Traiders:New Jerry

The city of New Jerusalem on the northern frontier of Christian America was once known as Independence, Missouri. It's vassal communities roughly correspond to the former Kansas City Metropolitan Area, now known as Centropolis. Also popularly known as New Jerry, the city is a hub of Christian American culture.

Foundation

Once a predominately white city, many of the original inhabitants fled when tens of thousands of black and latino refugees escaped during a riot at the Harry S. Truman Sports Center. The refugees occupied abandoned houses in the surrounding neighborhoods and avoided the plagues that wiped out countless others in refugee camps across the United States, including many of the original inhabitants of Independence who fled without proper planning and ended up in refugee camps themselves.

Centropolis was soon overrun by three bands of Raiders divided on ethnic lines: The mostly white Bushwhackers, predominately black Jayhawkers and latino Zapatistas. As the regional economy fell to pieces the Raiders became rich through their conquests and increasingly fought with each other for regional dominance. All three gangs were on the verge of a genocidal conflict when a Baptist preacher, the Reverend Jesse James Truman, united them against a new enemy: The Navuoo Legion.

The Navuoo Legion was a survivalist cult which sought to rule America from a New Jerusalem they would build in Independence Missouri. The Reverend Jesse James Truman convinced the Raiders that the New Jerusalem was the birthright of true Christian Americans and that the Navuoo Legion was an unwelcome competitor in Christian America. Together the Raiders drove the cult from Centropolis and founded the city of New Jerusalem as a political capitol of their alliance.

The Holy City

Today the city of New Jerry is a symbol of the values of Christian America. New Jerry has attracted the best and brightest regional talents in the arts, politics and defense, as well as a substantial number of doctors, engineers and other technologists. The Raiders support the city not only through their patronage of the arts and sciences but also by providing manpower and logistical support for missionary expeditions.

Rather than having a central government or warlord New Jerry is run mainly by the "brunch system": social networks between the pastors of the various churches and the leaders of the various paramilitary organizations. Serious conflicts are resolved by a council of three pastors and three raiders chosen to reflect the ethnic diversity of New Jerry. Aside from this networking and conflict resolution the churches and Raiders are free to operate and maintain social order as they please.

Challenges

A controversial new movement in Christian America has set it's sights on the Old Jerusalem. These Crusadists believe that in order to claim the Holy Land (Israel and Palestine), they must first reclaim all of America (the old United States) as a Christian country. To do this they seek to rid the country of Cults, Secularists and Lukewarm Christians which have led America away from it's Christian heritage. The Crusadists have successfully recruited many of the most zealous and adventurous young people of New Jerry, but many Christians are concerned about the vague plans of the Crusadists and their divisive assertions about Lukewarm Christianity.