- The American government has a stranglehold on corporate and personal interests in the US through a heavily enforced martial law system inside the cities. Cities are usually walled, and nomads run the world outside in some Mad Max styled wilderness. (Note, I am refering to Mad Max, not The Road Warrior nor Beyond ThunderDome).
- When the collapse came, the government responded with rapid deployment of troops to all trouble centers and the immediate nationalization of all farmland and food manufacturers. A series of draconian laws were passed to enable the government to control almost all heavy industry, which they then parcelled out to favored corporations. Food remains the property of the Bureau of Distribution (also known as section 12). All forms of unemployment insurance and social welfare were eliminated and replaced with a basic food and electricity ration. Anything above this requires another source of income.
- Six years ago the government threatened to end ALL social welfare systems. They then presented a law which allows the unemployed to sell their right to vote to a list of corporations or one of the two political parties. In exchange these corporations and parties offer a subsistence-level living arrangement. It should be noted that there hasn't been an actual election since the collapse, and the votes are instead used to elect governors and for referendums that the government calls for issues that have already been settled. With there being seemingly less and less real reason to vote, more and more people are selling their votes. It is expected that a new federal election will be called once the current government is certain they own enough votes to maintain the status quo.
- Corporations still hold a fair chunk of power in this world, but only at the whim of the government, and corporate armies are very restricted to primarily defensive use and are expected to call for government back-up in case of severe problems (at a healthy fee).
- Many technologies have been developped and not released to the public. Full nanotechnology breakthroughs have occured at several government labs, giving government agents (but not their military troops) additional abilities above those of the common citizen, while corporate breakthroughs into this sphere have been purposefuly restricted by the government and through the use of a "terrorist" organization called -America One- who supposedly destroy nanotech labs to preserve the human species.
- Because the government has always been afraid of breaking the perceived barrier between Church and State in the US, the church had become a place of refuge for the people, hiding supposed "miscreants" and in some situations even arming them against the government forces. It didn't take long before the government started to crack down on the church structures, but the US still balked at the complete elimination of the churches. Although most of the infrastructure is gone, individual churches now have an armed clergy and support resistance fighters as well as refugees with community funds. See below for the new Clerical roles this presents.
- Weapon and armor restrictions are fairly extreme, with all firearms being on restricted lists requiring expensive and restrictive licensing to be carried. Because of this, the weapons industry has been slowed down, and no rail-guns, lasers, microwavers, and electrothermics have been developped. All Militech weapons are produced by a government-owned corporation for government use only.
- On the black market, handguns cost 4 times the list price, rifles and shotguns 3 times. Weapons with the militech name in these catagories automatically double their value because they are exclusive for government use. Assault weapons such as assault rifles and submachineguns cost 10 times their list price. BlackMarket Cybertech costs triple list.
- On the open market, handguns cost 1.5 times normal to cover taxes and handling fees as well as the mandatory 911 chipping and gun-camera. Licensed firearms are tracked meticulously by the government, and the ballistics are kept in a central FBI database as per CP2020.
- Although the police obviously have the most power, cop characters are not encouraged, as they are also heavily monitored for contact with undesireables.
- Characters can now have the following merits/flaws (these costs supersede the normal costs for these merits):
- Licensed HandGun - 2 point merit
- Assault Weapon, unlicensed - 4 point merit
- Police Friend - 2 point merit
- No Criminal Record - 3 point merit
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Riot's in the air, seen it in the street
The ugly head of violence, the sound of stamping feet
Heard the shooting to protect the law, but it's a lie
Lead instead of water hits you right between the eyes
When justice dies
The people are bound to follow
Heard a lot of question, never heard replies
Seen a lot of batons raised, heard a lot of cries
Find it hard to tell the good guys from the bad
Feeling the policestate right behind my back
When justice dies
The people are bound to follow
Democracy, democracy, have to face the fact
Cobblestones and oppostition fits with broken glass
One was a psychopath, the other was a cop
One was full of hatred, so he shot me in my guts
Justice is a garden divided by a fence
If you're on the wrong side you don't stand a chance
Hit me on the head, cripple me for life
Seeing the police state right before my eyes
When justice dies
The people are bound to follow
- Birmingham 6
PoliceState
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