The Fallen Continent: North Dakota
This heart of the Badlands can be found in this desolate state.
Population: 45,000
Largest City: Williston
Onward, onward, onward going,
Light of courage in thine eyes,
Sweet the winds above thee blowing,
Green thy fields and fair thy skies;
North Dakota, North Dakota,
Brave the Soul that in thee lies.
Introduction
Most of North Dakota’s population, living in its few urban centers, was wiped out on day one. Prevailing winds left nearly half of its territory irradiated. Most of its remaining inhabitants fled south and east, either dying on the way or integrating into their new homes. Most of those who stayed behind perished during the Starving Time. Between all the “mosts,” few are left behind to live amongst the ashes. Few cities here have more than a thousand inhabitants, and few factions possess more than a few dozen soldiers, let alone several hundreds. No state exemplifies the chaos, poverty, and crushing emptiness of the Badlands more than North Dakota.
Republic of North Dakota
Capital: Williston
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Oligarchic republic)
With its petroleum resources, the Republic of North Dakota sits comfortably (for a certain definition of comfortable) as the largest, most populous, and wealthiest faction in the state. The Republic is an oligarchy of local officials and oil magnates. It includes a small legislative body that constitutes the who’s-who of the Republic, and an executive council of five leaders: a prewar state legislator, a regional Promethean Energy manager, the Williams County Sheriff, a wealthy surgeon and prewar Republican Party political donor, and the captain of the city militia. The head of the council (the prewar state legislator, in this case) is the President of the Republic.
The RND produces enough oil and fuel that they can bribe warlords into not attacking them by giving it away; this has developed a further reputation for the RND as a place to do business of all sorts. Fuel, alcohol, foodstuffs, horses, textiles, weapons, ammunition, parts, automobiles (be they scavenged, assembled by cottage industry, or even imported), and corvee labor are all traded within the walls of Williston. When people know a settlement like Williston won’t be attacked by warlords, it attracts more migrants and further strengthens the economy. The RND is still a part of the Badlands, however, and has a long way to go before it catches up with even the middling non-Badlands factions, but it’s impressive what they’ve done, given what they have to work with.
The Republic also uses one of the rare successful fiat currencies of the wasteland, though some might argue that it’s backed by oil as a rudimentary petrodollar. Though now printed from an actual press, the North Dakota Dollar originated as Monopoly money signed by the Republic’s president. It’s worked well enough that some Badlands warlords are willing to trade for the money and use it to buy fuel.
The Rat Pack
Capital: Crosby
Classification: Warlord (Nomadic Badlands gang)
The Badlands are full of transients, always headed someplace else. The Rat Pack is such a gang. They were refueling in Williston when the Bastards gang tried to take over the city. They barely managed to escape the crossfires and rode north as fast as they could. Running on fumes, they rolled into the town of Crosby, driving out its previous rulers. Now they’re in just as desperate of a situation as the foes they vanquished upon entering. The Pack hopes they can siphon enough gas from passers-by to get on the move again, either to Montana or Saskatchewan.
Three Affiliated Tribes
Capital: Mantaree
Classification: Native American Faction (Indian reservation)
Further downstream from Williston is the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, the quiet home of a few hundred Indians belonging to the Three Affiliated Tribes, also known as the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. They recognize the Republic of North Dakota and pay a small tribute to Williston as deterrence against raiders.
Promethean Energy (Beulah)
Capital: Beulah
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Promethean Energy regime)
Beulah is your typical Promethean Energy town, governed by the local site manager. It should not be confused with the nearby PE regime in Dickinson, nor the Promethean Energy chapter in the Republic of North Dakota. None of these three PE regimes are affiliated with each other—they simply inherited the same system and use the old company name, along with its social and physical infrastructure.
The Beulah regime is a textbook example of an unhappy company town: brutal management, hazardous conditions, little pay, and a population generally distrustful of each other. Only the money brought in by selling fuel to raiders can keep this system afloat.
Despite the Republic of North Dakota’s preeminent position in the state, the other energy towns still attract plenty of visitors for trade, including civilians and warlords. Dickinson or Beulah may be preferable to Williston for various reasons, including location, pricing, personal connections, or inter-gang rivalry (many troublesome warlords are banned from doing business in certain towns, of course).
Promethean Energy (Dickinson)
Capital: Dickinson
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Promethean Energy regime)
A few miles southwest of Beulah is the rival Promethean Energy chapter in Dickinson. In contrast to Beulah’s heavy-handed order, Dickinson is one of the more benevolent PE towns, with a popular and competent site manager that organized a successful workers’ democracy. Here, the site manager is now also the town mayor, and the electorate is made up of PE employees. The town still isn’t as great a place to live for non-PE members, however, as all Promethean towns are.
The Storm
Capital: Bowman
Classification: Warlord (Nomadic Badlands gang)
The Storm rides in on Bowman. They’ll stick around until their stores of gas run low, when they’ll head north to Dickinson to refuel and then find another town to pillage. There really isn’t anything unique to say about this gang. They’re pretty young, less than two years old, and aren’t likely to last much longer before fizzling out.
Provisional Government of North Dakota
Capital: Hettinger
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Civilian dictatorship)
The Provisional Government of North Dakota is a fairly recent faction that’s propped up in the heart of the Badlands, and actually has some very remote claim of governmental legitimacy. Its ruler was, once upon a time, a campaign staffer for a North Dakota state legislator. He was kidnapped by the Crazy White Boy Crew, a now-defunct nomadic gang that forced him to serve as their clerk and chief administrator. He was a competent figure, however, and made the most out of his predicament, helping the CWBC out on the sidelines and ensuring their continued success through the power of shrewd bookkeeping. It sounds lame, but even this is a slight edge over the average Badlands gang, who tends to ignore such things.
Having the power of the purse, he turned the tables on his captors and gradually leveraged his power to become the real leader of the gang. After finally overpowering the boss, he placed himself in power and established his own state government. Hettinger isn’t his preferred capital, but it was the closest nearby town when he finally gained control. Now, it’ll have to serve as his headquarters as he attempts to crush nearby gangs and solidify his control over the southwestern corner of the state.
Hitler’s Army
Capital: New Leipzig
Classification: Warlord (Skinhead gang)
Hitler’s Army doesn’t know much about fascism, but they do like riding motorcycles, wearing stahlhelms, and killing people. Right now, they’re mulling around the aptly-named town of New Leipzig. Their next target is nearby Mott, which they’ll strike after leaving New Leipzig behind for the next warlord.
Tsar Bomba
Capital: New Salem
Classification: Warlord (Nomadic Badlands gang)
Tsar Bomba is another raider gang, this time led by a genuinely insane person. Even in the Badlands, it’s unlikely for totally insane raiders to last for very long. The Tsar Bomba gang has probably got another year left in them before they tear themselves apart or get beaten by some warlord fresh out of the Promethean Energy strongholds.
Confederation of the Seven Council Fires
Capital: Eagle Butte, South Dakota
Classification: Native American Faction (Tribal confederation)
Allegiance: State of South Dakota, United States of America (Dodge City)
The Confederation of the Seven Council Fires is the main body of the Siouxian people and is the second-largest American Indian faction. Almost all of their territory is in South Dakota, but they control a small strip of North Dakota as well.
Emergency Association of North Dakota Counties
Capital: Linton
Classification: Local Government (County alliance)
The Emergency Association of North Dakota Counties has fallen on hard times. This haphazard collection of counties huddled together would like to exercise authoritarian rule, if only it had the strength to do so. Attempts at strongman rule by Sheriffs, mayors, or other local officials quickly fizzle out and the Association remains on the brink of anarchy. They are thinly peopled, isolated, have enemies in all directions, and are only a couple of steps away from starvation at any given time. They used to possess twice as much territory before the Almighty Army split them in two. All these things considered, EANDC is a very grim place on the edge of the Badlands.
Almighty Army
Capital: Ashley
Classification: Warlord (Preeminent Badlands warlord)
To the few outsiders who cared enough to notice him, Jim Derringer was just another warlord. Beneath his unassuming appearance, however, is a highly capable and decisive figure who can effectively lead his small, yet elite forces against a larger opponent. Compared to the ephemeral warlords of the heart of the Badlands, who seldom rule for more than five years, he’s well-established, with ten years of conquest to boast of.
His attempt to defeat the 196th Infantry Regiment in South Dakota ended in failure, but he didn’t give up. Derringer knew he had the mettle to really accomplish something, and spent two years rebuilding his forces in the town of Ashley across the state line. With a swift, well-executed strike, he broke the EANDC in two and captured a third of its territory. Recruiting among discontents in the former EANDC territory, he expanded his command into the Almighty Army, which is now one of the strongest, most well-organized forces in the Badlands. Brutal as he can be, he does a better job of governing than the EANDC, and now he’s about to finish them off for good.
Strength From the Soil
Capital: Lisbon
Classification: Military Faction (Rogue military government)
Operating out of the town of Lisbon, Strength From the Soil is the name of the renegade remnants of the North Dakota National Guard. They initially cooperated with the South Dakota National Guard in a doomed effort to maintain control over the “East River” portions of both states, which led to the fracturing and splintering of both formations. The nuclear winter hit North Dakota very badly, and the Guard resorted to extreme lengths to survive during the Starving Time. Strength From the Soil, their rationing and agricultural program, reduced the citizens it was supposed to protect to the status of serfs. Even still, cannibalism was practiced (as it was just about everywhere else in North Dakota), leading to their anathematization by the St. Cloud government in Minnesota.
The USA-St. Cloud has since been replaced by the Provisional All-American Government, which is more understanding of the hardships faced by the Dakota Guardsmen and, more importantly, is desperate for bodies to throw at the Wisconsin communists. Strength From the Soil, meanwhile, has withdrawn into isolation and is no longer willing to negotiate with anyone. Maybe they’d be willing to talk if the PAAG looked like it was going to win the war, but given St. Cloud’s desperation, Lisbon hopes they can ride out the war by waiting on the sidelines.
They similarly refused to cooperate with the EANDC. Instead of coming to their aid when the Almighty Army attacked, they simply swooped in to annex the eastern half of the federation.
Jamestown Special Executive
Capital: Jamestown
Classification: Warlord (Semi-nomadic Badlands warlord)
The Jamestown Special Executive is one of those warlords with delusions of grandeur. He’s still dangerous, though, and launches potent raids against the more sedentary factions further south.
The Glowies
Capital: Carrington
Classification: Warlord (Nomadic Badlands warlord)
The Glowies take their name from the bands of fallout that sweep across central North Dakota. Their leader was a former FBI agent who never really cared about the PAAG’s civilizing mission.
Twisted Jerry
Capital: Harvey
Classification: Warlord (Personalistic warlord gang)
Twisted Jerry is as twisted as they get. He’s so twisted, he’s one of the few warlords who led his gang into the fallout-stricken wastes of central North Dakota. One shudders to imagine what kind of twisted acts he commits on a daily basis.
Caesar
Capital: Rugby
Classification: Warlord (Personalistic warlord gang)
Talk about delusions of grandeur, Caesar’s got it in spades. He’s only hanging out in the miniscule town of Rugby because he was chased out of Canada. He wants to make his way south and start over, but he’s worried about Twisted Jerry.
The Mounties
Capital: Dunseith
Classification: Warlord (Nomadic Badlands warlord)
The Mounties are a Canadian gang that have nothing to do with the actual Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They like to ride south into America to steal and plunder before heading back north to enjoy their spoils.
Boss Tusk
Capital: Pembina
Classification: Warlord (Personalistic warlord gang)
Boss Tusk was the corrupt ruler of a small town in central Minnesota. He was stingy with the rations during the Starving Time, and split off when the USA-St. Cloud issued too many demands to share food with the capital. When the Provisional All-American Government took over and started placing towns like his under martial law, he and his cronies grabbed whatever they could carry and fled north. Now he’s in the tiny town of Pembina, just across the border from Manitoba, doing much the same thing as he’s been doing his whole career.
Goku
Capital: Mayville
Classification: Warlord (Personalistic warlord gang)
The warlord that rules over Mayville isn’t that much different from the rest that can be found at the fringes of the Badlands, but this one happens to call himself Goku. He’s not that physically strong, he usually doesn’t dress the part (sometimes he does), but he has a high enough opinion of himself that he thinks he deserves the name. He hasn’t seen an episode of Dragon Ball Z in thirty years.
State of Red River
Capital: Wahpeton
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Rogue law enforcement regime)
From the ruins of Fargo came a handful of surviving US Marshals who formed a posse comitatus to control the refugees as they marched south. When the posse arrived at the twin cities of Wahpeton and Breckenridge along the Red River along with the refugees, they assumed control over the town.
Their dictatorial administration recognized the St. Cloud government until the President Hunding’s regime was toppled by the National Guard. The Marshals split with St. Cloud and proclaimed the State of Red River (Capital: Wahpeton), including territory both in North Dakota and Minnesota. Like Strength From the Soil, Red River hopes to ride out the Red-White War in isolation, and would prefer it if the PAAG and the Green Bay communists simply annihilated each other.
Index
Click here to read the master post of the series, with links at the bottom of the page to all other Fallen Continent entries.
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Given how sparsely populated yet energy rich North Dakota seems, are any major factions considering an attempt at conquering the state? Or are the factions with the manpower and resources to attempt an invasion too far or too busy with other issues to consider such an undertaking?