10-20-2018, 12:10 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Post nuke Alaska
Hello everyone!
I'm making a campaign in Alaska after WWIII and I'm looking at a few things that I could use for it. So basically, aside from the fuel production facilities, I start with the assumption that Alaska was not hit that hard by the warheads. Then, there is the fact that Alaska's gun laws make it easier than in a lot of other states to get guns, but gathering food would be harder than in warmer climate, so instead of being hit hard by the warheads, Alaska was hit hard by the social collapse. I'm using an actual road map of Alaska that the PCs have access to In-Character, but I would welcome if someone has more knowledge of Alaska than I do could indicate the "good spots" of Alaska (more food than other places, or easily defended places for urban centers with a start of economic production beyond simple survivalist activities), and the "bad spots" (hard to defend places, hard to find food, and the places most likely to have been hit by the warheads, the fallout, and other spots best avoided because of post nuke hazards). Thanks a bunch. |
10-20-2018, 12:18 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ronneby, Sweden
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
Fishing is usually a very important food source in cold areas with a coast. If industrialised fishing is gone in the wake of the war fish should be plentiful for local fishers, though it might be radioactive. :)
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10-20-2018, 02:06 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
Okay, so if I get this right, I can expect new settlements to be made alongside coasts for fishing, with whatever (salvaged or newly built) boats available used for fishing? That's a good thing to know.
What about ethanol/biodiesel/gasifiers? Where could I expect prewar boats retrofitted with these kind of engines for fishing and where would be good places for newly build Age of Sail type of fishing boats? What kind of psychoactive chemicals could local raider bands/local junkies be high as a kite on? Alcohol is universal in that regard, but what else could raiders/junkies use to get high? Last edited by WaterAndWindSpirit; 10-20-2018 at 02:48 PM. |
10-20-2018, 06:02 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Earth, mostly
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
The northern reaches might have been hit, both to destroy the DEW Line and to deny access to the oil fields around Point Barrow. Also, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the neighboring (in fact, nearly attached) city of Anchorage might well have taken a few nukes. I doubt they'd have targeted any other major cities in Alaska, though - no real strategic reason to do so.
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10-21-2018, 03:28 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ronneby, Sweden
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
As roads in cold climates takes a lot of maintenance most trade would be seabound as well. So raiders would probably be pirates.
Though if you don't want too much nautical stuff climate change induced nasty storms could be a good excuse. |
10-21-2018, 07:22 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
I understand that the Amerindian tribes are still pretty cohesive up there - presumably they would form a significant part of any post collapse society.
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10-21-2018, 07:35 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
I just have to say: Talk about baked Alaska!
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
10-21-2018, 10:00 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: MO, U.S.A.
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
Alaska's condition is very reliant on when WW III happens, pre-pipeline there is a lot less development, as well as more military targets asking for tac nukes. Before the ICBM became reliable, there were a lot of aerial tankers in Alaska to refuel B-52's, plus multiple radar sites that were largely replaced by better satellites in the 80's. While, given the sheer size of Alaska, nuke strikes will affect a comparatively small overall area, they will tend to hit important commerce and communication hubs. The "good" news is Alaska would likely draw mostly small nukes, the big ones being saved for the lower 48 states, plus Hawaii, Guam, and Okinawa.
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Xenophilia is Dr. Who. Plus Lecherous is Jack Harkness.- Anaraxes Last edited by adm; 10-21-2018 at 10:05 AM. Reason: Added to my original post. |
10-21-2018, 10:49 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
The social situation in rural Alaska could prove incredibly grim -- especially for women.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/artic...es-anyone-care https://www.adn.com/commentary/artic...it/2013/04/08/ The "rugged individualism" of Alaskans frequently acts as cover for deeply sociopathic and misogynistic attitudes, in a place where there are 29,000 more men than women -- with the worst disparity in the rural areas. While I would choose to not include such a grotesque reality in most games, it might be appropriate in a dystopian post-apocalyptic setting. Raids by rural barbarians on snowmobiles against the coastal refugees could feature prominantly, and defense against them and retribution for them could give the PCs an important role.
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10-22-2018, 07:50 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Post nuke Alaska
Quote:
A minimalist surgical strike focused on warfighters only might give it a miss, other than Fort Greely, at least if your war plan lets you ignore the fighters because you're not sending your bombers that way. Any attack that's trying to affect economics and long-term military capability, or just sheer revenge / spite / MAD would probably hit Fairbanks as well. FEMA's 1990 "Nuclear Attack Planning Base" document is a county-by-county list of their expectations of nuclear attack effects in the entire US at that time. Since that's a 500-page monster document, and scanned images so not searchable, here's an image of Alaska that's supposed to be based on that report. It shows four nukes in the Fairbanks area, compared to only one each on Anchorage and Juneau (and six others elsewhere in the state, including one on Kodiak Island). So Fairbanks rated a third of the total warheads dropped on the state, at least according to 1990's FEMA. |
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