Ok, now that I was "dragged" into playing in RUE (:D), I am inspired to try and update my city I created for Rifts Earth.
In a nutshell, Golden Age city shot forward in time to 90 P.A. from 2098 C.E. They've adjusted (I have yet to write a history detailing the last 19 years of their existance, besides some passing notes/references).
I'm doing ok, but hit a snag with how to divy up its 2.8 million standing army. 4 branches (akin to the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy; yes, they're next to the Tennessee River, so they have a navy), but not sure how to split them down even further. Any help would be appreciated (and, more importantly, given credit if used )
Sorry about location. It's located in Tennessee, west across the river from what used to be Greenback, Tennessee on the shore of Tellico Lake.
The city has a total population of almost 10 million, which includes their army of 2.8 million. They have a population split into a 30/30/40 split (30% magic, 30% psychic, and 40% normal/augmented, like borgs, normal humans, those with minor or no cybernetics, etc.).
Golden Age roots they were well aware of the upcoming cataclysm, as the founders were one of few people who managed to get to Rifts Earth and then get back to their own world (img, Rifts Earth's past is HU/BtS/N&SS mix). Long story short, got permission to build a city (which, in reality, is an outpost/staging ground that was to be used by NEMA, but that didn't work out due to their force field going haywire like Japan, but theirs was a successful item, and was going to be put up just before all the stuff hit the fan Dec. 22 2089).
Just a minor point. Having 28% of your population under arms is damn near impossible for any length of time. remember that the people who constitute the military are typically males (and to a lesser extent, females) between the ages of 18-36. that demographic also represents the most productive and energetic part of the population as a whole. taking that big a chunk of the workforce out of the civilian sector does some really bad things to your economy.
Just a RL example. During WW2 the US had 16 million people in uniform out of a population of 131 million. That's less then 10% of the population, but we still experienced labor shortages at home that forced women to work in factories.
Personally, I think that we have a duty as role-players to try to anchor each other to reality a bit. To keep other gamers from being complete freaks and weirdos, or even psychopaths, if we can. Killer Cyborg
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Kalinda wrote:Just a minor point. Having 28% of your population under arms is damn near impossible for any length of time. remember that the people who constitute the military are typically males (and to a lesser extent, females) between the ages of 18-36. that demographic also represents the most productive and energetic part of the population as a whole. taking that big a chunk of the workforce out of the civilian sector does some really bad things to your economy.
There are counties were service in the national guard is mandatory, and during a holocaust mandatory military service would almost be a given. Wouldn't it?
wolfe wrote:if they knew what was going to come to pass why did they go through all that instead of stopping the conflict that started the whole mess to begin with?
sorry it just seemed well, odd.
They found enough evidence to suggest that it was their world's future, but not the exact details as to when/how the whole thing went down. The best they could piece together was sometime in the 2090s, and even that was sketchy. (Coalition are not likely to cough up access to their 'destroyed' library to a bunch of literate D-Bees )
LONG Post, just a heads up now. This is the city I'm trying to rewrite for Rifts Earth. Asking for help but only telling people about Sections 8-12 doesn't help.
History
The history of Diamon City and the I.D.F. is a story involving many behind the scenes movements and deals, even up to the moment of the Great Cataclysm. It starts all the way back in the year 1987.
1987, the founding members of I.D.F., Mark Diamon (15th level Dreamer Gizmoteer), Mary Whiterose (15th level Dedicated Martial Artist), Andrea Black (15th level Commando Mercenary), Ronald A. Masteron (15th level Tinker Gizmoteer), Jaok West (15th level Thief), Veronica F. West (15th level Gadgeteer agent and security specialist), after having known each other for close to a decade, decided to put their various skills to good use and formed the International Defense Force. Specializing in bodyguard situations, providing security, private detective work, retrieval work, and similar.
The groups various assignments and missions enabled them to operate with autonomy in the U.S., however, they had to follow local laws (as long as the agency said they were/are following local laws, that’s good enough for them). The agency didn’t abuse this privilege, since all the founders were good at heart, but did keep certain things from the U.S. government when they needed to.
The I.D.F., in its second year of business, nearly suffered a crushing defeat from a female spy code named Red Wolf who tried, through a relationship with Mark Diamon, to take over the I.D.F.’s resources. This plot failed, but would result in a lifelong problem for the I.D.F.
The I.D.F. continued on its way for the next three years, reinforcing their ties to various governments and law enforcement agencies, ensuring a solid place in the U.S. as an autonomous group. Then, in March 8, 1997, all six members vanished without a trace while investigating reports of modern day pirates operating in the Bermuda Triangle. A massive storm while in the Bermuda Triangle nearly swamped their boat, a specially outfitted cabin cruiser with powerful engines, weapons, and armor. When they recovered, the storm had broken, and the threat of being swamped no longer existed, as they found themselves stranded in the middle of a forest, the boat surprisingly undamaged, just stranded on land.
Their first job was to find out where they were at, and what had happened. Thankfully enough, they ran into a group of mercenaries who were a good sort, and the group helped them get their bearings on the strange new planet. The mercenary group, after salvaging their gear, including the land locked boat, took the newcomers to Kingsdale, a large Rifts Earth city. It was there that the group, using some wheeling and dealing, and selling their pre-Rifts items, acquired gear, weapons and armor to survive in the new world.
Through one odd coincidence after another, the six members traversed the world, usually by accident, sometimes on purpose, winding up in almost every major area of Rifts Earth [Note: Pretty much ended up everywhere except Rifts China; they have been to every World Book for Rifts there is]. This continued for ten years until the final rift that took
them back to Earth.
Toughened by the experience, and also deeply concerned over the fate of this post apocalyptic Earth, they decided to prepare the I.D.F. for the worst. The journals and gear brought back with them were a treasure trove of information, however, the I.D.F. was not a cutting edge manufacturer, despite having several of the best and brightest mechanics, scientists and the like on the payroll, they needed a cutting edge manufacturer. A cutting edge industrial company, called Knights of Renown (due to the fact the brother and sister who headed it believed themselves to be descendents of King Arthur’s court), were consulted. The two companies formed a partnership, I.D.F. providing security, military know how and subtle means to deal with problems, the KR (pronounced Core) provided the technological know how to decipher the weapons, at least to a basic level.
The two companies, operating as partners with separate facilities, gathered the best and brightest in preparation for the upcoming cataclysm. This includes gathering the most powerful psychics, practitioners of magic, and what few supernatural creatures they discover, to bolster their ranks. KR turned out to be a specialist in investigating the paranormal as well as cutting edge manufacturer (thanks again to the fact that the brother possessed a magic sword named Excaliber, and his sister a practitioner of magic whose code name was Merlin).
Long before the start of the Golden Age, the I.D.F. and KR put into operation a very subtle and long term plan that would help prepare the rest of the world for what was to come. Using several shell corporations, think tanks, and their political and espionage connections, they began to ‘seed’ the world with various scientists, engineers and inventors. When the Golden Age began, these scientists, engineers and inventors were all in key places, helping push along their country’s technology along the proper path.
These same personnel would help fund what would later become Diamon City by funneling their royalties to the I.D.F. Psychics were used to smuggle information back to the I.D.F. and KR, namely those with telepathy and total recall who would receive detailed blue prints from the scientists (thanks to telepathy), leave the country they were staying in and return to the I.D.F. to “upload” the information to a budding super computer (what could be thought of as Harvey’s great grandfather).
The I.D.F. and KR would take part in various acts of terrorism, vendettas, treachery and war across the globe that would take place from 2001-2028, acting on the side of good (almost) all the time, doing their best to minimize damage to the civilian population, environment, and all around keep the collateral damage to a minimum.
With the creation and signing of the North American Alliance Pact of 2035 that united Canada, Mexico and the United States of America into (almost) one country, the I.D.F. and KR got open approval to build Diamon City in Tennessee, across the river from Greenback, Tennessee on the shore of Tellico Lake. Thanks to the booming start of the Golden Age, and the royalties coming in, the I.D.F. and KR built Diamon City using mega-damage materials. They were given District of Columbia status from the NAA, provided that they help NEMA by supplying it with equipment, weapons, and personnel.
Construction of Diamon City, named in honor of Mark Diamon the First (an old man by this time, but still alive) despite his embarrassed protests, began in late 2035, and would be completed in 2045, thanks to the booming technological era of the Golden Age. At the same time, beneath Diamon City, a military complex was being built, which would supplement the city’s power and resource needs, containing hydroponic gardens, areas for raising livestock, producing machines, weapons, armor, and similar. To help coordinate this, the I.D.F. (along with KR) designed their own version of A.R.C.H.I.E. 1, and named it Harvey in honor of the mayor of Diamon City, who was (and still is) a good friend to the heads of both groups.
The complex would be built on a massive scale, and not entirely finished until 2065. The purpose of it would be to house civilians and function as a fully defendable, impregnable bunker from which they could, if necessary, wait out the Cataclysm and return to the surface (a land ark of sorts). The manufacturing facilities, along with the livestock and hydroponic gardens, would be capable of supporting an army (and population) of nearly ten million. This does not include the city’s capabilities which can support all of those who live within the city proper.
To further prepare for the cataclysm, the I.D.F. and KR designed a massive force field that would protect the entire city from the upcoming devastation. The technology was experimental, but worked on smaller scales (the original six had brought back a Naruni force field belt), and the full size version proved to be viable. A geothermal power plant was built in the underground complex, along with three cold fusion power plants (a recent breakthrough for KR) to replace the three nuclear power plants they possessed as well as help offset the power consumption of the force field.
The I.D.F. and KR’s final (public) means to prepare for the cataclysm would be to build a space station, nicknamed Defending Knight, a mix of I.D.F. and KR’s names, which would be finished ten years later. At the same time, a secret, underground military base, on the scale of the Lone Star Complex, is built forty miles south of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and would come to house the next generation of A.I. computer, named Charlie. This base would be intended to help NEMA in the upcoming cataclysm, just like Diamon City, but would not play a role in NEMA’s survival.
When the two South American nations would strike at each with a very limited exchange of outdated nuclear weapons over the Glitter Boy incident on December 22, 2098, Diamon City would activate the force field designed to protect the city and its inhabitants from the upcoming upheaval. The timing of this would be a major coincidence, as the same time as the switch was thrown, the ley lines erupted, and interacted with the machinery in surprising, new ways. Just like The Republic of Japan, Diamon City would find itself in a white limbo for a period of three days.
The population of Diamon City, most of which were psychic, supernatural or practitioners of magic, were not horrified by this turn of events and did their best to calm those who were not psychic, supernatural or practitioners of magic. They did all detect a massive, supernatural being but could not identify what, or who, it was, but did pick up a feeling of calm and safety. The three days in limbo would be the equivalent of two-hundred and eighty years (280), reappearing in 2378 C.E. (90 P.A. by the Coalitions’ calendar).
What's wrong with building a city there after the fact?
You do realize, and not to rag on you or anything, but your city would have like the largest human population in north america? That seems incredibly out of place. Also, it says in temporal magic that going BACK in time doesn't really work. Also, to traverse the amount of territory that is featured in all the world books, unless they had some rather scary gear would take an INSANE amount of time. Not that your idea isn't bad, because everyone has the right to do what they please with their own games but as with palladium standard it seems to be remarkably....convienent.
Just my taste in stuff, but I would like to play this campaign
from the very second, when the city arrives to Rifts Earth.
Because after it, any canon "history" goes out of the window.
Adios
KLM
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Small font: use ctrl+c and copy it, so you can read. But since it is in small fonts, it is not important. I am not a NE salesperson.
you know this is what i like best about rifts, who says that the US military( or most of them ) wouldnt just head towards chi-town and join up with them
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Prince Artemis wrote:What's wrong with building a city there after the fact?
You do realize, and not to rag on you or anything, but your city would have like the largest human population in north america? That seems incredibly out of place. Also, it says in temporal magic that going BACK in time doesn't really work. Also, to traverse the amount of territory that is featured in all the world books, unless they had some rather scary gear would take an INSANE amount of time. Not that your idea isn't bad, because everyone has the right to do what they please with their own games but as with palladium standard it seems to be remarkably....convienent.
Temporal magic, true, but this was before Rifts England (I plead ignorance ) However, it could also be a parallel universe they went into, so no real time travel involved
First, I need to agree that the size of the military compared to the total population does not make sense not for a regular pre-rifts City in North America. Keep in mind this city would be one city as a part of a larger country in which large military forces would normally reside on large military bases. The argument was made that people may have geared up and tooled up into a larger military force rapidly due to the circumstances of being rifted into such a hostile environment, but that would be an unlikely scenario. In the shock of a normal city being rifted into that environment, there would be panic, people not believing that that’s where they are, people trying to leave the city to find loved ones in other locations, it would be brutal. They would need the manufacturing capabilities to produce weapon systems and the logistical support for those platforms. Granted by 2090 something manufacturing may be more decentralized and universal such as the use of additive manufacturing techniques and the city may be able to shift gears from whatever its normal production is into military systems. But this would also require a certain percentage of the population to be working on those projects. You would also need those who are able to train your military, which is a much more complicated project than most people would give credit to when you’re talking from the ground up. The best an independent city like this would have would be a National Guard Armory and maybe since it’s a larger city an air National Guard with some pilots plus some veterans and civilian pilots That could be called on. It would make more sense if you would look at major military installations in that area and have the military installation along with the surrounding cities that always pop up around every military base to be what rifted. You would have a base of already trained and equipped , military personnel, a city that was already geared economically to support the military base, and a population used to having that kind of relationship. That being said you’re 30/30/40 split also doesn’t make sense in such a short amount of time. The psychics could be explained if something about the process of being rifted caused many of the people to develop these abilities. But how is 30% of the military forces magic users when they’ve only been on rifts earth for 19 years? You’re talking about a city with such a huge population that it would have rewritten the history of rift earth up to this point. A city that has been cut off from higher forms of government requiring the local government to take charge and try to get that many people moving in the same direction. Part of your history is going to need to include some kind of heroic leadership figures that were able to do this. But a population that big would end up spreading out from the city rather quickly. You need to be able to feed that population, does the city have the infrastructure for internal sanitation? Sewage and things of that nature are pumped out of the city to larger treatment plants that the city would now be cut off from. You also wouldn’t need a full-blown navy just from being on the Tennessee river would likely have an equivalent to what people call a green navy or green water navy. Which would be an offshoot of your ground forces, most people don’t know this, but the army has more boats than the navy does. This also means you don’t need marines as a separate branch. Overall, I think the issue you’re having is of scale, it’s just too big without completely rewriting the story of rift where the city becomes the central figure. Unless that’s the goal of this project, in which by all means. If you’re willing to shift locations, there’s Fort Bragg, North Carolina home of the 82nd airborne division and headquarters for special operations command. That military base along with the surrounding civilian infrastructure could make a good basis for this. You could also make up that a new military base or an existing military base in Tennessee was bolstered in 60 or 70 years between now and when it was rifted away. That would make it a new military installation with new infrastructure buildup around it, which would explain a lot of automation of systems, which would also explain the large percentage of your population being military. Some kind of joint army/Air Force/NEMA installation would give you everything you needed. But again having all four branches would be something you would see if an entire nation was transported not just one city, and you would need to explain the large influx of Magic users. Again, if you’re willing to switch locations having this occur someplace further to the west, instead of the south, they could have taken in a lot of refugees from Tolkien after the Coalition attacked. Just try to think about where you want this to go and how it’s going to affect the current canon history of rifts earth, considering that it arrived sometime in the past from current events. Also keep in mind human behavior in large groups. I believe DB of North America, talked about population in North America and that could give you a good reference to how big of a population effect a single city bringing in that many people would have.
Not meaning to beat up your idea, I just hope these help.
davidhanchett wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2024 2:57 pm
Not meaning to beat up your idea, I just hope these help.
No offense, but you responded to an 18 year old post, from a forum user who, when you click their name to see their activity, hasn't been on the board in 5 years.
)
Sorry Yendor not picking on you or gaby in any way. gaby is our resident 'rift in' expert.
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