. Team still sleeping.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: In Iron Canyon in the El Paso Mountains. The canyon is near Gofer, 
  northwest of the old trading town of Garlock and over a dozen miles north of the well-known 
  
  town of Mojave.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Four miles due west of the town of Darwin in Inyo County at the 
  northern edge of the China Lake Test Center.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Bolthole located near a highway turnout about 20 miles from Quincy, 
  in a heavily wooded area of the Plumas National Forest.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Near the town of Ukiah in Mendocino County.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Inside Kokoweef Cave in the Ivanpah Mountains in San Bernardino 
  County.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Near the town of Morongo Valley north of Palm Springs.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Somewhere in Santa Barbara County, in the thick diatomite strata.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Near the town of Benicia in the northeast suburbs of San Francisco.  
  Unnamed MP bolthole: Somewhere in the Chocolate Mountains in the southeast corner of the 
  state.  
  3) NORTHERN CALIFORNIA  
   
  The northern Sierra Nevadas and southern Cascades are rugged mountains that are snow-covered 
  most of the year and virtually impassable for months at a time, and that's with modern 4x4 trucks 
  and road graders. A line of 8-10,000 foot peaks, several active volcanoes, and crushingly thick 
  evergreen forests stretch far down into the central part of the state, making a natural defensive 
  line, and making entry into the state from the east quite difficult. Despite this, the region is home 
  to a number of Amerind Tribes--from Yurok Rangers in the west along the coast, to Karuk and 
  Shasta Ridgerunners north of the massive Mt. Shasta Volcano, and fierce Paiute Warriors in the 
  high deserts of the east. Also, the occasional family of non-Amerinds can still be found on run-
  down farms in isolated valleys across the region. And all fall prey to the occasional Slaver 
  raiding group from across the old Nevada border.  
  After the Amerinds, the most notable Power Bloc in the region is The Bear Republic (see below), 
  and a small, but technologically powerful community centered on Humboldt Bay, and the old 
  city of Eureka. 
  Six Rivers Tribal Alliance: Comprised of Hupa, Yurok, and Klamath Tribes, these people live in 
  small villages scattered amid the rugged mountains and river valleys north and north-east of 
  Imperial Yuryka, as well as the costal lands from the mouth of the Klamath River, north to the 
  Oregon border. Conflict between this Tribal Alliance and Imperial Yuryka is not uncommon. 
  The town of Mount Shasta: On War Day in 1989, a 25 megaton SS-18M1 arced in from Siberia 
  aimed for the San Francisco Naval Yards. As if pushed by the hand of an angel, the warhead 
  veered off course and smashed deep into the ground directly in the center of this small town. In a 
  millisecond, the entire town was turned into glowing magma and drifting atoms. The remains 
  solidified into a freakishly smooth circular plain two miles across. Around this circle, a ridge of 
  vitrified stone and earth rise sharply then taper off. In all directions, where the forest had been 
  blown down, trees snapped like twigs and burned in a flash, nothing grows. 150 years later, the 
  
  town of Mount Shasta is still a radioactive wasteland inhabited by scores of Blue Undead, and 
  travelers must take a wide detour to avoid danger.  
  Mount Shasta: This imposing volcano became active following the nuclear war, exploding 
  violently more than once in the last 150 years. Mt. Shasta, and other volcanoes in the area, 
  woken by the bombs that fell in 1989, present a barrier--often a fatal one--to folks attempting to 
  travel either north or south, through the region. Mount Shasta has long been rumored to be the 
  site of a secret underground complex, the rumored home of an ancient race with high-tech 
  machines. Legends also claim that the people in this hidden facility are all unusually tall, blue-
  eyed blondes.  
  Yreka: North of the great volcano, Yreka is the community and political center of the Shasta 
  Valley Tribal Confederation, and has about 2,000 permanent citizens, and up to four thousand 
  temporary citizens, depending on the season. This is the center for an Amerind Alliance made up 
  of the Karuk, Klamath, and Shasta Tribes. While most of these Tribes live in small, semi-
  permanent villages in the surrounding mountains and forests, here in Yreka they have organized 
  a clinic, schools, an Inter-Tribal Court, maintained the city water and sewer services, and even 
  have some home-generated electricity. The Tribal Police has 100 men, but as almost all Tribe 
  members are armed and willing to act as Militia, should the city be threatened, at any given time 
  such Militia strength could be 1-2 thousand armed natives.  
  Northern Paiute Tribal Range: The Tricorner Region of North-Eastern California (where the 
  State Lines of California, Oregon, and Nevada meet) state lines is the home range of the 
  Northern Paiutes and Pit River Achowawi Indians. They range as far west as the Shasta valley, 
  as far south as the middle Sierra Nevada's, up into Oregon, and out into the Great Basin of 
  Northern Nevada. These numerous Tribes wage a constant war with the Tahoe Slavers (often 
  mistaking any non-Amerind as Slavers), but are hindered by their traditional (almost Stone Age) 
  weapons. 
  Imperial Yuryka (aka Eureka, CA): Before the bombs dropped from a misty November sky, the 
  city of Eureka, located on Humboldt Bay, served as the regional center for government--being 
  the county seat and principal city in Humboldt County--as well as a center for Health Care, 
  Trade, and The Arts for the far North Coast of California. Historically, this coastal city, with its 
  bustling commercial district in proximity to the waterfront, was a center for logging, fishing, and 
  mining, but it was also a nexus of culture for unique lodgings, restaurants, and small shops 
  featuring a burgeoning cottage industry of hand-made creations from glassware to wood burning 
  stoves and a large variety of locally created art.  
  Eureka was a victim to its own success, however, as it was home to a large region medical 
  center; and after the bombs stopped falling, the sick and injured from all over Northern 
  California flocked there for aid. Within weeks of the bombs the city infrastructure was 
  overwhelmed by the wave of survivors and refugees, the medical center could not keep up, and 
  soon plague was running rampant. Panic and rioting followed, and within a few years, the city 
  was almost completely deserted.  
  
  But just as the city would have fallen to ruin within the misty forests--a mere handful of years 
  after the bombs--a submarine of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, carrying survivors 
  from that devastated island homeland, came into Humboldt Bay. These Japanese sailors and their 
  rescued companions quickly took control of Eureka and the coastal plains around the Bay, and 
  established for themselves a place that welcomed all people of Asian ancestry. "Modern" Eureka 
  is now called "Imperial Yuryka" by its residents; mostly Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, with 
  minority communities of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Filipinos. They have set up a large 
  community that resembles an idealized Imperial Japan, with some cultural influences from the 
  other ethnic groups. While these "Imperials" keep mostly to the coastal plains immediately 
  around Humboldt Bay, anyone traveling within 100 miles of "Imperial Yuryka" is likely to 
  encounter either a civilian workgroup (miners, lumbermen, hunters, etc.), or a patrol of the 
  "Imperial Marines" (infantry; armed with semiautomatic rifles, bayonets, and a light machine 
  gun).  
  See here for some examples of Japanese Yuryka-built weapons in use.  
  Imperials are very cool and reserved towards outsider Asians--always polite and respectful when 
  first met, unless made to feel otherwise--but they almost ignore non-Asians. Imperials have very 
  little contact with people outside their community; they don't fear outsiders, they don't hate them 
  or resent them, they just don't care anything about them, and so choose to ignore them. 
  Diplomacy is difficult, but not impossible. Over the years, a few Traders from Weaverville, in 
  the Bear republic, have had occasional dealings with Imperial Yuryka, contributing to that 
  community's rising wealth and status. As well, fishermen from the Principality of Juneau up in 
  Alaska have been entering the area, occasionally even competing with Yuryka’s own fishermen 
  for coastal stocks.  
  The Sierra Nevada Mountains define the eastern frontier of the Bear Republic. East of the Sierra 
  Nevadas is a forest wilderness, occupied only by Pit River Tribe Indians, Tahoe Slavers, and 
  isolated Hillbilly Cannibal Clans. The area is known for being backwards and poor. There is very 
  little trade traffic and people when met are dirty, timid, and impoverished looking. Many small 
  towns have been destroyed by rampaging bandit gangs, and forest fires pose a constant threat.  
  Tahoe (aka Truckee, CA): This is the actual seat of power for the Tahoe Slavers. The Slavers are 
  mean, selfish people who deal in human lives. However, they are not fanatical and place a high 
  value on their own hides (they will not fight to the last man for anything). They do not kill 
  people indiscriminately since this would be a gross waste of income and these people do not 
  waste anything when it can be sold. They range far and wide into the mountains of California 
  and the deserts of Nevada to capture their slaves. This is not a nice place to end up. The Tahoe 
  enclave produces homemade automatic 12 gauge shotguns, fed from 10-shot magazines. These 
  weapons are relatively new, being a product of the Tahoe local technology.  
  The Coast Road: The long and winding ribbon of Interstate 80, stretching from the ruins of San 
  Francisco to the shores of the Inland Sea in Utah. Through the mountains between the ruins of 
  Sacramento and Tahoe, the Coast Road is infrequently traveled because of rockslides, washouts 
  and bandits. The violent Slavers at Tahoe also serve to keep traffic down.  
  
  NEW! A companion sourcebook for the area around Tahoe and across Nevada on the Coast 
  Road.  
  Herlong: This town was mostly demolished by the nuke strikes on nearby Sierra Army 
  Munitions Depot. Today, just a few dozen families still live in the immediate area, and they 
  avoid the ghostly cratered remains of the depot for fear of "wandering vengeful spirits". It is 
  rumored that there are still some surviving chemical and biological weapons at the depot, but 
  with the damage it received, that is unlikely. Only the presence of so many Amerinds in the 
  surrounding mountains has kept any Slaver raid from completely wiping out this little 
  community. 
  Nevada City: Strange things have been rumored in the old Mayflower Mine east of the town. 
  Frightening noises and "devil-men" have been reported by locals brave enough to enter the long 
  tunnels.  
  The "Biblemen": The name for an ultra-religious clan who are found up in the thick mountains. 
  They can be found in most large towns, passing out handwritten tracts and preaching on corners. 
  They sing and pray at nights, which either bring a crowd or force the people to kick them out. 
  There are perhaps two or three hundred all together, scattered around Northern California. You 
  will not, however, find them anywhere within a hundred miles of Tahoe. Brother Mark is the 
  informal leader of the Biblemen. He is a small, skinny man who is quick to declare anyone a 
  sinner and a heathen who doesn't believe in the bible.  
  The Maidu Tribe: a small Native American group who reside in the central Sierra Nevada 
  Mountains east of the Bear Republic. They live in small camps along the old Nevada border, in 
  the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers. Their numbers have never been large, a 
  few thousand at most, but in recent years they have been decimated by raids from the Tahoe 
  Slavers.  
  4) THE BEAR REPUBLIC  
  The Bear Republic is a tight association of trading towns in the Sacramento River Valley, with 
  the center of Government located in Redding. The Bear Republic occupies the northern 
  Sacramento River Valley (aka Central Valley), from Redding, south to the Sacramento Wastes. 
  Several significant Bear Republic communities are found in the Southern Cascade Mountains 
  north of Redding, but Bear influence comes to a complete halt at the Mount Shasta volcano. The 
  Sierra Nevada Mountains define the western frontier of the Bear Republic. East of the Sierra 
  Nevada's is a forest wilderness, occupied only by Pit River Tribe Indians, Tahoe Slavers, and 
  isolated Hillbilly Cannibal Clans. The few communities in the Cascade Mountains along the 
  western frontier of the Bear Republic are all found on the east-facing slopes; the Bear Republic 
  makes no claims on any coastal territory. Each town is technically independent, but all swear 
  loyalty to The Bear and help each other out with security and trade. Beyond the valley floor, the 
  mountains are thick with bandits and isolated hamlets of woodsmen. The Bear Republic trades 
  heavily with the California State Republic, south of the Sacramento Wastes, which makes up 
  90% of their trade. The larger central valley towns are all strong members of The Bear, but the 
  further into the mountains one goes, the lighter the touch of The Bear becomes. The old I-5 and 
  
  State Highway-99 are the main arteries of travel and trade inside the Bear Republic and are 
  reasonably well maintained by Bear engineers and maintenance crews. 
  Mountain stronghold: Formed in the days immediately following the War as a regional 
  cooperative to survive the nuclear autumn, the towns of the northern end of the Sacramento 
  Valley realized early that the best way to survive was to pool their resources. Redding had 
  quickly become the center for Emergency Operations, and it was at Redding that folks got 
  together to decide what to do, once it was realized that they were out of contact with either State 
  or Federal authority. In the mid-20th Century a semi-serious Secession Movement had started in 
  the region, calling for the creation of an autonomous "Bear Republic". It was the arguments of 
  these folk that carried the day, and soon the confederation of towns was calling itself The Bear 
  Republic. Times were often difficult, and more than once internal and external pressures 
  threatened to tear The Bear apart, but the hearty folk of the region would not give up their dream 
  of independence.  
  For the last sixty years or so, the Bear Republic has stabilized and is now a relatively secure area 
  of farmers and tradesmen, nestled in the valley beneath the stunning mountain peaks. 
  Communities are generally small; the policies of the nascent Bear Republic tried to keep every 
  community viable--so every community found on a pre-war map of the region is likely to still 
  exist, though the population may only be a handful of people and a couple of families. Every 
  town is run by a Mayor (who may or may not be an elected official), and in the smallest the 
  Militia often doubles as the local Police force. In larger towns--communities with large 
  populations or wealth enough to influence the affairs of their neighboring towns--the title of 
  Mayor is superseded by that of Governor. Currently, the Bear Republic towns of Redding, 
  Dunsmuir, Burney, Weaverville, Red Bluff, Chico, and Williams are led by Governors. Though 
  technically all towns are seen as equals within The Bear, Redding is still the largest community, 
  and it is here that the Legislature meets (made up of appointed representatives of the Governors 
  and Mayors; often the Governors or Mayors, themselves). Bear politics is notorious for its high-
  energy political face-offs and rampant graft. 
  Governor Vincent Puddy: The Governor of Redding, and the de facto current leader of the Bear 
  Republic, is a tall man in his 40s, who is cursed with a face as ugly as his mind is brilliant. 
  Governor Puddy is known behind his back as "The Inbred" for the supposed relationship of his 
  biological parents, and is openly referred to as "That Basterd" by his political opponents.  
  Militias: All Bear Republic towns provide manpower and supplies (according to their abilities) 
  for a common militia. Each town in the valley has a Bear Militia garrison, responsible for their 
  stretch of the trade routes and the surrounding forests; they know their territory very well and are 
  highly motivated. Though the Bear Militia in each community is made up of personnel from that 
  town, all are sent for their initial training to a full-time Bear Militia training facility outside 
  Redding, called Camp Grizzly. The Bear Militia has adopted a standard camouflage pattern for 
  their uniforms (base green with random blobs of black, and reddish-brown), and equipment is 
  mainly civilian-style hunting gear and police issue weapons, with the occasional bit of old-style 
  military equipment, usually in support roles. In the event of a major invasion, the militia units at 
  each town are expected to combine into one army, under the leadership of the Command Staff at 
  Camp Grizzly.  
  
  Trade: The Republic's main trading partner is the California State Republic to the south, with 
  routes going through the mountains to San Jose or taking the risky Davis Trail--a narrow strip of 
  moderately safe terrain running through the Sacramento Wastes and the ruins of the town of 
  Davis. A few adventurous traders risk the trails east over the mountains to some select mountain 
  towns. And a couple of caravans a year make the dangerous journey north to Klamath Falls, 
  Oregon, but the forest trails through the Cascade Mountains are so thick with bandits and Karuk 
  Indians that fewer traders per year are making the attempt. The Bear Republic economy is a 
  silver-based coin system--4 copper Cubs equals 1 silver Quarter Bruin, 4 silver Quarter Bruins 
  equals 1 silver Bruin, and then there is a 10 Bruin gold coin, the Golden Bear. The Mountain 
  towns produce lumber and ores, and the valley towns produce meat, crops, and factory goods. 
  Technology: the technology of the larger towns of the Bear republic is a solid C--it is a source of 
  civic pride with the Governors to be able to brag about their cities having electricity, as well as 
  working city water and sewer service (although the quality of these services is often in question). 
  In the smaller towns, especially up in the mountains, the level of technology tends to slide down 
  to D. All the major communities of The Bear are linked to a basic telephone system, though only 
  the wealthy and powerful tend to have phones in their homes. Public Phones are available in 
  most shops. Redding is the major Armory town, while Chico has spent the last 25 years 
  establishing itself as The Bears "Motor City", now almost all automobiles in The Bear are 
  manufactured in Chico (though they are very basic vehicles, with an expected lifetime of about 3 
  years, before total break-down).  
  See here for some examples of Chico-built vehicles in use.  
  See here for some examples of Redding-built weapons in use.  
  Relations with Neighbors: the Bear Republic has tried for years to establish official relations 
  with Imperial Yuryka, but the Imperials want nothing to do with them. Relations with the various 
  Amerind Tribes along The Bear's frontiers are as changeable as the weather, but mostly stay just 
  this side of open warfare. Usually. There are open relations, and Trade, with the California State 
  Republic, to the south, but the folks of The Bear just smile and shake their heads, whenever some 
  CalState do-gooder starts yakking about the "Reuniting of Old California". They have heard tales 
  of the Republic of California, down around Bakersfield, and don't much like what they've heard, 
  but officially, there are no relations between The Bear and Bakersfield. It is an "open secret" that 
  there are Bear Traders doing some business with Tahoe, to the east, but the "official" policy is 
  Don't Ask, Don't Tell. 
  Redding: The capitol of the Bear Republic is Redding, a largish town of 4,000 citizens and the 
  headquarters of the Bear Militia. Redding has a fairly good medical facility and an industrial 
  capacity that produces ample alky-fuel, as well as guns and ammunition, and a variety of other 
  consumer goods. The militia garrison, Camp Grizzly, is based at the former Redding Municipal 
  Airport, and has a standing force of 275 men, augmented in the summer months by anywhere 
  from 100 to 200 recruits from all over The Bear. Most of the Militiamen are transported in 
  trucks, but Redding maintains a prestige force of 60 Horse cavalry here, as well. The town is led 
  by Governor Vincent Puddy (see abouve), and the Commandant of Camp Grizzly is General 
  Archie Richfield (the only General in the entire Bear Militia). 
  
  McCloud: This small mountain community of 100 is home to a saloon called "The Hitching 
  Post", run by a kindly woman named "Mama Pru", who often lets straggling travelers stay 
  upstairs for free. It is an honest establishment frequented by Gypsy Truckers and Bikers, all of 
  whom respect Mama's "no guns, no knives" sign above the door. Mayor Benny Wank runs the 
  town, while his brother, Lt. Freddy Wank, commands the 10-man Bear Militia Unit. 
  Dunsmuir: This small town near the southern edges of the Shasta crater was protected from the 
  blast by a steep ridge. In the intervening years, it has grown to be the largest town of the north, 
  possessing 800 residents. The strength of Dunsmuir's position comes from the discovery of 
  significant metal deposits that were uncovered by the eruptions of the volcanoes in the area. The 
  town is led by Governor Nate Scott, who keeps the local garrison of 100 Militiamen, 
  commanded by Major Kenny Brown, equipped with the best gear Redding can manufacture, 
  including a Chico-made Armored Car. 
  Weaverville: This small community of 500 people barely qualifies to be led by a Governor. But, 
  despite its small size--and perhaps because of the insightful leadership of its Governors for the 
  past 30 years--Weaverville is a very wealthy mountain town. Weaverville is based on lumbering 
  and raising sheep (for meat, milk, and wool), but 30 years ago a crafty Trader out in the western 
  woods ran into a lost and desperate officer of the Imperial Yurykan Marines. The Trader saved 
  the life of the Imperial Officer, and turned that Debt of Honor into a small, but lucrative, trade in 
  Yurykan porcelain. The Trader's family has maintained those ties to this day. In fact, Governor 
  Nicky Kelso is a descendant of that lucky Trader. As might be expected, Weaverville has a deep 
  respect for Imperial territory, and has few problems with them. The garrison of 50, led by 
  Captain Ronny Kitchener, spend most of their time watching for rogue Amerinds looking to earn 
  their stripes by making off with some Weaverville sheep--and the occasional Mountain Maiden. 
  Burney: This community of 900 people is based on nearby mines. Burney is the source of much 
  of the iron and silver that feeds the needs of The Bear. Governor Cox Wilhelm rides roughshod 
  over this unruly town of miners, gamblers, and scoundrels. Captain Grady Fines is a hard man 
  who enjoys the freedom that Governor Wilhelm gives him to "enforce" the public peace. Captain 
  Fines sends his 100 man unit out on town patrol armed with truncheons--and permission to use 
  them whenever, and however they see fit. Most civil penalties for lawbreakers involve a number 
  of days strapped to an ore cart, pushing it around the mines. 
  McArthur: A typical mountain town in the Bear Republic, McCloud boasts 300 citizens, almost 
  all wackos and six-tooth rednecks. The Mayor is Buddy Gromman, the only person in town who 
  wants the job, because the locals pretty much do things their own way, and ignore the 
  "bureaucracy" of the Mayor. Similarly, the commander of the militia garrison, Lt. Justin Fort, is 
  a lazy, slovenly fellow, and his command of 30 Militiamen follow his lead, barely practicing the 
  most basic of their training. Most of the Militia spends their nights drinking and carousing 
  instead of guarding the town. This is both unfortunate and dangerous, as McArthur sits astride 
  one of the few passable trails leading eastwards (the old State Highway 299). 
  Red Bluff: Just south of Redding, Red Bluff is located on the Sacramento River, at the junction 
  of I-5 and State Hwy 99, the two north-south corridors through the region. As such, Red Bluff is 
  an important trade town and watering hole. This community of 1,000 is led by Governor Alice 
  
  Wineridge (the only currently serving woman Governor; she and her husband are very wealthy 
  Traders). Roughly 100 soldiers make up the militia garrison, led by Colonel Wainright "Uncle 
  Winny" Poundstone, and headquartered in an old stone bank building south of town.  
  Corning: Once just a small rural community, Corning is now a large fortress town of 2,000 
  citizens--but that number is widely spread out around the near countryside, where they raise 
  some of The Bear's best produce and beef. Governor Tommy German, a wealthy and successful 
  rancher, leads this community. The militia garrison here has 60 men, led by Major Ronny 
  Stadtler. This force can be supplemented, as needed, by calling up about a dozen of the local 
  cowboys, to act as Horse Scouts.  
  Chico: A large town of 2,000 people led by Governor Mac Raddigan. The town's industry is 
  geared towards "heavy" industries; the smelting and casting of metals, manufacturing and 
  servicing vehicles, etc. The militia garrison here has 200 men, led by Colonel Roger Blakeson, 
  which is headquartered in a compound centered on a heavily fortified old television factory along 
  the side of the highway. Chico is also home to a number of Traders who "Deal Up In The 
  Mountains", i.e. trade with the Slavers at Tahoe. 
  Williams: The southernmost large town in the Republic, with a population of 1,000 led by 
  Governor Scotty Drysdale. The local Militia force currently numbers 150 troops, led by Colonel 
  "Whip" Jackson, but both the Governor and the Colonel are trying to recruit a larger force to deal 
  with a bandit problem. 
  The countryside to the south and east of Williams, down to the Sacramento Wastes, is infested 
  with bandit groups. The main bandit gang in the area, calling themselves "The Maulers", has 
  undergone a major leadership change in the past year. The moderate leader was killed by a 
  homicidal maniac who has now begun to attack the more isolated towns and farms of the area, 
  burning and pillaging them. So far these bandits have completely razed several towns, including 
  Sycamore and Grimes. It is thought that these thugs might be based in the ruins of Yuba City, 
  and plans are being made to hunt them down--something that no one feels like doing. 
  Dunnigan: A small, fortified town--the southernmost point in the Bear republic--which acts as 
  the "port of entry" for caravans coming up from the south. The population of this town is only 
  100, mostly Bear Militiamen and their families, with a handful of nearby farms trying to eke out 
  a living trying to supplement the garrison's supplies. The town's current Mayor is also the 
  garrison commander, Captain Bowdy Kenyon. The garrison of 60 is unusually busy, what with 
  having to provide escort against the local bandits, or enforcing The Bear's tariffs on incoming 
  caravans.  
  5) THE CALIFORNIA STATE REPUBLIC  
  The so-called "California State Republic" is the economic center of the state, and probably the 
  most peaceful of all the empires in the state. The corners of the CSR are Davis, Stockton and 
  Santa Rosa, with all the land in the middle well-traveled and filled with farms and cattle fields. 
  They trade with the Bear Republic, Bakersfield and San Jose, and pretty well dominate the 
  merchant routes in the region. Like the Bears, the cities and towns in the California State 
  
  Republic share security and commercial concerns, with policy coming out of the capitol in 
  Davis.  
  History: The CSR was originally just a line drawn in the sand by desperate citizens trying to save 
  their homes from hoards of refugees fleeing the nuked cities. The Governor was in Davis when 
  the bombs came, and he rallied the citizens together in the face of the crisis. Over the first few 
  weeks, scattered military units came in, adding their firepower and authority to the Governor's 
  martial law. Once things stabilized, Stockton and Davis were slowly linked. Santa Rosa joined 
  later, about 2010, and the California State Republic was formed.  
  Convoys: Along with regular trade routes up and down the lower valleys, the CSR has organized 
  convoys of trucks and horse-carts to carry goods out into the surrounding mountains to trade 
  with the settlements up there. These are occasionally hijacked by bandits and have to be heavily 
  armed and escorted. The more wealthy private citizens in the CSR also hire out their own 
  convoys for household goods, often dealing on the black market for drugs and weapons.  
  The ruins of Sacramento: Most of Sacramento was demolished in the war, the rest has been 
  abandoned by the locals. The rambling ruins are visited frequently by salvagers from the 
  California State Republic, and nearly every week some amazing technological gem is unearthed.  
  Davis: The capitol of the California State Republic, having been chosen for its relatively intact 
  university campus and defensible entrances. About 6,700 people now live and do business within 
  its defended walls. Davis has the advantages of constant trade, active political control and a large 
  militia body keeping the trouble to a minimum, making it a favorable place for people to live. 
  The Davis area is protected by a large militia with around 500 armed men. The government 
  holds court in several buildings of the UC-Davis campus and there are even some basic classes 
  taught to citizens at the school. The Governor is still elected every eight years, though only 
  landowners can vote. Much effort is expended to remind people of the past glory of the state and 
  the nation, including annual festivals and even trivia contests for kids.  
  Stockton: This city is the trading center for agricultural and manufactured goods traveling south 
  to Bakersfield and points along the coast. The militia has 400 men, and they control the routes 
  into and out of the city. Many of Stockton's 6,500 people lives in the large farming centers which 
  surround the town. The local militia wear white hats, and are called "White mice". South of 
  Stockton along I-5 is a large roadblock, which is mined and fortified, that all incoming caravans 
  and travelers must stop at and be inspected. Bribes and informal tariffs are common here.  
  Lodi: Another large farming community in the CSR, noted for having a 200-man elite militia 
  unit garrisoned here. This unit is a "rapid-reaction force" that is kept in reserve in case of 
  emergencies. It has not been used in that capacity for a generation and the men usually just patrol 
  the roads south to Stockton.  
  Santa Rosa: Always considered the weak sister in the CSR, Santa Rosa is a largish farming town 
  with a lot of problems.  
  
  Radio CS: The CSR has a large radio station. They salvaged every other station for almost 100 
  miles for parts. Now it's the most powerful station west of the Rockies. It plays weather reports 
  and music as well as frequent commercials for products sold in the area. For official 
  transmissions, the use the old California State Police frequency.  
  David Radison: Perhaps the richest trader in the CSR. He is just 30-years old, but has spent his 
  life working hard to get where he is. He lives in a mansion just outside Dixon that is a showcase 
  for pilfered art and sculpture. Radison has a private security force and numerous working 
  vehicles. He still has to pay taxes to the CSR government, but has the freedom to operate as an 
  independent trader most times.  
  6) SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 
  This lovely bay, ringed with urban areas from the mountainous spine of the San Francisco 
  Peninsula in the west, across to Oakland and Berkeley on the east shore, and from San Pablo Bay 
  in the north to San Jose in the south, is a mixed bag of ruin and rebirth.  
  The war: The bay area took a large number of nukes, on all sides of the bay. The zones of total 
  destruction caused by the nuclear hits were massive and much of the blasts were kept focused 
  and contained by the mountains and hills that surround the bay area; what wasn’t destroyed in 
  the blasts was completely burned to the ground in the chaos and riots that followed. The few 
  survivors on the mainland side of the bay fled east, into the surrounding countryside. Very few 
  made it as far as what would eventually become the California State Republic.  
  The ruins of San Francisco: The city, nestled on the northeastern tip and eastern shore of the 
  peninsula, suffered under the impacts of the three MIRVs from a sub-launched SS-N-17 which 
  exploded low over the city in a triangle of fire and death. East to west from 3rd Street to Great 
  Highway and north to south from Market Street down the peninsula to Pacifica and San Bruno, 
  there is nothing but charred clumps of rubble and mutant rats. Golden Gate Park, Lincoln Park 
  and similar urban greenspaces went up like dry tinder in the resulting atomic firestorms. Most of 
  the former streets in the city are impassable to all but foot traffic, and even then they are 
  incredibly treacherous. The smaller communities on the bay, far to the south of San Francisco, 
  were spared both blast and radiation, but were quickly overwhelmed by refugees. Route 101 and 
  I-280 heading south out of the city are both choked with burnt and abandoned cars to this day 
  and are still impassible for large stretches.  
  San Francisco Survivors: North of Market Street the situation is a little better. While the tall 
  buildings were blown down, many of the smaller buildings along the waterfront remained intact - 
  barely. The streets are not much more passable here than elsewhere in the ruins of the city, being 
  little better than cow paths between rubble heaps, but in this small area near the wharfs, an effort 
  has been made to make these trails a bit more passable. It is along this northern sliver of the 
  peninsula that life still clings. Clustered along this northeastern edge of the peninsula, a small 
  community of people of Taiwanese origin ekes out a meager existence. They are descendents of 
  a group from a Taiwanese cruise liner that was at sea at the time of the War, and spent five years 
  wandering the Pacific Rim before limping into San Francisco; out of supplies and leaking badly. 
  The survivors patched the ship up as best they could and found enough fuel to half-fill one tank. 
  
  The crew drew lots and 200 people stayed in San Francisco while the other 100 sailed away on 
  the ship, promising to return the next summer with more supplies from further south. The next 
  summer passed, and the next, and after a few more years, the Taiwanese left in the Bay Area 
  realized that they were on their own (the liner battled a winter storm off the Southern California 
  coast and lost). The community currently numbers about 70, total, and is getting smaller each 
  year. About a dozen of them have some old firearms and ammunition stockpiled which they have 
  used conservatively to keep them safe so far. These folks survive on fishing the Bay and catching 
  rats in the city ruins.  
  San Francisco Bay: The War left this huge harbor a mess, though over the last 150 years most of 
  the wrecks have been broken down or carried out to sea by the tides. A tour of the various 
  harborages today would reveal only few reminders of the atomic horror of 1989. The half-sunken 
  remains of a US Navy cruiser lie on her side in the soft mud of the marshlands that were once the 
  Alameda Naval Base, while the fire-scarred, imposing hulk of an aircraft carrier sits low in the 
  shallow waters nearby. The shadowy silhouettes of a number of freighters, as well as several 
  smaller ships, are visible in the shallows all around the Bay – many locatable by their rusted 
  radio masts still sticking up from the bay water. A large rusted-out Hyundai container ship rests 
  in the middle of a street on the Oakland waterfront, pushed there by a nuke-induced tidal wave. 
  The famed ocean liner SS Queen Mary sits in the silt mud off the mouth of the Coyote River in 
  Fremont, where she was beached following the nuclear attacks; she’s in such poor condition that 
  not even the Federal Union, in San Jose just a few miles south, has shown any interest in 
  salvaging her. The Queen Mary is slowly being broken by wave action and salt erosion, and may 
  soon collapse under her own weight. However, despite her ragged appearance, this greatest of 
  ocean liners may yet hold luxury treasures deep within her hull. 
  The famous Golden Gate Bridge miraculously still stands, but was severely mauled by the 
  atomic blasts. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, however, is down in the water; a hazard 
  to most deep-draft ship traffic into the southern end of the Bay. The San Mateo-Hayward and the 
  Dumbarton Bay Bridges are still up, though in questionable condition, and are controlled by the 
  Federal Union in San Jose.  
  Northern Bay Area: San Pablo Bay is a shallow tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of 
  San Francisco Bay. It receives the waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, via Suisun 
  Bay and the Carquinez Strait on its east end, and it connects to San Francisco Bay on its south 
  end. The northeastern shores of this bay, at the mouth of the river, are the location of the blasted 
  ruins of Vallejo, California, where the former US Navy submarine base is now a radioactive 
  wasteland – part of the larger devastation called the Sacramento Wastes.  
  Santa Rosa: At the time of the War, the survivors from the small communities along the northern 
  and western shores of San Pablo Bay fled here, to this mountain valley town. Santa Rosa barely 
  survived these times, and most likely would have fallen prey to the warlords of the Federal 
  Union in San Jose, from the south, if they hadn’t appealed to the Governor at Stockton (see the 
  California State Republic, below) and been assimilated into the California State Republic. 
  Today, Santa Rosa is a large farming community of 1,000 residents that, while technically part of 
  the California State Republic, it’s isolation from the bulk of the CalState by the wastelands of the 
  Concord-Vallejo-Oakland blasts causes this community to act semi-autonomously most of the 
  
  time. The only access from Santa Rosa territory to the rest of the CalState is via the San Joaquin 
  River– past the flooded crater of the old Port Chicago Naval facility at Concord – down to 
  Stockton; and regular cargo and passenger steamship travel is a source of pride. Santa Rosa is 
  also noted for maintaining a 200-man elite militia unit trained as a “rapid-reaction force”, rather 
  than a simple garrison unit. It has not, actually, been used in that capacity for almost a generation 
  – the last time the Federal Union tried to conquer the area, 40 years ago – and the men usually 
  just patrol the roads to Napa. The unit was founded by survivors of the 91st Infantry Division, up 
  from Ft. Baker (see below). 
  Napa: Once one of the most lucrative parcels of agricultural land in all of California, the Napa 
  Valley suffered significantly from the nearby Concord-Vallejo-Oakland blasts. Napa is now 
  home to approximately 300 farmers, and is mostly thought of as a “weak sister” to Santa Rosa, 
  but it still produces acceptable grapes, wines and raisins, despite its many problems.  
  Fort Baker: Fort Baker Military Reservation, at the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, was 
  home to the US Army 91st Infantry Division at the time of the War (though they were beginning 
  an operational scale-down). The forces stationed here that survived the initial blasts did what 
  they could, but the damage to the Golden Gate Bridge prevented them from crossing over to the 
  City. Eventually most of the 91st drifted north to the Santa Rosa area – the CSR Army unit 
  stationed in Santa Rosa has even inherited the green pine tree on a shield of brown Unit Emblem 
  of the 91st. The seaside Fort, itself has been sacked many times in the intervening years by 
  salvagers looking for left-behind military equipment. 
  Fort Baker – and the remains of the Golden Gate Bridge – in the 22nd Century are now occupied 
  by an independent clan of about 140 people. The main occupations of the group are gardening in 
  the various greenbelts of the area and fishing. Traders from Santa Rosa are not uncommon at this 
  community, and the Federal Union has some resident Trade Representatives here, spying on 
  Santa Rosa and keeping tabs on what comes and goes from the Bay, and making sure that the 
  Bridgers people don't push their luck. These “Bridgers”, as they call themselves, have also 
  occupied the nearby Golden Gate Bridge, where they monitor and occasionally “Tax” ship traffic 
  that passes under the northern, less damaged, stretch of The Bridge. 
  The Golden Gate Bridge: Considering the proximity of the blasts over San Francisco, The Bridge 
  is remarkably intact, although just barely. The suspension cable anchors on the southern, San 
  Francisco side of The Bridge were damaged with the rest of the city, and the atomic blasts then 
  pushed the southernmost tower of The Bridge to lean slightly to the north. The cables released by 
  the destruction of the anchor points flew out and wrapped themselves around the southern tower 
  and fused to it in the heat of the atomic fireballs. Just over half of the roadway of the center span 
  of The Bridge has thus dropped and now hangs mostly submerged, impassable to all but boats of 
  the shallowest draft, while the stretch of roadway from the southern tower over to the shore is 
  completely gone. The northern tower remains fairly intact, although, when it assumed the 
  majority of the weight of the bridge – when the southern cable anchors let go – it was wrenched 
  in place, and now lists to the east a few degrees, and the mostly-intact roadway from the northern 
  shore, to the tower, and out to where the roadway meets the water now cants perilously to the 
  east and is fit only for foot travel by the brave at heart.  
  
  Despite all this damage, the northern half of The Bridge is intact enough to allow ships to sail 
  under it into the bay. The “Bridgers” of Fort Baker have set up a system of ropes and pulleys, 
  and set up numerous suspended gondolas, which they can lower down to water level to interact 
  with passing vessels. With this system they impose “tolls” on the vessels; threatening to drop 
  things on the ships, if they do not pay. According to tales, the only time this was tested, the 
  Bridgers dropped a large load of very ripe…fertilizer…on the objecting ship. The Bridgers don't 
  really ask all that much in tolls, or otherwise interfere with the passing ship traffic – as they do 
  not wish to discourage commerce into the area – so most folks are willing to pay up. 
  Eastern bay area: The eastern suburbs of the Bay Area were devastated by nukes over Berkeley 
  and Oakland, plus others over various military bases up in the hills of the region. Over the last 
  150 years, these eastern hills have been slowly repopulated and the area now supports a modest 
  population of salvagers and squatters in camps of a dozen-or-so people. The region is claimed as 
  part of the California State Republic, but representatives of that government are few and far 
  between. The thick urban ruins along the shore of The Bay still remain mostly abandoned, save 
  for a few isolated communities of scavengers who have found pockets to stay in, gleaning the 
  ample salvage. These various enclaves rarely venture into the worst parts of the destruction.  
  The Carl Vinson: Sitting in the shallow, muddy waters a mile southwest of the old Alameda 
  Naval Base is the huge, rusting hulk of the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier that was caught 
  in the blasts over the bay and pushed down into the silt in the shallow water. Most of her 
  electronic equipment and weapons – along with anything else that was up on her flightdeck – 
  were either torn off or melted by the atomic fireballs (she looks like there was a fire on board), 
  and the hull was badly damaged. However, while the external damage is massive, much of the 
  internal space of the huge vessel remained intact. The shallow waters around the Vinson are 
  home to numerous small and mid-sized marine mutations (possibly caused by the ancient nuclear 
  reactor in the belly of the ship). At night, pale-blue, man-shaped lights can be seen scrambling 
  across the deteriorating flightdeck in the performance of some macabre ritual lost to time. The 
  Federal Union has sent expeditions here, in the past, hoping to recover some technology from the 
  past still buried in her bulk; none have ever returned…although the number of blue ghosts on the 
  flightdeck did increase.  
  Yerba Buena Island & Treasure Island: Yerba Buena Island sits in the San Francisco Bay 
  between San Francisco and Oakland, roughly in the middle of the western and eastern spans of 
  the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. At the time of the War, this small island had a 
  significant military presence in the form of a United States Coast Guard station on the southwest 
  side of the island facing the East Bay; the remains of barracks, radio and radar stations, and an 
  octagonal lighthouse are scattered across the island, and remain today. With a 360 degree field of 
  view and the submerged wreckage of the bridge filling the narrows to either side of this little 
  island, it is ideal for controlling the lower Bay – and the Federal Union has not missed this fact. 5 
  years ago, an expedition from the Federal Union established a standing garrison of a 100-man 
  Naval Regiment and a fleet of small boats in the old Coast Guard facilities – facilities which they 
  are studying quite fervently. 
  Treasure Island: An artificial island that was built in the early 20th Century with fill dredged 
  from the bay then dumped on the shoals on the north side of Yerba Buena Island, to which it is 
  
  connected by a small isthmus. This roughly rectangular islet at one time had a raised walkway, 
  circumscribing almost its entire area, but the intervening years – as well as the War damage – 
  have turned this one-time suburb into a marshy ruin.  
  The Federal Union of San Jose: Bombs fell all around San Francisco Bay, they fell on the west 
  shore, they fell on the east shore, they fell on the north shore – but, oddly, no bombs fell on the 
  south shore, on the Santa Clara Valley. This is odd, as at the time of the War, the Santa Clara 
  valley, and its largest city, San Jose, was nicknamed “Silicon Valley”, and was one of a handful 
  of places in the entire country where the highest technology on the planet was being developed – 
  hard to believe that a Soviet Missile wasn’t targeted here. This good fortune (if it could be called 
  that) caused San Jose to become the center for Federal Emergency Services, immediately 
  following the War. Thousands of survivors flooded south into San Jose. City and County 
  officials were quickly overwhelmed, and handed authority over to Federal Emergency Services 
  officials…who did their best for the thousands of folks clamoring for aid and shelter. It wasn’t 
  near enough. Soon factional struggles and street fighting led to open revolts. 
  Eventually a man named Edward Guzmann, a local Labor Union leader in San Jose, formed a 
  power bloc strong enough to make him absolute leader. Using the aegis of the Federal 
  Emergency Services, as well as his own Labor Union, “President” Guzmann established the 
  Federal Union. With the steel fist and velvet glove of a true tyrant, he formed a military-based 
  society that forced order and discipline upon all the citizens. It worked. Medical aid was 
  provided, food was grown and distributed, shelter was found or constructed, and everyone 
  worked towards a vague promised “better tomorrow”. 
  The Federal Union firmly controls the entire Santa Clara Valley – which has lost its high tech 
  moniker of “Silicon Valley”, and returned to its productive agricultural roots. The Federal Union 
  also controls, and has rebuilt, the large salt ponds all along the shores of the South Bay. Salt, and 
  the trading of this valuable mineral, is part the lifeblood of the Federal Union, second only to 
  Olive Oil production. The Federal Unions only port facilities are the ancient landing at East Palo 
  Alta, though there are plans to update the facilities. At “Palo Alta Port”, the Federal Union 
  conducts infrequent, though lucrative, trade with survivor enclaves from as far away as Juneau, 
  South and Central America, and even a few ships from Asia; mostly the odd clipper or tramp 
  steamer from China or the Philippines. The Federal Union also trades extensively with the 
  California State Republic, but also frequently contests them for the best trade routes and salvage 
  rights in the region. 
  While the Federal Union is run like a police-state, Capitalism is King. Anything can be had for 
  the right price, here; even the major crimes are financial – smuggling, failure to pay taxes, and 
  failure to report recovered technology. There is a fee or tax on everything in San Jose, on top 
  regular prices being inflatedly expensive. Of course, with all this wealth, the government does 
  maintain public services such as police patrols, water utilities, a certain amount of public 
  transportation, the heavily subsidized agriculture projects, and, of course, the Federal Union 
  Legion. 
  The Federal Union Legion, or just “The Legions”, is a military force based upon a 100-man 
  Regiment. There are currently 5 Army Regiments, and an additional 2 Naval Regiments – one 
  
  based at Palo Alto Port, and a second, newer Naval Regiment stationed out on Yerba Buena 
  Island, in The Bay). Each Army Regiment is commanded by a Major, assisted by a few Captains 
  and several Lieutenants; while promotion by merit does happen, more often than not promotions 
  are purchased from a superior officer. Each Army Regiment maintains 100 infantry troops 
  equipped with pikes and muskets in a ratio of 1 musket for each 4 pikes. Logistical troops and 
  camp followers often increase the numbers for each Regiment, with this number varying from 
  Regiment to Regiment. Officers are often mounted, but the Federal Union has not, to date, ever 
  fielded a cavalry force. 
  The Naval Regiments are exact copies of their Army cousins, including using the same Ranks. 
  The 100 fighting men of each Naval Regiment are trained in the use of “Boat Pikes” (simply 
  long handled Boat Hooks) and hand axes. The Naval Regiments are also the only force in the 
  Federal Union trained in the use of cannons; sweep guns and the Federal Union 1-Pounder (a 
  muzzle-loading black-powder gun) being standard artillery. 
  The 1st Regiment is an honor guard unit, assigned to the capitol of San Jose, and under the direct 
  command of The President. This prestige unit is equipped with a variety of still operational pre-
  war automatic weapons, including a barely operational V-300, which The President rides in 
  during parades. The 2nd through 5th Regiments patrol the trade routes and the perimeter of the 
  Santa Clara Valley. The 1st Naval Regiment (technically the 6th Regiment) is headquartered at 
  Palo Alto Port and maintains 3 two-masted, six-gunned sloops-o-war, while the 2nd Naval 
  Regiment (technically the 7th Regiment, created only 5 years ago with a heavy emphasis on 
  “technicians”) is headquartered out on Yerba Buena Island and maintains a group of 6 single-
  masted, four-gunned ketches.  
  Sam Reagan: The current “Federal President, Union Chairman and Friend of The People” is a 
  distant relative of former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Sam, who comes from a wealthy 
  family and was one of the youngest and most successful Regimental Majors in Federal Union 
  history, was "elected" 24 years ago in a landslide vote, after a fairly bloodless coup. He is a tall 
  man of regal bearing, with a handlebar mustache and dark, thinning hair that has gone gray at the 
  temples. He has an intelligent gaze that holds all the warmth of a hungry shark. Since achieving 
  power, Reagan and his cronies have become insanely wealthy. This has not been a bad thing for 
  the Federal Union, however. Reagan is a sharp as a razor and as ruthless as a rattlesnake when it 
  comes to making trade deals and writing contracts. His policies have increased the average GNP, 
  and taxes are at their lowest levels ever. Reagan resides in the "Royal Mansion", formerly the 
  Mission Santa Clara, which by the 22nd Century is now a solid fortress, with heavy concrete 
  perimeter walls and armor plated facades.  
  The Big Gun: A massive, former US Army M65 280mm "Atomic Annie" howitzer, an enormous 
  85-ton monster designed to fire tactical nuclear shells and one of only twenty originally produced 
  in the 1950s. This gun has been sitting in a field near Moffitt Field airbase facing roughly out to 
  sea since 1989. While it is functional, no one has anything even remotely capable of moving it or 
  turning it around. In the early days of the Federal Union, President Guzmann touted possession 
  of this weapon as insurance of both the Federal Unions superiority and its safety – the only 
  problem being that they didn’t have any ammunition for it. The “Big Gun” is now in the 
  possession of the 1st Naval Regiment, which has kept the gun clean and lubed for all these many 
  
  decades with the hope that one day some shells might be found for it. It has become a symbol of 
  the Federal Union, with its likeness on their flag. The “Big Gun” is also a popular tourist stop for 
  people traveling between Palo Alto Port and San Jose. Though the gun can only be viewed from 
  a distance, all who view it are led to believe it is operational, by the guards stationed around it.  
  The Shells: Just a few weeks ago, a sleazy wandering arms trader named Nehmiah Scudder 
  sailed into the Federal Union. He carried with him some drawings and measurements of some 
  particularly large artillery shells. It seems, however unlikely, that Scudder had encountered a 
  cache of shells for the Big Gun during his travels. Though he would not tell anyone where he 
  found them, he has offered to arrange the sale of them to the Federal Union for a fortune in gold 
  and young girls. President Reagan and his advisors are in a state of euphoria over this amazing 
  stroke of luck and just might give him what he wants. Negotiations are still in progress.  
  The truth is that Scudder is sleazier than anyone can imagine. Scudder learned of forty 280mm 
  “Practice Shells, Explosive” while in the fortified town of Hawthorne just across the border in 
  Nevada while playing cards and drinking with the Mayor of Hawthorne. The Mayor was 
  commiserating that these shells were probably the most powerful weapons on the planet, but he 
  had no gun to fire them with, and they were too old and unstable to dismantle. During the course 
  of their drinking, Scudder was able to discern that the Mayor would gladly trade the shells for 
  just 100 pounds of viable Seed Corn for each shell. Of course, the Mayor of Hawthorne also 
  mentioned that, as of their last inspection of the forty shells twenty-one of them were confirmed 
  as being “condemned” as too unstable to move, and just nineteen are still capable of being fired. 
  Of those nineteen, two were listed as “questionable” -- they may well explode in the barrel of the 
  gun when fired -- but the remaining seventeen are fully operational. Scudder feels that this last 
  bit isn’t worth mentioning. The problem for Scudder is one of size and ease of movement. The 
  shells stand a little over 4 feet high and weigh about 550 pounds each, so a heavy wagon would 
  only be able to hold one, each. Moving 19 heavy wagons them any distance would not only take 
  an organized effort, but it would be hard to hide from prying eyes.  
  7) CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST 
  South of the blast zones, along the forested coastline and south of the San Francisco Peninsula, 
  there are a number of notable settlements. These include...  
  Rio del Mar: There is a population of "starving artists", disenchanted people from various places, 
  wanderers, and some ex-California State Republic dissident exiles who have taken over a large 
  automobile ferry beached on a shallow sandbar in Monterey Bay and renamed it the Elba. They 
  number about 120 souls, and are led by an Elder named “Friar Tuck”. The “Elbans” will 
  sometimes trade their various expertises for goods or food, although they usually prefer to just be 
  left alone. The Federal Union of San Jose often exiles its “disenfranchised” (dissidents who have 
  powerful enough friends or relatives to prevent them from just disappearing) to this area; taking 
  them to within sight of the Elba and dropping them off with only a warning and a good-bye.  
  Half Moon Bay: Located about half-way up the Pacific (western) coast of the San Francisco 
  Peninsula, the old coastal ruins of Half Moon Bay are now home to a small community of 
  rather...unique...people.  
  
  When all the bombs started falling around San Francisco Bay, on the other side of the Santa Cruz 
  Mountains, many folks in Half Moon Bay "ran for the hills". In the case of a group of "Trekkies" 
  attending a small convention being held downtown, they literally ran off into the mountains to 
  the southeast of Half Moon Bay. Believing that the city would soon become a site for violence 
  and civil disorder, they fled as fast as they could. Eventually (quite by accident) they stumbled 
  upon Komori Hokura, a small Shinto shrine and retreat, located at a mountainside scenic 
  overlook near the edge of the Burleigh Murray Ranch State Park. The small group of Shinto 
  priests – who had been watching the mushroom clouds climb high over the mountains and were 
  waiting as one world ended for the next to begin – welcomed the refugee "Trekkies". For months 
  afterwards, as the world outside their mountain forest retreat died, these two groups 
  intermingled, and ultimately thrived; eventually evolving into a new Shinto Sect "The Way of 
  Vulcan". This "Way" adopted the traditional Shinto beliefs and integrated them with the 
  "Trekkies" (fictionalized) traditions of "Vulcan" logic and reason, peace, and emotional control. 
  They practice emotional control and have become culturally "Vulcan"; fusing the elements of the 
  fictional society with a large amount of social culture adopted from traditional Japanese 
  behavior.  
  Decades after the Bombs, descendants from this group moved down out of the mountains to re-
  occupy the ruins of Half Moon Bay, there becoming fishermen and farmers, while the Komori 
  Hokura remained their spiritual center. Many times this small community has been threatened 
  over the years, but always these spiritual folks have used peaceful, logical means (mostly 
  patience) to overcome and survive their trials. Outwardly these folk appear not only peaceful, but 
  pacifistic. As invaders have learned, they are quite capable of violence; they just find its use both 
  personally objectionable, as well as a last resort for when logic and reason fail. In fact, many of 
  these people practice a martial art form called properly called Shinto Muso-ryu, but often just 
  called Cane Fighting by the locals.  
  The fishermen of Half Moon Bay are aware of the "Imperial" enclave to the north, at Eureka, but 
  while these "Vulcans" may appear to be culturally similar to Japanese, the majority of the 
  population of Half Moon Bay is not Oriental, and so keeps as far away from the Imperial "Asian 
  Purists" as they can.  
  Site-Q: Half Moon Bay is also home of a veteran Snake-eater Team. Their Site was located in a 
  tiny mountain valley, in the shadow of Gazos Mountain, near where the South Fork Gazos Creek 
  joins with the main Gazos Creek, just south of Butano State Park. About three years ago Captain 
  Richard Jennings awoke from his cryotube to a dimly-lit scene of total chaos. Fourteen of the 
  bunker's cryotubes were open, and semi-humanoid creatures were feasting on the occupants. 
  Capt. Jennings grabbed his bug-out kit with one hand, and hit the emergency wake-up override 
  in his command tube to awaken the remainder of his team with the other hand.  
  Then he started shooting.  
  In their groggy condition, the awakening Green Berets did their best, but 6 more men were 
  butchered by the hellish creatures as the soldiers attempted egress. Ten survivors--including 
  Capt. Jennings--made it to the weapons lockers on the next level and outfitted themselves as best 
  
  they could. They then returned to the habitation level and opened up. After killing all the mutant 
  things they could find, they surveyed their situation.  
  The "things" had apparently tunneled into the base on levels 2 and 14 and had been blundering 
  their way around--they found dozens of dead bodies that had probably suffocated from the pure 
  helium atmosphere inside the bunker, before the break-in. The Vehicle Elevator was smashed 
  beyond repair, as were most of the vehicles. The beasts had rampaged through the food storage 
  and medical storage areas. The Geo-Thermal plant was off line and the batteries were failing, 
  and the lowest level was half-flooded. The beasts had also rampaged through the support 
  weapons level and the small arms area, destroying almost everything, and damaging most 
  everything else. Capt. Jennings and his men outfitted themselves with whatever was salvageable, 
  then opened the roof vehicle access hatch and extracted the only still-usable Hummer by sheer 
  muscle-power. First Sergeant Otis Macelheanny, the highest ranking NCO left in the unit, who 
  had been reconning the lower levels, emerged to announce that several hundred more of those 
  mutant-things were spewing from crude tunnels hacked through the sidewalls of the bunker, far 
  below. Unhappily, Capt. Jennings set the base self destruct system as his men piled themselves 
  and their meager resources into the Hummer, and then they ran. Behind them, a lance of flame 
  shot hundreds of feet up from the ground, as the terrain bucked and shook around them, and the 
  bunker fell in upon itself.  
  Unsure of the world situation, they followed the barely discernable mountain roads down to the 
  small California town of Pescadero - or what was left of the small town of Pescadero. Capt. 
  Jennings and his men were puzzled by the oddly "aged" look of the ruins, but they had been 
  briefed to expect to find a United States devastated by War. These Snake-Eaters decided to make 
  camp in Pescadero, and try to figure out just what was going on. That night, a few hours before 
  midnight, a large group of wild-eyed, pale-skinned, blood-thirsty psychotic people attacked the 
  camp (it wouldn't be until days later that Capt. Jennings would find out that this band of maniacs 
  was called "Children of The Night" and that they thought themselves to be "Vampires"). The 
  fighting was intense, and the "Children" took heavy losses, but the Green Berets successfully 
  fought them off, and kept them at bay until the morning sunrise, when the "Children" withdrew. 
  The cost to Capt. Jennings men had also been high; two more men had been killed brutally. The 
  Green Berets left Pescadero and headed north, finding the settlement of "Vulcans" at Half Moon 
  Bay later that day (FSgt. Macelheanny laughed for 30 minutes, when he found out who these 
  people thought they were, and didn't stop until Spec-5 Ted Finocchio, one of the two Medics, 
  finally gave him a sedative shot). The settlement at Half Moon Bay was well set-up, friendly, 
  welcoming – and would be utterly defenseless against a concerted attack from the "Children of 
  The Night" to the south. Capt. Jennings made the decision to stay, and assume the duties of 
  defending this peaceful, if (in his opinion) deluded, community.  
  In that first year, the Site-Q A-Team scouted the area, learned that the Children of The Night 
  hunted the coast and mountains to the south, and had a central HQ somewhere in the Pigeon 
  Point area. They also learned of the "Badges"-dominated community down at Santa Cruz, and its 
  advocacy of Slavery. Under normal circumstances, these Green Berets would have relocated to 
  the Santa Cruz area and begun insurgency operations against the slavers, but they had already 
  promised to be the protectors of Half Moon Bay, and besides, the self-called "Vulcans" just 
  made lousy soldiers. So, Capt. Jennings has made it known that any slave who can get to Half 
  
  Moon Bay will be freed, and get their protection – and, with the help of a few fishermen and 
  their boats from Half Moon Bay, the Green Berets have even made a few slave raids on the outer 
  settlements of Santa Cruz; freeing dozens, in the past two years. It is from this group of freed 
  slaves that Capt. Jennings and his men are building a Militia to both exterminate the Children of 
  The Night, as well as, eventually, take on the Troopers of Santa Cruz.  
  Pigeon Point Light Station: On the Pacific coast, about halfway between Half Moon Bay and the 
  Santa Cruz Trooper outpost of Davenport, is a decrepit-looking lighthouse, located on a fog-
  prone spit of land. This is home to a large clan of Children of The Night, currently led by a 
  brilliantly psychotic bitch named Queen Hemofeelya. Though never more than a couple dozen 
  Children are ever here at one time, their total number is over a hundred. The bulk of the clan is 
  usually out hunting for humans or other large, red-blooded animals, to bring home and feed the 
  clan with. Over the years, they have established hundreds of "hidey-holes" along the coast and up 
  in the mountains, so that they can prowl a large swath of the San Francisco peninsula without 
  getting caught by the sun (while they won't burst into flames, they really are super-sensitive to 
  UV radiation, and can be critically sunburned in mere minutes).  
  This clan of Children of The Night routinely kidnaps people (mostly slaves) from Santa Cruz, as 
  well as takes the occasional "Vulcan" from Half Moon Bay. The particular infection that creates 
  these Children makes them quite psychotic and murderously aggressive towards anyone not 
  inflected as they are. They also have an almost supernatural ability to sense their type of 
  infection in others. The incubation period for this brand of infection is actually quite long, taking 
  several weeks before symptoms start to manifest. The most dangerous thing about these Children 
  of The Night is that their adrenal glands are pumping them full of adrenaline all the time – their 
  senses are thus heightened, their speed is rather high, and their strength is almost unbelievable. 
  Needless to say, if they don't die from violence, none of these people live past the age of 30, as 
  their bodies’ just burn-out.  
  Santa Cruz: The ruins of Santa Cruz are home to a clan of Badges that are descended from the 
  Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Department; the current ruling Sheriff is a large thug of a man 
  named Emil Stone. These "Troopers", as they call themselves, still manage to operate and 
  maintain a fleet of rattletrap, alky-powered “Patrol Cars”, with which they seek out any 
  wanderers who are camping in their territory and attempt to enslave them. Slaves – or “Cons” – 
  are put into chain gangs that maintain the networks of roads and outpost “County Farms” used by 
  the Troopers. If the wanderers appear to be too strong they will be issued paper tickets for 
  camping violations. The Troopers will also attempt to collect "fines" from such wanderers; as 
  much as they think they can get away with. The Troopers of Santa Cruz have a non-aggression 
  pact, of sorts, with the Federal Union of San Jose. In exchange for some weapons & other trade 
  goods from San Jose, the Troopers maintain a watch on the coast, and will alert San Jose if they 
  encounter anything odd. A Federal Union “embassy” is maintained in Santa Cruz. The Troopers 
  have recently become concerned about the presence of the Snake-Eaters at Half Moon Bay. 
  There has been talk of "teaching those freedom loving hippies" a lesson, maybe even alerting the 
  Federal Union to their presence, but so far it has been just that; talk.  
  Davenport: A small community notable as being home to a northern outpost of the Troopers 
  from Santa Cruz. There is also a seedy bar called "The Whaler" out on the edge of town, which 
  
  while being a frequent watering-hole for off-duty Troopers, is also known for harboring refugees 
  and escapees from the Troopers' rather harsh brand of justice. In an anachronistic continuation of 
  ancient history, the code phrase to gain entrance to the bar's secret underground hide-out is 
  "Please don't throw peanut shells on the floor".  
  Watsonville: Home of a small neo-wiccan religious cult that worships a male harvest deity by the 
  name of "Jolly Green Giant".  
  8) SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY  
  The San Joaquin valley is mostly uncontested and crossed by vital trade and travel routes 
  between Bakersfield and Stockton. Interstate 5 is the main caravan route, Highway 99 is used but 
  you have to bypass the horrid mess that is Fresno.  
  Madera: Home to a thriving Oiler town, begun fifteen decades ago by a US Navy sailor named 
  Paul Williams, who was on leave visiting his mother when the war started. His mom lived in 
  Firebaugh, a small town a few miles to the west of Madera, out in the country. There was a 
  general call, just before the end, for all military personnel to report to their duty stations, but Paul 
  never got that call before the nukes began to fall. He knew, once the reports of the nuke strikes 
  started rolling in, that it was hopeless to even attempt to get back to his base in San Diego. He 
  also knew that there would in all likelihood be a period of desperation and anarchy as panic set in 
  to the surviving populace. Paul began preparing his family and friends, he was a natural leader, 
  intelligent and fit, and most people readily followed his lead. Once he had all of his family and 
  friends gathered around him, he began organizing everyone...creating duty rosters, foraging 
  teams and training a combat team. And, unfortunately, in the times to come, they had many 
  opportunities to put thier knowledge to practical use. It was only due to the early organization of 
  Firebaugh that saved anything resembling the best of humanity. From Paul's initial small group, 
  other like-minded people began to gather, and grew until the group became a village, and then a 
  town. To be sure, there were many trials to overcome, but having an early start on organizing 
  attracted others. Many of these people came with crucial knowledge and skills which became 
  vital in the years to come as the community grew. Starvation was a real and horrifying reality 
  initially, but thanks to some favorable winds, fallout was minimal. The farmland around 
  Firebaugh was still fertile, and with a strong farming heritage in the region, starvation was held 
  at bay. Eventually, enough food was to produced for trade with other small communities. 
  Eventually, they grew so big that they outgrew the tiny town of Firebaugh. The nearby larger 
  town of Madera along Highway 99 appealed to them and they moved nearly everything and 
  everyone to that mostly abandoned town. Madera had a small oil field and refinery complex, 
  which were slowly reactivated over the next few years. This provided a trickle of fuel and oil to 
  be traded to local communities, and eventually to larger empires like the California State 
  Republic. Paul's legacy finally outgrew him, and councils were formed to run the community. He 
  was slowly marginalized until finally he could see he was no longer needed. He was happy 
  enough to care for himself and his immediate family as everything he worked so hard to create 
  took on a life of its own. 150 years later, Paul's community is still here and still just as viable. 
  Much of the town's citizenry either live within a fortified ring around the refinery or spread out 
  in farms in the surrounding county. The mayor, a descendant of Paul's, drives around in an old 
  Jeep Cherokee, repaired Frankenstein-style over the last 150 years. Most of the oil pumped and 
  
  refined from here is shipped north along Highway 99 to Stockton where it is distributed further 
  and is a major reason why vehicles up north keep running. They are often menaced by roving 
  gangs from Fresno, but have never lost a battle.  
  The ruins of Fresno: Nuked during the war, the city is still largely a rubbled wreck. The few less-
  damaged parts are controlled a large, well-armed Chicano clan. While not much on discipline or 
  organization, the clan has some old machineguns and mortars that have been passed down from 
  family member to family member. Trade caravans have largely bypassed the city, swinging wide 
  to the west on Highways 198 and 145. The clan occasionally hits a convoy but usually takes high 
  losses in the effort.  
  Emptiness: Between Fresno and Bakersfield there is virtually nothing, towns such as Tulare, 
  Delano and Calico are long-ago deserted and looted. The nearby Lemoore Naval Air Station was 
  nuked, polluting the fields and streams for miles, further reducing the chances of finding anyone 
  here. Trade caravans that run up and down Highway 99 barely notice the dusty ruins alongside, 
  but keep a wary eye out for bandits and sudden dust storms.  
  Bakersfield: The effort to evacuate survivors from Los Angeles was met with strong resistance 
  from central California cities like Bakersfield, who had enough problems of their own. The local 
  National Guardsmen were called on to keep the migrations manageable and used force whenever 
  necessary. In the first decade after the war, Bakersfield was the capitol of the grandly-named 
  "Republic of California", a regional empire with big dreams. When the Mexican invasion came 
  north in the years after the war, it was often the Bakersfield soldiers of the Republic that went 
  out to battle them. They stopped the Mexicans south of them and pushed them back. They 
  returned to Bakersfield soon after the battle, not wanting to risk loosing control of the city in the 
  absence of the military. However, the big plans for rebuilding the area, as well as a bridge across 
  the Colorado River, never came to fruition and the Republic was disbanded by 2010. The 
  Republic collapsed because it tried to hold onto too much. It spent a lot of effort to keep together 
  a region that had been pretty insular even before the war. Bakersfield struggled on as a survivor 
  city for the next century, never fading but never really growing to match its potential. 
  Bakersfield is now a large and strong city of some 5,200 people at the southern end of the valley, 
  a thriving center of commerce and the hotbed of shady deals and black marketeering.  
  Governor Lake: Twenty years ago, "Governor" Lake began a ruthless consolidation of power in 
  Bakersfield. One of the first acts was to gain control of the oil fields there, which had been run 
  by a wealthy group of families for many, many years. These wells provided much of the oil and 
  gasoline for the larger California State Republic to the north and these families were filthy rich 
  because of that. With those revenues now flowing into his coffers, Lake is growing stronger by 
  the month. the California State Republic keeps its own people in the area to run or repair vital oil 
  refinery equipment. Lake thinks this is an insult to his people and is slowly building a 
  justification for taking what is "rightly" theirs. As the CSR is dependent on oil from Bakersfield, 
  any threat to this supply will surely be met with action. Lake is also getting old and wants to be 
  the one to reunify California. Lake is very much an "end justifies the means" sort of person. He 
  believes California (and the United States) needs to become one again, and the only sure way to 
  do it is militarily. Bakersfield's militia has long controlled a lot of military equipment left from 
  before the war. Although most of it hasn't worked for decades, Lake has quite enough rifles and 
  
  howitzers to make taking the city and the refineries difficult. Providing ammunition could be a 
  problem, though.  
  9) SOUTHERN PACIFIC COAST  
  Monterrey peninsula: Along the Monterey peninsula, most of the historic old towns have been 
  long ago burned and looted by refugees. The plaid waters of Monterey Bay are now home to the 
  "Kon Tikis", a collection of boaters working together for mutual survival. They fish the waters of 
  the bay and only occasionally venture further inland than the coastal strip.  
  Soledad: The old sprawling Mission Neustra Senora de la Soledad is home to the "spiritual 
  nexus" of the "Church of the Holy Mushroom Cloud". The church is more of a cult anymore, one 
  that demands cannibal sacrifices of its followers.  
  Hunter Ligget Military Reservation: Abandoned for good in 2008 by the last remnants of the 
  military, this base is now home to a mixed bag of small-plot farmers and squatters. Mother 
  Nature has done a good job of reclaiming this base, and stubby oak, blue grass, and scrub brush 
  have taken over most of the area.  
  Fort Ord Military Reservation: The SLBM aimed at this former basic training center both missed 
  badly and was a dud. The warhead shattered on impact, a dozen miles to the east in the rugged 
  Diablo Mountains. This is home to about 220 farmers and hunters who till the wide open 
  grounds of the base and still live in some of the old barrack buildings.  
  Vandenburg Air Force Base: The satellite launching facilities at Vandenburg AFB were nuked 
  during the war. The warheads were all ground-bursts, causing extremely localized heavy damage 
  and wildly indiscriminate fallout. Towns as far away as Ventura, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria 
  were damaged by the resulting forest fires that swept through the area.  
  The Castle: William Randolph Hearst's enormous palace along the coast near San Simeon, is 
  now held by about 165 religious followers called the "Holy Army of Allah". They are led by a 
  militant Black Muslim named Mamud Abdur-Ali, and he claims to be the legitimate Governor of 
  California for some reason. They lead a very difficult life and follow a very strict set of dietary 
  laws, forbidding them to eat any meat or drink any alcohol. They are busy repairing the castle 
  and salvaging goods from the local towns, none of which are currently inhabited.  
  10) LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST  
  In the rolling hills and valleys of this evergreen forest north of LA, there are numerous isolated 
  settlements, living off the plentiful game and fish still to be had. The larger towns deeper in the 
  forest have mostly been abandoned as being too vulnerable to bandit attacks and wildfires.  
  Ojai: Despite being burned and abandoned at various times over the years, Ojai has lately 
  become a thriving trade center. As the clearing house for animal pelts and salvaged goods 
  coming out of the forest, Ojai is relatively wealthy, with a steady population of 400 people.  
  
  Santa Barbara: Badly burned by wildfires in 1989 and again in 1995, the remnants of this once 
  beautiful town is home to an unsavory clan of xenophobic fishermen. The town is known locally 
  as "Rattown" because of the multitudes of rats in the area. The clan is a couple hundred strong 
  and very tight-knit, requiring you to eat a live rat to gain entrance. They are known for stringing 
  up victims around their territory as a warning to others, and most people avoid it completely.  
  Ventura: This large town along the southern edge of the forest was once a cantonment of a 
  Mexican Army mechanized brigade, which crossed the border over a century ago. Assimilated 
  for generations, there is little left of their prior unit structure and only a few old weapons and 
  vehicles still in service. Ventura receives infrequent ship traffic from western Mexico and other 
  California coastal ports, and the docks are kept open year round. Ventura is a tough town, with 
  frequent shortages of food and fresh water. Violent crime is common and at night, knife-fights 
  are prone to erupt without warning. Because the "lights have stayed on", people have been 
  reluctant to leave Ventura.  
  Santa Clarita: Another pocket of farmers and small game hunters, many of them descendants of a 
  shattered Mexican Army regiment whose survivors dug in here 120 years ago and never left. The 
  town currently has some 200 residents.  
  Tehachapi Mountains: This mountain range northwest of Los Angeles was the site of a secret US 
  Air Force underground base. It is located at the mouth of Little Oak Canyon, about 25 miles 
  northwest of Lancaster. It was partially powered by the Kern River hydroelectric project, but the 
  power went off 150 years ago. No idea of its condition is known.  
  The Channel Islands: Sparsely populated before the War, the Channel Islands saw an initial 
  influx of refugees, stranded sailors, and castaways in the first months after the bombs fell on the 
  mainland. For a time there was even a large US military presence, as the bases in LA and San 
  Diego were unusable, but within a few years they had all either left for the Orient or had gone 
  ashore and taken sides with one of the numerous "true governments" of California. The Channel 
  Islands were far enough away from the Los Angeles-area strikes to be unaffected by the blast 
  effects, and the steady offshore breeze protected them from any fallout, so they had the unique 
  chance to survive. For another century, the fortunes of these islands rose and fell, often with the 
  sudden rapidity associated with life at sea. A plague in 2058, another in 2062, a horrible raid 
  from pirates in 2103, another plague in 2113, and even the Great Storm of 2129, which flattened 
  half the buildings on Catalina and sank most every boat in the harbor. Today, 150 years after the 
  War, the Channel Islands are doing fairly well in their isolation. The society is based on the sea, 
  with fishing and small-scale farming taking up most peoples' time. In total, there are perhaps 800 
  people living on the islands, with around 600 of those on Catalina.  
  The Star of India: That Great Storm of 2129, along with wrecking most of the islands' 
  infrastructure and setting them back economically for a decade, also sank the pride and joy of 
  Catalina's sailing fleet. The Star of India was a iron-hulled, fully-rigged windjammer, originally 
  build in 1863 and for many years a popular tourist attraction in San Diego. Fortunately at sea 
  when the bombs fell, the ship survived and fled to Catalina. Her crew of highly-trained sailors 
  possessed nearly-forgotten skills in shipbuilding and sailing, which were to prove invaluable to 
  the citizens of Catalina as the decades wore on and the need for low-tech sailing vessels became 
  
  apparent. Used at various times as a hospital ship, a whaling mothership, a tradeship for runs as 
  far away as Costa Rica, a tender for a depleted destroyer squadron of the Seventh Fleet, and even 
  the personal battleship of Mad King Carlos before he was executed by the ship's captain in a 
  mutiny, the Star, as she was known to most, had a long and eventful life. On the day of the Great 
  Storm of 2129, however, she was far from home, searching for halibut off the Cortez Bank, and 
  was never seen again.  
  That is, until last month, when a fisherman returned to Catalina with a wild story of having seen 
  a gleaming white clippership racing along the wind at full sail off the old ruins of San Diego. He 
  had tried to hail her, and while he could see crewman at the rails, the ship didn't stop and kept on 
  cutting northwest along the coast. When shown pictures of the lost Star of India, the fisherman 
  positively identified her as the ship he saw. News of this has the citizens of Catalina in a tizzy, 
  and word has been passed to all outlying islands and fishermen to keep a look out. More ominous 
  news has come just this week, however, as a lone survivor of a fishing boat has washed ashore, 
  reporting a terrifiying tale of being sunk by cannon fire from a huge white sailing ship...  
  The tanker: Just 30 miles offshore from Ventura is Anacapa Island, the easternmost of the 
  Channel Islands. In 1989, immediately upon news of the first nuclear strikes, the crew of an 
  Amsterdam-flagged oil freighter off Oxnard moved out to Anacapa Island to wait out the war, 
  finding a little spot nestled away to anchor. Taking a vote, the crew decided that they would go 
  ashore and the 20-man crew dispersed, leaving their ship to rust at anchor. This tanker has long 
  since been pushed aground by storms and broken in half, but about 15% of the crude oil is still in 
  the hold, constituting a big asset to whoever finds it first. The wreck has been known to the local 
  Islanders for decades, but they have no use for the oil. Ventura's local fishing boats are 
  constantly in the area, it is a miracle that one of them hasn't stopped to investigate the wrecked 
  tanker yet.  
  11) LOS ANGELES  
  Mostly still under development...(going to wait until the latest module comes out, which should 
  detail this area)  
  KC and his Sunshine Band: Palos Verdes was radioactive slag like the rest of the LA Basin until 
  fairly recently. About 30 years ago, the radiation suddenly receded and grassland, plants and 
  even fruit trees Are now growing there in appreciable numbers. The reason for this incongruous 
  fact is due entirely to the actions of one "man". Born Kevin Clarkson in 1955, (KC as he is now 
  known) was in downtown Los Angeles on that fateful November day when the bombs fell. 
  Instead of dying on the spot, KC became a Blue Undead.  
  For 120 years, KC was wandering his small patch of ruins, until an earthquake shook the area 30 
  years ago. KC fell into a small chasm and found himself in a small lake of corrosive toxic waste 
  (buried in the sub foundation in the 1970s by a unscrupulous contractor). After crawling out of 
  the pit, he discovered to his amazement he was no longer tied to the same quarter mile area. 
  Also, as if awaking from a long stupor, his memories and consciousness slowly returned. It was 
  clear an Atomic War had occurred, but he had no idea how much time had passed. Unknown to 
  anyone (including him) is that that fateful bath in toxic waste changed KC into a Blue Undead 
  
  Plus. He still feeds on radiation, but now actually consumes all of it in any given area, leaving 
  the area fertile and prime for reclamation. He still wanders the slagged ruins of LA proper, 
  however, in a vain attempt to find his long vaporized wife and children. If you meet him he will 
  be quiet and have a haunted, far-off look in his coal-black eyes. Where ever he travels (always 
  on foot), within days, grass, weeds, flowers and even trees begin to grow and flourish. Strangely, 
  whomever touches his person dies of within hours of what appears to be extreme starvation, and 
  he shows up as normal on dosimeters and Geiger counters.  
  A group of Stubs have taken to following/worshiping him. The followers are only seen during 
  daylight hours and as such KC has dubbed them his "Sunshine Band". He is often heard to 
  mumbling about what the land looked like in the past and talks to the ground as if it were his 
  friend and companion. KC now associates the land and his children as one and the same. 
  Curiously, people who talk to him without touching him leave feeling refreshed and find former 
  ailments no longer an issue. He carries a long walking staff, wears ragged robes and truck tire 
  sandals and a ancient, tattered, sun-bleached fedora. A Project Science Team would find KC to 
  be a "Rosetta Stone" in researching all aspect of radiation-related phenomenon.  
  12) AZATLAN EMPIRE 
  The Aztlan Empire was formed in the first few years of the nuclear autumn. MEChA, 
  "Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan" or "Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan", was a 
  blatantly racist student activist group originally championed by Hispanic students already living 
  in California. One of the many slogans used by these student groups was "Por La Raza todo. 
  Fuera de La Raza nada" ("Everything for the race. Everything outside the race, nothing"). The 
  more militant of these student groups fought to create an independent Aztlan state during the 
  period right after the war. Having little success, they petitioned the Mexican government for 
  assistance. The Mexicans, in trouble themselves and looking for a reason to get all those well-
  armed men out of the country and away from plotting coups, sent the Army across the border. 
  They occupied San Diego quickly and marched north, finally being crushed south of Bakersfield. 
  The students filled the gaps in the Mexican Army lines, forming "MEChA" paramilitary units 
  that fought with fanatical enthusiasm, if not with tactical skill. The Aztlan Empire was soon 
  formed, and even prospered for a while, consolidating its territory generally south of Interstate 
  40. However, creating an empire is not as easy as feeding one and keeping revolutionaries from 
  longing to create the next one. The Empire collapsed in upon itself some 100 years ago, and all 
  that remains today are scattered enclaves that still claim a common heritage. They even had their 
  own flag, an eagle holding a machete-like weapon and a stick of dynamite on a green and 
  crimson field, that can still be found flying in some towns, and as a "battle flag" when militia 
  units go into action.  
  The ruins of San Diego: This vital port city and military town was targeted by two nuclear 
  missiles during the war. One, aimed at the naval air installations, missed a little to the south and 
  detonated its MIRVs in a triangular airburst just offshore of Imperial Beach. The resulting 
  shockwaves pummeled Coronado, the Silver Strand State Beach, and miles of beachfront into 
  radioactive dust before the steaming waters of the Pacific rushed in to fill the craters. A few 
  hours later, another nuke, this one a single warhead, came flying in. The warhead ground burst in 
  San Diego's East County, demolishing most of the area. Flash-lit grass fires and bursting natural 
  
  gas lines devastated large portions of the north side of the city, combining with the raging 
  firestorm from the East County hit. From Imperial Beach, north to the Soledad Freeway, and 
  from the Pacific east to the Sweetwater River, all was eventually charred into rubble by the fires. 
  Some areas of San Diego were spared the worst, however. Parts of Mission Valley, the campus 
  of San Diego State University, central La Jolla, and bits of North County were not too damaged 
  and were able to retain populations.  
  Invasion and occupation: If twin nuclear attacks weren't enough, the Mexican Army soon 
  crossed the border almost without a shot fired and occupied the city ruins. The city was declared 
  capitol of the new "Aztlan Empire" and there was much rejoicing. It was short-lived, however, 
  and soon San Diego fell back into a dirty, violent form of anarchy. 150 years later, there is little 
  remaining of the glory days of the Aztlan Empire in California, just a few scattered settlements 
  in the southern edges of the city and the big enclave on Coronado Island.  
  San Diego today: The eastern part of the city from La Mesa down through Lemon Grove to 
  Chula Vista is still a vast stretch of broken radioactive terrain with entire ranges of hills and 
  small mountains that once characterized the region swept clean. What remains has been 
  reclaimed by nature, either by tangled mutant sagebrush or by vast tracts of blowing sand and 
  ash. The actual bomb crater is still there, now half-filled with stagnant, radioactive water. Central 
  San Diego, below Balboa Park, is a confused mix of semi-ruined buildings, burnt-out shells, and 
  slippery rubble fields. The West Mission Bay Causeway is down, blocking the entrance to 
  Mission Bay. The Coronado Bay Bridge is also down, awash in currents of refuse and dead 
  seabirds. The rest of Coronado and the bridge's onramps are completely submerged as far south 
  as the former amphibious base where the Mexican garrison is. The world-renown San Diego Zoo 
  is now animal-free, the exhibits having long ago become dinner for hungry survivors. The empty 
  buildings and paddocks of the zoo are occasionally home to refugees and bandits. The Imperial 
  Beach nuke played havoc with the US Navy Fleet based here, and today the harbor is choked 
  with the half-exposed, grounded remains of rusted and burned-out transports and warships and 
  even some nuclear submarines. Tidal changes expose more crumbling wrecks each day. All the 
  leaking chemicals, oils and fissionable materials have made the harbor a haven for mutated 
  corals and fish.  
  Life in the ruins: Across the entire area food and water are both fairly scarce, and the city's total 
  population has dwindled to about 1,000. Nomadic clans farm open plots and scavenge the ruins, 
  but it is a hard and short life. Ruthless groups of bandits, most armed only with iron hammers 
  and crude spears, make this area their hunting ground, culling the weak. The warrens beneath 
  San Diego are swarming with Maggots, who frequently emerge at night to raid and pillage the 
  nomadic tribes and bandits with equal furor.  
  Aztlan Enclave: Today, the sole remaining enclave of Aztlan power is on Coronado Island at the 
  old USN amphibious base. Once occupied by a regular Mexican Army brigade, this unit 
  converted to militant Catholicism a few years after the war ended. Today, the descendents 
  observe strict Catholic rituals within the confines of the base, but are infamous for their 
  bloodthirsty rampages of looting and plundering into the local ruins. Some 280 men and 
  dependents currently live here, but their numbers fluctuate widely as new converts (slaves 
  brought back on raids and given the choice to convert or die) come in and old members die or are 
  
  killed in raids into the ruins. They are generally a motley bunch, with mismatched uniforms and 
  ancient Garand carbines and they have little but pulled carts for transport, all of their vehicles 
  having broken down over the last few decades. Despite their weaknesses, they have tried as best 
  they could to repair the fences around the base and have dug in emplacements to guard the 
  approaches.  
  Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base: When the bombs fell, the base's resident unit was overseas. 
  By the time of the Mexican invasion, the remaining Camp staff was severely weakened by 
  radiation, disease and desertion. A MEChA unit from UC-SD, flanking a Mexican Army 
  motorized brigade, drove on the Camp and after a sharp, quick fight, rolled over the hastily 
  prepared defenses. For a while, the conquerors took pride in marching around the base in their 
  new Marine uniforms, driving their Marine tanks and shouting slogans. Once the gas and the 
  food ran out, however, the students settled down and became farmers and fishermen. Today, 
  most of the Camp is overgrown, but some rusty Amtraks and tanks still poke up out of the brush. 
  Along the coast are a healthy number of fishermen.  
  Escondido: A thriving trade town now, home to some 1,200 people. Travelers and merchants 
  from Mexico often use Escondido as a waystation.  
  Mount Palomar Observatory: While most of the outbuildings have been destroyed by forest fires, 
  the telescope itself has remained intact. For a long time it was a cantonment of the Aztlan Army, 
  but they pulled out several decades ago. Today, the observatory is home to a group of Mexican 
  "astrologist monks", who use the telescope to view the heavens and look for portents of things to 
  come. These monks will resist any attempt by outsiders to enter the "holy sanctum" (the 
  observatory).  
  13) THE MEXICAN BORDER 
  The strip along the border with Mexico is a rugged land of scrub oak and sagebrush, mixed with 
  majestic pine forests and steep mountain valleys.  
  Manzanita Indian Reservation: Lately, the newest generations of the Indians here have been 
  moving out into the Cleveland National Forest to the west, claiming the land as their own.  
  Pine Valley: The main watering hole and caravan repair shop on the trade route between the 
  Pacific Coast and Mexicali. Some 2,000 people live here, almost all Mexicans.  
  Potrero: Home of the "Ocho Sols", a rather vicious clan of Mexican slavers. They were formed 
  nine years ago when a man named Max united three small slaver clans in the area under his rule. 
  His followers are armed mostly with shotguns and melee weapons and have a handful of 
  motorcycles; Max himself drives around on a classic 1961 Harley Davidson motorcycle.  
  National Parachute Test Range: Home of a mixed race enclave with some 300 residents. This old 
  training base just north of the border is a graveyard of rusting military equipment and discarded 
  wrecks. It is now an important caravan waystation, lying as it does along the route to Mexicali. 
  The residents, many of them descendants of the American military staff, have worked hard to 
  
  make the base an attractive place for traders to stop. They have built a crude water-treatment 
  plant and fortified the perimeter with fences of barbed wire and piled-up rubble. The people here 
  trade salvaged military equipment to the caravans in exchange for water, foodstuffs, and other 
  goods not readily available to them.  
  14) MOJAVE DESERT  
  Though 150 years have passed, the Mojave Desert is still very much that--a desert. From the 
  Sierra Nevadas south to the Mexican border, the arid Mojave desert of southeastern California is 
  a mixture of crumbling ruins and isolated farming settlements. Bandits and highwaymen are a 
  constant danger to the traders, and life is often cheap and short.  
  Burbank Banzai Clan: Before the war, land sailing was a past time for yuppies and thrill seekers. 
  The Burbank Banzai social club formed in 1958 as an outgrowth of the growing interest in Sand 
  Railing. 3-wheeled carts with a small sail, chutzpah, and a lack of common sense were all that 
  was required. Speeds of 40 to 50 mph were not uncommon, and sitting three inches from the 
  ground made it seem like three times that speed.  
  On the day the modern world ended in 1989, the Burbank Banzais were attending their end-of-
  year exodus to the flats near Las Vegas with about 600 fellow speed freaks, designers, builders, 
  engineers and reluctant spouses and children. This caravan rode out the strikes in the high desert 
  and due to the EMP, had the only reliable transportation in the area. They ran messenger service 
  for the sheriff's department, ferried EMTs here and there and basically filled in while awaiting 
  help from the government types. After three weeks, however, it became painfully clear help was 
  not forthcoming, and local authority was quickly breaking down. The surviving military units 
  said they were moving west to Bakersfield and the Banzai folks were welcome to come along.  
  Working their way as close to their homes in Burbank as they could, they were shocked to see 
  that the entire LA basin had been obliterated, and where Burbank once stood there was now only 
  a molten and bubbling field of rubble. They retreated to Palmdale where some owned businesses 
  and reinvented themselves. Since they made the only reliable transports in the region, their 
  services were much in demand. 
  In 1995, the community was overrun by lead elements of the Azatlan Army, and the Burbank 
  Banzai became the banner of the resistance. On improvised sail cars, the battle was brought to 
  the surprised Mexicans. Tactics were created, designs improved and weapons modified to 
  become deadly and much feared. Those hard times created a Clan Mentality within the club and 
  a closed society of sorts was formed. They kept the old name as a tribute to their fabled lost 
  homeland, though few, if any, people anymore know what a "banzai" is. Over time, the clan 
  spread its reach and today commands and oversees the desert trade routes from Lancaster south 
  to the Mexican border and east to Pahrump and south to Yuma. They protect trade caravans and 
  haul freight themselves. Their craft range from tiny 1-person "fighters/scouts" to massive 8-
  person "freighters" capable of carrying up to a metric ton. The larger craft are equipped with 
  retrofitted aircraft wings for more efficient propulsion and they can tack up to 60' into the wind, 
  whereas the smaller 1 and 2-person craft require sail and can tack only 45' into the wind. Their 
  
  weapons range from black powder muskets, throwing knives, shuriken’s and crossbows, to razor 
  sharp swords and piano wire strung between vehicles to deal with Infantry or Calvary.  
  Encounters with the Burbank Banzai clan can be either fleeting as they fly by you at 40 miles 
  and hour, or productive if you have something to trade/sell or have information they would need. 
  As the Mojave is such a huge and desolate area, stretching for many hundreds of miles in all 
  directions, encounters with these Land Sailors will be quite rare.  
  Palm Springs: This former desert resort survived initially because of the wealth of its mostly 
  affluent residents. Over the decades, this wealth allowed the town to buy protection and security. 
  Now, some 3,000 people live in this area, and do quite well for themselves. Trade is conducted 
  locally and occasionally with Bakersfield and Mojave. The town now has 60 full-time police 
  officers and some 100 part-time militiamen who drill once a week and keep themselves armed 
  and ready. Their paramilitary forces are the descendents of several dozen California highway 
  patrolmen who were instrumental in organizing the city's first defense force. 150 years later, they 
  still have some old CHiPs equipment, including a couple of Police Harleys that are coveted by 
  local Bikers. Barbed wire barricades and pit bunkers have been erected along the roads leading 
  into the town to discourage marauders and violent refugees.  
  Palmdale: A secret facility exists semi-underground a short drive north of Palmdale, though few 
  locals can tell you exactly where. It is a multi-layered technology center over eight levels deep 
  and the size of a small city. It was formerly the Northrop Corporation's underground testing 
  center. It is unknown if it has been looted already.  
  Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base: Underneath this nuked base is a suspected pre-war 
  military complex, out in the desert southeast of Ludlow. Locals in the area have spoken of a 
  tunnel-like structure caused by rushing water in ancient times that leads to lost caches of military 
  gear. Attempts over the years to lower people down this shaft have resulted in the ropes being 
  mysteriously "cut". Others report a "poisonous blue gas" that comes from below to keep people 
  from descending.  
  Needles: Initially flooded out by the Colorado River when Hoover Dam was hit, Needles was 
  rebuilt some ten miles to the west at the junction of I-40 and Highway 95. The new Needles is 
  now a depressed farming town just barely subsiding. With almost no goods to trade, Needles is 
  little more than a small tribal community, although one that believes in the high ideals of pre-war 
  America.  
  Bishop County: This is the name given to the region north of Mojave, up the Owens River 
  Valley and north into Bishop. It is primarily an agricultural region now that the Los Angeles 
  aqueduct no longer sends its water to Los Angeles. It is also very protected, since it is flanked on 
  two sides by the Sierra Nevadas on the west and the desert on the north. This has allowed a weak 
  representative government to survive. Towns pretty much do as they please, and many hold 
  elections for mayor every few years. Bishop County also holds various mineral deposits, 
  partially thanks to active volcanism since the war. Transport is typically horse-drawn wagons 
  utilizing the intact rail line, with an occasional steam engine. There were plans for an electric 
  trolley at one time, but the electrical costs made it impractical. There is some banditry, but not in 
  
  any serious sense. It's more like mugging the non-local population. The Los Angeles Aqueduct 
  runs south out of the Owens River Valley. Farmers distrust any water coming down from what is 
  left of the California aqueduct, since at one time it was heavily contaminated from the nuclear 
  hits near Merced to the north. This is no longer the case, but it has been so long since it was 
  cleared of debris should anyone start using it, it would practically dry out.  
  Mojave: Now a thriving trade center and small manufacturing town out in the desert. It is 
  relatively populous because the local farmers have access to farm equipment, fertilizers, and 
  pesticides, and thus most residents of the area live in town. There is some trade between it, 
  Bishop County and Bakersfield, and Mojave still receives water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct. 
  The town "officially" belongs to Bishop County, however, and pays taxes to it. This irks the 
  townspeople to no end, but those taxes "pay" for the water, so nothing is done about it. Also, the 
  people here are a little bit worried about Bakersfield's recent rise in power, which could mean 
  another war to reunify California. While Mojave does have know-how, a lot of it isn't in demand. 
  For instance, they have the ability to make most farming chemicals, but only the ones worth the 
  expense of transporting are worth making in any quantity. Heavy machinery is not beyond them, 
  but most work is put into keeping electrical generators and water pumps operational. Most public 
  buildings are either serviceable, or stripped of anything that could be of use, nothing has gone to 
  waste in the area. The militia is called the "Marines", and they got their name and their 
  equipment from the old pre-war Marine Logistical Base here. The militia is well-armed and 
  trained and they even have an old California NG M48A5 tank, currently immobile on a flatbed 
  truck that broke under its weight. The grandly-named Eagle Air Freight Company has its 
  operations at the Mojave airport and the "Eagles" are currently working to refurbish aircraft and 
  return them to flight. The airport itself is a crazy mismatch of planes that found their way here in 
  the years after the nuclear war, including a Bell helicopter, an F-4 Phantom, a 200-year old P-38 
  Lightning that escaped from an airshow, a couple of C-130s, some civilian jetliners, and even a 
  massive C-5 Galaxy. It's certain that they will have at least something flying soon, though 
  doubtful it will be one of the jets.  
  California City: A smallish farming town of some 140 people, subsiding on farmed creek beds 
  and chicken coops. There is some trade going on with Mojave and Bishop County.  
  Barstow: For a few years after the war, Barstow hung on, and was absorbed by the "Republic of 
  California". As the Republic struggled for existence, Barstow's power faded as well. When the 
  Republic finally collapsed in 2010, Barstow was left to its own devices. Barstow has since 
  become the hub of trade in the immediate area, thanks to its centralized location and effective 
  militia. Barstow is a stop-off point for caravans north to central valley enclaves, east to the 
  Colorado River, and south to the large coastal cities. At any time there are around 200 to 400 
  people in town, depending on the weather.  
  Fort Irwin Training Area: This nuked military base is now just empty, barren land. This large 
  area was used to train troops, but there is little evidence left that such took place. Most intact 
  military hardware was removed many years ago, but there are copious numbers of wrecks to be 
  salvaged. Out amongst the rusting dummy target tanks of the gunnery training range there is a 
  small enclave of New Age hippie travelers from San Jose who have settled in the area to practice 
  
  their alternative drug culture. These people were headed for Texas when they decided to camp 
  here for the winter and "expand their minds".  
  Tecopa: A small farming settlement has been founded here along the railroad tracks outside of 
  the old town. Known only for having a whore house. Recently the whore house has been taken 
  over by a large gang of Bikers known as the "White Shirts". The gang has about 50 members but 
  are so unorganized that they pose less danger than expected and spend more time killing each 
  other over the five women in the whore house than they do raiding.  
  Desert Center: Typical of the small disorganized trading outposts in the southwestern area of the 
  Mojave desert. About 20 people live here, barely surviving from season to season.  
  Deep Springs: Along the Nevada border, this town is home of a "school" for "Communist 
  homosexuals". Currently, nine families live here, descendents of several pre-war gay communes 
  that dotted this area. The community survives due to the small spring-fed lake that the name 
  comes from. Local rumors also hint that Deep Springs was the home of an ancient underground 
  base, with hidden entrances near the bases of nearby mountains. The locals have called this base 
  "Yellowfruit" for generations, though none of them can tell you where this strange name came 
  from.  
  "Site-M": Indeed, the Deep Springs mystery base is a Snake-eater base named Site-M. The men 
  are still sleeping, unaware of the local situation above them.  
  "Site-D": Site-D is an abandoned Snake-eater base, located somewhere in Death Valley. Its exact 
  location is unknown, as the living staff was killed by an earthquake a week after the war. In the 
  sand-filled base are some two dozen cryotubes, holding ten Green Berets. None of them are still 
  alive, and much of their gear has been exposed to the elements and decayed.  
  "Site-I": The Snake-eaters also have a small intact bolthole somewhere beneath Argus Peak 
  several miles northwest of the old town of Trona on the former grounds of the China Lake Test 
  Center. It is known as Site-I and was built in the mid-1980s. The men are sleeping peacefully 
  here, waiting for their wake-up call.  
  People who have contributed to this entry:  
  John Raner  
  Chris Van Deelen  
  Ken Wheeler  
  Clive Henrick 
  Karl Zohler 
  Vince Tognarelli 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/The Morrow Project/Unofficial/Nathan Decker's Travel Guide/The Pacific Coast/California.pdf