California Republic (Great Nuclear War)

Big Bear is a Raider State in Southern Former California. It is controlled by a deserter unit of National Guardsmen and their descendants. Raids against the Wiccans to the north and Bajans to the south are incredibly common, supplying the Bearheads with food and weapons.

Culture
A young Bearhead reaches adulthood at 15, wherein he is to go on his or her first raid. A common phrase is that "One keeps what they kill," an allusion to a raider recieving personal goods formerly belonging to the men and women he or she kills.

Despite their barbaric culture, Big Bear is not closed off and travellers are welcome to pass through, and even marry into the Bearheads.