Convoy City

Convoy City

Across the wastes rolls the massive, mobile motorcade known as Convoy City. In the wake of the Comet, a few survivors lucky enough to have vehicles and fuel banded together for protection. Over the years, the small band grew until it became the great caravan that it is today. If it is on wheels, it can be found in Convoy; from simple carts and wagons pulled by oxen and stranger beasts, to converted tractor trailers, machines of war and even a converted locomotive known as Steam Hall.

 

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The mobile city rumbles along at a snail's pace, rarely making more than twenty miles a day and can stretch out for miles. Outriders and scouts on motorcycles and dune buggies can be found ranging ahead, while a ring of tanks and other armed vehicles provide protection. There are even a couple of helicopters and ultralight aircraft that can scout from the air or provide air cover in case of an attack.

At the heart of Convoy is the converted steam train known as Steam Hall. Owned and operated by the man known only as The Baron, the massive Victorian engine sits atop four giant treads and pulls close to fifty cars. The cars are a motley collection from the history of trains and range from basic box cars carrying cargo, old subway cars for regular passengers, to luxurious accommodations from the golden age of rail, all spliced between heavily fortified cars bristling with weapons. No one knows what powers the train, only the Baron and the mute man known as the Engineer have ever been seen coming out of the engine room.

There is no official leadership to Convoy, but a group known as the Driver's Council meets every few days in one of Steam Hall's more luxurious passenger cars. To sit on the Council, one has to be invited, or powerful enough to force your own way. The leaders mostly argue over routes, mediate disputes and air grievances. The Baron rarely attends these sessions, but when he does his word is never questioned and where Steam Hall goes, Convoy City follows.

If Convoy has a weakness, it is in its voracious appetite for fuel. If it burns, some vehicle on Convoy uses it for power and the city can easily strip a smaller settlement of its resources. While they usually trade or pay for what they take, acts of theft, plunder and piracy are not uncommon, especially around smaller communities that are less able to defend themselves. Still, Convoy City is a welcome site in most regions as it brings needed resources, news, and for some a chance to escape and see the world.