Oklahoma City, SS-N-8
Tulsa, SS-17
Clinton Sherman AFB, SS-N-17
Altus AFB, SS-N-8
Discretionary nuclear targets:
Vance AFB, SS-17
Fort Sill, SS-N-8
McAlester Ammunition Plant, SS-17
The war: Once the buckle of the bible belt, Tulsa was home to a powerful and wealthy right-wing religious group founded by TV evangelist Oral Roberts. The single nuclear warhead targeted on the city had a faulty altimeter and exploded about three miles too high, saving much of the infrastructure. Unfortunately, the resulting riots and fires destroyed about 50% of the city by the end of the winter. The massive EMP burst over the city ruined every ability to fight the fires, which rampaged through the city, eventually burning themselves out with the next big snowfall. Over time, the areas that survived better than others began to rebuild. Most importantly, a large part of the campus of Oral Roberts University survived, including the Radio and Television Arts building. In fact, Oral Roberts himself survived the chaos, working tirelessly for years to help his people get through the worst of the terrible suffering.
Today: 150 years later, Tulsa is a growing trade and commerce center for east-central Oklahoma. Religion is still king here, but generations of survival have made basic secular concerns just as important. Tulsa has seen steady population growth over the last century, with most of the people coming in from rural areas in Kansas and Missouri fleeing from the Krell. The total population of the city is now about 7,800, making it one of the largest in the region. Trade is conducted with a network of farming and grazing towns spread out in the countryside. Relations with the Osage Indians are cordial, though age-old racial opinions often keep both sides apart. The Krell are always looming on the northern horizon, and an occasional Krell recon team is spotted in Oklahoma. Tulsa is making plans to deal with the invasion that will certainly come one day. Balancing this with their religious views ends up with hours of debates and prayer sessions for the town leadership.
Defenses: The city has a standing militia, of course, and a "militia commitment" has to be fulfilled by citizens of a certain age. At any given time, there are just 90 standing men in arms. There are enough trained reserves at any time to make a force of 350 men in two days time. Full-time soldiers wear unremarkable tan and gray uniforms, the reserves are issued only colored armbands. Men are armed with flintlocks and salvaged pre-war weapons. The standard flintlock rifle is known as the "Tulsa Six" and is made right here in the city. The dozen or so remaining pre-war weapons are issued only to special units. They also have homemade explosives and metal plate "body armor", which protect the head and chest from musket shots.
The Radio Station: Tulsa is now home to one of the largest operating radio station in America. Known just as "The Station" or more accuately, "God's Station", it broadcasts daily sermons, weather reports, and emergency news, all with a heavily religious slant, but invaluable to the locals. This was once a backup transmitter for broadcasts from Oral Roberts University, and was in storage when the EMP from the war destroyed all other large transmitters in the city. Originally restarted about 6 years after the war, the Station has been in near continual operation ever since. The knowledge specific to the Station has been passed down through the generations by a specific group of technicians and engineers.
Over the years, the Station has been powered by electricity generated by gasoline engines, coal-fired boilers, crude solar panels, even once a team of oxen turning a flywheel after a storm destroyed their generator. Currently, the Station is on the air thanks to a steam-powered generator cobbled together from a million different parts. At the end of each broadcast is a standard plea for anyone in listening distance to bring any salvaged radio or electronic circuitry parts to the Station. About six or seven times a year someone will arrive with an invaluable piece of salvaged technology to help keep the Station on the air a little longer. What they really need is something really reliable, like a fusion powerpack...
The actual range of the Station depends on the weather, but in perfect conditions it can be heard up to 125 miles in a circle around Tulsa. The actual average for clear, uninterrupted reception is closer to 75 miles. Within that circle there are a number of settlements who have benefited greatly from the Station's offerings. Through a century-long program of salvaging and repairing radio sets and small generators to distribute throughout the listening area. Today, those communities that have an operating radio value them as the greatest asset they have. Most larger towns have one, sometimes two if they are extremely lucky, and all are "owned" by the community as a whole. As the broadcast times are set, people schedule their day around being in the community building to listen to the radio.
People bring regular shipments of food to the Station, not so much to pay for the broadcasts, as they are free, but in thanks for them. It might not be surprising to learn that the "radio personalities" have developed a kind of celebrity status rare in post-apoc America. Certain preachers and newsmen are lauded as the best speakers or the most entertaining, and everyone has their own favorites. These radio hosts make occasional trips out into the farmlands, so the people usually have a face to place with the voice. One particularly handsome young radio preacher has been known to make the ladies swoon when he rides into town.
Osage: This area is home to a growing tribe of Amerinds. These Indians are the survivors of a tribe that lived in this area some 150 years ago. Following the war, and the changing weather patterns, the tribe pulled up stakes and moved north into Kansas to settle along the more fertile Kansas River. When the Krell reared its ugly head, the tribe fought back. For a while it looked like they might prevail, but then the Krell hit the tribe's main encampment with a nerve gas shell and some 2,000 people died. The survivors, mostly warparties out in the field at the time, fought a fighting retreat south, taking more losses before the Krell stopped and let them go. They headed back to their ancestral lands in Oklahoma, where they set about rebuilding their tribe. Since most of the survivors were men, they began to look for wives amongst the local population to increase their numbers. Today, the tribe is nearly 800 strong again and is spread out in the eastern counties of Oklahoma in an area of many lakes and rivers. Relations with the Tulsa enclave are fairly good, with some trade conducted along established routes.
Vinita: Northeast of Tulsa, Vinita is a strong farming community that is protected by mercenary braves of the Osage tribe, which have kept the town safe from most of the area's more adventurous marauder bands for the last decade.
Kinta: A small farming settlement along the ruins of Highway 31. To the south of the town are the Sans Bois Mountains, now home to a nomad clan called the "Wild Bunch". There are rumors that something "out of the ordinary" may be going on in the hills, maybe something unnatural...
The Frozen Chosen: In the past few years, patrols of Frozen Chosen scouts have been seen in this area, checking out the local situation. See Arkansas for a complete description.
Henryetta: A small trade town on the main trade route through the flat oak and hickory forests of eastern Oklahoma. Known as "The Henry" to the locals, the town is comprised of new buildings converted from the husks of the old town. The merchant caravans from Tulsa and along the old I-40 route provide Henryetta with its primary food supply. The trade goods are supplemented by meat from local livestock and game traded by the locals. Although Henryetta's necessities are supplied by outside sources, the town thrives by providing a couple of the most valuable commodities in the area, security and shelter. The Henryetta Trading Post lies within a walled compound and maintains a small security force that acts as the local constabulary. Redfeather's Lodge provides room and board for merchants and other travelers who desire accommodations. The Ok U saloon provides food, refreshment and entertainment. A council known as the Henryetta Chamber of Commerce, led by Wanda Queenan, the "trademistress", governs the town. Both the town's residents and its guests are to abide by the regulations set in the "Henryetta Code". The Henryetta Code is conservative in nature, and provides penalties for common crimes such as murder and theft. The Code prohibits established gambling, prostitution, and drug use within the walls of the town. The slave trade is not promoted in Henryetta, however the C of C maintains a "hands off" policy regarding the slaves of visitors, provided that neither breaks any other law.
The Blaze: The main source of trouble in Henryetta and the surrounding area comes from a local gang of well-armed raiders called the "Blaze". The leader of the Blaze, Jax, was originally a permanent resident of Henryetta. One evening there was a heated dispute at the saloon, leading to the ejection of Jax, his girlfriend and an Amerind thug. Later that evening, the three returned together with a flamethrower and torched the tavern. The Blaze fled town and now dwell in the old Dripping Springs State Park, approximately 10 miles to the northwest. The Blaze delight in setting buildings and trees on fire, and have destroyed or driven off the few scratch farmers who used to live in the area. The Blaze has yet to strike back at Henryetta, but it is no secret that they desire nothing more than to burn it to the ground.
The ruins of Oklahoma City: Atomized during the war, little remains of this once peaceful city out in the plains. The flatness of the ground served to spread out the blast effects and offered little impediment for the firestorms, resulting in nearly every structure in the city being leveled or burnt. The ruins are surrounded by a burned-out area about 10 square miles in area, home to many mutated species of plants and bugs. Only a few scavengers can be found here.
Indians: The Seminole reservation survived the war by the skin of their teeth. Unlike more isolated Indian areas in the north, the small reservation here was swamped by refugees from Oklahoma City and Tulsa, bringing violence and disease to kill off about half the native population. By the time the chaos died down, only a hardcore group of survivors was left. This group's unique skills and determination were instrumental in the revival of the Seminole over the next 50 years. Today, the Seminole Nation has some 3,000 members but is still content to live in central Oklahoma. Relations with other settlements of whites have generally been good, but there have been instances of violence over the generations. Relations with the Osage Indians to the east of Tulsa have not been as good, as cultural clashes over the last decade have cut off nearly all ties between the two tribes.
Purcell: Following the war, people in the region migrated away from the devastated large cities and radiation death. Purcell, located in prime agricultural farming land near the Canadian River south of the ruins of Oklahoma City, eventually began to absorb a large number of wanderers and homeless. Over the generations, the town has grown and stagnated in a cycle familiar to most survivor communities. Today, Purcell is a thriving river trade town specializing in corn and animal hides. Some 750 people live in the town and the surrounding county. Trade with the local communities is brisk, but Republic of Texas traders offer the best prices, though they only come twice a year.
Enid: Home to some 400 farmers and townspeople, the largest town in the area. A low sand bag and timber wall has been built around the town square, though it has been a long time since anyone attacked the town.
Vance Air Force Base: Nuked by multiple warheads and still a tangle of twisted rusted girders and piles of bricks and stones. Much of the Enid Plains are still polluted by residual fallout from these strikes.
Cherokee: Little remains of what once was the town of Cherokee, Oklahoma, about 40 miles northwest of Enid. The only surviving asphalt and buildings are within the ruins of the old Kegelman Auxillary Field. The airport ruins have become the home of a Raider gang. The gang is well-armed and comprised mostly of wasteland scum and Amerind outcasts led by a vicious, foul-tempered Osage Indian named Blinding Sun. The gang arrived at the ruins of the airfield recently after an ardous and long journey from central Kansas, and, finding buildings intact, searched the ruins for treasure. They found a cache of weapons large enough to supply a small militia. Kegelman Airfield once provided auxiliary facilities for Vance Air Force Base to the southeast. The Air Force base was destroyed in the war, but the military equipment secreted at Kegelman Airfield remained intact. This cache of equipment provided Blinding Sun with fuel and weapons. So far they have not seeked to expand, but are eyeing the unsuspecting town of Enid as a potential target.
Lawton: Once one of the larger farming and grazing settlements in this part of Oklahoma, Lawton has seen a dramatic turn for the worse. Last year, during a particularly bad seasonal drought, some of the more radical members of the town council took over, ostensibly to preserve law and order during the drought. Lawton is now under the control of a "popularly elected Mayor" (tyrant) and his "citizens militia" (death squad soldiers). It is a horrible situation for the citizens, as the thugs have ultimate power of life and death over them, dispensing it seemingly at whim. Everyone knows that if you want your rations of food and want to drink clean water that you have to submit to the Mayor. People are fleeing in the night in trickles and batches. The Mayor has some old artillery guns used to put down riots and to let people know he is master of their lives. The guns came from nearby Fort Sill and it is rumored that they soldiers there want them back.
Fort Sill Military Reservation: The SS-N-8 targeted here was a dud, landing in the town of Hulen, about fifteen miles southeast of the Fort. Over time, most of the soldiers left for their homes across the nation and the Fort fell into disrepair. A small cadre of soldiers and officers remained, however, and have formed the basis of the community since. Fort Sill is still a military base, even though not in the same form it was 150 years ago. The "military presence" here is mostly ceremonial as the last few generations of soldiers have little idea what the "US Army" or "America" were really about. By now, they are mostly farmers and hunters wearing copied BDUs and following a few ancient military customs. The 1st Cav from Texas sent a platoon up here some 80 years ago, looking for cannon shells and spare parts. At the time, the Texans were not well received, but now the soldiers at Fort Sill would surely welcome the Texans. The total population of the base is around 325 people, fully half of them women. Though close to the chaos and tyranny in Lawton, this base has been kept clear of that mess due to some long-standing treaties between the base and Lawton. It is questionable how long this truce will last however, and the Fort Sill community is planning on a move to the south across the river.
Site-S: This Snake Eater Regional Command and resupply base located under Fort Sill was shaken by the atomic attack, but not stirred. The facility is identical to the one at Fort Drum in New York except the specialty vehicles are all Armored Hummers with GAU-19s.
Chickasaw: Chickasha is home to a community of 785 people led by a man named Tommy Hall, a duly elected mayor. To his credit, in his fifteen years on the job, Tommy has cleaned up the town, restored sewer and water service and even kept the epidemics down. Tommy, however, is not a nice guy and has been known to run off, kill, or enslave anyone who stands in his way or disagrees with him. Recently, refugees from Lawton have been arriving with stories of the terrible situation there. Tommy is considering his options, which include a military expedition.
Elk City: The past three months have seen over a dozen well-executed marauder attacks on this largish farming village, most of them coming from a Bandit clan based in the Black Kettle National Grasslands nearby. Elk City is running out of bullets and fingers to pull triggers. The trouble started when the townspeople caught a young boy stealing a cow. The boy, who was a stranger to the town, escaped, but not before brashly telling them that "My father's gonna come mess you up bad!".
Altus Air Force Base: A former B-52 base, nuked during the war and now abandoned to the mutant grasses and five-foot long lizards.
NEW!!! A new adventure module set in the Altus region, The Siege of Altus.
People who have contributed to this entry:
John Raner
Paul Zane
Karl Zohler