The West Coast States

The West Coast of North America, from Vancouver Island in the north to Baja in the south, is a collection of small, autonomous states.  Most of them are agricultural area surrounding a single trade center from which the state derives its name.

Astoria is the second largest State, located at the mouth of the Columbia River in N. West Oregon.  Second only to Frisco, it controls all trade to and from the north, including precious whale blubber used for lamp oil.  Its major exports are blubber and whale oil, whale ivory, and furs.  Its social structure is para-military, with a City General elected once every 6 years.  Because they have to deal with warring Alaskan and Canadian tribes, their Guards, soldiers and mercenaries are some of the best on the continent.  Their Highway Patrol Guild hires out to protect merchant caravans.  They are a fiercely religious people, and their predominant religion is a seamless mix of Christianity, Eco-protection and Native Alaskan beliefs.

Frisco is by far the largest and most powerful of the WCStates, due primarily to their control of the San Francisco bay and harbor.  Frisco is located on the bay near Alameda, the old city of San Francisco having collapsed from earthquakes and tsunami centuries ago.   Frisco controls more than 3/4ths of the shipping along the West Coast, giving the City a longer trade reach than any other North American nation.  Frisco has a fleet of 15 ships: five Merchant class tri-masters and ten war galleons to protect them, with two galleons assigned to each Merchant ship.  Three of these squadrons make regular coastal runs, two to South America and one north to Astoria.  The other two squadrons make the run to Hawaii.  Frisco’s people are casually religious, their beliefs centered on a single tenet: if it doesn’t hurt someone, then it’s okay.  Unfortunately, it’s easier to preach than to practice, as the City Council is more than willing to hurt people in order to maintain control of the harbor.

Coastal Tribes – between the City-states are a number of small villages and tribes who have reverted to the ancient customs, practices and religions of the North American natives.  They are a primarily peaceful people who tend to dwell in, or on the fringes of, ancient cities.  The largest of these is the Anaheim Nation, making their home in what’s left of Disneyland.  They welcome both Magi and Psychics, hailing them as Shamans and Wise Women, and will train anyone who shows both aptitude and moral fiber.

Barbarians – not all people have fallen into “civilized” social groups.  Deep in the ruins of such cities as Los Angeles are small groups of vicious and barbaric people, living nomadic lives and raiding the surrounding lands for anything they want.  They do not speak the same language as the rest of the West Coast states or even the coastal tribes.  They are war-like and aggressive, attacking any and all who stumble into their domain.  It is rumored they are cannibalistic.  The coastal tribes consider them perverted, and call them mortal enemies.

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This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.