I’ve worked up a first pass of Distro Town setting.
Running with the idea of the Apocalypse creating a great bounty. Then I started researching the giant retailer distribution centers.
This is what I’ve got so far, and I would love some suggestions for it.
Feel free to comment on the doc, and I’ll update it as we go!
What’s starting to go bad, despite its packaging? Is anyone doing anything about it? Has anyone gotten sick yet?
In a land of overwhelming surplus, what do you use for currency? When was the last time you went outside? (You totally need a brand name name list.) The other distro centers are right there on the map, have you heard from any of them?
Or do you even need currency? The only things of value are the things that can’t be found in the ‘house. And a brand name list would be great…
Who has monopolized what areas/goods? Why can’t anyone monopolize goods or areas?
How easy is it to find things? Is it organized by department? By size?
Are there any predators in there? (People or otherwise?)
I’m picturing different gangs controlling different parts of the store. Sure, you can get wine by the barrel, but you gotta deal with Meat’s crew and you gotta cross through frozen foods.
So there are several holdings inside one continuous space, basically?
John Machin You tell me, either holdings in different (very close) buildings or different subsections, or holdings just outside the warehouse areas.
I would imagine that the warehouses them selves are very hard to make secure, just with being completely surrounded by the thin doors of docking bays.
I think it is better to have open questions and answer them with your players, then to make the decisions up front.
A friend of mine commented that the idea was similar to what happened in the renascence, just post the black plague. With a big chunk of the population wiped out, there was a huge surplus, allowing a period of ease where people had the freedom to create and think.
Nathan Black: I like the idea of several holdings inside one continuous space – I am tinkering with an idea (stolen from my wife…) called ‘The Understate’ which might have a similar spatial (c.f. geographical) context to the Distro/Apocalypse Walmart.
It has an oddly pleasing relation to old school dungeons (ala Caves of Chaos) that amuses me too. 🙂
What area of the warehouse is taboo, and why?
I so want to be a driver with a forklift or a chopper with a gang on Segues.