Vermont lost a few cities and a few million people in the war, suffering badly from refugee migrations and epidemics in the first few years of chaos. It took several decades, but eventually nearly all the out-of-staters were dead and the remaining locals were able to start rebuilding. Then the weather started to change for the worse, the temperature dropping steadily year by year and the snows coming harder and longer. People began to leave the northern third of the state as it just became too hard to find food six months of the year. 150 years later, southern Vermont is home to several dozen thriving settlements. The Champlainer Empire controls much of the western coast of the Lake, with influence lines snaking through most of the valleys in the state.
Montpelier, SS-17
Discretionary nuclear targets:
Burlington, SS-N-8
Ethan Allen Military Reservation, Burlington,
SS-17
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Reactor, Brattleboro,
SS-17
The ruins of Burlington: This hulking ruin on the shore of Lake Champlain is avoided, as the radiation and the Blue Undead make travel suicide. Half the year it is covered in snow, which some say glows a strange blue with the residual radiation beneath.
Newport: Home to the state's largest bandit band, "John Campbell's Wildcats". There are perhaps fifty fighters and dependents living here for the last several years. They make frequent raids throughout the region, and across the border into Canada, often being gone for a month at a time and returning with loaded horsepacks of loot. This group was originally from southern Maine. They were pushed northwest into Vermont several years ago after an aborted attempt on an Icelander mining camp. They are still being hunted by Icelander recon teams but don't realize the danger they are in.
Soroyal: Formerly the town of South Royalton, a prosperous and growing town with a technology level generally in the early 1880s range. It's run by a democratically-elected mayor, although Lady Koto (widow of the late Lord Koto) and her son wield considerable influence. The Koto family provide a highly-trained cavalry militia, a hospital, and a higher education institutions for Soroyal. They have a working rail line here, trading along the rails as far as Quebec.
The Caliphate of River Crossing: Formerly the town of White River Junction, more technically advanced (WWI equivalent technology) than Soroyal and has their own railroad that they hope to extend up to Quebec. A sort of constitutional monarchy, with an elected Senate but with the Calpih exercising more control than a mere figurehead. Islam is the "state religion" of the community, but other religions are tolerated and not persecuted. They have an ongoing dispute with Soroyal over the use of the rail line that passes through Soroyal up towards Quebec. They trade with the ARVEN to the south and are thankful to have them as a buffer against the Staties further south.
Sharon: A small town located between them, whose inhabitants are insular, uncommunicative, hostile and aggressive. They were recently defeated on a large-scale assault on Soroyal, indicating a possible food shortage over the last winter in Sharon.
Rose's Gypsy Trucker Clan: A locally-based clan, made up of several 18-wheelers, plus several smaller trucks and 4-wheeled transport. They also have what is probably a Duster AAA vehicle armed with 40mm autocannon. Rose's Clan has a deal with Soroyal for rail transport in exchange for working truck engines.
The ARVEN: The main power in this area of Vermont and New Hampshire along the winding north-south Connecticut River. They are descended from the remnants of the Vermont and New Hampshire National Guard which settled in this area after the war. Their main settlement is Brattleboro, but they have a large enclave over the border in Keene, New Hampshire, and two smaller enclaves upriver at Bellows Falls and Springfield on the Vermont side of the river. They trade with the Staties to the south, but also keep a wary eye on them, aware that they are dangerous. There have been some trade missions from the Champlainers to the west, but not much commerce takes place between the two. Trade is also conducted with River Crossing and the local Trucker clan in the area.
Military: The ARVEN are well-organized and well-armed, and their leader (the "General" or the "Old Man") is also the defacto leader of the community. Their main manpower is conscripts and volunteers, and they maintain higher-trained recon units. They have some heavy weapons like .50 cal machineguns and 60mm mortars. They have a number of pre-war armored vehicles still running, including three 8-wheeled LAVs with 105mm guns, plus one turreted V-150 (possibly a former USAF vehicle). They also have some 2 1/2-ton trucks and a few camouflaged National Guard-type Chevy Blazers. As a pre-war National Guard armor unit was located in the area, it's likely the also have an operational tank or two saved for a special purpose.
The 75th: A unit of the ARVEN military which operates semi-independently on long-range patrols and special missions. They are the descendents of a unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment, some of which survived the war and came to this area, eventually joining the Vermont National Guard before the ARVEN came to power.
The Coup: All is not well with the ARVEN. An ambitious Colonel is planning a secret coup against the General. He plans on killing his superior, taking his rank, ousting any dissenters, and setting himself up as a warlord. He's also aware that he's going to have to eliminate the 75th, as it is fiercely loyal to the General. The Colonel is an renegade in all respects. He was once an upcoming officer who had shown some good qualities. He even had gone to an weapons school down at Hartford, Connecticut and learned military tactics from the government down there. He had made Captain under the Old Man a few years ago and had received a citation for his defense of a southern village that was overrun by Staties while his platoon had been passing through. Then something changed, or he had always been looking to take the Old Man's spot, but in the last few months he has been plotting a violent coup.
Site-W: A secret Snakeeater base located in the Green Mountains south of the Somerset Reservoir known as "Site-W". Activated by a glitch some thirty years after the war, the ten Green Berets of SF Team NE 3-03 assigned here found themselves embroiled in a local war between two rival bandit armies. Six were killed trying to break it up, and the remaining four retreated to the base. For a while they made the base a center of small-scale trade in the area, but over the years the plan broke down and the traders left. The remaining villagers held fast to the soldiers who had protected them for so long. The area around the now-inactive base currently houses thirty descendents (and their families) of the four Green Berets and the villagers. Over the generations they have fought to retain their identity and heritage, though it has been a loosing battle.
People who have contributed to this entry:
John Raner
Da Kine
Tony Stroppa