Elevation

by Sean Farris, Caleb Stokes (Game Designer)

The grain elevators of Elevation were the tallest in the world before the Crash. As the dead flooded the world, a wise few retreated up the modern citadel and watched as their neighbors drowned in Blight. But the enclave’s safety literally rests atop of the Loss’s greatest temptation. Elevation’s grain stores have served as both blessing and curse for years, fueling their survival as well as constant raider attacks, endless refugees, and ever-present risks of infection. Now, the rural stronghold faces a threat they never thought they’d see: starvation. Grain doesn’t last forever, and the stores that fuel the enclave’s whole economy will soon turn into so much mold. The last hope is to sell the remaining grain to The Recession, the only market rich enough in starvation and capital to accommodate the shipment. The enclave needs a crew capable of securing a route for the most valuable shipment of goods The Loss has ever seen. Survival is never enough, though; revealing the nature of their work could cause an economic panic in Elevation...or alert the vultures looking to profit off its demise.

In this supplement for the Ennie-award nominated Red Markets, players take on the role of Takers in the Elevation enclave: a fully-realized, pre-made setting ready for campaign play. For the first time, this publication presents contracts strung together into a single job line adding up to an epic tale of graft and danger.

Contents include…

•Elevation: The enclave’s history, government, neighborhoods, and VIPs are ready to play, serving as a standalone campaign, individual adventures, or inspiration for your home game.

•The Long Walk: Drones and vehicles cost fuel, but a good Taker runs on pure desperation. The crew must scout a clear route to the border in a grueling marathon across the wasteland.

•Operate Heavy Machinery: The ability to headshot a sprinting corpse doesn’t translate into a railway engineering degree. To get the shipment through, the Takers must escort a pair of experts as they repair the line. Loudly.

•Spring Cleaning: New grain elevators must be disinfected in order to transfer the grain shipment onto a waiting barge, but there’s more to clear out than rats and dust.

•One if by Land; Three if by Train: The day of delivery has arrived. Elevation will use every bit of subterfuge and power it can muster to ensure success, but her enemies plot from without and within and everyone is looking for a free lunch.

37 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Taddow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an "adventure," though perhaps Job Line would be a better description for the Red Markets RPG. Inside you'll find a bit of background on the enclave of Elevation, its organization, a rough map, its key personalities and a series of Job Lines that the Takers can take to help Elevation with a important problem (which I won't go into much so as not to give away spoilers).

I was interested in reading this because I wanted to get an idea of how a Red Markets Job Line was envisioned (maybe campaign would be what it could be called using terminology for other RPGs). I had an idea from my general RPG experience and from listening to several Red Markets actual plays, but it was good to see it written out and presented. It does of good job of linking the different jobs together and creating cause and effects of past and future jobs. I did wish that there was more exploration of the political intrigue briefly talked out. There are some limited suggestions about possible intrigues between the various power players, but I wish we would have had more detailed suggestions for possible encounters that could have been set-up, including maybe some side jobs that could have affected the main Job Line. Overall, it was still a good addition to the Red Markets RPG line.