[img]http://www.buy-american-flag.com/american-flag-states/pennsylvania-state-flag.full.gif[/img] [hider=Free Commonwealth of Pennsylvania] [u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Free Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania [u][b]Flag:[/b][/u] Same as the current state flag. [b][u]Territory & Geography:[/u][/b] Eastern PA, bits of NJ, NY. The Capital is Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley [b][u]History:[/u][/b] When the bombs first fell, the State governor and many of the members of the state house of reps were in Bethlehem touring Lehigh University. Harrisburg was heavily bombed as was Philadelphia. The Lehigh Valley and its surrounding areas were for the most part spared. Bombs had been aimed at Bethlehem steel, but they landed in empty fields south of the steel mill and over the mountain. Because its leadership had survived, the then governor managed to hold together parts of the commonwealth. It was a difficult endeavor and many times it looked like it was all going to fail. It lost most of western PA to rampaging raiders and ruffians. They concentrated their strength on the eastern part of the state. The capital was moved from Harrisburg to Bethlehem. This was because the town was not badly affected by the bombs and Harrisburg was too close to the western border. Also, the area was a valley, and it was more defensible than a large area like Philadelphia. [b][u]Population:[/u][/b] 500,000 Humans, 55,000 non-feral ghouls [hider=Government/Domestic Politics:] Republican government where leaders are elected from the various communities and towns. Head of State is the Governor of the commonwealth, who is elected to 4 year terms with no term limits. The people are represented in the local congress. The land is divided into districts, and approximately there is one representative for each 10k citizens. Each rep is elected to 2 year terms. There are plans to make it 1 for each 5k, but there’s opposition as many representatives do not wish to lose influence. Only humans are permitted to vote. Although ghouls are somewhat accepted, they hold no rights in the commonwealth. Slavery is prohibited, but it exists within PA. For the most part authorities turn a blind eye for the right amount of credits. Its primary trade partners are the inhabitants of NY, NJ and DE. It also trades with the Commonwealth in Massachusetts and the Institue. Government officials are easily recognizable from common folk. As all government workers are mandated to wear black uniforms that resemble what puritans wore or early quakers (think Quaker Oats man). In keeping with the image, many portray themselves to be pious and G-d fearing. In reality most are anything but religious, but use religion as a way to sway the people and keep them under control. In order to rise and become strong, with advise from institute genetisist, breeding programs have been established to grow the population. Doctors under watchful eyes from the Eugenics Department, dutifully carry out their task to ensure the future generation is strong and resilient. [/hider] [hider=Notable People:] [hider=Sam Littlehorn] Current Governor of the commonwealth, a relatively newcomer to the political arena. Her name was whispered in hushed tones around the halls of congress, as she rapidly rose through the ranks and being elected. Her main support comes from rich mine owners who handedly handed her the elections in their communities. A war-hawk compared to her predecessors. Very little is known about her, aside from the fact that she originated from outside the Commonwealth, and is from the Capital wasteland [hider=History Prior to becoming Governor] Age: 26 Sex: Female Race: Caucasian Skills: Guns, melee weapons, and unarmed Physical appearance: She is 5’ 6”, 130 lbs, has the right curves that attract most men. Told to be very good looking, and she uses it to her advantage when necessary. Has long red hair, with bright green eyes, pearly white teeth. Personality: Cruel, cunning, and charming. She does whatever it takes to fulfill her contract. Will not let anything get in the way. Uses her personality and sexuality as a means to an end and will not hesitate to use it to her advantage. Made a name for herself in the Weapons & armor/clothing: Wears regular combat armor with a black duster when in battle. While as governor she wears a black sckirt with a short sleeve white shirt and black tie. Also wears a black felt, wide brim hat. She uses a Chinese Officer’s sword, and carries two silenced N99 10mm pistols, as well as two combats knives that are kept behind her back. (Previous) Occupation(s): Contract killer, Faction (NCR, Legion, BOS, None. Etc): Littlehorn and Associates Back-story: Sam was born and raised in the Capital wasteland. She was orphaned at a very young age and took her of herself ever since. Luckily she found refuge within a raider group. From a young age she was taught to be vicious cold. Unlike the other Raiders, she wasn’t not as blood thirsty as they were, and when she could she left the group. She used her fighting skills to her advantaged and assaulted a merchant, killing him and taking everything he owned. She sold most things and made her way to Tenpenny Tower. She knew she would need caps to live there so she took it to assaulting unsuspecting wastelanders and robbing them blind, and when necessary killing them. Her actions caught the attention of Daniel Littlehorn where he offered her a position and took her in as his protégé and adopted daughter. She quickly rose through the ranks and made a name for herself within the organization. She made it a specialty of hers to stealthily kill her marks by disguising herself. Many times she prostituted herself and after finishing the act she would kill the mark or if running low on caps rob the client blind. Due to her actions she became one of the associates and field contacts for the other members. However, the Regulators soon learned of her role and began sending teams out to kill her. Littlehorn found out about the plot to kill her through one of his contacts and dispatched Sam out west to open a branch of the organization out west. He wasn’t really interested in opening a branch out west but he felt it necessary to get her to safety. [/hider] [/hider] [hider=Sherman Smith] Name: Sherman Smith Age: 24 Sex: Male Race: Caucasian Skills: Small Guns and unarmed Physical appearance: He is 5’ 10”, 200 lbs, Short brown hair, hazel eyes. Built like a soldier, as he recently left the service. Personality: Quiet, unimposing man. He is quick to analyze situations and strategize favorable outcomes. In his silence he is very cunning, and will do whatever it takes to win. Weapons & armor/clothing: He wears the typical black outfit worn by government officials (Think Puritan/Quaker Oats man outfit), looks very nondescript. Underneath he does wear a Kevlar vest for protection. He also wear the typical black felt, wide brim hat used as part of the uniform. He carries a 10mm gun with him along with a pair of brass knuckles he keeps hidden under his gloves. (Previous) Occupation(s): Soldier Faction (NCR, Legion, BOS, None. Etc): Free Commonwealth of PA Back-story: His family owns one of the largest coal mines in the Commonwealth. His dad handpicked him to represent their district in the House of Reps. Was unanimously voted into office, as no one would dare oppose him or his father by running as a challenger. In his short time in government, he has made a name for himself as a negotiator. Prior to becoming a Representative, he served in the Army as a soldier. He did not go the officer route, but rather served as infantryman. He fought against many raiders and patrolled the westernmost border of the commonwealth. Has ventured close to the border of the cult, but was pulled before he was able to infiltrate. Wary of their actions and activities, he and many western Reps have called for action, but are staunchly opposed by the other regions. [/hider] [/hider] [hider=Military] Military: The standing force varies between 30k-50k soldiers. That does not include the local police forces for each town. The military is mostly trained in defensive tactics, as its goal is to protect the current boundaries of the Commonwealth. Previous governments had no interest in expanding boundaries outside of Eastern PA. Soldiers are very much dressed like the minutemen of Boston. However, their look is more in tune with the traditional colonial soldier, including headgear. Underneath their colonial garb, they do have armored plating such as Kevlar to provide some form of defense. Unlike the Boston minutemen, the soldiers do not carry laser muskets. Instead they carry the standard issue combat rifle for the regular soldiers, and their sidearm consist of the standard 10mm Pistol. Snipers carry .308 sniper rifles with modified scopes and the 10mm sidearm. They do posses a series of heavy weapons such as miniguns and missile launcher's.Due to the steel plant, there's isn't really a shortage of ammo, so miniguns are the preferred choice for heavy weapons users along with a compact SMG for a sidearm. Due to being trading partners with the Institute, they do possess a large cache of institute laser pistol and rifles. Those are primarily use by defenders of facilities such as the steel plants, the mines or the nuclear plants. They do have on hand a few vertibirds that were left over from the national guard, as well as a few planes that were scrounged from local airports. However, they are primarily used for transport and don't posses much of offensive power. As a measure of last resort, they do posses large number of containers. These are filled with feral ghouls or other beasts, and are unleashed upon the enemy. However, they do not use these unless truly necessary. [/hider] [hider= Economy] Most of its resources come from the coal mines and the Steel plant in Bethlehem. It holds to the ideals of capitalism. However, for the benefit of the Commonwealth, the steel plants are controlled and run by the government. Various entrepreneurs have set up mines for resources in the mountains. They are not the safest places to work, but people flock to them for the steady pay. Most mine owners, due to their power and influence tend to handpick their Representatives to government, as most people wouldn’t dare to oppose the owner of the mines that employ them. Various railroad lines traverse the span of the commonwealth. With the coal mines and steel plants, railroad have made a comeback and are the primary means of transportation of goods and people. To ensure the trains don't fall prey to raiders, miniguns have been installed to ensure safety of occupants. In the southern areas of the state, farming is the big industry. Due to the Amish posing no threat to pre-war powers, the area wasn’t bombed like other areas. The surviving Amish managed to adapt to the new realities of the world far quicker than the rest. Three Mile Island nuclear power plant & Limerick nuclear plant remain active. The plants had been targeted during the war, whover the bombs missed and plant remained semi-intact. It produces power for the Commonwealth, and are the most heavily defended facilities aside from the steel plant in the capital. [/hider] [b][u]Culture and Tech:[/u][/b] Nothing much has changed in its culture. It tries to emulate pre-war culture as much as possible, but ever looming threats at its border’s make it hard. A large number of its tech comes from the remains of UPenn in Philly (which absorbed the remains of the local colleges), Lehigh University in Bethlehem and Penn State in State College. UPenn and Lehigh have close ties with the institute in the Commonwealth and often exchange visiting professors and tech. [b][u]Religion:[/u][/b] Since the Commonwealth still follows the pre war constitution of the state, there is freedom of religion, but growing numbers of cults have placed the current governor on alert due to growing influence. [/hider]