The Strong Will Rule | |||
| Anthem | "None" | ||
| Capital | Lehighton | ||
| Largest city | Lehighton | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Religion | None | ||
| Ethnic Groups main |
Anglo-American, German-American | ||
| others | African-American, Asian, Hispanic | ||
| Demonym | Lehighton | ||
| Area | 1.8 sq mi | ||
| Population | 8830 (2015 est.) | ||
| Independence | May 1, 1996 (de facto) | ||
| Currency | Barter | ||
Lehighton is a former nation between the Commonwealth of Susquehanna and Reading. The nation was formed in the late 1990's after the infighting between various gangs died down. It was disbanded by Reading and Susquehanna after the raider government was overthrown in 2017 by a combined force from the two nations. The government has since been replaced by the city-state of Lehigh.
History[]
Pre-Doomsday[]
Post-Doomsday[]
Immediately after Doomsday, the various gangs that survived the blasts on Scranton and Wilkes-Barre formed a truce to take Hazleton and, using the panic from the refugees fleeing south away from the ruins of the cities, the gangs took over.
Government[]
Leighton is a dictatorship ruled by a collection of gangs who agreed to work together and put aside animosities after fighting for over a decade. There is a board of the leaders of each gang with a supreme leader who rules them all. Each gang has a particular piece of territory that was allotted to them by the chief and agreements after the turmoil ended.
The territory allotted to each gang is under that particular gang's rules, taxes and other demands by the leaders with some minor oversight by the supreme leader.
Only gang members are allowed to participate in the rudimentary form of government, as they are the only citizens of the nation. Anyone who had refused to join the gangs have been sent to the serf class, where they serve the gangs by producing food, making clothes and other basic human needs as well as serving as servants in the gang members households.
Gangs and Internal Divisions[]
There are several gangs that have formed a semi-permanent alliance. Most are descendant of gangs from Philadelphia, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre as well as some surviving members from the
Allentown Mob who moved there after Reading took the city. It is an assortment of various gangs and mobs, with different ethnicities. The largest and most powerful group is the Bufalino Mafia, being reformed by survivors from the blast in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. The Irish Mob came from Allentown and Scranton. The Crips and
Bloods[]
The Bloods are one of the gangs which occupies the Leighton area. They are direct descendants of the Bloods from Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, New York City, and Philadelphia. Much of their membership was poor, thus they lived towards the suburbs and slums of the targeted cities, giving them an edge to escape. Most fled to Allentown and took the city from the police and local government, while others went and roamed as bandits and raiders attacking for what they needed. By the early 1990's, the gang decided to settle down and collaborated with the Bufalino Mafia to take Leighton for themselves. There are approximately 600 members in the Bloods.
They have an uneasy peace with the Crips to unify against Susquehanna and Reading for the future.
Bufalino Mafia[]
The Bufalino Mafia is the largest and most powerful crime organization in Leighton. They took over the borough in the late 1980's after being expelled from Hazleton by a combination of law enforcement, military survivors and local civilians. The family took over Leighton through force and bribery. The former chief of Leighton Police is a leading member of the group and they managed to seize the borough with little violence. They have a membership of approximately 2000.
Crips[]
The Crips are an African-American gang which had a presence in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area as a transit point between New York City and Philadelphia. Like the Bloods, members lived in the rougher neighborhoods in the outskirts of the cities and managed to escape the destruction of their cities. Some went to Hazleton where they were later forced out. Others allied with the Bufalino Mafia and once leaving the city they helped take Leighton. Still others fled to Allentown where they were later forced to flee when Reading took the city. There are approximately 500 members in the Crips.
Since Doomsday they have made peace over their rivalry with the Bloods and have an uneasy truce for the foreseeable future against Susquehanna and Reading.
Irish Mob[]
The Irish Mob is made up of survivors from the Philadelphia and Scranton regions who migrated to the area escaping from the radiation in the areas of the ruined cities. They have a strong alliance with the Bufalino Mafia and the Philadelphia Crime Family. They were reformed in the late 1990's by former members who wanted a gang to represent the Irish in the new nation. There are approximately 800 members in this mob.
Lucchese Crime Family[]
The Lucchese Crime Family is the smallest gang in the nation, being formed from the few survivors who crossed the border from northern New Jersey and managed to reform in Allentown before moving on to Leighton after incentives from the Bufalino Mafia to move. There are only 300 members in this gang, mainly made up of survivors from New Jersey and recruits from Allentown.
Philadelphia Crime Family[]
The Philadelphia Crime Family is the second largest gang in the former nation made up of the survivors from the city and the Italian organized crime in Allentown. They were the second crime family to move into the area due to an agreement with the Bufalino Mafia who had taken the city in the early 1990's. There are approximately 1500 members in this gang.
Internal Divisions[]
Each gang has been given its own turf or territory, depending on which gang is operating. The Bufalino Mafia has the largest area due to it having the most members. There are six internal divisions, but they are not based on any particular pre-Doomsday border.
Demographics[]
The approximate population of 8830 people in the nation. There are an estimated 5700 gang members and another 3130 serfs that are not citizens. Only gang members are given citizenship with all others as slaves and servants.
The majority of the population is white Italians or white Germans, with a significant amount of minority groups including African-Americans and Asian-Americans. Not much percentage wise is known due to the lack of any diplomatic relations or the government even really caring. It is believed that approximately 80% of the population is either Italian-American or German-American, 15% is African-American and the remaining is Asian-American and other races.
The majority of the population are believed to be Catholics and Protestants due to the amount of Italians and Germans in the area. Many are atheistic as well, but the gang leaders do not encourage or discourage religion. Serfs are not permitted to join any religion and may be punished severely if they are found to be participating in one. This is believed to be to prevent uprisings.
Lehighton[]
Scout teams from Susquehanna have confirmed that Lehighton is the largest community in the proto-nation, with about 2000 people living in the city. Most of the populace is involved with the gangs, either the leadership, or defenders. The borough is heavily defended with most of the captured heavy military equipment in the area. It functions as the capital and the economic hub for the entire country, as it had for Carbon County prior to Doomsday. The meeting and living building for the head leadership of the gangs is the former Lehighton Elderly Housing building.
Economy[]
Almost all of Lehighton's economy is subsistence. There is no trade with outside nations, as Reading and Susquehanna refuse to do business and support the regime or even give it a scrap of recognition. The serfs work the land and grow food for the entire population, although there is never enough for everyone. Many supplies in the communities has been captured in raids of Susquehanna and Reading. A large portion of the economy is supported by raiding other countries and convoys for ammunition, weapons, slaves, food, and other supplies and luxuries such as alcohol and cleaning supplies.
Water is pulled from the Lehigh River and used to irrigate the fields and for drinking water. A crude waterworks has been developed using the serfs to push water through old pipes and an improvised aqueduct to the southern raiders. Most food is grown in the southern portions of the region using this irrigated water. Corn, wheat, vegetables, and various fruits are grown, while cows, chickens and pigs are raised for meat on farms.
All trading is done through barter and there is no currency in use. There is a weight system in place to prevent people from taking advantage of each other. Most trading and barter takes place either in taverns or the marketplace. There are three main marketplaces. One is in Lehighton, one is in Slatington and the last in Palmerton.
Military[]
The military of Lehighton is made up of the Enforcers, the Protectors, and the gang backups. There are 500 Enforcers, another 700 Protectors, and the other 2000 reserves. It is mainly a ground force with a few armed rowboats that protect Lehighton from water attacks. There are no air units, although the gangs have access to Jake Arner Municipal Airport, the aircraft were all rendered unusable by the EMP and there are no facilities to repair any.
Enforcers[]
The Enforcers are the primary military force of the various gangs for Lehighton. Most of the members are from the Bufalino Mafia, but there are members from each gang in it. They are the raiders for the nation. They are heavily armed units with some of the best equipment and weapons. Most of their weapons were captured from abandoned police stations, military bases and discovered in homes.
Protectors[]
Protectors are the main defenders in Leighton. They serve to protect the communities from retaliatory attacks by Susquehanna and Reading as well as defend from other raider groups and gangs. They are mainly armed with bolt action rifles and revolvers as well as homemade explosives and an assortment of other weapons.
Reserves[]
The reserves are all other gang members in the nation. They are not called to fight on a regular basis but may help with an offense or protect the nation. Many of their weapons are a hodgepodge with bow and arrows, rifles, explosives, and manages the defenses of Lehighton.
Equipment[]
It is unknown what equipment exactly is operated by the raiders. Many of the weapons are a hodgepodge of military and civilian equipment. This list of weapons is assumed weapons used by their military forces. If a number is known or approximated, it will be listed in parenthesis. Intelligence, primarily by Reading, but some from Susquehanna has begun to assess the threat of the regime in Lehighton.
There has been no evidence that the gangs have access to any operation vehicles or aircraft. Most are presumed to be inoperable either due to age, lack of parts, or the EMP blast as well as the lack of fuel supplies.
Weapons[]
- Military/Law Enforcement Weapons
- Rifles
- M-16, Limited (~50)
- M-14, Limited (~90)
- M-1, Limited Service (~20)
- Shotguns
- Mossberg 590
- Remington Model 870
- Handguns/Revolvers
- M1911, Limited Service (~50)
- S&W Model 14, Limited Service (~100)
- Knives/Bayonets
- M6 Bayonet, Limited Service
- M7 Bayonet, Limited Service
- Various Knives/Improvised Knives
- Rifles
- Hunting Weapons
- Rifles
- Remington Model 512 Sportmaster
- Remington Model 580
- Remington Model 700
- Ruger M77
- Weatherby Mark V, Limited Service
- Winchester Model 70
- Handguns/Revolvers
- Ruger Security-Six
- Shotguns
- Winchester Model 37
- Winchester Model 1200
- Rifles
- Heavy Weapons
- Machine Guns
- M1919, Limited Service (9)
- M2 Browning, Limited Service (7)
- M60 Machine Gun, Limited Service (4)
- Explosives
- M-72 LAW, Limited Service (39)
- Molotov Cocktails
- Machine Guns
Equipment[]
- Battering Ram (~20)
- Improvised Body Armor (~200)
- M1 Helmet (~1000)
Images[]
Law and Order[]
Ironically, the nation is fairly stable due to strong laws and rules regulating the various members' behaviors. There is a tribunal to solve any disputes between gangs and prevent violence. Members are held under the various gangs' codes of honor between each other and the gang members and the serfs. Punishments are brutal and swift and all convicted are punished through amputation, floggings or death.
The gangs each employ a group of members called Enforcers to ensure that the various laws and rules are followed. Comparative to other countries, the Enforcers serve a similar role to the police or local security forces. There are 100 Enforcers for the entire country, with the number of members in security and law enforcement a ratio of the number of security regulators to the number of gang members in the nation.