What Christmas knows:

In reply to Crow (msg # 61):

Does Lucas know about Crows van?  ..I guess he must know somebody uses it, as otherwise he would tow an abandoned vehicle in for scrap...

Its kind of undefined right now exactly where my scrapyard is...
am still discussing that with Uncaring.

If the van is a viable place to take the woman ...i'm fine with heading there?
Just wanted all the PCs to give their opinions.

I don't think Lucas would know about Crow's van because he didn't know Crow when the characters first met ICly.  Lucas would most likely be careful taking things that don't belong to him this close to town, unless he's the kind of guy that does that and accepts all the consequences that entails. In this case, the van either appeared obviously lived in or it somehow escaped his notice.

What we have right now is...

* Crow is confident of his medical skills.

* He needs a better environment than the cramped unsanitary compartment in Lucas' truck to practice medicine.

* Some characters have been informed about medical options available in the area, but all of them have a price.

* Someone needs to make a decision.

* It would be perfectly IC for the characters to talk it over / yell it out while Lucas keeps the truck rolling.

PM

Higgins brought up a good point that we've run into a few times already:  the safety of people's vehicles and gear when they're not there for some reason.

Okay, the real answer is, no, nothing is safe.  Dogs get eaten, bikes get stolen, cars get stripped, and everything else that would happen if you left your luggage alone for five minutes in a French train station.

The answer I've been working off of currently is that by the Power of GM-Fiat-Skull, nothing has happened so far.  This is because we're still getting our feet wet, we're human beings who don't have time to percolate about every little thing that can go wrong with our character leaving his or her gear alone for two minutes in the post-nuclear French train station called the Central Valley, and I'm going to be forgiving until we really get on a firm footing in the setting.  The questions all of you are asking are a sign that that is naturally happening.

What I'm going to is this:

* Work with Lucas to get his garage set up.  The way we're going in PMs, it will be there to benefit him as a player character, but it will become a part of the setting that I run.  The good news is that it will be available to him as a part of his character concept.  The bad news is that I'm going to run with NPCs who have their own issues and priorities, which may conflict with Lucas'.  If anything happens to it, it will be because of a major adventure hook, like when Mad Max loses his car in the Road Warrior and ends up driving the tanker.  Even then, I'm not going to screw over Lucas by wrecking something that is a part of his concept, unless I have a very, very good reason.

* Work with Christmas to do more detailing of her crew.

* Work with all of you on the economics, and with all the vehicle owners on what's safe, what's not, and how your characters understand the dangers to themselves and their gear.

That said, I'm not going to allow Lucas' garage to turn into a base for all of you.  That's not what it was for.  It was for Lucas to be able to play out his concept as a mechanic.  This will require everyone's cooperation.  Of course it will be okay if Higgins parks his bike there.  Of course it will be okay if Christmas and her crew sleep on the roof, or on the shop floor at night when no one is working.  What's not okay is everyone moving all their stuff in there and turning it into their crash pad, because that would irritate the mechanics and their families who already live there.  This is the trade off for Lucas having all the garage's capabilities, gear and animals be guarded 24/7.

Once this gets settled, that's when I'm going to implement the survival aspect of the game, including dangers to vulnerable gear and people, the economics, the scarcity of resources, and the wear and tear on vehicles.  Every time something goes wrong is an adventure opportunity.  This is meant to be a dangerous game, which is why I mentioned in the beginning that I'll use character 'defeat' as an alternative to character death.

Okay, this weekend I'm going to make sure to post in both threads, and I want to wrap up the Beth and Donnie's Bogus Journey.  I appreciate all the creativity you have all put into this game, and I take full responsibility for the game's slowdown.

Here's a video about a Pakistani gun factory.  It shows how machinists with electricity and machine tools can make quality guns.  After watching this, I decided that Bakersfield is manufacturing guns and ammo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4PdL5pCioQ
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:14, Sun 19 July 2015.

Hi there.  I have no idea whether the trade that's been proposed to Jari is good or bad but I suspect that Jari might.  Can you give me any clues?

Thanks.

In reply to Uncaring Fate (msg # 68):

Awesome. Maybe that's where I need to get my bullets. Ready to flesh out the crew whenever's suitable, also.

Fascinating video that prompts two questions from me relating to how this would work in a post apoc setting:

 - How difficult would it be to manufacture the high quality metal blanks they were starting from?

 - How would they rifle the barrel accurately?  At one point there was a guy using a tap and die set but can that be used to rifle a barrel?

Personally I think that the rarer item is going to be ammo and that weapons will mostly be reconditioned pre war ones.  This video demonstrates however how manufacturing spare parts must be possible.

Really interesting and demonstrating what the VC were also doing during the Vietnam War.  Thanks for posting the link.

Yes, one of you sent it to me, but I got busy before posting it up.  I think it's all a matter of the appropriate machine tools and machinist skill.

In reply to Jari Helminen (msg # 69):

It's a low opening bid.  Make a Bargain roll.

In reply to Uncaring Fate (msg # 73):

I have a big Q&A PM for you about the Garage and local Economics.

Yollie, I forgot to have Donnie relay Crow's request for your assistance with Beth.  If you like, you can consider Yollie to have helped Crow for a couple of hours and no be in the van watching Beth sleep.

Just saw this, but that is what I ended up doing IC anyways. Great minds and all that.

Yollie is heading back home to return the pump gun and help with chores - she is a responsible daughter after all. When that is done, probably a few hours, she has every intention of returning to check on Beth and hang around Christmas like a lost puppy.

Is the ammo spot limited occupancy or could I walk in?

The entryway of the ammo trader is modelled on a jewelry shop I visited once irl.  The entry cage was small but the staff immediately let customers into a spacious store (it was made to prevent robbers from just rushing in and to let the staff have a minute to assess people before letting them in).  The issue here is that there isn't a spacious store for Jari and Higgins to be let into, and ICly they would probably be uncomfortable with a stranger entering behind them.  To resolve this, let's say that there is an 'occupied' sign that the ammo trader lets down when he's doing business and that there is a small space for Christmas to wait outside.  This would let Jari and Higgins finish their trade without someone coming up behind them, but also let Christmas meet them on their way out when they're done.

Yollie, feel free to post in the East Highland Hills thread until you want to return to the Travel Stop.

Roger Wilco. Thanks for the thread!

Ok,

Lucas is with his rig, asking Donnie where he got the brass.

Christmas just made her way past a confrontation between Alpha Company and Rattler's road warrior crew on her way to the Motel 6.

Crow (who hasn't returned so far) is still taking care of Beth.

Higgins has joined Lucas at his rig, with a question about motorcycle maintenance.

Christmas will check out the situation at the Motel 6, while Lucas and Higgins see what's going on with Donnie and what he said about where the ammo came from.  Then we can tie things up together and then the characters can start making choices.

Expect narrative posts tomorrow.

Where is Yollie currently?

Yollie is in East Highland Hills proper, having returned home and back to her normal routine.  She was only gone about 7 hours, and probably during the night to help Crow care for Beth.

I want to start with the Donnie and Beth situation resolved.  Donnie will have already told Lucas where to get more ammunition, and the loot from Donnie's car and cargo will already have been divided.

During this time Christmas will have visited the Motel Six.  While she is posting through that sequence, Lucas, Yollie, and Higgins can be posting through taking care of business, and making plans.

The upcoming story arcs will be Donnie's Ammo and Christmas' Present that she finds at the Motel 6.  All characters may not want to go on these adventures, AND THEY ARE DESIGNED THAT WAY.  If the characters do go, then they make a choice.

I am shortly going to introduce the survival guidelines for characters and vehicles.  They will have their own thread.  I am still debating on how much of that to keep behind the scenes, but it will probably most of it to preserve the sense of mystery and uncertainty.  Suffice to say, starvation, thirst and sleep deprivation will affect characteristics and skills.  I'm starting from the point of your characters being hardened survivors accustomed to privation, so your intuition as players will be enough to guide you to make sound common sense decisions.

The barter system is a little iffy, and in play it will probably be inconsistent, but I ask you to bear with me.

Awesome. Sounds good to me.

Since Yollie has come into the game as naieve and a bit clingy, she is going to cling onto Christmas as someone who can "big sister" her. So, that being said, it would take a lot to keep Yollie from going on an adventure Christmas wants/needs to go on.

You cool with that interplay between PCs, Chris?

Zero objections here.

Higgins will have to be Charlie minus a few angels :)