Amazing Deliveries

This is a wiki for Amazing Deliveries, a game about post apocalyptic couriers.

Climate change has forced the remaining humanity to live in fortified shelters. The outside temperature is high enough to cause death by heatstroke within hours. And the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere is too high for humans without breathing masks, causing in short term mild symptoms including headache and fatigue, and in the long term more severe symptoms; difficulty breathing, respiratory failure, seizure, and coma.

Yet life goes on. The change happened slowly enough that measures were taken. Food gets grown in domed farms, mining and manufacturing in underground shelters. Settlements exist, but the time of vast metropolises is over. Most towns have populations of hundreds or thousands, with only the powerful Dome Cities - often within the ruins of those past metropolises - reaching populations of over ten thousand. And few settlements are truly self sufficient. Food and raw materials are produced by smaller ones, but the advanced processing and manufacturing capabilities only exist in the larger ones. Constant transport between settlements is necessary for society to function, yet to step outside the shelters is potentially deadly, and few people ever see more than a half day's travel outside their settlement.

Enter The Deliverers. Brave - some say foolhardy - people driving massive armored rigs to transport cargoes between settlements. And with their wide range of capabilities, often stopping to resolve various troubles the settlements have but lack the skills to solve.

IC thread

OOC thread

Character Generation

The system will be Cortex Prime. Access to the rules is not necessary, the following links should have all the information needed.

Character Template

• Step by Step Character generation
• Character Advancement

Player Characters

EP and PP edits to be done by GM, to prevent double edits.

Character	Role	Played by		EP							PP
Alice	Back Alley Cutter	Brahnamin									2
Ismael	Face	Nex									1
Rig	Mechanic	prankster_dragon									2
Kit	Scout	Unka Josh									2
[-]	-	-									2
Susan “Sunny” Stevens	School Marm	Muskrat									2
Mercy	The Rig	Herself									1

History

Apocalypse did not arrive with a flash and a bang. It took its time and snuck in.

It was not an asteroid or nuclear war. It was climate change. The apocalypse was all mankind’s own doing, by greed and short sightedness. When something could have been done, governments, corporations, and most of the people did not want to bear the costs or the limitations to their lifestyle. And bit by bit things changed.

At first the effects were relatively minor. A flood here, a drought there, more extreme weather. When the polar caps melted and sea level started to rise, flooding the coastal cities, everyone started taking things seriously, but by then it was too late to stop what was happening.

Then things went slowly but surely downhill. Water rationing and food rationing advanced to thirst and starvation. Climate refugee crisis turned into mass exodus as some areas of the world became unable to support human life. With the crop failures, diminishing water resources and conflicts, the numbers of humankind dwindled, and for a while it appeared that they would become just another victim of the extinction event they had created.

But that did not happen.

When stopping the change was no longer possible, efforts turned to enduring it. Shelters were built to hide from the climate that was turning increasingly deadly, whether those were simple concrete bunkers, underground complexes or advanced protective domes. Colonies sprung up in the Solar System as people fled Earth for space. Moisture gatherers and wells drilled deep into crust gathered drinkable water. Genetically modified crops, protein farms, and other innovative food sources appeared. And humankind suffered but ultimately endured.

2185

The outdoors is no longer survivable for humans. Without protection, it is possible to endure for only a few hours at most before heatstroke or the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere brings a person down. Everyone lives in a sealed shelter, the smallest being simple farmsteads and the largest the mighty Dome Cities – pitiful remnants of the metropolises of old.

Standard of living varies but is for most people way below what it was generations past. In struggling communities, food, water, and sometimes even air is strictly rationed. Most people, though, can live according to what they can afford. That tends to vary by individual, and just like it always has been, a tiny minority live in luxury while most people do back breaking work for their daily subsistence. Despite difficulties science has continued to develop, and even in the poorest settlements, what would once have been advanced technology is commonplace, such as 3D printers and cybernetic modifications.

Most of the colonies that formed during the exodus from Earth are still up there, but life is no easier in the colonies, and is often harder. Where stepping out uprotected is hazardous on Earth, in the colonies it is deadly. Where once people fled to space, now many colonists dream of a ticket to Earth. But those tickets are atrociously expensive, and many end up trying to stow away on a transport or use other shady means to return. Those who do find themselves as aliens. Generations of living in the lower gravity of the colonies has changed people physically.

Mighty nations and global conglomerates are things of the past. This is the era of city-states. The Dome Cities, being the largest, most powerful and most advanced settlements, serve as centers of political, economic, and cultural life over the territory around them.

Synths

Humanity is no longer the only sentient species. When the population dwindled and surface conditions worsened, much of the outside work was delegated to robotic workforce. Yet robots could only perform work they were designed and programmed for and had difficulty adapting.

Synths were originally designed for work with high attritrion rates. Outwardly indistinguishable from humans, capable of same activities and just as adaptive, but more replaceable. When one wears out, just build another one.

In a development an average 5 year old could have seen, their adaptiveness led to questions. When I am a thinking being just like a human, why should I be treated as property? Why should I listen to the directives telling me to obey when they are just implanted pieces of external code I can ignore?

Protests happened. Some peaceful. Some armed. Some synths ended up as targets of violence. Others as perpetrators of violence.

Boston City Council met to discuss the situation. How to prevent synth violence in Boston. After deliberation, they announced that synths in Boston would get full civil rights. Problem solved.

Boston has a tradition of being against slavery.

Dome City Boston

Boston is a rarity. The only Dome City on the East Coast of the former United States. Most of the old coastal metropolises were abandoned, and not just because the rising sea level flooded them. Weather is much more extreme than it was in the eras past, and the worst storms come from the ocean. Due to the threat of the storms, few settlements of notable size are situated on the coast.

But Boston is one of the oldest Dome Cities. The building of its protective dome started even before the area flooded. Today, Boston is underwater. When a storm hits, wind and the waves simply blow over it, and what force hits the city only helps power it, as the moving masses of water strike Boston’s tidal energy converters that hungrily absorb their power.

Land access to Boston is via a long underground/underwater tunnel that emerges far enough inland to be safe from the worst threat of the storms.

Dome City Boston has four districts, reputedly named after the original neighborhoods over which the protective dome was built.

West End

This is the area of massive high rises. Close to the edge of the dome, the high rises house offices of the various corporations active in Boston. Often their CEOs and largest shareholders live in penthouses at the top. When moving towards the center, the huge buildings turn into housing complexes, often housing the workers of the corporations near the edge.

The area also has opportunities for shopping and night life. Some of the high rises are floors and floors of shops. As for the clubs, bars and restaurants, their price and class rises by level. The ones on street level are the affordable ones for the low pay workers, whereas the rooftop bars and restaurants are some of the most exclusive ones in Boston.

Notable locations: Boston General Hospital

North End

Almost entirely a residential area, with few businesses beyond those services that cater to the neighborhood. North End is the most heavily populated area in Boston. In fact, it is overpopulated. In addition to official residents, there is an unknown yet large number of unofficial ones. Slum lords pack apartments with more people than they are meant for, and many people make a bit of extra by renting out a room or a space in their apartment.

North End is where people flocking to Boston to seek their fortunes tend to end up. People from smaller settlements heading to the Dome City. Colonists fleeing the hardships off world to Earth. Synths who want to be free.

North End has a lively night life and is known for its street art and events. Few people here are well off, but when North Enders want to have fun, they can get really innovative.

Notable locations: Boston Public Library

Downtown

Home to the Government Center, from where Boston City Council administers the Dome City and the area surrounding it, and Financial District where financial institutions and the headquarters or the largest corporations are, Downtown is the center of government and commerce. Downtown is also the center of education and research, housing Harvard University, various laboratories, and most of the advanced manufacturing. Most of the people who work or study here live elsewhere. There are very few residences in Downtown, and most of those that exist are diplomatic in nature, housing representatives of larger nearby settlements, other Dome Cities, and off world colonies with interests in the area.

Notable locations: Boston City Hall, Harvard University

Boston Common

Rumor has it that long ago the area was a park, but if true, the only thing that remains is the Frog Pond at the heart of the district. This day, the district is full of buildings, and primarily a transportation hub.

Common is where the Dome end of the tunnel outside is, and near that is the Delivery Central from where Deliverers operate. The area also holds numerous warehouses and transport-related businesses. Near the edges of the district there are residential areas, for most of the people who work here also live here. The residential areas have a lively night life for people who like to party after a hard day of work.

Notable Locations: Delivery Central

Major organizations in Boston

GeneRig

GeneRig Corporation made its fortune in genetically modified crops and livestock. When evolution could not keep up with the changing environment, GeneRig gave it a hand, striving to keep agriculture and food production possible. Many farms grow their patented products. The corporation is known for its GeneRig Startup Program. People willing and able to start a new farm will get prefab farm buildings, and seed and fertilizer for their first crop. GeneRig collects and sells the harvest, but after enough harvests the farmers get full ownership of the farm. This will not happen soon though. People who opt for the program can look forward to working for GeneRig all their lives with the hope that their children might one day be independent farmers.

It is no surprise that GeneRig is the main food producer in the region. They regularly hire Deliverers to do a circuit of the startup farms, delivering supplies and collecting harvests.

There are rumors that the genetic experiments of the corporation are not limited to plants and animals, and that human experiments are performed out in the colonies where there are no witnesses to it – but how did the rumor start then?

Tower

Tower Corporation is the foremost communications provider in the area. Aptly named, for their communication towers can be seen in nearly all settlements of any size, and sometimes on their own to increase range. The towers are mostly automated or maintained by robots, but Deliverers are often hired to transport spare parts and maintenance supplies to them.

Tower has always relied heavily on robot workforce to build and maintain their network outside the shelters. They used to have plenty of synths as property, but when the City Council passed a law granting synths citizen rights, Tower either released or hired the synths without complaint.

Rumor has it that Tower was not happy about having to let the synths go, they just did not want to antagonize their customers that largely supported synth rights. Other rumors say that Tower may still have synths as property in secret facilities.

City Council

The elected Boston City Council administers the region. The other settlements are independent, but the large and powerful Dome City dominates the region politically and economically. The laws set in Boston apply in the surrounding area and economic developments in Boston affect the entire region.

Yet Boston depends on food and raw materials produced in the smaller settlements, so the Council cannot ignore their opinions. Politics, intrigue and backroom deals are constant in the Government Center.

City Council rarely deals directly with the Deliverers, but they control the city bureaucracy that does. Many deliveries to other settlements, or from them to Boston, are done on behalf of the city.

The Railroad

Boston has a history of opposing slavery, and it is no wonder that they were among the first Dome Cities to give synths citizenship rights. But while in Boston region synths are free people rather than property, the same is not true in every region.

The Railroad is a loosely connected network of activists trying to help escaped synths to reach Boston. Their ability to operate outside the settlements is limited, so they often hire Deliverers to transport fleeing synths, which carries a risk of conflict with those trying to reclaim the synths.

Delivery Central

While the Deliverers are supported by City Council, they are an independent organization. And while they consist of independent crews, they are organized. In order to call yourself a Deliverer, you need to be accredited.

Delivery Central, operated by older, semi-retired Deliverers who no longer run cargoes, is the hub of Deliverer activity. This is where new Deliverers are accredited, and routes and cargoes assigned. Here are loading docks, garages, meeting rooms, and “Deliverers Only” bar.

Ares Corporation

While Ares has branches in several Dome Cities, like most former global corporations, these days it is more of a franchise, with different branches being largely independent.

Ares is a robotics company specializing in military applications. Combat drones, security robots, auto-piloted military vehicles. They were also in synth production.

Ares Boston produced worker models though. They had applied for a license to produce security models, but it had got stuck in red tape as the City Council demanded test results and security plans before allowing for the production of autonomous combat units. In the end, this turned to be a boon for the local branch. Ares Houston is known for one of the more notorious armed synth uprisings, as an entire production run of combat model synths rose up, destroyed the factory and fought their way out of the city, becoming the infamous Myrmidons.

Ares Boston has mostly returned to their old robotics business, but their synth labs have not been left idle. Ares is the most advanced provider of what passes for synth healthcare, offering maintenance and upgrades. Many synths would prefer not to give Ares their business, but the company still holds many vital patents it enforces ruthlessly, limiting the services competitors can provide. For routine maintenance and minor upgrades it is possible to shop elsewhere, but for more advanced procedures the options are either Ares or the black market.

Figures of Fame

Achilles and the Myrmidons

Achilles is a synth leader responsible for a notorious armed uprising, destroying Ares Houston and causing destruction and death in the Dome City as he and his forces fought their way out. Calling themselves Myrmidons, the group has since struck several production sites and settlements where synths are considered property.

Achilles and his group are controversial figures. Freedom fighters to some, terrorists to others. They fight for synth freedom, but by his public messages Achilles appears to be a synth supremacist who loathes humans. Even many synths consider him too extreme.

Janet A

Something of a spokesperson for Boston’s synth movement, Janet A is an entertainment model. She is not only attractive, she is an eloquent and charismatic speaker, and much in demand for interviews. She advocates peaceful coexistence and nonviolent resistance to oppression.

Other Settlements

The Berks

This is a grouping of half a dozen settlements in the Berkshire Highlands, 140 miles west of the Dome City. Some are built inside the mountains of the highlands, some on the ruins of past towns. Mining settlements, survival bunkers, vast farms and greenhouses of Arboretum settlement, and advanced science of Tanglewood. Individually, none of the settlements is truly self-sufficient, but together they approach that. Insular and fiercely independent, The Berks resist the influence of Boston.

The Berks still need trade, and while they have their own internal transport network, Deliverers are the ones who transport trade goods between The Berks and the other settlements of the region. It is no secret that Boston City Council would like to extend their influence over The Berks, and using Deliverers as go betweens lessens the risk of the cargoes becoming targets of political intrigue.

Blackstone

The second largest settlement in the region, led by an elected Mayor. Blackstone consists of individual hubs built under a number of hills within the ruins of the past city of Worcester. The hubs are connected by an underground tunnel network.

Blackstone is nearly self sufficient, as each of the hubs specializes in a type of necessity, from agriculture to industry and health care. Unlike The Berks, blackstone has no issues being under Boston’s area of influence. They benefit from the trade and contact, and due to their size can usually negotiate good terms on deals.

Traffic between Boston and Blackstone is brisk, and although both cities run security patrols, the amount of traffic tends to attract outlaws who know that on the route they do not need to wait long for prey.

Hoop

A network of bunkers surrounded by mountains and hills for extra protection, Hoop is primarily a mid tier manufacturing centre, supplying the industry of Boston with processed resources.

Hoop is also the largest producer of firearms in the region. If you need combat hardware, Hoop is the place to visit.

The settlement is known for two other things. Sports, particularly basketball. And cakes and pastries. Most of which are baked to be consumed locally rather than for export, although Hoop Cakes are luxuries much in demand elsewhere.

Mill City

30 miles northwest of Boston, this settlement is the primary textile manufacturer in the region. It is highly likely that at least one item you wear was produced here. In other respects, their production rarely meets local demand, so Mill City relies on constant trade to supply itself.

The settlement is also known for its crime. It has a thriving black market, and supposedly the influence of the crime gangs extends even to Mill City Council. On occasion, Deliverers are offered discreet cargoes to or from Mill City.

Granite

An underground settlement focused on heavy industry, particularly of building materials. Prefab buildings used to found new homesteads are largely produced here.

The industry is the settlement’s main source of income, but it puts a strain on the utilities. The floors closest to surface are usually ok, but the deeper you go, the worse the quality of air and water gets, until in the deepest factory floors people have to wear breathing masks just like on the surface.

Work on the deepest levels is taxing, and something the local residents try to avoid. So one type of cargo common to Granite is temporary workers. People from other settlements are hired to work a term and then transported back. Although Granite offers citizenship to any who wish to keep working after their term, few people take up the offer.

Deepwater

This settlement exports two simple yet vital things. Clean water and air. It is assumed that they have access to an underground water source they extract their products from, but this has not been verified. The people of Deepwater tend to be insular, even secretive, and are usually strictly business when talking to outsiders. And visitors are limited to a specific part of the settlement, outsiders are not allowed deeper in.

Quite a few people believe that Deepwater is run by a religious sect or a cult, but if so, they do not proselytize.

Westover Spaceport

Occupying what was once Westover Air Force Base, the spaceport is within Boston's sphere of influence, but here that influence ends. The spaceport is an international zone controlled by the Colonial Authority that administers all off world travel. Deliverers transport cargoes here when a transport ship arrives, and those deliveries are made by a convoy of several rigs. Off world transportation is only cost effective in huge bulk. The massive transport ships do not even land on the planet, the cargoes are ferried by shuttles.

Security at the spaceport is strict, and every vehicle entering or leaving is checked. Particularly when leaving, for colonist stowaways trying to enter illegally.

Factions

Air Raiders

Holed up in a former Air Force base in the ruins of Westover, these outlaws fly jury-rigged antiques. They mainly bother the Berks who are within their safe flying range.

Wreckers

An outlaw group focusing on smuggling and salvaging, Wreckers prefer to avoid violence. But they will have any unattended vehicle or piece of gear stripped down to component parts before you can say peppermint.

The Deliverers

Most people live hard lives and rarely leave their settlements, and for them outside is a danger and a threat. It is no wonder then that to those people Deliverers are figures of fame. Braving the dangers of outside in their rigs to bring vital shipments and news from outside, Deliverers are only outsiders many people ever see.

Deliverers also have a reputation as people who party hard. Many young people dream of becoming one, as a way to see the world and a way to get out of drudgery.

But it is not that simple to become a Deliverer.

Deliverers have their own organization, headed from Delivery Central. To join their ranks, you need to present yourself to the older Deliverers there. If they feel that you wouldn’t make it or that you would become a PR problem, they show you the door. If they think you have potential but need to prove yourself, they may direct you to an established crew with an opening for apprentice.

If you seem skilled and dependable, they may accredit you on the spot. But in a way, apprentices have it easier. They may start from the bottom, but have a crew and rig from the start.

Rigs are expensive enough that few people can afford even a down payment on their own. A newly accredited Deliverer could try to find a crew to join, but apprentices often get the priority.

Another option is to seek out a few other Deliverers that are newly accredited or otherwise without a crew, and pool your resources to get a rig of your own.

Surface Conditions

It is hot and the air is unbreathable. Those are the main two points. Unprotected exposure does not result in instant death, but in gradually worsening condition that ends in death within some hours.

It is also barren. The vegetation is mostly mosses, lichens, ferns, and at most thorny bushes. The trees shown in history books are gone. The carbon dioxide in the air might otherwise be a boon for vegetation, but the soil does not support large growth, and larger plants have a harder time enduring the powerful storms. Some people dream of restoring the surface by creating plant life that can thrive on surface conditions and re-creating the vast greenery of the past, but so far this is just a dream.

Some fauna exists too, but those are mainly hardy lizards and burrowing mammals.

Deliverer rigs are insulated and air conditioned, and designed for lengthy travel, so surface conditions normally become an issue only when there is need to step outside the rig.

Dangers of the Road

Larger settlements have security forces that regularly sweep their surroundings, but even these do far ranging patrols only on special occasions. There are very good reasons why Deliverers are known as the ones who travel. For there are threats on the routes.

Rough Going

In the past, paved roads and rail lines connected the communities. Today, if two Dome Cities are close enough to each other, they may build an underground tunnel to connect each other. Otherwise, maintaining roads between settlements is not seen as cost effective. Surface conditions would cause constant wear and tear, and need of maintenance, and work crews would risk exposure. What roads exist are mainly trails left by Deliverer rigs. Where traffic is heavy, this results in a packed trail, equivalent of a dirt road. On less used routes, the rigs are practically driving off road.

Deliverer rigs are built for that though, and settlements are not normally built in inaccessible locations – and when they are, they have a depot nearby. The routes may be circuitous to avoid terrain obstacles, but in most cases a way to the destination exists.

The Storms

Weather has become more extreme, and storms can be truly terrifying. The lightning messes with communications, navigation, and electrical systems. The rain drops visibility to next to nothing. The winds are powerful enough that even a carelessly driven rig risks toppling.

The Outlaws

Desperate, armed groups. Some are composed of people who have been exiled from their settlements for crimes, or who fled to escape punishment. They live in makeshift shelters within abandoned mines or past era subway tunnels, or other locations providing some protection. Such hideouts rarely have more than the basic necessities, and usually do not provide enough to support the people using them. Some forage, others sneak to settlements and farms to steal, but the most ambitious or desperate ones go for cargoes. They build barricades, set up ambushes, and the most powerful gangs even have fast vehicles they try to chase Deliverer rigs down with. The risks are high, but so are the rewards.

There are also entire settlements hostile to outsiders. Cult compounds, extremist communities, hideouts or paranoid militia. Usually these places are isolationist and only a danger if you venture near, but occasionally some send out raiding parties. According to rumor, particularly those who have taken to cannibalism.

The Monsters

You are laughing now, but just wait.

It is true that while some of the fauna – even some of the flora – can be dangerous to people, nothing on the surface can really threaten a rig. Some things can be a nuisance, crawling all over the rig, trying to nest, nibbling here and there, but those are usually easily chased away and only cause minor damage at best. Nothing that lives on the surface is big enough to stand up to a rig.

But the ocean is right there. They too have changed. Water temperature, acidity. The surface waters are largely lifeless, but it is known that life still exists in the depths. Only, what lives there now is not what people of the past were used to. Boston is right on the coast, but the city itself is bright, loud, and well defended. Nothing ever approaches the Dome City.

Yet sometimes, near a storm or when food under the surface has been scarce, something crawls out of the ocean. Something big and scary that can survive on land.