104th ID Location

[Webstral]

What about a blight resistant, true breeding strain of potato It fits in with the agriculture of the state and would be a handy crop. If it was a fast grower that could be put in after first frost and grow to a decent size in time to harvest it and get the summer crop in it could be worth more than all the MacGuffins in the modules.

Of course, if I've gotten it wrong about Idaho being known as the "Potato State" then none of my post makes sense....

I like this idea. I'll have to toy with it to figure out how it can be made to fit with an SO-type operation.

Does anybody know what parts of a hydroelectric facility would be damaged by EMP

Webstral

[HorseSoldier]

Wyoming might look a lot like New England by early 2001 in that fortified communities exist in a sea of land dominated by marauders. Howling Wilderness alludes to this idea, and Kota supports the idea with observations about towns with machine tools and extensive extraction operations. Provided the operations can be kept supplied with food, they can make important contributions to the recovery of the nation. One could really have fun with a sourcebook devoted to Wyoming.

Complicating things is the fact that it's not the best agricultural area on the planet, but great grazing country, in much of the state. In the eastern part of the state it may be confused with heavily armed marauders, mostly on horseback, mingled in with people who've cut loose from settlements to follow their cattle and other animals -- also on horseback, also armed to the teeth, and probably also prone to a bit of opprotunistic robbery if it means the difference between surviving the winter or not. Of course, circa 2000, everyone is still making things up as they go along, for the most part, and so everything's probably a fluid mess.

Further west where the mountains provide better water, fortified towns or valleys would make a lot of sense. There's some sort of petroleum in the area, if I recall correctly (natural gas), which could further add wrinkles to a complicated situation.

Does anybody know what parts of a hydroelectric facility would be damaged by EMP

I think just the computerized controls and such. Wouldn't do anything to the turbines in and of itself, but damage might occur from the controls going off line abruptly. The Howling Wilderness section on the SE USA, talking about MilGov trying to get the Tennessee Valley Authority back up and running talks a little about how GDW saw that issue developing -- human abandonment and neglect over a couple years was a bigger issue than the nukes themselves for the various damns in the TVA area.

[Webstral]

Okay, having read through the Howling Wilderness bit on hydroelectric plants, I think I might have something workable, albeit rather similar to Airlords of the Ozarks. Salvaging the TVA facilities requires a workforce Milgov doesn't have. Perhaps the less-chaotic situation in Idaho led to a much better survivability rate for the engineers associated with Idaho's hydroelectrcity industry. Perhaps, however, the cream of the crop are now in concentration camps in Boise. Many of the engineers needed for the job were minorities, Mormons, or outspoken people who pissed off the Aryans in charge of the New American cell in Boise. Maybe New America went so far as to identify these people ahead of time, and they are now being held following their arrest by New American forces. Those of suitable ethnicity are being subjected to co-option efforts. Those not of suitable ethnicity soon are to be exterminated. The PCs must liberate these people prior to the upcoming 104th ID offensive. Success could mean not only restoring some hydroelectric power to Idaho, but also the potential training of a new workforce to be transported to other parts of the country for the purpose of restoring hydroelectric power.

Webstral

P.S. I wonder if the Shogun's raid can be worked into this one somehow. If he liberated a thousand concentration camp victims, were any of the needed people among them Might a follow-on mission involve a trip to Nevada

[Raellus]

What about some kind of seed cache, or maybe livestock embryos, at one of the University campuses in Idaho Howling Wilderness posits major drought conditions across CONUS in the early '00s (I prefer a nuclear winter scenario myself)- drought resistant (or cold resistant) seed strains would be essential for rebuilding population/society. I don't know if they actually exist there but it could work for a GDW-style module. New America controls them; MilGov wants them. SO-type mission ensues.

[shrike6]

I know this is kind of an irrelevant point since you have moved on from it but I went ahead and mapped the blast for you all.

http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/gmap/hydesim.htmldll=41.16079,-104.86539&mll=41.15132,-104.80694&yd=1000&zm=12&op=152

Note the simulator assumes a ground hit and not an airburst so actually mileage may vary.

[Abbott Shaull]

I kinda look at things in the US especially out west north of the border States would be much like Old West. You just replace the Native Americans that the US Army units were posted to protect the citizens from with New American. During the peaceful time the Regiments would be quite spread out, especially the Cavalry Regiments where you would find HQ with up to Squadron of Troops. Then the rest of the Regiments Troops were spread out.

You will find troops build up where New America strongholds are.

Another issue is that you have the milgov and civgov fighting for control too.

The same nagging questions that we see in units in Europe is still a problem we see multiplied due to the fact that a Division would be spread more out in the US. Units based east of the Mississippi and along West Coast and along the US-Mexico border will be more concentrated, but almost everywhere else units will have to be spread out to give the appearance to keep the citizens from feeling as they have been abandoned completely.

Also you need have concentration of troops around the New America stronghold too...

Just some thoughts.

[Targan]

Another issue is that you have the milgov and civgov fighting for control too.

Figuratively but not literally. By 2000-2001 MilGov and CivGov forces are rarely engaged in active combat with one another. And I recall reading (in Howling Wilderness I think) about unofficial friendly meetings between CivGov and MilGov patrols along the edges of their respective zones of control.

[HorseSoldier]

It's supposedly a three way civil war, but it does seem like MilGov and CivGov don't really go after each other much. In the 2300AD timeline, too, they can't get a handle on the situation with New America until they merge in a couple decades.

[pmulcahy11b]

It's supposedly a three way civil war, but it does seem like MilGov and CivGov don't really go after each other much.

Boy, that would be an interesting player encounter -- a three-way firefight. Which side do the players join What if all three sides look basically alike and are armed with the same weapons

[Webstral]

After giving the idea of a super crop of some sort that must be recovered by the PCs some thought, I"ve decided that while I like the idea a lot I"m going to use it in a different context. I"m thinking of a moral dilemma for PCs. Civgov has possession of a variety of corn with some extraordinary trait: nitrogen fixing, drought tolerance, or some such. The civilian government is planting this crop in Iowa. Milgov wants some. Thanks for suggesting the idea, gentlemen.

For Idaho, I think I"m going to go down the hydroelectric route. Howling Wilderness says that Milgov would need dozens of engineers and hundreds of technicians to repair hydroelectric plants in the TVA area. The right kinds of engineers aren"t available. What if they are available someplace else What if a number of engineers and techs have been available in Idaho, but New America has grabbed them to keep them from helping out Milgov

My research has turned up a couple of interesting facts. In 1995, Idaho generated 100% of its electricity needs with hydroelectric power. This cannot have escaped the attention of state officials. Once contingency planning gets underway, I"m imagining that someone concludes that protecting the guys who can repair hydroelectric plants is in the state"s best interests. The state government puts together a plan to identify the people with the right kinds of skills and keep them safe pending the resumption of operations.

Fast forward to 1998, and the hydroelectric folks get to work on repairing a couple of the plants in Idaho. The federal officials who are supposed to be involved in all of this are either not present or operating in cooperation with the state government. Work progresses slowly under the guns of the Idaho State Guard or another similar body. New America, which has infiltrated the state government by this point, has managed to get work concentrated on the plants nearest Boise. Once the cells are activated and come out into the open, a special mission to grab the skilled workers and bring them back to Boise goes out. The mission is successful.

Now the PCs are tasked with bringing the skilled workers back. One or more hydroelectric plants potentially are within months of being restored to operating capacity. Depending on how many of the right people can be rescued before the 104th ID goes in, electricity could be flowing from the plant by the end of 2001. If New America thinks they are about to lose the fight for Boise, they will kill all of the specialists under the assumption that doing so supports other New American operations elsewhere.


Webstral

[kota1342000]

Hmm...this topic and Chalkline's post about the 551s and the additional Cav Divisions is giving me some ideas...this may take some thought....