KEY

SAFETY

WASTELAND — The city experiences extremely high levels of crime and has no effective law enforcement body. The area surrounding the city is incredibly dangerous and 'unclaimed', meaning no rule of law has been established at all. The city essentially exists in the wasteland. The city is sometimes attacked by outside forces. A person living in this city would be accustomed to self-defence measures, and would probably make a living doing very rough-and-tumble work.

LOW — The city experiences very high levels of crime, but has some form of law enforcement. The areas outside of the city are patrolled and 'claimed', meaning a general rule of law has been established. These areas are still unsafe to travel alone, however, as bandit and Eldritch attacks are still a very present threat. Individuals in these cities exist in a perpetual state of fear, and rarely have a quiet night.

MEDIUM — The city experiences high levels of crime, but has an semi-effective law enforcement body. The areas outside of the city are frequently patrolled and are sometimes safe to travel alone in. A consistent rule of law has been established, but enforcement is often to be desired. Eldritch or bandit attacks are rare. A person could reasonably get by on their own and live a decent, quiet life in one of these communities.

HIGH — The city experiences some crime, but has a very effective law enforcement body. The areas outside of the city are incredibly safe. Anyone living in this area can expect a peaceful life.

INDUSTRIALISATION

WASTELAND — The city experiences no form of industry whatsoever. Any goods produced are likely made in a home workshop or some other form of DIY-production. Waged labor is rare in these communities. Most people work dangerous wasteland jobs like mercenary work, scavenging, tinkering, or even raiding. Service-based jobs are rare and usually performed by business owners. Social classes are nonexistent in these communities.

LOW — The city has some form of industry, usually consisting of small agricultural or resource extraction businesses. Waged labor exists in some areas. These communities do not have any factories, and instead produce goods in small workshops. Most people are still wasteland types, working as mercenaries, scavengers, explorers, and other dangerous professions. Social classes are very blurred in these communities.

MEDIUM — The city has a wider range of industry, including some small factories. Companies and waged laborers exist in these communities and employ a significant portion of the population. Most people work on farms, in mines or logging camps, or in a small factory. Others work in company offices or service-based jobs for a local business owner. Mercenaries, scavengers, and others also find a living in these communities, though they are a minority. Social classes have begun to emerge in these communities, separating the haves from have-nots.

HIGH — The city has fully industrialised, boasting large factories. Social classes have begun to appear, birthing a working class, the managerial elite, and the wealthy. The vast majority of people (the working class) work in some form of a factory or logistics center, while a smaller portion of the population may work in a low-level management position, a service-based job, or other form of waged employment that pays better.

CITY TYPE

WASTELAND TOWN — Unincorporated communities existing within the primitive barriers of the influences of the Coalition. These are commonplace amongst colonial lands that were recently incorporated. Wasteland towns can have a variety of structures ranging from nomadic to sedentary enclaves. These towns typically provide a grain tax in exchange for Coalition protection.

FRONTIER OUTPOST — The border between the plains and Coalition territory is infinitely vast and to protect border settlements from marauding midwestern droves, frontier outposts exist to allow for quick response strikes from a local garrison. These settlements also function as trade nodes which then funnel goods inwards, thus frontier outposts are commonplace along tributaries of the Mississippi.

SETTLEMENT — Developed land typical of the interior of the Coalition, although still small enough to be considered “rural”, usually founded by ambitious entrepreneurs or reclaimers hoping to resuscitate pre-Flash ghost towns. These towns typically produce basic electricity and are constructed of decent material, comparisons can be drawn to the frontier towns of the 19th century.

CITY — A settlement of a greater make, composed of high quality material and can possess running water and electricity. A city classification is awarded to most barge societies and each is essential for establishing Coalition trade authority over the Great Lakes.

LARGE CITY — Constructed cities of major importance, population centers forged with sweat and blood. These cities are constructed usually from a mainland structure out of brick and concrete, then accompanied by a barge attachment typically. These larger cities have the economic capacity to support basic modern amenities and are typically found coalesced on major maritime routes.

URBAN CENTRE — Urban centres are reclaimed cities from the ash and the exclaves of survivors that sheltered under its rubble, now restored. These cities are large enough to support boroughs and hold the vast majority of the industrial capacity within the Coalition itself and exist as apex centres of administrative control for the entire government.

SPECIAL — Settlement with conditions unique compared to others, elaborated on within the settlement itself.

DISTRICT OF HAMILTON

Cities encompassed within the district of Hamilton.

PROVINCE OF ERIE

Cities encompassed within the province of Erie.

☆ Summerview

(by PoweringTaxEvasion)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Corporatist

Summerview, based in the outskirt ruins of Toledo, is colloquially known as the “breadbasket of the Coalition.” Summerview produces, packages, and exports the largest amount of provisions and agricultural goods in the Coalition by a wide margin, and is one of the most agriculturally dependent settlements in the Great Lakes. It, like its neighbor Cleveland, experiences limited industry, but in lieu of the massive steel mills and textile factories of Cleveland, it operates granaries, breweries, canneries, and other provisions-based industry. The majority of Summerview’s economy is in some way or the other influenced by the food trade, and the city’s industrial might is dedicated to the storage and packaging of the provisions it grows. Most Coalition settlements and various corporations  purchase their food stores from Summerview.

Summerview, despite its status as one of the Coalition’s most prominent holdings, is mostly inhabited by people coming from or descendant to non-Coalition wastelander families. Summerview’s government has leveraged itself as one of the most crucial settlements in the Coalition through a strange, medieval-esque neo-Feudal system, where the government and militia provide fertile land and protection from opportunistic raider gangs and violent tribals to wastelanders or the descendants of wastelanders in exchange for their agricultural work. The wastelanders living this feudal system primarily survive off of self subsistence, where they grow as much produce as they can and survive through the year based on that, while the government takes their remaining food stores and extra produce in exchange for their protection and property. Many of these farms also produce a variety of common animals, from horses, to sheep, goats, rabbits, cows, honey bees, pigs, chickens, and more. Thanks to the efforts of Summerview’s militia, the city’s agriculturally focused outskirts are predominantly more safe when compared to the wasteland around it, only being minorly plagued by thieves and scavengers, which helps to guarantee the loyalty of the wastelanders that farm on behalf of the city. This system has proven itself as massively successful, and is the reason Summerview is the primary food producer of the Coalition. 

Summerview’s feudalistic agriculture system goes hand in hand with the history of its foundation as a Coalition city. Summerview was originally founded in the early 2120’s by settlers from the barge Saint Lucia, as well as the freighters Perrysberg and Cedar, who made their nestings in the outskirts of the ruined old-world city of Toledo. Unlike other Coalition predecessor-cities, the settlers who founded Summerview were unusually willing to work alongside and in the benefit of the surviving post-Flash population of Toledo and its surrounding counties. Instead of warring out or blatantly subjugating the mainlanders they met, like other Coalition cities might have, Summerview’s precursors instead melded these survivors into their very society, and today, they make up Summerview’s agricultural caste.

Despite the obvious effectiveness of Summerview’s feudal system and its strong links to the city’s history, there are prominent misgivings. The old-growth, barge-and-freighter-originate Coalition families that operate most of Summerview’s government view these farmers as non-Coalition, and thus, undeserving to enter the higher echelons of Summerview’s government, militia, and industry. Although obvious unfairness exists in Summerview’s feudal network, the conditions, relative safety, and genuine sustainability of the feudal system has led there to be only minor dissent from the people who actually operate these farms, most of which were either born and raised into this caste, or are unwilling to oppose Summerview’s government out of fear or contentment. Most of the wastelanders who work Summerview’s farms and are not content with their position have turned to immigration to other Coalition settlements or enlistment into foreign businesses to try to uplift themselves, which has led to a minor diaspora of Summerview-originate agricultural workers across the Coalition and Rust Belt Wasteland.

Summerview’s industrial sector, which is located entirely in the ruins of pre-war Toledo, is primarily operated by historically Coalition-bred Summerview natives, or inter-Coalition migrant citizens, who have significantly better social advancement opportunities compared to their wastelander counterparts. Summerview, along with its primarily food-based industrial economy, houses one of the largest ports in the Coalition. Summerview’s status as the highest exporter of provision goods in the Coalition has caused it—and even other settlements - to heavily invest in the reconstruction and continued development of Toledo Harbor—which many wastelanders or ex-agricultural workers work in as a gateway into higher-paying and higher-caste industrial work. Trade and commerce from other regions make up another large sect of Summerview’s economy, as it is one of the most major far-south Coalition settlements, which gives it access to markets, immigrants, and caravan companies hailing from the Northeastern Union, Southern Union, Rust Belt Wasteland, and Free Appalachia. The leaders of Summerview’s industrial sector, along with other high-priority economic overseers, are also the leaders of Summerview’s government, as the city operates a sort-of corporatist oligarchy, wherein the prominent businessmen, militia officers, and corporate entities of the city convene to decide policy and other political matters of the city. Summerview’s militia, or Saint Lucia's Legion, or simply "The Legion," occupy huge importance in Summerview’s government when compared to other Coalition city-states, since they act as the protection (from high-profile wasteland raider organisations) for Summerview’s wasteland agricultural caste. 

The city’s position as the most major agricultural production center in the Coalition has seen it additionally bolster itself as the Coalition’s capital and number one producer of both tobacco and alcohol. Wastelander-operated farms in Summerview have been noted to engage in the production of tobacco, which they send to processing plants and smokeries in inner-Toledo for shipment across the Coalition. Most Coalition cigarette and cigar brands, and even some Northeastern ones source their tobacco from Summerview, with Bargetown’s own Puffin  brand purchasing its tobacco from merchants in Summerview before hand-rolling them inside of Bargetown itself. Liquor production is also equally as prominent in Summerview, with breweries in Summerview’s industrial heart acquiring wastelander grown grains and vegetables from the government to be fermented, distilled, bottled, and eventually sold to buyers across the Coalition. Summerview’s high-profile production of cigarettes and liquor has developed a sort of “vice culture,” wherein a majority of its inhabitants partake in either, or both alcohol and nicotine, which is genuinely encouraged by the fact that these goods are disproportionately cheaper to Summerview buyers, who are offered local discounts and spared from expensive cross-lake shipping costs. Summerview’s “vice culture” has grown to such an extent that the inhabitants of the city are actually stereotyped across the Coalition as more prone to addiction then their counterparts and especially engageful in liquor and tobacco.

A massive, months-long battle with the Midwestern Union which ended with a Coalition victory ended recently in Summerview. It led to the outright obliteration of Summerview's industrial sector, though, the agricultural industry remains.

Cape Dreyfus

(by Burtyu)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: SPECIAL (PENAL COLONY)

GOVERNMENT: Hamilton Penal Colony

Established as a penal colony in the mid-2140’s by the administration in Hamilton, this small settlement on the southern coast of Ontario has always had a disproportionate impact on the rest of the Coalition, this tied to the prisoners housed within. These prisoners often consist of dissidents from all across the Great Lakes region, primarily those of high-status, or debtors, as outright killing them couldn’t be an immediate response. Graced with the present of former, and present enlightened thinkers of the post-Flash world, Dreyfus has very much an unrecognised forum of progressive, and borderline radical thought. Smuggled from the settlement in the way of ‘underground’ newspapers, several key uprisings could be tied to the ideals first founded in the Cape. The conditions of the prisoners are surprisingly good, being offered rations and warm clothes in the winter—but that’s about it. Civil liberties and communication is limited, but the occasional letter can be sent from inside. 

Perhaps the most dominating portion of the settlement is a large lighthouse erected on the highest ‘peak’ of the cape, important in guiding ships around the unusual horn in which the settlement sits on, and the few ‘graced’ prisoners are tasked with manning it. As for industry, the Cape officially prints the Coalition’s standardised manuals and law books that are distributed in the capital—officially penned as a way to try and conform their ‘esteemed guests’ to the status-quo. The architecture overall consists of block-houses and several printing ‘factories’ that all reside on the same hill of the lighthouse, the foot of the cape being blocked off with barbed wire fencing.

As for the actual ‘force’ that occupies Dreyfus, a miniscule garrison consisting of Hamilton’s own guard occupies the lighthouse itself, and induces loose restrictions on the seemingly ‘docile’ workers of the colony. If you’re considered a failure, you’ll most likely be sent to the Cape—which is considered mostly as a backwater by the common citizen and guardsman.

Middenhaven

(by PenguinM4n)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Militia Council

Being another port city, Middenhaven were immediately met with various Traders Guilds looking to invest, opening their doors for their wealth to flood in. This wealth didn't funnel down towards their ever-increasing population, however—instead, it funneled right into the hands of the militia. Eventually and over the course of years, the threats that accosted the town subsided, at least somewhat. With stockpiles of arms and a surplus of soldiers without much to do, Middenhaven turned to the only logical conclusion, that being to export their militia to any who would and could purchase them.

Leading up to the Huron Wars, Middenhaven sold their soldiers to serve within other towns, becoming the premier mercenary guild within the Coalition, despite how small they are. Small bands of militiamen were shipped off to fight underneath other Coalition towns, often smaller frontier towns without adequate protection past an armed civilian populace. This continued throughout the Huron Wars, with Middenhaven not directly participating by sending swaths of their militia, but rather, opening it for the highest bidder. Many of their soldiers are sent to plug the gaps in the frontlines, under the request and payment of militia commanders and often out of their own pocket. They grew a reputation of being unorthodox and savage, due to being unaccustomed to the rules of warfare that a certain militia may possess while under their service.

Today, Middenhaven stagnates following the Panic, their militia growing complacent without a war to fight, and their usual buyers growing poorer and unable to purchase. With the onset of the war with the Midwestern Union, Middenhaven sees its militia form properly for the first time as a fighting force considering the threats at hand, with detachments being sent towards the front in Summerview to fight, with Summerview standing between them and destruction.

Pelee Island

(by vrw0we)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Oligarchy

The shining beacon on Lake Erie never quite dimmed. Rather, it took the sideline after November 1st. As Conclave delegates from their various cities, Midwest and East, returned and were recalled, the citizenry of Pelee Island, the Coalition’s finest city—harboring a rudimentary power grid, new districts of brick and stone, and many of the Coalition’s most entrenched political dynasties, feared an occupation by either side in the war. To spare the seat of power from artillery duels, naval shelling, or Daisy Gas flooding, Pelee’s various elite families convened. Ultimately, they decided on a course of neutrality, for Pelee Island would be declared an “open city”—that is, it would remain peaceful to both sides of the fractured Coalition. Being the great city upon the hill, that metaphorical swampland in which the American capitol was built, a backwater with no political ties, Pelee Island’s neutral stance among the split Coalition still retains its great power.

The 1st Infantry Regiment, the Honor Guard, the ceremonial regiment raised to defend Pelee Island, continues to maintain order in Pelee’s streets and ports. Life continues as usual in Pelee—the arts are still patroned, the newspapers are delivered, and laborers continue to work. Once the vital trade corridor between the Midwestern industrial heartland and the Eastern political powerhouse, Pelee Island faces unintentional austerity as the Sword Fleet clashes endlessly with the East’s fragmented navies, the ships destined for its ports blockaded by the restless fighting. One less loaf of bread here, a few more sewn up clothes for the winter, or perhaps less wood for the mills. No General from the Midwest and no Brigadier from the East, however, would willingly deprive Pelee of its trade. Pelee Island carries a reverence about it, for to strike the symbol of former unity in the Great Lakes would be a great shame.

Both the Midwest and the East understand the importance of Pelee Island’s favor—for such would provide them legitimacy to their causes, many of the most powerful families in the Coalition having ties or originating from Pelee. Whenever the MWU and the GLCE need to meet, they do it on neutral ground, in Pelee. If one side were to gain the blessing of Pelee, it would signal their state as the true continuation of the Coalition—leading to summits in Pelee having an overbearing amount of gifts and cordiality towards the various dynasties from Midwest and East. Yet, the oligarchy of Pelee have not yet taken a stance in any direction, seemingly fully intent on maintaining their nonaligned course. Whatever the next trifling disruption, whatever might challenge the divided Coalition, shake it up, Pelee Island’s influential bloodlines stand ready to safeguard their city from the worst of it, a beacon to the best the Great Lakes has to offer even in the most trying of times. Pelee will remain afloat by old money with the citizenry of the Coalition’s largest city ever unaware.

Saint Michael

(by zxure)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Theocracy

Saint Michael is one of the most important cities for Catholicism in the Wasteland. The city is the oldest existing settlement in the Coalition, and the first to ever be built on land. According to the faithful, the city was settled by starving survivors who were guided by Michael the Archangel; after leading them from the molten ruins of Detroit, Saint Michael supposedly killed a demon that had been hunting the survivors. The spot where this battle took place is now the site of a massive, gothic-style cathedral which the city is named after. Thousands of pilgrims travel from across the wastes each year to pray for strength and courage at this site, making the city a hub for travelers. 

The city is not only important because of its legendary cathedral. Because it houses one of the only active seminaries left in the known wasteland, St. Michael has become a center of education and teaching for the post-Flash Catholic Church. Each year, hundreds of priests are dispatched from the city across the wastes, and the city’s bishop acts as a sort of “pope pro tempore” to lead the Catholic faith until the Vatican can be contacted once again. The city is inhabited mostly by devout Catholics, although many other Christians, Muslims, and Jewish people also call the city home, as it operates as a “haven for all faiths” and openly permits other religious organisations to operate in its borders.

Though the city is incredibly religious, it is run by a government composed primarily of lay people who collaborate with the Church; because of this, the city chooses not to infringe on the individual rights of its citizens, and openly allows many practices which may be forbidden by the church. The city also refuses to operate a permanent militia; instead, in times of great need, it raises an “army of the faithful” to defend its interests. The city operates many “refuges” for orphans, the poor, the sick, and even mutants. For many, Saint Michael is a refuge from hatred and intolerance, and the Church has rarely abused those under its care.

Not all is as it seems in Saint Michael, however. The Church goes to great lengths to protect those in its care and the power it holds—the bishop and his underlings are not afraid to use their influence as religious leaders to strong-arm politicians, tycoons, military leaders, and even entire cities to bend to their will. Rumor has it that many Traders Guilds are in debt to the Church in some form, and many cities outright avoid confrontation with the Church altogether. Some even say the Church dispatches spies to infiltrate and influence the policies of other governments to benefit the city. In a time when religion is more prevalent than ever, the Church isn’t afraid to use its power to pull strings and manipulate others to get what it wants.

PROVINCE OF GEORGIA BAY

Cities encompassed within the province of Georgia Bay.

☆ Hope Bay

(by ???)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Social Democracy

Dum Spiro Spero. That motto roughly translating from latin to "while I breathe, I hope". The term was given meaning by Greek poet Theocritus (3rd Century BC), who wrote: "While there's life there's hope, and only the dead have none". Denizens of Hope Bay have taken the motto to heart and provided their own definitions to the phrase, some believing it represents the town’s resilience in the face of occupation, illness, and death. Others attribute the phrase to Hope Bay’s optimistic outlook on the future, believing that one day their town, the Coalition, and ultimately the world will one day achieve peace, reinforcing their highly progressive outlook in government.

Hope Bay is a social democratic society most often compared to the progressive old-world nations of Denmark, or Norway. Votes on legislation happen almost monthly, with the town holding no office of mayor or governor, relying on a city council, similar to how the Conclave is structured. To achieve the town’s self-proclaimed "utopia", Hope Bay has one of the largest relative militias of any coalition settlement, with every third resident in active service, and one of every two residents in the reserves. The town is also one of the only in the new world to offer entitlements to its citizens, impoverished individuals registered in the Spei Marines Reserves (Hope Bay's reserve militia) being offered tri-monthly stimulus checks. Hope Bay is far from perfect, but it, and its citizens, continue to aspire and build towards a more perfect, fairer future. Dum Spiro Spero.

Spruce Shoal

(by denofdoves)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Autocracy

Spruce Shoal is a small frontier settlement situated right on the border of the fallen Canadian Federation. The town in question is sat entirely and built off a single islet/rock, roughly 40 by 40 feet with a brick lighthouse in the center of it. The town acts as a security roadblock to the Parry sound, a bay which is home to bustling intercoastal trade and high traffic in and out. Prior to the Flash, Spruce Shoal was home to a tourist heavy lighthouse which was abandoned sometime in the 1940s, as traffic into the Parry sound wasn’t as high as anticipated. However, post-Flash traffic into the Parry sound had grown high due to swaths of people emigrating out of the cities into more rural areas to start anew. A Coalition entrepreneur by the name of Jim Bridger took this opportunity and seized the Spruce Shoal islet, evicting the two Canadians who resided in the lighthouse gift shop and claiming the islet as a territory of the Coalition. Bridger got into a legal dispute with the local Canadian municipality, the local government claiming that Bridger had illegally seized the territory claiming that the Coalition has no place on the Canadian frontier, and that it had been previously claimed and mapped by them. 

Bridger would go on to request a nearby patrolling Coalition expeditionary force to protect Spruce Shoal for the grand sum of twenty northeastern dollars. They obliged, and when the Canadian local government showed up to evict Bridger they were forced to abandon the plan due to the comical amount of Coalition soldiers stationed at the islet, who had grown accustomed to the serene nature of the islet. The local government would go on to send a complaint to the Federal Canadian government, which was preoccupied with the multiple separatist movements in Quebec and Newfoundland. Needless to say, the complaint went ignored and Bridger would go on to build a decently sized settlement with its economy built off of taxing ships that entered the Parry sound. 

PROVINCE OF HURON

Cities encompassed within the province of Huron.

☆ Nash

(by zxure)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: WASTELAND

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Nonexistent

Nash has been called many things: the “city of the savages,” the capital of the Huroni peoples, and even a utopia. At various times in history, Nash was all of these things; now, it can only be called Atlantis—a paradise lost beneath the waves of warfare and greed.

The story of Nash begins with a floating city—a small freighter converted into a settlement for a hundred and five people called Aberdeen Green. Though this life was safe, its inhabitants quickly grew tired of their confining lifestyle—rumors of a “promised land” in the North, untouched by radiation, infected its citizens with the hope they could once again live on land. After only a year on the lakes, the boat was scuttled outside of Toronto and its inhabitants departed north in search of their Mecca. They were never heard from again by the rest of the floating cities.

Unbeknownst to the floating cities, the people of Aberdeen Green did find a promised land—a small, isolated portion of the wilderness largely untouched by nuclear fallout and the ensuing chaos. Quietly, these people built a lifestyle for themselves—a welcoming community which shared all its resources and supported every member. Soon, they were joined by exiles from the newfound Northeastern Union, strange green men, and all sorts of broken, strange, and tired people who had only one thing in common: a hope for a better life.

These people later become the Huronis, or at least a sect of them. Nash became one of the first Huroni settlements, and helped establish the language and principles the many peoples of Huron enshrine in their lives today. 

The rest of the story of Nash is just as strange as its origins. The city grew and became a hub for the Huroni peoples—though few in the Coalition knew of its existence by the time their Golden Age began, its size was double the largest city the Coalition had. While Coalition cities struggled to industrialise and establish themselves on land, Nash prospered as a city where no one starved and everyone had a place to sleep. When it was finally “discovered” by Coalition surveyors in the mid 2130s, it was an industrialising behemoth of a city. Some say that reports of Nash directly inspired the Coalition’s greatest politicians to begin the process of industrialisation themselves. By the mid 2140s, it had become a crossroads between the Huroni peoples of the far north, and the Coaliton settlers of the lakes. Thousands traveled through the city daily to venture North or head south to do business. It became a hodgepodge of cultures, and one of the few cities that enjoyed stable relations between mutants and humans. Nash became the unofficial capital of the Huroni peoples, and was beloved by all for its almost fantastical ways.

No paradise is eternal, though, save for Heaven. Nash continued to prosper as a hub of northern trade and cultural exchange until the Huron Wars, when it became the seat of the Huroni’s military council and was cut off from the Coalition. The war battered the city and drained it of its youth, like a vampire feeding on a helpless calf. By the end of the brutal conflict, the city had fallen into famine, most of its population had died or left, and only the barely alive and barely dead remained to pick up the pieces and bury the innumerable corpses. 

With few Huroni peoples left further north as well, traders and travelers alike stopped flowing into the city, and its factories shuttered from a lack of manpower and willing buyers. Nobody in the North was left to buy from Nash, and nobody in the South wanted to deal with a Huroni city. 

Nash was eventually forced to join the Coalition sometime in 2161, after it had fallen from the cleanest and safest city in the Great Lakes to a ghost town. Though it once rivaled Cleveland and Toronto in both size and political relevance, it had since become a graveyard—thus, the city was largely left out of the Coalition’s politics and was essentially left to die. Its remaining population, mostly traumatised Huronis and their families—accepted their grim fate as they watched their proverbial Atlantis sink beneath the waves.

Now, Nash is largely abandoned, save for a single, sparsely populated district of town. Rumor has it, however, that many of the conquered Huronis living in Coalition territory—a large, invisible population—have begun to flock back to the city. A revival of sorts has quietly begun, as the proud Peoples of Huron are said to quietly be rebuilding their tarnished legacy in the hidden paradise where it all began. 

The city of Nash is an enigma. A paradise amongst the wasteland was simply unthinkable, and yet it existed for a time—until the hubris of mankind and its violent nature devoured itself. It remains a strange example of what mankind can do when it cares for one another, and what it can do when it hates itself. Maybe the city will rise again, when the strange series of events that birthed this glorious city repeat. Or maybe there never will be another Nash, another paradise in the wastes.

Barrie

(by AiniDalleo)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Mixed Council

Barrie was a city of little note before the Flash, a quaint commuter and factory town resting on the shores of Lake Simcoe, overshadowed by Toronto to the south. Unlike many other cities in the wake of nuclear disaster and the ensuing collapse of civilisation, it did not fade into dust. Barrie survived the initial nuclear devastation of Canada, although barely. Its citizens: various industrialists, technocrats, and workers; as well as the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) garrison stationed within the city were shielded from direct bombardment, and the city soon became a place of refuge for those fleeing major population centers.

Initially a city of desperation and on the brink of collapse, Barrie’s resurgence came under the iron grip of surviving CAF officials and industrial leaders who established what they called the Barrie Provisional Authority (BPA) while they awaited the highly unlikely recovery of the Canadian Government. Assuming they were most likely one of the only cities left intact, Barrie became the BPA's one and only seat of power—a last-ditch attempt at preserving as close to pre-Flash order they could. Though they lacked the resources to reclaim Toronto or reassert control over the area that used to make up Simcoe County, the BPA was relentless in their goal of forging a stable, self-sufficient city-state from the ashes.

Life under the BPA was no democracy—Barrie was built on martial law and rigid hierarchy, effectively being a military junta. While its military leadership did allow for the organisation of supply chains, fortifications, and a functioning economy, the average citizen toiled under a strict and planned economy. Agriculture, weapons production, and industrialisation—especially in shipbuilding—became the city’s core enterprises. The city managed to maintain a modest but well-trained military force, fielding a militia composed of both CAF veterans and new conscripts, and equipped with salvaged C.A.F. weaponry as well as small patrol craft and fishing trawlers that ensured its control over Lake Simcoe and its resources.

Being located astonishingly inland from Lake Erie—the Coalition's core territory—the BPA was not contacted by the Great Lakes Coalition and its delegates until well into the 2120s. Both pleased and made ill at ease by the presence of a seemingly large and impressively organised post-Flash nation, the BPA's officials debated on accepting the offer from the Coalition—resources and exports in exchange for mutual protection and trade connections. After much debacle and discussion, along with keeping the Coalition's proposal hidden from its citizens for some time, the BPA finally made the decision to peacefully transition its form of governance from a military junta, and into a proper city-state ruled by a mixed council of both military and civilian officials, most commonly hailing from industrial backgrounds.

In the years following the establishment of a proper government, Barrie put its industrial production to use— establishing trade connections with its many northern neighbors and exporting goods and workers. Barrie’s power did not truly expand, however, until the aftermath of the Huron Wars. With the Huroni tribes warring against the Great Lakes Coalition, Barrie used its position on Lake Simcoe to its advantage, holding the line against the ravenous Huroni warbands with its experienced militia. After securing itself from Huroni assaults. Vying for near-colonial influence to expand its economic power in the region, Barrie's militia opted for a campaign of military interventions—though these interventions were far from altruistic. The cities and towns that found themselves on the brink of destruction were "saved" by Barrie’s forces, only to find themselves bound to the city through debt and obligation.

Today, Barrie is a power unto itself, a regional stronghold that has secured its influence over the former area of Simcoe County and beyond. Its military, industrial base, and colonial ambitions make it a force that few can ignore, and since the wars in Huron, Barrie has grown ever more thirsty for power and control in the region, ironically contradicting its proclamation of a "just and fair government" decades prior. Richmond, in particular, remains tethered to Barrie, indebted beyond measure for the aid it received in its darkest hour.

Parados

(by batboy & vrw0we)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Oligarchy

Being one of the more recently incorporated settlements, Parados is a subterranean mining settlement situated around the northwestern part of the Ontario peninsula. It grew from a decades-old network of trenches built during a forgotten prolonged local conflict in the early years of the Coalition. The settlement suffers from near-terrible living conditions due to surrounding land infertility, toxic underground fumes, and reliance on food imports from nearby towns in exchange for its mined deposits ranging from iron, but it boasts an innovative ventilation and filtration system to prevent its inhabitants from totally suffocating. It is also known for providing experts at trench or tunnel warfare ("tunnel rats") and civil engineering, along with a small but significant industry for producing a number of oxygen and gas masks to the Coalition.

Prior to its foundation, Parados acted as an outpost for the nearby quarry town of Warsburrow, a now extinct town. The town laid itself outside of the Coalition, but was pressured under its influence due to its reliance on the latter’s trade networks. Warsburrow’s network of old trenches were used by various Coalition armies during the Huron Wars. Instead of expanding the trenches, focus was more on the vast expansion of tunnel networks. It was a primary example of extended and out-of-control tunnel warfare, primarily pushed by the heavy usage of daisy gas in the zone, causing the ground above to be near inhospitable and poisoned. During this process, advanced ventilation techniques and equipment better suited to the underground environment became a must, and many soldiers had quickly adapted to the sustained subterranean warfare.

During the course of the war, massive explosions made by tunneler units reshaped the surrounding subterranean landscape and revealed untapped resource deposits, including iron.  During the Panic of ‘57, the population of Warsburrow could not sustain itself as by then the quarry had found itself running mostly dry, and hopes of trade became unreliable. Most of its population by then had become accustomed to the tunnels and the trench lines. Many families had simply migrated to the trench out of both necessity and to sustain manpower closer to the lines, many had simply carved out their own living under the growing subterranean living space they found themselves in. Scavenging supplies and mining out the newly discovered deposits had been far more profitable for the population. There’s enough that people remained in the newly minted Parados after the war, even the former autocratic government of Warsburrow was uprooted and moved to govern the new settlement, devolving into an oligarchy. The now derelict buildings of Warsburrow, and its quarry, would find itself cannibalised by its own offshoot settlement.

Richmond

(by AiniDalleo)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Military Junta

Richmond was never meant to be a settlement. Before the Flash, it was little more than scattered farming communities, old highways, and a few forgotten military installations hidden among the forests south of Lake Simcoe. In the years following the collapse, however, those ruins became more than relics—they became shelters, redoubts, and eventually, the foundations of something greater.

Founded by a couple dozen refugees fleeing bandits, marauders, nuclear fallout and civil collapse in the years and first few decades following the Flash, what set it apart from other newly-formed settlements was its singular purpose: survival at all costs. Richmond was built from the ground up as an improvised scrap settlement hidden deep in the woods, far from any potential plunderers. At the time, no one truly knew who first founded Richmond, or who officially ruled it. The people there had one thing in common—desperation. And in desperation they confided. 

Isolation can only last so long, however. Richmond’s survival strategy worked for an impressive number of decades, but increasingly worse wintertides came as the years passed, and eventually the settlement ran out of a means to produce food. Worse still, Richmond was not as forgotten as it had hoped. A newly-expanding Barrie had noticed the hidden community just as Richmond's settlers began their first proper expeditions to find a solution for their lack of food. Luckily, Barrie's officials only proposed a trade deal to the settlers—Richmond would export a number of its citizens to work in the factories of Barrie, and in turn, Barrie would provide the settlement with an adequate amount of food. Barrie, however, did not inform Richmond about the existence of the Great Lakes Coalition.

Things would take a turn for the worse for the already unlucky citizens of Richmond as the Huron Wars began to unfold. With no proper experience in warfare, diplomacy, or commerce, Richmond found itself unable to respond as Huroni warbands began to line up outside the forest surrounding Richmond. It had spent generations hiding from the world, and now the world was here to punish it. Unbeknownst to the settlers, this was planned entirely by Barrie and its militia. The Huroni warbands, already encroaching near Barrie's territory, were thrown off by Barrie's scouts which drew them into the direction of Richmond. Just as the Huroni warriors were about to strike the settlement, a detachment of Barrie's militia came in from behind and swiftly routed the Huronis. Now appearing to the citizens of Richmond like saviors and guardians, Barrie took advantage of this situation and signed a lucrative deal with Richmond's elders—as repayment for saving the settlement from guaranteed destruction, Richmond would allow for Barrie to extract resources in Richmond's territory, as well as allow for Barrie to build and upkeep production buildings and workshops in the settlement using its own citizens as labor force.

By word of mouth, news had eventually come to the Conclave that Barrie was exploiting a settlement for its economic gain—one not even admitted into the Coalition. Along with that, the citizens of Richmond themselves had found out for themselves the existence of the Coalition through interaction with Barrie's visiting citizens. The Conclave gave Barrie a slap on the wrist for not informing the rest of the Coalition first, but allowed for Barrie to continue its exploitation of Richmond on just one condition—that Richmond would be admitted into the Coalition as well. Richmond's citizens had become understandably outraged when they found out they were being essentially exploited, but there was nothing they could do. The deal had already been signed—they had been played.

Today, Richmond exists in a state of quiet but growing unrest. Richmond has not lost its identity entirely, and although its people unwillingly serve Barrie's interests, they have not forgotten the days of independence and tranquility in the forest. Beneath the surface, resentment festers, and Richmond stands as a city in waiting silent, and unwilling to be forgotten.

PROVINCE OF MAPLETON

Cities encompassed within the province of Mapleton.

☆ New Kitchener

(by AiniDalleo)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Technocracy

In the aftermath of the Flash, Kitchener emerged as a beacon of technological innovation within the Great Lakes Coalition. Prior to the Flash, along with its twin city Waterloo, it was renowned for its educational institutions, most notably the University of Waterloo. The university and its emphasis on engineering and technology played a key role in laying a robust foundation for the city's post-Flash resurgence, as what remained of the faculty, students, and engineers rallied to preserve and rebuild their technological heritage. 

Though the remnants of the University were at first skeptical of wastelanders and scavengers roaming through the interior of Ontario, they realised that they could mutually benefit each other—for their service in ridding the University's surrounding campus of Eldritch, these wastelanders would be acknowledged as helpful fellows and given the opportunity to live out the rest of their days within the comfortable confines of the campus. Upon declaring the University and its campus Eldritch-free in the early 2090s, the remnants of the University of Waterloo rebranded into the "Kitchener Institute of Technology" (KIT), dedicated to salvaging and advancing pre-Flash technology. As well as that, they also had a new goal in mind — to repopulate the lost city of Kitchener, and reclaim it for humanity's sake. 

In its preparations for reclaiming Kitchener, KIT became a rarely-seen hub for innovation, focusing on producing renewable energy from sources they could salvage and rebuild, water purification, and communication systems to establish a connection with the rest of Ontario—or perhaps, the world. The Institute's commitment to technological advancement attracted skilled individuals from across the Ontario wastes—those who previously held skills of high value in the pre-Flash world, though now reduced to scavenging wastelanders, were given a second chance to reignite their life's work. Fostering a newly established culture of innovation and collaboration, Kitchener's engineers developed a number of efficient wind turbines and solar panels, providing sustainable energy solutions that could power not their entire future research ambitions, but the city of Kitchener as well, once the time for its reclamation came to be.

The Institute's prosperity, however,  also made it a target. In the year of 2124, numerous marauder clans and bandits sought to seize the Institute's technological assets for themselves. Tragically, the Institute's main building and its campus were besieged for months by the barbarian wastelanders—though luckily enough, a Coalition envoy and his militia escort had reached the Institute just in time to relieve the siege. Everything seemed as if it was over for the hard-working researchers of the Institute—their dream of rebuilding Kitchener from the ground up was surely never to be achieved now. Fortunately, though, the envoy proposed a deal to the researchers: in exchange for supplying the Coalition with its technological goods, the Institute would be supplied with materials needed to resettle Kitchener and rebuild what was lost in the marauder siege. 

Since then, Kitchener has remained committed to the Coalition's vision of unity and progress, even through its most shaky moments. The city has shared its technological advancements with settlements across the entirety of the peninsula, supplying them with technological solutions ranging from agriculture to defence. It is common to see most, if not nearly all technological goods in Coalition cities marked as arriving from Kitchener. Besides dealing with technology, Kitchener also houses a Traders' Guild, the Breithaupt Guild. The guild has taken advantage of the city's strategic position in between the lakes Huron and Ontario, tolling all caravans and passengers heading to and from cities situated nearby each lake.

Kitchener's ruling class, in the post-Flash era, has evolved into a technocracy—a system of governance where scientists, engineers, and skilled technologists hold power. Known as the Consortium of Progress, this elite council composed of leading minds from all cornerstones of innovation rules over the city. Their authority is derived not from primogeniture or wealth but from expertise and their contributions to the city's survival and growth. Though it is difficult to become naturalised as an official resident of Kitchener, this does not mean that those foreign to the city are outcasts and classed as inferior. In fact, quite the opposite is present—the council encourages those emigrating to the city to offer their full capabilities to be accepted into society, be it as an engineer, or a simple janitor. A special emphasis is placed upon populist values, and the motto that it is only indolence that makes people undesirable, and that dedication to contributing to the common good is what defines a person's spirit. This does not necessarily mean that Kitchener's society is perfect, however—working in the city is taxing and heavily demanding, and those unable to keep up with the pace of their workplaces are shunned and left behind in the dust.

In essence, Kitchener's post-Flash identity is forged by its resilience and technological heritage, and its undying commitment to innovation. Throughout the years, the city has not only survived the challenges of the post-Flash era but has also become an impressive cornerstone of progress and hope within the Great Lakes Coalition.

Harrowstead

(by AiniDalleo)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Local Council

Situated along the fertile plains of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, west of the pre-Flash cities New Kitchener and Guelph, rests a humble community by the name of Harrowstead. Spread out across a dozen small farmsteads and villages, with its governing township, known as Mitchell situated beside an intersection of the Ontario Highway, the community primarily deals in crop production and livestock farming. Harrowstead was founded in the early spring of 2104 by a local farmer named Oscar Clarke, starting as a mere collaboration effort between a few impoverished farmsteads with the goal of improving their quality of life in the vast and empty plains. Its beginnings were peaceful as the numerous bandits and raiders across the wastes seemingly saw no interest in the backwater settlement, nor did they even know it existed. As such, the only threat the settlers had to stave off was the usual Eldritch roaming about every so often. The community prospered throughout the years, and with the only hazard being winter each year, it slowly grew, incorporating more farmsteads into it, re-establishing the vast array of pre-Flash underground aquifers, and finally making its most ambitious move, resettling Mitchell in the year 2127. Thanks to these efforts, a local government was finally formed, with the first election taking place a year later in 2128.

As Mitchell was reclaimed, so too were the roads around it. The settlers first cleared the southbound highway, sending out caravans here and there to find nearby settlements to trade with. After establishing a number of trade networks, Harrowstead would finally be approached by delegates of the Eastern Coalition in 2136 and shortly after become part of it, offering its capabilities as an agricultural production powerhouse in exchange for resources it lacked, further trade, and protection. Membership in the Coalition pushed it into a golden age as Harrowstead exported never before seen amounts of corn, wheat, and livestock. The population peaked at ~500 people, most being spread throughout the various villages and farmsteads, with only the wealthiest and most skilled able to live in the renovated houses of Mitchell, and grow fruits and vegetables in a vast array of greenhouses, some built with the help of reclaimed pre-Flash technology, ensuring year round-cultivation.

The community delivered on its promise of supplying the Eastern Coalition as the war in Huron began, being one of the key rations suppliers for various militias through its exports into Slagport. As the war came to a close and the years of rampant corruption and warfare unleashed their catharsis in the Panic of '57, Harrowstead felt a sharp decline in its economy as both its exports and imports came to a grinding halt due to the collapse of numerous Coalition settlements, and the near end of the Eastern Coalition itself. To avoid a complete economic crisis, the community restricted its export of agricultural goods to only Hamilton, Slagport, and nearby rural settlements in order to focus on its production so that it could avoid a harsh winter which could only be worsened by the Panic. As the Coalition began to recover, Harrowstead slowly opened up its trade once again, continuing its exports of various agricultural products and livestock throughout the settlements of the Eastern Coalition.

Today, the community is home is to ~450 people, a small decline in the years since the Panic, but nevertheless Harrowstead manages to keep the stomach of the Coalition well fed.

PROVINCE OF MUSKEGON

Cities encompassed within the province of Muskegon.

☆ Slagport

(by TrulyIndex)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Autocracy

Founded upon the old-world mines of a forgotten world, the initial settlers of Slagport were the very few that sought shelter in the shallow caverns. It wasn’t long before their worth was beyond that of just protection—the roots of Slagport lie deep in Coalition history, becoming the first major industrial hub. Its mines were revived once more as settlements began to rise, trade routes were established long ago and the port was soon to become its second greatest income. Raw material remains its largest output, with some ores and other wares making their way into its trade. Prior to November 1st, Slagport and the Mill were considered sister cities. Despite its success as one of the larger cities of The Coalition, it has constantly been plagued with issues. Primarily by a long lasting class divide between the workmen, administration of the various mines, militiamen, and the upper class. Not only has it been plagued with issues of the people, but due to the constant mining and breaking of old earth– it has come that many suffer a variety of lung issues. Smog fills the skies of Slagport, while most residents and settlers accustomed to it, most running trade routes or visiting are prone to complain about the stench and foul air.

The government of Slagport was initially founded upon a council, taking faces of each side to introduce new forms and ideologies. This council lasted for its earlier years, but faltered to the side as industrialisation settled in and the ties of the coalition became closer. Leaning more into an autocratic role, the Teague family holds their ties back to the very first council as claimed, Amelia Teague now serves as the current Overseer of Slagport’s Administration, Militia, and Government. Whereas the council served the people and such was often to lend an ear, the current leadership has left most of that behind. The fall of the council is debated to be caused by the first unionisation. When the conditions of the mines were questioned, many workers blamed safety and administration for its flaws. Those in the council remained complicit, with the likes of the upper class swaying both the militia and administration to turn a blind eye. 

The death of a worker is what finally broke the civility of the union, the complicity of the council was questioned once more and alas the idle strikebreakers were called upon by the militia and administration of the settlement. These men and women were initially nothing more than glorified guards, paid less than their militiamen counterparts but nevertheless a cog in the machine. Boots, Batons, and Helms adorn the militiamen and strikebreakers of Slagport, however these served little during the first riots. The blunt weapons of strikebreakers proved ineffective against the grizzled miners, where pickaxes that broke stone and slate would be swung upon helms—the death of a foreman is what brought things to an end. Strikebreakers—backed by the militia, armed with shotguns and submachine guns—stormed the mines, union buildings, and council all in one fell swoop. The Teague family, chosen by a select committee vote, has led ever since. 

With this, the Overseer of Slagport has initiated a near Martial Law. With the regime of leadership falling upon their family and those descending, the Administration is the only other aspect of control. With most reliant on the mines and port, it has thus turned into a small council of its own. All changes and adjustments often trickle down from the Overseer down to Administration and so forth to be enforced by Strikebreakers and militiamen alike. As such a hierarchy has come into play, with the workers at its lowest—Strikebreakers and militiamen next, followed by Administration, the wealthy, and the Teague Family. Not only has a near martial law been enacted by administration, propaganda has stormed the front alongside force, with many workers coming to understand the motto of "Do Your Part, Lest We Fall."

Baie de Poré

(by Revacholiere)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Worker Commune

Despite its reliance on maritime trade and transportation of goods across the two halves of the former Coalition, Baie de Poré is an entirely grounded city based on the eastern shore of the Ontario peninsula. Established in the mid 2100s, much of its prosperity is owed to the needs of the early and later the Golden Age Coalition. Responsible for shipping all sorts of supplies across Lake Huron and to the cities on the Michigan Peninsula, then back, the city had minimal involvement in the conflicts surrounding it. Even during the infamous Huron War, its population was deemed exempt from deployment in return for day and night logistics work for the Unified Expeditionary Force.

Even then, the city was no slice of heaven. Much of its ruling class openly behaved in slothful and antagonistic ways towards the workers that filled their pockets—namely the men and women who worked on the waters. In wake of the Panic, the Fisherman’s Union was formed, consisting of all those involved in bringing Baie de Poré its bread and butter. The cargo haulers, the fishermen, the ship drivers and many others found themselves under an umbrella. Despite the aristocracy’s attempts to subdue the faction’s radical efforts, they soon found themselves at the guns of an equally discontent army.

Overthrown due to the lack of decisive action during the Midwestern Crisis, the ruling class and the mayoral institutions it hid behind dissipated in a day. Economically handicapped by the secession of the new force across the pond and equally afraid of an invasion on their doorstep, the army and union formed a pact—the union will govern in a communal manner, while the army will act as the vanguard of the city and be awarded additional rations.  

Many call Baie de Poré the most nationalistic city in the Coalition. Its dedication to absorbing the Midwest back into the fold is unmatched, so much so that a strain of paranoia had infected much of its society. Driven hungry by an ever worsening economy and furious by the bloodshed of their fellow countrymen, the residents of this city often publicly execute perceived sympathisers to the Midwest. On the streets, it is the fisherman that polices his community and punishes lawbreakers.

The only thing that keeps the city from declaring bankruptcy is extensive funding from Hamilton, both due to a propaganda campaign that had captured the hearts and minds of many and its status as a fortress on the frontlines. Much of its outer buildings had been covered by overarching walls of steel and scrap, its population stands extensively educated in the techniques of urban guerilla warfare and its army is wholly energised to even bring the fight to the New Model Army.

Moore

(by batboy)

POPULATION: Low

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: FRONTIER OUTPOST

GOVERNMENT: Mercantile Council

Moore is a growing backwater trading hub and resort formed in the 2090s, originating from humble rest stops and survivalist shelters. The economy of Moore is mostly anchored on lying at the crossroads for passing trading caravans and merchant transports that traffic goods to the north and funneling resources south, though a sizable portion relies on tourism. Thus, its local governance has been mostly held within the consensus of wealthier settling merchants. 

Moore is notable for hunting wildlife and keeping the local Eldritch population in check, along with excellent processing of food into cans and rations for the region. Some rations processed here might have made their way to Lake Erie as well, for wasteland settlements living in hostile conditions, who also rely on trade for food. Due to their strategic location, however, Moore has caught the attention of larger businesses in neighboring cities. By the 2160s, Moore’s dainty stores had been almost completely bought out by the larger businesses, whose clients often travel far and wide to hunt wildlife for sport for a small fee. Stores and stalls of the small hub still run, but with bigger names plastered next to their signs.

Northside

(by Alicehue123_alt)

POPULATION: Low

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: FRONTIER OUTPOST

GOVERNMENT: Military Police

Northside at its core is an overgrown penal labour camp. It was initially established as a joint venture between Coalition militaries to create a place to ship bandits, prisoners of war, and street scum who would otherwise cause prisons to overflow. The labour camp itself is protected by local mercenaries alongside military policemen from nearby Coalition cities, and is filled to the brim with malnourished and overworked convicts. Over the years, prisoners began to be pardoned, or successfully serve their sentences, but not all of them were able to travel back to the towns from whence they came. Whether they were driven out and exiled (and thus left with nowhere else to go), or were simply unable to afford transport, some would elect to stay and live on the outskirts of the camp.

A small settlement began to form, which was offered limited protection from the labour camp’s guards. Eventually, volunteers from the town’s population began to defend the town itself and staff the camp, until a fully-functioning (although small, overcrowded and dangerous) settlement had formed. While most of the residents have not grown beyond their criminal ways, a few have sworn to ‘go clean’ and now run semi-legitimate businesses.

Ripley

(by Bockqses)

POPULATION: Very Small

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: WASTELAND

CITY TYPE: FRONTIER OUTPOST

GOVERNMENT: Worker Commune

Emerging forty or so years post-apocalypse, the town of Ripley, originally known by the pre-apocalypse name of Black Horse Golf & Country, was settled primarily by mutants. The town originally was praised as a haven for any and all though, the town’s mutant and human population were divided heavily in population, of the ~400 residents, one in five were human. Mutants held the majority of arms and had eldritches who were still “loyal” to their family. Regardless of the power divide, the town was in relative peace and operated fairly well; some of the holes had been refurbished into farms and grazing areas for livestock, the town sent out merchant caravans in search of other settlements, and something of a town militia had been formed. Nevertheless, in 2132, the town’s tension reached a boiling point. Representatives from the Conclave set off to investigate the community after spotting its name on a caravan map, and upon arrival and brief introduction, were sent fleeing by the mutant guards. With little intention to end up like other mutant and raider communities of the time, a war of sorts broke out between the two groups in town. Primarily hoping to join the Coalition, the human residents took arms against the mutants in town. Lacking the arms that many of the mutants had, the humans took severe losses, a good bit due in part to the eldritches. 

After the conflict between the two groups closed, the humans had come out on top of the rubble, and the town’s population down to a staggering 100. The town had been practically stolen from the mutants and covered up by the humans, who sought to cover up what they did, rebranding to Ripley under the name of the town’s de-facto leader. Seeking to recover the representatives who claimed to have been capable of protecting and trading with the town. Sending out their own representatives, the population of Ripley was able to recover contact with another one of the Coalition’s settlements, who returned to Ripley with them. Negotiations ensued and Ripley officially joined the Coalition in January of 2133. Under the guidance of the Coalition, the town resumed its status quo, sending occasional merchant trade caravans out while keeping itself alive and protected. Unfortunately, the brief peace in town would end in 2142 when the de-facto leader of the settlement, Carver Ripley, died from an unknown illness. A power gap was left in the town. The militia never had any sort of ranks that would delegate one to take power and the government was almost entirely nonexistent. 

With no leader in place and an already faltering economy, Ripley was sent into being much more of a slum than it previously was. No revolutionary or politician came in to save the town from its issues this time. Ripley is horribly stunted as a town, the militia is nearly nonexistent and the population of the town who can make spears are often the only guard force. The town is not industrialised in the slightest, almost all of the population works wasteland occupations.

PROVINCE OF NIAGARA

Cities encompassed within the province of Niagara.

☆ Niagara Falls

(by vrw0we & PoweringTaxEvasion)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Mercantile

Niagara Falls serves as the beating heart of commerce between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Its modern identity was forged in the Flash, when survivors from crews of the ships of the St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation, Lake Erie Shipping Corporation, along with several other native and non-native cargo freighter crews were stranded on the banks of the Welland Canal after devastating ballistic missile attacks cut the electric flow to the canal, rendering it impassible by ships and leaving the sailors unable to return to their homelands. These sailors, a great multitude of which were not native to the land around Niagara Falls, had no other option than to band together and defend the homes that were their beached ships and barges. 

For the next forty years, two generations worth of sailors made their homes in the ships they had marred to the shores of the Welland Canal in 2071, turning away scavengers, refugees, and looters away by the barrels of their flare guns and the points of their knives. The sailors were contacted by the Great Lakes Coalition in 2119, who offered military aid against marauders and looters that had plagued the sailors since the dawn of the Flash in exchange for passage into Lake Ontario. The crews convened, and eventually decided to accept the Coalition’s proposal, ridding Niagara Falls of marauder gangs with Coalition aid by 2122. The Coalition gained access to Lake Ontario and expanded its alliance into the coastal settlements there, and the crews of the Welland Canal settled Niagara Falls and the cities around it. Isolationist sentiments among the crews faded by the 2130’s, which saw the mass-entry of out-of-region Coalition and wasteland settlers and the eventual clearance and reopening of the Welland Canal in 2136, which facilitated naval trade between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and even saw the refurbishment of some of the mostly-seaworthy ships that the original inhabitants had beached on the banks of the canal in 2071.

Today, the city’s infrastructure is built upon this inter-lake trade. Warehouses and docks unscathed by the Flash now serve as trade hubs and administrative centers for the powerful trading guilds that govern the city. Niagara Falls remains a critical junction point for goods flowing from the Northeastern Union, Quebec, Canada, Newfoundland and even the Atlantic and into the heart of the Coalition’s territories. The Welland Canal, now fully and efficiently operational after extensive retrofitting, continues to dictate the goods that enter Erie from Ontario and vice versa.

Niagara Falls is governed by numerous squabbling Trader's Guilds—each wishing to maintain the monopoly the city has delicately preserved on trade among the Great Lakes even after the Flash. These Guilds organised into a diet, dividing the Falls into separate zones of influences. So far, the domineering house serving as representative of the Welland Canal are the Malbaie Traders’ Guild, who claim direct descent from those sailors stranded in the canal. While the rule of the Trading Guilds has ensured stability and prosperity for those living near the canal’s locks, such cannot be said for those on the outskirts. Workers in the outlying scrap hovels and shanties surrounding the locks are given meager wages, with most working in maritime trades, scavenging, or the dismantling of decades-old pre-Flash ships, while the merchants and their Guilds remain skimming cuts off travellers and ships passing into the Lakes.

Niagara Falls' proximity to the Northeastern Union has allowed its growth through the network of illegal and legal shipping vessels which ferry goods from the Coalition and into the NEU, and vice versa. Motivated by their vested economic interest, the Trader Guilds, despite protest from the Northeasterners, never seem to clamp down on the prominence of smugglers in the canal. Not many can sneak past the Welland without paying the Trader Guilds a toll, and those who do usually find themselves on the other side of a Niagara Falls patrol-boat or even the Black Navy of the NEU. The junction between the Coalition and the NEU has also seen numerous Northeastern expatriates fleeing to Niagara Falls, perhaps to escape prosecution, debts, or the repression inherent to the Northeastern system. Niagara stands as a city of great contrasts—between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, the merchants and the laborers, and Coalition and Northeast Union—but as long as the Welland remains, Niagara will continue to serve as that vital corridor it always has been, post and pre-Flash.

De Gaulle

(by AiniDalleo)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Merchant Oligarchy

De Gaulle is a mercantile powerhouse situated on the southern banks of the Welland Canal, serving as the aorta of the inter-lake trade between Lake Erie and Ontario. Like the city of Niagara Falls, it was forged in the trying times of the Flash, after remnants of a total of five ship crews from the freighting company Canadian Steamship Lines, as well as other companies native to the Great Lakes found themselves stranded in the harbor of Port Colborne. With the Welland Canal rendered impassable due to its bombardment during the Flash, the unfortunate crews were left with no choice but to hunker down in their moored ships.

For the next thirty-odd years, the remaining sailors transformed the immobilised ships into their homes, though not undertaking an isolationist sentiment—the sailors were open to wastelanders and scavengers stopping by, so long as they followed the rules set. Taking in more and more outsiders as the years went by, one ship had come to grow to a notable size than its moored sisters—the bulk carrier CSL Welland's Indulgence. Though it could still be rendered mobile, the sailors occupying it had chosen to retire to their now humble lives, and a settlement began to sprawl in the ship's cargo holds and its deck. The Great Lakes Coalition approached the sailors of the five ships in the year of 2110, presenting them with an offer in which the Coalition would assist in refurbishing the abandoned town of Port Colborne, though the sailors would have to pay a certain price — to begin utilising their ships once more to set sail across the Great Lakes in search of trade.

The captain and the crew of the Welland's Indulgence denied the offer from the Coalition, citing that they were satisfied with their current way of life, however, this would not be to the distaste of the crews of the rest of the ships still moored in the harbor. Now living in the shadow of the Welland's Indulgence, the other ship crews had grown envious of its status as a symbol of power and wealth. On the night following the Coalition's offer, sailors from the other four ships, most notably the ATL Charles de Gaulle, snuck aboard the Welland's Indulgence—killing the captain and the majority of the crew in an event that would become known as "The Silent Capsize". Following the bloody event, the captain of the Charles de Gaulle, Rémi Fournier, proclaimed the remaining crew of the Welland's Indulgence and the wastelanders living inside it as subservient to his will.  With the harbor under the control of his mighty fist, Fournier would now finally accept the Coalition's offer—sending, of course, the Welland's Indulgence as the the first ship to embark on trade runs, and renaming the to-be refurbished city of Port Colborne after his ship—De Gaulle.

With five freighters in its fleet, the city of De Gaulle was sure to have a headstart compared to other newly joined Coalition settlements. The city itself went on to become a patchwork of hastily built warehouses, towering cranes, and sprawling dockyards. With its five core ships and their crews traveling all around Lake Erie at nearly all times, De Gaulle's actual workforce would come to be made up of desperate refugees, former pirates, and displaced peoples from the wastelands, all lured in by promises of opportunity but bound by harsh contracts. Until the reopening of the Welland Canal thanks to the efforts of the sailors on the northern banks who would come to re-establish Niagara Falls, it would strive as the major mercantile powerhouse on the western side of Lake Erie.

Once the canal was reopened in 2136, however, the rivalry between Niagara Falls and De Gaulle truly began. Niagara Falls, led primarily in its mercantile interests by the Malbaie Traders’ Guild, sought to assert its dominance over the Welland, capitalising on their access to the canal's northern locks. De Gaulle and its Traders' Guilds, driven by a cutthroat ethos and a history of brutal ambition, countered with aggressive mercantile expansion and deals with smugglers and privateers to undercut Niagara Falls’ share of the market. Tensions between the two cities culminated with economic sabotage and proxy skirmishes along the canal. De Gaulle’s captains and Fournier himself accused those of Malbaie Traders' Guild of underhanded tactics, such as bribing Coalition officials to impose stricter regulations on its merchants, while Malbaie pointed fingers at De Gaulle's expansionism and vye for power. Tensions between the two would only be resolved after an intervention by observers from other Coalition cities—defusing the conflict between the two into a simple "cold war" that has continued into today.

Today, De Gaulle is controlled by a mercantile oligarchy known as the Council of Twelve, which consists of members of venerable merchant families, descendants of the captains of the five original ships, former smugglers and privateers who have carved out enough power through their cutthroat dealings, as well as representatives of various Traders' Guilds. It traces its roots back to those who boarded the Welland’s Indulgence, with the Council at first being made up of Fournier's closest confidants and overseen by him personally until his death. The Council, now spearheaded by a Chairman elected by the other councilors, exercises an iron grip over port operations, customs, and contract labor. Other Traders' Guilds exist within the sphere of De Gaulle's notorious trade industry, though they are all kept under the boot of the Council—being unconsciously used like puppets by the Council to ensure that De Gaulle operates with ruthless efficiency at all times.

Haleegan

(by Kejensia)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Oligarchy

The town of Haleegan sits atop the corner of the landmass paralleling the Niagara Falls. Its’ economy and industry is heavily reliant on fishing, small-scale agriculture, and trade with larger city-states to sustain itself. Haleegan entered into the Coalition in 2150 and right after its founding in 2146 due to Haleegan’s lack of a proper army or any means of trade, leading its economy to stagnate in the years prior to entry. Haleegan is described by many to be a peaceful town, though on occasion it finds itself to be the victim of countless privateer bands sailing down Lake Ontario from the nearby Canadian waters. Although smaller and more susceptible to attack than any other town on Lake Ontario, Haleegan’s position allowed it to act as a strategic chokepoint into Lake Erie, leading to a small garrison of Coalition troopers inducted into Haleegan’s township to protect the interests of Coalition trade and to combat piracy on the waters. Residents of the town have come to bash and protest Haleegan’s industry oligarchs who have a reputation for electing their own candidates into office without election or public say-so, although the town is said to be a democratic township. The current mayor of the town is Gary Flincher, who has been serving the town of Haleegan for four years.

PROVINCE OF NORFOLK

Cities encompassed within the province of Norfolk.

☆ London

(by Bockqses)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary System

The capital city of the Norfolk province, London stands among the pre-Flash ruins of the same name. Though often overshadowed by Cargo City’s industrial landscape, London is responsible for numerous inventions post-Flash, most notably the London Babelfish and the Hook Mapping PDA. Originally inducted into the Coalition in the 2090s, London has built itself back to the status of a post-industrialism town with three districts. Notably, electricity has spread through the entirety of the town; powerlines go along the sidewalks and connect into many of the well-known businesses and establishments. The buildings themselves have advanced beyond the basic settlements seen elsewhere, with brick walls and large glass windows seen in the district around the Hook Institute of Science and London Centre of Technology. And, much like many other aspects of London, the streets are clean and stone-brick. 

Many believe London to be one of the smartest towns in the Coalition, and as such, where the town shines is not in its architecture or military, but instead in its technology and research. The town possesses three universities which serve as their own districts, most of which are dedicated to engineering or technology. Driven by a desire to uphold the town’s traditional economy and reputation, many teens slave away studying books to try to develop the next big breakthrough—to which many fail. As time has gone on and the town has grown beyond the fledgling settlements nearby, there has been a more intense strive for power among the colleges. Specifically, the Fanshawe College of Engineering, inventor of the London Babelfish, has been making extreme strides for power, notably being allegedly involved in the murder of two parliamentarians.

Presently, the town is governed by a parliament of fifty who all hail from one of the three universities—causing strict divisions among them. There is intense squabbles over which sector of town should receive the most money, with aggravated arguments and sometimes fistfights breaking out on the parliament’s floor. The corruption from the universities isn’t entirely localised in the government, either; the town’s militia of nearly four-hundred has reported cases of corruption among two of their five generals and 253 cases of corruption among its standard troops. In spite of the cases of corruption and failed technology, London, even into 2165, upholds its reputation to the other towns under the Coalition’s banner.

Cargo City

(by vrw0we)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Indefinite Regency

Cargo City is often said to be a diamond amidst a sea of coal, as well as being reputed as Bargetown's sister city. After decades of being a bastion of democracy, it recently has fallen into an indefinite regency after elections were withheld by their Mayor-turned-Despot, Constance Kincade, following the November 1st attacks. Once one of the few captains of industry in the Great Lakes, Cargo City has since slipped into its current despotic and infamous state after the Midwestern secession. The insidious evolution of Cargo City gave rise to an industrial titan, its military surplus exported to the rest of the Lakes, though wholly sustained through gross exploitation and forced labor until the disruption of this scheme by the Capitale. Cargo City found its reputation in providing textiles and military equipment to the rest of the Coalition, with it not being an open secret that prison labor’s commonly used in the hull of the freighter—those condemned to toil being named the Bilge Rats, a replacement for the cheap labor Cargo City’s dictators no longer possesses.

Founded at the outset of the Flash, Cargo City began as a lake freighter traversing across the Great Lakes to avoid the horrid conditions of the irradiated and lawless wastes, but due to a large storm nearly sinking the city, it has remained static since. They became a bastion of seafaring, living off of frequent trade with other independent townships. The first generation of those aboard Cargo City could claim direct descent to the Lake Erie Shipping Corporation—and over time, this perception skewed, warped, and mutated into the gross caste system found in Cargo City today. Rather than the axis of native versus transient, society in the grounded state Cargo City has a sort of informal caste system, depending on where one hailed—at the top of the hierarchy are the Upper Deckers, born within the well-maintained innards of the ship, the Freighters, those coming from the freight containers and the buildings built out of them, and Landrats, who live in the mortar-and-scrap shanties dotting the land Cargo City’s docked itself on. In the rungs around the freighter, it’s not uncommon to hear Quebecois, with many of the Landrats being refugees fleeing Canada or the NEU. While no formal gates bar entry to the rest of the city, each of the other classes—from Decker, Freighter, and Rat—found themselves sneering at each other until the sudden intervention of the Mob.

Among the aristocratic and nepotistic offices of Cargo City, the Upper Deckers suddenly found their opposition in the Capitale, an underground formed by an influx of displaced Ontarian refugees. The Cargo City Capitale leveraged the anger of the lower castes, pandering to the Landrats. Under them, the Capitale claimed, they’d see a Cargo City where every man could prove he’s sewn together by himself and not his mere heritage. With the immigration to Cargo City never quite stopping, the Upper Deckers found their corrupt institutions twisted the other way, bribes sent to the working-class men who staffed their lower rungs—and while the caste system still exists, most who respect it remain on the higher end of the food chain. The Capitale acts as a sort of labor-union and a racket—ensuring the Landrats’re represented in the sewing mills and loomerys of Cargo City. For all intents and purposes, the Mob and the industries of Cargo City, who’ve been controlled by generations of Upper Decker textile and arms barons, are highly interconnected—the former providing labor and the latter ensuring said labor’s treated humanely. This parasitism, while relieving many of Cargo City’s poorly, draws ire from the Upper Decker magnates and their installed Mayor, but they begrudgingly allow it in the face of a Midwestern civil war.

With the emergency powers invested in the Regency, Cargo City's Marines—a standing force with only few patrol craft and whatever fishing vessels they can still maintain without the industry of the Midwest—have been granted further authority along the riverrun. Perhaps to satiate many of the wasters who've been employed by the Marines, these soldiers find themselves searching vessels and seizing contents should they be trading with the Midwest. While not officially allowed to act as privateers, supplies are nicked every so-often from these vessels by Cargo's marines as a sort of traitor's tax. Alongside that, inland, they find themselves augmenting the traditional Brig Watch, the constabulary force of Cargo City. An uneasy status quo permeates most interactions—with neither the Capitale, the entrenched Upper Deckers running the factories, and the Regent-Mayor wishing for any insurrection. While freedom has turned to a stagnant and continuous repression, it’s also guaranteed the continuation of industry and production in the bowels of the anchored freighter.

PROVINCE OF OLMSTEAD

Cities encompassed within the province of Olmstead.

Fairport

(by PenguinM4n)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Dynastic Monarchy

Sitting on the banks of Northern Ohio and east of Cleveland is the city of Fairport, a bastion of industry and trade within the Greater Coalition. Originating from a Great Lakes Company, Fairport was settled on the banks of a derelict pre-Flash port, with infrastructure for urban development. It was originally meant to be established as a new city within the 2090s, yet the Flash put an end to those ambitions. Housing the Greater Coalition Industrial Harbor (GCIH), Fairport boasts one of the only shipbuilding and shiprepair dockyards in the Coalition, with it being the beginning for many ships that sail within Coalition waters, and the Midwest. Fairport has been led by descendants of the original chairman of the now defunct Loveland Maritime Company since its inception, with the current Mayor being William Josiah Loveland. Due to its importance, Fairport keeps a good relationship with the various large trade guilds that inhabit the isles, all of them having their tentacles within the inner-workings of Fairport’s industry and trade. 

Following the bombs, the corpse was settled by the remnants of the Loveland Maritime Company, who had once stood as an honorable shipbuilding company within the old world United States, centered within the Great Lakes region. By the late-2080s, the port, shipyard, and a small handful of ships were repaired, allowing Fairport to spread its wings and make contact with other townships across the Great Lakes. This eventually brought them in contact with the fledgling Coalition in 2093. In the midst of talks, Fairport was able to get exclusive privileges to beneficial deals on metal scrap acquisition in exchange for producing ships for Coalition cities, this would go on to be the Loveland-Hale Accords, c. 2096. As a result, in 2097 the town of Fairport was inducted into the Coalition.

Trade across the Great Lakes was the lifeblood of the fledgling Coalition, thus, Fairport’s shipyards were necessary. With the years going on, Fairport would become a crucial city within the Coalition through its extensive industry, mainly through shipbuilding and repair. A majority of Coalition ships have either been refitted, repaired, or otherwise constructed within Fairport’s yards, bringing in a lucrative industry and an expansive working class. This would become a part of Fairport’s identity, a massive inequality crisis between the wealthy magnates and the dockyard labourers. It was always a bitter affair, stemming from protests and riots that came like seasonal storms, though they were often quelled, either by private firms or the city’s constabulary. With the Golden Age, the city of Fairport prospered, raking in absurd amounts of wealth from their dockyards, with most of it going in the pockets of the one percent. 

Though, as the war dragged on, many in Fairport left the dockyards for the trenches. Production waned and quotas weren’t met, leaving the industry within Fairport to lag behind its usual prominence. They only cared when the Panic hit, it swept Fairport like a torrent, leaving the town nearly bankrupt through years of quiet mismanagement and financial fraud by the Monarch’s elected council. Returning militiamen were met without the pensions they were promised, and left to fend for themselves in an ever-deteriorating economic climate. It allowed for the town to become a hotbed of political fervor, a plethora of colorful political parties rose, some clinging to old world ideals while others founded new beliefs. With Fairport falling by the wayside, this boiling pot of discontent spurred violent riots and crippling instability to take the city by stranglehold, only reaching its climax in 2163. The establishment of the Midwestern Union on November 1st was felt within Fairport, where a riot quickly brewed within the shipyards before leaking into the city like a plague, however, the constabulary couldn’t contain it. First a riot, then a revolution, as agitators assaulted blocks of constabulary. Seeing it as a threat to his longevity, and fearing how the Trade Guilds would respond, the Monarch suspended the council permanently and seized absolute control, suppressing the revolt with the steel-toed boots of his militia. 

Today, Fairport finds itself teetering on the edge. Stability hadn’t come following the November Revolution, as it was later dubbed. The Monarch holds a tentative position over the disgruntled people, skeptical Trade Guilds, and selfish magnates. Once the Midwest had brokered a war, there was hope this would be an adequate distraction for those wishing for the changing of the old guard. Despite its fall from prominence, Fairport continues to drag its feet alongside the rest of the Coalition, its dockyards still burning with the flames of possible revitalisation.

Orellana

(by Bockqses)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: WASTELAND

CITY TYPE: FRONTIER OUTPOST

GOVERNMENT: Epistocracy

A fledgling settlement founded in the 2130s and just a stones throw southeast of Cleveland, Orellana is a small and recently developed community serving as an intake for Northeastern merchants and immigrants.  The settlement, however, was originally plagued with strife. NEU exiles, convicts, and occasionally border soldiers attacked the town for what little supplies they had. The town made multiple attempts to try to dig itself out of the holes, to no avail; however, in the late 2140s, levity came. Coalition soldiers from Cleveland set out to investigate the “trade outpost” some NEU merchants had spoken of. 

Only popping up on maps made after 2162, Orellana is a fairly small trading post that relies on the leftovers of caravans leaving the Coalition. Frequented by roving bands of mutants and with the lack of a real home guard, the town often pays for the protection given by mercenaries who take their own pay from the residents. With a population of only around one-hundred of primarily older ages, the town is entering a decline, with the NEU’s ever stricter border policies only digging the grave deeper.

PROVINCE OF ST. CLAIRE

Cities encompassed within the province of St. Claire.

☆ Murmac

(by Bockqses)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Municipality Government

Known only for its exports of locally produced goods, Murmac is a city often thought of to be a heavily industrialised and quite stunning settlement that could rival the industrial giants like Slagport or Toronto; however, outside of the ports and upper class district, Murmac is a hellhole with chains holding the lower class in place and boats building up the coffers of the upper class.  

Industrially, Murmac’s class divides have led to near deathly working conditions. It is not a rare occurrence for someone to get hired and then fired a month later for being maimed in a factory. Though, mutilation is not the only threat that workers in the factory face. Safety regulations that are declared by the government are paid off within a week or two of them being passed. Many of the working class in Murmac live in tenements often containing diseases of the previous residents—which only get spread around the factories after they clock in. Oftentimes, the workers of Murmac are underfed, underpaid, and underslept.

Murmac is divided into two starkly contrasted sections that define the life and economic state of the person residing in it.  Resting on the southernmost point of Lake Huron and nestled in the pre-war ruins of a small town, the northern part of the town is often regarded as the upper class dwellings. Possessing the well-maintained and operated ports, the north is home to the economic powerhouse of the city and its owners. In addition to the ports, the northern part of Murmac is notable for its blue-bricked buildings, housing the officials of many shipping conglomerates. In stark contrast to the North, Southern and Central Murmac house the “lower” class. In extreme juxtaposition to the painted-bricks of the North, many areas in Southern Murmac are constructed of scrap, wood, or whatever other resources could be scrounged up from the nearby ruins. However, the working class of Murmac that are able to get themselves a factory job live in cramped tenements with almost no electricity. The local military and law of Murmac has rarely involved itself in stopping the crime of the Southern part of town, leading to extreme crime sprees and looting. With no real resistance or major attempts for change in Murmac, it is likely that those on the bottom will stay on the bottom forever.

Murmac, as of late, has been slowing down the outgoing shipments and instead focusing on militarisation in light of the Midwestern threat just across the St. Claire River. In spite of this, the town still functions, though it finds itself economically crippled without the excessive maritime trade.

Harbor Beach

(by obbyier33)

POPULATION: High

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: FRONTIER OUTPOST

GOVERNMENT: Mob Rule

Originally a typical example of a small, but idyllic Coalition town, Harbor Beach now finds itself filled with makeshift housing, overfilled passenger ships and burned looking barges wallowing in oily water lining its shores as a result of an influx of refugees fleeing the chaos of the civil war and the Midwestern Union’s wrath, ballooning its population to unprecedented levels.

Known for its large, pre-Flash man-made harbor, the aptly named town of Harbor Beach became a small hub for trade in the Great Lakes region. While it never matched the appeal of its neighbors, the harbor still provided a safe and sheltered location for ships navigating the often-turbulent waters. Traders and sailors on long voyages across the lake would frequently stop in Harbor Beach to resupply, repair their vessels, and unload their goods. 

Aside from trade, the economy of Harbor Beach was powered by a small sector of agriculture and aquaculture that kept its small population adequately fed. The ongoing refugee crisis has put immense strain on its economy, the significant surge in population resulted in a sharp increase in demand for food, water, and other essential supplies and have been unable to keep up with the rising demand. The entire town is now dependent on outside trade for essential supplies until the crisis passes.

The town’s original governing system has almost entirely broken down as a result of the crisis. Politicians have fled the city alongside their riches. What little law enforcement that exists finds itself overstretched and unable to deal with most crimes, especially those within the overcrowded refugee camps. The lack of effective law enforcement means that it usually falls to mob justice to deal with perpetrators as individuals take the matter of the law into their own hands. It has become a common occurrence to find a person hanging from a lamppost for crimes both real and imagined.

Oakview

(by CaliforniaRollzs)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Local Council

The settlement of Oakview’s exact founding date has not been recorded—in part due to the town hall catching ablaze during a raid in the early Huron wars—but is estimated to have been sometime in the 2110s. A migrating caravan of Southwestern Ontario Amish chose the land for settling and slogged along to construct one of many smallscale settlements within the northern reaches of the Glove. 

Oakview is run by a council—first those leaders of the original founding party, then those "democratically" chosen through a succession policy; each councilmember appoints a successor who is to take their place when they should pass (or retire, though the life expectancy of a Glove resident is not a long one). 

Unlike the council, however, the low industrial capabilities of Oakview have led to the half-wild settlement having one constant export all through its history: lumber. Oakview was, perhaps, aptly-named for its constant stream of raw lumber exports. The town’s sawmill employs many of its young men and women—and their employers are able to make an acceptable living from their profits.

Port Cass

(by Jet963)

POPULATION: High

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Digital Adminocracy

The township of Port Cass was originally founded out of the ruins of Port Austin, an idyllic location due to largely-intact ports and industrial infrastructure that persisted after the Flash. Despite the existing setup being primed for success, the original founders of Port Cass managed to squander the opportunity. Control over important infrastructure was put into the hands of inexperienced political appointees due to their close friendships with the town’s founders, leading to most attempts to revitalise existing industry floundering. Port Cass became primarily useful to the Coalition as a docking spot for ships from elsewhere to refuel before continuing their journeys, earning Cass the nickname of the “Layover City.”

This would change shortly before the Huron Wars, as a half-hearted effort to restore one of the city’s shipyards led to the incidental rediscovery and activation of a large administrative algorithmic network called the Port Authority Terminal, or “P.A.T.”, which was subsequently dubbed “Pat” by the locals. The Terminal, initially created as an administrative aide to the Pre-Flash controllers of the Port, provided printed algorithmic advice that allowed for a shockingly efficient restoration of the shipyard it was attached to, and would grow to become a critical part of Port Cass as other local business interests insisted on consulting it, leading to an unprecedented quality increase in Port Cass’ industry. During the heights of the Huron Wars, Port Cass was even afforded the opportunity to work on the early refurbishments of the Coalition’s recovered Coast Guard ships, before they were sent to Mackerel for the final touches.

Following the fracturing of the Coalition in late 2163, Port Cass ultimately decided not to throw in with the Midwestern Union, as it was recommended to avoid doing so by the P.A.T. A set few nearby towns joined Port Cass in its refusal, leaving a portion of the thumb outside of Midwestern Union control. The first offensive by the New Model Army to take the city was easily repelled under the P.A.T.'s “leadership,” causing the Union to avoid further conflict, as it is unwilling to shell the town and risk destroying its valuable infrastructure. Following the NMA’s recent capture of the thumb’s eastern coast, Port Cass stands totally isolated from the rest of the Coalition, relying on a terminal-based administrator to carry it to victory.

Saint Clair

(by zxure)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Criminal Syndicate

When one enters Saint Clair for the first time, they’ll be greeted by a dilapidated neon sign that reads: “SAINT CLAIR — THE WASTELAND’S OASIS.” Beyond the sign lies cracked buildings and neon-lit streets, advertising casinos, bars, boxing matches, and jazz clubs. 

Saint Clair is a vital trade community, sitting on the northern mouth of the St. Clair river. Founded shortly after Bulwark and Saint Michael, the city serves as an important destination for freighters to unload cargo and prepare for the dangerous journey into Lake Huron. The city still bears this responsibility, and also acts as one of the last stops on the Great Lakes Railway. Many travelers will pass through Saint Clair on their way into Southern Huron, the Glove, or greater Lake Erie. As such, the city has become a hotspot for all sorts of cultures, political identities, and peoples. 

During the Huron Wars, the city served as the main launchpad for all military operations. A swath of military infrastructure and buildings were constructed to house the needs of the army. Thousands of soldiers would pass through the city each month, and as soldiers visited on leave from the front or in preparation to go to war, they began to spend and gamble like no other. Crime families quickly moved into the city to meet the demand for entertainment, and suddenly, Saint Clair became the Las Vegas of the Coalition.

The quiet dirt and concrete streets were morphed into loud walkways full of drunken soldiers. The criminal syndicates that operated these dens of vice gained power in the city, and began to overpower its mayor and elected government. After the war, when the city’s military infrastructure was abandoned and hundreds of homeless soldiers flooded into the city, a housing and food crisis emerged. Seeing this as their moment to strike, the Saint Clair mobs briefly united to oust the mayor and replace the government with a puppet state. Now, the crime families run the city, dividing up its districts into areas where their rule is law. Most of the illegal substances in the Coalition originate from Saint Clair, as it has now become the regional headquarters of organised crime.

Since the mobs took power, crime has exploded, as the militia in the city essentially acts as the criminals' private army. Most people who live in Saint Clair have become accustomed to extortion and violence at the hand of the mobs, but few complain—the mobs are somewhat fair and predictable, and they have made Saint Clair the most prosperous city in the Coalition.

The Saint Clair Trinity is a term often used to refer to the three most powerful crime organisations: The Kelly Family (known for gunrunning), the De Corvenza Mob (known for gambling, extortion, and drug dealing), and Le Milieu, the Quebecois crime syndicate of the Coalition.

Sandusk

(by Kejensia)

POPULATION: High

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Corporatist

The city of Sandusk, which boasts itself colloquially as the “city of industry” sits on the lower half of Lake Huron above Murmac. Her population is estimated to be about 9,300 since 2162, and has decreased since, with a large majority of her population belonging to the working-class industrialists and factory workers who make up the bulk of Sandusk’s industry. Sandusk’s main export belongs to the production of naval craft and refined metals, which was crucial to the war effort during the Huron campaign. Only in 2140 did Sandusk begin production of the Coalition’s “new fleet” of warships, attracting investors and bringing in major wealth for the city and thus drastically changing the quality of life for its inhabitants. This change came through a gradual shift from agricultural and industrial society to a wholly industrial one reliant on the money that armed conflicts on the lakes brought in, which saw a mass migration from the countryside outskirts of the city into the inner city for work and a population increase in the years between 2145-2150. Although Sandusk’s direct involvement in the Huron Wars were minimal and mostly through supply, their standing naval infantry, the “Third Army” acted as a guard for coastal regions of interest later on in the conflict.

Post-war, Sandusk saw a great loss of revenue in their warship industry, seeing wages, city maintenance, internal functions of government, and population decrease as Sandusk began to level out and try to accommodate a more peaceful Great Lakes.

PROVINCE OF TRENT

Cities encompassed within the province of Trent.

Cisternia

(by bugly)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: WASTELAND

CITY TYPE: SPECIAL (ENCLAVE)

GOVERNMENT: Meristocracy

Carved from the ruins of Toronto’s pre-war sewers and metro tunnels, Cisternia began as a lawless refuge for outcasts deemed "undesirable" by the surface world. These dripping caverns became a haven for every vice that had exiled their inhabitants—theft, violence, and murder were commonplace, but none so pervasive as drug abuse. Drug litter and discarded paraphernalia littered every corner; finding a squat untouched by addiction was nearly impossible. Yet as the city above grew, so too did the settlement below. After decades of squalor, a faction of residents sought change. Their transformation began in the 2090s with the discovery of a pre-war cache of philosophical texts, igniting an insatiable hunger for knowledge. By 2100, education had replaced escapism as the tunnels’ driving force. Those who refused to adopt this new way of life were removed, often through violence.

Inspired by the rediscovered philosophical texts, particularly Plato’s Republic, the underground dwellers forged a rigid meritocracy where only the most virtuous could rule. Thus arose the Chamber Potentate, a council of philosopher-elites selected through grueling trials of mind and morals. Their reign turned the tunnels into a disciplined society where wisdom was law, and ignorance, a crime. Following Toronto’s annexation into the Coalition in 2132, the underground dwellers declared their identity as Cisternia, a sovereign enclave. Though reliant on Toronto for trade and resources, Cisternia’s true exports were philosophy and ideology, its thinkers producing dense treatises on governance, ethics, and post-war society. The Coalition tolerated their nominal independence, seeing them as harmless eccentrics—useful for intellectual discourse but too detached from material concerns to pose a threat. To Cisternians, however, their nation was a beacon of enlightenment in a wasteland still ruled by violence.

Flickering lanterns cast long shadows across Cisternia's repurposed tunnels as citizens move between scriptoriums, debate halls, and hydroponic grottos. The ever-present drip of groundwater provides rhythm to days spent transcribing philosophy, tending fungal farms, or repairing the delicate systems that sustain life underground. In the central chamber where the Chamber Potentate presides, the scent of old parchment mixes with the mineral tang of damp stone as petitioners present ethical quandaries for judgment. Children learn rhetoric by reciting Plato between maintenance shifts, their voices echoing through pipes that once carried only waste. Every Cisternian sleeps within arm's reach of books, their hammocks strung between shelves containing the painstakingly preserved wisdom of dead worlds.

Cisternia stands as one of the Coalition's rare bastions of true fairness, where merit is measured in wisdom rather than wealth or firepower. Though small and strange, its rigid devotion to justice ensures even the lowliest tunnel-scrubber can rise through philosophical prowess. The Coalition begrudgingly respects this sewer-borne meritocracy—if only because its citizens police themselves with an integrity rarely seen in the wasteland.

Oshawa

(by ???)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Military Junta

The city of Oshawa, based in the far eastern edges of Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, has an indisputably warlike history, despite its humble pre-Flash origins as a major automobile producer.

The city of Oshawa was spared from nuclear fire in 2071, and was soon after placed under martial law by the surviving remnants of the Canadian military and government. Repressive military action against dissidence and unfavorable and often blatantly nepotistic government rationing caused stir in the city throughout the latter half of the 2070’s, before these tensions eventually spiraled into outright anti-government conflict in 2079.

The two-decade long civilian insurgency in Oshawa was one of immense brutality. The war saw Canadian Armed Forces (C.A.F.) units indiscriminately bomb allegedly insurgent-occupied neighborhoods, and insurgent forces—which were often made up of opportunistic marauder crews—mercilessly attack government-operated refugee camps and fortifications. With the Canadian Interim Government more occupied with other, more prominent guerilla movements in Quebec and Newfoundland, the C.A.F. in Oshawa were hard-pressed to maintain order. The Canadian Armed Forces officially withdrew their last war-battered vestiges from the city in the summer of 2100.

The city floundered without the food and supplies it received from the Canadian government, and the united insurgent fronts collapsed into bickering warbands immediately after the departure of the Canadian Confederation and its soldiers. It lived in a relative dark age—which saw the deaths of at least half of the city’s population by 2130—for the better part of forty years, before massive Coalition immigration into the region following the unblocking of the Welland Canal in 2137. Coalition naval colonies sought to revitalise the city’s ancient automobile production factories, and lured the remaining warbands and isolated communities of the city under their banner—and with some violence—by 2140. The militias of the Coalition and the barely-extant warbands which had fought in Oshawa since 2079 eventually morphed into an official military junta in the mid-2140’s, which remains to this day.

Today, investment into Oshawa’s automobile industry has seen limited success, hampered significantly by the Panic of ‘57, but Oshawa’s warlike nature has certainly not faded. Soldiers and mercenaries are the number one export of the city, and the military junta which occupies the city takes no shame in blatantly conquering smaller settlements around it for their economic and strategic interests, despite massive protest from the wider Conclave. The city remains relatively unsafe due to the notorious violence of the extant military junta, but conditions have improved in the city significantly, which hosts some of the few automobile factories of the Coalition and imports plentiful food stores from the tribes and towns it subjugates.

Oshawa played host to one of the most brutal anti-Quebecois violent incidents of the post-Flash world. The immigration of huge numbers of Quebecois-speaking refugees from the Saint Lawrence river in the 2080’s saw violent escalations spike with both the civilian population of Oshawa and the C.A.F., who viewed the Quebecois refugees as opportunistic looters and marauders. Violence between the Quebecois and the Anglophone population of the area saw a ceasefire in Oshawa’s war against the C.A.F. in 2091, which saw both government forces and anti-government militias unite to bloodily drive the Quebecois from the streets of the city all the way to Kingston—before other C.A.F. units saved the battered Quebecois by violently repulsing the unified insurgent and rogue government offensive—in a horrific twelve day long string of massacres. Oshawa’s violence against the Quebecois in 2091 is today known as the Corient Abbatage, and is estimated to have seen the deaths of at least 6,000 Quebecois refugees in and around Oshawa. The Corient Abattage marked the end of the westward immigration of the Quebecois into the Great Lakes, and only limited numbers of Quebecois-speaking groups traveled deeper into the Great Lakes following the incident. Anti-Quebecois sentiment in the settlement—spurred on by contemporary violence with nationalist groups and a historic hatred—continues to this day, and actually saw Quebecois-sympathetic members of the Conclave unsuccessfully attempt to block Oshawa’s official integration into the Coalition in 2141.

APPENDIX

The Coalition also has a litany of smaller towns and cities under its arms. Although obscure, that isn’t to say their regional power is miniscule. Below is a roster of the Coalition’s settlements and cities often overlooked.

Boudicon

(by Triggered_Guy — full document here)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Elected Council

When freight ships make their way south to Detroit, they meet with the imposing city of Boudicon. The city is situated on the southern entrance of the St. Clair River, and is built atop the tell of Walpole Island and a multitude of other failed predecessor settlements, all named ‘Boudicon’. The current iteration of the settlement, which covers the entirety of the island, is the largest one yet, having been founded in 2120 by a migrating caravan of Amish merchants. It makes its money through upholding its end of the artificial river, and then taxing ships of any kind at exorbitant prices to be granted permission to pass through. 

Its coasts are walled by metals of many sorts, cobbled together to form fortifications taller than some houses, and manned constantly by patrolling guardsmen. The houses themselves are made out of wood and painted bricks, and are unimpressive to all who happen upon them. The city center is an exception, however, as it towers at seven stories and is visible even despite the length of the city walls. To outsider merchants, the upkeep and continued construction of Boudicon’s giant walls and palisades are a colossal waste of money that could be better spent elsewhere, such as improving the city’s almost-nonexistent industrial sector. Because for all its fortifications, bandit and pirate raids against the city are extremely rare. So is crime committed inside the walls, and incursions by Great Lakes militias. To the inhabitants of Boudicon, however, the money is well spent. Come winter, they say, a great beast spawns—sentient and evil—in the depths of the river to swallow the city whole, like the inhabitants report it has done so many times before.

To this end, the city has established a yearly council-ordained lottery on the winter solstice, where five unlucky civilians of the city are tied down (sometimes forcibly) on weighted rafts, covered with flower petals, and sent down the remainder of the St. Clair River to either drown, or die from hypothermia. The practice is shunned by neighbouring settlements as "barbaric", "inhumane", "baseless", and "pagan". As a result, it receives no official significant trade from any other settlement near it, save for Cleveland and Bargetown, who are willing to overlook Boudicon’s more harrowing traditions. The few products produced by the city, such as canned fish, are boycotted and seen as cursed by the superstitious.

Save for the risk of being sacrificed to sate a beast whose existence is a dubious claim at best according to Coalition reports, daily life on Boudicon is surprisingly peaceful. The import of food and luxuries through trade with mercenaries, the fees collected from passing ships, alongside the opportunity for laymen to work as guards keeps every member of the city busy and fed. Rumors of the winter solstice lottery being “rigged” to lean unfavorably towards the criminally convicted are not unfounded, after all. Another (debatably) less bohemian Boudicon tradition—Otter Day—occurs on the summer solstice, and involves five otters being let out in the city square for all the city’s inhabitants to find and club to death for a prize sum.

Troy

(by SouthAfricanInternet — full document here)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Corporatocracy

Nestled along the shores of Lake Erie, Troy occupies land that once belonged to the small fishing village of Port Bruce. Overshadowed by Saint Thomas and Aylmer, this pre-war settlement emerged largely unscathed from nuclear devastation, its small size and population of a few dozen fishermen rendering it irrelevant to the wasteland. However, across the water, industry and ambition would soon determine its fate.

In 2130, the arrival of the barge Mimosa, sanctioned and funded by industrialists from Cleveland, marked a turning point. To the awe of the locals, it docked at Port Bruce’s modest harbor. Yet, at first, change came slowly. Aside from harbor expansion and the introduction of farming on the outskirts, Troy remained, for its first decade, little more than a glorified fishing village—unremarkable and economically insignificant. Cleveland, disappointed by its lack of profitability beyond its fishing industry, soon abandoned the settlement.

However, Troy refused to fade into irrelevance. The Huron Wars provided the catalyst for its revival. Once again, industrialists from Cleveland flocked to the city, desperate for resources and eager to replace the industries lost in the fighting. Over the course of a decade, canneries and lumber mills sprang up across the settlement, leading to stable economic growth and, eventually, the inheritance of old-world automobile and tobacco industries. Though the Panic of ’57 and the subsequent end of the Coalition’s golden age brought years of stagnation and the closure of key businesses, Troy ultimately rebounded. The corporations of Cleveland endured, particularly those in the tobacco and automobile sectors, which had solidified their dominance before and during the turmoil. Any industry lost was swiftly rebuilt.

During this period of growth, stagnation, and reconstruction, Troy gained its reputation as an antagonist—a fitting echo of its namesake. Leveraging its wealth and ties to Cleveland, the city expanded its influence through force. The Trojan Guard, its militia bolstered by foreign troops and mercenaries, became infamous across the region for its brutality. Petty wasteland towns like Port Burwell, Straffordville, and Tillsonburg fell victim to plundering and destruction, all in pursuit of excess capital and an insatiable hunger for resources. Troy’s outward imperialism made it feared, but also wildly successful. Survivors were either forced to flee or assimilate, while industries in these conquered towns were seized and relocated north. In their place, corporate-owned outposts were established, each dedicated to funneling resources back to Troy. More recently, this expansionist aggression has drawn the city into an informal conflict with London, with suspiciously timed “bandit” raids and land grabs benefiting Troy at London’s expense.

Today, Troy is governed by the Trojan Council, a ruling body composed of the city’s five most influential industrial leaders. These figures helm companies like Troy Motors, Spartan and Pagano Tobacco, and Sanborn Lumber. Locally referred to as the “Cleveland Quadrum” due to their historic ties to the city, these corporations operate under a laissez-faire economic system, prioritising profit above all else. Their oversight ensures that every action within the city is driven by economic gain. In conjunction with the head of the Trojan Guard, they direct military efforts to intimidate, sack, and subjugate neighboring settlements. Public welfare in Troy is virtually nonexistent as the only guarantee made to its residents is the promise of work. Even basic necessities like water and electricity must be purchased from private providers. Yet, this is tolerated. Compared to many other Coalition cities, wages in Troy are relatively fair, fostering an unusually loyal working class willing to serve as laborers and enforcers for the corporations that sustain them. Pollution—especially smog and waste from the tobacco and lumber industries—has become an escalating concern.

With loose immigration policies designed to fuel its labor force and a growing population of forcibly relocated wastelanders, Troy has become a cultural melting pot and one of the fastest-growing cities in the Coalition. Its population, a mix of humans and mutants, is packed into various boroughs, each typically defined by the industry it serves. For instance, Copenhagen and Vienna house factory workers employed at Pittsfield, while Durbin is home to the city’s few remaining farmers, and Ormond shelters its fishermen. These boroughs, modeled after Cleveland, are deliberately designed to be dense and industrialised, with pollution and overcrowding as defining characteristics. Crime is kept in check by Troy’s police force, a notoriously corrupt institution almost entirely controlled by the city’s corporate overlords. They are often reinforced by elements of the Trojan Guard, who, when not raiding and pillaging surrounding settlements, act as enforcers within the city, guarding its outskirts from roaming mutants, raiders, and worse.

The most recent addition to Troy’s volatile mix is an influx of Northeastern refugees. Arriving aboard the freighters Aeneas and Black Swan, these displaced remnants of the now-dead Triumvirate have established New Buffalo, a sprawling shantytown on the city’s eastern outskirts. Unpopular among the Cleveland-styled locals and distrusted by the city’s anti-American leadership, crime—particularly in the form of gang violence and protection rackets—has surged. Clashes between Troy’s police, local workers, and the refugee gangs have become common, with punitive raids and retaliatory attacks fueling tensions. Yet, unless this unrest threatens to disrupt the city’s industry, Troy’s elites remain indifferent. To them, only profits and capital matter, and as long as the gears keep turning, everything else is irrelevant.

Boxcar City

(by JustSouls — full document here)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: LARGE CITY

GOVERNMENT: Corporate

Boxcar City—a hub of industry, a haven for work, a city built on steel and sacrifice. Forged from an old “Mega-railyard”, the city has become a beacon of progress within the Great Lakes Coalition. Its towering stacks of repurposed boxcars and roaring machinery stand as a testament to mankind’s resilience. In an age where scavenged scrap and industrial might dictate power, Boxcar City thrives as a beating heart of trade, where commerce is king, and labor is life. Once a critical junction for freight transport before the flash, the city’s foundation rests on the skeletal remains of its expansive rail yards, now converted into thriving trade depots, smog-belching factories, and makeshift-housing for its inhabitants. The old railway lines stretch out from the city’s core, connecting it to critical trade routes within the Great Lakes Coalition. Boxcars, storage containers, and tons of scrap—all stacked, fused, and welded together—form the very walls and buildings its people live and work in. Some serve as neon-lit market halls where merchants peddle everything from scrap metal to company-sanctioned rations, while others house the exceedingly poor and exhausted workers. The wealthiest and most valued by the company live in the Upper Tracks, a cluster of luxury suites built from sleek, reinforced freight cars hoisted away from the smog-covered city streets.

At the heart of Boxcar City lies the yard, a sprawling industrial house where trade deals are brokered, debts are settled, and the iron grip of Blackwell Manufacturing Co. tightens with every transaction. Blackwell, the undisputed corporate overlord of the city, owns nearly every railcar, warehouse, yard, and work contract within the city boundaries. If it moves through Boxcar City, Blackwell controls it. Laborers toil in shifts so tightly scheduled that few remember what a full night’s rest feels like. The unblinking gaze of the automated conductors and the uniformed trackmen ensure that the wheel never stops turning. Overseeing it all, within the old railway control tower, the House, sits the enigmatic Chairman Alester Blackwell, a name both revered and feared. His face is everywhere—on banners, the very few televisions, and company-issued ration cans. His voice echoes through the loudspeakers and radios daily, reminding the people of their duty to the city and the company, of their privilege to work. Yet no one has seen him in recent years. Some whisper that the Chairman had been sacked and replaced by a new figurehead implemented by Blackwell’s Shareholders. Others claim he still walks the halls of the House, a man kept alive by the profits of the company, or even completely cybernetic to keep himself able to operate the company. But to question is to invite punishment. If you are deemed a criminal by the company, you will most likely be sent into the Underground, an expansive network of underground rail tunnels beneath the city that have become mines, quarries, and slums where the air is thick with soot and the main source of light comes from the forge fires of the Blackwell Manufacturing Co.—a place where those who speak out against the Company are sentenced to work until their bodies fail or their societal debt is filled. One thing is for certain: no one wants to go underground.

Despite its ruthless rule, Boxcar City remains an economic power of the Great Lakes Coalition East, attracting wasters, mercenaries, and traders from across the region. To some, it is a city of endless opportunity—a place where the hardest workers can carve out a future. To others, it is a gilded prison, where loyalty is enforced by the steel grip of Blackwell’s enforcers and the unspoken rule that praising the Company is not optional.

The work never stops. The factories never sleep. The Company never forgets.

This is Boxcar City. Welcome to the machine.

Saltmere

(by NaturedEarth9401 — full document here)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Theocratic Autocracy

Despite its limited influence, Saltmere has since bestowed the title of the Coalition's "hermit-crab" town, known only to a small fraction of the lake's populace. Originally built on the salted marshes near Lake Ontario, this hastily built settlement remains on the fringes of the Coalition's periphery. Since Huron's end, it has upheld a staunchly anti-war rhetoric, fearing a repeat of Huron as disastrous—an opinion shaped by its people of disgruntled veterans and conscientious objectors. Largely absent from Coalition affairs due to its scepticism, Saltmere has faded from much of contemporary discourse. Committed to pacifism, it has maintained a policy of demilitarisation since its beginning—an impractical stance, given its vulnerability. Its town guard, the Nightshades, are identified with its flower's emblem on their helmets, serving both as its constabulary and military force, tallying a meagre 48 personnel.

Despite its youth, the town lingers with a post-panic dark age, rife with corruption and near-feudal brutality. Its founder, Isla Morwen, rules as its absolute Governor—having assumed leadership effortlessly without question. Dominated by a conservative vision, the town enforces communal laws with unrelenting severity, exuding a merciless punishment on those blasphemous against its nobility. Unlike its cousins, where military service is customary second nature, Saltmere has rejected this philosophy entirely. A decision painted at a bloodied cost: Those who vouch for conscription gamble with death at their own risk, exemplified by the assassination of Legislator Coppard, a war minister who endorsed such practices. Nowadays, civilians walk cautiously about debating conscription in its slightest, seeing it as a taboo subject. 

Criticised for its nonconformity, Hamilton officially ostracised the town as a black sheep in 2160, with its subordinate cities following suit shortly after. In retaliation, a Detachment Act was passed in 2161, severing themselves from foreign entanglement. In a breakdown of relations with General Herald over the town's negligible support in the Valentine's Offensive, widespread resentment ensued, prompting the town to enact strict censorship clauses under the act. Restricting access to outside media and enforcing rigid migration controls—though draconian, enforcing these measures proved arduous and ineffective, often leading to reluctant compromises between the state and its people. Economically impaired, Saltmere struggles with rampant squalor, illiteracy and unemployment, relying primarily  on handcrafted artisans and herbal remedies from dwellings, particularly Red-Honey, an amber-coloured paste believed to have mind-cleansing properties from evil thoughts.

While Saltmere hasn't succeeded from the Coalition, its selfishness in satisfying Morwen's needs over its neighbours strikes it a poor reputation. Though a tenuous connection to the Conclave keeps it from complete abandonment from its shared disdain against the Midwest, the town's disillusionment with its parent city going about it sows seeds for division. Those who manage to leave Saltmere rarely fare much better—facing harsh prejudice, condemned as cowards who've turned their backs on duty.

Lakewood

(by esperToYou — full document here)

POPULATION: Middling

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Military Dictatorship

Lakewood is a dilapidated trading post turned city off the coast of Lake Erie and located within the bounds of the modern day Lakewood RV Resort in Ontario, from which it draws its official name. In lieu of this official name, Lakewood is also referred to as ‘The Stacks’ by locals due to its construction consisting mostly of winding towers of RV camper homes as both a defence measure and way to pack more people into the small city. These towers are prone to collapse, being held together with whatever materials were available at the time of their construction, causing some to mockingly refer to the town as ‘The Falls’ due to the abundance of deaths from the resulting collapses. The current military regime of Lakewood has actually censored discussion about these tower collapses, though it’s done little to actually stop people from talking about it.

The town of Lakewood was initially settled in 2104 by a group of scavengers who wanted to capitalise on the area’s abundant scavenging potential, at first establishing a representative democracy. As word spread about the glorified trading post of a town, various merchants, in particular those from settlements apart of the Coalition, flocked to Lakewood, leading to a massive spike in both the wealth and population of the town. By 2132, the population of Lakewood had skyrocketed from just a few dozen people to just over 1,000. Although Lakewood would initially enjoy the wealth that came from these merchants settling down, the small town would begin to suffer raids from eastern mutant settlements seeking to siphon off wealth from the town as well as an easy target to carry out their frustrations against the Great Lakes Coalition. These infamous raids would leave a lasting impact on the citizens of Lakewood, creating generational trauma even for those who weren’t even alive at the times of these attacks, as well as a growing resentment for mutants within the town. As an additional consequence, Lakewood would officially draft up terms to join the Great Lakes Coalition in 2136, and with the assistance of other Coalition settlements Lakewood would rapidly industrialise. Just 1 year after Lakewood officially joined the Great Lakes Coalition, the Lakewood Military Force (LMF) was established, allowing for the town to rely upon a standardised military rather than an unorganised town militia, at its head being an aspiring young general named Dean Lawrence.

Despite initial prosperity from their formal induction into the Great Lakes Coalition, as the 2150s rolled around and Lakewood was pulled into the Huron Conflict things quickly took a turn for the worse. With the LMF out fighting a war in Huron, Lakewood increasingly began relying on private mercenaries to enforce its laws, who were ultimately under the control of the legislators who began utilising them for voter intimidation. Not only this, but due to the perceived distance between Lakewood and the actual Huron Conflict, many Huroni Refugees began flocking to Lakewood, creating tension between the human and mutant populations of the town. Even up to present day, Huroni populations within Lakewood are much higher than other Coalition settlements. Tensions boiled to a head after a well-known citizen within Lakewood was killed in self-defence by a Huroni refugee, and the government took the side of the Huroni. Riots and counter riots began roiling throughout the city, and with nowhere else to really turn, Lakewood called back the LMF from Huron to deal with the civil discontent. However, instead of helping the government regain control of the situation, the now battle hardened LMF under the command of General Dean Lawrence performed a military coup, instating him as a dictator.

Although the shift was sudden, Lakewood citizens accepted the new autocratic government with cautious optimism over the old corrupt one. After the regime change, propaganda and censorship began spreading like wildfire throughout the town, with people who publicly spoke out against the government mysteriously being ‘kidnapped’ by ‘mutant savages’ from the east. More anti-mutant laws were established, and all previous civilian industry the town once had has been appropriated by the new government and utilised to produce goods specifically for the military. A mandatory conscription law was also established, with people as young as 17 being conscripted and ultimately indoctrinated into the military. Despite rising tensions from the populace, brutal crackdowns on the part of the military have kept things from escalating out of control. Although criticised by democracies within the Great Lakes Coalition East, with the breakaway of the MWU in 2163, Lakewood remains as a necessary trading partner to many of these democracies.

Whitepoint

(by GeneralKatkat — full document here)

POPULATION: Intermediate

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Directorial Republic

When one first arrives at Whitepoint, they’ll be greeted with a bustling port with various stands and shops made of wood and scrap along the coast as well as somewhat rebuilt pre-Flash housing with the freighter, the SS Whitepoint grounded on the beach, now the town centre. Further inland through the forest that covers the island, newly built shoddy log cabins and farms produce crops for the town. On the surface, Whitepoint may seem like an idyllic functional town, it holds many scars and troubles.

Whitepoint was founded by brothers Jake and Calvin Marshall, owners of a small shipping company on the Great Lakes. After The Flash, they and their employees took refuge on the SS Whitepoint, which they turned into a floating scraptown and later joined the Coalition as one of its floating settlements. After almost two decades on the water, Whitepoint settled on Christian Island. During the Huron Wars, it became a key military base for the UEF due to its proximity to the Huroni states. Its militia, the White Rangers, fought in the 3rd Battalion and now serve as the town’s police as well as its militia, enforcing the law with old, discarded Canadian gear. The current General of the Rangers is Rupert Kerr.

Tensions are rising as Whitepoint faces a demographic shift due to migrants from war-torn southern Huron and Canada. The population has settled into distinct areas: Whitepointers reside in the southern bay and control most of the government, Canadians live in makeshift camps on the peninsula, and Huronis live in poor log cabins in the forests. Hate crimes were very common once, as the newly arrived refugees felt underrepresented and clashed with the township and faced harsh crackdowns by the White Rangers. Violence among these three groups has simmered down mostly due to the passing of the Southern Ontario Act, which gave citizenship to Canadians and Huronis although tensions still remain.

The governing body resides within the beached SS Whitepoint, where the Council of Whitepoint convenes every so often to pass acts and laws to govern the township better. The town is led by two elected Governors every five years and the current Governors are Jane Gallagher and Michael Kindle, elected in 2163. This system of governance was put in place by the Marshall brothers early on. The Council of Whitepoint is notorious for being a bureaucratic nightmare and for its slow response time. This is a reason as to why only in early 2165, White Rangers began helping at Hope Bay against the MWU.

Hollister

(by freakaloid — full document here)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: URBAN CENTRE

GOVERNMENT: Elective Monarchy

Hollister, named after King Hollister the First, is by all measures the largest agricultural behemoth in the Western Coalition. Built up off the ruins of old Port Stanley, the city of Hollister is split between East and West along the Maumee river where the Eastern half’s administrative buildings and lordly palaces tower over endless assembly line factories worked by the wasteland-descendant serfs just across the water. Thousands of dollars’ worth of munitions exports fatten the Lords of Hollister, with thousands of tonnes worth of munitions weekly ferried out of the barren Hollister West to the rest of the Coalition. Lacking natural beauty and scenic wonders, Hollister made up for it by turning whatever little greenery they had into miles of industrial Hell and hundreds of blocks worth of factories . Innumerable munitions plants and assembly lines fill the lands West of old Port Stanley, where the factories share part of the city with one of the largest post-war ports in the Coalition. Hollister enjoys a steady supply of money as the primary guns and munitions supplier in the Coalition, drawing in cash from both Coalition and foreign investors alike.

The nuclear fire that swept over continental America cleansed only the good and left behind the bitter and angry. Port Stanley, not only devastated by the great Flash, was later ravaged by ages of strife and war. Petty warlords wrestled over every inch of the city turning the crumbling ruins of Port Stanley into nothing but dust, and only the battered-but-still-standing remnants of the industrial sector remained. The so-called ‘age of strife’ persisted until the arrival of the First King of Hollister; the First King brought an end to the conflict that plagued Hollister. History recounts that the First King drifted into Port Stanley aboard a battered and failing pre-war Barge that roamed the Great Lakes for uncounted years. The men from the Barge encountered the common people of Port Stanley peacefully and enlightened them with knowledge and law, and those who resisted were peacefully blown apart by machine guns and dynamite sticks. The First King negotiated peace between the three most powerful warlords of Port Stanley and there was no more gunfire in the streets of Port Stanley for the first time in decades. It was at this time that the city of Port Stanley was renamed Hollister after the strange man from far-away who brought peace to the lands. The newly crowned king and his three ruling houses restored order to Hollister and established the neo-feudalist system still in place to this day.

The Three Houses of Hollister, colloquially known as the Lords of Hollister, worked closely with the king to bring order to Hollister– providing protection from the other violent gangs and the too-frequent mutant tribal raids. Money had to come in from somewhere, so the Lords of Hollister began offering positions in their respective holdings to the common people of Port Stanley as well as any wastelander seeking a better life; the new ‘serf’ class would work the factory and pay their labor in exchange for protection and housing. The wastelander serfs would be given an allowance of ‘money’ that could only buy food and drinks, similar to modern-day food stamps. And much like food stamps, the lowliest workers would trade these amongst each other for hard alcohols or drugs. Port Stanley’s industrial sector soon became too small to accommodate and make use of the influx of wastelanders seeking new lives, and so the Lords began zoning new land for factories. Soon, small scrap villages and even some shanty towns also began propping up in the vast fields of Hollister– and with them came a new caste of representatives or lesser nobles. The caste of lesser nobles would serve as village leaders and would guarantee the loyalty of the wastelander serfs in exchange for protection and infrastructural support. The amount of income generated from this original, age-old agreement has incentivised the Lords to uphold their end of the bargain, making Hollister and its surrounding lands one of the safest places in the wasteland– save for fully industrialised, larger nations like their Eastern friends.

In the beginnings of Hollister there was little distinction between classes, but social castes began to form and solidify over generations of people working the factories or ruling the peasants. Whilst the social caste isn’t rigid like other similar societies, it is still difficult for the common factory worker to achieve something beyond retirement. Stories told of common peasants climbing the social ladder to find their place in one of the Great Houses inspire young men and women across the Hollister farms to strive for something better. Discontent is inevitable, and there have been working-class movements in the past trying to vie for total society equity– but these movements have been unable to garner enough support to seriously threaten the stability of Hollister, until a very recent shift of political atmosphere. The Winter of 2164 saw a few of the lesser nobles band together and refuse to pay tribute to the Lords of Hollister, citing the dying King’s inactivity and incompetency. This has kickstarted a small rebellion, most often represented through small skirmishes– and the escalating conflict contributes to the dwindling safety in the once proud city of Hollister.

Long Bay Penal Colony

(by MemphGrug — full document here)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: WASTELAND

CITY TYPE: WASTELAND TOWN

GOVERNMENT: Anarchy

Long Bay is a dark mark on the history of The Coalition. One of the first of many penal colonies of the Coalition. Formed originally from the floating settlement of Dalton within the early 2120s as a secondary use for the uncleaned, criminals and legally insane. Its guarded and glooming high lumber walls are a grim reminder of those unfortunate enough to be spared a bullet in the head. 

Long Bay is placed firmly far away from the rest of civilisation, pushed up into the most northern fringes of the Coalition Border, where prisoners are met with little more than dozens of miles of untamed forest and the decay of whatever pre-war infrastructure may still exist.

Those unfortunate enough to call Long Bay their new home are met with the sprawling creep of saw mills and large expanses of unprocessed lumber. Little is expended to the comfort of the condemned, with cramped and confined bunkers with little more than a blanket for comfort. Long hours of hand chopping and sawing are your only job for the majority, with some lucky enough to be put to the fields to grow whatever is capable to be planted this far north.. With the average life expectancy upon entering Long Bay being a hair under a single cruel year. Long Bay was one of the main suppliers of cheap wood within the Coalition. 

While originally guarded by shipments from numerous nearby settlements and other private security forces. Shortly prior to the enactment of Plan 200 in 2163, various settlements who would further go on to become part of what is now The Midwestern Union would pull their troops from Long Bay. Left with what was little more than a skeleton crew, those who unwillingly called Long Bay their home would quickly become a mob of vengeance against their captors. 

Long Bay as it stands now is little more than a miniature war zone. Having never been with a government; any and all attempts at forming one have been met by either negative results against the newly formed groups that have emerged to keep their own survival to violent clashes and murders within the streets of those who attempt to carve out a proper civilisation. Both the Midwestern Union and Coalition East have largely decided to stay away from the colony, figuring the problem will sort itself out. Whatever few attempts at reclaiming the colony by the few small frontier villages that are nearby have been met with a violent and disastrous response. 

Whatever proper industry that existed prior to the revolt has been abandoned or destroyed. With most resources for the thousands of those coming from whatever agriculture they could afford to put up. In recent months, Long Bay Colonists have begun resorting to attacking the fleeing refugees of what was once Canada for whatever they may be carrying.

Fairlock

(by wonsomewe — full document here)

POPULATION: Small

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: MEDIUM

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Town Council

Who enters Fairlock will come upon a rowdy harbor town filled with varied industry and population between the shoreside fishing district and the outer resource-gathering region.

Fairlock is located near the tri-point between Georgia Bay, Greater Toronto, and the northern wastelands. Established in the late 2110s, it benefits from migrating wastelanders avoiding the northern regions, bringing many people as well as remote and rare goods. This allows for a large migratory and diverse workforce; businesses compete to reap the benefits and trade the vast range of items from the northern region to neighboring towns. This has caused it to become a major trading destination in the Georgia Bay region, often hosting businesses that have locations in Hope Bay and Spruce Shoal.

Crime in Fairlock is high, with many individuals of ill repute fleeing to its borders due to its distance from the big cities of the Coalition and its proximity to the northern wastelands. It has a small law enforcement and GLA militia which try to curb crime rates but have been inefficient. The many competing businesses often have violent feuds which can tear the city apart at times.

Fairlock's militia boasts a minor naval presence with small dinghies and patrol boats to protect trade goods from pirating as well as the Midwestern Union. Its militia is undersupplied, forcing it to become extremely lightweight and maneuverable with no large pieces of equipment to carry around.

The governing body of Fairlock is its Town Council, electing representatives from different districts of the town. The Town Council has very polarised views which can cause fiery debates and, in certain cases, break out into violence in the Council room. Even though the council is very divided on problems such as the Midwestern Union and taxes, it is mutually agreed that the migrating peoples are giving the town an economic advantage which is allowing their town to become successful.

Different powerful political parties, as well as business households, have managed to gain significant sway in the council, centralising power in recent years. From the town's early beginnings, a small fishery exploited the bay's plentiful fish population around its shore; this powerful company came to be known as the Bellaraque Fisheries. Another dominant company is Machedash Trade & Co, built on the purchase and sale of antique and rare goods from the northern wasteland. Both of these companies have significant sway in regional politics and are willing to use violence to keep it that way.

Southside Brimstone

(by ZediF_qXo — full document here)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: MEDIUM

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: SETTLEMENT

GOVERNMENT: Republican

Southside Brimstone is a relatively young Coalition settlement, founded in 2147 below Toronto. It possesses a decent amount of territory, however not enough to become an Urban Center. Its lands hug the shoreside tightly. Sharing a border with multiple other settlements, Brimstone strives off trading and metal manufacturing, it has three main factories where prisoners and poorer citizens work, the city uses it as it's main source of profit. Brimstone also has a rather effective and thriving port, which is utilised to trade with towns from across the water. Both of these factors aren't enough to keep their economy stable, however, only ensuring the prosperity of its southern parts that are close to the lake. Despite this, it’s still developing, as the richer parts of town pay Brimstone’s neighbours to deport their debtors and prisoners into the town, where they are forced to pay off their debts or convictions by working in the factories. Being sent in batches of 20 people, only 3 from this list are lucky enough to get sent to work in the port.

Brimstone cannot brag about its population, as it's relatively average compared to bigger cities like Hamilton. But, despite their unimpressive population, Brimstone keeps a well-funded branch of armed force—the Brimstone Royal Militia. It acts as the main defensive force of the settlement, consisting of a mix of fresh conscripts, convicts and experienced Coalition fighters, who are paid generously to reinforce Brimstone's ground forces as mercenaries or full-on servicemembers and help educate the conscripts.

Brimstone mainly utilises republican views as its main political belief, having a constitution and an independent self-governmental form. Due to its open nature and rich resources coming from the lake and cargo ships, living conditions in Brimstone are mostly well closer to the shoreline, most citizens of said shorelines are more than satisfied with their well-being. A noticeable flaw burdens the city—the uncalming in ghetto-like areas, that are built closer to the land and border. Civilians in the slums consist of mutants, poor workers seeking for a better future, deported criminals and debtors, the list filling most of Brimstone's population. Unhappy about their counterparts closer to the water, they often grew disgruntled about the government, at times starting demonstrations and even full-on riots. For the settlement’s safety, they are seized immediately by the local legion of strikebreakers—a branch of stronger marines with rather simple steel shields.

Brimstone offers a decently prosperous life to its richer citizens—they are met with all the necessities like water or electricity, as well as some basic entertainments like clowns and a theatre. With such, a tradition had developed over the years—in late February, every third sunday yearly, the citizens gather around a wheat scarecrow and burn it, as a way to meet spring and let winter go away.

The slums, often mockingly referred to as Klondike, can’t be compared to the wealthier parts of Waterloo. Often stripped off basic necessities, sick people and infants are forced to survive here. Living spaces are mostly crowded and expensive, working slots get filled fast, as the government primarily hires debtors and prisoners to work—they don’t need to be paid. One living in Klondike would be faced with the settlement’s unmasked nature—the governors are greedy, barely bothering to provide poorer regions with their needs. Lights are often switched out for fire barrels or campfires, for those who cannot afford it. Water supplies are low and muddy, most citizens of the slums remain unwashed and filthy. There is a very sharp contrast between Klondike and Waterloo, as the former is treated basically as a resort.

EXTINCT CITIES

Cities that, through one way or another, are no longer populated or no longer exist.

Bakaert (2120—2157)

(by Alicehue123_alt & ThirdNegative)

POPULATION: Large

SAFETY: LOW

INDUSTRIALISATION: HIGH

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Mercantile

Bakaert was a coastal industrial town founded in the ruins of a city along the far shores of Lake Huron. When the infamous Huron Wars broke out, the humble Bakaert suddenly exploded in size and became a major producer of arms and armour for the war effort. Its haste to industrialise and pump out huge amounts of munitions for the Coalition meant that many aspects of the town were neglected, including its security and its safety regulations. In the early months of 2157, a saboteur aligned with the Huroni resistance broke into the Harley Arms factory in the centre of Bakaert’s industrial district and set one its machines on fire. The blaze quickly spread across the production line, and by the time the local militia began a coordinated response to get it under control it had spread to neighbouring buildings. A warehouse brimming with explosives for the manufacture of shells found itself caught in the inferno. Hours after the arson attack, a two-part explosion rocked the town of Bakaert, then tore it to shreds. Most of the industrial district was destroyed in the shockwave and its resultant chain reaction, and Bakaert’s residential district was hailed by debris and rendered almost uninhabitable. Those who survived the explosion and the inferno found that attempting to repair the damage was fruitless, and so Bakaert was completely abandoned by mid-2157.

Emerson (2092—2096)

(by Alicehue123_alt)

One of the very first Coalition towns ever constructed. It was a (literally) shining beacon of hope in the early Great Lakes Coalition, constructed from mostly clean metal and wooden panels. It grew explosively popular after docking along a prime trade route, but the government struggled to keep up with the sharply increased demand. Tax rates were middling but poorly enforced, meaning its gendarmerie and other services were criminally underfunded. The settlement’s prosperity and poorly coordinated management drew the attention of pirates, and a medium alliance of marauding warlords planned an attack on the unsuspecting Emerson. Its poorly equipped, poorly trained militia of barely 50 men were quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught and abandoned ship on its limited lifeboats. In the wake of their retreat came a massacre of unprecedented scale, as civilians attempted to flee onto land and the marauders closed in and sacked the city. The ship itself was later scuttled whilst the warlords bickered over who should inherit it. Emerson’s distinctive silhouette, and rumours of its massacre, were used prominently by political forces calling for unity and comprehensive mutual defence in the early Coalition. It was vowed that never again would a town’s desperate calls for backup be met with such silence.

Little Toledo (2107—2160)

(by Alicehue123_alt & batboy)

POPULATION: Medium

SAFETY: HIGH

INDUSTRIALISATION: LOW

CITY TYPE: CITY

GOVERNMENT: Mercantile

Little Toledo was a settlement constructed inside a large shopping mall near Toledo, on the shores of Lake Erie. It was well-known for its vibrant nightlife, thriving commercial district, and quality of life. Despite a substantial black market presence, it was quite a safe settlement, with a comparatively very low crime rate. Like many other towns, it began its decline in late 2156. Little Toledo relied heavily on trade and tourism, and most of its goods were imported from other towns by ship. As the town began to fall into disrepair and hardship, its nightlife died down and tourism all but ceased during the Panic of ‘57. Early in 2161, Little Toledo went silent. Letters sent never received replies, no travellers ever returned, and all radio communications went completely ignored. After a Conclave meeting, it was determined that Bargetown would send a small platoon to investigate. When they arrived, they found the settlement… empty. There were no signs of its residents, and most items of monetary or personal value had disappeared without a trace. To this day, the events at Little Toledo have never been adequately explained, but the town’s former prominence and the shocking nature of its collapse make it the subject of many, many theories. Some say that the town was attacked by a horde of eldritches (or was it a Stasis 4?), some say it was afflicted by a deadly plague, and some say that God Himself emptied the town as punishment for the sins of its inhabitants. Some say that the witness accounts were greatly exaggerated, and that it merely suffered a decline in population, but everybody you ask will swear by a different fate befalling Little Toledo.

Windstruct (2107—2161)

(by batboy)

Windstruct was a multi-level settlement built into the upper floors of two surviving skyscrapers in Detroit. It was established in 2107 as a self-contained community, housing nearly a couple thousand residents across the interconnected buildings. The two towers were connected by elaborate bridges and walkways, complete with a zipline. Due to its position, it also utilised both solar and wind as a source of power. 

Each floor was designated into districts, each purposed towards a specific objective to sustain the settlement such as medical or governance. The settlement also features a sophisticated governing body, with its executive body that oversees the affairs of their respective districts. It is also noted for having a high number of dogs, assisting the residents on hunting and scavenging. Its most notable exports included one of the Coalition's most skilled marksmen and manufactured sniper rifles.

In 2161, the settlement mysteriously went dark, ceasing all radio transmissions. For months, an eerie silence enveloped the once-bustling community and it was not until 2162 before a patrol party from the nearest settlement happened upon the settlement. They found no trace of life in the settlement, and all its residents had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Despite in-depth investigations into this strange case, there is no concrete evidence to explain the fate of the missing residents.

The only remains of their impact, however, are their many dogs wandering the empty corridors. The patrol party noted with unease that the dogs appeared aggressive but unusually well-fed, despite the absence of their owners for months.

Warsburrow (early 2080s—2158)

(by batboy)

Warsburrow was a moderately-sized quarry town situated in the northeastern part of the Ontario peninsula. The settlement was one of the victims of the Panic of ‘57. Founded sometime in the early 2080s by ‘Francis Wars’, it is one of the handful of settlements that predates the Coalition. Many farming and mining prospectors had flocked to the town looking to seek their fortune. Unfortunately, a rival town had cropped up just a mile north, looking to take advantage of the same resources in the area. Unable to come to an agreement, conflict broke out between the now two warring settlements in the 2090s. 

During this period, trench lines were built as the conflict grew to a slow but sustained battle for attrition. By the 2120s, the war had become an intergenerational fact of life, with both settlements becoming proxies for neighboring Coalition towns as its slow destructiveness had raked in profits from both towns’ purchases. It almost seems like a sport, with yearly battles between the teams. But in 2140, the rival settlement to Warsburrow would crumble under pressure from the growing Huroni threats on the horizon, and surrendered afterwards to Warsburrow. It was quickly stripped of its parts, people, and resources until there were little to no traces of its existence left. 

Warsburrow would at some point be pressured to join the Coalition for its strategic defenses, such as its populated trenches, in providing a covering flank from any possible Huroni attacks to the North. By the outbreak of the war, Warsburrow would help prevent Huroni incursions southward to more vulnerable Coalition towns. Much of the population of Warsburrow would find itself uprooted, and entire families would be moved towards the front to sustain its manpower. Its offshoot and spiritual successor, Parados, would go on to cannibalise the now derelict quarry town shortly after the Panic of ‘57, starting with the uprooting of the former Warsburrow government to Parados in 2158, ending the town’s official existence. Some squatters still lived in its skeletal remains, however, after the last guns of Huron fell silent before they too moved into Parados in droves.

Spokeswater (2089—2165)

(by miscreantagent)

Spokeswater was once a trade hub, with a very lengthy history that benefitted from being caught in between Murmac and Slagport, boasting a densely packed population with a high frequency of laborers compared to some other cities of its size. Though not destroyed, the city had been overrun by pro-Midwestern insurrectionists and to the wider Coalition government is deemed extinct—a lost cause as it holds no significant value.

First built on the remnants of a military port in the Ontario Peninsula, it was originally ruled by the crew members of the ‘HMCS Spokeswater’ of the Canadian Navy in the 2070s. It was then taken over by a shady group of miscreants in the 2080s, in which they re-established the port into the town of "Spokeswater". They ruled for generations up until 2165, when it was overthrown and then integrated into the Midwest Union by its working class. Spokeswater has a deep classist divide, which has always existed even since its early inception. The ruling class live in sizable brick mansions whilst the downtrodden workers live in dense scrap slums packed together like fish. Even in its militia there is a divide, with the groups that serve beneath the ruling class given better equipment and far more leniency than the ones which can be considered as 'less-disciplined' or 'uncultured'. This caused internal strife within Spokeswater's population which had bubbled over for decades as no effort was made to improve the town's living quality. Thus, this culminated into the ‘Revolt of ‘64’. The port had previously made a reputation for harboring a vast variety of pre-Flash Canadian military surplus, though it has ran out of these resources decades ago. It is also widely recognised as one of the many springboards used during the Huron wars, which inadvertently saved the town from bankruptcy due to the high frequency of trade conducted by militiamen and travelling merchants keen to leech off of said soldiers' pockets, of course not without being met with less than ideal taxation rates from Spokeswater's own government. 

With the meteoric rise of the Midwest Union, many of the laborers within Spokeswater became inspired and enamored with its ideals. They didn’t want to be subjugated anymore and wished to reap the benefits what felt like generations of hard work that had barely been repaid by the few lethargic sloths who embezzled it all, their land sizeable and gargantuan, capable of housing tens of families. Yet, they only were ever populated by small groups of rich elites. In late November of 2164, a revolution begins. Inspired by the secession of the the Midwest Union, the radical left-leaning underground organisations within the city would go on a dangerous and fruitful political campaign to inspire change. A change that would get the average working mand & woman to rise up against the pampered and greed-stricken ruling class. The revolution only lasted a month. Yet it was brutal. the town left in ruins as it had finally ended at the start of the new year in 2165. During the revolt, a subset of the rebels had made contact with the Midwest Navy and were given a boost in resources, as well as a small accompaniement of Midwest Navy soldiers to help with securing the docks against a possible Coalition attack. The assistance given to the rebels had significantly increased their morale — as well as turning them into even more ruthless soldiers. The town had quickly integrated into the Midwest Union not long after and has since been used by the New Model Army as a foothold to push further into the Ontario Peninsula. Many of the former Spokeswater militiamen and the rebels have been integrated within the New Model Army and as an organised

Redline (2121—2159?)

(by MartiniMedic)

The town of Redline was a small community established in 2121, aboard the former United States Coast Guard Cutter Jared Linehan. One of the countless towns that joined the Coalition during its Golden Age, Redline established itself as a travelling trade community, often acting as a ferry for supplies between the larger settlements of the Great Lakes. Its relatively small size in comparison to other scrap towns, however, meant that it was uniquely vulnerable to raiding attacks. With excesses of money, the people turned to programmers for the solution: Autonomous units that would bolster their numbers without requiring the living space or stomach of a human soldier. These units, known as Coalition Autonomous Militiamen, or "CAM" for short, became a unique, well-known staple of Redline throughout the 30's and 40's, as it continued to build a web of settlements that it traded with. One of its notable partners was Bargetown itself, often meeting with the settlement as a liaison for land settlements such as Bulwark and Cleveland. These relations slowed down going into the 2150s, however, as corruption and mistrust eroded trade agreements between settlements. 

In 2152, Redline mustered what few militiamen it could spare to participate in the Huron War, in vain hope that it could regain favor with former trading partners. The small fighting population of Redline dwindled further, leaving it more vulnerable to raiding parties who roamed the Lakes. Several uneasy years were spent travelling along trade routes between freindly settlements, with the town even being attacked by Huroni Pirates on several occasions. Despite the immense sacrifices made by Redline to re-establish relations, in 2157 the few trading partners it had regained once again shuddered their doors with the onset of a major economic crisis. The town suffered tremendously, struggling to put food on the plate. In mid-2159, Redline disappeared. It is assumed that it sank to the bottom of Lake Erie, lost with all hands. The sole survivors of the town were the handful of Redliners who had outlived the conflict in Huron.