UTAH

1) NUCLEAR TARGETS

SALT LAKE CITY (North-Central Utah)
MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRV: 4x 200 Kt warheads); MIRV malfunction--3 warheads On Target, 1 warhead diverted 34km (21mi) NW to Antelope Island; Low Air Burst over Salt Lake City, Ground Burst on Antelope Island

FORT DOUGLAS ARMY BASE (Eastern Suburbs of Salt Lake City)
MISSILE: SS-17 (MIRV: 4x 200 Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst

TOOLE ARMY DEPOT (Toole, Utah)
MISSILE: SS-19 (MIRV: 6x 300 Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst

UTAH ARMY DEPOT (Ogden; State Capital)
MISSILE: SS-18M1 (single 25 Mt warhead); On Target; Low Air Burst

HILL AFB (Clearfield, south of Ogden)
MISSILE: SS-18M2 (MIRV: 10x 2 Mt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst

DUGWAY PROVING GROUNDS (central Utah, southwest of town of Dugway)
MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRV: 3x 500 Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst

CAMP WILLIAMS NATIONAL GUARD BASE (Riverton, south of Salt Lake City)
MISSILE: SS-N-17 (MIRV: 3x 500 Kt warheads); On Target; Low Air Burst

2) MORROW PROJECT ASSETS

MARS TEAM UM-2: Emplaced July 1988 Elgin, Utah. 10 men with 1-V350 w/105 mm, 1 V150 w/20mm and a FAV. Tasked with rescuing survivors from the Blue Castle Military Bunker and re-establishing command and control.
RECON TEAM UR-3: Monticello, Utah. 8 men and 2 V-150 w/ 20mm. Bolthole located under maintenance shed at Hideaway golf course. The Teams 6 caches are located north and south along highway 191. All are within 100 meters of the highway.
RECON TEAM UR-4: Bolthole located 1 mile south of Ft. Duchesne, Utah inside an ancient cave. 8 men equipped with 1 V150 with 20 mm, 1 FAV with MAG, and 1 FAV with M2HB.
RECON TEAM UR-6: Bolthole located near Rosette, Utah. 6 men equipped with 1 HUMMWV with M2HB and 1 FAV w/MAG. In 1996 an earthquake struck the area of the bolthole. Three of the cyro tubes were improperly secured, and toppled during the quake. The tubes' electrical system shorted out and thus was unable to either resuscitate the occupants or activate the bolthole emergency override. The equipment and vehicles are still intact, and the three surviving team members are still sleeping peacefully.
AIR RECON TEAM UAR-2: Specialist recon team buried 2 miles West of Monument Valley Utah. Tasked with linking up with area recon teams and providing air spotting and support. Area of operations are Southern Utah and Arizona. 11 men with 4 Air Scouts and one XR311 with M2HB and Air-scout recovery trailer.
MEDICAL TEAM UH-2: Bolthole located 10 miles SW of Hurricane. 10 person Medical Support team of 2 Doctors, 2 Nurses and 6 lab techs/corpsmen. Equipped with 1 HUMMWV Ambulance and a 5 ton truck with trailer carrying a portable surgical field hospital and water purification station.
Unnamed MP bolthole: Somewhere in the mountains near the town of Spanish Fork south of Provo. Re-supply caches were placed near the towns of Salem, Alpine and Payson, north and south of Spanish Fork. Unfortunately, the bolthole and the caches are now under several hundred feet of water.
Unnamed MP bolthole: Near the town of Draper in the southern suburbs of Salt Lake City. This bolthole is above water (barely), but all but two of its caches are sunk.
Unnamed MP bolthole: Somewhere around the Druid Arch area of Canyon Lands National Park.

3) THE INLAND SEA

The Inland Sea -- known to the historians of the Pre-War World as "Lake Bonneville" -- had been extinct for some 16,000 years when the nuclear war came. Because of the war's effects and the cooler climate that followed, north-western Utah experienced several years of heavy winter snowfall, and equally heavy warm weather rains, resulting in massive run-offs into the basin of The Great Salt Lake Desert. As there is no outlet for this water in the basin, the waters soon joined with an expanding Great Salt Lake and continued to spread. The climate changes in this region caused by the war continued to include an over-all increase in annual rainfall, as well as two to three times as much snowfall in the surrounding mountains as was ever experienced in the 20th century. 150 years of heavy snowmelt and rains later, and much of the once-extinct Lake Bonneville again covers about one-fourth of the State of Utah.

The waters have risen about to what was once called the "Provo Shoreline" and cover almost 20,000 square miles in total; about the same size as Lake Michigan. This Lake is 130 miles across at its widest east-west point, and some 300 miles long from north to south. The western shores cross just into Nevada, the northern reaches are just over the border into Idaho, the eastern shore is the west face of the Wasatch Mountains, and the southern tip is just 100 miles up from the Arizona border. Nearly the entire line of urban build-up from Ogden, south to Salt Lake City, then down to Provo is completely beneath the waters of the Inland Sea. Jagged skyscraper ruins jut out of the water, where fishermen often tie-up their boats. The intense radiation of the lakebed at these ruins has produced a variety of mutated sea life, much of it quite dangerous, but some of it quite tasty and valuable.

Life on the Inland Sea: A "freshwater" body, the Inland Sea still possesses a high mineral content; most notably, Salt. Though nowhere near as mineral-laden as true "seawater", sodium chloride compounds can be evaporated out of the waters of the Inland Sea, but at lower returns than evaporated "true seawater". Large freshwater Prawns are also abundant in these waters; descendants of aquaculture experiments in the old Great Salt Lake. Many species of fish abound in the Inland Sea, which are caught and sold at local markets. Numerous sailors, both Mormon and non-Mormon, operate ferry services, taking travelers and traders across the Sea for a fee.

That portion of the Inland Sea that grew out of the old Lake Sevier--now called Sevier Bay--is under the complete control of the Enlightened State of Deseret (see below), and several Islands in the greater Lake Bonneville also claim fealty to this nation.

NEW!!! A companion sourcebook for the Inland Sea.

Skull Valley Goshutes: for many years after the bombs, these Amerinds were almost forgotten by the Mormons who were busy setting up their new State of Deseret. Years later, when their Reservation down on the floor of Skull Valley, between the Cedar and the Stansbury Mountains, was flooded out by the rising Lake Bonneville, the Skull Valley Goshutes moved up into the mountains. Initially, tribal numbers were quite small, but their relative isolation provided them with protection against many wandering plagues. And, in the early years, the Tribe would welcome healthy survivors who wandered into Skull Valley into their company, as long as they agreed to live the Amerind way. As the alternative was often death by starvation or exposure, these non-Amerinds usually agreed. In the 22nd Century, the Skull Valley "Goshute" bloodlines are quite inter-mixed; while still possessed of classic Amerind physical appearance, their skin tone is somewhat lighter, and they are just as likely to have light hair, or green eyes, as they are the normal black hair and brown eyes. The Skull Valley Goshutes live lives very close to the land. Their communities are small affairs, tucked in among the trees, connected by footpaths. The Skull Valley Goshutes do small-plot farming, a little logging, some light mining, all kinds of crafts and cottage-industry level stuff, as well as fishing, and some limited trade with the few nearby Islands out in Lake Bonneville. The Skull Valley Goshutes make some of the best "fishing canoes" around; good enough to sell to other folks, at the Deseret town of Dugway, at the southern feet of the Cedar Mountains. The Skull Valley Goshutes do not recognize the governing authority of the Enlightened State of Deseret, and there have been a few squabbles about this, over the years.

4) THE HOLY STATE OF DESERET

Utah was always seen as the spiritual center of the Mormon faith. As such, there was a general feeling amongst the most pious that the nuclear strikes were God's wake-up call to the Mormons, a visible show of His displeasure with the secular way the faith had been turning in the late 20th century. Despite the horrendous damage and loss of life, many will tell you that the nukes solidified the faithful into the dominant power that they are 150 years later. They were amongst the best set up of all of pre-war America's social groups for the devastation which came after the bombs; part of their doctrine called for each member to keep a year's supply of food and ample weapons on hand, which many did. Following the nuclear strikes, the surprisingly large number of Church Elders from the urban centers who had survived, quickly organized the citizens and began setting up local aid stations and food distribution centers throughout the state.

All surviving federal offices, property, power-generating facilities, mines, and other industrial facilities were taken over by what was left of the state government. Food, clothing, electrical power and petroleum were strictly rationed, with the lion's share finding its way to faithful Mormons, first. Many of the elected officials in Utah were already church members, and after the bombs, many more Church Elders rose to positions of power. Utah became a religious police state to survive and the true power in Utah is, and always has been, the Mormon Church. Twenty years after the war, with great fanfare and no opposition, the President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints declared that the former "State of Utah" would now be known as the "Enlightened State of Deseret".

In the last 130 years of Mormon rule, Deseret has become a theocratic republic, with a strict set of rules based on the Book of Mormon similar to the early days of Brigham Young. Alcohol and tobacco are forbidden, but polygamy has made a fast comeback with the danger of a decline in population. Gentiles and other non-Mormons are welcome in Deseret; even if they are treated as second-class people, but only as long as they adhere to the religious laws that govern the area. Enlightened Deseret has a strong military, and a burgeoning population of 175,000 citizens, but so far has shown no interest in expanding their territory beyond current limits. They believe that God has given them the land that they hold, and why would anyone want to leave Heaven On Earth?

Territories of the Enlightened State: The Capital City of the Enlightened State of Deseret is Cedar City, and St. George, a few miles south of Cedar City, has the largest population of the territory.

The "western frontier" of Deseret is defined by a railway that runs north from St. George, alongside State Route 18, to the town of Beryl. The railway then runs north-north-east to the tiny village of Newhouse, in the San Francisco Mountains, near the southernmost point of (Lake) Sevier Bay.

The Enlightened State of Deseret claims the entire "south shore" of Sevier Bay--and this defines the Deseret "northern frontier"--and the rail line runs along the coast from the village of Newhouse, in the San Francisco Mountains in the west, up to Iron Basin, in the Cricket Mountains, over to the naval Construction Port of Bountiful, then around to Halton and the Maritime Trade Port of Meadow, on the I-15. From Meadow, the rail line continues through Fillmore and Holden, also along the I-15, then up to Oak City, in the Canyon Mountains, then on to Leamington and Lynndyl, up in the Gilson Mountains.

The rail line then turns north, following the old US-6, to the little village of Eureka, where a rail spur heads north-west to the outpost village of Vernon, then on to Dugway. The villages of Dugway, Vernon, and Eureka--on the north faces of the Simpson, Sheeprock, and Tintic Mountains--are tiny outposts on the northern frontier of Deseret. Travel further north into this area is dangerous; the Skull Valley Goshutes roam the Cedar and Stansbury Mountains, claiming the territory as their own, the Oquirrh Mountains still carry contamination from the destruction of the now-submerged military base at Toole, and the north and east faces of the Traverse Mountains are still radioactive from the Camp Williams blast. Even Dugway is still a little "hot" from the blast over the now-submerged Proving Grounds.

The railway continues from Eureka, around the southernmost bay of Lake Utah, to the town of Santaquin, which is the northernmost point of Deseret habitation on the old I-15, near the shores of the much-expanded Lake Utah. Deseret influence goes south from here all the way down the I-15, as does the railway. However, from Nephi, on the I-15, south of Santaquin, the communities along SR-28 down to Salina, at the junction with the I-70, then southwest, down the I-70, to Sulphurdale, on the I-15, are all part of the new Mormon Heartland; they just don't have rail service, yet. The I-15/Route 28/I-70 line is considered the Deseret "eastern frontier", even though the communities of the Sanpete Valley, along SR-89 up to Fairview, which are also part of the Enlightened State, lay further east.

Sanpete Valley: Part of the Enlightened State of Deseret, yet with a different feel to it. Just after the war, the survivors in this area managed to secure a couple of military vehicles and a cache of weapons from a small-town National Guard armory, which they used to defend themselves from raiders and would-be warlords. The Enlightened State was just forming to the west and this area of the state was not organized until much later. The people along SR-89, in the Sanpete Valley thus formed their own society along slightly different lines. Over the years they would help anyone who needed it, as long as they proved to be non-violent. When finally "brought back" into the fold of Enlightened Deseret, the population was further bolstered by ex-soldiers of the Deseret Defense Force's Outlander Corps being given their land-grants, here. This area now survives by trading livestock and vegetables which they grow, for just about anything. They are generally kind, decent people who are always willing to help out a person in need. They move around using cars, trucks, and a few remaining military vehicles, but mainly on horseback. They have some modern firearms, and a few military weapons. They even have a pair of ancient, but still functioning, small hydroelectric power plants operating near Manti. Though officially practicing Mormons, folks of the Sanpete Valley are a little less orthodox than their cousins in the Heartland, and a little more relaxed in their attitudes. This distance from the orthodox Heartland, as well as a population base dominated by recent converts to Mormonism, has given rise to a thriving black market up in the border town of Fairview that deals in all the things that the Mormon Code prohibits, like alcohol and drugs.

Leadership: The Enlightened State of Deseret is, outwardly, a democratic republic; the people vote on local issues, vote for local officials, and even vote for national leaders. The reality is that nothing happens, and nobody gets elected, without approval of the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As noted, the leaders of the church are in complete control over most of the state's population and resources. Every politician--from local leaders to the national level--is also a member, of varying degree, in the Mormon religious hierarchy. The fabled "Deseret White House", located in an ultra-secure bunker deep beneath the Wasatch Mountains which, pre-War, was the massive repository of Mormon genealogical records, served as the headquarters of the Deseret leadership in the early days. But it's location proved too remote and, after several years, the central government moved to Cedar City, but in light of the religion's continued emphasis on genealogy, as well as governmental document storage and the cache of golden historical treasures salvaged from the Salt Palace before Salt Lake City was vaporized, the buried vaults in Big Cottonwood Canyon, in northern Deseret, remain just as important.

Military Forces of Enlightened Deseret: The Deseret Defense Forces evolved out of the Federal Military and National Guard units that the emergency government of Utah took command of, in the days following the war. By the time the Enlightened State declared its separation from whatever was left of the United States, these disparate forces were almost universally Mormon, and solidly behind the new nation. In 2010, the Deseret Defense Force was officially founded. The DDF is organized along pre-war US Army lines with 10-man Squads, 40-man Companies and 200-man Battalions. There are presently 12 Battalions of full time, active duty troops in the DDF, as well as a citizen's militia of 8 Reserve Battalions serving 6 weeks a year in 1 week increments. Of the standing army, 10 of the Battalions are leg infantry. Since the Deseret Defense Force is a defensive army, mobility is not a major issue. These 10 Battalions are pre-positioned in established border bases surrounding Enlightened Deseret. The 2 remaining Battalions are "Armored" Battalions, in that they are equipped with rough copies of the WW2-era M3 Half Track (a conversion of former and new built troop trucks). The terrain of Deseret is well suited to Halftracks, and as Deseret has very little rubber for tires, Tracks seemed a logical choice. Almost all (98%) of the DDF's vehicles are Diesel Powered, fueled from the synthetic oil plants in the township of Beaver, Utah.

With the exception of settlement of the Sanpete Valley, the borders of Deseret were settled pretty quickly, and it became the mission of the DDF to defend the Mormon Heartland from intruders, raiders, and non-believers--all of whom wanted to rape, pillage, and plunder the peaceful (and relatively wealthy) Mormon peoples of Deseret. The DDF was a solid, professional army, and Military losses were usually within acceptable limits, but after a few years, lack of new recruits started to bring down military strength. In 2020 the Elders of Deseret realized that the refugees swarming at their borders since the war was putting a massive strain on the Defense Force--and they also realized that this source of their problem could also be made into its solution. These refugees were non-believers, hostile, demanding and occasionally violent. It was decided to use the survival skills and military talent pool of the refugees, and form a Foreign Legion of sorts.

Those refugees who approached Deseret officials in a relatively friendly manner would be allowed to settle within the borders of Enlightened Deseret--and enjoy the benefits of their culture and technology--in exchange for two things. First, these refugees must convert to Mormonism. Second, unless the refugee had some valuable and need technical skill--like being a Medical Doctor, Industrial Chemist, or a PhD in Nuclear Physics--the refugee would have to enlist in a special branch of the DDF, the Outlander Corps. In exchange for 6 years of service, a refugee who joined the Outlander Corps would be allowed to house his non-serving family nearby the base he was posted at, and, upon leaving the DDF, the new Citizen would be granted lands to settle in the Sanpete Valley, commensurate with his rank and military honors. Promotion, courage under fire, bravery and re-enlistment after the initial 6 year term would foster an incentive program among the troops, as in addition to pay, they would receive citizenship in Deseret for themselves and their dependants.

Despite the fancy sound of its name, the Outlander Corps was not an independent unit within the DDF. Outlander Corps troopers were mixed in among the Regulars of the 10 Battalions (admittedly, some Battalions, over the years, received more than their fare share of Outlanders). The Officer Corps of the DDF are (by LAW) native-born Deseret citizens, as only True Mormons are considered completely reliable in command of large military forces.

The standard weapon of the Deseret Defense Force is the Browning Auto-5 Shotgun in 20-gauge. The standard sidearm is the Browning Hi Power pistol re-chambered to .45ACP ammunition. One man per squad is armed with a M16R3 (reconditioned pre-war issue M16A2), and one man per Company is equipped with a scoped .338 Lapua Sniper Rifle. Each company also has a heavy weapons platoon with three M2HB MG's, and two 81mm Mortars (Direct Fire). The DDF has 24 towed 105mm howitzers (assigned 2 per battalion) and a single Heavy Tank company of M48A3's (18). The Tanks have all been repeatedly rebuilt over the decades, but are still fully operable.

The tanks were part of the US Army's desert storage program from the 1960's. The present 18 are the best of the 53 M48A3's stored in western Utah along with 102 M59 APC's. The remaining M48A3's were disassembled and used for spare parts to keep the 18 main force units operable. The boxy M59 APC's were found by the DDF to be too difficult to maintain and keep serviceable, so they were stripped down to a basic hull and used as bunkers. They are allotted in groups of 10 to each of the 10 frontier divisions where they are dug in at 150 meter intervals along each battalion's frontier with each utilized as a combination TOC/hard point/shelter.

The Duty Uniform of the Deseret Defense Force is a khaki Shirt (both winter and summer weight), khaki Denim Trousers, tan Leather Belt and tan Leather Combat Boots. Sage Green Jacket and soft-billed Forage Cap, Tan Boots. Haversacks will be khaki-colored canvas. "Sage Green" is Deseret's "OD Green". Outlander Corps soldiers are designated by a narrow dark Pine Green and Gold embroidered band on the left sleeve, just above the elbow, on both the tunic and jacket.

Deseret Armed Forces have no Air Force, just an Army & a new Navy. Army Tactics are pretty much WWI-like; very defensive oriented, dig-in & bunker-down. The DDF is quite adept at laying and maintaining Field Telephone networks between their positions. Only the Pathfinders (see below) -- who usually operate outside Deseret borders -- have 50's-style short-wave walkie-talkies.

Pathfinders: Formed not long after the formation of the Defense Force, the Deseret Pathfinders are an Elite military Strike Force created not only to patrol beyond the frontiers of the Enlightened State of Deseret, but to also deal with military situations where full mobilization of the Army is unwarranted. With total force strength of 450, broken into 30 person detachments, the Deseret Pathfinders are a combination of pre war Green Beret's (for their military and survival skills) and Canadian Mounties (for their paramilitary application towards both military problems, and civilian law enforcement). All are Experts in Riding, Tracking and Survival in the arid and mountainous Utah terrain, hand to hand combat, knife fighting and escape & evasion. Stealth and creativity are mainstays of their training, second only to the training for tenaciousness that is drilled into every Deseret Pathfinder.

Equipped with the best Pre War and newly manufactured equipment available, these Elite troopers are the front line in dealing with all serious threats to the stability of the Enlightened State. Deseret Pathfinder units are usually stationed on the outskirts, or beyond, of the Deseret frontiers, and spend little time among the general populous, thus their personal identities are rarely known to any beyond each other and the Deseret Military High Command. For added security, the Deseret Pathfinders train in undisclosed locations and, when they do operate "in public", they go about masked. Feared and respected by all of Deseret's neighbors -- even the stalwart Navajo Warriors, to the south and east -- the Deseret Pathfinder's reputation for going to any length to fulfill a mission is legendary. Even the Krell are aware of the Deseret Pathfinders and afford them a wide birth. Though not immortal, their numbers never seem to change, and none have ever been captured by an enemy combatant, dead or alive. This fact just adds to the awe of their reputation.

Of course, only "loyal Mormons" are allowed to serve in the Pathfinders. Outlander Corps soldiers are not allowed in the Pathfinders, but on occasion small detachments of Outlander Troopers serve with Pathfinder units--the Outlander Troopers call this "Cannon Fodder Duty".

Latter Day Inquisition: The Office of the Inquisition of the Church of Latter Day Saints is a small paramilitary organization attached--and answerable only to--the Office of the Prophet. Nicknamed "the Black Saints" for their uniform of dark glasses, black suit & tie, black duster overcoat, and black wide-brimmed hat, the Inquisitors are tasked with rooting out social and moral threats to the Church (where the Pathfinders are tasked with identifying and eliminating military threats).

Inquisition forces number only a few hundred (the exact numbers are secret), and operate mainly in the borderlands just outside the Deseret frontier--although on occasion, over the years, various Prophets have used pairs of Black Saints as personal enforcers within the borders of Deseret.

A typical squad of Black Saints encountered out in the wilderness will be driving a grey-painted, covered halftrack, equipped with a mounted flamethrower, and each Black Saint will be armed with a sawed-off shotgun as a sidearm.

Technology: In many ways the technological and industrial infrastructure of Enlightened Deseret is equal to that of the Kentucky Free State; maintaining what The Project would classify as a Level C technology. They've been able to maintain much of the leftover 70's/80's Tech; though 150 years later, much of it has worn out to the point of being almost unreliable. The Deseret industrial infrastructure is equal to that of the United States during the 1930's and 40's: crystal radio sets, primitive TV (every town temple has a Big Screen, cable-linked to the Holy Tabernacle in Cedar City for united worship), simple/primitive refrigerators (mostly in commercial use, with few in the homes), some simple optical stuff, fairly good construction technology, excellent mining & metals technology, fairly decent chemical manufacturing (in small batches). Good local weapons manufacture (small runs), pretty sophisticated agriculture, and fairly advanced medical knowledge. Automotives are manufactured in small runs, emphasizing utility vehicles, trucks, farm tractors, and military halftracks.

Deseret manufactures a variety of fuels, charcoal for domestic use as well as export to the surrounding Indian Tribes, coal and oil (from shale), as well as electricity. Though Deseret maintains a few operable coal-fired powerplants, just before the war there had been an initiative to harness geothermal power on an industrial scale in the area around Beaver, Utah. With this pre-war knowledge, Enlightened Deseret has expanded the facilities to produce well over 100 MW. The enlightened State of Deseret may not produce electricity on 20th Century levels, but they provide at least some electricity to every citizen. Enlightened Deseret has a fully functional telephone system, within its borders. Of course, without the assistance of digital computers, this phone system is on par with a phone system from the 1950's. The universities at Cedar City and St. George are rumored to both be operating large main frame computers, built after the EMPs of the war fried most pre-War computer systems.

Relations with Neighbors, Native Amerinds: Utah's numerous Indian tribes have managed to co-exist with the Mormons for hundreds of years, making an existence out of hunting, herding, farming and trading. Mormon townsfolk trade the Indians medicine, technological trinkets, ammo, and refined metals in exchange for produce, meats, furs, wood and other raw materials. Relations are generally good, both sides trust each other and there is even some intermarriage--much to the concern of the Church of Latter Day Saints. The Mormons believe the American Indians are the descendents of one of the tribes of Israel, and pity the Indians a little for their hard and primitive lifestyle. An occasional misunderstanding has resulted in a brush fire war with a tribe or two, but lately relations have been stable across the state.

Ballooners: Ballooners are more than willing to trade with Deseret, but only OUTSIDE Deseret; Ballooners try not to get caught either in or over Deseret. They fear that the Mormons might be tempted by their aerial technology.

Door-knockers: Although isolationism is the policy of the government of Enlightened Deseret, many faithful Mormons feel the Call and, as has been tradition for centuries, two-man teams of Mormon evangelists crisscross the state, spreading the Word. Usually encountered riding rugged bicycles and wearing flowing desert suncloaks, they carry the Book of Mormon to travelers and merchants. Times being as they are, these teams often have a gun under their spotless white shirts.

5) NORTHERN UTAH

This area of the state is dominated by the north shore of Lake Bonneville. The terrain is mountainous, with numerous small valleys. Before the war, there were numerous tiny communities amid these valleys, but now these are mostly fading ruins with only a rare, isolated family farm. A few small Mormon settlements are still to be found east of the Wasach Mountains, between the mountains and the old Colorado border, but this area suffers a slight radioactive contamination due to winds from the west carrying fallout up from the western slopes of the Wasachs. Pathfinders from the Deseret Defense Forces, as well as the black-clad Inquisitors of the Latter Day Saints can be found wandering this region.

Logan Bay: This large body of water off the northeast of Lake Bonneville is home to fishermen from both the Islander community of Newton--just off the west bank of the bay--as well as the Mormon fishing community of Providence, at the southern end of the bay. For many years the fishermen of these waters have reported seeing strange lights from under the water, as well as hearing strange sounds, and mysterious fogs. Local superstition holds that the spirits of the Ancient Dead still wander the streets of the flooded towns on the bottom of the bay.

Bear Lake: Surrounded by mountains, and subject to mysterious fogs, this large lake straddles the border--half in Utah and half in Idaho. Bear Lake is well stocked with a variety of mountain freshwater fish, and for many years a sizable population of tiny fishing communities thrived on the shores of this deep-blue lake, though nowadays the only community center to be found here is up on the north shore of the lake. Indians who travel up this way to hunt and fish have started bringing back tales of a "Bear Lake Monster", living out in the waters.

St. Charles, Idaho: Outwardly, this appears to be nothing more than a run-down mountain fishing village. However, about 50 years ago an expedition of Breeders from AREA 27, in northern Colorado (see that state) moved into the ruins of St. Charles, Idaho, along the northern shore of Bear lake, and set up a fishing outpost and secret "experimental station". Within two years the Breeders had quietly killed, chased off, or taken as slaves, everyone living along the shores of Bear Lake. Fish from here are caught, processed into "scientifically nutritionally-balanced" fish paste, and shipped overland back to the Area 27 base. The "scientists" of this group also maintain a hidden experimental facility where they attempt to modify the local fish to produce larger, meatier specimens. Their attempts so far have only produced horrible mutations--which they flush out into the lake.

The Old Lands: When the atomic bombs fell in a north-south line from Ogden down to Salt Lake City, their blasts were reflected off the western slopes of the Wasach Mountains, providing a degree of protection to the lands east of that range. In the days following the Bombs, this area east of the Wasachs--which the Mormons started calling "The Godshield Mountains"--was the center for coordination of emergency services, until the nascent Deseret government formed, and led a general exodus to the southwest. Still, a handful of communities remain occupied by folks who are generally Mormon in faith, but have little but social contact with Enlightened Deseret. These communities are not, exactly, under the control of Deseret, but each one does pay a "tax" to Deseret, in exchange for being promised the protection of the Deseret Pathfinder units who patrol this region.

Paradise: a fishing community of 300, on the southern shore of Logan Bay. Years of reports of strange, supernatural-sounding goings on in the waters of Logan Bay have finally caught the attention of someone down in Cedar City--and a squad of black-coated Inquisitors is now sniffing around.

Huntsville: The largest community in the region, with a population of 800, Huntsville was once the center for emergency services; though now this town is little more than a walled trading post. It is also, however, the site of a Pathfinder Coordination Post. Here, Pathfinder units operating in this region can resupply and make reports of their patrols. There are always one or two Pathfinder squads in Huntsville.

Morgan: Primarily a farming town, the 400 people living here also maintains and operates a leather works which produces fine shoes and boots, as well as other leather goods.

Coalville: a small mining town of 200, where some small amounts of coal are dug out of the ground by a Private company from Deseret--the Chalk Creek Mining Co. The Company employs 60 people in its small strip-mining operation and another 30 as a private Security Force. The coal stockpiled here is quite valuable, and raiders are a problem. While the company has asked the Pathfinders for help, all they have provided is a promise to "keep an eye out� for the bandits.

Park City: Little more than a rest-stop on the road south to Enlightened Deseret, this small outpost of 80 farmers and hunters live communally inside a frontier fort, built around the Temple.

Midway: This alpine-style village is home to a group of people who claim to be "Swiss"--although, when asked, they define this as just a fancy word meaning "Mountain Folks". The 300 people who live here are, of course, faithful Mormons, who not only decorate their wood-frame houses with fancifully carved "gingerbread" and bas-reliefs, but they have also built a magnificent Temple whose walls are beautifully decorated in intricate carvings. The nearby hot-springs are maintained as a rest-stop for weary travelers making the trip from Enlightened Deseret, deeper into the Old Lands.

6) NORTHEASTERN UTAH

Uintah-Ouray Ute Tribal Alliance: From Strawberry Reservoir in the west, to just over the old Utah-Colorado border in the east, and from the Uinta Mountains in the north, to as far south as the old I-70, the Utes of the two Tribes of Ouray and Uintah are fully in control of the plains of the Roan Plateau. The economy of the region rests on the ranching of cattle, the farming of hay and alfalfa, selective lumbering in the mountains, and the selling of permits to "outlanders" for the removal of oil, gas, oil shale and Gilsonite. Both independent Oilers, as well as drillers from Enlightened Deseret, pay handsome fees for the privilege to extract oil, gas, and other petroleum and asphalt products from the land, without interference from the locals. These contracts are scrupulously enforced by the Alliance Tribal Enforcement Services--often just called the Alliance Cavalry. These two Ute tribes have put together a light cavalry force to rival the legends of old. Every young man--and even young women, if they have the calling--is trained to ride and shoot from a very early age. Not only armed with knife and bow, but each Alliance Ponytrooper carries a single-shot carbine rifle. These rifles are each one-of-a-kind, individually manufactured weapons created in the workshops of one of the dozens of master gunsmiths, found in the towns across this nation. The only standardization among these rifles is that they are all chambered to fire .30 caliber rifle cartridges; needless to say, this kind of ammunition is always high on the list of goods to be traded for.

7) SOUTHWESTERN UTAH

The deserts and arid grasslands of southeastern Utah are filled with cliffs and canyons, sandstone arches and spires, mesas and buttes, and broad expanses of flat desert and grasslands. This land, legendary in the region and as colorful as the names given to the various expanses, has come to be known as the "Mazelands". All but the most adventurous Amerind scout party or Mormon Trader avoid traveling though this land; for the labyrinthine confluences can lead wanderers deep into places from which they might never find their way back. Only the Hoodoos and the Tushan Raiders (see below) travel freely though the area and it is believed that they alone know the secrets of navigating the jumbled terrain. Some of the more notable ruins and locations are listed below.

"The Mazes": Formerly Mazes district of Canyonlands National Park. The Maze section, west of the arroyos, is the wildest and remotest section of all the Mazelands. It is reached by following 50 miles along old dusty rutted trails across a relatively flat terrain. Beyond here the trails deteriorate as the canyons approach. The Maze itself is a jumble of six steep inhospitable canyons, and is all but unexplorable. Around this are other remote areas of rock with yet more canyons and fins, buttes and domes. It is this area that lends its name to the region.

"The Needles": Formerly Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. The Needles area is so named because of the massive red and white eroded sandstone pillars that extend southwards for many miles, forming a jumbled and hostile landscape. The area also has many narrow canyons. There are no roads into the heart of the Needles, but there are several trails one can follow on foot. It is believed that a secluded tribe survives on a hidden flat enclosed by some of the largest rocks in the Needles. If this tribe does exist, no contact has ever been made with them.

"Sky Island": Formerly Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. Sky Island is a wide, high plateau with commanding views across many miles of deep canyons in all directions. A badly-eroded paved road leads to the very edge of the plateau, while a dirt track follows the rim of a white sandstone terrace halfway down the cliffs.

"The Gates of Hell": Formerly Arches National Park. The Gates of Hell is an area of mystery in an inhospitable land. Hidden within the bleak red rocks and sandy desert are innumerable rock pinnacles, sandstone archways and bridges, and an intricate maze of narrow canyons and eroded ridges. The danger of straying too far into the mazes or falling into a chasm has kept this area largely unexplored. It is said that only the Tushan Raiders can successfully navigate their way though the Gates of Hell.

"Goblin Valley": Formerly Goblin Valley State Park. The Legend of Goblin Valley is a tale told throughout the wastelands. Goblin Valley is said to be a secret valley carved into maddening twists and turns by a dead river, hidden somewhere out in the Mazelands. The story tells that the valley is home to a race of little blue goblins that live in small mushroom-shaped sandstone structures which are hard to distinguish from the surrounding terrain. Some stories say that they are benevolent creatures that help lost travelers, while others paint a more sinister picture. Still, most consider this story nothing more than a fanciful folktale told to entertain children.

"The Waterpox": Formerly Capital Reef National Park, and also called the Waterpockets Fold, this is, literally, a wrinkle in the earth's crust. It is terrain where newer and older layers of earth folded over each other in an S-shape. This wrinkle, probably caused by the same colliding continental plates that created the Rocky Mountains, has weathered and eroded over millennia to expose layers of rock and brilliantly colored sandstone cliffs, gleaming white domes, and contrasting layers of stone and earth.

The area was originally named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek. The fold forms a north-to-south barrier that has barely been breached by roads. Early settlers referred to parallel, impassable ridges as "reefs," from which the park gets the second half of its name. The barely discernable remains of the ancient State Route 24 cuts through the area traveling east and west between what was once Canyonlands National Park in the east and Bryce Canyon National Park in the west, but few other paved roads invade the rugged landscape.

This narrow "wrinkle" in the land is filled with canyons, cliffs, towers, domes, and arches. The Fremont River has cut canyons through parts of the Waterpocket Fold, but most of the area remains arid desert country, despite the regions increase in rainfall, over the years. Many explorers have come to this region to find the legendary waterpockets, only to find death amongst the 100-mile long barrier of earth and stone. If there ever were pockets of water, none have ever been found. Now most refer to this area as the Waterpox, to suggest that the water has succumbed to a "pox"; a disastrous evil.

"Site-O": Inside Capitol Reef National Park there is a secret, underground Snake-eater base known as "Site-0". It is intact and operating in stand-by mode.

Ruins of Hanksville: The ruins of a small town on the narrow banks of the Fremont River, in the middle of the desert between the Waterpox and the Mazes. Tushan Raiders are known to camp amongst these ruins. And it is rumored that a community of outcast Mormons lives hidden in a canyon somewhere nearby.

Ruins of Green River: The remains of a small town surrounded by the Book Cliffs to the north and east and the San Rafael Swell to the west. The ruins sit on the western banks of the Green River. The ruin is uninhabited, and little actually remains of the town's structures. South, along the river, lies Labyrinth Canyon and the entrance into The Mazes; the area of badlands which lends its name to the entire region.

Ruins of Moab: The remains of a large town sit between red sandstone cliffs on the banks of the Colorado River. Mountains tower over the southern end of town attaining heights of nearly 13,000 feet. Several of the town's motels and buildings remain intact and, while the ruins have no permanent settlers, they provide shelter to the transients and scavengers commonly found here. The threatening presence of Tushan Raiders in the area keeps this from becoming a permanent settlement.

Ruins of Monticello: The ruins of a small town can be found south of the ruins of Moab at the edge of the Abajo Mountains. Little actually remains of the town's structures and the roads south and east of here have succumbed to the elements and years. While the ruin is uninhabited, the nomadic Tushan Raiders are commonly encamped nearby, several miles to the east.

Ruins of Blanding: The remains of a mid-size town in a valley between plateaus. While generally uninhabited, occasionally one may find a small band of Hoodoos or party of Tushan Raiders wandering through the crumbling brick structures.

Ruins of Mexican Hat: A relatively large settlement compared to others of its kind in the area, this ruin marks the decent into the Apache territory to the south. The town occupies a stretch of land beneath red rock cliffs and hellish alpine wilderness of the mountains of the San Juan River valley near the old Arizona border. Since some buildings still stand amidst the rubble, the ruins attract scavengers and bands of Hoodoos. The ruins are also traversed by the Navaho and Apache Traders, for while many roads have been lost here, the route remains the most accessible way through the region. Tushan Raiders inhabit the mountains and valleys around the ruins, and pose a threat to any who travel in small or under-protected groups.

8) SOUTHEASTERN UTAH

Some of the region's most spectacular natural wonders are found in this area of Utah.

"The Grand Staircase": Formerly Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Grand Staircase is so named for the series of cliffs that ascend northward from the southwest corner, near the ruins of Paria, Utah. Each of the cliffs is a different color, ranging from chocolate brown, vermilion, white, gray, and pink, forming a giant multicolored staircase into the mountains. The difficult terrain remains more or less unexplored, though some hunters from the Kaibab Indian Tribe, to the southwest, or even a patrol of Navajo from the southeast are sometimes to be encountered in the area.

"The Rainbow Lands": Formerly Bryce Canyon National Park, in the eastern side of Dixie National Forest. The Rainbow Lands are a region of cliffs and canyons known for their strikingly colorful, eroded rock forms, small springs, and dense wooded terrain. The rock formations create a maddening landscape of mazes. A dead-end road with several overlooks leads south along the western cliff, while several trails lead down into the canyons. Within the canyons, innumerable tracks and trails lead into the unknown. Only Hoodoo nomads (see below) and Kaibab Indians are known to be able to navigate the mazes with any certainty, for they occasionally dwell in the region despite its harsh climate.

"Zion": Formerly Zion National Park, at the southwestern edge of the Dixie national Forest. Zion is an ancient word meaning a place of sanctuary. This region is a dramatic landscape of sculptured canyons and soaring cliffs. An arroyo, once the Virgin River, dominates the area. With the areas proximity to the city of St. George (the largest community in Deseret) as well as the fortified armory-town of Hurricane, the Enlightened State of Deseret continues to maintain this area as a "National Park". The occasional clans of Hoodoo nomads who reach the area have been able to thrive, by trading with Deseret merchants.

The Hoodoos: Named after an old word for the strangely shaped columns, pinnacles, or pillars of rock that are an erosional feature common in badland topography, the Hoodoos are desert scavengers skilled at surviving in harsh environments. The Hoodoos appear to have originated in the region of crags and valleys south of the Colorado River. Hoodoo society is made up of familial clans, each lead by a chieftain. During the year, half of the clan can be found roaming the region, either traveling in mobile homes or wandering as vagabonds out in the wastelands. The rest of the clan lives in permanent communities, either in settlements, in ruins, underground, or out in the open.

Hoodoo skills: Hoodoos are known throughout the region for their scavenging, tinkering, and trading skills. Hoodoos scavenge the deserts and ruins in search of discarded derelicts, broken machinery, valuables, and any other scraps of advanced technology they can find. Surviving by gathering things that other people throw away, they tend to take whatever they can for salvage. Hoodoos are also tinkers by nature and are known for repairing items, fixing up machines, and refurbishing junk. Scrap materials are salvaged for use in their homes and vehicles. Hoodoos make their way in the desolation by trading the items they scavenge and repair throughout the desert. They barter junk and trade items, making do with what they can. Because most of their wares are salvage, cobbled together, or hastily repaired, it is not uncommon for something they sell to fail to function properly, or cease functioning soon after acquired. This has earned them the reputation as swindlers. Nevertheless, they still do a fair amount of business, as they travel far off the established trade routes to remote settlement and manage to obtain rare technological items that are hard to find elsewhere.

The Great Swap Meet: Once a year, just before the storms, the scattered Hoodoo clans journey across the deserts to a secret location in the wilds of southeastern Utah to gather for the "Great Swap Meet" where they trade salvage, repair goods, and exchange news and information. It is at this time that the chieftains meet in council to determine boundaries, settle disputes between clans, and oversee the exchange of females amongst the clans. The council will also determine the location of the next meet.

Tushan Raiders: The Tushan Raiders or "sand people", as they have sometimes been called, are a race of vicious nomadic raiders. It has even rumored that they aren't even human but some kind of mutant; hideous creatures hidden under their tightly wrapped robes and dark-lensed goggles. The Tushan Raiders are primitive desert warriors skilled at surviving in a harsh environment and an even harsher way of life. While they wear clothing and fashion crude tools, most of their "technology" is actually stolen from Traders; firearms, such as the rifles they seem to favor, are a prime example. The Sandpeople appear as vicious savages who attack anyone and anything they do not recognize and there does not seem to be a rationale for their fierce hatred of others. Although these raiders appear to have been around since the time of the Bombs, the name "Tushan" was first reported by Pathfinder troopers from Enlightened Deseret after a fierce massacre of a trader caravan in the shadows of the Tushar Mountains, on the Deseret eastern frontier. The Pathfinders defeated the Raider force, and found a single survivor--mortally wounded and suffering from a shattered jaw. The Pathfinders report that, when they interrogated him, all he would say was "I, Tushan!", before he died--which then prompted years of fruitless searching by the Pathfinders of the Tushan mountain area, to find the base of these Raiders. No such lair has ever been found.

The truth of the matter is that, while the Tushan Raiders are known to camp all over the south and east of the area, their actual base of operations is located in the heart of one of the remaining deep deserts in Utah, in the middle of the area known as the Mazelands, where they are the only sentient life found in abundance. There are no known settlements in this region and little remains of the ancient corridors of asphalt commonly found in other regions. Very few ruins can be found in the Mazelands, the largest of which lies to the northeast of the region.

People who have contributed to this entry:
John Raner
Vince Tognarelli
Karl Zohler
Paul Zane