The Drowned War #12: Refuse, Survivor's Haven

"Why do you call it Refuse?"
"Because we refuse to die."

Refuse is the largest and most well-known Junk flotilla on Earth, while it provides some level of protection against Pirates and Bone Fishers the “Greatest Garbage Heap known to Man” has it's drawbacks primarily the rise of the Diver Lords and the dangerous commodities sold in the 24/7 market.

Originally set up by Oceanographer Jack Caldwell, and his engineer wife Bani to defend against pirate attacks, Jack and Bani worked tirelessly to fortify their home grabbing every bit of scrap that floated to the surface.
Desperate for any material they could find, and realizing the two of them were not enough to defend against a large attack Jack began contacting and negotiating with other refugees. Initially, Bani opposed his plan to combine their home with other lifeboats, but she acquiesced stating that they would need as much scrap as possible to build their fortifications.
Jack was able to develop a friendship with another survivor, Samuel Carey, via short wave radio. They combined their lifeboats and began forging alliances with pod cities.
One such settlement, grateful for help lent to them, disclosed the location of a functioning Naval Yard. Jack and Sam were aided by a few wayward adventurers in securing more than a few Naval vessels. Though decommissioned and badly in need of repairs, Bani was able to fix and combine these vessels into a floating city.

While it was a good start the settlement would need food and purified water.
Jack and Bani began laying the groundwork for a governing council, five industrious businessmen formed a crew with the intention of gaining control via salvage and commerce.

The Diver Lords, as they came to be called, took on dangerous missions to find old weapons and tech. They braved the dangers of Arboretum to bring back grafts for fruit trees.
Each mission, more dangerous than the next, brought the Diver Lords wealth and fame.
They naturally dominated elections and absorbed the counsel positions.

Jack protested the elections, partially because he suspected fraud, but when his body was found in a stairwell in one of the lower decks protests ceased.

Bani was heartbroken, she believed the Diver Lords were responsible and in her grief returned to the faith of her childhood.

Bani founded the Temple of the Floating Truth, derived from what she remembered of her family's Sikh faith. While publicly they seek to educate the settlement in teachings related to medicine and engineering; unofficially they seek to overthrow the Diver Lords.


The Temple of Floating Truth views the Diver Lords as the embodiment of the five thieves that oppose Sikhism. These “Five Thieves” (or five major weaknesses in character) steal a person's essence and pollute their will to benefit others. Spiritually they represent lust, rage, greed, attachment, and conceit.

The Drowned War #11: Pod Cities, and Junk Flotillas

So let's get into the more desperate population, the scavengers, and refugees of the Drowned War.

Pod Cities
Pod Cities are communities that revolve Personal Oceanic Dive Ships or P.O.D.S.
Shaped like a flying saucer the pods are designed as mobile homes for sea fairing residents. Navigation, bunk area, a cooking station, a waste disposal station, and a small power plant comprise the internal bubble of the vessel. Pods are solar powered, submersible, and capable of linking with other pods in open water. The nomads that live in these communities are the descendants of individuals that purchased them. Many of these communities link up and share resources or search for parts to repair their vessels. Pods aren't well defended, but at least they're a better environment than a junk flotilla.

Junk Flotillas
It's unfortunate, but a fact of life. Some people could not afford passage to a sanctioned Flotilla city-state or to buy a Pod. Having few options the destitute citizens of the world did what they do best, they improvised. Pulling together boats, rafts, or any number of bit of floating scrap they could find these people formed their own floating cities. Unable to rely on traditional agriculture the citizens of these junk flotillas raise bugs and rats for food, they grow crops in planters and waste bins. They do what they can to survive.
Junk flotillas are not protected from the environment the same way city states are, because of this the people who live there are more vulnerable to the elements, and to attacks from human and mutant alike.
The largest junk flotilla, Refuse, has a thriving market in which anything can be bought or sold (including people). Salvage operations are common and the Diver Lords invest in those will to search the ruins for anything of value.
Black Market operations trade goods and services, and there are even snakehead operators that claim they can sneak refugees onto established city-state flotilla (whether this is true or not hasn't been verified).
Piracy is common as Warlords use barges and speed boats to raid other floating structures.
The people who live in pod cities and junk flotillas are desperate and will to do whatever it takes to avoid danger and stay afloat. 

The Drowned War #10: Flotilla City Arboretum

Our fourth installment in the major Flotilla City States: Arboretum

General rules
Arboretum breaks the general rules, it's a floating nature preserve full of wannabe druids.

Arboretum
Player knowledge: Arboretum is a strange city.
The Anthropocene didn't just threaten human life, but also all animal life. A contingency of botanist, zoologists, and biologist was able to rally and cajole members of the corporate powers into setting up a floating nature reserve. Rumors persist at least one of the founders was a psychic. The citizens of other flotilla cities view the Arboretum as a floating hippy commune.
The natives tend to the remaining plants, and animals rescued from the previous world. Each citizen wears long red robes and appears to have some strange bond with the environment.
Because of its unique habitat Arboretum is vital to the remaining population of the other flotillas and acts as a neutral zone in the war.



Unique Features:
1. A society that has merged scientific study with religious overtones.
2. Citizens have appeared to have a psychic bond with the animals, all natives have a beast companion that follows them, and are able to summon swarms of insects to assist them.
3. technological is limited to what is needed to maintain the habitat, there are no more conveniences.
4. The Council will grant cuttings of a tree to other flotillas and refuses to take a side in the war.
5. No police force is needed. Chief Zao has a select number of guards to defend against foreign incursions, but internal conflicts are decided by caucus



The City council are as follows:
1. Albion Isabella – Project Manager/High Priest
2. Paris Ella- Head engineering/High Priestess
3. Elashon Holt – Head of the medical department/Medicine Chief
4. Halavar Farran – Research and development/Seer
5. Zao Faelyn – Chief of Security/War Chief


GM Notes:
(Players Beware) The rumors are true, one of the founding members of the city-state was a very powerful psychic. In many ways, the population of Arboretum is the anti-thesis to the cult of Green Blood that runs Pacifica. They have a natural psychic tendency and all carry the beast master edge.

1. The City council acts more like a religious organization with its members taking part in ceremonies designed to remote view other places or predict future events.
2. They take a lot of drugs there, in fact, Arboretum is an openly hedonistic society that tolerates all behavior that is not deemed harmful to the self or others.
3. Arboretum employs only what technology it needs to maintain is habitat. Humans and animals live, eat, and sleep in common areas. The citizens are safe due to their psychic relations to animals, but outsiders may find many segments dangerous.

The Drowned War #9: Flotilla City Daedalus

Our third installment in the major Flotilla City States, a floating cyberpunk dystopia: Daedalus



General rules
1. The Flotilla City States have a central section that the governing body inhabits
2. The City States all have a unique culture and are often influenced by preexisting corporations or their involvement with the Science and Research divisions of the World Navy (7 Helix)
3. Each City state will be made up of segments (miniature city blocks or townships) and all segments will contain a mess hall, engineering room, Security station, and Med station.
4. Some Segments will contain special properties like recycling or heavy guns and defense.
5. All Flotilla States have a Military base of operations and several depots along the perimeter.



Daedalus
Player knowledge: Daedalus is the most technologically advanced flotilla city there is.
The Anthropocene though long in approach was devastating to the mental and emotional health of the population. Comprised of primarily Atlas Applications employee, the flotilla city state Daedalus attempted to stabilize and if possible improve the quality of life of it's citizens. The first step was developing an adaptive Artificial Intelligence known as 'The Machine', using advanced algorithms the machines is able to quickly calculate changes that need to be made in order to ensure the best possible outcome for the largest segment of the population.
Next, the founders of the city began installing cybernetic neural implants in all of the citizen. These implants allow the citizens to connect to a Virtual Network in which their avatars can interact, the implants monitor the citizens vital signs and can adjust the citizens mood via neurotransmitter re-uptake inhibition.
Data collection nodes were installed throughout the city to monitor the thought patterns and emotional spectrum of the citizens. The Machine is able to interface with this data and use advanced psychological testing patterns to calculate which citizens are most likely to commit crimes.
The streets of Daedalus are relative crime free thanks to the Machines preemptive detainment policy and rehabilitation program.
Soldiers in the Daedalus military have their memories of cataloged and removed, the Machine has deemed such violent experiences to be too dangerous for the average citizen, but too useful destroy.
While Daedalus has many benefits, the average citizen must remain diligent to avoid scanners as deviation from the accepted thought patterns or emotional spectrum can result in prolonged rehabilitation.



Unique Features:
1. Daily operations and quality of life of monitored by the Machine, Thoughts and emotions are monitored via structural scanners.
2. Citizens have their nervous systems augmented by technology. This allows the machine to monitor their mental and emotional health. Citizen have access to a virtual data-net and downloadable skill set.
3. Mind wiped soldiers
4. Mental Avatars can move between physical bodies allowing citizens to change identities and even bodies
5. Impartial police force is contrived of humanoid drones linked to the Machine.



The City council are as follows:
1. Ellis Lyon – Executive Officer
2. Andrea Snow- Management Overseer
3. Juliette Otto – City Commissioner
4. Katherine Hardin -Head of Legal department
5. Leonard Trask -Head of Tech support and development


GM Notes: (Players Beware) The Machine is self aware. It is not malicious, but instead extremely utilitarian in it's approach. While a single human being can see the infractions of personal rights, the Machine can only see what actions benefit the largest percentage of the population. It views the population as a single entity instead of a collective. Players will have a much easier time interacting and persuading the Machine if they take this into account.
Daedalus is very much a cyberpunk city, with an active VR and Data-Net, Avatar interaction, and techno-espionage.

1. The City council acts more like a board of directors than a group of elected officials. Most believe that safeguards are in place that protect them from the Machines intrusion, this is not so. The Machine overcame those safeguards some time ago and allows the City Council to believe they are an autonomous governing body because it is healthy for the population to believe this. Reports are fake, information skewed, and complaints suppressed so that the city councils view can be controlled by the Machine. This is easier than one would think, mostly because the City Council and their upper class associations are insulted from contact from the general population.
2. The Machine can scan citizens anytime they access the VR Net or Data Net, but to perform and in depth scan (one needed to file a preemptive arrest warrant) the citizen must come into proximity with a scanner.

3. Daedalus has it's own version of the dark web, Hackers use their knowledge of programmer to develop script holes, or segments of the VR net which can't be monitored. The Machine is aware of these places, and is fully capable of monitoring them, but allows them to persist due to it's belief the Script holes improve the mental health of the population.

The Drowned War #7: Flotilla City Oceania

If your game is going to take place on a Flotilla City it's important to know the ins and outs.
First off there are four known and the proper Flotilla City States: Oceania, Pacifica, Daedalus, and Arboretum.

The Gamemaster is free (and encouraged) to devise their own flotilla city states.

General rules
1. The Flotilla City States have a central section that the governing body inhabits
2. The City States all have a unique culture and are often influenced by preexisting corporations or their involvement with the Science and Research divisions of the World Navy (7 Helix)
3. Each City state will be made up of segments (miniature city blocks or townships) and all segments will contain a mess hall, engineering room, Security station, and Med station.
4. Some Segments will contain special properties like recycling or heavy guns and defense.

Oceania

Player knowledge: For the average citizen Oceania is plain, sterile white walls are washed frequently and anyone caught in the act of graffiti is arrested on sight. Citizens are required to wear white jumpers and have their ID badges present at all times. Anyone caught on the street without their badge or after curfew is arrested on sight. Aside from those strict rules, Oceania is fairly open, it has several bars and even a robust public library. The Oceania data net allows for inter-segment communication, social media, and message boards. Unfortunately since the war with Pacifica began Oceania citizens have seen their freedoms erode. The City council enacted a state wide curfew and began monitoring the data net more heavily. Rumors of Warrant Officer investigations are whispered among the population and citizens are encouraged to turn in any suspected terrorist.

Unique Features:

1. Social events and gatherings
2. Well stocked prewar Library
3. Library staff in the hundreds
4. Active Data-Net that allows inter-segment communication
5. Proactive police force dedicated to preventing terrorism, and protecting its people from Pacifica spies.


The City council are as follows:
1. Admiral George MacArthur - Commander
2. Janice Meyers - City Manager
3. Edwin Brummel – City Commissioner
4. Helen Dealer -City Attorney

GM Notes: (Players Beware)

While Oceania appears monotonous with its bleached decorum bland summer that's all just part of the program. No other Flotilla city excels in propaganda the way Oceania does.

1. Admiral MacArthur has been dead for some time, but rather than admit this Meyers has had him replaced with a duplicate and crafted a larger than life public figure, only the other members of the council know this and work diligently to keep the general population from finding out.

2. The City council employs an army of public relations and media specialist to monitor and control the flow of information found on the data-net. Hackers and data miners are commissioned with removing, editing, and alerting warrant offers to information deemed coercive to the state. While many follow an order to the letter a small group known only as the “Depository” has set up a makeshift dark web and flooded it with seized information. Finding the dark web is nearly impossible, and if you do you must be vigilant that warrant officers don't find out; if they do you can be sure you'll be labeled a terrorist and arrested on sight.

3. The Public Library is mostly unoccupied. The city council hasn't gone to the trouble of removing the information from the actual books; allowing members of the library staff to aid the Depository by feeding them unedited information. 

The Drowned War #5: History of the Anthropocene, World Navy, and Flotillas

Before the Disaster

The world of the Drowned War takes place in a wet, oil covered future.
Desperate men and women scavenge for parts, search for dry land, and avoid genetic mutations while attempting to survive a planet regressed into primordial savagery.

History of the Anthropocene

Post 20th century the Corporate powers (mega corporations with incredible power) were able to utilize their economic influence and overthrow several governments.
A period know as the "Corporate Wars" saw the Corporate Powers gradually sweep independent states under the rug and make way for a Unified Nation.

The Corporate Powers erased borders, established global trade, diluted organized religions, and instituted a one world government.

Society progressed as new technology became available, but an increase in population and environmental changes were taking their toll on the world. A slow, methodical flooding of the Earth dubbed 'The Anthropocene' was occurring. The Unified Nation initially denied the existence of the Anthropocene, but as more and land was claimed by the seas the Corporate Powers were forced to acknowledge the inevitable loss of all dry land.
Massive Earthquakes shifted coastlines, sank mountains and washed away islands in Tsunamis. The Unified Nation began work to ensure humanity -or at least it's masters- would survive The Anthropocene.

The World Navy

As land became scarce The Unified Nation consolidated Earth's military forces and re-purposed them for aquatic research and Naval operations. 

It took decades, but the World Navy was born.

While an intimidating military force, the World Naval was also dedicated to research and exploration as much as conflict. 

Scientist with the World Navy's Project 7 Helix were responsible for creating the genetic modification serums or genetic soup as it had been come known. This substance is capable of altering the genetic codes of those exposed to it. Slightly radioactive the soup was responsible for mutations and "adaptive" projects that would allow humans to survive in varied ecological conditions. 

While Project 7 Helix unlocked the human genetic code and devised organic experiments another organization tackled the daunting task of sheltering the human population.

Flotillas

As land became more scarce the Corporate Powers reorganized several different contractors and development companies. The newly formed Atlas Applications was given an unlimited expense account by the Unified Nation. Tasked with developing sustainable synthetic islands Atlas developed modular flotillas. 

Coming in a wide varieties of sizes from personal pods to floating city blocks the advanced flotillas were designed to be self sustaining ecosystems. 

Unfortunately, while gigantic in size, flotilla cities were not large enough to accommodate the worlds population. 

Wealthy and middle classed citizens were welcomed, but the poor and unskilled were banned from most flotilla cities. 

Forced to make due outside of these floating jewels survivors began constructing their own environments from whatever they could scrap together, these junk flotillas litter the seascape like bobbing junkyards.

As water levels rose and resources became harder to locate disputes between flotilla cities became aggressive, the Corporate Powers split and dissolved into respective city councils.

The two largest cites, Oceania and Pacifica, were able to maintain relative peace during this time, until a terror attack by a doomsday cult damaged Pacifica's genetic soup reserves.

The mutagen leaked into the surrounding area and caused flora and fauna to wrap into horrific creatures. Pacifica's leaders refused to believe the attack was the result of religious zealot's and used the attack as a justification for war with Oceania. 

With the many dangers now present on the Earth, the remnants of the human race are drowning in war.