[Fanbook] ATB2: The Plains of Free Cattle

[glitterboy2098]

awhile back we tried ot get a fanbook started here, but the project seemed to die off, largely IMO to the lack of a coherant goal for the book. well, i loved the idea, so i've been assembling an overview of what i think would be a fun and interesting ATB sourcebook. i've borrowed a few ideas from the previous threads, and tried to mesh them together..


ATB2: Plains of Free Cattle
A Fan Sourcebook for After the Bomb Second Edition
Summary:
Between the scenic appalachian mountains and the imposing rockies lies the 'Plains of Free Cattle', a region known to the coastal powers to be the home of the many tribal bands that comprise the collective known as 'Free Cattle'. for many, this is all that is known. certainly the scouting parties of the various tribal bands of freecattle claim their presence to extend the entire breadth of the land between the mountains. But there is more to this region than just the tribal bands known as Free Cattle. This region, once called the Great Plains, is home to several large communities and dozens of smaller villages. each with its own leadership and society. The region can be divided up into three main territories. the Herdlands, the Wastelands, and the Deadlands.
The Herdlands comprise the old midwest. Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconson, Michigan, Indiana, and Missouri. this is a Fertile, Green land of forests, rolling grassy hills, and rivers. it is the most populated part of the so called plains of Free Cattle. it is a unique mix of settled communities and nomadic herds. Wisconson is the 'spiritual center' of Free Cattle, the place where the Philosophy of free cattle began and the gathering place of its many tribes and bands in times of council. the citystates of Steelville (old pittsburg) and Porkopolis are the largest examples of settled communities, but there are dozens of large villages as well. These communities remain independant of Free Cattle, but on good terms, and are popular trading partners with the tribes.
The Wastelands are virtually uninhabited by settled peoples, save for a few isolated outposts. they are the home of the Great Herd, the nomadic tribe of the Buffalo. These Mutants (and their unmutated cousins) are the primary inhabitants of the region, alongside the nomadic Wolf Tribes. the Wastelands are a desert of grass. little rain falls here, and what lies under the ground is buried so deep that it is unaccessable. only along the rivers and on the fringes of the region can people settle and survive. The wastelands are also dangerous. many sites in the wastelands are radioactive ruins, the blasted remains of the great war that caused the crash. yet these places are often visited, for the salvage one can obtain often outweighs the risk of ones health. The Wastelands are comprised of the old states of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
The Deadlands are a wild region. comprised of Texas and Oklahoma, this region is none the less well populated. it's Hacienda's are ruled by Don's, independant Lords in a sort of fuedal system. these Don's are constanly compeating and fighting, and forcably trade control of villages and ranches frequently. this political atmosphere has encouraged the rise of the gunfighters, mercenary warriors who will sign on to any who can pay. it has also seen the rise of Bandits. Raiders and thieves, independants or backed by the Don's, who attack villages held by rivals. some have even travelled south into Imperial Mexico for their raids.
The one thing that links all these territories together is the Railway. Before the crash the railroads were the circulatory system of the continent, moving goods and passengers across the land at high speeds. the crash did not destroy much of the continent spanning network of tracks, though nature has overgrown and buried most of the tracks along the coasts. but the web of rails on the center of the continent survived largely intact, thanks in no small part ot the tough ceramic used in pre-crash times to build it. Many have since learned how to ride the rails, using them to travel across the inhospitable territories of the wastelands. While no one owns the rails, roaming warlords known as railbarons try to control them. they maintain the web, build stations and supply posts, and station troops known as 'Pinkerton's' to defend them. their trains run on regular routes and for a fee, anyone may travel or ship goods on them. The railways link the east and west, north and south. they are the routes of communication and trade across the continent.


Outline:
Goal: 64 to 98 pages

Geography
Herdlands (including Porkopolis, Steelville, Holstien Collectives, others)
Wastelands (Douglkas and Fort Wolpentiger, the Great Herd, Wolf Tribes, some trading posts)
Deadlands (The Hacienda's, Bakersfield, others)
Free Cattle (Collective of Tribes brought together by common philosophy. includes history, overview of philosophy, major tribes.)
Railways (History, Operation, Rail Barons)
New Animal types (Jackalopes, for sure. not sure what else is there that hasn't been done in ATB2, Roadhogs, or MotY)
New Backgrounds
Gunfighter
Caballero ('cowboys'. actually more 'bugboys' in ATB)
Bandit (Ganger/Thief/Raider..could use cooler name)
Lawman (sheriff/marshal/police)
Casey (Railroad engineer. short for 'Casey Jones')
Transporter (Trader/salesman)
Nomad (Vagabond/Hobo)
Pinkerton (railroad security troops)
Tribal Hunter (nomadic society warrior)
Train Construction Rules (types of engines and cars, speed classes, weapons, armor, options..)
Railway gameplay Rules (track condition, fighting within and on top of a train, fighting from a train or attacking it, towing, etc..)
Equipment (new guns, armor, misc items, etc..)
Adventure hooks and campaigns. (both HLS's and full adventures, if possible)

note that beyond these ideas, i haven't written up much actual material just yet, so feedback is welcome. i've been thinking about the railroad aspect lately, since i think that will be the most difficult part to write up. (very distinctive gaming situations rule wise) if there is a part of the project you'd like to contribute to, or if you have material that might work in this setting, feel free to mention it here. (however, please post full write ups and such in their own threads and just link to them here, use the [fanbook] tag to distinguise such. i'd like to keep this thread for discussing the overall setting.)

[glitterboy2098]

what you see above, though the outline part is obviously subject to change. i wrote up a summary of Free Cattle's society. it needs a bit of adjustment to bring it into line with the regional summary above, but it's pretty much complete. all i need to do there is add a bit of history (describing the rise of the philosophy that guides free cattle, and how it spread), and descriptions of major tribal groups in different areas.

i've got research for the train construction tables, and i'm still working on ironing out how i want to organize them. but i have prelim stuff for that, i just need to append game stats to it. i also have a list of various weapons and items that came to mind as i was coming up with the above summaries. stuff the Holstien's created, for example. (remeber, they are a settled group of catle, and have lots of research lab-villages. so i figure they have production abilities and close to modern day tech.)

Pepsi Jedi took one of my ideas and ran with it, and i love what he came up with. and i've decided to incorporate it into the project, so long as he doesn't mind. i had planned to do the jackalopes and Douglas anyway, and his take was just so darn cool...

[BookWyrm]

Sounds like the start of something very well worth the reading. Can't wait to see the finished product.

If I may add a few suggestions?

Change Bandit to Free Bandit. This distinguishes them from the Gunfighters, and both occupations would have an overall unsavory reputation, when common folks can't (or won't) tell the difference.

I should dig out my old notes on some Retro-Humans for the project. These were neo-luddites who got ahold of a few EGG devices and willingly mutated themselves to "a more in-tune with nature" part of human evolution. Some Retro-Humans became much like the Native Americans of the Old West---Most can still speak, but a rare few are born without the capacity for speech, but gain the psi-ability of Telepathic Transmission. They are not shunned by the tribe, and most go on to become wise-men or shaman of the tribe. They distinguish themselves by wearing their long hair in a knot/braid on the top of the head. Thus, they get nicknamed "Tail-Tops."

Fewer still became know as "Blood-Eyes"; savage, cannibalistic mutants with shark-like teeth, blood-shot eyes, beastial intelligence and almost no humanity. Think Cro-Magnons with the above mutations. They are hunted nearly to extinction by the PFC peace-keepers and bounty-hunters, but somehow a few manage to survive.

[glitterboy2098]

actually, i was thinking of dropping bandit entirely, since the ATB2 book has "raised by bandits", which would basically be the same thing.
ditto for gunfighters, who would probably end up under guerilla fighter or elite milita...

the caballero background i'm now thinking might work better as an apprenticeship too...

(i was thinking of putting in a ninja background though. while it seems at odds with the setting, it would allow for not only classical ninja stuff, but also 'zorro' type stuff or things like jackie chan's character in shanghai noon.)

[glitterboy2098]

why would that show up in a plains of free cattle book?

[BookWyrm]

While there is little to nothing on the Plains of Free Cattle itself, the area of it's territory, basically the mid-east and mid-west of the North American continent, there is the chance that many 'tribes' of humans (mutated and un-mutated) could survive in significant numbers without being wiped out.

I get the image of something akin to the original Planet of the Apes movie and the TV series, where there are roving clutches of humans, reduced to savagery and neo-cromagnon mentalities, scratching out an existance between "human-hunts", sanctioned hunting parties that go out into the unexplored areas of the PFC and capture and kill rogue humans (which was a kind of inspiration to my 'Blood-Eyes' mutant humans). Those humans who have learned from the mistakes of their forebears and live in relative harmony with nature (the 'Top-Tails' mutant humans) are watched over and left alone at best, or harrassed out of "protected areas" at worst.

Weschek the Wise has a major grievance against humans, and so the Blood-Eyes make a conveinient target--regular bounties on the Blood-Eyes keep the population down to a managable minimum, and the PFC council enforces strict breeding laws on the other human tribes so they don't overpopulate and cause a problem. More often than said, the Blood-Eyes will attack and raid Top-Tail tribes for food (Blood-Eyes are cannibalistic), mates or any advantage they can steal. The warriors of the Top-Tail tribe repel them with whatever means they have.

[glitterboy2098]

ah, those types of warriors would fall under "Tribal Hunter". the nomadic warrior. more amerindian influenced than viking or mongol influenced though.

as for weschek, if you read the thread i did on free cattle society, i've made him the 'leader' of free cattle in much the same way that Sitting Bull was a 'leader' of the Souix during the plains war. he is the most charismatic and listened to person in the councils, but he was not their ruler. nomadic tribal societies like free cattle tend to lean towards collectivism and direct democracy, with no one group having definitie power. you have meetings, where everyone gets a say in the debate as to what to do. your social standing based on charisma, perceived wisdom, and personal ties are what gives your words weight, what allows you to convince others to support your stance on issues. a leader is just a person whose charisma, wisdom, and personal ties to others allow him (or her, many amerindian tribes were remarkably eligatarian in that way) to have the most listened too voice, which means his stances are the ones most often adopted.

wescheks hatred of humans, while a major factor in free cattle politics due to his status as a respected elder, is not a policy, but an attitude, one that is not going to be shared by all the tribes of free cattle, nor shared by all the bands within tose tribes, nor all the individuals within those bands. each groups is going to have their own perspective on humans, predators, technology...and each group (of what are likely thousands of bands) will have a different way of putting that perspective into practise. not will everyone in those bands agree on how to do so.

[BookWyrm]

Got a link?

[glitterboy2098]

the link was posted above, but here you go:
"What is Free Cattle?"

[glitterboy2098]

at the moment my work on it has slowed a bit. partly due ot other, higher priority projects (i have a major rifts project already 1/2 done, and have recently hit a point where it can be finished up), and computer problems (my laptops power cord is on the fritz, making it extremely hard to type up stuff...)

[Beatmeclever]

Would the "Cowboy" be a terrorist of somekind in a world of Cattle? Or would he be something along a more literal line - a Cow Boy? Just asking.

[glitterboy2098]

i intentionally avoided the direct term cowboy because of that connection....maybe i just need to dub it "ranch hand", which while an accurate description doesn't have much zing...though a "also called" line with other names might work with these...

[Beatmeclever]

I just thought that anyone who rides around roping and using cattle prods on the citizens of the Plains of Free Cattle would absolutely be considered a terrorist or something.

[BookWyrm]

Glitterboy: Thanks for the link.

duck-foot: That's what I was thinking too.

[glitterboy2098]

I just thought that anyone who rides around roping and using cattle prods on the citizens of the Plains of Free Cattle would absolutely be considered a terrorist or something.

ah, i can see the confusion. first, it's unlikely the ranchhand/caballero would be raising cattle. while there would be plenty of unmutated cattle around (remember, only a small percent changed), the ethical and political issues surrounding it would be offputting. these ranchhands would be working on ranches that raise mutant bugs or other such creatures. the stuff that has largely replaced cattles, horses, and groundbirds (ostriches and emu's) in the post-crash.


much like how Roadhogs was ATB with a MadMax flair, my ideas for this book are leaning towards an american western flair.

[acreRake]

Prairie Dog "Emporium"

I really like the de-centralized ideas you have. One thing that i'm fuzzy on, maybe this has been discussed in another thread, is the general boundaries of the "Plains". I mean, according to the map, they control an area extremely far to the east: most of Virginia and Pennsylvania... But the Road Hogs map seems to show that they go pretty far west as well... that's most of the old US, right?

Do other people think of it like I do?: The PotFC arcs across the northern part of the US, probably some of the southern part of central/western Canada? How far south do most people think they "control"?

BTW, i also get the feeling that much like the Cartel in Philly The areas around the major city ruins are going to be places ruled by independent kingdoms...

I guess that's what you were getting at in you geography list up there...

Anyway, i think the train idea is really fun, i also think there is whole world to explore with the Mississippi river. I would expect it to be controlled not by the free cattle but by the aquatic animals (etc) that live there...also, i would expect them to be unified by the River much like the Californian animals are by the Road...

That's probably another book altogether.

[glitterboy2098]

by my thinking, the collective of tribes known as "free cattle" range from the rockies to the appalachians. but since they're nomads, they don't really "control" that area, so much as live in it. some areas, like the midwest, are the "spiritual center" of free cattle, being where the group got its start and being the most livable area.

[glitterboy2098]

Would the book include any information on relations with other groups, such as the Prairie Dog Emporium and New Kennel?

sorry for not catching this earlier.

one of the things i'd like to do when i get around to writing up the sections on each new group is to add a "diplomacy" section, with brief descriptions of each groups relations with the EoH, New Kennel, gatorland, Cardanai, americorp, the roadhogs, the pregunta...etc. probably not a mention of all of them each time, but basically which ever ones asre most probable. IE: porkopolis would need a few sentances on EoH and cardania, but probably doesn't need mention of americorp. likewise fort wolpentiger should have mention of the roadhogs and americorp, but probably doesn't need much on the EoH or cardania...

[acreRake]

by my thinking, the collective of tribes known as "free cattle" range from the rockies to the appalachians. but since they're nomads, they don't really "control" that area, so much as live in it. some areas, like the midwest, are the "spiritual center" of free cattle, being where the group got its start and being the most livable area.

Very good

[BookWyrm]

Imperium.

[MikeM]

Imperium.

well, yes sorry. i just never heard of it.

The Prairie Dog Imperium is from the book Road Hogs (page 27).

MikeM