To Struggle and Strive: A Kaiserreich 1932 Quest

notbirdofprey

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In Chicago, the strikes last a day. The workers down their tools as one in the single beat of a heart, and the factory owners capitulate, They come forth with bent backs and agree to the demands of the workers, effectively surrendering control of their factories and railways and stores. And they flee, some to Canada, some to family homes, some to other cities where they hope there will be less strikes and less chaos.


Calvin DuBois did not look back as he fled his adopted home, a refugee twice over now. He had fled Paris as the city descended into bloody madness with a briefcase full of jewelry from the shop he worked at. He had used it to flee to Britain, then onwards to America, where the jewels became pieces he made rather than pieces he sold.

He worked at a shop once more, and went home to his new wife and ate bad American food and worse imitations of French cuisine and drank what wine he could get and cursed the syndicalists as the madness spread across America.

And no one was willing to do anything to stop it. The army was useless, the police were joining the marches, the private militias hadn’t even tried. He placed a hand on his wife’s and thought. New Orleans, he told himself, and the words sounded like a prayer.


In New York, the strikers are met by veritable armies of mercenaries. Blood runs in the gutters before one side breaks and runs, and the strikers stand triumphant, raising red banners in the city streets. They have triumphed today, defending themselves against all colors. “Soon, we will be the ones on the attack,” they promise.


Jasper Cain had not been planning on fighting when he woke up this morning. He hadn’t even realized the strike was today. “Why do people say next Friday when they mean this Friday?” he had grumbled to no one in particular as he took his place in the column. There were thousands of people, forming one great snake that wound around the silent steel hulks where they worked. The police were on their side, the National Guard wouldn’t dare go against them, the army was on the other side of the country.

And all of that was just fine with Jasper. He was a mild-mannered fellow, one who preferred things be settled with civilized agreements. Even capitalists were Americans, he liked to say, and should be treated as such.

That courtesy only goes one way, he growled as he heaved the billy club again, cracking across a would-be strikebreaker’s jaw. Teeth scattered in an arc as he glanced around at the swirling chaos. The Pinkertons had come out of the cross-street ahead of them, armed with guns and clubs and knives.

They had come behind too, and probably all along the column.

“Where are the police?” someone shouted.

“Momma, momma!” someone else screamed.

Voices hammered him from every direction. Orders were bawled, commands barked, battle cries howled. The air stank of blood and sweat and gunpowder.

“Who the hell is in charge?” Jasper screamed, and then a Pinkerton appeared and raised a gun.

Jasper inhaled for the last time as the thug pulled his trigger...and then nothing happened. He inhaled again.

He stepped forwards and the man turned tail. “Charge them! Charge them, make them run!” he shouted.

Other people were shouting the same thing. The strikers began to push, numbers and fury beginning to tell. And the Pinkertons had nothing to counter it.

Soon they were left in a gory street, two dozen corpses lying intermingled with the groaning and the grieving. Jasper turned around, in utter shock at the carnage. “Why couldn’t they have just talked to us?” he moaned.


In San Francisco the strikers gather to find they have been given a choice. A choice between ranks of mounted police and imported Chinese laborers and between some kindly men representing a consortium of business interests who were hoping to address their grievances.


William was patiently explaining the scam to his friends for the third time. “Look, it’s like this. You are a miserably poor Chinese worker. You are offered a lot of money to go work in a factory overseas. It’s a great offer, of course they say yes. The alternative is starving. And the capitalists have plenty of chances to lie to them all they want. The poor bastards probably think we are planning on stealing their souls and feeding them to dogs. And they don’t speak a proper language, so we can’t tell them otherwise. You don’t blame the Chinamen, they are just pawns. Nah, it’s the pigs. We need a way to fix them, or they’ll just keep doing this to us. We’ll raise it at the next meeting...”

His friends kept bickering about it and how to handle it as William kept arguing for solidarity. They would win the next strike, he was sure of it. They would walk away with a closed shop, not these measly pay increases that barely kept up with how costs had grown.


In a hundred cities work stops. The machine of capitalism grinds to a halt as spikes are jammed into the gears. It’s masters beg for aid, crying out for any help, and find no respite as the workers they oppress roar and rage, breaking their cages and throwing off their chains, howling like lions newly freed. They are met with capitulation sometimes, or violence, or defeat. But no matter what, they seek more. This is only the beginning.


Rumors and News

Anger over the poor response to the Dust Bowl and the still-faltering economy rises, and leads to the outbreak of a new political movement, as several groups begin proposing seceding, not from the United States but from individual states as a whole. Parts of Virginia and West Virginia, a small portion of southern Indiana, and scattered communities across the United States have all proposed to form their own state governments and demanded they be given the ability to elect their own Senators and Representatives. A number have published Constitutions, including the State of Free Indiana, where KKK leader D.C Stephenson led the Convention, declaring that being Catholic, Jewish, and syndicalist would all be illegal. The Red Guards drove him and his followers out of Indiana after a brief gun battle in Marion, however in other areas it had been up to National Guards and other federal forces.

They have failed utterly. Overstretched and with poor morale, portions of the National Guards joined the rebel forces. Douglas MacArthur immediately pulled troops from several locations, including New York City, to “restore order.” Entire regiments of the U. S. Army moved into the rebellious areas, tanks leading the way. The ringleaders were executed after brief court martials, weapons were confiscated, and then the soldiers moved onto the next area, trusting in the BOI agents who came in after to keep groups disrupted and disorganized and federal propaganda to downplay their failures and difficulties.

They seem to be struggling with that, to the frustration of many bourgeoisie.

Huey Long has been accused of being responsible for the entire affair. He has ably defended himself without ever actually denying it. You aren’t even certain what the truth is, which is a maddening sensation.

The Socialist Party of America has had several major successes as Red Guards units, party cadres and unions act on their own initiatives. The Midwestern Cooperatives are slowly expanding in size and prosperity, despite the adverse conditions and the relative lack of support from the party at-large. While most Red Guards have returned to their home cities, some forming independent groups in response to Butler’s reforms, small numbers have grown attached to these farming communities and chosen to stay. Besides helping defend the cooperatives, they have provided additional connections to the greater socialist movement for their often isolated new homes.

Meanwhile, the Teamster’s Union and their many affiliates have been hard at work persuading various leadership figures to side with them, using the bogeymen of Longist secessionism and federal repression to convince them that tolerating labor unions makes for an acceptable alternative. Meetings have begun, sometimes with the factory owners attending, and many find aspects of your program interesting. They are not truly radicalized, and have yet to join the party in most cases, but they have begun sending representatives to the Combined Syndicates. They have joined the Social Patriots as a bloc, greatly increasing the power of the potentially hostile faction who view any revolution or even the rise of dual-power structures as a grave sin. They have not made any trouble yet. However, given the current climate, you suspect many of them will be steadily sliding to the left. It may well be best to leave them alone for now. When discussing the matter with your close allies, they offer some rather contentious advice.

More radical workers have begun taking actions as well. Waves of strikes have struck the country, crippling entire cities as tools are downed and machinery grinds to a halt. Efforts at breaking strikes have failed and faltered, and the army is too distracted by the secession-from-states crisis to break these strikes, while the National Guard will not be called in by sympathetic (or terrified) governors.

Overall, the size and power of your movement has continually grown. The forces of reaction are divided and outnumbered, the chaos is increasing every day, granting you strength. Unfortunately, that chaos often has bloody consequences.

There was another assassination attempt. A man attempted to sneak into the New York City SPA headquarters with a pistol and a list of targets. You were the first on it. Chillingly, your daughter was third.You couldn’t read what was second, there was blood on that part.

Violence across the country has grown, with politically motivated shootings and stabbings happening seemingly daily. There have even been cases of crude explosives being used, especially during the state secession movements, where improvised bombs were used to damage roads, rails, and bridges and delay federal troop movements.

In Canada, meanwhile, an improvised Underground Railway is apparently being established, stretching from the Yukon south along the western coast. It will likely need your cooperation to reach across the border in the future, but local party branches are managing well enough for the time being.

Unrest has begun rising in Montreal, meanwhile, as an organized group calling themselves Les Socialistes Québécois has begun leading marches. They have proclaimed their desire for a more independent and Francophone Quebec, national self-liberation for themselves, and the total socialization of Quebec while maintaining traditional non-economic and non-political social structures. The local police forces have been reluctant to suppress them, but the Mounties have shown no such hesitation.

More rumors of Russian instability and insanity has leaked out as the country suffers the agony of a failed revolution, although some of the news seems improbable.

In addition, an attempted memorial for the defeated Shanghai Uprising has been forcibly dispersed by troops from the Legation Cities. The brutal beating of several pregnant women has been highly publicized by the remnants of the KMT and other groups.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Syndintern has made covert contact with you. Already they have begun supplying you with small amounts of equipment and weaponry. Further support will cost goodwill with them and require easier access, but already the Red Guards are growing better equipped. Small stockpiles of heavier weaponry than rifles and shotguns are even being established in a few safehouses in New York City. You have given them a report on the SPA’s activities, but further dealings will need to be organized.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee has turned their attention to working with Tobkin and the Teamster’s Union, focusing on further subverting politicians and providing the new comrades with assistance in securing power.

The State Legislative Committee, having finally overcome the obstacle of obstructive and resistant bureaucracy through brutal and overwhelming force, now seeks to expand its agenda. The first priority is expanding the subsidies, especially for agricultural-related production such as tractors, harvesters, and fertilizer.

With the current legislative session having come to an effective end, Thomas is looking to spend some time in contemplation and prayer in order to relax. However, he also intends to spend some more time conducting outreach to various groups in order to persuade them that the SPA will fight for them harder than anyone else.

And Butler is still continuing his efforts to whip the Red Guards into shape. Every day he continues to bulldoze over resistance and discover concealed crimes, but gradually the paramilitary improves under the stern leadership of Butler and the VFW despite resistance from those who fear a Napoleon and those who seek to avoid justice..


You have 7 Influence and 1 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 2 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any foci.

With the reactionary militias slowly faltering and a slow, slight expansion in industry in some cities, there is room for more in the unions and workers who need to be recruited and given an education in class conflict and Marxism to prepare for the Revolution.Begin expanding the unions in 1 months (from the Orthodox).

The other parties have a far greater reach through their control of newspapers, radios, and other means of delivering mass information. This has allowed them to smear our good name and drown out our attacks. We cannot allow a propaganda gap! Expand your propaganda apparatus in 1 months (from the Parliamentarians).

The reactionaries are doubtless working to sow doubt and division in our ranks and to launch deadly attacks upon us. We need some system for warning of their infiltration and infection or protecting vital leadership from their attacks. Or both, both would be better.Establish some means of countering reactionary attacks and assassinations within 2 months (from the Totalists).

The first steps towards the social liberation of the proletariat have been taken with the revisions to the party line. It is time to take them further and apply the same logic to the other oppressed groups of society. Take an action to counter racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, or similar predijuces within 3 months (from the Syndicalists, they seem to have switched attitudes).

While the focus on expanding the party’s reach in many areas where we previously lacked support has had admirable results, the core of the revolution will be the urban workers who have been left to the affairs of local party congresses and unions. This has been an acceptable state of affairs, but it may be wise to begin providing assistance to these groups, given the recent opportunities caused by Longist terror and Federalist floundering. Attempt at least 3 urban-focused actions within 3 months (from the Center).


Party Actions

Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Social Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. Cost: Significant and somewhat dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 70/130/170/215. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times.

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/180. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence.

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn’t a structural reason for their failures. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

Acquire Expertise: You are only one man, you cannot know or do everything. Having trusted subordinates who can do part of the work helps, but so too does having trusted advisors, people who can offer you advice for dealing with things you don’t quite understand. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Find assistant for chosen subject who can give significant bonuses and penalties to rolls and other situations.

Establish a Budget: While some of your subordinates have their own budgets to draw on, Butler does not. The standard expenditures towards the Red Guards are covering most of his needs, but without financial support there is only so much that can be done. Looking to the future, Butler has suggested you set aside some funds for him and other subordinates to use at their discretion. Cost: X Resources, -Y Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Chosen amount of Resources with chosen Resource income is set aside for the use of subordinates. It may be later modified as a Free Action.

(1 Influence Committed) Encourage the Correspondence: The developing correspondence between the CSA and the CNT-FAI is good to see. The international proletariat must be united to free all the world. Begin writing letters of your own, and encouraging other leading figures in the SPA and CSA to do the same. Advice can be shared, questions answered, burdens relieved...and you know the CNT has Syndintern contacts. It would be impossible for it to be otherwise. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/10/20. Result: Increased internationalist sense within the SPA, potential for further benefits.

Showcase Successes and Suffering: Your recent focus on the rural areas has earned you a great deal of criticism. Bringing your reasoning to the CSA and showing the benefits of this focus, both to the cause as a whole and to the people you have helped, can counter accusations of throwing away money and resources. It may also support the dwindling and flagging Red Guards in the Midwest, many of whom are likely to leave soon. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100. Result: Increased support from the Red Grange, possible support from other factions, decreased loss of support for rural actions.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Expand the Maximum Program: The recent wave of strikes and the changes to the party line have encouraged the growing radicalism in the party. Things that were controversial a few months ago are now demanded by all but the most staid figures. The current program is considered insufficient by some, particularly in its aspirations. They look at what the unions and the Red Guards have accomplished, and they ask “What else can we do?” And they say it could be the immediate abolition of capitalism, or even the state (if you ask the anarchists). Cost: Loss of support from the right wing of the party, decreased strength of the right wing, general loss of support, increased attention from the state. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen left wing of the party, gain in support from the left wing. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Make Assurances: The class interests of the bourgeoisie have compelled them to work against you, but many workers have been terrified by the brazen attacks on the idols of their civic religion and your radical political proposals, even as they are attracted by the vision you propose. Publicizing assurances as to your more reassuring intentions, such as refusing to nationalize without fair compensation, could soothe some fear and comfort the newest members of the Combined Syndicates. Cost: Loss of support from the left wing of the party, decreased strength of the left wing, general loss of support. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen right wing of the party, gain in support from the right wing, decreased attention from the state. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Private Promises: Although you may well be publicly changing your stance on certain issues, and pushing the party as a whole to do the same, you have no intention of abandoning your commitments, or leaving party members confused by the sudden shift, since that could lead to a sudden split. This is purely a rhetorical, tactical measure, you are willing to promise that to whoever needs to hear it in order to support you. In private of course, but the leadership of the various factions is generally trusted and respected. Cost: None. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Mitigate costs of Make Assurances or Expand the Maximum Program


Union Actions

Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Small-Town Unions: The farming cooperatives and the Red Grange are taking the lead in working with rural areas, providing the slowly growing unions there with expertise and assistance organizing. But another gap in your capabilities has been revealed. You don’t have much reach in the small twins that only have minor factories or mines. Unions have begun to slowly form in some of these towns, but more work needs to be done to ensure that these unions will represent their workers, and not serve as another tool of oppression by the town capitalists, especially given their relatively weak ideological underpinnings. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Strengthen newly formed unions organizationally and ideologically..

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens. +0.5 Resources per month. Gain support from IWW MA and MM.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/150. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/100. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased relations with the Syndicalists.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/125/150. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Street Brigades: Another proposal to deal with the immense number of potential scabs, reactionaries-in-waiting, and unemployed workers that are flocking to the city is to hire them for various jobs neglected by the municipal government such as fire services for poorer neighborhoods, street-cleaners, and other such tasks. While potentially costly, the work and the pay will fill their bellies and salve their pride, while giving them opportunities to be exposed to socialist rhetoric. Cost: -2 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Begin recruiting unemployed workers into labor brigades and exposing them to socialist rhetoric.

Form Farmer’s Cooperatives: The newly organized farmer’s cooperatives are young and fragile. They need tractors, fertilizer, organizational support, and more. The Red Grange is struggling to assist with these matters, lacking finances and reach. And the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the Great Plains. Government subsidies are being delayed and disappeared by hostile civil servants and damaged infrastructure. The party must take care of it’s newest members. Cost: 4 Resources, moderate loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/20/40/60/80/100/120. Result: Expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, gain Relations with Ultraleft Farmer Labor and support from the Red Grange.

Seed Donations: The devastating droughts and dust storms have not just uprooted soil and those who work it, but the plants that grow in it. Losses due to spoilage, bad weather, and desperation have put many seed stocks at critically low levels. Fortunately, the French Commune has a far more robust agricultural sector that has largely recovered from the ravages of the Weltkrieg. They are willing to ship over stocks of seeds for a relatively low price in gold and some better quality machine tools. These shipments can then be transferred to farmers. Cost: 2 Resources, slight loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Slightly expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, slight gain of Relations and support from the Red Grange.

Special Foods: The gardens mostly produce simple crops like potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. While they have definitely improved the quality of the soups and stews and other meals served at the various people’s kitchens, spices and herbs are in short supply for those kitchens. It should be relatively simple to purchase some mint plants and various others to add them to these new gardens. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50. Result: Improve quality of meals at soup kitchens, gain support from The Teamster’s Union, the SPU, and the AFL-CIO.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 1: The cities are dense places, heaving with workers. Most of them are already unionized, but some have resisted the pressure of the CSA and remained separate. Some have even managed to avoid entanglement with reactionary groups. Through propaganda, demonstrations, and door-to-door recruiting, these remaining individuals can be brought into the unions and encouraged to take up the cause. Growths in union membership will strengthen your hand as the dues increase and the workers become more radicalized and organized. And soon, they will throw off their chains. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/90. Result: Small gains in support from the AFL-CIO, the IWW Mountain Men, The Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions. Increase in income. Expansion of unions due to recruitment.

Forcing Concessions: The massive strike wave has already begun forcing concessions, but delivering demands for fairer pay and better conditions in a coordinated fashion will help them be achieved. It is one thing to ignore a single union, it is another to ignore a threatened general strike. Forcing significant labor concessions will send a powerful message to all: the might of united labor is far greater than the might of a state. Cost: Failure will cost support. Time: 1 month. DC: ???. Result: Significant increases in support and radicalization.

Factory Occupations: With the ongoing strikes, the time has come to demonstrate the superiority of socialist economic systems. Encourage the democratically elected strike committees to begin creating plans and production goals, and help serve as a forum for economic cooperation. Seize the means of production, and dare the dogs of capital to stop you! Of course, the seized factories will certainly be next on MacArthur’s list after he finally finishes putting out this latest round of fires...Cost: Failure will bleed support. Time: 1 month. DC: ??? Result: Significant increase in support, radicalization, and income.


Militant Actions

Additional Weapons: The armaments of your “regular” Red Guards are highly irregular, and the “irregulars” who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of “non-lethal” weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Go Hunting: In every city and town of America you face enemies. Hostile police forces, reactionary militias, mercenaries and Pinkertons hired by capitalists, and more. They all seek to oppress and suppress the workers. This cannot be borne. While the Red Guards continually battle in the streets, protecting protests, defending meetings, guarding agitators and organizers, they only rarely go on the offensive, and keep it strictly to retaliatory strikes on those most responsible for attacks. Asking for a more general attack would help weaken opposition, and perhaps see some justice done. Cost: Reduces support, reduces relations with the Parliamentarians, chance of it going badly. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Results: Red Guards begin attacking class enemies, chance of gaining Resources, Support, Influence...

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Establish Training Camps: There are many remote regions that the SPA has a prominent presence in. The mountains of West Virginia are littered with empty mines, while the endless plains of Iowa are nearly impossible to search without manpower that simply is not available to your enemies. These will be the perfect places to establish camps for your most dedicated Red Guards to begin turning them from paramilitaries skilled in street battles to soldiers of the Revolution. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/30/60/120. Result: Establish training camps in isolated areas for turning paramilitaries into soldiers in small numbers.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Take the Docks: In many cities, the powerful Dockworker’s Unions could stop the transfer of goods at will, or smuggle goods past customs inspectors. While this is mostly used for their own benefit, it could be a potent measure to increase the party’s resources and power. Unfortunately, given the suspicion being directed at the docks currently, such an action could provoke severe crackdowns that would have significant support. Cost: Severe risk of backlash, will likely increase corruption. DC: 10/35/70. Results: Gain income, easier smuggling, new options unlocked. Easier assistance from the Syndintern.

Gunrunning to the Midwest: You have small stockpiles of weapons and improvised explosives. While these are typically used by the Red Guards when attacking reactionaries and defending strikers, they may be put to better use defending the newest adherents to socialism. Given the control the unions have over many railyards, transportation will not be a problem. Cost: 2 Resources. Slight loss of support in the CSA. -5 Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/10. Result: Send weapons and explosives to the farming cooperatives, gain in support from the Red Grange.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Formal Trials: The most basic investigations Butler and his loyal men have completed have turned up a cesspool of corruption within the Red Guards. Bribery, theft, racketeering, abusing innocent men and women, brutality, rape, harassment, and every vice known to man. Currently, while most important figures know at least some of the details, no one knows about all of them. Butler wants all the dirty laundry aired, with teams of Red Guards, VFW, and police arresting the guilty and exposing their crimes. You question if that is the tactically best decision, but you recognize the principle behind it. And there is something to be said for being honest, and something else for getting it over with..You want to tell him to go ahead. You know it’s the right thing to do. But what if it costs you the Revolution?.Cost: Relations drop with everyone, especially the Totalists, loss of support with all factions in the CSA. Chance of backlash. Likely to weaken the Red Guards. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/20/30/50/100/140/180. Result: Probable gains in support from the SPU and AFL-CIO, probable gain in Relations with the Parliamentarians. Infighting. Removal of criminal elements. Make a principled stance. Make it easier for Jack to meet his daughter’s eyes. End the risk of someone else leaking how bad things are. ???

Target Rural Reactionaries: Even in towns protected by the Red Guards, there are various hostile elements that remain.Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom may well convert back if sufficiently intimidated. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/25/50/75/100/125. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives.


Cultural Actions

Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 6 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 3 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America’s shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.

(1 Influence Committed) Socialist Radio Networks: Huey Long has used the radio to spread his reactionary babble to thousands of Americans. We can do the same. Through speeches and interviews, your message can be broadcast. While some may turn off the radio rather than hear the truth, the more you reach the more you can convince. The first step will be to purchase...whatever it is that produces radio waves for broadcasts. That was never something you needed to learn in school. With migrant hordes crossing the land east and west, a way to reach them grows increasingly important. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 5/25/50/75. Results: Significantly easier recruiting, increased support.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Publicize Accomplishments: You have forced concessions from the hostile federal government, run a city successfully for months, defended the rights of soldiers, and won battles by the score in fields ranging from the courtroom to the street. Broadcast your successes, shout them from the rooftops, because this is only the beginning. There are doubtless thousands of workers who are held in bondage only by their fear. Knowledge of your might will banish that fear. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased propaganda about your successes.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.


Political Actions

State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/90/150. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions have left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 80/160/200. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile.Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/125. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 40. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses which maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/95/145. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment.

Revised Wealth Taxes: The governments need money. They are maintaining fairly balanced budgets for the time being, especially with the sudden reduction in salaries, but more income would be useful, especially if you intend for some of it to be eventually lost. The capitalists still have extensive funds that could be appropriated for the public good, even as they use a variety of legal tricks to protect their ill-gotten gains. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/60/100. Result: Increased, stronger wealth taxes.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: Slight loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions.



Intellectual Actions

The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 6 months. DC: No roll. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Who Supports Who?: If you looked out the window to see New York City, you would think nine in ten supported you. You are not fool enough to think that, of course. The Payment Army alone disproves that, let alone the bullying your daughter has experienced, the endless attempts at suppression, the thousands of letters denouncing you. Beginning to get an accurate count will be vital for effectively directing your efforts. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Get a general idea of where your support is strong and weak and what people are concerned about.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

Linguistic Life: The language federations are a powerful part of SPA politics. German, Jewish, Finnish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian...they are large, organized, and often highly radicalized. In many cases, they contain survivors of failed revolutions or escapees from persecution and repression. Militant and determined, they have taken leading roles in several initiatives, including the strikes in Boston. One possibility for appealing to them, and for fighting nativist sentiments, would be expanding the accommodations various programs give to foreign languages. This would include translating speeches and radio broadcasts, creating signs in multiple languages, and beginning to establish programs for cultural autonomy and ethnic liberation. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives and nativists such as the IWW MM, the SPU, and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for cultural autonomy and support for ethnic minorities.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled.

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships and abuses they endure under capitalism, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: Small loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.


Intrigue Actions

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.

Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That’s going to be really hard to find...but at the same time it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Revolutionary Guards: People have been threatening to kill you and your family and other leaders for a long time. You have developed protection against overt attacks, but perhaps it is time to begin developing a more covert sort of protection as well. Cost: - 2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Create organization of plainclothes bodyguards for you, your family, and other important figures. Unlock additional counterintelligence actions.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/50/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. The strike wave has further disrupted the supply situation. In other words, now is the perfect time to begin taking weapons that would have been used on the workers and turning them to the cause of liberation. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 25///??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.


Personal Actions

Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only once per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one).

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -10 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. DC: 0. Time: 1 month Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no focus.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

In the Cities - The cities are already where you are strongest, but there are still bourgeoise who can be convinced to turn against their class and proletariat who can be given consciousness, to say nothing of the lumpen. Time: 1 month. Effect: Modify The Struggle Carries On! (+1 Appeal in Urban Areas per month)

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Organize the Farmworkers - The migrating farmworkers are perhaps the easiest target for radicalization. Their formerly prosperous lives ripped away from them, pushed into desperate poverty, the food they work so hard to grow frequently burned in front of them as they starve...Time: 3 months. Effect: Significant increase to support among rural populations, +10 to the next 3 actions involving organizing or agitating in rural areas.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Dennis had been born a Democrat. Everyone was a Democrat in his West Virginia town, that was just the way it was. He had even joined a posse to chase off some Reds a few years ago. That had probably been the dumbest thing he had ever done, even dumber than the time he spent the entire night in the mine on a dare. Especially since he was buying drinks for one of the same Reds from so long ago.

“It was the mine closing that did us in. The bastard who owned it, his name is Perkins. He owned a half dozen in the area, shut down the company and laid us all off without our pensions. We sued, and the judge said that he had gone bankrupt or some such nonsense, so he didn’t have to pay us what we were owed. He closed the day before we got paid, too.”

Dennis set down the beer as Janet looked at him sympathetically. “It wasn’t fair, how they got away with everything, was it,” she said softly.

He nodded. “That’s damn right!” he said, pounding the table, then he looked around sheepishly.

“If my momma heard me talking like that around a lady, she'd tan my hide,” he said, cheeks turning red.

Janet laughed a little. “I’m hardly a lady,” she said, patting the gun at her side.

Dennis shrugged. “Still, it was impolite. Anyway, where was I? Right, Perkins. Well, that got me to start thinking. And then some of your comrades came around dressed up all nice and respectable, and he asked us if we thought it was fair. And plenty of us said no.”

He pounded the table again. “It wasn’t, we said, and he asked us what we were going to do about it.”

“Let me guess, none of you had any idea?”

Dennis nodded. “Right, well we talked, but it was all talk. Some of us wanted to go to Perkin’s mansion, but none of us had the guts. Some of us wanted to reopen the mine, but none of us had the money. I said we needed to meet up with everyone else that had been screwed over.”

And a wolfish smile spread across his face. “Then we paid Perkins a visit. We drove off his thugs and told him to pay us what we were owed or else. And that’s where you came in.”

He gestured to the bartender again, and his old buddy brought them another pair of beers with a grin. Dennis got a nod of approval which made him blush again. “It’s not like that!”, he thought frantically as his ears turned bright red.

She was looking intently at him. “You seem to be pretty good at this. What do you think we should do next?” she asked him.

“Well, you are the expert aren’t you?”

“I want to hear what you think.”

He paused, and thought about it. “Well, the judge has been replaced. So we could try the courts again. Things are looking up thanks to that state money, we managed to get some things together. But we need the mine...”

He looked at her with grim resolve. “They could have given us scraps a few years ago and we would have taken them happily, but they were too lost in the clouds too worry about us little folk down here. They sowed poverty, now they reap revolution!”

Janet nodded. “Perkins is about to find out what happens when he stands in the tide of history.”

The two walked out of the bar, side by side.


Sylvia stared blankly at the newspaper. She spent a lot of time staring blankly at things, since...she turned and began to count. “I can see the newspaper, the church, a car, a street sign, and Mr. William’s cat. I can hear the wind, a bird chirping, and my own voice.”

She felt better by the time she finished, but continued the set. Then she remembered what she had been trying to do, and focused on the words on the page. “They Reap Revolution!” the headline blared, describing the actions of a band of West Virginia miners who had been robbed by their boss forcibly repossessing the mines with “limited material assistance from the Red Guards.”

It lauded them for their discipline, organization, and willingness to advance the cause of the Revolution. It said “justice and democracy will not come if we sit and wait, asking those with power to give us their scraps. It must be advanced to, taken, seized.”

She thought of cold hands and the smell of church incense and the stench of the confession box. She glanced a few blocks down, where one of the Guards who had driven off the Klan and a flock of would-be apprentices were speaking.

Clutching the article like a talisman, she walked over.

“I know a man who was an informant and collaborator to the Klan. It’s Father Benedict, of the Our Lady of the Rosary.”

The flock erupted in outraged twittering. The Guard raised a hand and silenced him.

“The Klan don’t like Catholics,” he graveled.

“They liked this one. He quoted Father Coughlin sometimes, and he let them store their guns in the church, and he,” she swallowed, suddenly feeling like she was choking, “he let them use the confession box...”

She could see they were skeptical, but the Red Guard seemed to consider things. “Adam, Ben, Will, Patrick, you come with me. We are going to ask a few polite questions at this church...”

She didn’t see what happened next, but she heard it. She heard how the priest tried to run as soon as he saw them coming, how he threatened to damn them, how he claimed she was a lying whore, and how the Guard shot him down like a dog.

She had seized her justice.

And she wrote a letter to the newspaper, telling them so. And she asked how many women there were who couldn’t do the same, and what was being done to help them.


Rumors and News

December dawns crimson as the aftershocks of the strikes and violence continues to rock the country, and as winter storms pour red dust across dozens of cities. While further news reports have somewhat moderated the near-apocalyptic descriptions of the state secession movements, they have also brought more clarity about where violence did happen.

Only in Virginia did the National Guard, heavily infiltrated by Longist militias, actually turn on the U. S. Army, leading to the Battle of Norton, where Minutemen and traitor National Guards ambushed a column of the Army and then attacked a detachment in the town itself before being defeated.

MacArthur, working with several Congressional leaders and Curtis, has responded by announcing an ambitious plan of military reforms. Incompetent or distrusted officers are being sidelined or arrested, armories and military factories are being secured, and the National Guards are being brought under control. Or that’s the plan at least. Only the first few steps are being taken, and these proposals are facing vicious opposition in Congress.

However, after the Boston True Red Guards launched an attack on several churches that had been preaching anti-syndicalism and (hopefully) unintentionally slaughtered the wedding party of a local socialite, it gained some support. Huey Long is still opposing it, but fringe members of his coalition are breaking away to support “any way to stop syndicalist attacks on our American way of life.”

Long seems unable to bring them back into line as he is already struggling to corral some of the factions within his party as several attempt to purge or transform the KKK.

The attack has not halted the slow but steady growth of unions or the Red Grange, but it has led to significant divisions within the Red Guards in New England. The bloody scenes photographed and spread across newspapers has led many there to question their methods, while others have doubled down and insisted they are correct. Fistfights and arguments have begun running rampant, and things are starting to escalate.

Outside of that region however, the Red Guards have had minimal scandals and the SPA’s influence is only spreading. Inroads have begun on organizing the imported scabs on the West Coast, the radio programs are proving wildly popular, and the ongoing strikes have continued despite determined anti-socialist efforts. The threat of a statewide general strike in the middle of winter has led several coal companies to cave to the demands of the mining unions, ending the practice of company towns and wiping clean every miner’s debt...and the mostly white unions also demanded racial integration and equal pay in what appears to be a bottom up initiative. You poured yourself a celebratory beer when you heard the news.

And you poured yourself a consolation beer when you heard about the nascent Quebecois socialist group getting massacred by the Canadian army, Accounts differ in the number of deaths, but you have heard estimates of over two hundred people being executed by firing squad in the aftermath.

You have also heard of conflict growing in India, where syndicalism and other ideologies struggle for dominance and the Princely States attempt to maintain their power with Japanese support. The warlord of Baluchistan appears to have decided he has had enough and is rumored to begin negotiating with the INC for admission into their Republic of India.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee, satisfied with the steady radicalization of small-town workers and the slow growth in the size of socialist organizations, has now turned to taking advantage of the street brigades to begin construction projects, including the repair of bridges and railways that have been neglected due to the lack of funds and the collapse of the companies initially maintaining them.

The State Legislative Committee,confident in the ability of the workers to overcome any obstacle, is again working to expand their income sources through new taxes, and to further suppress reactionary groups, using the events in Indiana as an excuse.

Refreshed by his brief rest, Norman is working to counter federal efforts to support MacArthur’s reforms. And critically, without admitting it’s because we wish to weaken the US Army and the National Guards.

And Butler is still, still continuing his efforts to whip the Red Guards into shape although he has all but finished. However, he is determined to finish strongly and is devoting all his effort to convincing the remaining holdouts, especially given recent events.


You have 9 Influence and 1 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 1 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any foci.

The reactionaries are doubtless working to sow doubt and division in our ranks and to launch deadly attacks upon us. We need some system for warning of their infiltration and infection or protecting vital leadership from their attacks. Or both, both would be better.Establish some means of countering reactionary attacks and assassinations within 1 month (from the Totalists).

The first steps towards the social liberation of the proletariat have been taken with the revisions to the party line. It is time to take them further and apply the same logic to the other oppressed groups of society. Take an action to counter racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, or similar predijuces within 2 months (from the Syndicalists, they seem to have switched attitudes).


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Significant and very dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 70/130/170/215. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times.

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/180. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence.

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn’t a structural reason for their failures. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

Acquire Expertise: You are only one man, you cannot know or do everything. Having trusted subordinates who can do part of the work helps, but so too does having trusted advisors, people who can offer you advice for dealing with things you don’t quite understand. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Find assistant for chosen subject who can give significant bonuses and penalties to rolls and other situations.

Establish a Budget: While some of your subordinates have their own budgets to draw on, Butler does not. The standard expenditures towards the Red Guards are covering most of his needs, but without financial support there is only so much that can be done. Looking to the future, Butler has suggested you set aside some funds for him and other subordinates to use at their discretion. Cost: X Resources, -Y Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Chosen amount of Resources with chosen Resource income is set aside for the use of subordinates. It may be later modified as a Free Action.

Showcase Successes and Suffering: Your recent focus on the rural areas has earned you a great deal of criticism. Bringing your reasoning to the CSA and showing the benefits of this focus, both to the cause as a whole and to the people you have helped, can counter accusations of throwing away money and resources. It may also support the dwindling and flagging Red Guards in the Midwest, many of whom are likely to leave soon. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100. Result: Increased support from the Red Grange, possible support from other factions, decreased loss of support for rural actions.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Expand the Maximum Program: The recent wave of strikes and the changes to the party line have encouraged the growing radicalism in the party. Things that were controversial a few months ago are now demanded by all but the most staid figures. The current program is considered insufficient by some, particularly in its aspirations. They look at what the unions and the Red Guards have accomplished, and they ask “What else can we do?” And they say it could be the immediate abolition of capitalism, or even the state (if you ask the anarchists). Cost: Loss of support from the right wing of the party, decreased strength of the right wing, general loss of support, increased attention from the state.Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen left wing of the party, gain in support from the left wing. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Make Assurances: The class interests of the bourgeoisie have compelled them to work against you, but many workers have been terrified by the brazen attacks on the idols of their civic religion and your radical political proposals, even as they are attracted by the vision you propose. Publicizing assurances as to your more reassuring intentions, such as refusing to nationalize without fair compensation, could soothe some fear and comfort the newest members of the Combined Syndicates. Cost: Loss of support from the left wing of the party, decreased strength of the left wing, general loss of support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen right wing of the party, gain in support from the right wing, decreased attention from the state. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Private Promises: Although you may well be publicly changing your stance on certain issues, and pushing the party as a whole to do the same, you have no intention of abandoning your commitments, or leaving party members confused by the sudden shift, since that could lead to a sudden split. This is purely a rhetorical, tactical measure, you are willing to promise that to whoever needs to hear it in order to support you. In private of course, but the leadership of the various factions is generally trusted and respected. Cost: None. Time: 1 month, DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Mitigate costs of Make Assurances or Expand the Maximum Program

Condemn the Violence: You’ve seen the photos taken of the aftermath of the Wedding Day Massacres. Unlike some, you are not reduced to tears by the thought of capitalists dying, but you would prefer to avoid unneeded slaughter, especially in cases like this where it is frankly counterproductive. Even leaving aside the practical elements, the enthusiasm of the “True Red Guards” was reprehensible and the savage brutality they inflicted was horrific. Speaking against it is the right thing to do. Cost: ??.Time: 1 month. DC: 5/35/55. Result: Reduce negative impacts from the massacre.

Intervene in New England: The party organs in New England, closest to the site of the attack and most familiar with the people involved, are both the most divided and the most vitriolic in their debates. Requests for intervention have come in several times, along with accusations of various individuals being agent provocateurs, traitors to the revolution, revisionists...someone needs to do something before the party outright splinters there. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Intervene in party disputes, establish a position on the massacre.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Small-Town Unions: The farming cooperatives and the Red Grange are taking the lead in working with rural areas, providing the slowly growing unions there with expertise and assistance organizing. But another gap in your capabilities has been revealed. You don’t have much reach in the small twins that only have minor factories or mines. Unions have begun to slowly form in some of these towns, but more work needs to be done to ensure that these unions will represent their workers, and not serve as another tool of oppression by the town capitalists, especially given their relatively weak ideological underpinnings. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Strengthen newly formed unions organizationally and ideologically..

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens. +0.5 Resources per month. Gain support from IWW MA and MM.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/150. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/100. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased relations with the Syndicalists.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/125/150. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Form Farmer’s Cooperatives: The newly organized farmer’s cooperatives are young and fragile. They need tractors, fertilizer, organizational support, and more. The Red Grange is struggling to assist with these matters, lacking finances and reach. And the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the Great Plains. Government subsidies are being delayed and disappeared by hostile civil servants and damaged infrastructure. The party must take care of it’s newest members. Cost: 4 Resources, moderate loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80/100/120. Result: Expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, gain Relations with Ultraleft Farmer Labor and support from the Red Grange.

Seed Donations: The devastating droughts and dust storms have not just uprooted soil and those who work it, but the plants that grow in it. Losses due to spoilage, bad weather, and desperation have put many seed stocks at critically low levels. Fortunately, the French Commune has a far more robust agricultural sector that has largely recovered from the ravages of the Weltkrieg. They are willing to ship over stocks of seeds for a relatively low price in gold and some better quality machine tools. These shipments can then be transferred to farmers. Cost: 2 Resources, slight loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Slightly expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, slight gain of Relations and support from the Red Grange.

Special Foods: The gardens mostly produce simple crops like potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. While they have definitely improved the quality of the soups and stews and other meals served at the various people’s kitchens, spices and herbs are in short supply for those kitchens. It should be relatively simple to purchase some mint plants and various others to add them to these new gardens. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improve quality of meals at soup kitchens, gain support from The Teamster’s Union, the SPU, and the AFL-CIO.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/120/180. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Further Concessions: The strikes have already won a series of moderate concessions, but the number of workers walking out is only growing, if anything. In cities controlled by the SPA, factories effectively only run with the union’s consent. This is a mighty hammer, and one which should be used, especially since the strike going on for too long could be dangerous. Getting some significant concessions would allow for things to end without seeming defeated and let the strength of the working class grow for the next round of resistance. Cost: Failure will bleed support. Time: 1 month. DC: 55/??. Result: Increase in support and radicalization, option to “end” the strikes on a high note.

Factory Occupations: With the ongoing strikes, the time has come to demonstrate the superiority of socialist economic systems. Encourage the democratically elected strike committees to begin creating plans and production goals, and help serve as a forum for economic cooperation. Seize the means of production, and dare the dogs of capital to stop you! Of course, the seized factories will certainly be next on MacArthur’s list after he finally finishes putting out this latest round of fires...and the fact that some concessions have been made may further draw capitalist ire upon you. Cost: Failure will bleed support. Time: 1 month. DC: ??? Result: Significant increase in support, radicalization, and income.


Additional Weapons: The armaments of your “regular” Red Guards are highly irregular, and the “irregulars” who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of “non-lethal” weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Go Hunting: In every city and town of America you face enemies. Hostile police forces, reactionary militias, mercenaries and Pinkertons hired by capitalists, and more. They all seek to oppress and suppress the workers. This cannot be borne. While the Red Guards continually battle in the streets, protecting protests, defending meetings, guarding agitators and organizers, they only rarely go on the offensive, and keep it strictly to retaliatory strikes on those most responsible for attacks. Asking for a more general attack would help weaken opposition, and perhaps see some justice done. Cost: Reduces support, reduces relations with the Parliamentarians, chance of it going badly. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Results: Red Guards begin attacking class enemies, chance of gaining Resources, Support, Influence...

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Establish Training Camps: There are many remote regions that the SPA has a prominent presence in. The mountains of West Virginia are littered with empty mines, while the endless plains of Iowa are nearly impossible to search without manpower that simply is not available to your enemies. These will be the perfect places to establish camps for your most dedicated Red Guards to begin turning them from paramilitaries skilled in street battles to soldiers of the Revolution. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/30/60/120. Result: Establish training camps in isolated areas for turning paramilitaries into soldiers in small numbers.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Red Guard Commissars: With the loyalty of the remaining Red Guards secured, it is time for them to be ideologically indoctrinated in the need for the soldiers of the Revolution to maintain the highest standards of behavior. The appointment of small groups of commissars will help with this process, serving as an example to the troops they guide and providing guidance, advice, and support, similar to the role of Chaplains in the regular military. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 50/80/120. Result: Commissars for the Red Guards formed.

Codes of Conduct: The decentralized nature of the Red Guards means that each unit tends to have its own rules. While a certain degree of this is acceptable and even beneficial, it is also very frustrating for the leadership. A recent proposal is to create a loose set of guidelines and recommendations for the rules and structure of each unit, with those who fail to maintain themselves within these guidelines being expelled from the greater organization. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Vote on nature of the code of conduct.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

Gunrunning to the Midwest: You have small stockpiles of weapons and improvised explosives. While these are typically used by the Red Guards when attacking reactionaries and defending strikers, they may be put to better use defending the newest adherents to socialism. Given the control the unions have over many railyards, transportation will not be a problem. Cost: 2 Resources. Slight loss of support in the CSA. -5 Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/10. Result: Send weapons and explosives to the farming cooperatives, gain in support from the Red Grange.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Formal Trials: The most basic investigations Butler and his loyal men have completed have turned up a cesspool of corruption within the Red Guards. Bribery, theft, racketeering, abusing innocent men and women, brutality, rape, harassment, and every vice known to man. Currently, while most important figures know at least some of the details, no one knows about all of them. Butler wants all the dirty laundry aired, with teams of Red Guards, VFW, and police arresting the guilty and exposing their crimes. You question if that is the tactically best decision, but you recognize the principle behind it. And there is something to be said for being honest, and something else for getting it over with..You want to tell him to go ahead. You know it’s the right thing to do. But what if it costs you the Revolution?.Cost: Relations drop with everyone, especially the Totalists, loss of support with all factions in the CSA. Chance of backlash. Likely to weaken the Red Guards. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/20/30/50/100/140/180. Result: Probable gains in support from the SPU and AFL-CIO, probable gain in Relations with the Parliamentarians. Infighting. Removal of criminal elements. Make a principled stance. Make it easier for Jack to meet his daughter’s eyes. End the risk of someone else leaking how bad things are. ???

Target Rural Reactionaries: Even in towns protected by the Red Guards, there are various hostile elements that remain.Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom may well convert back if sufficiently intimidated. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/25/50/75/100/125. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 6 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 2 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America’s shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Publicize Accomplishments: You have forced concessions from the hostile federal government, run a city successfully for months, defended the rights of soldiers, and won battles by the score in fields ranging from the courtroom to the street. Broadcast your successes, shout them from the rooftops, because this is only the beginning. There are doubtless thousands of workers who are held in bondage only by their fear. Knowledge of your might will banish that fear. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased propaganda about your successes.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Condemn the KKK: The KKK and similar organizations are strongly entrenched in many regions of the country, but in others they are viewed with far more distaste, even if they are considered somewhat respectable because they claim to “protect white women” against “the Negro hordes” and other such nonsense. The Stephenson scandal and the many associated revelations has publicly cratered their reputation. And now it is time to end them once and for all. Publish every bit of filthy testimony far and wide. Ask mothers and fathers if they know what’s hiding behind those white hoods. Destroy the Klan’s support base root and branch everywhere you can reach it. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Increased anti-Klan propaganda, the KKK dramatically loses support.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for it’s most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/90/150. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions have left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 80/160/200. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile.Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/125. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 40. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses which maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/95/145. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begun relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

Revised Wealth Taxes: The governments need money. They are maintaining fairly balanced budgets for the time being, especially with the sudden reduction in salaries, but more income would be useful, especially if you intend for some of it to be eventually lost. The capitalists still have extensive funds that could be appropriated for the public good, even as they use a variety of legal tricks to protect their ill-gotten gains. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/60/100. Result: Increased, stronger wealth taxes.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: Slight loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions.



The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced suppurt in the CSA based on the decisions.. Time: 6 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Who Supports Who?: If you looked out the window to see New York City, you would think nine in ten supported you. You are not fool enough to think that, of course. The Payment Army alone disproves that, let alone the bullying your daughter has experienced, the endless attempts at suppression, the thousands of letters denouncing you. Beginning to get an accurate count will be vital for effectively directing your efforts. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Get a general idea (including a map) of where your support is strong and weak and what people are concerned about.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

Linguistic Life: The language federations are a powerful part of SPA politics. German, Jewish, Finnish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian...they are large, organized, and often highly radicalized. In many cases, they contain survivors of failed revolutions or escapees from persecution and repression. Militant and determined, they have taken leading roles in several initiatives, including the strikes in Boston. One possibility for appealing to them, and for fighting nativist sentiments, would be expanding the accommodations various programs give to foreign languages. This would include translating speeches and radio broadcasts, creating signs in multiple languages, and beginning to establish programs for cultural autonomy and ethnic liberation. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives and nativists such as the IWW MM, the SPU, and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for cultural autonomy and support for ethnic minorities.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled.

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships and abuses they endure under capitalism, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: Small loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.


Investigate the Machines: Fragments of the Democrats and the Republicans have begun drifting towards you over the past several months, with the latest gunfight bringing about a sharp change in several group’s positions. However, they are still trusted insiders in their parties, and this gives you an opportunity to get an inside look at the often rather opaque workings of the party machines, to better co-opt or destroy them. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Gain information and opportunities to take over or break various political machines.

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.

Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That’s going to be really hard to find...but at the same time it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

(1 Influence committed) Revolutionary Guards: People have been threatening to kill you and your family and other leaders for a long time. You have developed protection against overt attacks, but perhaps it is time to begin developing a more covert sort of protection as well. Cost: - 2 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 35/??/???. Result: Create organization of plainclothes bodyguards for you, your family, and other important figures. Unlock additional counterintelligence actions.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/70/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. The strike wave has further disrupted the supply situation. In other words, now is the perfect time to begin taking weapons that would have been used on the workers and turning them to the cause of liberation. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only once per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one).

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -10 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no focus.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

Mass Propaganda Efforts - One way to convince those who are not yet members of the SPA is to launch a propaganda blitz. Put posters on every wall, have their friends and neighbors recruit them, give them no escape from the truth. Time: 1 month. Effect: Gain +1 temporary Influence for propaganda actions only

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoise are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Organize the Farmworkers - The migrating farmworkers are perhaps the easiest target for radicalization. Their formerly prosperous lives ripped away from them, pushed into desperate poverty, the food they work so hard to grow frequently burned in front of them as they starve...Time: 3 months. Effect: Significant increase to support among rural populations, +10 to the next 3 actions involving organizing or agitating in rural areas.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Condemn the Violence: 1 Influence, 94+5 = 99
Husbands and wives died in each other’s arms. Children bled to death, sobbing in pain. A church attended by socialists and capitalists alike burned to ash. These are the fruits of the “heroic attack” of the “True Red Guards,” an attack they proudly proclaimed responsibility for by calling it in on your radio networks. And most cutting of all, they praised you for inspiring them.

You wanted to demand they turn themselves in to face trial personally, but your new bodyguards, Louise, Flora, and several others all insisted that you shouldn’t. All the while a reporter had apparently been waiting for your comment on the attack.

You spew venom at the attackers, and you do not hold back. You make polite requests to attend the memorial for the victims, you thunder that they are cowards, bullies, and scum whose presence in the socialist movement is not to be tolerated. You push a motion to expel every member of the True Red Guards, and as controversial as it is, the motion is passed.

The only way to make your stance on the matter would be to write them in mile-high flaming letters, possibly using the corpses of the murderous dogs responsible as kindling.

That comment ends up in the newspaper as well.

There are objections. There are challenges to your leadership. There are even motions to unseat you. You stand against them all like a rock being battered by waves. The terror is a cost of the revolution, not the goal. And you will not allow any member of the SPA to say otherwise, not while you lead.

Result: The loss of support from the attack is significantly ameliorated at the cost of turmoil within the party and an increase in stress.


Intervene in New England:1 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 30+19 = 49
You traveled directly to Boston and to Portland, the hearts of the two sides of the debate. In Boston, the actions of the True Red Guards have been thoroughly rejected. Those responsible for the attacks have not dared to show their faces within the city, their supporters, allies, and families have been accosted and interrogated, and in one case publicly executed in the middle of a bar after they called for an attack on the memorial to the victims.

In Portland, the socialist movement has not had the luxury of strength. The police have raided their safehouses, attacked their meetings, and infiltrated their organizations. Blue-masked paramilitaries that often contained those same men went after the leadership in vicious extralegal attacks, brutalizing people to a sickening extent. And the Portland socialists have begun responding in kind, using fire and poison as their weapons of choice.

You suspect this is where the True Red Guard went to ground, although the men you met with denied it.

You want to tell them that their actions are wrong, that such callousness only harms the cause you share. You want to command them to stop turning the weapons of the reactionaries upon them. But you aren’t sure if you could look into the one remaining eye of Sam Wiggins and tell him he’s wrong for burning down the house of the man who did that to him. And you aren’t sure he would listen if you said so.

Why can’t things ever be simple?

It’s not even a question of right and difficult versus wrong and easy. Whatever you decide to push for, you will face backlash and hostility. You fear you could even cause a rupture in the party which would be devastating to your efforts. And while the path of limited violence has the easiest moral arguments, you are sure someone could come up with a convincing chain of logic about why war to the knife is the best option. Something about lesser evils and greater goods and necessary sacrifices and making hard decisions, perhaps.

In the end, you decide...

[] The Path of Peace. Justice and reform can only be won through nonviolent, peaceful protest. The ballot is the only way forward, not the bullet. Use non-violent action to shame your opponents into surrendering.

[] Strength in Restraint. Your goals give you the moral high ground, but your actions must do the same. Show the ethical superiority of your cause through refusing to escalate to the vicious and violent tactics of your opponents. It will require a significantly higher level of discipline and commitment from those who do the fighting, and anger many who have lost homes, limbs, and family members to the cruel repressions the capitalists favor, but it will also appease many who fear you wish to set up a Jacobin Terror. Result: Significant hostility from those who advocate for less restraint, significant favor from those who advocate for more.

[] Rules of Engagement. While you cannot countenance strict limitations on the tactics the Red Guards use, you are willing to propose a semi-restrictive series of guidelines on when some of the more extreme methods can be used. This is a minor change to the status quo, effectively formalizing what is already done. This will infuriate the most radical and violent Red Guards cadres while being seen as the bare minimum by the more restrained groups. Result: Moderate hostility from those who advocate for less restraint

[] The Status Quo. This whole trip was nothing more than a headache, one that left you exhausted and demoralized and missing your family. You can’t afford to anger any of the groups on either end of the matter, so you will settle their immediate disputes, remind them of the greater struggle, and then leave and stop by a bar to get a couple of drinks. Result: ++Stress, no change in support or hostility.

[] Local Initiative. It’s impossible to fight any kind of war from the central headquarters, especially one as chaotic and confused as a class war that had not yet turned into open battle. So you will acknowledge what is already true and let local commanders decide what level of brutality is best, without anything beyond the most tacit encouragements for restraint and moderation. This will doubtless anger many who see it as legitimizing the recent massacre and similar events without winning you any great support. Result: Moderate hostility from those who advocate for more restraint

[] Meet Them in Kind. The capitalists and their enforcers preside over a system unmatched in its monstrous nature, and they have rejected peaceful methods. They want to murder and mutilate? Fine, then they can expect to be met with the same. You don’t get to advocate for peaceful protest while gunning those protestors down in the street. It’s time to make them understand that. Some might protest, fearing the Red Terror and its consequences from your movement, but others will understand that the tree of liberty needs the blood of tyrants to grow. Result: Significant hostility from those who advocate for more restraint, significant favor from those who advocate for less.

[] Ours is the Terror. They think themselves impervious and unrestrained, free to slaughter strikers and punish protestors. They think themselves paragons of mortality while signing death warrants by the million and robbing those who work to make them prosper blind. Every single day, the bloody toll they take grows. And now it is time for them to learn what that feels like.


Further Concessions: 2 Influence, 93+49+15 = 157

You make some arrangements for SPA agitators to serve as go-betweens for the striking unions and the capitalists. And more importantly, for the unions and for scabs. In cities across the nation, the strikes suddenly and swiftly expand as the bands of would-be scabs change sides and unfurl red banners. From Seattle to Norfolk, a series of crushing victories for the labor movement have been won. Closed shops have been established, pension funds created, worker’s compensation mandated. Strikebreaker agencies across the country find themselves lacking work as the capitalists who hired them are forced to end the contracts or face further discipline from the unions.

The mood is triumphant, for it seems like nothing can stop the worker’s united. The Revolution is at hand, surely. Perhaps now is the moment?

Even you find the mood heady and intoxicating. Your dream seems to be on the edge of becoming reality. Then word comes from some of the more distant parts of the US.

First it comes from Norfolk, where U. S. Marines landed, reinforcing police detachments as they moved in to arrest the entire leadership of the local branches of the SPA and CSA.
Then it comes from Oklahoma City, where the multiracial Cowboy’s Union was gunned down by an alliance of reactionary militias, with the Silver Legion and the newly formed Redeemed KKK leading the charge.

Then it comes from Montana, where striking miners were buried in a cave-in deliberately caused by strikebreakers.

At least the defeat of the strike in San Diego didn’t involve violence, only somewhat more moderate than hoped-for concessions.

The mood in the SPA turns ugly. The ranks of the Red Guards swell. The demands for strong, significant action rise.

And those who insisted that nonviolence was the only way forward find themselves growing increasingly discredited.

Result: The strikes end with major victories in most areas but also several bloody defeats, leading to a sharp growth in radicalization. +1 Gravitas from the successful conclusion of the strike wave.



Formal Trials: 3 Influence, 20+55+72+15 = 162
The way segments of the Red Guards behaved was absolutely sickening. Behind the brutal violence many groups employed on their enemies, the thorough investigations Butler began have uncovered even more rot. And you have been warned that this is only what was immediately obvious, it is highly likely that there are other crimes whose perpetrators have covered their tracks.

First and foremost, many groups have been stealing by establishing mandatory “donations”, committing robberies, or skimming off the top of the money they conducted more legitimately. Racketeering was also fairly common, with protection for strikes or even day-to-day activities requiring fees to be paid.

Other Red Guards groups simply used the guns and support they received to settle local scores and feuds, especially in some of the more remote areas of the country.

Finally, all manner of thuggery and cruelty has been practiced that goes above and beyond the worker’s struggle. Rape, massacres, torture, mutilation...the details are sickening, nauseating, but you force yourself to read them. You get to the hundredth case before you have to stop, and there are hundreds more.

And while rumors about the criminal behavior of Red Guards units have been circulating since the first one formed, never before has anyone even begun to realize the true scope of the abuses committed across the country. Measures will have to be taken, and soon, to prevent repeats.

But here and now, you have a different, far more painful job to do. Telegraphs go out to trusted men and women with lists of names. Gunfire and cursing erupts across the country as people are arrested.

Then, taking a deep breath, you enter a conference room with reporters from a variety of newspapers, some friendly and some hostile and tell them the truth. The questions, the shock, the outrage, it all bounces off you. You have said your piece. It is time to let your actions do the talking.

But what was the scope of these actions? The consequences are unforeseeable and unpredictable, but they will be serious no matter what you choose. The wrath of some segments of the party will be intense if you take one approach, and the wrath of others will be furious if you take others. Do as your conscience dictates, you cannot do more.

[] Clean sweep. Everyone suspected was arrested and tried, with those found guilty being harshly punished. You will not tolerate such behavior, you will never tolerate it.

[] Thorough but gentle. Everyone suspected was arrested and tried, with those found guilty being punished with varying severity. Such behavior cannot be tolerated, but sincere repentance should be encouraged.

[] Make examples. Those who committed the most egregious and outrageous actions were tried and punished harshly, while some of those who did less awful things were given more moderate punishments. You can’t afford to gut the Red Guards, so you will have to make your stance clear.

[] A shot across the bows. The worst of the worst are to be punished harshly, while others will receive slaps on the wrist, and still others will have suspended sentences or similar minor punishments. The Red Guard must be ready for battle, you have to make your point and pray that it is understood.


Already, aftershocks are erupting in the party. It will take some time before you can be clear what form they will take.


Condemn the KKK: 1 Influence, 92+30 = 122

“What do we call men who claim to protect you but hide their faces? Who founded their organization to murder blameless schoolmarms? Who rape and steal and kill with impunity and proclaim themselves heroes? You might call them cowards. You might call them savages, or blackguards. Or you could call them the KKK.”

You glance at the host of America Today, the most anti-syndicalist radio program on your network.

“And before you speak of the recent revelations, the Red Guard are fully cooperating with the legitimate authorities. Some might tolerate monsters in their ranks out of fear. The Socialist Party of America does not. We are better than that.”

Your words ripple across the country. Very few newspapers are unwilling to report on such a dramatic revelation, and one with such thorough evidence, including stories from several surviving Klansmen who were offered to be tried in Virginia instead of Indiana or Ohio if they turned on their fellows. Some might try to downplay it, or put more emphasis on your recent announcements, but the stories are just too juicy.

And already the aftershocks are damaging the Klan. They are splitting, members leaving, especially in states where they are weaker and the Red Guards and local police are disinclined to favor Longist auxiliaries. At least three splinter groups of varying size and influence have formed within weeks, there have been reports of firefights between different chapters, and Pelley and Long have both attacked the Klan, with Pelley calling them “cowards” and “un-Chrisitian pseudo-white supremacists” while Long questioned who they were wearing masks for.

Result: You punched the Klan in the face, kneed them in the balls, knocked their legs out from under them, and then stomped on their arms.


Revolutionary Guards: 1 Influence, 40

With your bodyguards secured, the next thing to do is create the larger organization of the Revolutionary Guards. Not just for future expansion as more people begin to need protection against a variety of dangers, but to begin creating the roots of a counterintelligence agency that will help keep you abreast of dangerous developments, identify infiltrators and agent provocateurs, and...is there more to counterintelligence? You assume there is.

Either way, the Revolutionary Guards will be able to handle it.

Already, they have alerted you to the fact that some of the party’s ultra-left wing are growing concerned that the burdens of leadership and fatherhood are softening you, and that it may be necessary to form their own segment of the party to handle such affairs and allow you to keep your hands clean. Although it appears to be just talk for the time being.

Result: The beginnings of a counterintelligence organization form. Action continues



Report from the Coordination Committee: 2 Influence on Local Infrastructure, 57+29+5 = 91

The first thing to be repaired is roads. Outside the cities, roads are often gravel or dirt, and funds for repairing them have been increasingly stressed. Volunteers from the street brigades incentivized by special vouchers and professional roadworkers are shipped out to pot-hole laden stretches of road and set to work on repairing the decaying surfaces.

Meanwhile, small amounts of funding are earmarked for rail foundries to provide the parts for repairing some of the damaged railroads in areas where the companies that owned them have been unable or unwilling to do the work. Some have begun proposing nationalizing these railroads or demanding compensation.

[] Sounds like a plan. The SLC will do it.
[] It should be done carefully. It will be an option for the players to take
[] It’s too provocative. It will not be available unless the situation changes.

Also, to truly begin revitalizing the rail network, there will need to be more resources than the towns and cities involved in the Coordination Committee can afford to spend.

[] We’ll cut you a check. Write-in the amount
[] Sorry, we don’t have the money.


Report from the State Legislative Committee: 1 Influence on Revised Wealth Taxes, 94-24 = 70, 1 Influence on Anti-Reactionary Laws, 92-24 = 68
While you know that the workers can overcome any obstacle, you did not expect things to go this well. Surely someone must have taken a bribe or misfiled paperwork or done....something wrong?

Or at least something seriously wrong. There have been plenty of petty complaints. But the new taxes are far more direct, targeting those who play the stock market unless they agree to turn over a certain amount of their assets to state management. There are still shell games being played, often involving German or Candian owners, but the governments still take their pound of flesh. The howls of outrage that issue from the fashionable parts of New York City are a balm to your aching soul.

And the anti-reactionary laws are a vicious masterpiece, stripping the right to own guns or vote from those convicted of certain laws, particularly ones that reactionaries are liable to fall victim to. And it also outlaws attempts at using economic, social, or legal pressure to force someone to vote “against their own material interest.”

And since syndicalism is to the material benefit of the vast majority of the population...


Report from Norman Thomas: 3 Influence on Fighting the Federal Army Reorganization Bill, 38+87+37+10 = 172
It would be unfair to say Norman let you down. He still did wonderfully, it’s just that his previous successes may have given you slightly unrealistic views of his abilities. You know he sees you in the same way sometimes.

He did fight the passage of the half a dozen bills that were part of this grand reorganization, and he defeated some of them, most notably the one requiring state governors to submit to total federal control of their National Guards and several budget increases.

But MacArthur managed to do an end-run around you through the use of executive orders, which gave him the authority to expand the army, establish new military academies, create a new branch called the Special Military Police, and “draw on the necessary United States government resources to fulfill the missions of the United States Army unless countermanded by the military’s lawful superiors.”

It’s being fought in court, and will be fought every step of the way. But several Supreme Court justices insist this is legal.

The only advantage is this gives you a very loud drum to beat.


Report from Smedley Butler: 2 Influence on Instilling Discipline, 68+97+10=175
The first test of the new discipline of the Red Guards is when they are read the list of crimes of their comrades. There is guilt in their eyes. Perhaps the guilt of those who know they did the same things but did not get caught, perhaps the guilt of those who saw and said nothing, perhaps the guilt of having not been able to stop it.

But they are told to see justice done, and they see it with grim determination. They are still paramilitaries, rough and ragged. Some were thieves, some were thugs, some were simple laborers. But for a moment, they are something far greater.

It is only a glimpse of what they could be, of steely-eyed soldiers laying the battle flags of a thousand defeated armies before a monument to the victims of capitalism, of men and women running through a hail of bullets and shellfire to raise a red flag, of the Internationale rising from a thousand doomed throats as they stand and die fighting for a cause they know they will not live to see triumph.

It is a glimpse of the Second Continental Army in all its glory and fervor. It is a glimpse you will need to turn into reality.


Personal Attention: Condemn the KKK

You have spent a great deal of time on this matter. You personally interviewed the surviving Oberholtzers. You spoke with surviving captured Klansmen to encourage them to turn their fellows in for their own safety (and felt like taking a bath afterward). And you went on the radio to let the world know exactly what you thought.

And the world listened.

Choose A Focus: Mass Propaganda Efforts

Posters and newspapers and pamphlets and speeches. Protests and rallies, symbols and songs. These are the ways your message is spread. And spread it must, for you will need every hand that can pull a plow or operate a machine or shoot a gun when the capitalists inevitably try to suppress you. The battle for the hearts and minds of America is but one front in the final conflict, but it is an important one.

Result: +1 Influence next turn for actions marked as Propaganda actions.
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
[X] Clean sweep. Everyone suspected was arrested and tried, with those found guilty being harshly punished. You will not tolerate such behavior, you will never tolerate it.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
The New Year dawned on a blustery night in New York City. Mud and slush filled the streets, and flakes of tinted snow drifted past the crowds of revelers. There were far more this year than there had been 365 days ago.

This year, the poor of the city turned out in force, entire blocks of the city sectioned off for roaring parties. Music spilled from dance halls, alcohol spilled from barrels, slogans spilled from agitators. Money flowed slowly into the city, and this time, it stayed in the pockets of people who earned it.

Last year they were destitute. By comparison, this year they were rich!

But not everyone was happy with this state of affairs.

Six men with guns on their hips met in the back corner of tiny bar. They shared looks, then one man spoke. “We have come far comrades, and we have further to go,” he said, and then his voice hitched.

“But not all of us have made it. To absent friends,” he said, lifting his glass.

They echoed the toast, and then downed their whiskeys in a single gulp, the fiery burn distracting them for a moment.

“Now, to business. We;ve had word from our friend in the mob that they are moving a shipment of guns and ammo in the early morning tomorrow. We’re getting that shipment, and distributing it to the neighborhood militias.”

They plotted, and planned, and as dawn broke five mobsters died.

And in the same bar, six men met. “We did well today, comrades,” their leader said with a yawn.

“We have advanced the cause of the Revolution. Now let’s see how we could do it better.”


In a bank office, four men met. A woman poured them tea, then retreated as silent as a ghost.

“We have to relocate our assets, sir. After the recent debacles, our security forces are threadbare, and we haven’t been able to recruit more. The gold can’t fall into syndicalist hands, heaven only knows what they will do with it.”

The room was dead silent for a moment, the banker staring at his two sweating assistants. “If you can’t find local security, look elsewhere. Perhaps we need to hire foreign assistance. Germans, or Russians, neither of them have trouble with red radicals”

The fourth man spoke. “My friends, I believe I may have a simpler solution to your problems. I am a personal friend of the good general, and he is most certainly interested in securing the American economy.”

The banker sighed, wondering how the economy could be any less secure, and if the good general realized the problems he was causing by going out of his way to commit massacres. “How much does MacArthur need?”

They plotted, and planned, and as dawn broke a phone call was made.

And in the same office, four men met. “MacArthur has promised us only a few men, but he’s also promised us four armored cars, with guards and drivers. We’ll need to come up with a plan to get the gold and the papers onto the cars and out of the city as fast as possible...”


Creeping into a motel room, five men and women met. “While the masses celebrate what they see as victories, forces are gathering to destroy us all. We are not the only ones who recognize this, but we are the only ones bold enough to do something about it...” their leader said.
“What about Comrade Reed?” asked one woman.

“Reed’s a coward,” said the other.

“He’s not a coward, he’s just...reluctant. This won’t be like Russia, our working class is much stronger, and less Slavic.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” everyone else asked.

They bickered and argued andas dawn broke they took a vote.

“Alright, we’ll watch some of the bourgeois leadership, and work on recruiting from the radicalized proletariat. But if no progress is made by Reed and his comrades...”

1934 dawned, and new plans were made as the center of America fell apart. No one knew what the future could hold...but they knew it would be bloody.

Rumors and News

The old year dies fighting and the new one is birthed howling. Chaos wracks every faction that battles for the hearts and minds of Americans, and not even winter cold can stop the marches and the protests and the riots.

In the south, Huey Long’s condemnation of the KKK has led the paramilitary to begin splitting with him, with the majority choosing to prioritize “defending Southern heritage” over “defeating the syndicalist menace.” Half an hour after some of his more poorly chosen words were heard over the radio, the Democrats were once more a competitive party in the Deep South, with men in white hoods standing guard at rallies and protecting the party offices they were burning not too long ago. The remaining Klan leadership appears to be trying to ally with both Long and the Democrats, perhaps in hopes of forging a united front.

And while it is likely that this split will be temporary, it has already cost Long severely as several state governments, including both Carolinas, have broken from the anti-MacArthur front Long and the AFP have been working to build. National Guard contracting and weapon storage, along with other functions, are now under federal oversight. It will take time and effort for that to be undone, time they perhaps cannot afford.

You cannot even begin to predict what sort of damage this is doing inside the opaque halls of AFP power.

Meanwhile, MacArthur and Curtis build on the fear and panic caused by the strike wave, the violence in Boston, and a failed assaination attempt by South Carolinian National Guardsman who turned his gun on Curtis in protest of the attempted “ Satanic Judaization of America.”

Amazingly, despite the man being an AFP member, this has barely impacted Long, who rapidly condemned the attack and noted that the man in question was in the process of being expelled due to a habit of accusing everyone of being Jewish assassins.

As important as this all is to you, and as significant as the creation of new chapters of the Red Grange and the expansion of unions in Troy, New York is, your attention is entirely taken up by the aftershocks of the attacks and your decisions.

Bill Foster had dropped a bomb in the party offices, denouncing you as a coward and a reformist, and all but threatening to leave the party. Browder talked him down, the two former friends arguing savagely on the debate floor, both condemning you without hesitation as they debated the correct course of action and how to correct the “collaborationist deviation.”

In the end, the party stayed united, but its fringes have transformed, with the Ultra-Ulraleft rising, determined to see the Revolution completed in full and the capitalists fought to the last bullet and the last drop of blood. This new faction is divided on every topic but one: that there must be no hesitation or mercy, that the crimes of capital and the criminals who commit them must be scourged from the world.

The TUUL remains steadfast in its opposition to you, while other shifts within the CSA remain opaque for the time being as they wait to see how you react to this challenge.

The strikes have halted for the time being, and the workers celebrate their successes. While some look to more ambitious gains, others count the bodies these gains had required and fear what going further will require.

On the West Coast, unions have begun to splinter under legal and capitalist pressure, with unions of a more reformist bent rising. These will need to be countered, lest they rob the working class of its energy.

Nothing new has been heard from Canada. The current situation continues, but it can only remain in such an unstable state for so long.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee is turning their efforts from infrastructure to smaller tasks, such as working with small town unions and rural cooperatives to spread propaganda in support of allied politicians.

The State Legislative Committee, confident in the power of revolutionary fervor to overcome even the harshest obstacles, is now moving to create a program of subsidies where companies and factories that meet certain standards of worker ownership can receive state investments.

Norman Thomas is looking to form a broader front of anti-MacArthur politicians in hopes of eventually recruiting them, focusing on dissident Republicans and Progressives.

And Smedley Butler was hoping to begin expanding training facilities, but for the time being is working to create a corp of Red Commissiars.


You have 8 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 1 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any foci. You also have 1 Temporary Influence that can only be used for propaganda-related actions, which is about 90% of the Cultural Actions category

The willingness of Curtis and MacArthur and their allies to ignore the Constitution and trample their bourgeois democracy’s principles is disturbing, but aside from worrying us, it has also alienated some of their more norm-dedicated allies and their other enemies. It would be worth approaching them to strengthen the opposition...Make an electoral alliance or poach politicians within 3 months (from the Parliamentarians).

The workers of the United States are certainly one of the most advanced and organized sections of the working class, but in certain places and certain industries they remain divided and deluded by capitalists. Strike against this confusion, send agitators to disrupt hostile groups and organizers to rally the workers against their oppressors. They have nothing to lose but their chains! Send agitators and organizers, whether openly or covertly, to an area or group within 3 months (from the Center).

While a certain degree of neglect towards the party has been demonstrated, your leadership has overall been sound. However, the stress is surely beginning to get to you, and a lack of detailed knowledge of where to best focus our scattered resources is probably also weighing on your mind. Take a break and attempt to find more detail on local support within 2 months (from the Totalists, the Center, and the Orthodox).

The capitalist oppression of the working class grows more intolerable by the day. If the leadership of the SPA will not commit to their liberation by any means necessary, we will. Begin efforts to suppress and terrify reactionaries within 6 months (From the Ultra-Ultraleft).

The first steps towards the social liberation of the proletariat have been taken with the revisions to the party line. It is time to take them further and apply the same logic to the other oppressed groups of society. Take an action to counter racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, or similar predijuces within 1 month (from the Syndicalists, they seem to have switched attitudes and from the Anarchists).


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Significant and very dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 70/140/180/220. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times.

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/180. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence.

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn’t a structural reason for their failures. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

Acquire Expertise: You are only one man, you cannot know or do everything. Having trusted subordinates who can do part of the work helps, but so too does having trusted advisors, people who can offer you advice for dealing with things you don’t quite understand. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Find assistant for chosen subject who can give significant bonuses and penalties to rolls and other situations.

Establish a Budget: While some of your subordinates have their own budgets to draw on, Butler does not. The standard expenditures towards the Red Guards are covering most of his needs, but without financial support there is only so much that can be done. Looking to the future, Butler has suggested you set aside some funds for him and other subordinates to use at their discretion. Cost: X Resources, -Y Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Chosen amount of Resources with chosen Resource income is set aside for the use of subordinates. It may be later modified as a Free Action.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Expand the Maximum Program: The recent wave of strikes and the changes to the party line have encouraged the growing radicalism in the party. Things that were controversial a few months ago are now demanded by all but the most staid figures. The current program is considered insufficient by some, particularly in its aspirations. They look at what the unions and the Red Guards have accomplished, and they ask “What else can we do?” And they say it could be the immediate abolition of capitalism, or even the state (if you ask the anarchists). Cost: Loss of support from the right wing of the party, decreased strength of the right wing, general loss of support, increased attention from the state.Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen left wing of the party, gain in support from the left wing. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Make Assurances: The class interests of the bourgeoisie have compelled them to work against you, but many workers have been terrified by the brazen attacks on the idols of their civic religion and your radical political proposals, even as they are attracted by the vision you propose. Publicizing assurances as to your more reassuring intentions, such as refusing to nationalize without fair compensation, could soothe some fear and comfort the newest members of the Combined Syndicates. Cost: Loss of support from the left wing of the party, decreased strength of the left wing, general loss of support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen right wing of the party, gain in support from the right wing, decreased attention from the state. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Private Promises: Although you may well be publicly changing your stance on certain issues, and pushing the party as a whole to do the same, you have no intention of abandoning your commitments, or leaving party members confused by the sudden shift, since that could lead to a sudden split. This is purely a rhetorical, tactical measure, you are willing to promise that to whoever needs to hear it in order to support you. In private of course, but the leadership of the various factions is generally trusted and respected. Cost: None. Time: 1 month, DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Mitigate costs of Make Assurances or Expand the Maximum Program

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Ulra-Ultraleft: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Ultra-Ultraleft, will politically indebt you to other factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize Ultra-Ultraleft, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

A Generous Gesture: You are no dictator to silence those who oppose you by force. Instead you will hear their grievances and answer them as best you can. And one of these grievances appears to be a lack of trust and communication between you and those who vote for you and support your general policies. There are two measures to be taken to prevent this problem. The first is establishing better lines of communication between you and the lower party, and doing your best to remove filters. The second is to show that you trust them and give them more support for independent action. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 3 months. DC: 0. Result: Gain new, special subordinate, improved rumor mills, new background rolls.

Hire Assistants: To help handle the difficult task of building a socialist revolution, the various organizations in the CSA and SPA will be seeking to hire expertise and assistance. While you are always open to further aid, making sure everyone knows that it will be valued and their input considered...of course, this means you will have to consider their input and desires. And everyone will want something. Cost: Slow downward trend in CSA support until taken. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Begin being presented with options for assistants and subordinates, Mandates become more important and begin coming from CSA factions and other interests. Some will be contradictory.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals, since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/125. Result: Lay groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sense a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Small-Town Unions: The farming cooperatives and the Red Grange are taking the lead in working with rural areas, providing the slowly growing unions there with expertise and assistance organizing. But another gap in your capabilities has been revealed. You don’t have much reach in the small twins that only have minor factories or mines. Unions have begun to slowly form in some of these towns, but more work needs to be done to ensure that these unions will represent their workers, and not serve as another tool of oppression by the town capitalists, especially given their relatively weak ideological underpinnings. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Strengthen newly formed unions organizationally and ideologically..

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens. +0.5 Resources per month. Gain support from IWW MA and MM.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/150. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/100. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased relations with the Syndicalists.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/125/150. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Form Farmer’s Cooperatives: The newly organized farmer’s cooperatives are young and fragile. They need tractors, fertilizer, organizational support, and more. The Red Grange is struggling to assist with these matters, lacking finances and reach. And the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the Great Plains. Government subsidies are being delayed and disappeared by hostile civil servants and damaged infrastructure. The party must take care of it’s newest members. Cost: 4 Resources, moderate loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80/100/120. Result: Expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, gain Relations with Ultraleft Farmer Labor and support from the Red Grange.

Seed Donations: The devastating droughts and dust storms have not just uprooted soil and those who work it, but the plants that grow in it. Losses due to spoilage, bad weather, and desperation have put many seed stocks at critically low levels. Fortunately, the French Commune has a far more robust agricultural sector that has largely recovered from the ravages of the Weltkrieg. They are willing to ship over stocks of seeds for a relatively low price in gold and some better quality machine tools. These shipments can then be transferred to farmers. Cost: 2 Resources, slight loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Slightly expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, slight gain of Relations and support from the Red Grange.

Special Foods: The gardens mostly produce simple crops like potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. While they have definitely improved the quality of the soups and stews and other meals served at the various people’s kitchens, spices and herbs are in short supply for those kitchens. It should be relatively simple to purchase some mint plants and various others to add them to these new gardens. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improve quality of meals at soup kitchens, gain support from The Teamster’s Union, the SPU, and the AFL-CIO.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/120/180. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Prepare for Fresh Strikes: Strike funds are running low, defeat and massacres have damaged morale in some places, while others are questioning the need for further gains. But there will need to be further action, no matter the bloodshed. Begin devoting resources and assistance to those most in need of it, and let the capitalists tremble. Every sit-in and picket line brings the death knell of their class closer. Cost: 10 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/40/80/120. Result: Unions better prepared for future strikes.


Additional Weapons: The armaments of your “regular” Red Guards are highly irregular, and the “irregulars” who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of “non-lethal” weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Go Hunting: In every city and town of America you face enemies. Hostile police forces, reactionary militias, mercenaries and Pinkertons hired by capitalists, and more. They all seek to oppress and suppress the workers. This cannot be borne. While the Red Guards continually battle in the streets, protecting protests, defending meetings, guarding agitators and organizers, they only rarely go on the offensive, and keep it strictly to retaliatory strikes on those most responsible for attacks. Asking for a more general attack would help weaken opposition, and perhaps see some justice done. Cost: Reduces support, reduces relations with the Parliamentarians, chance of it going badly. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Results: Red Guards begin attacking class enemies, chance of gaining Resources, Support, Influence...

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Establish Training Camps: There are many remote regions that the SPA has a prominent presence in. The mountains of West Virginia are littered with empty mines, while the endless plains of Iowa are nearly impossible to search without manpower that simply is not available to your enemies. These will be the perfect places to establish camps for your most dedicated Red Guards to begin turning them from paramilitaries skilled in street battles to soldiers of the Revolution. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/30/60/120. Result: Establish training camps in isolated areas for turning paramilitaries into soldiers in small numbers.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Red Guard Commissars: With the loyalty of the remaining Red Guards secured, it is time for them to be ideologically indoctrinated in the need for the soldiers of the Revolution to maintain the highest standards of behavior. The appointment of small groups of commissars will help with this process, serving as an example to the troops they guide and providing guidance, advice, and support, similar to the role of Chaplains in the regular military. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 50/80/120. Result: Commissars for the Red Guards formed.

Codes of Conduct: The decentralized nature of the Red Guards means that each unit tends to have its own rules. While a certain degree of this is acceptable and even beneficial, it is also very frustrating for the leadership. A recent proposal is to create a loose set of guidelines and recommendations for the rules and structure of each unit, with those who fail to maintain themselves within these guidelines being expelled from the greater organization. With your insistence on Red Guards units maintaining adherence to a set of rules, creating this outline is even more important. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Vote on nature of the code of conduct.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

A Democratic Chain of Command?: The Bolsheviks increasingly relied on a fairly conventional military structure as the Russian Revolutionary War dragged on, while the Black Army had a system of soldier’s councils and recallable officers. Both schools of thought have inspired the structure of various Red Guards cells, along with other sources such as the federal army, the militias of the American Independence War, and the forces of the Third Internationale. Devising a system that will be understandable, egalitarian, democratic, and above all effective must be a priority, even if it will not be possible to pressure all Guards units into following it, let alone the various splinter groups. Cost: ?? Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Choices on how to structure the Red Guards and how much pressure to use for spreading it, dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the Red Guards.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally-violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in a military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectation and tighten standards, to increase the amount of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 6 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as the remaining hostile forces in New York City and some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Retaliatory Measures: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias have launched attacks on workers, in one case successfully massacring dozens. While the governments in some cases are protecting them, justice can still be found. The Blair Brigade, together with local forces, can be used to target these groups and make it clear that such slaughters will not be permitted. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Launch a small number of carefully planned retaliatory attacks.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Self-Defense Units: The Red Guards need to expand. But they need to maintain their quality and discipline. The best solution you have currently is to not actually recruit more directly, at least not until you have a good way of training them. Instead, you will recruit those willing to fight as self-defense units, given more limited responsibilities under the oversight of those more experienced and capable. The only problem is getting enough weapons for everyone... Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Create self-defense units, begin slowly expanding the number of Red Guards.

Gunrunning to the Midwest: You have small stockpiles of weapons and improvised explosives. While these are typically used by the Red Guards when attacking reactionaries and defending strikers, they may be put to better use defending the newest adherents to socialism. Given the control the unions have over many railyards, transportation will not be a problem. Cost: 2 Resources. Slight loss of support in the CSA. -5 Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/10. Result: Send weapons and explosives to the farming cooperatives, gain in support from the Red Grange.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Formal Trials: The most basic investigations Butler and his loyal men have completed have turned up a cesspool of corruption within the Red Guards. Bribery, theft, racketeering, abusing innocent men and women, brutality, rape, harassment, and every vice known to man. Currently, while most important figures know at least some of the details, no one knows about all of them. Butler wants all the dirty laundry aired, with teams of Red Guards, VFW, and police arresting the guilty and exposing their crimes. You question if that is the tactically best decision, but you recognize the principle behind it. And there is something to be said for being honest, and something else for getting it over with..You want to tell him to go ahead. You know it’s the right thing to do. But what if it costs you the Revolution?.Cost: Relations drop with everyone, especially the Totalists, loss of support with all factions in the CSA. Chance of backlash. Likely to weaken the Red Guards. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/20/30/50/100/140/180. Result: Probable gains in support from the SPU and AFL-CIO, probable gain in Relations with the Parliamentarians. Infighting. Removal of criminal elements. Make a principled stance. Make it easier for Jack to meet his daughter’s eyes. End the risk of someone else leaking how bad things are. ???

Target Rural Reactionaries: Even in towns protected by the Red Guards, there are various hostile elements that remain.Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom may well convert back if sufficiently intimidated. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/5/25/50/75/100/125. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 6 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 2 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America’s shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Publicize Accomplishments: You have forced concessions from the hostile federal government, run a city successfully for months, defended the rights of soldiers, and won battles by the score in fields ranging from the courtroom to the street. Broadcast your successes, shout them from the rooftops, because this is only the beginning. There are doubtless thousands of workers who are held in bondage only by their fear. Knowledge of your might will banish that fear. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased propaganda about your successes.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Establish a Propaganda Team: With the massive efforts for delivering propaganda undergoing, it may be wise to begin creating a dedicated group for managing the delivery and spread of information to the workers of America in order to present yourselves in the best possible light and strip the capitalist manipulation away from plain, unvarnished truth. The person you choose to run this team will have significant influence on what kind of news is being spread. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Creation of a subordinate for managing propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for it’s most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/90/150. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions have left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile.Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Make a Split: The Republican-Progressive alliance is proving to be an unhappy one. While the Republicans have continually rallied behind Curtis and MacArthur, they have offered only the most meager sops to their would-be ally’s agendas, and the Progressives are growing enraged, especially after the recent Supreme Court decision sharply expanded the President's power in what many see as an un-Constitutional way. This division could be to our advantage, although we must act fast if we want to gain their support. Long knows that he could attract the Progressives just as well as you could. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/140. Result: Convince some members of the Progressive Party to switch towards you, deny Huey Long them.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

A Devil’s Deal: You do not like Huey Long. You absolutely despise nearly three-quarters of his party. And you suspect he feels the same way. But you have briefly cooperated to defy MacArthur before...perhaps it would be worth doing so again. Any effort to halt the General’s reforms is to both your benefit. Cost: ??? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: The SPA and AFP work very loosely together to shut down further military reforms.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 40. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses which maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/95/145. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begun relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: Slight loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions, malus reduced or eliminated.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with, and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Hire Assistants

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.



The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 6 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Who Supports Who?: If you looked out the window to see New York City, you would think nine in ten supported you. You are not fool enough to think that, of course. The Payment Army alone disproves that, let alone the bullying your daughter has experienced, the endless attempts at suppression, the thousands of letters denouncing you. Beginning to get an accurate count will be vital for effectively directing your efforts. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Get a general idea (including a map) of where your support is strong and weak and what people are concerned about.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

Linguistic Life: The language federations are a powerful part of SPA politics. German, Jewish, Finnish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian...they are large, organized, and often highly radicalized. In many cases, they contain survivors of failed revolutions or escapees from persecution and repression. Militant and determined, they have taken leading roles in several initiatives, including the strikes in Boston. One possibility for appealing to them, and for fighting nativist sentiments, would be expanding the accommodations various programs give to foreign languages. This would include translating speeches and radio broadcasts, creating signs in multiple languages, and beginning to establish programs for cultural autonomy and ethnic liberation. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives and nativists such as the IWW MM, the SPU, and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for cultural autonomy and support for ethnic minorities.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Practical experience from dedicated syndicalists working at varying ranks of state bureaucracies can be synthesized into the beginnings of a roadmap. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled. Reduce malus from lack of experienced bureaucrats

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships and abuses they endure under capitalism, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: Small loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.


Investigate the Machines: Fragments of the Democrats and the Republicans have begun drifting towards you over the past several months, with the latest gunfight bringing about a sharp change in several group’s positions. However, they are still trusted insiders in their parties, and this gives you an opportunity to get an inside look at the often rather opaque workings of the party machines, to better co-opt or destroy them. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/85/135. Result: Gain information and opportunities to take over or break various political machines.

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.

Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That’s going to be really hard to find...but at the same time it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

(1 Influence committed) Revolutionary Guards: People have been threatening to kill you and your family and other leaders for a long time. You have developed protection against overt attacks, but perhaps it is time to begin developing a more covert sort of protection as well. Cost: - 2 Resources per month. Time: 1 months. DC: 35/??/???. Result: Create organization of plainclothes bodyguards for you, your family, and other important figures. Unlock additional counterintelligence actions.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/?/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/50/100/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only once per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one).

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -12 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no focus.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

A Lot of Chutzpah - Part of propaganda is not...lies exactly, but occasionally de-emphasizing certain aspects of your end goal for the sake of quieting opposition. It might take a lot of chutzpah to say yes out of one side of your mouth and no out of the other, but it also takes a lot of chutzpah to overthrow capitalism. Time: 1 month. Effect: +2 Appeal per month for white Americans, -1 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans.

The Social Revolution - Part of socialist doctrine is that there must be a social revolution to break down the barriers capital has imposed. There is no reason it cannot be begun before the rest, as in many ways it will be the most difficult. Time: 1 month. Effect: -1 Appeal per month for white Americans, +3 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoise are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Organize the Farmworkers - The migrating farmworkers are perhaps the easiest target for radicalization. Their formerly prosperous lives ripped away from them, pushed into desperate poverty, the food they work so hard to grow frequently burned in front of them as they starve...Time: 3 months. Effect: Significant increase to support among rural populations, +10 to the next 3 actions involving organizing or agitating in rural areas.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 
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notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Establish a Budget: 1 Influence, 80

It’s relatively simple to arrange for Butler to have access to party funds at his discretion. He’s the only one of your trusted subordinates who needs more than is already being directed to them as part of the SPA’s standard financing. You simply sign a few papers and have Flora drop them off at the accounting offices. Within a week, Butler has already begun drawing on the budget to pay for some public speaking lessons for would-be commissiars.

Result: Budget established.


A Generous Gesture: 1 Influence, 26

There have been accusations of you behaving like a dictator, of you ignoring the will of the SPA. You will freely admit you have occasionally had unusual priorities, but you maintain that you are committed to democratic principles, and you are taking steps to demonstrate that commitment. The first step is to make it easier for cadres to their concerns...and to act on those concerns as well.

Making this sort of top-down reform is tricky, but you do what you can to facilitate local offices sending complaints and information up through the SPA’s structures, you encourage coordination and democratic action, you speak and you write on the action. And timidly, a few SPA cadres begin to step beyond their normal bounds of organizing and agitating and radicalizing to put some policy into place.
Result: New subordinate, the SPA Cadres formed. This subordinate will gradually accumulate Influence throughout this action and will sometimes work at cross-purposes with you. Managing it can have political costs or benefits. Beginnings of improvements to the rumor mill.


Hire Assistants: 1 Influence, 87

You begin hearing offers within a day. Union representatives familiar with specific regions or industries, members of minority representation groups, fellow travelers who joined the party for the sake of unity and want their views heard...everyone wants to help build the revolution, and make sure it is one that will be favorable to them. With these offers come requests, requests to start programs, to develop institutions, to settle disputes, to use all the powers that come with your position. As of now, you will make your first choices...

(You may pick anywhere from 1 to 3 assistants. Each one will shape the options you have going forwards, provide dice bonuses and maluses, and affect the mandates and political support you receive. These assistants are more than just functionaries or advice-givers. You are giving them a lot of power, power which they can use to shape the SPA and CSA. Choose wisely. You will be able to add or remove or change assistants later, but there will be a cost.)

[] John Lawson. A coal miner and member of the IWW, he fought fiercely in the Colorado Coal War. His home was bombed, he was shot, and Rockefeller thugs machine-gunned women and children, but he still led the miners in an admittedly unsuccessful fight and was jailed for his troubles. After being freed in 1918, he promptly joined the IWW and began working his way up. Having seen peace did not work, he has taken to proposing war. However, an artifact of his early life has also seen him strongly advocate for education. (Party Faction: Syndicalists, friendly with the Orthodox, hostile to the Parliamentarians. CSA Faction: IWW Mountain Men, friendly with the IWW Main affiliates, hostile to the SPU and AFL. Area of Expertise +10 to Union organizing and, militant, and education actions,-5 to negotiations with bosses)

[] John Lewis. Another coal miner and member of the AFL, he is beloved by many, despite his fondness for almost dictatorial behavior and steady refusal to condone violent action. He’s a potent speaker and skilled in manipulating bureaucracies, having used that to maintain power in the AFL from 1919 on, even expelling Gompers from the union in 1926 when he decided the rise of socialism and syndicalism was inevitable. But he also decided it didn’t need to be violent. (Party Faction: Parliamentarians, hostile to Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and Syndicalists. CSA Faction: AFL, friendly with the Teamster’s Union and the SPU. Area of Expertise: +25 to managing the SPA and CSA, +10 to union organizing, -7 to launching attacks.)

[] Kate Sadler. Born in Scotland, Kate Sadler has always been a radical. And the creation of the Union of Britain has only left her more radical. Beloved in Seattle, she is ever at the forefront of social matters, determinedly advocating for African-Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, women, and any other marginalized group she is aware of. Organized, tough, and fiery, there are few who can match her in debates. (Party Faction: Orthodox, friendly with the Syndicalists and Anarchists, hostile to Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. CSA Faction: IWW Main Affiliates. Area of Expertise: +15 to social justice actions)

[] John Brophy. A religious man, and a deeply determined advocate for worker’s rights, he is a major rival of John Lewis, despite the two recognizing each other’s talents. He has visited the Commune of France, the Union of Britain, and the Socialist Republic of Italy several times. (Party Faction: Syndicalists, friendly with the Parliamentarians. CSA Faction: IWW Mountain Men, friendly with the Regional Unions. Area of Expertise: +5 to religion and history related actions, +10 to managing the SPA and CSA)

[] James Maurer: One of many who have shifted to being a syndicalist, Maurer repeatedly ran for office despite growing increasingly disillusioned with electoralism alongside participating in multiple strikes. He has even won some of these offices, serving on the Reading City Council and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. (Party Faction: Syndicalists, friendly with the Parliamentarians. CSA Faction: IWW Main Affiliates, friendly with the ASA, hostile to the TUUL. Area of Expertise: +10 to running electoral campaigns, +5 to union organization, -5 to passing legislation)

[] Birch Wilson: Wilson has shifted between working for the SPA directly and working for pro-worker papers and pamphlets for many years. He has won several elections, and helped several others do the same. (Party Faction: Syndicalists, friendly with the Anarchists. CSA Faction: IWW Main Affiliates. Area of Expertise: +15 to propaganda)

[] Julia O'Connor: Julia O’Connor has led the Boston Telephone Operator’s Union and the Boston chapter of the Woman’s Trade Union League for over a decade, making ever greater demands of the capitalists in the city and inspiring her followers to ever greater heights, even with caring for her child taking up much of her time. (Party Faction: Orthodox. CSA Faction: ASA, friendly with the TUUL. Area of Expertise: +5 to managing the SPA and CSA, +5 to negotiations with bosses, +5 to urban actions)

[] Benjamin Stevens: One of the new agrarian socialists rising up in the party as the Red Grange grows in size and influence, Stevens was born in western Oklahoma. He moved to California when the dust storms began intensifying, and began radicalizing. His attempt to organize the farmworkers saw him driven off several farms, and he eventually made his way to Seattle, where he became involved in organizing western ranchers and farmers after coming into greater contact with the SPA and CSA. (Party Faction: Syndicalists, friendly with Anarchists and Ultaleft Farmer-Labor, hostile to Parliamentarians. CSA Faction: The Red Grange, friendly with the Regional Unions. Area of expertise: +10 to rural actions)


Send Socialist Agitators to the West Coast Cities: 2 Gravitas, 73+73+5 = 151

The bleeding in the Midwest has gradually ground to a halt, and the gains you made there grow more entrenched by the day. The strikes in the Steel Belt have given you one success after another. In Longist-controlled states, you lack the reach to fight for the workers currently. But up and down the west coast, the unions have encountered defeats, but still stand ready to press on.

So it is in those cities, running from Portland to San Diego, that you concentrate your efforts at anti-capitalist agitation.

You have plentiful information on the material and ideological conditions present there, and you use this to create a general guideline for what the agitation is to focus on.

First, the victories won elsewhere are to be tallied and compared with what the workers of New York City and Chicago and Detroit have gained. Second, the violent and brutal attacks workers have received are to be emphasized. Third, the continuous faltering of the economy in these cities is to be pilloried. Lastly, almost as an afterthought, the importance of solidarity is to be emphasized.

Flying teams of agitators are dispatched in trucks festooned with anti-capitalist signs. Theaters and dance halls are rented to pay host to speakers. Friendly reporters demand answers from mayors, police chiefs, and business executives with equal fervor.


Darnell had been on the road for days. He had spoken in a dozen different ports, from Eureka to Santa Barbara. The workers there had seemed...disappointingly satisfied. Some of them had even invited the factory owners and the city council to his speeches, because workers and capitalists were just such good friends. He sneered as the truck drove into Fresno, where the local Shopworker’s Union had invited him to speak.

Of course, that happy peace hadn’t lasted for long. Pay raises measured in pennies were nothing to pensions, and pensions were nothing to safety. The tales he told of how the workers had forced their bosses to bend to them, instead of the other way around, had gotten them fired up. They had made demands, and the “esteemed gentlemen” who earned their money with the labor of others hadn’t been able to meet them. It was little more than undirected anger, and while it might make a few windows break, he doubted it would do more. They would need to be organized first, and supplied with strike funds and Red Guards to deal with the cops and the scabs and the Pinkertons. That would be other people’s jobs, he had left them with some names and addresses for letters and headed off to stir up more anger...that was what he was good at.

He let out a sigh as the truck slowed to a stop. The problem with stirring up anger was that it meant you tended not to be welcome in town for a while. He really hoped he could get a hot bath before his speech.

The truck had been stopped for a while...he wondered what was going on, then he heard an angry shout and a gunshot.

His hand fell to his pistol. Maybe they hadn’t realized he was back here..depending on how many there were, he could run or fight.

He crept as quietly as he could along the metal floor of the truck, wincing with every creak and squeak the battered old vehicle made. His heart seemed to be alternating between his heart and his stomach, shooting through his chest with the velocity of a falling star. Slowly, he pushed at the back door, and then found the barrel of a shotgun staring him in the face.

What courage he had scraped together vanished and he meekly raised his hands. The cop raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Looks like he’s resisting arrest,” he had said.

Darnell had just enough time to curse before he felt the barrel smash against his jaw. Stars sparked in front of his eyes, and then all he saw was blackness.

He awoke desperate for water, head aching, the taste of blood in his mouth, the sun scorching his skin. He had been stripped naked and dumped...somewhere. Dazedly, he looked around. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know where his friends had been...had they been dumped somewhere too?

Darnell had a choice. He could lie down and die, or he could...he didn’t know what he could do. So he picked a direction and started stumbling. He found a road and followed it. Come hell or high water, he was going to find a way home. And then he was going to come back, and kill those fucking bastards.


They report back slowly, many bearing bruises and wounds, or with another stay in jail to add to their tally. The capitalists of San Francisco and Los Angeles and Sacramento did not take kindly to have their failures, falsehoods, and follies thrown into their faces. They come back bearing news about what can be done to further weaken the grip the reactionaries have, to organize the floods of incoming workers and encourage cross-racial unions to reduce scabbing and deny the capitalists one of their favored tools, and lastly to begin expanding the media apparatus of the SPA within the west coast, where anti-union figures such as Hearst have a stranglehold on the news and often suppress papers such as The California Red and the newly-established The People’s World.

Some even fear a concentrated, cooperative capitalist conspiracy to control all the news sources in California to mystify the working class.

Result: Significant reductions in the popularity of the Democrats and Republicans, with workers turning to all sorts of alternatives. Actions unlocked



Unity in the Melting Pot: 1 Influence, 13+5 = 18

You begin working to expand the IWW’s connections to immigrant groups. While it is at least a somewhat popular initiative, you do run into some frustrating obstacles. First and most serious is when attempts at outreach among some newly established Eastern European immigrant communities run headlong into anti-Semitism, which caused a section of the party to argue that the outreach wasn’t doing enough to curb reactionary beliefs in those they were reaching out to.

The rather frustrating arguments about that delayed many planned programs, but the establishment of several language federations for East Asian immigrants went smoothly.

Result: A troubled beginning to expanding immigrant outreach.


Make A Split: 2 Influence, 72+55+10 = 137

You and Norman and the other SPA Representatives and Senators worked hard on this, and the Republicans unintentionally helped you by offering no compromise. The result is that the Progressives have begun pulling away from the Republicans, rejecting the Grand Ol’ Party’s frantic entreaties. Perhaps a third of them have joined the SPA outright, with two-thirds choosing to remain separate. They will likely rejoin the capitalist parties of America after managing to extract more concessions, but for the time being, you have raised your profile, strengthened the party, and made it significantly more difficult for future anti-syndicalist legislation to pass.

Result: A third of the Progressives have outright joined you, having been radicalized by the frustrating obstinacy of the Democrats and Republicans and finding themselves intrigued by your stances. The rest are your temporary allies. New actions unlocked.


Who Supports Who?: 2 Influence, 64+79 = 143

Your main approach for gathering the information on where the SPA is strong and where it is weak is through reports from party offices, although the men and women you asked to do the collating have had some interesting discussions about polling and its potential uses. What they find is interesting...

Your support is widespread and concentrated. On one hand, from Seattle to New York City is an immense stretch of land, and you have supporters scattered throughout the intervening distance, albeit not as many as you would have expected in the Midwest - likely the lack of follow-up from your initial efforts to organize the Red Grange. They have expanded somewhat, but not as much as they could have.

On the other hand, your support is perhaps half urban, with much of the rest being concentrated in mining communities. This is even more true of your dedicated, committed party members, the ones who make up the ranks of strikers and organizers and militias. While many Red Grange members are similarly dedicated, you suspect the small-town leaders who only recently joined the SPA would leave in a heartbeat if given the chance.


Result: Map shown, more information about where your support is located available.



Revolutionary Guards: 1 Influence, 30+5 = 35

The Revolutionary Guards have been formally and completely established. Smaller than you would like due to the high standards you refused to compromise, they are split in two sections. The larger of the two is dedicated to protecting the leadership of the SPA, and will doubtless sell their lives dearly. The smaller had embedded itself into the Red Guards in the hopes of identifying infiltrators, counterrevolutionaries, and agent provocateurs. Only time will tell how successful they will be.

Result: Revolutionary Guard established


Personal: Spend time with your family

It has been an agonizingly stressful series of months, one where you have run from crisis to crisis, suffered attacks from former allies, and been forced to grant all manner of political concessions. But here at home with Hannah sketching on the floor and Louise leaning against you as she reads, you can relax.

Ordinarily, you would have a book with you, or a newspaper, but after a long day going over where your support is strongest, you are content to simply sit and smile indulgently as your daughter draws what you think is supposed to be a cat.

She pauses and looks up at you. “Papa, can I have a kitten?” she asks with a sweet smile, and you nearly cry when you tell her no.

She does cry, and the fight only makes you feel worse. But a few hours later, she comes back and hugs you and says she’s sorry for calling you mean...and everything feels so much better afterward.

Focus: The Social Revolution

American society has built itself on two brutal pillars: capitalist oppression and racial hierarchy. One pillar has already been cracked and fractured by its own incoherence and the savage blows of the SPA, but the other is only slightly weathered.

Many unions exclude people based on race or ethnic group, while others marginalize minority voices when those voices do not pander to them. And that does not even begin to get into the outrages still being perpetrated on Native Americans, the deliberate nativist and imperialist abuses inflicted upon the Chinese immigrants, the brutality and disenfranchisement African-Americans experience on a daily basis...

Theories and theses on social liberation and justice have become increasingly popular in the SPA. And they may offend and enrage some, especially when they suggest that being born in a racist society likely leaves people with some cultivated biases. But you will not slow down because of the tears of a few racists.

Result: Focus completed.


Report from the Coordination Committee: 2 Influence on Local Propaganda, 18+27+5 = 50
Though their efforts were hampered by misinformation and mystification, outreach efforts were semi-successful. The radio network especially proved useful, with public radio bars set up to give the townspeople access to a wider range of news as well as entertainment. However, the committee was forced to scrounge and scavenge for other sources of effective propaganda.

Nevertheless, the SPA is being viewed more favorably than ever, especially when compared to the flailings of groups such as the Black Legion.

Result: Increased SPA popularity in small towns you control



Report from Norman Thomas - 2 Influence on Anti-MacArthur Committee, 4+13+10, = 27 1 Influence on Deepening Ties, 53+10 =63

Norman’s efforts at making a broad anti-MacArthur front falter. Party discipline has been tightly enforced in the Republican party, tightly enough that every single member, including the former Progressives who still retain much of their party structure despite the alliance with the Republicans. A little investigation reveals much of this pressure is coming from within the Progressive leadership (Robert LaFollette and Hiram Johnson) revealing the falsehood of their claims of desiring to protect the workers of America.

But the pressure used went far beyond what was acceptable to many, and Norman’s entreaties began having an effect on dissident Republicans like Geroge Norris and Clyde Reed as well as the Progressives and even True Farmer-Labor. As the latest legislative session ends, too late to prevent the passage of the Army Reform Act and the Anti-Revolution Act into the Senate, he is approached by several of them, who hint that they would be willing to join the SPA.

Then you begin your efforts, and they jump ship.

Result: Make a Split is more successful, a few individual Republicans but no party machinery join you.


Report from Smedley Butler - 2 Influence on Red Guard Commissars, 93+25+15 = 133

A Commissar must be held to extremely high standards. They must be capable soldiers, cool under fire, and dedicated to the cause of the Revolution. They must also be honest, insightful, and persuasive. They will be responsible for supporting elected officers, keeping morale up, and preventing counterrevolutionary activity such as unnecessary looting or abuse of innocents.

It’s a very difficult job, and you doubt there are many people who will be able to do it. But somehow, Butler finds enough to at least make the heart of such an organization. He prioritizes honesty, dedication, and capability above all else, reasoning that they will be able to learn the rest.
And then he, and they, go to classes and meetings. They learn the theory of socialism and syndicalism and anarchism in all its myriad strains, they are taught the art of public speaking, they are drilled relentlessly on everything they could possibly need.

They are only the seed of the organization. It will need to grow rapidly, but it’s a good start.

The only unfortunate thing is that some in the CSA have felt such a program is a waste of time. You will have to decide how to handle it...

[] Push back. Argue about exactly why they are needed. It might inflame tensions, but it also might convert people to your side. You are an excellent speaker, after all. (???)

[] Halt recruitment. You won’t destroy what is already built, that would alienate Butler and everyone who sees the necessity being the establishment of Commissars, but you can agree to scale things down to appease them. (Reduced impact of action)

[] Blame Butler. An advantage of having subordinates is they can take the blame. He has already said he won’t mind, and you think he means it. (-1 Influence for Butler)

[] Take the Hit. Let them complain. What will they do? Split, and doom themselves to irrelevance? (Loss of support in the CSA)


Report from the SPA Cadres: 1 Influence on Basic Strike Preparations, 22

While the SPA Cadres have always been able supporters of the unions, and have often assisted them in preparing for strikes even without your personal direction, the various local cadres have begun taking a greater role in it recently. Working with unions, they have raised funds, organized relief stations, and rallied people to the cause of the workers. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, there have been several mishaps, most prominently a...

[] corruption scandal where members of a local SPA branch were conspiring with the union treasurer and several higher-ranked individuals to funnel immense amounts of union dues into their personal bank accounts (Increase to corruption)

[] factory occupation gone wrong that led to fire consuming the building...and threatening an attached school, which the individuals responsible attempted to justify as a necessary sacrifice (Loss of support)

[] bombing at a police station, followed up by attacks on the homes of several police officers as a preemptive strike, with the logic of preventing them from serving as strikebreakers (Increase in violence)
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
The sun scorched the back of his neck. There was sand in his boot that rubbed against his sole with every step. His body ached in a dozen places, courtesy of the sheriff’s boys making it clear he wasn’t wanted in town. But for all that, he wore a smile wider than the state.

Because in front of him, he could see his salvation: a band of Mexicans with a truck full of guns.

“Amigo, you are looking bad,” said Jorge as he staggered over.

He felt his smile stretch wider as he looked them over...just a few years ago, he would have joined the posse and driven these men off. But he had learned better, he had seen the ugly face of capital beneath all its pretty lies.

He shook off the distracting thoughts. They didn’t matter, he had left all that behind.

Someone coughed, and he realized he had been standing there, silent, for at least half a minute. “It’s nothing, just a few bruises...I’ll take the truck, your goods are in the usual spot.”

They nodded and he hopped in, driving off, the guns and ammo rattling as he returned to the ranch house.

His friends and comrades unloaded: ranchhands who lost their jobs, oil workers sick of seeing friends die in accidents, exiles and scum of every type. Once he would have spat on them. Now he stepped out of the truck and helped them empty it.

They knew their mission, they knew their duty. And so as dusk fell, the others gathered. One entered the chapel and found him sitting before the altar, holding a photo. After a minute, he collected himself.

Thunder and flame spat into the night a dozen times. And the next morning, the sheriff was found dead, the words “TRAITOR” painted on a sign in the man’s blood. The church that played host to the local Minutemen chapter was burned to ash. Four Minutemen were dead inside it.

And in the very center of the town, nailed to every wall, were a dozen pamphlets, proclaiming the crimes of those “the Red Vaquero” slew.

And back in the ranch house, he slept like a babe, confident that he was at last on the right side.


The first thing she noticed was that every police officer wore red.It wasn’t necessarily the dominant color, but all of them had a red pin or armband or stripe on their hat. The second thing that she noticed was that not every street was patrolled by these officers. While the poorer neighborhoods had steady patrols, and the docks and factories were well-protected, not a single officer was visible in the richer streets. Fifth Avenue and Yorkville and the Upper East Side were empty of police. Instead, ranks of uniformed men glowered at her as she walked by, in somber blue and dark black and pure white. She smiled, and took out her notebook and approached one of the men, her elegant Parisian accent enough to make him glower as he realized what sort of person had approached him.

“Pardon, monsieur. I am a journalist, and I was wondering if you had enough time to answer a few questions for me,” she said, taking out her pen.

He spat at her feet. “Get out of here, syndie whore. Or I’ll have you in prison, on charges of streetwalking.”

Her smile only grew more dazzling. “Strange you would say that, when you are the one who sells your body for your daily bread.”

He growled and took a step towards her, hands balling into meaty fists. She simply stood there, smiling prettily. His hand crashed into her face, leaving behind a painful bruise.

Her photographer, discreetly following behind her, snapped as many photos as he could of the moment.

She stumbled, and his fist struck her again, and again, until she collapsed and he realized what he was doing.

She rose to her feet, seemingly unbothered. Then she turned on her heel and strode off. “Good day, I believe I have the answers I need.”

Within twenty-four hours, papers were sold on every corner describing how the neighborhoods of the Upper East Side were infested with un-American thugs attacking innocent men and women for the pettiest of causes, and how many of these men were criminal members of organizations such as the Society of Confederate Veterans, the German Anti-Syndicalism Association, the Native Sons of America, the Retired Policemen's Club, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Within forty-eight, crowds were protesting throughout the city, demanding such groups be disarmed and broken up in accordance with the city’s laws.

Within seventy-two, the mayor assured people things were being handled as Red Guards marched into the wealthy neighborhoods and began disarming the hostile militias.

Somewhere, someone fired a gun. And once more, blood was shed on the streets of New York City.


Rumors and News

The month is another bloody one, another hammer to the stability of the oppressive system of capital. You just wish there wasn’t such a price...and you wish it wasn’t the innocents who had to pay it.

Things began benignly enough. The anti-Syndicalist militias in New York City were being disarmed, which was a fairly routine event. One by one, each had fallen afoul of the laws and had their power broken, a process unions and socialists had been on the other side of many times. Something went wrong, though, and a battle began in the streets. Gunfire and petrol bombs, billy clubs and knives, all saw ample use as the Red Guards fought the reactionary militias, who managed to force their way into several abandoned apartments and effectively turn it into a fortress. Several attempts to storm it were thrown back, while other groups of Red Guards vented their fury on the reactionaries unfortunate enough to not have made it to safety.

Then the governor of New York, Al Smith, called in the National Guard and things got worse. The fighting was broken up with machine guns, grenades, and fixed bayonets. Twenty-five men and women, all SPA members, have been arrested or placed in “protective custody,” including Mayor La Guardia and three high-ranking police officers.

And so the nation is outraged. Strikes run rampant from San Diego to Buffalo, Long has called for the execution of all “insurrectionists against property, the social order, and American values,” while Curtis frantically appeals for calm, even insisting that the New York Twenty Five should be held by New York police, not National Guard.

He also pushed for - and got - another two parts of MacArthur’s program, including more federal control over the National Guards of willing states and the establishment of a National Constabulary, who he promises will “restore national peace.”

The tumultuous month has seen smaller battles waged across the country, as garbled and miscommunicated versions of the event spread in every direction. The sympathy is overwhelmingly on your side, as even those who would ordinarily disdain your cause seem moved by the sheer bloodshed (as well as the fact that the inciting incident was the brutal of a seemingly upper-class white woman) and the fact that the National Guard killed many police in their efforts to “restore order.”

Even more respectable newspapers, including several by Hearst, have criticized the National Guard and Al Smith for their heavy handedness. And the ranks of the SPA swell, especially in cities as the masses are propagandized and radicalized.

There is plenty of other news as well.

In Canada, the Liberals have at last managed to pass some concessions and created state-sponsored unions for men of Anglo-Saxon or French descent, so long as they are willing to swear a loyalty oath. The Canadian government has also come to some sort of agreement with various First Nations, although you aren’t sure of the details. There’s news from other nations as well, but most of it slips your mind - events in South America or Russia or even Louisiana just aren’t as important to you as the struggles you see outside your window.

And as the arguments you are having with various party members. Arguments you are winning, given a few very secretive reports you received and shared with a few leading figures about some of the things that happened during the initial fighting. The need for greater control of the Red Guard is acknowledged. By practically everyone.

And as the news you get from lower party members, who demand action. The New York Twenty-Five must be freed, Smith must be punished, the deeds of the reactionary forces must be condemned. Memorials are held by the dozen as the SPA boils with fury not seen since the massacre of the Payment Army.

You do hear about things like the KKK managing to blame Long for the unrest, accusing him of collaborating with you, several special elections getting contested because of possible fraud in the South, and Charles Lindbergh beginning to approach the Democrats with an interest in running in the upcoming elections, but they mostly pass you by. You have other priorities.


Plans from Subordinates

The Battle of New York has rapidly shifted everyone’s priorities.

The Coordination Committee is desperately attempting to radicalize the small-town and rural areas, using the radio networks and sending people from across the country to visit these towns in the hopes of persuading them that they share a common problem - capitalism - and a common solution - revolution.

The State Legislative Committee is looking to strengthen their control over the National Guard wherever possible. Discussed methods have included slashing budgets, mandating that they only be deployed with Congressional approval, and creating crippling restrictions. Fortunately, the gutted bureaucracies will not overly hinder these primarily legislative efforts.

Norman Thomas is planning on similarly restricting the National Guard, albeit on a federal level, while also campaigning to have Governor Al Smith removed...although he fears that some will do so in a dangerous, harmful manner.

And Butler is planning on beginning establishing training camps for Red Guards units and reviewing the performance of the various militias in New York to try and find some deficiencies that can be shored up. You will likely need to discuss what he can make public and what should be buried.

Meanwhile, the SPA Cadres are divided. Some want to take time to prepare for the strengths, and build on their previous preparations to create a truly epic, nationwide strike that will shatter the rotting structure of capitalism and bring the whole edifice crashing down. Others have the more moderate goal of immediate strikes in solidarity with the New York Twenty-Five. Currently, both groups are working on their own goals rather independently.


You have 8 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 2 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any foci.


The workers of the United States are certainly one of the most advanced and organized sections of the working class, but in certain places and certain industries they remain divided and deluded by capitalists. Strike against this confusion, send agitators to disrupt hostile groups and organizers to rally the workers against their oppressors. They have nothing to lose but their chains! Send organizers, whether openly or covertly, to an area or group within 2 months (from the Center. +Strength to the Center, +Relations with the Center, +Support from the IWW MM, IWW MA, AFL, and ASA, - Strength to the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Orthodox, +1 Temporary Influence for Union actions if completed. -- Relations with the Center, -Relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Orthodox if failed).

The capitalist oppression of the working class grows more intolerable by the day. If the leadership of the SPA will not commit to their liberation by any means necessary, we will. Begin efforts to suppress and terrify reactionaries within 5 months (From the Fosterites. ++Strength to the Fosterites, +Relations with the Fosterites, +Support from the TUUL, IWW MM, and IWW MA, - Support from the AFL and SPU if completed. +Support from the AFL and SPU, --Relations with the Fosterites if failed).

With the party of the workers dominating many state governments, now is the time to begin making an economic shift of power. Begin seizing the means of production, whether through the captured mechanisms of state or the instruments of proletarian power. Take steps to gain economic control of factories, railways, etc. within 6 months. (From the Orthodox. +Strength to the Orthodox, +Relations with the Orthodox, +5 to the next Political action if completed. -Relations with the Orthodox, -5 to the next Political action if failed.)

The Red Guards are a vital part of the SPA and CSA, protecting union organizers, preventing illegal strikebreaking, and keeping law and order, but they must do so in a civilized fashion. Take measures to keep them from running wild within 6 months. (From the AFL, the IWW MA, and the IWW MM. +Support from the AFL and both IWW factions, +Relations with the Parliamentarians, Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Centrists, +2 Semi-Temporary Influence for military discipline actions, --Support from the AFL and both IWW factions, --Relations with the Parliamentarians, Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Centrists if failed.)

The cause of justice for all must advance onwards, ever onwards! The historical injustice of the United States must be corrected. Reach out to the oppressed groups of the nation at least twice more within the next 3 months. (From the IWW Main Affiliates. +Support from the IWW MA, +10 to the next Union action if completed. -Support from the IWW MA if failed.)

Social justice is undoubtedly important, but putting too much weight on it will alienate the largest group in the nation: white, working-class men. Great strides have been made already, let things settle for a time. Take no new social justice actions for the next 3 months. (From the IWW Mountain Men. +Support from the IWW MM, increase in support in small towns if completed, -Support from the IWW MM if failed.)


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Significant and very dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 60/120/160/200. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/180. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn’t a structural reason for their failures. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

(1 Influence Committed) A Generous Gesture: You are no dictator to silence those who oppose you by force. Instead you will hear their grievances and answer them as best you can. And one of these grievances appears to be a lack of trust and communication between you and those who vote for you and support your general policies. There are two measures to be taken to prevent this problem. The first is establishing better lines of communication between you and the lower party, and doing your best to remove filters. The second is to show that you trust them and give them more support for independent action. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 2 months. DC: 0. Result: Gain new, special subordinate, improved rumor mills, new background rolls.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Expand the Maximum Program: The recent wave of strikes and the changes to the party line have encouraged the growing radicalism in the party. Things that were controversial a few months ago are now demanded by all but the most staid figures. The current program is considered insufficient by some, particularly in its aspirations. They look at what the unions and the Red Guards have accomplished, and they ask “What else can we do?” And they say it could be the immediate abolition of capitalism, or even the state (if you ask the anarchists). Cost: Loss of support from the right wing of the party, decreased strength of the right wing, general loss of support, increased attention from the state.Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen left wing of the party, gain in support from the left wing. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Make Assurances: The class interests of the bourgeoisie have compelled them to work against you, but many workers have been terrified by the brazen attacks on the idols of their civic religion and your radical political proposals, even as they are attracted by the vision you propose. Publicizing assurances as to your more reassuring intentions, such as refusing to nationalize without fair compensation, could soothe some fear and comfort the newest members of the Combined Syndicates. Cost: Loss of support from the left wing of the party, decreased strength of the left wing, general loss of support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Strengthen right wing of the party, gain in support from the right wing, decreased attention from the state. Note: mutually exclusive with Make Assurances.

Private Promises: Although you may well be publicly changing your stance on certain issues, and pushing the party as a whole to do the same, you have no intention of abandoning your commitments, or leaving party members confused by the sudden shift, since that could lead to a sudden split. This is purely a rhetorical, tactical measure, you are willing to promise that to whoever needs to hear it in order to support you. In private of course, but the leadership of the various factions is generally trusted and respected. Cost: None. Time: 1 month, DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Mitigate costs of Make Assurances or Expand the Maximum Program

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Ulra-Ultraleft: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Ultra-Ultraleft, will politically indebt you to other factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize Ultra-Ultraleft, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals, since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/125. Result: Lay groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sense a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.

Assistant Adjustment: Even as your assistants work to make sure their views are supported by the party machinery, they are also being genuinely helpful in managing the fractious ranks and building towards the coming revolution. You could always use a few more...or perhaps you need to remove someone. Cost: Political turmoil, modification to bonuses. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Options to change assistants.

Speak for Liberty: While the SPA is at least somewhat united behind you, your willingness to push for social revolution has had the anarchists in the party and their similarly socially left allies be some of your most enthusiastic supporters, despite their relatively small numbers. If you want to make use of that support, you will need to help them. Speak on the topic of liberty, encourage support for racial minorities, demand women’s liberation...perhaps go so far as to say homosexuality is acceptable. Let them know they have an ally in you. Cost: Political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 60. Result: Increase in Strength and Relations of Anarchists.

Condemn Atrocities: If you wish to keep the violent and vicious Fosterites from gaining strength, you need to lay the groundwork before you break them. Make it part of the SPA program to condemn excessive brutality, the murder of noncombatants and innocents, and wanton destruction. While the language will mostly be used against capitalists and Longists, it can also be applied to the sort of things they advocate for, making a useful cudgel against your enemies in the party. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Ultra-ultraleft/Fosterites.

Back Up Butler: Butler has done an excellent job of reforming and expanding the Red Guard, turning it from a barely-controlled paramilitary into an effective force However, some of the changes he has made have been contentious, and he plans more. Some have begun suggesting you should rid yourself of him...something which you have no intentions of doing so. Make that clear, and make it crystal clear that Smedley Butler has your full confidence. Cost: Loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/20. Result: Increase to Smedley Butler’s Influence

Expand Party Bureaucracy: The Socialist Party of America has a fairly large and effective bureaucracy: clerks and secretaries and accountants, paper-pushers of every stripe. They provide immense value to the party’s efforts...you wish you had more. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to that problem. Cost: -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: +2 to the Influence cap.

Internal Party Discipline: Corruption in the party ranks it not to be tolerated, especially when it is used to subvert democratic processes. Take up the scythe of party discipline and the flail of expulsion, and make that clear to everyone. If you are willing, there could be further opportunity in this...Cost: Loss of support from the Teamter’s Union, loss of Relations with all factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Result: Corruption reduced, additional results possible.

Command the Cadres: The SPA Cadres have been enjoying their newfound independence, and will be reluctant to give it up again even temporarily, but you are liked and respected enough that they will do it. Even if they will complain. Cost: Political impact depends on what you choose. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Adjust SPA Cadre actions as you see fit.

Keep Pushing: The Fosterites and some allies pushed you about the Commissars and you pushed back. With the Battle of New York allegedly started by the poor trigger discipline of a Red Guard, now is the time to keep pushing. Demand restraint, demand order, demand reorganization. Who would disagree, at this juncture? Cost: ??? Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Major increase to political support for restraining the Red Guards.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Small-Town Unions: The farming cooperatives and the Red Grange are taking the lead in working with rural areas, providing the slowly growing unions there with expertise and assistance organizing. But another gap in your capabilities has been revealed. You don’t have much reach in the small twins that only have minor factories or mines. Unions have begun to slowly form in some of these towns, but more work needs to be done to ensure that these unions will represent their workers, and not serve as another tool of oppression by the town capitalists, especially given their relatively weak ideological underpinnings. While many unions have begun forming with SPA encouragement, they tend to be more collaborationist than confrontational. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/140. Result: Strengthen newly formed unions organizationally and ideologically..

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens. +0.5 Resources per month. Gain support from IWW MA and MM.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/120/150. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/100. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased relations with the Syndicalists.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/125/150. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Form Farmer’s Cooperatives: The newly organized farmer’s cooperatives are young and fragile. They need tractors, fertilizer, organizational support, and more. The Red Grange is struggling to assist with these matters, lacking finances and reach. And the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the Great Plains. Government subsidies are being delayed and disappeared by hostile civil servants and damaged infrastructure. The party must take care of it’s newest members...although they have been largely taking care of themselves. Cost: 4 Resources, moderate loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 80/100/120. Result: Expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, gain Relations with Ultraleft Farmer Labor and support from the Red Grange.

Seed Donations: The devastating droughts and dust storms have not just uprooted soil and those who work it, but the plants that grow in it. Losses due to spoilage, bad weather, and desperation have put many seed stocks at critically low levels, although they have since recovered slightly thanks to large donations.. Fortunately, the French Commune has a far more robust agricultural sector that has largely recovered from the ravages of the Weltkrieg. They are willing to ship over stocks of seeds for a relatively low price in gold and some better quality machine tools. These shipments can then be transferred to farmers. Cost: 2 Resources, slight loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/50/60. Result: Slightly expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, slight gain of Relations and support from the Red Grange.

Special Foods: The gardens mostly produce simple crops like potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. While they have definitely improved the quality of the soups and stews and other meals served at the various people’s kitchens, spices and herbs are in short supply for those kitchens. It should be relatively simple to purchase some mint plants and various others to add them to these new gardens. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improve quality of meals at soup kitchens, gain support from The Teamster’s Union, the SPU, and the AFL-CIO.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/120/180. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Prepare for Fresh Strikes: Strike funds are running low, defeat and massacres have damaged morale in some places, while others are questioning the need for further gains. But there will need to be further action, no matter the bloodshed. Begin devoting resources and assistance to those most in need of it, and let the capitalists tremble. Every sit-in and picket line brings the death knell of their class closer. Cost: 10 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/40/80/120. Result: Unions better prepared for future strikes.

Appoint a Red Grange Liaison: The urban concentration of the SPA means you have vast ranks of radicalized workers and easy access to the machinery of modern society, but it also means that efforts to reach out to the farmers are met with occasional contempt. Many of the efforts you sponsored in reaching out to the Midwest have slowly withered due to a lack of follow-up, while you were criticized for both over and under investing in reaching out to the rural workers. Having someone else to assist you would be useful...Cost: -1 Influence, slight loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: New subordinate vote, chance of getting increased support from the Red Grange

Winter Shelters: The winter storms have left many dying of hypothermia or suffering from frostbite in the cities, even ones with the housing cooperatives and soup kitchens out in full force. This is just another set of intolerable conditions capitalism forces upon its victims, but this one can be fought with relative ease. Especially with your coffers as full as they are. Cost: 4 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30. Result: Expand and winterize housing cooperatives.

Solidarity Strikes: The bloody results of the fighting in New York City and then the National Guard’s response has triggered all manner of unrest. Including a series of strikes in solidarity. The planned Toledo General Strike, which had been cancelled thanks to the plant owners agreeing to negotiations with elected union representatives, resumed, and that’s just one example. Despite the winter cold, pickets are raised demanding the release of the New York Twenty-Five and protestors march in solidarity. Some might suggest caution, but you reject that. Onwards, forwards, until justice is done! Cost: Potential backlash outside of the SPA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Massive wave of solidarity strikes.


Additional Weapons: The armaments of your “regular” Red Guards are highly irregular, and the “irregulars” who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of “non-lethal” weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Establish Training Camps: There are many remote regions that the SPA has a prominent presence in. The mountains of West Virginia are littered with empty mines, while the endless plains of Iowa are nearly impossible to search without manpower that simply is not available to your enemies. These will be the perfect places to establish camps for your most dedicated Red Guards to begin turning them from paramilitaries skilled in street battles to soldiers of the Revolution. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/30/60/120. Result: Establish training camps in isolated areas for turning paramilitaries into soldiers in small numbers.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Codes of Conduct: The decentralized nature of the Red Guards means that each unit tends to have its own rules. While a certain degree of this is acceptable and even beneficial, it is also very frustrating for the leadership. A recent proposal is to create a loose set of guidelines and recommendations for the rules and structure of each unit, with those who fail to maintain themselves within these guidelines being expelled from the greater organization. With your insistence on Red Guards units maintaining adherence to a set of rules, creating this outline is even more important. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Vote on nature of the code of conduct.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

A Democratic Chain of Command?: The Bolsheviks increasingly relied on a fairly conventional military structure as the Russian Revolutionary War dragged on, while the Black Army had a system of soldier’s councils and recallable officers. Both schools of thought have inspired the structure of various Red Guards cells, along with other sources such as the federal army, the militias of the American Independence War, and the forces of the Third Internationale. Devising a system that will be understandable, egalitarian, democratic, and above all effective must be a priority, even if it will not be possible to pressure all Guards units into following it, let alone the various splinter groups. Cost: ?? Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Choices on how to structure the Red Guards and how much pressure to use for spreading it, dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the Red Guards.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally-violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in a military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectation and tighten standards, to increase the amount of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 6 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Retaliatory Measures: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias have launched attacks on workers, in one case successfully massacring dozens. While the governments in some cases are protecting them, justice can still be found. The Blair Brigade, together with local forces, can be used to target these groups and make it clear that such slaughters will not be permitted. While there have not been any recent major attacks, there are past ones that have gone unpunished for far too long. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Launch a small number of carefully planned retaliatory attacks.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Self-Defense Units: The Red Guards need to expand. But they need to maintain their quality and discipline. The best solution you have currently is to not actually recruit more directly, at least not until you have a good way of training them. Instead, you will recruit those willing to fight as self-defense units, given more limited responsibilities under the oversight of those more experienced and capable. The only problem is getting enough weapons for everyone... Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Create self-defense units, begin slowly expanding the number of Red Guards.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Target Rural Reactionaries: While local Red Guards have performed heroically,, there are various counterrevolutionary elements that remain strong throughout the Midwest. Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom have converted back when sufficiently intimidated or otherwise persuaded. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/50/75/100. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives.

Anti-Adventurist Measures: After the crushed march in San Francisco that attempted to force a series of judicial resignations and the severe anti-syndicalist propaganda created from the aftermath, discussions have begun about working to tighten military control over some of the more far flung sections of the syndicalist movement. The various Red Guards units in California, the Red Bandits along the Mexican border, the scattered groups in Virginia and Kentucky...all of them have demonstrated a fondness for overagressive action. Begin working to restrict that. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Result: Options for increasing control over Red Guards units.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Establish schools for adult workers.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 2 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

(1 Influence Committed) Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America’s shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Publicize Accomplishments: You have forced concessions from the hostile federal government, run a city successfully for months, defended the rights of soldiers, and won battles by the score in fields ranging from the courtroom to the street. Broadcast your successes, shout them from the rooftops, because this is only the beginning. There are doubtless thousands of workers who are held in bondage only by their fear. Knowledge of your might will banish that fear. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased propaganda about your successes.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Establish a Propaganda Team: With the massive efforts for delivering propaganda undergoing, it may be wise to begin creating a dedicated group for managing the delivery and spread of information to the workers of America in order to present yourselves in the best possible light and strip the capitalist manipulation away from plain, unvarnished truth. The person you choose to run this team will have significant influence on what kind of news is being spread. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Creation of a subordinate for managing propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for it’s most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

The Moral of the Story: The radio is also being popularly used for entertainment, and there is the occasional show you like to listen to in order to relax. There’s no reason the SPA can’t sponsor a few shows about bands of thieves stealing from robbers, the ordinary adventures of hard-working laborers, or perhaps a grand tale of an alien world wracked by civil war...Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create socialist-themed radio entertainment.

California Street Art: The city of San Francisco, in an effort to restore a sense of civic pride, has decided to sponsor a contest that your agitators heard about: streets will be assigned to various “civic and patriotic” organizations and they will create art on them. The SPA and various associated organizations have not been invited. But there are streets not selected that can have some properly revolutionary art created...and if images of police beating a few women can be spread far and wide, so much the better. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55. Result: Push to create semi-illegal, socialist street art in San Francisco

Street Art: Such artwork can be created in many other cities where you have a presence as well...it will probably go better if you don’t have to deal with hostile police and “citizen’s groups.” You will create murals and graffiti in every style imaginable, showing the sins of capitalism and the glories of what will come after. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70. Result: Create socialist street art throughout SPA-controlled or influence areas.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.

Condemn the Violence: True, there was unrest in New York City. Unrest entirely started by reactionary groups who brutally beat a reporter (that she is a white lady will certainly get you more sympathy, as regrettable as that is) and then refused to obey the law and disband. The bloodshed is entirely on their hands, except for what is caused by the excessive force and arbitrary cruelty of the National Guard so unjustly deployed to the peaceful, prosperous city of New York. Capitalize on the upwelling in support for you, and bring more of the workers to true consciousness and awareness of the class struggle and their place in it. Cost: Potential for backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/50/100/125.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/90/150. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions have left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile.Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Condemn MacArthur: MacArthur has flouted the United States Constitution, slaughtered innocent, peaceful soldiers, possibly attempted a coup, and bungled his way into slaughtering dozens of people needlessly. And he speaks in third person like the utter clown he is. The fact that he is not the most hated man in America is a miracle. Perhaps you can start fixing that though...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Condemn and lambast MacArthur, hopefully having some effect.

Speak With Floyd: Floyd Olson is possibly one of the most popular Progressives in the nation. Even Curtis and Garner have praised him for his “restraint” and “vision of reform in a true American sense.” What exactly that last phrase means is...unclear. He is also one of the Progressives who has not formally joined you, and has expressed reservations to some fellow Progressives and proposed readmitting the expelled Progressive leadership. Spending some time to find out what his reservations are would be worthwhile...Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80/120/180. Results: Find out more about what Floyd Olson wants and plans.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA-controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

A Devil’s Deal: You do not like Huey Long. You absolutely despise nearly three-quarters of his party. And you suspect he feels the same way. But you have briefly cooperated to defy MacArthur before...perhaps it would be worth doing so again. Any effort to halt as many of the General’s reforms as possible is to both your benefit. Cost: ??? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: The SPA and AFP work very loosely together to shut down further military reforms.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 40. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses that maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/95/145. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence have led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begin relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA-controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: Slight loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions, malus reduced or eliminated.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with, and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Assistants Adjustment

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double-edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.

Impeach the Governor: Although Al Smith was a man you once had high hopes for, he has clearly made his decision, and sided with the forces of reaction. His replacement will be no better, not until an election, but you can at least make your displeasure known. Begin working to impeach him, lay the slaughter in New York City at his feet and demand he be judged for it. You may have to make some deals to see it done, but it will be worth it. Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Make a deal to impeach the Governor of New York.

Restrain the National Guards: The events of this past month have shown that the National Guards, as they are, cannot be trusted. While they will doubtless ignore any law we make, doing so will induce some doubt in some of the soldiers, and so it is a worthwhile investment to begin passing laws restricting the power governors have over the National Guards. A side benefit of this is that it will further weaken MacArthur’s reforms. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Pass laws restricting the use of the National Guard in states you are not completely dominant.



The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 6 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

Linguistic Life: The language federations are a powerful part of SPA politics. German, Jewish, Finnish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian...they are large, organized, and often highly radicalized. In many cases, they contain survivors of failed revolutions or escapees from persecution and repression. Militant and determined, they have taken leading roles in several initiatives, including the strikes in Boston. One possibility for appealing to them, and for fighting nativist sentiments, would be expanding the accommodations various programs give to foreign languages. This would include translating speeches and radio broadcasts, creating signs in multiple languages, and beginning to establish programs for cultural autonomy and ethnic liberation. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives and nativists such as the IWW MM, the SPU, and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for cultural autonomy and support for ethnic minorities.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Practical experience from dedicated syndicalists working at varying ranks of state bureaucracies can be synthesized into the beginnings of a roadmap. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled. Reduce malus from lack of experienced bureaucrats

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships that they endure under capitalism, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as a boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: Small loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.

Justice and Violence: Violence is one of the eternal topics people argue about. When is it acceptable, why is it acceptable, what limits should there be? Some proclaim it all equally abhorrent, others insist it is always necessary. The SPA has an ample variety of attitudes, some of which are counterproductive. The cowardice of the SPU and the bloodthirst of the Fosterites both threaten the revolution. The correct course is obviously somewhere in between the extremes: self-defense is obviously acceptable, and so is violence in the pursuit of justice, but you must decide where the lines are...and when they should be crossed. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Decide what sorts of violence are acceptable and when, develop a more defined thesis on it.


Investigate the Machines: Fragments of the Democrats and the Republicans have begun drifting towards you over the past several months, with the latest gunfight bringing about a sharp change in several group’s positions. However, they are still trusted insiders in their parties, and this gives you an opportunity to get an inside look at the often rather opaque workings of the party machines, to better co-opt or destroy them. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/85/135. Result: Gain information and opportunities to take over or break various political machines.

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.

Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That’s going to be really hard to find...but at the same time it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase in your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/?/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 50/100/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP-dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 95/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.

Into the Navy: Another possibility for infiltration is the navy. A scheme to try and stabilize a few coastal cities has been passed, and the fleet is being expanded, meaning new sailors are being recruited. This is a perfect opportunity to begin slipping syndicalists into their ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/??/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Canadian Contacts: Across the border to your north, comrades and fellow travelers are hunted like dogs, shot and imprisoned and tortured without mercy. The Canadian Exiles and Conservatives demand ever harsher measures, the Liberals barely object. But the flame of syndicalism still burns in Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver. And it is time to add some fuel to that fire. Friends from the Syndintern have approached you, having been working with Canadian socialists to create an Underground Railroad of sorts so that people can be smuggled out and supplies in. The work will involve bribing and subverting guards, finding vulnerable sections of the border, and specially designed trucks. More, you don’t know. Cost: Risk of discovery, -1 Resource per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/??/???. Result: Set up a system for smuggling people and things in and out of Canada.

Targeted Retaliation: The dogs who caused the violence in New York City yet live. Many of the footsoldiers of reaction have fled the city, while its leaders huddle in their mansions. A response is needed. But it is unlikely to get everyone, and the outcry would be massive. Something...more precise will make the point just as clear. There was a small group of leadership figures responsible for the massacres. Kill them all. Cost: 2 Resources, risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 70/140. Result: Launch assassination attempts against the leaders of the attacks in New York (Governor Smith, the National Guard commanding officers, etc.)


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only twice per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one).

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -12 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month. Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no focus.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

A Lot of Chutzpah - Part of propaganda is not...lies exactly, but occasionally de-emphasizing certain aspects of your end goal for the sake of quieting opposition. It might take a lot of chutzpah to say yes out of one side of your mouth and no out of the other, but it also takes a lot of chutzpah to overthrow capitalism. Time: 1 month. Effect: +2 Appeal per month for white Americans, -1 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans.

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoisie are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Organize the Farmworkers - The migrating farmworkers are perhaps the easiest target for radicalization. Their formerly prosperous lives ripped away from them, pushed into desperate poverty, the food they work so hard to grow frequently burned in front of them as they starve...Time: 3 months. Effect: Significant increase to support among rural populations, +10 to the next 3 actions involving organizing or agitating in rural areas.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Linguistic Life: 1 Influence, 57+20 = 77

The language federations provide many functions. They let people of the same culture meet, provided spaces for traditional rituals, and allowed these groups to engage in mutual aid both among their own members and between the different federations. And they have proven themselves to be immensely powerful forces for the spread of socialism and syndicalism, and they are bastions of internationalism, particularly the Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Polish federations, all of whom have sent volunteers and aid to the underground unions and partisan bands of Eastern Europe.

And they have political demands of their own, demands which enrage sections of the SPA with a more nativist bent but are not unreasonable. You piece through the proposals Flora has assembled, each one covered in Sadler’s untidy scrawl as she exhorts you to support it.

You find most of them fairly agreeable. They will take time to implement, and money, but the federations might be willing to pay for it. The only thing that might be truly difficult is the expansion of aid to revolutionary movements in their homelands.

You speak with Sadler, and ask her and her minions to begin an offensive in favor of most of the policies. Sponsored translation of signage, providing optional heritage classes, the creation of several new newspapers in different languages...

There is one matter left to discuss. While the details will take time to implement and the end result is unlikely to be quite what you imagined, you, Kate, and other party leaders need to decide how to handle cultural autonomy.

Sadler pushes for “national, personal autonomy” based on the works of Friedrech Adler and Karl Renner, creating non-territorial congresses which would be responsible for handling affairs of minority groups such as education and holidays.

Browder, backed by several significant figures and John Brophy, proposes not creating any special autonomies and instead simply letting them state their case to whatever legislative and executive body there is.

Meanwhile, several others suggest a model where local and regional governments would be empowered to pass the sort of things that would be handled under the non-territorial congresses, with restrictions to ensure a lack of discrimination.

You throw your support behind...

[] National, personal autonomy

[] No special autonomy

[] Local autonomy

Result: New actions unlocked, gain in support from the IWW MA, gain in Relations with the Orthodox and Syndicalists


Send Union Organizers to the West Coast: 1 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 5+14+20+15 = 64

With the successful anti-Federalist agitation having convinced many that the current system is untenable, you need to build on that success, lest the workers turn to false alternatives such as the program Long is beginning to create or other reactionary schemes. So organizers are sent, to rally the people to your cause, to build their strength in the hopes that they will join the grand strike wave.

But the leaders of California have anticipated this. While there are severe strikes in Portland, including a one-day general strike that saw Red Guards clashing with police, the governor of California, George Creel managed to pre-empt you by declaring a state-wide holiday, with publicly sanctioned demonstrations and carefully sanitized rhetoric. Meanwhile, state troopers and armed posses are waiting to ambush your organizers, forcing many into hiding. However, they are still determined to do their duty, and so many disguise themselves to infiltrate the city, to decent success.

They visit underground union meetings and open ones as well, rally the Red Guards units, and offer what support they can give from the broader SPA. Mostly, that takes the form of hearing requests and demands.

The unions need help with fighting for the minds of the worker. Creel is a master of public information, and he has several media empires on his side. The strategy of “expression, not repression” has drowned out union attempts at making themselves heard, while company goons have attacked enough meetings to make organizing and rallying difficult. Better weapons for the Guards are needed.

Finally, the report from the organizers notes that many unions are distinctly reformist in outlook, and there are many proposals about how to fix that.

Result: Slight gain in support in California, moderate gain in Oregon, new actions unlocked.


Prepare for Fresh Strikes: 1 Influence, 21+15 = 36

The strike funds are slowly refilled, as the workers of the nation ready themselves for yet another struggle. They are undeniably growing weary, and many have begun looking to the November midterms for salvation. But you provide a sudden influx of financial resources, along with encouragement, reminding the unions that they do not stand alone. Spirits are bolstered by the efforts of the SPA, even as corruption and miscommunication continue to hamper your efforts, but it doesn’t seem like it will be enough. You even hesitate to put out the call to strike, fearful of what happens if you are not answered...

Result: Strike funds refilled


Solidarity Strikes: 1 Influence, 91+15 = 106

...but you have faith and put out the call. And the workers of the world answer. As diplomatic condemnations pour in from every member of the Third Internationale, as newspapers and radios carry the news of the slaughter in New York, they march.

They march in their thousands, thronging throughout the nation. In Boston and Toledo and Minneapolis and Seattle and Detroit and Chicago, red flags rise up. Pickets surround government buildings and police stations and prisons, demanding political prisoners be freed. Thundering denunciations of your opponents echo from pulpits and improvised stages. The railway network in the Steel Belt grinds completely to a halt, while briefer strikes bubble in other sections.

Even in New York City, despite the stern forbiddance of the National Guards officers, thousands turn out to issue their demands. And the Guards dare not fire upon them.


She marched through the streets, and for the first time in her life, Lisa felt powerful.

She had stayed huddled in the house when the riots had happened when the Syndicalists had tried to seize all of the city. Her father hadn’t dared let her leave for a week after.

When she went back to school, she started asking questions and had been made to stand in the corner while the other girls snickered at her.

But it didn’t make sense that so many people would support taking away their own rights, so there had to be more of an explanation. So she dressed in her rattiest clothes to try and appear poor and snuck out to a meeting. And she found herself never more scared than when the men guarding the meeting looked at her like they could see that she was just another rich girl, and she thought they were going to kidnap her and hold her to ransom...

But she made it through, huddling in the back like a mouse and listening as the speaker railed, to the approval and applause of the audience.

She realized what was happening after that.. The people had been understandably upset by the failures of the American way, so they turned to alternatives. The obvious answer was to create a few moderate reforms to assuage their concerns without causing radical change...

Unfortunately, she made the mistake of saying so to her Daddy when he was drunk. And she found herself with a bruise on her cheek as he called her vile names, and then she ran away in tears...and she found herself weak and helpless in far too many ways before being taken in by a women’s housing cooperative.

And then once more she had stayed huddled inside a building as National Guards attacked the movement, the movement she had joined, shedding the blood of innocent workers and brave syndicalists.

But now the people had come out in force, and the Guardsmen quailed before them. “Free the Twenty-Five!” she roared, and the crowd roared with her.

Waves of energy crashed through her, driving her to shout louder, to march faster, to lift her fists higher. Passerby scattered before them or joined the tide, and the armed guards sent to suppress the workers retreated in sheer terror.

Half the city was cleared of the capitalist’s soldiers before the sunset, and not a shot was fired.


Even in the distant farmer cooperatives of Iowa and Minnesota and Missouri and Kansas, men and women answered your call, raising signs and marching on larger towns to issue their demands, often at a bloody cost.


Sven knew he wasn’t the smartest. He was good at farming, and had a singing voice good enough to get into the church choir, but nothing more. All the same, he had paid attention in school. He knew there were laws. He knew that those laws meant you couldn’t keep someone in jail without a reason.

And if the lawmen weren’t keeping the law, then they would have to be made to do so.

So he and the rest of the choir were marching. Their wives had made them a banner and seen them off like they were soldiers going to the Weltkrieg, as they marched from their little town to Villesborg, where the mayor had apparently said the Twenty-Five should be shot.

They marched forward, singing hymns, but as they got closer there were people watching. The other choir members had said they would be greeted with cheers...but no one was cheering.

Then someone threw a stone. And someone else threw mud. And people began to shout. People began to fall away, but Sven kept marching. This was right! This was good! And this was not going to stop! He marched on, bleeding from above his eye, swaying drunkenly, as more stones and more insults rained down on him. And then someone grabbed him and tore the banner from his hands and he felt a rock smash against the back of his head.

Three days later, his body was found in pieces.

Result: Massive strike wave, huge gains to popular support. Some, largely ineffective efforts undertaken to winnow away at your support on the edges.


Winter Shelters: 1 Influence, 29+15 = 44

The first step is to purchase blankets and clothes. It’s not enough for everyone, you suspect it will never be enough until the day the revolution sweeps across the world, but it is something.

The SPA Cadres begin the next step almost simultaneously, leading the street brigades in working to expand and restore housing. Empty homes are taken over and turned into shelters for dozens of the homeless and the poor, while funds to purchase coal are raised...and then the coal is sold at a discount under the pressure of strikes.

Not everyone is saved. There are still far too many found in the snowbanks of Boston, far too many losing fingers and toes in crude Seattle clinics. But it is far more than it could be. It is far more than it would have been, if the SPA had been some weak, splintered thing shattered by the capitalists.

Result: Lives are saved.


Condemn the Violence: 2 Influence, 76+99+25 = 200

The fat cat politicians doubtless expect you to offer some mealymouthed platitudes the way they do - even Smith has the gall to express his “regret for the unfortunate death of innocent Americans,” while Curtis castigates the man before Congress, throwing his support behind the Thomas National Guard Act.

But you have no platitudes to offer. Just cold, icy rage. Rage that spells out with every drop of ink from that lovely pen your wife gave you.

“The violence in New York was the fault of outside agitators, violent, brutal men who were hired by significant portions of the city elite in an attempt to suppress the will of the people in an undemocratic and un-American fashion more worthy of the German Kaiser or the Russian Tsar. The list of outrages they have perpetrated could be read for hours.”

You digress into describing a few of the worst, describing them so vividly your readers can taste the coppery tang of blood in the mouths of beaten vagrants and feel the burn of salt being rubbed into the ragged wounds of newspaper boys who dared to bring the wrong sort of paper around. You don’t know if all the details are entirely true, and you don’t particularly care. Another day, you might regret the lacking commitment to journalistic integrity.

Today, hearing the shouts of the protesting workers, you don’t care.

With the character of the instigators established, you turn your fury onto Smith, tearing into him for escalating the situation again and again. You ask how he managed to get elected, imply fraud was involved, and demand an investigation. You call him every type of idiot, fool, and blunderer in the book. Then you stop being polite.

Exhausted, you promptly collapse into your bed and let Flora take care of getting it published.

Result: +1 Gravitas, major upswelling in public support.


Hire an Assistant Secretary: 1 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 73+37 = 110

The left is not unfamiliar with the shadowy side of things. Avoiding assassins, identifying infiltrators, devising deceptions, all are part of being in a revolutionary movement. The memoirs of the Bolsheviks you collected are full of stories of betrayal and dagger-work, something you keep in mind as you consider who to trust with this dangerous position...

[] Flora Hamburger. Your actual secretary is a loyal, dedicated, and intelligent woman. She has no particular skill at espionage, at least not that you have noticed, but she does have a strong network of informal informants within the SPA, including a brother in the Revolutionary Guard. (Inexperienced, internally focused, extremely loyal)

[] Meyer Lansky. The mob was one of the first targets of the Red Guards. They and their police protectors were cleared from the cities with the bullet and the bludgeon, but some had the intelligence to turn their coats. Meyer Lansky was one of those, putting his formidable intellect to use. (Expensive, intelligent, and very competent, will give you a chance to match bribes)

[] Charles Schenk: A proud and committed socialist, his experiences during the Palmer Raids have left him determined to not allow such a fate to befall his fellow socialists. Instead, he seeks to use the tools of the oppressors such as infiltration and the insertion of disruptive agents to spread syndicalism. A proud internationalist, he also desires to assist fellow revolutionaries whenever possible. By any means necessary. (Externally focused, fairly competent, extreme)

However, you feel confident with those you are considering. None of them should be utter disasters...


A Generous Gesture: 1 Influence, 5+10 = 15

The cadres continue asserting their independence, with your assent and encouragement. Some initiatives succeed, some falter, but you applaud their efforts all the same...you don’t really have a part in this anymore. You have unleashed something you cannot restrain, not without significant effort.

But it is something that you wanted, and so you don’t mind.

Result: +1 Influence to the SPA Cadres


Unity in the Melting Pot: 1 Influence, 99+35 = 134

With a massive influx of support from several factions of the party and Kate Sadler and her coterie of writers and speakers, a pro-immigration narrative is forged as strongly as possible. The failed efforts of the past month are swept away entirely, and a blank slate formed.

Radical members of existing communities are encouraged to teach their language to other organizers. Efforts are made to reach out to existing immigrant groups and pull them left. Demands are placed on recalcitrant members of the CSA, while workers are encouraged to see through capitalist tricks and fight side by side with their deceived and exploited immigrant brothers.

The biggest success is the modification of anti-scab propaganda to push the blame onto those who abuse them, not the unfortunate workers, although exceptions are dictated for those who do so with the goal of oppressing workers, as opposed to simply seeking to feed themselves.

The final debates have begun to wind down, mostly about groups that tend to maintain unfortunate social attitudes and how to handle them. The current consensus seems to be focusing on economic issues, with slow but steady exposure to erode hostile attitudes towards social revolution.

Result: Effective, competent program for encouraging immigrant support and countering nativist hostility devised.

Personal Action: Write

You ordinarily would write something entertaining and light-hearted to relax, as opposed to the serious journalism you do for the party, but you find your thoughts wandering down a different path as you consider recent events. Multiple times, you have had the sense that you were on the cusp of some greater agreement or success, but pushing further would have risked what progress you had made.

It’s an issue many leftist movements have struggled with: when to go for the perfect, and when to accept the good enough. Some reforms will galvanize your supporters, some will destroy them. Some compromises are necessary, and some are fatal.

But more often than not, the perfect is the enemy of the good enough.

And that is the argument you write down.

Result: Gained trait (The perfect is the enemy of the good enough. When a result is within five of the next DC, roll a 1d6-1 and add the result.)


Ask for a Favor:

You make many, many, many demands on the party this month. But they rise to the challenge, incorporating the new membership, pushing them to ever greater heights. As the furor of activity dies down, you and many others are utterly exhausted. You will be unlikely to manage another great push like this for some time.

But here and now, it was enough. And the sheer pressure everyone has been under has left the bonds of the party tighter than ever...at least for those who were involved.


Focus: Organize the Farmworkers

The Okies and Arkies heading west from California have already been highly proletarianized, but intense anti-union propaganda and pressure from companies and police have given them no opportunity to organize. However, recent reports suggest that could soon be changing...it is time to push for them to be radicalized. They will join the class war soon enough...you are sure of it.

Result: 2 months left.


Report from the Coordination Committee: Building Ties, 2 Influence, 79+80+5 = 164

Outside the cities, many of the SPA unions resemble drinking groups more than anything else, with the workers being unwilling to flex their muscles in more than a symbolic manner. While proper education in both tactics and ideology will take extensive time and resources, the Coordination Committee decided to get a head start on things.

They had plenty of complaints from workers across the country. Long hours, poor pay, limited safety, uncaring supervisors, neglectful governments, corrupt police...the litany of grievances went on and on and on. The Committee worked to persuade the workers in the towns what those in the cities already knew: that these problems were failures of a system, not of individual actors.

The image they used was one you have favored: that of a great inexorable machine with its gears endlessly turning, crushing workers to death and even consuming the capitalists as it inexorably funnels up wealth, pushing it higher and higher and higher...

And then they give the people an answer for how to defeat the machine:

You break it, and take the parts, and build a new, better, fairer one.

Result: The beginnings of radicalization of small-town unions as some grow persuaded of capitalism’s systemic flaws. Increase in support.


Report from the State Legislative Committee: Restrain the National Guards, 2 Influence, 41+91 = 132

In New York, the Socialists join with Republicans and dissident Progressives to pass a slate of legislation, first demanding that Governor Smith withdraw the National Guard, then slashing their size and mandating that they only be deployed with congressional approval.

Humiliated and defeated, Smith capitulates and the Guards make their retreat from New York City official to jubilant cheers.

In Iowa and Montana and California, similar acts are passed, while greater restrictions are enforced on the Minnesota National Guards, Floyd Olson intervening to ensure the passage of harsh restrictions on their size and equipment.

In all the states these laws are passed, only in Colorado and Texas do your efforts fail, although many states see governors signing over control of their National Guards to the federal government in the hopes of loopholing their way around the laws they must obey.

Result: Broad restrictions on National Guards sizes and deployments.


Report from Norman Thomas: Restrain the National Guards, Federal Edition, 3 Influence, 18+78+95+10 = 201

Just as the state governments campaign on the matter, so to does the federal government, Norman Thomas leading the powerful SPA-aligned faction of Congress to demand accountability, revealing graphic accounts of the violent abuses of the Guardsmen and demanding restitution, accountability, and restraint.

The sheer tension of the political situation is enough to get the Republicans, barring the still extant Cactus Clique, all on side, with Curtis using his own oratory to push a package of bills forward and then signing them on the steps of the Capitol building.

With one stroke, the federal government gains the ability to override a governor’s orders on the National Guards with a vote in Congress, something you and Curtis doubtless plan to abuse.

Result: Federal restrictions on the National Guards passed with ease, designed to allow the SPA to prevent their deployment.


Report from Smedley Butler - Performance Review, 1 Influence, 30, Establish Training Camps, 1 Influence, 75+10 = 85

In the mountains of West Virginia, the hidden valleys of Indiana, and the empty plains of Iowa, Red Guard training camps are established. Trusted members of the street brigades are transported out, often blindfolded for sections of the journey, and they construct primitive facilities and stockpile supplies. The first section of soldiers arrives, and the find themselves being snarled and snapped at by sergeants as they are set to expanding the facilities, with daily marching drills, teamwork exercises, and lectures on syndicalism, socialism, and other important ideological strains.

Butler mostly leaves this work to trained and trusted subordinates, and they do the job well.

His priority is seeing how the Red Guards performed in one of the biggest engagements in the country. While he cannot question their courage, enthusiasm, or determination, he has plenty of negative comments to make, especially regarding the Park Street Siege, where reactionary militias held off rushed and disorganized Red Guard attacks for hours. He also is harshly critical of the poor discipline of your paramilitaries...and he is critical of it in public.

Result: Training camps begin to form, while Butler finds serious problems with the Red Guards, and then makes them public, provoking some unrest within the SPA.


Report from Solidarity Strikes: Extreme Strike Preparations, 1 Influence,29-5 = 24 Solidarity Strikes, 1 Influence, 100-5= 95

The preparations for the “National Strike,” as it has been called, go fairly poorly, with misallocation of funds and bad communication between cadres causing several problems, including one fistfight. But the party remains united, and even if things aren’t as effective as they could be, they still go well.

Especially as the cadres work to make the strike wave grow even bigger. Their efforts in California see some sedate demonstrations grow significantly more radical, while unrest rocks the Great Plains. At times, it seems like every city is alight in protest of the continued imprisonment of the New York Twenty-Five.

In addition, the cadres have begun working to recruit groups who would normally oppose syndicalism into joining the strike. While efforts at organizing at West Point was a dismal failure, there was some unexpected success as a small band of former BOI men defected...bringing with them information on the plans of the federal government, which include:

A grand coalition for national order between every party that is not the SPA or AFP

Massive expansions of the power of the BOI, including a right to 100-day detention of those deemed “detrimental to the social order” and confiscation of their property.

Enormous expansions to the army, including conscription of those in BOI detention.

Organized efforts to splinter the SPA and AFP, while whiling away at their support wherever it is vulnerable: California, Montana, Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma, the Carolinas, and Kentucky were all noted as good targets.

And as the strikes ground on, Curtis approached you, proposing an end to the strikes in return for the release of all of the arrested Twenty-Five and the transfer of those in protective custody to New York City jurisdiction and a federal committee to investigate the deployment of the National Guard in New York.

[] Take the offer

[] Demand the impeachment or resignation of Al Smith as well

[] Reject him. No truce with the enemy.

[] Accept, but warn him that the left-wing might continue despite your instructions...and then don’t actually give them those instructions.

[] Write-in
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Alvin was cold, and tired, and hungry, and wishing he had never signed up for this. The uniform barely kept out the damp and chill of early spring mornings, the wind whipped around his head, his feet chafed from the endless marching. They patrolled the slopes of the Catskills, looking for whatever the commanders feared was there...and while the men who were supposed to keep order wandered through empty mountains and their good, god-fearing families lay huddled together in skeleton towns, the nation went mad around them. Whenever they were back at Camp Sherman, they heard all about it - how Longists and Syndicalists were tearing the country apart, murdering and intimidating their opponents, destroying cities and towns...

He shivered again, from fear as much as from cold.

And of course the sergeant saw. “What’s the matter, Private? Scared of a few Longists with muskets and shotguns? I thought you were a soldier, not a yellow-bellied worm!” the man roared.

“No Sergeant! I’m not scared!” he shouted back, smelling the whiskey on the man’s breath, staring back, wishing someone would put a bullet through the bastard’s gut. The man had been picking on him ever since Alvin had signed up for the army.

Eventually, after haraunging him for several more minutes, till Alvin felt on the verge of tears, the sergeant turned away and led them on the rest of their patrol. As per usual, they found nothing but rain and mud, and Alvin was eagerly anticipating bedding down...

And then they crested the last rise, and saw chaos in the camp. Soldiers were trying to man the walls, others were forming a circle around the officer’s barracks, still others were rioting and shouting. He could see a scattering of wounded men off to one side, tended to by medics, and more who lay ominously still. There was damage too, scorched earth and sundered buildings.

Without waiting for a command, Alvin and the rest hurried down. As they got closer, they could hear shouts. “If the President is dead, why are we here? Let’s kill the bastards! Kill the traitors! Order, order damn you! Stand down!”

It was a chaotic welter, one that made his breath come short and his heart pound. He looked to the sergeant, suddenly wishing the man would curse him, anything to bring a semblance of normalcy to the anarchy that had engulfed the camp.

They hurried closer, the shouts going louder...someone fired a shot, and then more, and then more...

He looked to his sergeant again. Who was on the right side? As more soldiers trickled out of the trees and the camp tore itself apart, he found himself wondering if perhaps neither side here was right...perhaps the Longists and Syndicalists had reasons to riot.

But Alvin would never get to decide.

As the chaos in the camp died down, military police and other, more trusted troops marched in, imprisoning survivors, beating down resistance with batons and rifle butts. They were court-martialed, every single one, for incompetence and mutiny. It was in that court martial he had learned what happened to the tiny, isolated little camp, how the Longists he had been looking for attacked it, how news had come about how the president had died, how things had descended into a welter of bloodshed.

He learned all these things, and he found he knew even less. And he still knew nothing as he was found guilty, his defense deemed lacking, as he was led out one cold morning, how a blindfold was placed over his eyes and a cigarette in his mouth...


Rumors and News

The month is quiet...at least in the streets. Though militias still battle, and the endless campaigns of beatings, burnings, and bombings continue anywhere politicial forces clash, there are no grand crisises for the time being. Instead, the chaos and confusion is confined to internal party politics.

It begins with the first steps of Curtis’s grand plan.

Al Smith is forced to resign, Curtis leading the barrage of vicious accusations and condemnations, even as swathes of the Republicans and Democrats join in, to say nothing of the SPA and it’s temporary allies.

With immense political support behind him, he uses executive orders to create three federal institutions, while further expanding the funding and power of existing ones. Then, he leaves the Republican Party to announce the foundation of a new political organization, the Progressive Constitutional Front, which he intended to serve as a cross-party vehicle for promoting “vital policy, securing the goals outlined in the Constitution, and protecting the American people from toxic ideologies.”

While both his orders and the foundation of the Front immediately receive significant political attention and acclaim from prominent figures such as Charles Dawes, Douglas MacArthur, Andrew Mellon, Jack Garner, William Borah, William Randolph Hearst, and many others, they receive equal condemnation, including court challenges where Curtis openly leans on the judges to rule in his favor....and then Curtis vanished from the public eye, retreating to the safety of the White House, where tight-lipped spokesmen refused to comment on what happened.

Within days, the orders are struck down and the legality of every act Curtis has done since the vanishing of Hoover is questioned. Curtis’s plans for a united front die stillborn as those who would have joined it fall into vicious infighting. The Republicans and Democrats have both begun to splinter, while the remaining Progressives retreat from you and align with Farmer-Labor. The governors of several states begin taking unusual measures to try and secure the security and prosperity of their states. While these efforts, such as the direct financing of industry, the mass rounding up of vagrants, and the co-opting of radical groups among many other efforts sees some limited success in a few states such as Virginia, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas, and Nebraska, in other states these efforts have been for naught.

In New York, attempts at establishing recruiting offices for the state police and the National Guard are rebuffed in Buffalo and Troy and not even attempted in New York City, strong Longist and SPA opposition is insufficient to stop them forming and recruiting disaffected men, often paying to transport them and their families to newly established bases.

From the Carolinas to Mississippi, dozens of Democrats are swept out of office, retire, “retire,” or change their allegiance to Long, who’s coffers swell as his new political subordinates send parts of their salary to him.

In Minnesota, Floyd Olson has returned to his home state to attempt to negotiate between various factions, an effort that seems doomed to failure.

In California, select “pink unions” are given voices in government in the form of a special elected commission with wide but shallow powers, while others agitate from the sidelines.

All the while Washington agitates and boils, a futile bubbling and frothing. The White House is dead silent, not even the thin Cabinet knows what is happening within the walls, while politicians are at each other’s throats.

Perhaps in time, a semblance of order will be returned, but that has not happened yet. And meanwhile, the center falls apart.

Of course, that’s not the only place this has been true. Scandals have rocked the party, weakening your control of it. Red Guards in Iowa have been turning bandit, attacking rural communities and claiming their wealth. In addition, some party members have been involved in helping the Guard units responsible cover their tracks in exchange for kickbacks and favors of many kinds. While at least one band responsible has been caught and very publicly punished, with the sight of their corpses swaying from trees doing a great deal to restore your support in brutalized areas, members of the CSA are beginning to wonder how many other cases of this behavior have simply gone under the radar...and whether any such offenses have been ignored. Other members are reacting in far less pleasant ways. You will have to choose who to side with...and soon.

A letter was delivered to your headquarters. It was clearly written by multiple people, at least twenty who signed it with obviously fake names. Calling themselves the Red Army Faction of the SPA, they claim to have enormous support. They tell you that you should “militarize” the entire SPA, prepare for a “glorious anti-capitalist war from sea to shining sea” and that if you don’t, they will.

While it is worrying, you find many more worries. Despite your (lapsed?) agreement with Curtis, many groups are refusing to end the strike, demanding the resignation of Hoover and Curtis, demanding elections be called immediately, demanding the dissolution of the United States. While the powerful and determined strike action has won you great support, including some among the labor aristocracy who have begun bowing to the inevitable, it has also caused you to come under fire from the left and the right.

From the right, you are attacked for failing to stop the strikes, while from the left you are attacked for even trying.

Still, despite the chaos and infighting, the SPA continues to march on. The factional chaos must be dealt with, but the ranks of the party are still growing and your most potent foe is divided and weakened.

There is other news, of course.

Long is riding high on having so suddenly secured significant support and political power in the South, with tendrils of his influence stretching outwards: sections of rural New England, the backward hinterlands of Idaho and Montana, the American Southwest, and even dribs and drabs of support for him on the edges of Indiana and West Virginia and Minnesota.

Meanwhile, whispers of Canadian efforts to prop up anti-Syndicalists in the north of America suggest that whatever these were, they have collapsed, and that syndicalist militias are using First Nations reservations as hiding places, having promised an end to residential schooling and greater political independence, among many other things. In addition, efforts at crash industrialization have begun to falter due to increasing economic problems.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee is taking advantage of the sudden weakening of federal authority to encourage the establishment of local self-defense groups and Red Guards units, hoping to strengthen the SPA against the inevitable capitalist repression.

The State Legislative Committee has many, many, many tasks they want to accomplish and not enough time to do so. But they have begun focusing their efforts on election reform, hoping to secure major gains in the upcoming elections through the deliberate shifting of voting patterns.

Norman Thomas is working desperately to find out what is going on in the White House along with various other Congressional leaders, who seem to be as in the dark as you are, but he also spares the time to savage Curtis and the mainstream parties for their continued failures.

Smedley Butler is continuing his efforts at establishing training camps for prospective Red Guards.

Charles Schenk is beginning his work with establishing a network of agents in Canada to help smuggle people and equipment across the very long and poorly-guarded border, while he also intends to begin infiltrating the Longists, identifying them as your most potent rival.

And the SPA Cadres, for once in agreement, are seeking to take advantage of the widespread strikes and lack of federal authority to seize as many factories and mines and farms as possible.

You have 8 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 2 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You have 1 Temporary Influence for Union actions. You are currently taking On the Farms.

Omake bonuses will be applied as needed.


The capitalist oppression of the working class grows more intolerable by the day. If the leadership of the SPA will not commit to their liberation by any means necessary, we will. Begin efforts to suppress and terrify reactionaries within 4 months (From the Fosterites. ++Strength to the Fosterites, +Relations with the Fosterites, +Support from the TUUL, IWW MM, and IWW MA, - Support from the AFL and SPU if completed. +Support from the AFL and SPU, --Relations with the Fosterites if failed).

With the party of the workers dominating many state governments, now is the time to begin making an economic shift of power. Begin seizing the means of production, whether through the captured mechanisms of state or the instruments of proletarian power. Take steps to gain economic control of factories, railways, etc. within 5 months. (From the Orthodox. +Strength to the Orthodox, +Relations with the Orthodox, +5 to the next Political action if completed. -Relations with the Orthodox, -5 to the next Political action if failed.)

The Red Guards are a vital part of the SPA and CSA, protecting union organizers, preventing illegal strikebreaking, and keeping law and order, but they must do so in a civilized fashion. Take measures to keep them from running wild within 5 months. (From the AFL, the IWW MA, and the IWW MM. +Support from the AFL and both IWW factions, +Relations with the Parliamentarians, Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Centrists, +2 Semi-Temporary Influence for military discipline actions, --Support from the AFL and both IWW factions if completed. --Relations with the Parliamentarians, Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Centrists if failed.)

While some in the party see the deeds of the Red Guards as minor excesses or necessary acts, the majority condemns them sharply. They must be taken in hand, and soon. Take multiple measures to keep them from running wild within 3 months. (From the Centrists, the AFL, the SPU, the ASA, and both factions of the IWW. +Strength to the Center, -Strength to the Fosterites, +Relations with the Center, the Anarchists, the Parliamentarians, and the Syndicalists, +2 Temporary Influence for Militant actions if completed. -5 to all Militant actions for 1 month, ---support from the AFL, SPU, ASA, and both factions of the IWW, -Relations with all party factions except the Totalists and Fosterites if failed.)

The SPA has demonstrated that it is riddled with corruption. Bribery, nepotism, scandal, embezzlement...all have shaken the trust the workers have in their vanguard organizations, and rightfully so. Their trust has been shaken in us, and rightfully so. While some - those who largely benefit from this corruption - insist that matters can continue as it is, it cannot be left to rest. Take anti-corruption measures within 5 months. (From the Parliamentarians, the Anarchists, the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor. ++ Strength to the Parliamentarians, the Anarchists, the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, ----Strength to the Centrists, ++Relations with the Parliamentarians, the Anarchists, the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, --- Relations with the Centrists, --support from the Teamster’s Union if completed. -Relations and -Strength to the Parliamentarians, the Anarchists, the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor if failed.)

The issue of the continuing strikes has caused something of a divide in the upper ranks of the party. While the local cadres are continually supporting the efforts of the unions they collaborate with, the leadership is more split. Should you push for these strikes to end to prove your trustworthiness, continue to peel away the remaining centrists towards you, and only launch a revolution from an ironclad support base, or should you go full speed ahead? It’s a fierce debate, and you must answer the question soon: which side are you on? Show it within 3 months. (From everyone. Severe political consequences if you fail)

The cause of justice for all must advance onwards, ever onwards! The historical injustice of the United States must be corrected. Reach out to the oppressed groups of the nation at least once more within the next 2 months. (From the IWW Main Affiliates. +Support from the IWW MA, +10 to the next Union action if completed. -Support from the IWW MA if failed.)


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships and county governments alongside even more widespread but less official influence. You even control most states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky...assuming the federal government can stop it’s fragmentation long enough to stop you. Cost: Backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 50/100/150/200. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/140. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn’t a structural reason for their failures. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

(1 Influence Committed) A Generous Gesture: You are no dictator to silence those who oppose you by force. Instead you will hear their grievances and answer them as best you can. And one of these grievances appears to be a lack of trust and communication between you and those who vote for you and support your general policies. There are two measures to be taken to prevent this problem. The first is establishing better lines of communication between you and the lower party, and doing your best to remove filters. The second is to show that you trust them and give them more support for independent action. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 months. DC: 0. Result: Gain new, special subordinate, improved rumor mills, new background rolls.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Ulra-Ultraleft: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Fosterites, will politically indebt you to other factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize the Fosterites, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals, since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/125. Result: Lay groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sensed a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 10/25/40/50. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.

Assistant Adjustment: Even as your assistants work to make sure their views are supported by the party machinery, they are also being genuinely helpful in managing the fractious ranks and building towards the coming revolution. You could always use a few more...or perhaps you need to remove someone. Cost: Political turmoil, modification to bonuses. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Options to change assistants.

Speak for Liberty: While the SPA is at least somewhat united behind you, your willingness to push for social revolution has had the anarchists in the party and their similarly socially left allies be some of your most enthusiastic supporters, despite their relatively small numbers. If you want to make use of that support, you will need to help them. Speak on the topic of liberty, encourage support for racial minorities, demand women’s liberation...perhaps go so far as to say homosexuality is acceptable. Let them know they have an ally in you. Cost: Political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 50. Result: Increase in Strength and Relations of Anarchists.

Condemn Atrocities: If you wish to keep the violent and vicious Fosterites from gaining strength, you need to lay the groundwork before you break them. Make it part of the SPA program to condemn excessive brutality, the murder of noncombatants and innocents, and wanton destruction. While the language will mostly be used against capitalists and Longists, it can also be applied to the sort of things they advocate for, making a useful cudgel against your enemies in the party. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60/90. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Back Up Butler: Butler has done an excellent job of reforming and expanding the Red Guard, turning it from a barely-controlled paramilitary into an effective force However, some of the changes he has made have been contentious, and he plans more. Some have begun suggesting you should rid yourself of him...something which you have no intentions of doing so. Make that clear, and make it crystal clear that Smedley Butler has your full confidence. Cost: Loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/20. Result: Increase to Smedley Butler’s Influence

Expand Party Bureaucracy: The Socialist Party of America has a fairly large and effective bureaucracy: clerks and secretaries and accountants, paper-pushers of every stripe. They provide immense value to the party’s efforts...you wish you had more. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to that problem. Cost: -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: +2 to the Influence cap.

Internal Party Discipline: Corruption in the party ranks it not to be tolerated, especially when it is used to subvert democratic processes. Take up the scythe of party discipline and the flail of expulsion, and make that clear to everyone. If you are willing, there could be further opportunity in this...Cost: Loss of support from the Teamter’s Union, loss of Relations with all factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Result: Corruption reduced, additional results possible.

Command the Cadres: The SPA Cadres have been enjoying their newfound independence, and will be reluctant to give it up again even temporarily, but you are liked and respected enough that they will do it. Even if they will complain. Cost: Political impact depends on what you choose. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Adjust SPA Cadre actions as you see fit.

Keep Pushing: The Fosterites and some allies pushed you about the Commissars and you pushed back. With the Battle of New York allegedly started by the poor trigger discipline of a Red Guard, now is the time to keep pushing. Demand restraint, demand order, demand reorganization. Who would disagree, at this juncture? Cost: ??? Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Major increase to political support for restraining the Red Guards.

Encourage the Strikes: Several of the largest cities of the United States are entirely controlled by socialists and syndicalists. The mines of Montana and West Virginia and Pennsylvania are dominated by unionized and radicalized miners. The Red Grange spreads like a wildfire throughout the Midwest. Even the less urbanized and heavily petite-bourgeoise stretches of many states see red banners waving and meetings of newly-minted leftists. The army is weak, the Longists are divided. Let the strikes continue, nay, let the strikes spread! Soon all of America shall be painted red! Cost: Political turmoil from the right-wing of the party. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Strikes spread, increased support from the left-wing of the party. Likely increase in attempts to crush your movement.

The Time is Not Yet Right: Entire swathes of the country are dominated by anti-syndicalist politics, with collaborationist unions, hostile militias, and impenetrable political establishments preventing you and your allies from gaining an inch of ground. Gaps must be pried open in their defenses, the Red Guards must grow in number, training, and discipline...we are not yet ready. Pull the strikes back, bide our time. One day the revolution will come, but that day is not today. The strikes must end. Cost: Political turmoil from the left-wing of the party. Time: 1 month. DC: 35. Result: Strikes begin to die down, increased support from the right-wing of the party. Completes the Mandate pass or fail.

Steer the Steady Course: The energy and radicalism the unions and cadres have demonstrated is to be commended, and they are to be lauded for the undeniable strength of their work...but they must be talked down from the precipice. You will not command or threaten them, but you will persuade them. The strikes must slow. Cost: Political turmoil from everyone. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Strikes slow down, increased support from everyone, completes the Mandate pass or fail.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Small-Town Unions: The farming cooperatives and the Red Grange are taking the lead in working with rural areas, providing the slowly growing unions there with expertise and assistance organizing. But another gap in your capabilities has been revealed. You don’t have much reach in the small twins that only have minor factories or mines. Unions have begun to slowly form in some of these towns, but more work needs to be done to ensure that these unions will represent their workers, and not serve as another tool of oppression by the town capitalists, especially given their relatively weak ideological underpinnings. While many unions have begun forming with SPA encouragement, they tend to be more collaborationist than confrontational. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80. Result: Strengthen newly formed unions organizationally and ideologically..

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens. +0.5 Resources per month. Gain support from IWW MA and MM.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased relations with the Syndicalists.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/110/120. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Form Farmer’s Cooperatives: The newly organized farmer’s cooperatives are young and fragile. They need tractors, fertilizer, organizational support, and more. The Red Grange is struggling to assist with these matters, lacking finances and reach. And the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the Great Plains. Government subsidies are being delayed and disappeared by hostile civil servants and damaged infrastructure. The party must take care of it’s newest members...although they have been largely taking care of themselves. Cost: 4 Resources, moderate loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/80/100. Result: Expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, gain Relations with Ultraleft Farmer Labor and support from the Red Grange.

Seed Donations: The devastating droughts and dust storms have not just uprooted soil and those who work it, but the plants that grow in it. Losses due to spoilage, bad weather, and desperation have put many seed stocks at critically low levels, although they have since recovered slightly thanks to large donations.. Fortunately, the French Commune has a far more robust agricultural sector that has largely recovered from the ravages of the Weltkrieg. They are willing to ship over stocks of seeds for a relatively low price in gold and some better quality machine tools. These shipments can then be transferred to farmers. Cost: 2 Resources, slight loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/50/60. Result: Slightly expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, slight gain of Relations and support from the Red Grange.

Special Foods: The gardens mostly produce simple crops like potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. While they have definitely improved the quality of the soups and stews and other meals served at the various people’s kitchens, spices and herbs are in short supply for those kitchens. It should be relatively simple to purchase some mint plants and various others to add them to these new gardens. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improve quality of meals at soup kitchens, gain support from The Teamster’s Union, the SPU, and the AFL-CIO.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/120/180. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Appoint a Red Grange Liaison: The urban concentration of the SPA means you have vast ranks of radicalized workers and easy access to the machinery of modern society, but it also means that efforts to reach out to the farmers are met with occasional contempt. Many of the efforts you sponsored in reaching out to the Midwest have slowly withered due to a lack of follow-up, while you were criticized for both over and under investing in reaching out to the rural workers. Having someone else to assist you would be useful...Cost: -1 Influence, slight loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: New subordinate vote, chance of getting increased support from the Red Grange

Medical Assistance: A small trickle of doctors and nurses have begun to join party ranks, motivated by a mix of fear, hope, and the fact that the SPA seems to be the only faction with some sort of direction in many cities. While this has led to some ad-hoc benefits, such as the formation of Nurse’s Unions and the establishment of small clinics that offer discounts to SPA members, there is nothing widespread yet. Encourage and cultivate the development of such systems to make your urban supporters healthier and heartier. Cost: -2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Easier access to medical assistance for your urban supporters.

Strike Acceleration: There is a great deal of fire, stretching from coast to coast as strike after strike begins. Cities are being shut down by the dozen, scabs are joining picket lines, anti-union groups are being crushed one by one. It’s time to pour some oil on those flames, and encourage more strikes through rhetoric and through the offering of support. All who stand in the path of the working class shall be ground to dust. And the faster that happens, the better. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50. Result: Encourage the spread and growth of strikes.

Factory Seizure: The factories rightfully belong to the workers of the world, to those who labor in them. While seizures have already begun, it is time to expand that process. The industry of the nation will be turned to the cause of liberation. Factories that once churned out weapons for the sake of imperialism and repression will now arm the Red Guards who stand against such vile causes. The coal and canned goods once sold for cripplingly high prices will be made freely available to all. There is no fortress the workers of the world cannot storm. Cost: Outside backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50. Result: Major increase to income as striking workers take control of the means of production.

Ensure Restraint: With tempers running high and the country on the verge of falling apart, we must show ourselves to be the superior option. While the capitalists are likely to oppose the liquidation of their class to the bitter end, there are other groups who may well join us, as long as we at least make the effort to have the moral high ground. To that end, we should encourage good conduct from strikers, asking them to keep the less pleasant parts of such events like the lynching of factory owners and the assaults on their homes to a minimum. Cost: Increase in Strength to the Fosterites, agitation from within the party and CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60/90/120. Result: Strikes and factory seizures involve less bloodshed, general boost to appeal.


Additional Weapons: The armaments of your “regular” Red Guards are highly irregular, and the “irregulars” who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of “non-lethal” weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 7 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

California Supplies: While arming the entire Red Guards would be extremely costly, sending rifles and simple explosives down through Mexico and then up into California to equip the Red Guards units there with good weaponry would be a cheaper alternative and demonstrate that the party has not forgotten the cause in California. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards in California.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Establish Training Camps: There are many remote regions that the SPA has a prominent presence in. The mountains of West Virginia are littered with empty mines, while the endless plains of Iowa are nearly impossible to search without manpower that simply is not available to your enemies. These will be the perfect places to establish camps for your most dedicated Red Guards to begin turning them from paramilitaries skilled in street battles to soldiers of the Revolution. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/30/60/120. Result: Establish training camps in isolated areas for turning paramilitaries into soldiers in small numbers.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Codes of Conduct: The decentralized nature of the Red Guards means that each unit tends to have its own rules. While a certain degree of this is acceptable and even beneficial, it is also very frustrating for the leadership. A recent proposal is to create a loose set of guidelines and recommendations for the rules and structure of each unit, with those who fail to maintain themselves within these guidelines being expelled from the greater organization. With your insistence on Red Guards units maintaining adherence to a set of rules, creating this outline is even more important. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Vote on nature of the code of conduct.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

A Democratic Chain of Command?: The Bolsheviks increasingly relied on a fairly conventional military structure as the Russian Revolutionary War dragged on, while the Black Army had a system of soldier’s councils and recallable officers. Both schools of thought have inspired the structure of various Red Guards cells, along with other sources such as the federal army, the militias of the American Independence War, and the forces of the Third Internationale. Devising a system that will be understandable, egalitarian, democratic, and above all effective must be a priority, even if it will not be possible to pressure all Guards units into following it, let alone the various splinter groups. Cost: ?? Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Choices on how to structure the Red Guards and how much pressure to use for spreading it, dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the Red Guards.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally-violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in a military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectation and tighten standards, to increase the amount of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 6 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Retaliatory Measures: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias have launched attacks on workers, in one case successfully massacring dozens. While the governments in some cases are protecting them, justice can still be found. The Blair Brigade, together with local forces, can be used to target these groups and make it clear that such slaughters will not be permitted. While there have not been any recent major attacks, there are past ones that have gone unpunished for far too long. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Launch a small number of carefully planned retaliatory attacks.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Self-Defense Units: The Red Guards need to expand. But they need to maintain their quality and discipline. The best solution you have currently is to not actually recruit more directly, at least not until you have a good way of training them. Instead, you will recruit those willing to fight as self-defense units, given more limited responsibilities under the oversight of those more experienced and capable. The only problem is getting enough weapons for everyone... Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Create self-defense units, begin slowly expanding the number of Red Guards.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Target Rural Reactionaries: While local Red Guards have performed heroically,, there are various counterrevolutionary elements that remain strong throughout the Midwest. Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom have converted back when sufficiently intimidated or otherwise persuaded. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/50/75/100. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives.

Anti-Adventurist Measures: After the crushed march in San Francisco that attempted to force a series of judicial resignations and the severe anti-syndicalist propaganda created from the aftermath, discussions have begun about working to tighten military control over some of the more far-flung sections of the syndicalist movement. The various Red Guards units in California, the Red Bandits along the Mexican border, the scattered groups in Virginia and Kentucky...all of them have demonstrated a fondness for overaggressive action. Begin working to restrict that. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Result: Options for increasing control over Red Guards units.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Establish schools for adult workers.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 2 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

(1 Influence Committed) Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America’s shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None. Time: 1 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Photos for All: Photography is an incredibly powerful medium for displaying the impact of events upon people. The Dust Bowl, the Bleeding Midwest, the many deprivations and horrors caused by capitalism...and the triumphs wherever such things are fought would all make excellent subjects for photography. The camera can spread your message and make another potent tool in your arsenal. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Expanded use of photography in propaganda.

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Publicize Accomplishments: You have forced concessions from the hostile federal government, run a city successfully for months, defended the rights of soldiers, and won battles by the score in fields ranging from the courtroom to the street. Broadcast your successes, shout them from the rooftops, because this is only the beginning. There are doubtless thousands of workers who are held in bondage only by their fear. Knowledge of your might will banish that fear. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased propaganda about your successes.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Establish a Propaganda Team: With the massive efforts for delivering propaganda undergoing, it may be wise to begin creating a dedicated group for managing the delivery and spread of information to the workers of America in order to present yourselves in the best possible light and strip the capitalist manipulation away from plain, unvarnished truth. The person you choose to run this team will have significant influence on what kind of news is being spread. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Creation of a subordinate for managing propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for its most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

The Moral of the Story: The radio is also being popularly used for entertainment, and there is the occasional show you like to listen to in order to relax. There’s no reason the SPA can’t sponsor a few shows about bands of thieves stealing from robbers, the ordinary adventures of hard-working laborers, or perhaps a grand tale of an alien world wracked by civil war...Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create socialist-themed radio entertainment.

Street Art: Such artwork can be created in many other cities where you have a presence as well...it will probably go better if you don’t have to deal with hostile police and “citizen’s groups.” You will create murals and graffiti in every style imaginable, showing the sins of capitalism and the glories of what will come after. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70. Result: Create socialist street art throughout SPA-controlled or influence areas.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.

Challenge the Instability: The evident failures of bourgeois democracy are displayed before all of America: a president and a vice-president dead or incapacitated, no one able to determine who or how they should be replaced, state governments frantically banding together, federal authority beginning to vanish, rising unrest in America’s colonies...what sort of nation could accept this, what sort of system could allow this? And what alternative is there? All these questions are to be answered. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/30/45/60/90. Result: Condemn the failures of the United States government, explain why your proposal is a superior alternative.

There is Power in a Union: Strength can be its own sort of comfort in dark and dangerous times. And you have strength aplenty. While there are many who might fear you, the alternatives are equally terrifying. Promise them protection, promise them safety as members of the CSA, promise them peace and stability, as much as can be gained. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Convince people to join you to protect themselves from various other threats.

Against Pink Unionism: The rise of “pink unionism” is a serious threat to your movement. Championed mainly by the SPU within your organization and by several external groups ranging from George Creel to Floyd Olson to Huey Long, it involves a bastardizing of syndicalist principles in an effort to steal your support, giving workers a slightly louder voice in a system still rigged to ignore them, while allowing those who agitate further for actual, meaningful gains to be tarred as radicals and destroyed or subverted. It is time to speak against it for what it is. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from the SPU. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/80/110. Result: Condemn “pink unionism,” radicalize reformists. Transfer in size from the SPU to other factions.

Anti-Americanization: While the melting pot is a lovely concept, it also means that meaningful elements of various individual cultures are destroyed or appropriated. To resist such trends will require meaningful and long-term effort, but a start can be made through advocacy over the use of autonomy to establish holidays celebrating ancient customs and adding languages such as German, Yiddish, and Finnish to the days of schoolchildren so the tongues of their ancestry are not lost. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from socially conservative factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/60/90. Result: Agitate for expressions of local cultural heritage.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/90/150. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions has left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Condemn MacArthur: MacArthur has flouted the United States Constitution, slaughtered innocent, peaceful soldiers, possibly attempted a coup, and bungled his way into slaughtering dozens of people needlessly. And he speaks in third person like the utter clown he is. The fact that he is not the most hated man in America is a miracle. Perhaps you can start fixing that though...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Condemn and lambast MacArthur, hopefully having some effect.

Speak With Floyd: Floyd Olson is possibly one of the most popular Progressives in the nation. Even Curtis and Garner have praised him for his “restraint” and “vision of reform in a true American sense.” What exactly that last phrase means is...unclear. He is also one of the Progressives who has not formally joined you, and has expressed reservations to some fellow Progressives and proposed readmitting the expelled Progressive leadership. Spending some time to find out what his reservations are would be worthwhile...Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80/120/180. Results: Find out more about what Floyd Olson wants and plans.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA-controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/25/40/50. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses that maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/95/145. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begin relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA-controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: Slight loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions, malus reduced or eliminated.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with, and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Assistants Adjustment

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double-edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.

Expanding Electoralism: The State Legislative Committee and Norman Thomas are both finding that they have far too much to do, and not enough time to do it. The political situation is growing increasingly fraught, both in Washington and in the various state capitals. Even the territories see unrest, as plantation workers on Hawaii and miners in Alaska both begin to protest the abuses they recieve. They need further assistance, a transfer of staff and aids and your assistance in removing barriers...but with it, there will hopefully be significantly greater results. Cost: -2 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: +2 Influence for the SLC, +1 Influence for Norman Thomas

Local Autonomy Programs: The first implementation of the principles of local autonomy will begin. A relatively simple set of legislation will be passed, allowing school districts to choose to have optional “Cultural Enrichment” classes where students will learn the language, history, and traditions of their ancestors and granting municipalities permission to have local paperwork and signage in any language they desire, so long as English is also prominently available. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/50. Result: The first beginnings of local cultural autonomy.

Election Reform: With elections in a few months, measures need to be taken to secure victory. While the popularity of the SPA is generally immense, certain precautions must still be taken lest counterrevolutionary forces use faked or fraudulent election results to justify the deeds they are doubtless planning. To that end, steps such as increasing the security around polling with vetted volunteers and ensuring voter registrations are favorable will be taken by local governments wherever possible. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Improved odds of winning elections where the SPA has popularity or Red Guards.

State Nationalizations: With the federal government in such chaos, other states leading the way, and sections of the party agitating for it, it is time for the government of the workers to begin directly intervening in the economy. State-backed investors will purchase commanding shares in certain factories and facilities, transferring part-ownership to the workers and coordinating the economic functioning in order to bolster the state as a whole...and in order to better equip the workers for the inevitable backlash. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90/150. Result: Increase to income, some factories taken over by the workers and the states.

State Police Forces: With the National Guards hampered, there are other potential forces that could be used to suppress us...or used to crush reactionaries. To that end, the state police forces will be secured, their leadership replaced with trusted syndicalists, Red Guards will be hired, and they will be shifted to being under Congressional influence even as their arms are improved and their procedures revamped. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: State police forces have their loyalty secured.

Castigate the Federal Government: The failures of the federal government have grown and grown. They are now completely leaderless, petty factions tearing each other apart while the Cabinet, the nominal Cabinet, the Vice President, and the President are keeping to the White House while the country collapses...rip them apart verbally, hammer home the incompetence, idiocy, corruptness, and cruelty that led them to this precipice, and make sure you are heard doing it. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/30/45/75/105. Result: Massive losses of support for the Democrats, Republicans, and other centrist parties, potential gains for the SPA.

Force a Meeting: You have the right to know what’s going on in the White House. Demand to see Curtis, you will find out what is happening! You will! And you will learn if Hoover is still a wreck, and why no one from the Cabinet has been seen, and what’s with all those tinted-window cars entering and leaving...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 65. Result: You find out what the heck is happening in the White House, in terms more specific than “a complete and utter mess.”

A SPA Boycott: Enough of this farce. The SPA will not participate in government until there are some answers, and until those who nominally govern the country will show themselves and give the American people an explanation and the leadership they deserve...leadership they are so clearly incapable of providing. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: The entire SPA Congressional and Senate delegations boycott the government.



The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 6 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Judicial Reform: One of the matters most clamored for is judicial reform. The American justice system is incredibly corrupt, designed to allow the wealthy to skate away from criminal cases and lawsuits with equal ease, and the courts have long been a tool to prevent workers from liberating themselves. Lawyers, judges, juries...all will need replacement, reform, or renovation come the Revolution. Begin working out alternatives. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin coming up with a multitude of options for judicial reform.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

Help for Hispanics: As the SPA grows in influence in the American Southwest, awareness of the historical mistreatment the Hispanic population of the United States has endured. Just as with the Native Americans and the colored populations, you need to open a dialogue with these groups. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Hispanic Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Practical experience from dedicated syndicalists working at varying ranks of state bureaucracies can be synthesized into the beginnings of a roadmap. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled. Reduce malus from lack of experienced bureaucrats

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as a boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: Small loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.

Justice and Violence: Violence is one of the eternal topics people argue about. When is it acceptable, why is it acceptable, what limits should there be? Some proclaim it all equally abhorrent, others insist it is always necessary. The SPA has an ample variety of attitudes, some of which are counterproductive. The cowardice of the SPU and the bloodthirst of the Fosterites both threaten the revolution. The correct course is obviously somewhere in between the extremes: self-defense is obviously acceptable, and so is violence in the pursuit of justice, but you must decide where the lines are...and when they should be crossed. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Decide what sorts of violence are acceptable and when, develop a more defined thesis on it.


Investigate the Machines: Fragments of the Democrats and the Republicans have begun drifting towards you over the past several months, with the latest gunfight bringing about a sharp change in several group’s positions. However, they are still trusted insiders in their parties, and this gives you an opportunity to get an inside look at the often rather opaque workings of the party machines, to better co-opt or destroy them. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/55/105. Result: Gain information and opportunities to take over or break various political machines.

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Increase to income.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 40/80/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.

Into the Navy: Another possibility for infiltration is the navy. A scheme to try and stabilize a few coastal cities has been passed, and the fleet is being expanded, meaning new sailors are being recruited. This is a perfect opportunity to begin slipping syndicalists into their ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/??/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Canadian Contacts: Across the border to your north, comrades and fellow travelers are hunted like dogs, shot and imprisoned and tortured without mercy. The Canadian Exiles and Conservatives demand ever harsher measures, the Liberals barely object. But the flame of syndicalism still burns in Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver. And it is time to add some fuel to that fire. Friends from the Syndintern have approached you, having been working with Canadian socialists to create an Underground Railroad of sorts so that people can be smuggled out and supplies in. The work will involve bribing and subverting guards, finding vulnerable sections of the border, and specially designed trucks. More, you don’t know. Cost: Risk of discovery, -1 Resource per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/90/120. Result: Set up a system for smuggling people and things in and out of Canada.

A Program of Subversion: The SPA has neglected the possibilities of infiltrating and subverting hostile organizations. Pink unions, anti-syndicalist militias, and rival political parties are all viable targets for the sowing of dissent, fostering of splits, and eventual destruction. But to do so effectively, we must build up our capacity for identifying those who can deceive, for preparing tactics and methods, for establishing lines of communication. Cost: -1 Resource per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Set up training program for political infiltrators and agent provocateurs, improve efficacy of spying.

Anti-Corruption Investigation: Time and time again, members of the SPA have betrayed the trust of the workers for their own financial gain. Such practices will no longer be tolerated. Books will be sorted through, testimony will be taken. Those who have embezzled or stolen, committed nepotism or accepted bribes will be found and punished. Cost: Likely to have political ramifications. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/45/75. Result: Corrupt individuals identified and punished.

Find the Red Army Faction: This “Red Army Faction” is a potential concern, although it’s likely to be nothing more than a tactic to put some pressure on you. But if you feel it necessary, it would be fairly simple to spy on the place they asked you to deliver messages to and begin investigating their network to find out how they operate and what their goals are. Cost: May anger the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Begin investigating the Red Army Faction to find their membership, safehouses, and goals.

Hunt Infiltrators: The Longists and Federalists have doubtless begun infiltrating us, trying to sow division and sabotage our efforts. Perhaps this has already begun bearing fruit, or perhaps it will become a problem in days to come. Either way, the spies must be found and removed. With limited sources of information, it may prove difficult, but it is a task that must be accomplished as soon as possible. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Begin hunting for spies within the CSA.

Propaganda of the Deed: There are many tools for spreading syndicalism and disrupting reactionaries. Bombs and guns are excellent at doing both. By demonstrating the spirit of revolution, weakening the forces the oppressors can bring to bear, and striking fear into the hearts of those who stand against us, we shall strengthen the cause! The class war shall come and end the conflicts of history, and no price is too great to pay it! Cost: -3 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/35/50/65/90. Result: Begin a campaign of political bombings and assassinations.

Protective Measures: With violence rising by the day, measures must be taken to protect the leaders of the revolution. The Guard must be expanded, with the new members set to providing protection wherever needed. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55/85. Result: Recruit more bodyguards.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only twice per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one). This will have a political cost if used on the SPA Cadres.

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -9 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month. Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Meet the Red Army Faction: The RAF put instructions in their letter for contacting and meeting with them. The letter doesn’t say much about their intentions specifically, although you can guess at some of their goals and objectives. Arranging to meet with them might let you find out more, to learn how hostile they are to you, to see if you can gain any influence over what they have planned...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Meet with the RAF, options for what you do during that meeting.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking Organize the Farmworkers. There are 2 months left.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

A Lot of Chutzpah - Part of propaganda is not...lies exactly, but occasionally de-emphasizing certain aspects of your end goal for the sake of quieting opposition. It might take a lot of chutzpah to say yes out of one side of your mouth and no out of the other, but it also takes a lot of chutzpah to overthrow capitalism. Time: 1 month. Effect: +2 Appeal per month for white Americans, -1 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans.

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoisie are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Organize the Farmworkers - The migrating farmworkers are perhaps the easiest target for radicalization. Their formerly prosperous lives ripped away from them, pushed into desperate poverty, the food they work so hard to grow frequently burned in front of them as they starve...Time: 3 months. Effect: Significant increase to support among rural populations, +10 to the next 3 actions involving organizing or agitating in rural areas.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Steer the Steady Course: 2 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 5+46+59+10 = 120
It’s the longest month you have had since the last election season. The ranks of the SPA have exploded since then, and so has the ideological diversity. You make promises to some, assuring them that you are still dedicated to the revolution, but you convince them that they need to wait, that the moment is not yet here...and to others you had to egg them on, to push them to greater heights, as the situation devolved. Accusations echoed through SPA offices, as people called each others counterrevolutionaries and agent provocateurs and cowards and madmen. You run around again and again, pouring oil on troubled water, metaphorically banging people’s heads together, soothing bruised egos, doing everything you can to keep people together.

You remind them of the years you have spent writing and fighting for the worker’s cause, the rising tide of the revolution, the confidence you have in your success. You take every rhetorical weapon you have and wield it like a scalpel, cutting through demands to let the strikes continue and requests to make them end.

Browder, Flynn, Gitlow, Wilson, Thomas, LaGuardia, Norris, Sadler, Lewis...meeting after meeting, argument after argument, you bring people around to your point of view and they start bringing pressure down onto the lower ranks. And slowly, gradually, the strikes slow down.

It took endless hours of wrangling and dealing, but you created a working compromise, one that sees the strikes ease off slowly week by week and tensions within the party calm.

At the end of the month, you collapse into bed, too drained to even speak, but a smile spreads across your face.

You did it. You kept the party together.

Result: Strikes begin to slow down and slowly die off, party unity increased, increase in support from everyone.


Appoint a Red Grange Liaison: 1 Influence, 7
It’s a chaotic month for more than just you. A vicious war of words and weapons is raging throughout the countryside as the Midwest begins to bleed once again, and the farmer’s cooperatives are by no means excluded from this.

Most of the people you try to meet with are busy securing weapons purchases, organizing Red Guards units, meeting with various communities, and generally trying to keep things in SPA-controlled rural territory stable.

You do however eventually get Benjamin Stevens to meet with you. He’s skinnier than he was when you last saw him, and he has a fresh scar on his wrist, but he’s willing to do the job you give him.

He tells you his main priorities will be getting new recruits into the SPA’s ranks and getting the Red Guards to protect them organized and equipped. Under the circumstances, you can’t disagree.

Result: Gain subordinate Benjamin Stevens with the following trait: Rural soldier. (+10 to Sending Union Organizers to rural areas, +10 to actions involving recruiting, organizing, or supplying troops in rural areas)



Special Foods: 1 Temporary Union Influence, 50+5 = 55
It’s nothing grand. There are no brave speeches or stirring songs, no dramatic ceremonies. Herbs are purchased and planted, sprouts of mint and basil and rosemary scattered across the slowly growing gardens, fresh sprigs of green rising from the earth. They flavor soups and stews, and occasionally a few leaves are taken for home use.

It’s not something spoken widely of, but it’s appreciated all the same. It shows that the SPA cares about more than their grand revolution.

Result: Morale of supporters improved, slight increase in support from the Teamster’s Union, the SPU, and the AFL-CIO.



Codes of Conduct: 2 Influence, 84+28+10 = 122
There are many things a soldier must be. They must be brave, obedient, and disciplined. A member of the Red Guards must be all those things and more. They must also be politically aware and engaged, be a dedicated leftist, be compassionate to their enemies...but they must also be willing to kill those enemies on the field of battle. You and Butler, among others, spend a long time trying to create the code that will encourage those who fight for your cause to have all those traits.

First, there is the matter of how restrictive it is. Butler wants the code to be exactly the same for each unit, with no allowance for local variation. “An army should have the same rules for every soldier,” he insists.

However, the decentralized nature of the Red Guards has left many of you with...concerns about how viable that would be, and fear the consequences of being so restrictive. A number of alternatives have been suggested. In the end, the decision is that...

[] [CENT] There will be one code for every unit.
[] [CENT] There will be a small set of possible codes to allow for some limited flexibility.
[] [CENT] Each section of the code will have a few permitted variants for the individual units to accept by voting.
[] [CENT] The published code will simply be an example for the units to follow.

Next, you need to decide what the code will emphasize most. There are a variety of possibilities, from the political nature of the struggle to the importance of good conduct towards surrendered enemies and civilians.

You decide to list which section will get the most emphasis...

[] [SECT] The political nature of the struggle
[] [SECT] Good conduct to your fellow soldiers, including honesty, fairness, and bravery
[] [SECT] Good conduct to civilians, including honesty, mercy, and compassion
[] [SECT] Obedience, order, and discipline

Lastly, you must decide how stern and harsh the proscribed punishments should be...

[] [STERN] Very harsh. Immediate execution for desertion, public executions for rape and looting, beatings for lesser misconduct.
[] [STERN] Moderately harsh. Public execution for desertion, beatings, imprisonment, and possible execution for rape and looting, beatings and verbal lecturing for lesser misconduct.
[] [STERN] Slightly harsh. Imprisonment, beatings, and possible execution for desertion, imprisonment, beatings, and possible execution for rape and looting, verbal lecturing and shaming for lesser misconduct.

Butler threatens to walk out and join the Longists if execution isn’t at least a possibility for rape or desertion.

After the proposed code of conduct is published, it will be debated and argued about. Some may leave rather than follow it, some may submit their own modifications. The SPA and CSA will argue about it as well, especially since there is currently no official way for them to influence how the Red Guards interpret it’s strictures. You will have to keep that in mind, lest you cause mass desertions or damage the fragile unity you have worked so hard to strengthen.




Anti-Corruption Investigation: 1 Influence, 51
You order a thorough investigation, practically a purge...but you want to make sure you have ample evidence in hand before you remove a single individual from their position.

Books are combed through, reports analyzed. Nearly a hundred people are recruited to read the immense quantities of paperwork produced. Already irregularities are being found and listed, stack after stack after stack of them. Many are likely to be simple errors, many more have reasonable explanations. But doubtless some of them are attempts at hiding bribes and theft and other incidents of corruption.

And those responsible will be punished. No matter their rank or position.

Result: Investigations have begun.



Internal Party Discipline: 1 Influence, 58+15 = 73
As the evidence is gathered, you decide to give everyone one last chance to shape up. You send a memo to every SPA branch office in the country, and you give a speech to the CSA. Both say the same thing.

“We are on the edge of something great and glorious. The machine of capital is shuddering and shrieking, its gears ground to a halt, its pipes cracked and rusted, its wires torn and frayed. But we must make certain that what we will build to replace it is better. None of us are perfect, and we should not expect perfection.

But I know some of you have taken bribes. Some have traded favors. Some have embezzled. Some have abused your powers and misused the trust your comrades have. And I am going to ask you to stop. We must be better than that. And we will not tolerate it.”

To make your point clearer, you have a number of figures of varying ranks who didn’t do a great job hiding their tracks tried and personally attend each one. Some are found innocent, some are found guilty. The guilty are punished fairly but severely.

You have made your point. Now it’s time to see if people have listened.

Result: Despite alienating some supporters, you have made your point amply clear.


A Generous Gesture: 1 Influence, 49+10 = 59
The SPA Cadres are operating independently of each other, but at the same time they are beginning to coordinate and cooperate, working together with each other and with you. It’s not the mighty smashing fist it once was. It’s something else...it’s like a pack of wolves, or the hundred heads of the hydra.

It’s wonderful.

Result: SPA Cadres gain another Influence, action completes.


Unity in the Melting Pot: 1 Influence, 29+15 = 44 +4+15 = 63 (Omake)
Your efforts continue. Instructions are sent out to the SPA cadres and union branches, encouraging them to reach out to immigrant communities. More translators are recruited from various groups, especially the Chinese and Japanese. Ties between various communities are established. And every chance you get, you keep emphasizing the importance of unity and respect.

From north to south, from east to west, the workers of the world are one. And they must stand united if they are to throw off their chains. Every emphasis is put on how important this is. Mutual respect is the watchword of the day.

Sadler throws herself into agitating for it, speaking through the radio to ensure as many as possible can hear her fiery denunciations of “parochial concerns” and “accepting the artificial divisions of capitalism” and encouraging people to reach out to others they might not normally have.

There are still many vile legacies embedded in America’s history, still many steps that need to be taken before there can be something resembling justice. And not everyone is moved by your entreaties. For every man who shares his lunch with an immigrant coworker or makes sure to invite them to a union meeting, there are two or three who simply ignore your words.

But it’s a start. And that’s more than enough.

Result: Existing prejudices are challenged, outreach to immigrant groups increased, efforts are being made even if they fall short of what would be ideal.


Personal Action: Spend Time With Your Family
The month might be a hectic one, but you make time for your family. And since you promised that you would attend one of the strikes in a show of solidarity, you decide to make a day of it. You are carrying your sign, one Hannah made for you. On your other side, Louise has her arm entangled with yours. Hannah skips alongside you, smiling and waving at the marching workers as you surround the clothing factory.

The guard takes one look at the large crowd of garment makers approaching and the even larger crowd behind them and takes off running so fast that his hat flies off.

The three of you hang around the strike for a bit more. You are dragooned into giving a speech, and you give a few lines to reporters. Hannah introduces you to a boy she met at the SPA officers who stutters and blushes as you shake his hand, and then the three of you depart for Central Park, to enjoy the music and gardens and the picnic you have arranged to be waiting for the three of you...

And for the rest of the day, the two most important women in your life are the only things you give a damn about.



Focus: Organize the Farmworkers
With your continued efforts in the rural areas of the country and the growing unrest (which has led to a painful spike in food prices), many have begun agreeing that there is a need to focus on organizing the dispossessed and desperate farmworkers and hired hands. Finally.

These people need syndicalism, they just don’t know it yet. But though their cruel masters make significant efforts to prevent their radicalization, they will inevitably fail. The final conflict draws nearer by the day...

Result: 1 month left.

Report from the Coordination Committee: 2 Influence on Self-Defense Units, 97+56+15 = 168
The ranks of the Self-Defense Units explode. Hundreds of men, and more than a few women, sign up to protect their homes from the dozens of different threats. They might not have many weapons, or more training then the pointers local Red Guards gave them, but they are a welcome addition nonetheless as pinpricks of violence spring up across the country as people seek to settle feuds or gain advantages. You even hear the occasional rumor of entire sections of states falling under the effective control of warlords, although you dismiss such nonsense. This isn’t China, things are nowhere near that bad.

Regardless of the truth, towns and villages and rural cooperatives are now far better defended during the petty conflicts...and if it comes to civil war, these self-defense forces might make the difference between victory and defeat.



Report from the State Legislative Committee: 2 Influence on Election Reform, 100+27-21 = 106
Election reform has begun. Bureaucrats look through voting rolls, cutting names out of those who are identified as potential reactionaries. New voting locations are opened in the heart of working-class neighborhoods, while old ones that favored the rich are removed and deemed unnecessary. Initiatives to encourage voting are begun, door-to-door volunteers combing through friendly neighborhoods to ensure people are inclined to vote the right way.

And one clever bureaucrat has a brilliant stroke of inspiration, establishing a Center For Election Security in New York City, where ballots are to be transported and then counted...by SPA-appointed staff, of course. The idea soon spreads across the country, with any SPA-influenced state gaining such a center in a place where its security can be guaranteed. The news is lost in the shuffle of papers and the chaos enveloping the country.

But it means you can effectively decide if you win a state election, and by how much...



Report from Norman Thomas: 3 Influence on Castigate the Federal Government, 67+39+54+10 = 170
While Norman is curious and thinks finding out what exactly is going on might be important, he agrees to suspend the investigation in favor of really making it clear how badly the federal government has messed up.

He starts by counting the list of major disasters since the election in 1932, the sort of events that were destabilizing to society and devastating to many: the Dust Bowl, the Bleeding Midwest, Long’s Purge, the New York Rising, and many many more. General Strikes and riots, assassinations and uprisings, open gunfights in city streets and banditry in rural hinterlands. He describes the spate of self-immolating priests in Kentucky, the disease outbreak in Nevada, the bombing campaigns in the Black Belt.

Every crisis, many of which you barely remember, gets dragged up. And each time, Thomas demands to know what the federal government did to stop it, to address it, to fix it. And each time, the ranks of SPA supporters bellow out “Nothing!”

Speeches are given around the country, demanding that the government explain its lack of action. Hoover and Curtis are derided, and near the entirety of Congress is as well, but also the entire system, from the way a man could be elected despite being the most hated figure in the country to the total lack of setup to handle what happens if a President is sick or crippled. Every failure and flaw in the American system is listed.

And the servants of that corrupt, failing system, are not given a chance to hide away. People demand answers from their elected representatives, from the appointed judges, from civil servants, from anyone and everyone.

And the American government has no answers to give. As people seek any explanation, you prepare to give them one...and it must be given soon, lest they hear something else...


Report from Smedley Butler: 2 Influence on Establish Training Camps, 94+31+20 = 145
With his full attention on the training camps, the program is expanded in size and scope. More and more camps are constructed, a network running throughout a dozen states. Teachers are sent to each one, to create not just soldiers, but units skilled in many functions: former military engineers and officers, even a few pilots. Those who go through them are not just taught political theory and the art of soldiering, they are taught how to lead men in battle. Some are given experience with detonations, others with piloting. There are limits - shortages of weapons mean that they don’t get as much experience on the range as Butler would like, and you have barely any heavy weapons at all, although a trickle does begin to gradually flow in from a few seized factories and the rare Syndintern shipment.

But though the training is hard, and has frustrating limitations, the men undergoing it undeniably become better soldiers, perhaps not as good as the professional volunteers of the Federal Army but more than a match for Pinkerton thugs and reactionary militias.



Report from Charles Schenk: 2 Influence on Canadian Contacts, 41+89 = 130, 1 Influence on Sending Spies to New Orleans, 84+10 = 94
“There are two ways for people to be snuck out of Canada: going through the sparsely populated plains, where the border is barely patrolled due to its great expanse and the low population. The obstacle here is more getting to the border, although the Canadian government is investing increasing amounts of money in fortifying their southern border as syndicalism rises to the south. (These fortifications would make a viable target for attack and sabotage. They are each fairly isolated from each other and have large amounts of arms. Sneak in, kill the soldiers, steal the weapons, blow up the base)

The second is more likely to be helpful to our northern comrades. Go through the cities. There is a significant, albeit decreasing, amount of traffic in between the US and Canada. As long as that is maintained, we can smuggle people through. I have begun working on establishing trusted contacts in the border guards and looking for reliable ways to conceal people...”
-Report from Charles Schenk on the Second Underground Railway.

You find a report from Charles on your desk one day. It doesn’t look like the usual proposal for an attack on the New York Stock Exchange or seizure of federal arsenals...you open it, and find it to be his report on the Longist infiltration he said he would have an agent do...two days ago. You raise an eyebrow. That was fast.

The report is brief about who the agent is or why Schenk trusts him so, except to note that he is a “recent transplant to New Orleans” and has “swum in reactionary circles, although he has since repented of it.” It also mentions you can ask Schenk for more information in private, but he doesn’t want it written down.

You make a mental note to ask him later and then keep reading. The spy, codenamed Century, arrived in New Orleans and joined the America First Party, circulating in social functions and becoming a staffer for one of the Louisiana politicians who compete for Long’s favor.

While currently, he is not in a position to do much more than send the occasional rumor your way, he has been able to give you some more information about Long’s coalition.

First, and least awful, are the Longists. While they still want to maintain capitalism, and rarely care about social justice, they are not actively interested in maintaining the murderous injustices of Jim Crow and recognize the systemic inequalities of capitalism, which they propose to resolve through Long’s “Share Our Wealth” program, which includes things like a mass redistribution of the property of “treasonous individuals,” the establishment of state-managed food guarantees and healthcare, and other such initiatives. There are many not too different from them in your own ranks.

They are closely allied to the Populist faction, which is generally similar except they actively prioritize the suppression of minority populations and the maintenance of bourgeois morality.

Next, there are the Bourbons, primarily concerned with maintaining their own privileges. They are largely irrelevant, mostly urging on more suppression of minorities and little else. They have a staunch ally in the form of the White Nationalists, who similarly advocate for the “purification” of the American nation by enslaving and exterminating minority populations. They come in many forms, most of whom hate each other, something Long has exploited to keep them from growing too strong, to the point where he has recruited several units of all-colored Minutemen.

Finally, there are the Corporatists and the Fordists, both of whom support Long in the hopes that he can successfully suppress syndicalism and because they desire to reap the profits from being his favored servants. They tend to oppose “excessive” welfare measures, with the Fordists further opposing any reduction in the suppression of minorities.


Report from the SPA Cadres: 3 Influence on Factory Seizures, 4+6+31+10 = 51
This is not a month of honor and glory. There are no dynamic speeches, no heroic poses, no titanic battles of revolution against reaction.

What there is is a hundred little actions, each a pinprick...but enough pinprick holes will empty any container.

Managers and owners are kicked to the street, left to rot in the way that used to happen to their workers. They rant and rave impotently, howling in fury as the factories are taken over. First, it happens in Chicago, then in New York City, then Seattle, then Toledo, then Minnesota...then mines are seized as well. Copper and iron and coal flow into cities and goods of all kinds flow out. Tools and machinery, the things of industry yes, but also toys for children and lovingly-bound books...and guns and grenades to protect those fighting for their rights.

Where they can, police and militias and strikebreakers attack the masses in the midst of their uprising, but they are outnumbered and flagging, and for every leader they arrest or attack, another five rise up to urge the workers on harder.


Their boss watched impotently from the side of the street as they streamed into the factory, dozens of workers, laughing and cheering. A few stunned bodies were dragged off to one side and given rudimentary medical treatment before being handed over to the waiting police. Alex thought that if the fat bastard got any redder, his head would explode from the sheer amount of blood in it. “This. This. This. This is an outrage, damn you! This goes against the law, this goes against sanity! Who the hell do you think you are, to seize my?”

The boss kept speaking, his voice trembling with rage, until two of the cops decided they’d had enough and grabbed him, dragging him off behind the factory. There was a cry of pain, quickly muffled.

But Alex had more important things to think about as he paced through the factory doors, eventually settling down behind his machine.

“Alright, gents, there’s been three dozen trucks requested for us to make. Let’s get started!” their elected foremen shouted.

Someone else shouted out “Beer’s on me if we finish before noon!”

Everyone laughed. And for the first time, Alex was smiling while he worked.


Still, not every seizure is a success. Some factories are too well defended, or the workers are too weak. In some cases, confusion and chaos and false consciousnesses and capital’s promises have left workers divided, fighting amongst themselves. And even where the factories and mines were taken, even when the battles over control of rails were won, the workers often found themselves struggling to manage the exchanges and handle the aftermath of their conflicts, especially as the army, alarmed by the slew of attacks against private property, began to organize themselves, preparing to crush this uprising...at least until things began to slow, and MacArthur decided to applaud you for your show of sanity and “determination to make your fellows follow the rule of law before it has to be enforced on you.”

Smug bastard. But you satisfy yourself by reading the reports of the attempted seizures, successes and failures both. You picture what happened in your mind...and you smile.


Members of the Security Division, twenty of them, formed a double line of gray-suited men in intimidating masks, carrying rifles with gleaming bayonets. As the crowd of workers advanced on them, they began to tremble, before their leader barked a command.

The barrels of their guns rose, each one trembling, as they began to back away, each man looking to make sure he wasn’t alone against what appeared to be a rapacious horde.

Shots rang out, cutting into flesh and shattering bone, drawing great cries of fear and pain. But they also drew shouts of rage, and the crowd did not stop or slow. The wounded were hauled out of the way and the rest rushed forwards, swinging their clubs and stabbing their knives, and when the red haze faded from their minds, they found themselves in charge of the factory and twenty hunks of once-humanoid flesh.

Evan Jones, proud manager of a steel foundry, knew when to give up. His hands trembling, he handed the keyring to a man who he had once considered a friend. There was no malice in the gazes directed at him, just cool contempt. He started back and croaked out a single sound, his throat too dry for it to be a word.

But he was understood nevertheless. “This is necessary. We worked here, we sweated and bled. We have the right to own it, to decide our future democratically...”

Evan tried to ask where he would go now, what he could do. Three generations of his family, money and sweat and property were tied up in that foundry. That foundry he no longer owned.

“Why don’t you join us? We could use an accountant, and you’ll get to vote on how we run the foundry. You can still be part of things. Just because they’ve changed doesn’t mean they are over.”


Will strode out of the mine, white flag waving over his head. Behind him, forty men from the miner’s union and their families sheltered in the tunnels, rifles and improvised grenades at the ready. Before him stood two hundred men, in uniforms of the Montana National Guard...but with the flag patches and labels switched out.

Their leader sneered down at him and stroked his mustache. “ A red crawling out of his hole to surrender? It seems you have more sense than the rest of your comrades.”

Will stiffened his back and stared up at the officer, wishing the bastard wasn’t so tall. “By the laws of this state, we have the right to strike and occupy our workplace, and the National Guard is not to be called out unless given permission by Congress.”

“We aren’t the National Guards. We are hired men who work for the company that owns the mine. Exterminators, specifically.”

The man leaned forward, baring his teeth. “They had a problem with rats and frogs sneaking across the ocean. So we were sent to clear out the mine. Do it yourself, or we’ll do it for you.”

As the two men spoke, trading threats and barbs, soldiers moved up, dragging up machine guns and mortars, piling up sandbags. Will could see they weren’t going to give up...but he wasn’t going to abandon the mine that was rightfully theirs, that they had already fought for once.

He retreated, promising to speak with his fellows about terms. He came back, asking for safe passage for women and children.

The commander of the National Guards stared at him with cold eyes. “If you didn’t want your families to be involved, you should have kept them out of this rebellion. They are rebelling against the values of this country, they are rebelling against the laws of this country. Armed rebellion. You infected them with this insanity, you led them into it.”

Will flinched away, and fled back. “You will all surrender, or there will be no further chances. Sergeant, launch a single round their way. Make it clear I am being serious.”

The sergeant flinched at the command, but he gave the orders to the mortar crew all the same. He had them land it well short of the mine entrance, but he had them launch a shell all the same.

And he looked away as the miners walked out, and he looked away as they were led away in chains, men in one direction, women in another, children in a third.

Result: Many factories, farms, mines, and rails seized in a somewhat haphazard fashion, with the number of new seizures steadily dropping. The exchange of goods and services is currently somewhat chaotic, and will continue to be so until steps are taken to formalize it. +8 Resources per month. Your enemies grow more fearful, and begin readying themselves for war...
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
[X] [CENT] Each section of the code will have a few permitted variants for the individual units to accept by voting.

Next, you need to decide what the code will emphasize most. There are a variety of possibilities, from the political nature of the struggle to the importance of good conduct towards surrendered enemies and civilians.

You decide to list which section will get the most emphasis...

[X] [SECT] Good conduct to civilians, including honesty, mercy, and compassion

Lastly, you must decide how stern and harsh the proscribed punishments should be...

[X] [STERN] Moderately harsh. Public execution for desertion, beatings, imprisonment, and possible execution for rape and looting, beatings and verbal lecturing for lesser misconduct.

I agree with Butler about exacusions for rape though I'm softer then him on the other punishments I suspect.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Four men hunched over the table like they were planning a battle. And in a way, Sally thought, they were. This was to be the first Socialist Party rally in Louisville since Reed came and spoke in the aftermath of the election. After that affair, arrests and street clashes and blacklists had broken the back of the local party branch...but the spirit of the workers had been indomitable, and they had come back stronger.

The men who had led their repression had died one by one, and the party ascended. She thought back to long nights guarding party offices and days passing out pamphlet after pamphlet. At the time, it had been just her and the four men in the room with her, but they had exploited every opportunity they had been given. Careful publicization had filled newspapers with images of police beating nursing mothers offering them roses and Longist thugs attacking crowds of homeless men standing in line for soup. The chaos as the Democrat mayor and the Longist governor tugged back and forth over the city had led to workers falling through the cracks, and one by one those forgotten men had been radicalized.

And now they were planning a thousands-strong rally, one that would be guarded by thick ranks of Red Guards and take place in front of the currently vacant mayor’s residence.

She grinned ferally, and interrupted her comrades. “We should occupy the mayor’s house,” she told them.

“We’ll make it a party office. When the rest of the police fail to stop us, it will show all the city that the worker’s time has come.”

She thought back to her time in jail.

“We’ll show them that everyone is free now.”

She thought of the cold of her cell as she shivered, denied anything warm because she wouldn’t bow and scrape. She thought of the meals they spattered across the floor of her cell until she had no pride left and licked it up.

“We’ll show them that no one will freeze or starve ever again.”

Her voice was rigid, unyielding. She would not bend and she would not break.

Her four friends, the ones who had stood by her every chance that they had gotten, the ones who had urged her on just as she had urged them, hesitated. They exchanged quiet glances, but then she saw resolve in their eyes.

“And if anyone tries to stop us?”

She gave them an ice cold smile.

They nodded. They had no more questions.

Now there were five crowded around the table, planning something that would be a bit more than just a rally. They added a list of places to be taken, a list that slowly grew longer. Police stations. Factories. The train station.

This was going to be more than just a rally.

As dawn rose in Louisville, the streets were thick with people. Red Guards and rallygoers thronged around, filling roads from door to door, denying what few cars were out this early passage.. But they were not the only ones. A ragged blue line guarded a few streets, the men in it trembling as they stared at the enormous crowd. More than a few thought they should have come down with some illness rather than try to fight this great red leviathan. But others had more courage.

Marching proudly into town was a great block of men in a motley mix of uniforms. The white hoods mingled with the starched suits of the Silver Legions and the gray shirts of Son of the Civil War and the outfits of a dozen other paramilitaries of varying size, all surrounded by the motley clothes of the Minutemen.

As they approached, Red Guards gathered to meet them. The great and the good of Louisville cheered the arrival of their potential saviors from the impending red terror they feared, while the remaining police decided they should defend their headquarters with extreme focus.

The whole city held its breath as the rival forces glared at each other. They looked across and saw a terrifying horde, out to ruin everything they held dear. They clenched their weapons and murmured silent prayers and looked to see who would make the first move.

The sun rose higher, and a gentle gust of wind stirred some dirt on the city street.

The silence grew thicker, and thicker.

And then someone took a step forward.

Shots rang out with wild abandon, arcing through the air. Screams and battle cries echoed off the hard surface of the road. But for all the ferocity of the clash, it didn’t last long. Clumps broke apart, individuals fled, and by the time the sun rose, the Red Guard stood triumphant, and throughout the city red banners flew.

The transformations began almost immediately, as factories were seized one after another. A general strike was declared, with the elected Strike Committee taking the office of the mayor and running the city. Policemen and capitalists were put on trial, with some effort put into making them free and fair. The soup kitchens grew dramatically as the funding that went into them also grew.

And in a backroom at their old office, the person who had planned it all and the four who helped her sat back and drank a toast.

“To absent comrades,” they said, five glasses raised as one.


Rumors and News

As March dies down, word comes from the White House. Hoover has recovered from the various illnesses that have afflicted him, and intends to make his State of the Union Speech.

It’s possibly the biggest event of the year, at least in Washington. Hundreds of reporters are invited, not just from pro-Fed papers like The Chicago Tribune or The San Francisco Guardian or The New York World, but Syndicalist papers like The Red Banner and The Chicago Syndicate and The New York Worker and Longist papers like The New Orleans Times and The Texas Gazette. Even foreign reporters from a half-dozen countries are invited. Both houses of Congress are asked to attend, along with many other dignitaries and luminaries: industrialists, generals, ambassadors, and more...

Security is incredibly tight, of course. Everyone who comes is extensively vetted and searched, even you. You are searched a full four times in fact, from the time you entered the Capitol to the time you took your seat.

At last, Hoover entered. He is walking with a cane, and his hair has gone pure white. His face is lined in a dozen places, and the left corner of his mouth droops. But he still has a quiet dignity to him.

You expected a wave of boos and catcalls, and you were waiting to join in, but the shock of seeing how badly his condition has deteriorated has silenced you...and everyone else. He makes his slow way to the podium and stands for a moment, looking over you all. His gaze rests on you and Long for an instant longer than anyone else.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. I know these years have not been easy for any of us. But I have hopes that America can rise again. I know Vice President Curtis has made many decisions while I was indisposed. I am sure he was doing his best, but the results of his efforts stand before us: division, chaos, and unrest. I know many of you do not have faith in me, but I wish to assure you all I will be doing everything in my power to help mend this country, to feed the hungry and give succor to the weary, to share the wealth of America with all, to see a chicken in every pot. And to that end, the first thing that is needed is unity. To that end, I would like to invite Senator Reed and Senator Long to join my Cabinet as advisors...”

The stunned silence ends there in a flurry of shouting and outrage, until Representative Wallace rises. “What powers will they have to make your promises come true? Because we know you won’t do a thing for it!”

The SPA and AFP delegations are briefly united in cheering on Wallace and jeering at Hoover, until he is forced to beat a hasty retreat.

And then afterwards come a slew of attacks through the media on you and Long, denouncing your “defiance,” your “dictatorial tendencies,” and your “boorishness.” While those attacks have little impact among your supporters, they provide ammunition for your enemies as they seek to smear you, with limited success.

While the smear campaign falters, Hoover goes on a tour of the country to discuss economic support in various states. The fact that this mostly happens in states which have maintained some federal strongholds such as California, Florida, Virginia, and Texas does not go unremarked on, with Hoover stating outright that commitment to “democracy and the American way” is a vital part of success.

Long rallies against such comments with typical bombastness, while beginning his own reforms, which began in Louisiana but are soon mimicked elsewhere. Now, in addition to the state-sponsored unions, there is the Department of Industry, responsible for helping ensure that the state’s economy is functioning and developing. While they have a broad array of powers, including the ability to request the relevant sections of the union go on strike, there is also a careful array of checks to make sure the state remains a good environment for capitalist exploitation. To your surprise, it appears no legal challenges are forthcoming.

And Long appears to be confidently securing his grip across the American south, although Texas, Virginia, Kentucky, and Florida are all resisting his influence as True KKK partisans and Democrat stalwarts rally to Hoover, who has gone from the hated incompetent to a martyred statesmen tarred with the failures of his rivals in their eyes.

You, meanwhile, manage to build on your successes in unifying the party, pushing through several resolutions designed to encourage debate over division. While largely successful, there are a few grumbles by those who have lost allies to the scythe of party discipline, but the real trouble comes from the Totalists, who kick enough of a fuss about the inflexibility of the codes and “undemocratic nature of their imposition upon dedicated syndicalists.” This does little more than garner them a few interested looks from those who were otherwise uninterested, but a few Red Guards units do take it up, publicly rejecting any form of code except the one they make themselves.

This gains little attention as the number of your supporters surge in cities and on the farms, bolstered by your demonstrations of support for their beleaguered populations and transparently partisan nature of Hoover’s economic plans. As the number of supporters swells, so too does the number of minority supporters, something that made you somewhat concerned over how various factions would react. However, it was largely unremarked on, except for several AFL reps who commented on how pleased they are that the SPA is truly representing all workers. It appears even the bastions of relative conservatism within your ranks are beginning to recognize the importance of solidarity and justice for all.

But there’s news of far greater significance to the party.

It seems that survivors of the Indiana Klan and members of the Minutemen in western Kentucky made contact with members of the Black Legion, and decided to demonstrate their strength. A large group of men, armed with rifles, a machine gun, homemade explosives, and accompanied by improvised armored trucks went on an attack in Indiana, looking to destroy local Red Guards branches.

Unfortunately, the Red Guards were warned by a sympathizer from Kentucky, and were able to set up an ambush on a forested stretch of wood, detonating explosives under the trucks and then harrying the Longists as they fled in disarray and confusion. Estimates suggest that approximately a hundred men escaped, while another hundred were captured, although some of them regrettably died of the wounds that resulted in their capture. The rest had their bodies burned. Butler was highly congratulatory to the units involved.

Outside of that clash, the nation has been relatively quiet, with no major assassinations or attacks. The skirmishes continue, intensifying in some cities and dying down in others.

And your comrades to the north report increasing effectiveness of the state repression as many flee south, getting smuggled through Detroit and Seattle or fleeing into the Great Plains. Meanwhile, efforts at developing a payment plan and normalizing relations have begun, with Canadian gold being shipped south in exchange for American machinery.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee, with the growing ranks of the various town militias, will now be working on seeing to their ideological correctness in the hopes of turning them fully to revolutionary methods.

The State Legislative Committee is going to be looking to legally justify the seizures of various factories and acquire the services of lawyers to help them manage that.

Norman Thomas is going to be lambasting MacArthur, with Curtis unavailable and Hoover temporarily insulated to a degree from criticism. He will also be meeting with Floyd and taking aim at the partisan nature of Hoover’s economic plans.

Smedley Butler will finish overseeing the institution of training camps and then begin working to make sure the Red Guards are as well equipped as possible.

Charles Schenk will be working to expand the secret ways in and out of Canada and begin creating better spies through formalizing and organizing previously ad hoc intelligence efforts.

Ben Stevens will be working to expand existing farming cooperatives and stiffen the militias there with more experienced and disciplined troops.

And the SPA cadres, finding themselves somewhat divided, will be working on a variety of tasks, including condemning pink unions, seizing further factories, and expanding mutual aid institutions.


You have 8 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 1 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You have 2 Semi-Temporary Influence for Militant actions. You are currently taking On the Farms.

+5 to one Political action. +10 to one Union action.


The capitalist oppression of the working class grows more intolerable by the day. If the leadership of the SPA will not commit to their liberation by any means necessary, we will. Begin efforts to suppress and terrify reactionaries within 3 months (From the Fosterites. ++Strength to the Fosterites, +Relations with the Fosterites, +Support from the TUUL, IWW MM, and IWW MA, - Support from the AFL and SPU if completed. +Support from the AFL and SPU, --Relations with the Fosterites if failed).

While some in the party see the deeds of the Red Guards as minor excesses or necessary acts, the majority condemns them sharply. They must be taken in hand, and soon. Take multiple measures to keep them from running wild within 2 months. (From the Centrists, the AFL, the SPU, the ASA, and both factions of the IWW. +Strength to the Center, -Strength to the Fosterites, +Relations with the Center, the Anarchists, the Parliamentarians, and the Syndicalists, +2 Temporary Influence for Militant actions if completed. -5 to all Militant actions for 1 month, ---support from the AFL, SPU, ASA, and both factions of the IWW, -Relations with all party factions except the Totalists and Fosterites if failed.)


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships and county governments alongside even more widespread but less official influence. You even control most states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 55/105/155/205. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any number of changes to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/140. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn’t a structural reason for their failures. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate, chance of them gaining positive trait.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Fosterites: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Fosterites, will politically indebt you to other factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize the Fosterites, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals, since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/125. Result: Lay groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sensed a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 10/25/40/50. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.

Assistant Adjustment: Even as your assistants work to make sure their views are supported by the party machinery, they are also being genuinely helpful in managing the fractious ranks and building towards the coming revolution. You could always use a few more...or perhaps you need to remove someone. Cost: Political turmoil, modification to bonuses. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Options to change assistants.

Speak for Liberty: While the SPA is at least somewhat united behind you, your willingness to push for social revolution has had the anarchists in the party and their similarly socially left allies be some of your most enthusiastic supporters, despite their relatively small numbers. If you want to make use of that support, you will need to help them. Speak on the topic of liberty, encourage support for racial minorities, demand women’s liberation...perhaps go so far as to say homosexuality is acceptable. Let them know they have an ally in you. Cost: Political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 50. Result: Increase in Strength and Relations of Anarchists.

Condemn Atrocities: If you wish to keep the violent and vicious Fosterites from gaining strength, you need to lay the groundwork before you break them. Make it part of the SPA program to condemn excessive brutality, the murder of noncombatants and innocents, and wanton destruction. While the language will mostly be used against capitalists and Longists, it can also be applied to the sort of things they advocate for, making a useful cudgel against your enemies in the party. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60/90. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Back Up Butler: Butler has done an excellent job of reforming and expanding the Red Guard, turning it from a barely-controlled paramilitary into an effective force However, some of the changes he has made have been contentious, and he plans more. Some have begun suggesting you should rid yourself of him...something which you have no intentions of doing so. Make that clear, and make it crystal clear that Smedley Butler has your full confidence. Cost: Loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/20. Result: Increase to Smedley Butler’s Influence

Expand Party Bureaucracy: The Socialist Party of America has a fairly large and effective bureaucracy: clerks and secretaries and accountants, paper-pushers of every stripe. They provide immense value to the party’s efforts...you wish you had more. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to that problem. Cost: -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: +2 to the Influence cap.

Command the Cadres: The SPA Cadres have been enjoying their newfound independence, and will be reluctant to give it up again even temporarily, but you are liked and respected enough that they will do it. Even if they will complain. Cost: Political impact depends on what you choose. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Adjust SPA Cadre actions as you see fit.

Keep Pushing: The Fosterites and some allies pushed you about the Commissars and you pushed back. With the Battle of New York allegedly started by the poor trigger discipline of a Red Guard, now is the time to keep pushing. Demand restraint, demand order, demand reorganization. Who would disagree, at this juncture? Cost: ??? Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Major increase to political support for restraining the Red Guards.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Prepare Small-Town Unions: The farming cooperatives and the Red Grange are taking the lead in working with rural areas, providing the slowly growing unions there with expertise and assistance organizing. But another gap in your capabilities has been revealed. You don’t have much reach in the small twins that only have minor factories or mines. Unions have begun to slowly form in some of these towns, but more work needs to be done to ensure that these unions will represent their workers, and not serve as another tool of oppression by the town capitalists, especially given their relatively weak ideological underpinnings. While many unions have begun forming with SPA encouragement, they tend to be more collaborationist than confrontational. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/35/70. Result: Strengthen newly formed unions organizationally and ideologically..

Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Improve quality of food kitchens. +0.5 Resources per month. Gain support from IWW MA and MM.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/110/120. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Form Farmer’s Cooperatives: The newly organized farmer’s cooperatives are young and fragile. They need tractors, fertilizer, organizational support, and more. The Red Grange is struggling to assist with these matters, lacking finances and reach. And the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the Great Plains. Government subsidies are being delayed and disappeared by hostile civil servants and damaged infrastructure. The party must take care of it’s newest members...although they have been largely taking care of themselves. Cost: 4 Resources, minor loss of support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/80/100. Result: Expand and strengthen farmer cooperatives, gain Relations with Ultraleft Farmer Labor and support from the Red Grange.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/100/160. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Medical Assistance: A small trickle of doctors and nurses have begun to join party ranks, motivated by a mix of fear, hope, and the fact that the SPA seems to be the only faction with some sort of direction in many cities. While this has led to some ad-hoc benefits, such as the formation of Nurse’s Unions and the establishment of small clinics that offer discounts to SPA members, there is nothing widespread yet. Encourage and cultivate the development of such systems to make your urban supporters healthier and heartier. Cost: -2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Easier access to medical assistance for your urban supporters.

Further Factory Seizures: Though the strikes are beginning to slow as the federal government awakens from its apparent slumber, the workers definitely have the upper hand here. Strikebreakers are gunned down, scabs are being driven from the factories they try to operate. The only way is forward! Claim more factories, take the centers of economic power, seize the means of production from sea to shining sea! Cost: Hostility from outside forces. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/45/60. Result: More factories seized, further expansion to income.

Negotiate With Bosses: With the capitalists left destitute by the sudden loss of their property, they are denied much of their strength and leverage and reduced to begging for scraps. While some find it amusing and want to leave them dependent on charity and others want to force them into the street brigades, some propose a more humane alternative: giving them small pensions and encouraging them to integrate as workers. This kind treatment would not officially be dependent on them agreeing to give up any legal claim to the property they supposedly owned. But there would be that implication. Cost: Some minor displeasure from the left of the party, 4 Resources, -3.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Decrease in complaints from former factory owners about you, reduction in unrest.

Rural-Urban Exchanges: The current system of interaction between farming cooperatives and worker-run factories is ad-hoc and limited by the capitalist framework both currently function in, but frameworks can be worked around. Simply arranging for direct transfers of materials, food, and products between mines, factories, and farms would be the easiest way to solve this problem, and the least controversial. Many are concerned that this would not be capable of handling the complexities of a modern, industrial economy however. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 30. Result: Establishment of more formalized and direct exchanges between worker-run facilities, increase in economic efficiency.

Socialist Markets: An alternate proposal, one popular among the more Orthodox wings of the party, is that workers at these facilities could be given labor vouchers representing the value of their work. These vouchers could then be exchanged for products at markets. The main difference between this and conventional finance is that the value of vouchers would be decided democratically and that they cannot be accumulated. Cost: Decrease in support and relations with the syndicalist wings of the SPA and CSA, 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in income, establishment of labor voucher based markets in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support and relations with orthodox wings of the SPA and CSA. Increase in economic efficiency. Reduced strength of the Center, increased strength of the Orthodox.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? The widespread establishment of these grows ever more vital as the toll of being forced to pay ridiculous fees for the use of capitalist’s services and the inefficiencies of going without begin to take their toll. Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/50/80. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased Relations and Strength for the Syndicalists. Increase in economic efficiency. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Rationalize Production Schemes: With the vast number of factories seized, different product schematics, manufacturing methods, and research facilities are now in the property of the workers. Though some of the men responsible for the more cutting edge possibilities are reluctant to work with “filthy Reds,” sufficient bribery has overcome such concerns. Begin working to integrate the best of each factory and develop further innovations to turn the existing industrial base into the greatest in the world! Cost: 4 Resources, -4 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin integrating the segmented knowledge and innovations of the various companies and improving on their work.

Arms Production: The Red Guards need more and better weapons. They need ammunition. They need grenades and uniforms. They need vehicles to transport them and fuel to supply them. An army is an incredibly difficult thing to supply, but you will need to support one. While you can’t make anything heavier than mortars currently, small arms can be produced in significant quantities. It’s time to start arming the forces of revolution so that they can match the foot soldiers of reaction and the servants of capital. Cost: 8 Resources, -6 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/70/120. Result: Begin producing large quantities of weapons, Red Guards better armed and equipped, unlock new options to supply and train them.

Union-Integrated Planning: Currently, each factory and farm does as it sees best. While the creation of any market system would help coordinate their operations indirectly, doing so effectively would require the return of the profit motive and economic labor discipline. An alternative proposal, to be done separately or in combination, would be to create an Office of Economic Planning, responsible for creating 3-month production targets with the democratic input and experienced guidance of the workers. Such plans would be complex things, but they would also enable great economic efficiency. Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/100/165. Result: Establishment of a democratic department for handling economic planning. Must establish what the goals of that planning are soon after. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Appoint an Outreach Manager: With efforts at denying you support growing in numbers and sophistication, you need to develop your advocacy among workers in response. From the imported Chinese scabs and desperate Okies of California to the suffering smallholder farmers of the Great Plains to the exploited miners and factory workers to the American heartland, there are millions just waiting to join your cause...if only they could be persuaded of their exploitations and educated of their class interests. Cost: Influence, loss of support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Appointment of a subordinate responsible for outreach and agitation, vote on how much to commit to them, potential gains in Support or Relations.


Additional Weapons: The armaments of your “regular” Red Guards are highly irregular, and the “irregulars” who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of “non-lethal” weapons for the use of the Red Guards.

Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 4 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

California Supplies: While arming the entire Red Guards would be extremely costly, sending rifles and simple explosives down through Mexico and then up into California to equip the Red Guards units there with good weaponry would be a cheaper alternative and demonstrate that the party has not forgotten the cause in California. Cost: 1 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards in California.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Establish Training Camps: There are many remote regions that the SPA has a prominent presence in. The mountains of West Virginia are littered with empty mines, while the endless plains of Iowa are nearly impossible to search without manpower that simply is not available to your enemies. These will be the perfect places to establish camps for your most dedicated Red Guards to begin turning them from paramilitaries skilled in street battles to soldiers of the Revolution. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/30/60/120. Result: Establish training camps in isolated areas for turning paramilitaries into soldiers in small numbers.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

A Democratic Chain of Command?: The Bolsheviks increasingly relied on a fairly conventional military structure as the Russian Revolutionary War dragged on, while the Black Army had a system of soldier’s councils and recallable officers. Both schools of thought have inspired the structure of various Red Guards cells, along with other sources such as the federal army, the militias of the American Independence War, and the forces of the Third Internationale. Devising a system that will be understandable, egalitarian, democratic, and above all effective must be a priority, even if it will not be possible to pressure all Guards units into following it, let alone the various splinter groups. Cost: ?? Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Choices on how to structure the Red Guards and how much pressure to use for spreading it, dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the Red Guards.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally-violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in a military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectations and tighten standards, to increase the amount of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 5 months. DC: 25/50/80/110. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Retaliatory Measures: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias have launched attacks on workers, in one case successfully massacring dozens. While the governments in some cases are protecting them, justice can still be found. The Blair Brigade, together with local forces, can be used to target these groups and make it clear that such slaughters will not be permitted. While there have not been any recent major attacks, there are past ones that have gone unpunished for far too long. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60. Result: Launch a small number of carefully planned retaliatory attacks.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Self-Defense Units: The Red Guards need to expand. But they need to maintain their quality and discipline. The best solution you have currently is to not actually recruit more directly, at least not until you have a good way of training them. Instead, you will recruit those willing to fight as self-defense units, given more limited responsibilities under the oversight of those more experienced and capable. The only problem is getting enough weapons for everyone... Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Create self-defense units, begin slowly expanding the number of Red Guards.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Target Rural Reactionaries: While local Red Guards have performed heroically,, there are various counterrevolutionary elements that remain strong throughout the Midwest. Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom have converted back when sufficiently intimidated or otherwise persuaded. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/50/75/100. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives.

Anti-Adventurist Measures: After the crushed march in San Francisco that attempted to force a series of judicial resignations and the severe anti-syndicalist propaganda created from the aftermath, discussions have begun about working to tighten military control over some of the more far-flung sections of the syndicalist movement. The various Red Guards units in California, the Red Bandits along the Mexican border, the scattered groups in Virginia and Kentucky...all of them have demonstrated a fondness for overaggressive action. Begin working to restrict that. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Result: Options for increasing control over Red Guards units.

Purchase Arms: Relatively few arms factories were seized, but some were, and already Red Guards units have begun to benefit, but the acquisition of weapons for them is an often haphazard process and only a few units have even standard rifles. But it would be easy enough for larger quantities to be purchased and distributed so that the vast throngs of syndicalist soldiers have good guns and adequate ammunition. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/25. Result: Better-equipped Red Guards.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Establish schools for adult workers.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 2 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Photos for All: Photography is an incredibly powerful medium for displaying the impact of events upon people. The Dust Bowl, the Bleeding Midwest, the many deprivations and horrors caused by capitalism...and the triumphs wherever such things are fought would all make excellent subjects for photography. The camera can spread your message and make another potent tool in your arsenal. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Expanded use of photography in propaganda.

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Publicize Accomplishments: You have forced concessions from the hostile federal government, run a city successfully for months, defended the rights of soldiers, and won battles by the score in fields ranging from the courtroom to the street. Broadcast your successes, shout them from the rooftops, because this is only the beginning. There are doubtless thousands of workers who are held in bondage only by their fear. Knowledge of your might will banish that fear. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased propaganda about your successes.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Establish a Propaganda Team: With the massive efforts for delivering propaganda undergoing, it may be wise to begin creating a dedicated group for managing the delivery and spread of information to the workers of America in order to present yourselves in the best possible light and strip the capitalist manipulation away from plain, unvarnished truth. The person you choose to run this team will have significant influence on what kind of news is being spread. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Creation of a subordinate for managing propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for its most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

The Moral of the Story: The radio is also being popularly used for entertainment, and there is the occasional show you like to listen to in order to relax. There’s no reason the SPA can’t sponsor a few shows about bands of thieves stealing from robbers, the ordinary adventures of hard-working laborers, or perhaps a grand tale of an alien world wracked by civil war...Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create socialist-themed radio entertainment.

Street Art: Such artwork can be created in many other cities where you have a presence as well...it will probably go better if you don’t have to deal with hostile police and “citizen’s groups.” You will create murals and graffiti in every style imaginable, showing the sins of capitalism and the glories of what will come after. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70. Result: Create socialist street art throughout SPA-controlled or influence areas.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.

Challenge the Instability: The evident failures of bourgeois democracy are displayed before all of America: a president and a vice-president dead or incapacitated, no one able to determine who or how they should be replaced, state governments frantically banding together, federal authority beginning to vanish, rising unrest in America’s colonies...what sort of nation could accept this, what sort of system could allow this? And what alternative is there? All these questions are to be answered. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/30/45/60/90. Result: Condemn the failures of the United States government, explain why your proposal is a superior alternative.

There is Power in a Union: Strength can be its own sort of comfort in dark and dangerous times. And you have strength aplenty. While there are many who might fear you, the alternatives are equally terrifying. Promise them protection, promise them safety as members of the CSA, promise them peace and stability, as much as can be gained. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Convince people to join you to protect themselves from various other threats.

Against Pink Unionism: The rise of “pink unionism” is a serious threat to your movement. Championed mainly by the SPU within your organization and by several external groups ranging from George Creel to Floyd Olson to Huey Long, it involves a bastardizing of syndicalist principles in an effort to steal your support, giving workers a slightly louder voice in a system still rigged to ignore them, while allowing those who agitate further for actual, meaningful gains to be tarred as radicals and destroyed or subverted. It is time to speak against it for what it is. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from the SPU. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/80/110. Result: Condemn “pink unionism,” radicalize reformists. Transfer in size from the SPU to other factions.

Anti-Americanization: While the melting pot is a lovely concept, it also means that meaningful elements of various individual cultures are destroyed or appropriated. To resist such trends will require meaningful and long-term effort, but a start can be made through advocacy over the use of autonomy to establish holidays celebrating ancient customs and adding languages such as German, Yiddish, and Finnish to the days of schoolchildren so the tongues of their ancestry are not lost. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from socially conservative factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/60/90. Result: Agitate for expressions of local cultural heritage.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/90/150. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions has left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Condemn MacArthur: MacArthur has flouted the United States Constitution, slaughtered innocent, peaceful soldiers, possibly attempted a coup, and bungled his way into slaughtering dozens of people needlessly. And he speaks in third person like the utter clown he is. The fact that he is not the most hated man in America is a miracle. Perhaps you can start fixing that though...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Condemn and lambast MacArthur, hopefully having some effect.

Speak With Floyd: Floyd Olson is possibly one of the most popular Progressives in the nation. Even Curtis and Garner have praised him for his “restraint” and “vision of reform in a true American sense.” What exactly that last phrase means is...unclear. He is also one of the Progressives who has not formally joined you, and has expressed reservations to some fellow Progressives and proposed readmitting the expelled Progressive leadership. Spending some time to find out what his reservations are would be worthwhile...Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80/120/180. Results: Find out more about what Floyd Olson wants and plans.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA-controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/25/40/50. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses that maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/95/145. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begin relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA-controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: Slight loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions, malus reduced or eliminated.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with, and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Assistants Adjustment

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double-edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.

Expanding Electoralism: The State Legislative Committee and Norman Thomas are both finding that they have far too much to do, and not enough time to do it. The political situation is growing increasingly fraught, both in Washington and in the various state capitals. Even the territories see unrest, as plantation workers on Hawaii and miners in Alaska both begin to protest the abuses they recieve. They need further assistance, a transfer of staff and aids and your assistance in removing barriers...but with it, there will hopefully be significantly greater results. Cost: -2 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: +2 Influence for the SLC, +1 Influence for Norman Thomas

Local Autonomy Programs: The first implementation of the principles of local autonomy will begin. A relatively simple set of legislation will be passed, allowing school districts to choose to have optional “Cultural Enrichment” classes where students will learn the language, history, and traditions of their ancestors and granting municipalities permission to have local paperwork and signage in any language they desire, so long as English is also prominently available. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/50. Result: The first beginnings of local cultural autonomy.

State Nationalizations: Huey Long has already done it, and so has the federal government and their supporters. It is time for the government of the workers to begin directly intervening in the economy. State-backed investors will purchase commanding shares in certain factories and facilities, transferring part-ownership to the workers and coordinating the economic functioning in order to bolster the state as a whole...and in order to better equip the workers for the inevitable backlash. Cost: Possible minor backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90/150. Result: Increase to income, some factories taken over by the workers and the states under the cover of law.

Legitimize Seizures: With the justification coming ex post facto, it is not easy to make it appear legitimate in the eyes of the capitalist state. In fact, it is downright impossible...but it can be made to look less illegitimate if the workers “deputized individuals investigating reports of anti-democratic agitation and abusive working conditions,” and if they are “lawfully compensating victims of gross misconduct” instead of taking what is rightfully theirs. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Moderate reduction in backlash from factory seizures.

State Police Forces: With the National Guards hampered, there are other potential forces that could be used to suppress us...or used to crush reactionaries. To that end, the state police forces will be secured, their leadership replaced with trusted syndicalists, Red Guards will be hired, and they will be shifted to being under Congressional influence even as their arms are improved and their procedures revamped. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: State police forces have their loyalty secured.

Election Campaigns: In less than eight months the midterm elections will begin. Aside from a number of Senate seats and many state offices, other important elections will be the election of the New York governor, the reelection of the various small-town officials you have appointed, and the House elections where you could potentially win an outright majority. While favorable results are likely, politicians also need to campaign,to speak in their favor and denigrate their opponents, to hold rallies and parades, to shake hands and kiss babies...Cost: 8 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Begin massive campaigns for the upcoming elections.


The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 6 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Judicial Reform: One of the matters most clamored for is judicial reform. The American justice system is incredibly corrupt, designed to allow the wealthy to skate away from criminal cases and lawsuits with equal ease, and the courts have long been a tool to prevent workers from liberating themselves. Lawyers, judges, juries...all will need replacement, reform, or renovation come the Revolution. Begin working out alternatives. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin coming up with a multitude of options for judicial reform.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

Help for Hispanics: As the SPA grows in influence in the American Southwest, awareness of the historical mistreatment the Hispanic population of the United States has endured. Just as with the Native Americans and the colored populations, you need to open a dialogue with these groups. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU and the AFL. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Hispanic Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Practical experience from dedicated syndicalists working at varying ranks of state bureaucracies can be synthesized into the beginnings of a roadmap. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled. Reduce malus from lack of experienced bureaucrats

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as a boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.

Justice and Violence: Violence is one of the eternal topics people argue about. When is it acceptable, why is it acceptable, what limits should there be? Some proclaim it all equally abhorrent, others insist it is always necessary. The SPA has an ample variety of attitudes, some of which are counterproductive. The cowardice of the SPU and the bloodthirst of the Fosterites both threaten the revolution. The correct course is obviously somewhere in between the extremes: self-defense is obviously acceptable, and so is violence in the pursuit of justice, but you must decide where the lines are...and when they should be crossed. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Decide what sorts of violence are acceptable and when, develop a more defined thesis on it.

Appoint a Committee of Ideology: This will be a contentious group whose arguments will echo throughout the party, but those arguments will be necessary for the building of a true socialist state. Economy, law, social organization, the role of religion and race, the question of minorities, internationalism, centralism, federalism, and councilism...all these things need to be discussed. And you don’t have the time to do it, so you will have to get other people to do it for you. Cost: Likely to decrease the Strength of the Center, will occasionally make decisions you don’t like. Will have to commit Influence and Gravitas. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Create subordinate to handle various Intellectual actions, vote on how much to commit.


Investigate the Machines: Fragments of the Democrats and the Republicans have begun drifting towards you over the past several months, with the latest gunfight bringing about a sharp change in several group’s positions. However, they are still trusted insiders in their parties, and this gives you an opportunity to get an inside look at the often rather opaque workings of the party machines, to better co-opt or destroy them. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/55/105. Result: Gain information and opportunities to take over or break various political machines.

Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Increase to income.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 40/80/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.

Into the Navy: Another possibility for infiltration is the navy. A scheme to try and stabilize a few coastal cities has been passed, and the fleet is being expanded, meaning new sailors are being recruited. This is a perfect opportunity to begin slipping syndicalists into their ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/??/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

A Program of Subversion: The SPA has neglected the possibilities of infiltrating and subverting hostile organizations. Pink unions, anti-syndicalist militias, and rival political parties are all viable targets for the sowing of dissent, fostering of splits, and eventual destruction. But to do so effectively, we must build up our capacity for identifying those who can deceive, for preparing tactics and methods, for establishing lines of communication. Cost: -1 Resource per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Set up training program for political infiltrators and agent provocateurs, improve efficacy of spying.

(1 Influence Committed) Anti-Corruption Investigation: Time and time again, members of the SPA have betrayed the trust of the workers for their own financial gain. Such practices will no longer be tolerated. Books will be sorted through, testimony will be taken. Those who have embezzled or stolen, committed nepotism or accepted bribes will be found and punished. Cost: Likely to have political ramifications. Time: 3 months. DC: 15/45/75. Result: Corrupt individuals identified and punished.

Find the Red Army Faction: This “Red Army Faction” is a potential concern, although it’s likely to be nothing more than a tactic to put some pressure on you. But if you feel it necessary, it would be fairly simple to spy on the place they asked you to deliver messages to and begin investigating their network to find out how they operate and what their goals are. Cost: May anger the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Begin investigating the Red Army Faction to find their membership, safehouses, and goals.

Hunt Infiltrators: The Longists and Federalists have doubtless begun infiltrating us, trying to sow division and sabotage our efforts. Perhaps this has already begun bearing fruit, or perhaps it will become a problem in days to come. Either way, the spies must be found and removed. With limited sources of information, it may prove difficult, but it is a task that must be accomplished as soon as possible. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Begin hunting for spies within the CSA.

Propaganda of the Deed: There are many tools for spreading syndicalism and disrupting reactionaries. Bombs and guns are excellent at doing both. By demonstrating the spirit of revolution, weakening the forces the oppressors can bring to bear, and striking fear into the hearts of those who stand against us, we shall strengthen the cause! The class war shall come and end the conflicts of history, and no price is too great to pay it! Cost: -3 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/35/50/65/90. Result: Begin a campaign of political bombings and assasinations.

Protective Measures: With violence rising by the day, measures must be taken to protect the leaders of the revolution. The Guard must be expanded, with the new members set to providing protection wherever needed. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55/85. Result: Recruit more bodyguards.

Sabotage Records: An alternate proposal to outright attacking bankers and factory owners is infiltrating courthouses, banks, and other such locations and then destroying the records, usually in the guise of a robbery to avoid attention. While less likely to satisfy the bloodlust of some and not as punishing to the enemies of the workers, it does have some benefits. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/50/80. Result: Begin destroying records of mortgages, factory ownership, etc.

Robin Hood Revolutions: The Bosheviks funded themselves through bank robberies before they were able to seize power. While the size and strength of the SPA mean such tactics are no longer needed, they could still be useful. A campaign of public, armed theft will do much to demoralize our class enemies and tie up their investigation and intelligence resources. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60. Result: Begin a campaign of bank robberies, increase to income.

Union Entryism: Not every factory has been seized, not every union is a revolutionary one. In particular, there are several states with growing industrial bases that have minimal SPA support. Infiltrating these areas and their factories will be important, especially since many of these factories are responsible for producing the equipment needed by the slowly reforming Federal Army. It will be a difficult task for those agents assigned, one which will need a great deal of skill, but it will be an invaluable one for us and for the Syndintern. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/???/???. Result: Pink unions and non-unionized factories infiltrated, especially in states where support is lacking.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only twice per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one). This will have a political cost if used on the SPA Cadres.

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -9 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month. Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Meet the Red Army Faction: The RAF put instructions in their letter for contacting and meeting with them. The letter doesn’t say much about their intentions specifically, although you can guess at some of their goals and objectives. Arranging to meet with them might let you find out more, to learn how hostile they are to you, to see if you can gain any influence over what they have planned...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Meet with the RAF, options for what you do during that meeting.

Adjust Your Priorities: Long-term commitments are risky in the chaotic situation the American nation is in. Temporarily stepping back from them would allow you to handle crises as they come back. Cost: Minor penalties to targeted action. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: De-commit Influence from selected action, narrative penalties.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking Organize the Farmworkers. There is 1 month left.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

A Lot of Chutzpah - Part of propaganda is not...lies exactly, but occasionally de-emphasizing certain aspects of your end goal for the sake of quieting opposition. It might take a lot of chutzpah to say yes out of one side of your mouth and no out of the other, but it also takes a lot of chutzpah to overthrow capitalism. Time: 1 month. Effect: +2 Appeal per month for white Americans, -1 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans.

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoisie are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Organize the Farmworkers - The migrating farmworkers are perhaps the easiest target for radicalization. Their formerly prosperous lives ripped away from them, pushed into desperate poverty, the food they work so hard to grow frequently burned in front of them as they starve...Time: 3 months. Effect: Significant increase to support among rural populations, +10 to the next 3 actions involving organizing or agitating in rural areas.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 
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notbirdofprey

Active member
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You look out your window and sigh, for the scars of the Rising still mar New York City. Two of the houses you can see played host to reactionary militias, and so those houses were fought over, bullets and bombs ripping their way through wood and plaster before the Red Guards managed to take them, before being driven out as fresh militias used fire to drive them out.

The people of the city paid a bloody price, and there will be more costs before everything is settled. Major newspapers have long since stopped reporting the tit-for-tat murders and street battles that dominate the country, but you know they are still happening. Dozens are dying every day.

And that’s ignoring the larger, deadlier clashes. Those might be rare, but everyone hears of them when they happen. Bombings of Longist marches. Attacks on Red Guards headquarters. Ambushes on deploying National Guards. Firefights that rip holes through entire communities.

Everyone is being affected, not just those who fight. People are terrified. Even Hannah, for all that you try to shelter her, knows that there’s fighting. It’s been giving her nightmares.

Silently, you vow that those dreams will be the closest she ever comes to war.

But for that to happen, changes need to be made. Changes to the Red Guards, and changes to the reactionary bastards. You’ll see one set through. And the men you trust to battle for the syndicalist cause...they’ll handle the other.


A Democratic Chain of Command?!: 2 semi-Temporary Influence, 94+63+10=167

The Red Guards are not a centralized organization, and they are unlikely to become one without either something massive and unpredictable like a sudden civil war or sustained pressure from the top. That is the first obstacle any attempt at reforming them will face. But according to Butler and some of the more...esoteric military theoreticians he knows, that might also be a strength.

Regardless, if a better, more democratic chain of command is to be created, the first thing that needs to be discussed is what the expected pattern of the army is. Are they a professional volunteer source? A levee en masse in the French style? A citizen’s self-defense militia? All of the above? Whatever choice you make will have severe and unpredictable repercussions...

[] Red Guards units are to be highly-professionalized forces, in the general style of the U. S. Military with alterations for increased democracy and functionality going from there.

[] Red Guards units are to be local militias, drawn from individual unions and organizations, consisting of civilian structures transferred to the battlefield, with alterations for increased functionality going from there.

[] Red Guards units are to be large, levied forces of conscripts and volunteers buoyed by revolutionary fervor, with alterations for increased functionality and democracy going from there.

[] Red Guards units are to choose which form they desire.

[] Red Guards units are to choose which form they desire in conjunction with a central body to evaluate their capabilities and the needs of the Revolution.


Anti-Adventurist Measures: 1 Influence, 60+10=70
The vast distances of the country would make maintaining central control over the Red Guards difficult enough, to say nothing of their independent nature and the frequent difficulties of communication. This has resulted in many units taking instructions from the rest of the SPA as polite requests, left some ideologically adrift, and led to many counterproductive actions by various militias who overestimated their support or simply sought to aggrandize themselves.

So once more you find yourself sitting around a table with leaders of the SPA. Butler is at your side of course, but so is Lawson, and Lippmann and Gitlow have both taken interest in this debate. The argument rages back and forth, separate but connected to other debates about the Red Guards. Proposals are made and discarded, and in the end a few possibilities are the only ones being discussed. Whatever choice you make will have severe and unpredictable repercussions...

(Choose as many as you like, vote using plan format)

[] Send some written advice and encouragement to the Red Guards in the hopes that they will listen.

[] Expand the Commissar program to give more guidance and advice to Red Guards units.

[] Use the promise of support and better weaponry to encourage compliance.

[] Create elected regional officers to oversee the various units

[] Appoint advisors to regions distant from the SPA centers of power to help rein them in.

[] Write-in subject to veto


With the changes you are making, you are confident the Red Guards will only become more effective. But sometimes, you think, the Fosterites are right. The best army in the world means nothing if it isn’t used. From California to New York, from Maine to Florida, the innocent and oppressed have been slain and slaughtered, sometimes without even being given the chance to fight back. Sometimes after they had surrendered.

That will not be allowed to happen any longer. The Red Guards will not be waiting for the reactionaries to attack them, not anymore.


]Retaliatory Measures: 1 Influence, 63+10=73

Throughout the country, instructions and requests were passed down. By radio, by telegraph, by phone call, by letter, by messenger, word went out. Be ready. Battle was coming. If you can handle it, do it. If you can’t, ask for help.

And one fine April morning, nearly twenty states were wracked by violence. Homes were burned, businesses were bombed, militias were mobbed. In some places, the scattered attacks were beaten off. In others, they found success, catching their targets off-guard and cutting a bloody swathe through them. And in still others, the outmatched Red Guards found assistance coming...

The Blair Brigade marched into Anaconda, Montana, and the people of the city threw flowers at them. They marched in a ragged half-formation, wearing no uniform but for green jackets with red armbands. But though the men might look dirty and angry, the weapons had been polished and cared for with attention that spoke of great familiarity and determination to make them function as well as possible.

Samson marched with them, uneasy. This wasn’t going to be his first time going after strikebreakers, but it was his first time doing so with the Blair Brigade. And it was going to be a hell of a fight, if the scuttlebutt he had heard was anything remotely accurate.

He nervously glanced to his left and right. Within the cheering crowds he could see people who didn’t look so happy to see him, although by and large they faded away before he got a good look at them. As they turned a corner he leaned over and whispered to Sergeant Jones, “Comrade, I think they are going to know we are here.”

Jones nodded. “Keep your eyes forward, and trust the commander. You voted for him, same as I did.”

Samson scowled but turned his head back. When they had the chance, he was going to run for sergeant himself. The way Jones acted just didn’t sit right.

They were guided down street after street and then were led into a large hotel. They packed in, four to a room, and watches were drawn up. With their duties for the day done, the men of the Blair Brigade sprawled throughout the hotel. Some made their way down to the restaurant, others to the bar. Still others flirted with the housekeepers.
Samson found his way to the roof and sat there. He slid out his father’s knife and sharpened it, the rasp of the metal soothing his nerves.

At least until he heard footsteps. Instantly he spun around, flipping the knife over in his hand and readying himself to rush the...young black man wearing a red armband who was approaching. “Woah, comrade...I didn’t mean to startle you,” the man said, taking two steps back and lifting his hands up.

Cheeks turning pink, Samson slid the knife back into his sheathe. “It’s not your fault,” he replied, a little more brusque than he had intended.

“I’m Samson. How about you?”

“Ted. We were all real excited when we heard you lot were coming to help us. The Exterminators are tough bastards. They give you one chance to surrender, and if you don’t take it...I’ve seen the bodies a time or two.”

Ted fished around in his pockets, pulling out a cigarette. “So I hope you and us, I hope we make them understand they don’t get to have it all their own way.”

He dropped down next to Samson, who found himself swallowing his own fear. He had heard the same things about the Exterminators, and he was just as scared. But in front of this young man he refused to show that.

“They’ll learn. Trust me, the Brigade have taught that lesson to meaner gangs.”

Ted lit his cigarette, and Samson took out his own, igniting it from his new comrade’s.

The two of them smoked in companionable silence until there was nothing left, and then departed.

Samson woke early. The sergeant was up before him of course, having come from a meeting with their captain. He checked each man’s weapons, told them the plan, and led them in prayer. Sam folded his hands and hung his head, saying nothing.

He was a syndicalist, and as far as he was concerned that meant he was an atheist. Not that he was going to ruffle any feathers by making a fuss.

And then without another word they rose and left the room. They knew what they were doing, they knew why they were there. They knew that they’d win in the end, even if not all of them made it out alive.

The sun was a pale sliver over the horizon as they filed down, joining the rest of the Brigade and their local guides.

They moved like a fog, some rolling forth over the road, others slipping through the bushes and trees along the side.

Ted was the one leading Samson’s unit. The two of them exchanged glances, then Ted collapsed. The crack of gunfire echoed through his ears an instant later, and he threw himself down as bullets stitched through the air.

“Contact, Lenin Kronstadt Squadron!” Samson shouted, bringing his own rifle up.

He heard more gunfire, more cries of “Contact” but ignored it all. He squeezed off one shot, then another, firing wildly as he tried to make his enemies duck down. Branches quivered and shook as bullets whizzed back and forth. Behind him, his comrades slid around to his left and right and pushed forward.

There was a sharp exchange of fire and then four bodies fell to the ground.

And without a glance back Samson and the rest of his squad rushed forward.

The bark of gunfire and the boom of grenades kept moving forwards, keeping pace with them as they rushed through the woods, bent double and then moved onto the road.

There were Exterminators there too, falling back slowly as they tried to avoid being surrounded. A pair of strange vehicles with machine guns anchored them as soldiers took turns firing and fleeing behind while the machine guns sent forth a deadly hail that kept the Blair Brigade from closing. Men fell with every step, but more closed behind as the syndicalist soldiers doggedly pursued their foes.

And then Samson threw a grenade.

One machine gun came to a stop as its operators went down thrashing. The other began to turn towards him when the gunner’s head exploded.

The Blair Brigade rushed forward in a wild melee as bullets and bayonets cut down man after man until none were left.

And then they kept pushing.

There were two more firefights before they reached their goal, brief things that saw only a few men killed or wounded. They were tired and filthy, gnawing on premade food bars and swigging warm, gritty water, and their units were a disorganized mess - he hadn’t seen tJones since that first ambush - but they knew the plan and they weren’t going to quit.

And at noon the target came into view. An “abandoned” National Guard base that had been taken over by the Exterminators, it’s men stoody at the ready. A tall fence of barbed wire blocked their path. Sandbags gave cover to their foes. Rifles, machine guns, even artillery made it a lethal target to attack, and it was filled with determined enemies.

The Blair Brigade slowed and came to a stop at the sight of that fearsome fortress...and then mortar shells began to rain down on the men inside it. Shrapnel scythed through them, killing and wounding and spreading panic. The Exterminators fired back with cool determination, but they couldn’t reach the mortars and suppressive fire from the Brigade forced them down. The artillery were decrewed, holes were blown in their fences, and from every direction but one death came.

With a position growing less defensible by the second, some began to withdraw, then retreat, then rout. They dashed across the bloodied grounds and fled south, opposite of where their attackers had come from.

And then they ran into the rest of the Brigade, dug into the forest and wreaking havoc among their fleeing foe.

Some remained within the base, hiding in shelters or dugouts or within the sturdy walls of the masonry buildings.

So the fire slackened and stopped, and calls to surrender went out. Even with his blood up, Samson shouted as loud as the rest. He had fought in buildings, digging out determined enemies before. He had no desire to do so again.

That night, Kronstadt Squadron celebrated grimly in the hotel bar. They had won in the end, but they had bled for it. Ted had died, Sergeant Jones had taken a piece of shrapnel to his gut and no one knew if he would survive it, and all of them were wearied. They had won in the end. Samson wondered if it was worth it, then he raised his glass.

“To our absent comrades. And to the cause we fight for,” he said softly.

They echoed his toast, and all downed their glasses as one.

And three days later they left Anaconda for Butte, to destroy another nest of Exterminators.


And throughout the country, militias were hunted. Pinkertons were dragged out of their beds, put on trial, and shot. Police in a dozen cities were shot down in the street, the perpetrators sometimes not even bothering to flee. And with every attack, a message was delivered.

If you attacked the workers, they would attack back. And the consequences of that to you and yours would be for you to bear.


]Report from Smedley Butler: 1 Influence on Establish Training Camps, 41+20=61+15 = 76, 1 Influence on Purchase Arms, 41+11=52

The camps form a network throughout the country. Experienced soldiers and persuasive ideologues staff them, putting volunteers from the Red Guards through a merciless regime. They are taught to shoot, to move, to fight. They are given experience with every weapon you can reliably access, from rifles to machine guns to mortars. They are encouraged to develop skills in leadership and tactics and a dozen other fields Butler deemed worthy of including, from military history to public speaking to driving.

And day and night they are taught to think, exposed to the works of Marx and other great socialist thinkers, made to develop their own ideas and synthesize them with others. The force you are building is a political thing, and it’s future leaders must be skilled in politics.

And Butler might not like it, but you insist. The camps are not segregated at all. Black men and white men train and fight side by side, and are given no favoritism (Butler approves of this, albeit gruffly, and he questions the feasibility of avoiding that favoritism without damaging discipline). More controversially, men and women share the same camps, the same mess halls, the same barracks.

There are conflicts and failures, and many people wash out. But more stay in, and soon you will have the beginnings of something better than ragged paramilitaries...
And they will be better equipped too. Armories are beginning to form in major cities as they produce rifles and bullets, with Butler pushing (fairly successfully, given the chaotic situation) for the adoption of a standard set of firearms. Red Guards units find themselves with rifles and pistols for everyone, and older weapons are gradually retired.

Some of the seized arms factories even manage to produce more than a few machine guns, while the improvised workshops that supplied your forces with heavier weapons are expanded and refined, producing more reliable grenades and safer mortars.

It’s not enough, it’s nowhere near enough. You will need to be able to match the full might of the US Army, you will need to equip untold millions with rifles and bullets and uniforms and a thousand other things.

But it’s a start.


As the month ends, you think over the thirty long days...

It’s been a difficult and stressful time in some ways, full of frustrations even amongst your successes. But the party is growing, your forces are getting stronger. And the reactionaries have just been dealt a series of sharp blows.

You turn from the window and tiptoe to your daughter’s room, the guard stepping aside to let you pass. She sleeps soundly, undisturbed by bad dreams for once. You kneel down by her bed and smile.

Perhaps she will grow up and never know war.

You will do all you can to make it so.
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
[X] Red Guards units are to be local militias, drawn from individual unions and organizations, consisting of civilian structures transferred to the battlefield, with alterations for increased functionality going from there.

I'm not sure what to do for the anti-adventurist measures but I think a less derasinated army is better for a revolutionary state.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Expand Party Bureaucracy: 1 Influence, 89+10 = 99
The party has recruited many thousands of people from every walk of life. The membership rolls have grown longer every day as federal suppression efforts falter and the decaying economic conditions radicalize the people. And that means there are plenty of people to recruit to work for the party. A series of new positions are opened, with the more experienced getting promoted and the rest filling in below. Some experiments are done, as some branches include circles and horizontal hierarchies and other, more unusual structures.

You sit at your desk, reviewing the numbers, and find yourself smirking with amusement. Your enemies are fond of comparing you to an all-consuming octopus. And now you have even more arms...


Result: +2 to the Influence cap.


Publicize Accomplishments: 2 Gravitas, 19+15=34
Ten thousand battles have been fought, from coast to coast. Blood has run thick on city streets, and not just the blood of hapless victims. Political and economic concessions have been won through political maneuvering and main strength.

And you make sure people know it. Radio broadcasts describe the increase in the standard of living and the better working conditions for those in heavily socialized factories. Posters showcase socialists and workers breaking their chains and striking down capitalists and police.

But there isn’t enough to go around, and too much can be laid at your feet by the foolish or malevolent. Your propaganda apparatus isn’t strong enough to overcome it all.

But it’s strong enough to fight back.

Result: Some increases in propaganda about your successes and how you have benefitted the workers, enough to fight growing hostile narratives but not enough to win.

Establish a Propaganda Team: 1 Influence, 62+10=72
Fortunately, this particular weakness is already being fought. You have already begun looking to find someone to manage the propaganda side of things. Several individuals have already expressed interest...instead of an individual responsible, there will have to be a committee. The question is who will you appoint? And how many? As for how it will be structured...well, that is no question at all. There is only one possible way: democratically.

Paul Robeson wants to use the committee to ensure that the cause of social justice sees the advocacy it deserves. Birch Wilson is a professional writer and editor who wants to use the written word to break the chains on worker’s minds and does not trust the radio to do it. A. J. Muste seeks to use it as a venue for encouraging workers to organize. Eugene O’ Neill wants to encourage the growth of a truly proletarian cultural movement. Even your wife is hoping to get involved and spread support for women’s liberation.

Who will focus on what needs focusing? Who is competent? Who will get you the support you need from the SPA and CSA? And who will you ask?

(Each member of the committee will add their own bonuses to the total bonus from the committee and have their own interests. For each member of the committee, you will lose 1 Influence and the committee will gain 2. Vote in plan format.)

[] Paul Robeson is a newcomer to the socialist cause after performing in Chicago and finding himself to be “treated like a man.” He is a singer and an actor, hoping to develop new art and encourage the rise of social justice. Politically, he is fairly aloof, but somewhat favors the AFL-CIO and the IWW MA.

[] Birch Wilson is a curmudgeonly journalist you are very familiar with, having worked with him many times. He is a skilled writer and editor, favoring pamphlets and newspapers above all else. If you get him drunk enough, he will rant about how radios are foolish nonsense and express concern about how the social revolution is alienating insecure voters...and how that can be alleviated.

[] Albert Goldman is one of the fiercest proponents of a worker’s revolution in the SPA, and very interested in the creation of a new socialist economy run entirely by the people. He is a leading Marxist thinker and hopes to work to make that more palatable to the ordinary American.

[] Louise is hoping to get more involved with the socialist movement, beyond being one of your most able allies. You want her to do it too, ideally without it looking like nepotism. She is smart as a whip though, and will definitely impress. And refine the efforts of the committee as a whole. She is also very understandably interested in women’s liberation, although she wants to avoid being the “women’s member.”

[] A. J. Muste is a longtime member of the SPA and a popular union organizer. Having led the textile workers of Lawrence to great success in 1919, he has gone from strength to strength since, focusing on religious communities and immigrants. He hopes to continue that as a member of the Propaganda Team, and will undoubtedly be a great asset despite his occasional hesitancy on some of the more extreme proposals.

[] Eugene O’Neill is a proud and occasionally...difficult man who Louise is very fond of. He is a playwright who favors tragedies in which idealistic men struggle to hold onto their hopes and gradually sink into despair. But he does want to write more optimistic plays...and he wants to create an entirely new culture by and of and for the workers of the world, an internationalist and liberated culture..perhaps something so revolutionary will be what is needed to reach out to those who reject it. Or perhaps it will be a series of expensive flops.

Against Pink Unionism: 1 Influence, 99+15=114
You condemn the practice of pink unionism in the strongest possible terms. You do it in the CSA, shouting down SPU delegates when they try to interrupt you. You do it over the radio, denouncing it as shameful cowardice. Speech after speech, argument after argument, you paint it as a move by a cabal of greedy capitalists who have been working against the worker’s movement for years. You list all the times people have tried to defuse the worker’s movements before and ask why the brave and intelligent and class-conscious men and women of America are falling for it this time.

And you allow its defenders no chance to actually counter your organizations. Accusation after accusation you hurl at them in open debate, barely bothering to make sure yours are accurate as you drown them with sheer volume and enthusiasm, the tide of your supporters washing over any remaining resistance.

Anywhere the SPA can martial a force, pink unionism dies a slow, agonizing death as its members leave, its organizers are attacked, its meetings are picketed and broken up.

And that’s applauded as its advocates quietly shift their positions or drop out of the SPA entirely...You have made it clear that reform is not and can not be enough. The only victory acceptable is a total one.

If only you had the strength to enforce that in California.

Incidentally, Century reports your advocacy has had an impact in Longist circles, although the nature of it remains unclear. More trouble for the America First Party can only be to your benefit, however.

Result: Strong measures have been taken to stamp down the specter of reformism within the SPA.


Election Campaigns: 1 Influence, 14+5=19
The start of the campaigns is less of a sprint and more of a jerky stumble as politicians begin to energize their bases. Caucuses and conventions are prepared, rallies are held, speeches are given. Competing candidates debate each other as different philosophies of syndicalism and socialism and anarchism clash. Vast amounts of effort are spent on electoral propaganda, to the complaints of syndicalists who feel working within the system is a waste of time.

It’s a long time until November, but hopefully, the early start will give you an advantage. And hopefully, the workers will triumph in the ballot box.

In the meantime, you have to do what you can to increase their chances of success. And there is one thing that immediately comes to mind that needs to be discussed...

While the injection of funding is welcome, it is not enough to sustain an intense campaign..and there is the question of who it should go to.

How much do you spend? The more you invest, the more you will please those who support electoralism, concern those who view it as a viable tactic, and anger those who oppose it.

[] 5 Resources per month.

[] 10 Resources per month.

[] Write-in Resources per month.

You must also decide how it is to be distributed, which will also likely have political impacts..

[] Favorably.
-[] To the ASA aligned candidates
-[] To the IWW Main Affiliates candidates
-[] To the AFL-CIO candidates
-[] To the Teamster’s Union candidates
-[] To the Red Grange candidates
-[] Write-in your criteria, subject to veto.

[] Equally among all candidates

[] Withhold funding until a candidate is chosen for the general election


Expanding Electoralism: 1 Influence, 74+10=84
You are the unquestioned leader of the SPA. You may still face opposition and arguing, but when you want to make something happen, it happens. And right now, you want to empower the State Legislative Committee and Norman Thomas so they keep enacting legislation and targeting hostile politicians so that a socialist agenda can be better implemented for the good of all the nation and all the peoples of the world.

It takes several arguments and far too much time to make the arrangements, but with the expansion of the State Legislative Committee, the creation of regional sub-committees, and the volunteering of several other Senators and representatives to assist Norman Thomas, both groups are empowered significantly.

Result: -2 Influence, +1 Influence for Norman Thomas, +2 Influence for the SLC.


Anti-Corruption Investigation: 1 Influence, 73+0=73

As the piles of evidence grow higher, you begin to insist on receiving increasingly regular reports on who is guilty and what they did. Name after name is found, the paper proof providing incontrovertible proof of bribery and embezzlement. And many more dramatic sins as well, office affairs and backstabbing, Senators using campaign funds for debauchery...honestly, it’s nothing unusual. You expected far worse.

What you did not expect is the widespread nature of the corruption, as it has been left to fester for far too long. Patronage networks and backscratching have allowed several major figures to maintain control of segments of the party, while bribery and pork are rampant in the CSA. Some of the financial records suggest thousands of dollar’s worth of property and currency have been squirreled away by several figures. Including some you counted among your allies.

As much as you want to see them all sent to prison, the loss of so much expertise, the public revelations of scandals for elected figures, and the sudden losses of support from your allies could be crippling in these dangerous and unpredictable months.

You will need to decide what can be handled internally and what needs to be made public, what can be harshly punished and what you must let slide for expediency's sake.

Your political allies, primarily in the Teamsters and the center of the SPA, have been heavily engaged in what are effectively machine politics, using their dominance over institutions such as the soup kitchens to encourage people to vote for their candidates and frequently collecting extensive sums of money in the process, although at least a portion of those funds went to things like improving the accommodations in housing cooperatives.

Numerous Congresspeople in every house of every legislature have received bribes of various flavors, misused public money, and committed several egregious abuses of power.

Meanwhile, many party bureaucrats and elected officials of every stripe have been proven corrupt, in ways that run the gamut from small to serious.

Your allies will be...

[] [ALLIES1] handled internally.

[] [ALLIES1] have their crimes made public

And their punishments will be...

[] [ALLIES2] mild. They are needed in their current position, and so you will push for leniency wherever possible.

[] [ALLIES2] moderate. The most egregious offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, while others will be given gentler treatment.

[] [ALLIES2] harsh. Corruption of any stripe cannot be tolerated.

The politicians will be...

[] [POL1] handled internally.

[] [POL1] have their crimes made public

And their punishments will be...

[] [POL2] mild. They are needed in their current position, and so you will push for leniency wherever possible.

[] [POL2] moderate. The most egregious offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, while others will be given gentler treatment.

[] [POL2] harsh. Corruption of any stripe cannot be tolerated.

The various party officials will be...

[] [OFFICIAL1] handled internally.

[] [OFFICIAL1] have their crimes made public

And their punishments will be...

[] [OFFICIAL2] mild. They are needed in their current position, and so you will push for leniency wherever possible.

[] [OFFICIAL2] moderate. The most egregious offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, while others will be given gentler treatment.

[] [OFFICIAL2] harsh. Corruption of any stripe cannot be tolerated.


Personal Attention: Against Pink Unionism.

Blood will be shed over the matter of reform, and tears. But perhaps you can prevent it from coming to that....or mitigate the damage, at least. You are faintly aware of the irony of doing harm reduction by attacking a system that ostensibly serves the same purpose...but you put such uncomfortable thoughts aside.

And you began spilling ink.

And you make it personal. You describe the horrible sacrifices millions have made to the kings of rail and mine and toil, you paint images of the suffering inflicted on those who struggled against them. And then you ask the workers of the nation a few simple questions.
“Are you such cowards that you will throw away what so many have fought for so you can get scraps from your master’s table?”

“Why do you surrender so easily? Do you think you will be allowed to keep what power they give you without being able to make them?”

“What have the Pink Unions done for you lately?”

Focus: Organize the Farmworkers
The farmers of the nation are unquestionably vital to its functioning, given that they provide a majority of the food. And they have been neglected for too long by the SPA, allowing other organizations to get their hooks into them.

But the Red Grange rises to the challenge, and organizers and agitators bravely enter hostile territory to speak, risking beatings, imprisonment, and lynchings to rally Okies and Arkies and all the destitute farmworkers of the nation. As dust storms lash the Great Plains and dark clouds spread like a plague, your cause spreads with them.

Result: Focus completed.

Report from the Coordination Committee: 2 Influence on Prepare Small-Town Unions, 15+51+15=80
The continuous economic failures of America have affected the scattered towns no less than the major cities, but the cheaper costs of living insulated them. Militias clashed and skirmished, but the massive battles and bloody wars happened elsewhere. News of slaughters and savagery and strikes came, but it was always suffused with an air of unreality. And so many of these “townie syndicalists” were able to keep a pretense of normalcy up, even as they waved red flags and advocated for revolutionary changes, if not the revolution itself.

But the second disappearance of a President and the wave of factory seizures forced them to confront reality.

And now that pretense has been shattered and the broken fragments burned to ash. Many who might otherwise have kept marching for better wages and worker’s shares in factories are left with enormous gaps in their worldview, gaps that could leave them vulnerable to any number of false consciousnesses. And so a massive propaganda effort is conducted to fill them in. Organizers and speakers are drafted from city after city to speak on a variety of topics, encouraging them to view these dislocations as an inevitable part of capitalism and to participate in the dismantlement of the system.

Many references are made to the Boston Tea Party and the War of Independence as these often reformist leaning unions are encouraged to push further, to fight harder. In some cases, it goes badly, and the counterrevolutionary forces earn some minor victories.

In others though...

Barbara wore her red sash proudly as she marched down Main Street, past the shuttered shops and to the town hall. A thin line of police stood, barring the path of her and the rest of the local Syndicalists Women’s chapter. A few old men stared aghast from the sidewalks, gaping in horror at the sight of women in trousers. She wasn’t quite happy with it for herself, but this was the uniform of the liberated woman...even if she felt even more eyes on her sometimes.

But here and now, those gazes made her feel strong. The police tried to shout them down, then they drew their batons, but they lacked the cruelty to beat women they had known since childhood.

Especially when those women had batons of their own, and were backed up by an armed contingent of Red Guards.

The town hall was seized without a single injury except for when poor Martin tripped over a loose cobblestone. Beside the American flag, the SPA banner waved proudly. The police station was occupied, the mayor shoved into jail, and fresh elections were announced.

And in the space of a night, another great victory for the syndicalist cause was won.
Central Pennsylvania, southern New York, northern Virginia, eastern Oregon, and western Indiana. Iowa and Nebraska and the Dakotas and Oklahoma. Everywhere your influence spreads, as seeds planted long ago begin to find themselves being watered by the horrible material conditions. Soon the entire country will be bright red. Soon...but not soon enough.

Because the forces of reaction will be on the move as well. And many of these newly syndicalist settlements are horribly vulnerable. Their counterrevolutionary elements are potent, their organizations are fragile, their militias are few. Despite the many successes and the growing power of the “townie syndicalists” (a phrase you hope will no longer be used as a term of contempt), some are already viewing their failures as inevitable and making plans for how to use the martyrdom and brutality as propaganda against those responsible.

You can only pray that these bright lights won’t be snuffed out...and do what you can to aid them, of course.


Report from the State Legislative Committee: 1 Influence on Legitimize Seizures, 39-15=14, 1 Influence on Party Lawyers, 19-20=-1
As capitalists wring their hand over their lost property and look for any savior from the socialists, every state with its government instruments dominated begins looking to use that control to justify the seizures on grounds that would serve to deflect and diffuse hostilities, a vital move given the stirrings of the federal army and the growing divides between the reformist and revolutionary wings of the party.

To that end, teams of lawyers are hired, with the best and brightest being recruited straight from law school.

“Best and brightest” proves to be a relative term. The laws drafted are either loose enough to allow any sort of theft or strict enough to never have their conditions satisfied. The contracts various factory owners are drafted into get torn to shreds in court case after court case, with workers defying the resulting demands of the state...

Condemnation and scorn is heaped upon them and you by your rivals and enemies, while serious internal questions are being asked about the performance of the State Legislative Committee, although their stellar successes deflect most of the criticism.

Without the thinnest fig leaf of legal justification, the support for these strikes and seizures begin to fade. Even SPA heartlands see protests and arguments against continuing the seizures as counterrevolutionary forces continue to organize, circling the workers of America like hungry sharks.


Report from Norman Thomas: 1 Influence on Condemn MacArthur, 82+10=92, 2 Influence on Speak With Floyd, 39+97+10=146+10 = 156
Douglas MacArthur is an easy target. He is lacking in allies, lacking in support, and lacking in competence. He is a blowhard and a fool. And he speaks in third person!

Norman makes nearly all these points in a vicious speech on the Senate floor, naming him a coward and a bully, holding him personally responsible for the deaths of so many who were felled by disease within his Loyalty Camps or were massacred by his soldiers as they marched to be given their pay. Even his erstwhile defenders are silent, at least until Hoover arrives and manages to briefly put Norman on the backfoot by claiming continued efforts to agitate and provoke harsh reactions is to blame instead of MacArthur.

“You are like children smashing your heads against rocks, then running your mother and blaming your brother.”

Had it been anyone else making that point, they might have changed the tides of support. Instead, Hoover is driven from the chamber with a chorus of booes and Thomas makes a proposal: to pass a non-binding resolution to remove MacArthur from the military.

The motion fails, with Huey Long offering nothing but tepid opposition to it. But every newspaper, even ones that would ordinarily back MacArthur, have sought to cover the congressional drama...and such is Norman’s oratory that many find themselves agreeing with the accusations made.

And soon, MacArthur is being called into the White House for long discussions as rumors of a shakeup in the army ranks begin to rise...

And as some names like Hof, Preston, and Malone are bandied about, in a quiet restaurant backroom Floyd and Thomas meet.

The two of them enter, stiffly shake hands, and sit down facing each other. Their gazes bore into each other. Their hands tighten into white-knuckled fists.

And they have a long, cordial conversation.

While topics wander from the weather to their health to baseball to mocking the Kaiser, they soon turn to business.

Floyd is a progressive, and a staunch one. He is dedicated to a number of causes, many of which he and the SPA see eye to eye on, from strengthening unions to nationalizing natural resources. He is even tolerant of a degree of violence, which is more than some SPA members can say.

But every man has his lines, and Floyd’s is a difficult one. He is terrified of the “Bolshevikization” of America. Ten Days That Shook the World made one impression on him: that revolution will devastate a country. And he believes that even victory will come at far too high a price. At least with the current conditions.

However, he is not foolish enough to break with you, not yet. He does want you to push for reform and dual-power over the destruction of the state, but he’s willing to work with you, probably in the hopes of poaching your support. Of course, it will allow you to do the same to him...


Report from Charles Schenk: 2 Influence on Canadian Contacts, 4+69=73+10 = 83, 1 Influence on A Program of Subversion, 93+10=103
While the initial links have shown themselves to be relatively solid, with loyal syndicalists or blackmailed guards ably assisting the movement of all forms of cargo, problems have begun to show themselves. The Canadian Border Patrol is a fairly messy organization, with plenty of gaps that your allies can slip through, but it is also one where other groups can do the same, and various others are trying to stop it...

You are going to lose more people than you would like. And there will be a perpetual risk of the whole thing getting rolled over. But that is simply part of spycraft, Schenk assures you.

In the meantime, he begins preparing for attacking your enemies in all manner of cunning ways. Those willing and able are recruited and given basic training. They are taught how to lie, how to catch lies, how to observe details. Men and women are both encouraged to join. Backstories are established. Scenarios are planned. Weaknesses are identified. Schenk is determined to leave no stone unturned in his quest to disrupt and destroy your enemies. Even former agent provocateurs are brought in to give advice on how to discredit and defame other groups.


Report from Ben Stevens: 2 Influence on Form Farmer’s Cooperatives, 98+14+30=142
Reluctantly, Ben agrees to hold off on actively building up rural combat units. Instead, he spends his time traveling throughout the Midwest. From Iowa to Oklahoma, he reaches out to isolated communities, many of whom have already had some familiarity with syndicalism and anarchism thanks to previous efforts. Many of them are also familiar with the persecutions reactionaries can inflict.

So he works with them to rebuild shattered communities, to forge new ties, and arranges for the purchasing of tools and equipment and seeds and livestock. The harm inflicted cannot be undone, but he is determined to do what he can.

You went on one of his trips briefly, visiting Kansas, just outside of Topeka. You are taken on a tour of a newly established farming commune, a pleasant, cheerful place with a graveyard far too large for the number of people who live in it and a freshly built church built with burned timbers.

Ben’s eyes are heavy with sorrow as he sees the same thing, but his voice remains steady as a rock as he discusses handling childcare for the many young of the commune.

As the two of you depart, he turns to you. “Promise me they will be protected. Or you can find someone else to do the things the Syndicates don’t give a damn about.”


Report from SPA Cadres: 2 Influence on Against Pink Unionism, 71+42 = 113, 1 Influence on Further Factory Seizures, 3+10 = 13, 1 Influence on Mutual Aid Foundations, 70+10 = 80.
Where your words falter, others take up the cause, championing transformation and revolution over reform. The pink unions are attacked. Their leaders are denigrated, scandal after scandal is pulled forth (and some of them are even true). Their impotence is ridiculed and mocked. Political cartoons appear, showing the pink unions as easily bribed and swindled by capitalists who collapse when met with the stalwart opposition of syndicalists.

The endless mockery, the political suffocation of reformists, leads to many losing their positions of power within the SPA. Deprived of ever more organizational strength, some leave in a slow trickle to more mainstream groups or stay as marginalized ghosts. And with the irrelevance of the largest faction of reformists in the CSA assured, some begin working on a more directly revolutionary project.

More factories fall into the hands of their workers, but it's a painful struggle now. Capitalists have found time to evacuate machinery, fortify buildings, and flee with what wealth they can. Gold reserves of several major banks are transferred from their original homes to cities viewed as safer such as San Francisco, Washington DC, and Denver. Meanwhile, bourgeois propaganda machinery has been portraying these seizures as acts of criminal violence accompanied by horrific debauchery, launching vicious and slanderous accusations upon the brave men and women who have taken the means of production into their own hands.

Between the sudden injections of wealth into various areas and the artificially generated hostility, this latest wave of seizures has done severe damage to your strength in many areas as workers begin to drift away from SPA-aligned organizations. You know it will be temporary. The capitalist’s greed will soon drive those who have spurned you back into your orbit. But it is a painful setback.

And while it is ongoing, still other cadres dedicate themselves to bettering the material conditions of the oppressed and starving.

The soup kitchens have been amply funded, enough to ensure there is plenty of...tolerable food. The gardens have added a small but welcome influx of fresh vegetables. And experience has led to an improvement in the quality of the cooks. However, fresh meat and other products are frequently lacking and the resulting meals...to be frank, they are often awful.

Thus, the establishment of mutual aid organizations, where people group their skills and funds together to supply food and cook it, often rotating duties and exchanging as needed, has been met with relief. While it is already a common practice, these groups often left some out through neglect or deliberate exclusion, but the encouragement of SPA figures has broken some of these barriers...although it also means you have become aware of their existence, and this awareness has begun to filter up the SPA hierarchies.

In any case, the SPA’s coffers are being spared somewhat as communities work to feed themselves directly and morale is improving as people find themselves with something to look forward to that is not mediocre stew.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
The sun rises against a red sky on May Day 1934, and you cannot help but think of it as a good sign. Flags are raised by the dozen, bunting is draped across building after building, and crowds throng along major streets, anticipating a grand parade. It could easily be Independence Day, but the flags are decorated with torches, grain sheaves, and gears, the bunting is red and black and green, and the crowds cry out for revolution instead of worshipping at the altar of nationalism.

You and your family sit in the third car of the parade, a Ford inspired model that now rolls off the assembly lines of a seized factory. Hannah is sitting to your left, Louise to your right, both smiling and waving at the crowds. You do the same, but though you act with a politician’s instincts when faced with an adoring crowd, your mind is elsewhere.

You think back to the many May Days you have lived through. When you were a boy, you didn’t know what it was. When you became a man, you barely bothered with it. But you aged and grew wiser, and the holiday became more important to you every time.

You remember rallies being broken up, the red flags falling from limp hands as your comrades fell under the boot and the truncheon, the red of their blood pooling on the cobblestones alongside the crimson fabric. You remember nights in jail, shivering and alone. You remember the ecstasy as election after election was won, as SPA representatives took their place in the Capitol despite the stoney hostility of the police and the other parties. You remember as the popularity of the party exploded. Every May Day saw bigger crowds, and the repression grew weaker and more vicious.

And now the police, red armbands decorating their uniforms, escort the May Day parade from one end of the city to the other. Even two years ago it would have been impossible to imagine.

But now it is far from the only city where May Day is suddenly much more important.


In Tulsa, separate bands of Minutemen and Red Guards, both recruited from black neighborhoods clash with True KKK attackers and the mobs they have stirred up for the second Tulsa Massacre. Brothers fight back to back, wearing different uniforms but finding themselves on the same side. Fires are lit, corralling them back block by block. But red banners still fly high, and hoarse shouts are raised again and again as the battle continues for a day.

In Sacramento, a May Day parade suddenly finds its permit revoked midmorning and swarms of police and state troopers surround them. The marchers link arms and sing “Solidarity Forever” as mounted men use their horses as battering rams to seize socialists and anarchists who violated the Creel Code.

In Washington DC, the parades take place under the watchful eyes of Capitol Police, who glare malevolently at the endless red ranks but do not dare to break it up, while Longist hecklers shout their taunts before fading away to plot and plan.

And in Seattle, the Second Seattle Commune is declared. The American flag is slowly lowered and the IWW banner is raised in its place, a silent challenge that cannot be answered.


You don’t know of all this, of course. Much of it you won’t find out for days, given the sheer amount of information you receive. And some of it you will never hear of at all. But in your bones you know the broadest strokes of things nevertheless. You know the dogs of capital oppress the workers and you know the workers fight back.

And you know that just as May Day was more triumphant in 1934 than it was in 1930 than it was in 1925, you know that it shall be greater next year, and the year after, and the year after still, until at last all the workers of the world stand united as one.

The parade comes to an end, but your day is not over yet. Speeches and rallies and calls to action fill you hours. You shake hands and kiss babies and give out compliments and eat at soup kitchens and joke with workers. No expense has been spared, as the streets throng with entertainers and beer flows freely. You hear thousands of toasts, to the SPA, to the Revolution, even to you, and soon enough your cheeks grow flushed with more than just excitement.

Your struggles will be over soon, you know it.


Rumors and News

This month is undeniably a chaotic one. As the last days of April fade away, intense political maneuvering begins between and within faction after faction. Floyd Olson has immediately begun to shore up his positions with the federal government and the SPA, resulting in little progress for him even as he gradually converts a few individuals like Norris to his side and even wins some vague praise from Long.

Meanwhile, the AFP suffers from severe schisms as a particularly odious series of comments by Eugene Talmadge, Governor of Georgia, and Coleman Livingston Blease, a Representative from Georgia provoked a denunciation of white supremacy by Huey Long, who called it the province of insecure men and said it gave fodder for syndicalists, before proclaiming that black men could fight “red tyranny” just as well as white men. While in his comments, he was careful to praise several of his more racist allies for their “intelligent restraint” he still provoked severe ire among many. Though applauded by remaining members of Farmer-Labor, some dissident Progressives, and a smattering of other individuals, it has also resulted in dangerous backlash for him as many white supremacists have returned to the fold of the Democrats. However, Longs’ bonds of patronage and corruption held others tight, turning the once solid South into a confused political morass.

The Democrats and Republicans are doing a little better. While significant efforts at resisting the spread of syndicalism have been made, including the arrest of several local party leaders by the crack Red Squad of Los Angeles, it’s not been stopped and Long has co-opted several of the would-be reformers among their own ranks. Worse, it appears many have remembered just who Hoover is and are refusing to cooperate with his policies...which is actually increasing their popularity, especially when Hoover appears to work with them to create a farce of reform. No matter what playshow they put on or how many heads they crack, they can’t satisfy the demands of the people. There are clear opportunities in their weakness as the brief alliance between the mainstream parties begins to fray once more.

Canada is undergoing political conflict between the Exiles and those who live there once more, this time a scuffle over maintaining the empire. Meanwhile, it appears Canadian police have already caught wind of the existence of your smuggling routes, if nothing else.

While all these matters concern you and there is likely far more to them than you have heard about (you know there are rumors of some sort of serious realignment within the America First Party, but those rumors have existed since Long tried to support Black Belt autonomy. They have not come true yet), you cannot find yourself to be concerned except to note possible opportunities. The solid south is divided, California seems on the edge of anarchy, the reactionaries in Montana are running scared, the Midwest is full of hungry farmers, there are ever more strikes in New England...

But internal party matters are taking up more of your attention this month than the doings of others as the party finds itself irritatingly fractious. A further distraction is yet another uptick in political violence that cannot be halted by the flailing efforts of capitalist economics and politics.

An utterly laughable effort to assassinate you was made, in which a young and possibly insane Longist approached your home and informed your guards that he was going to challenge you to a duel. He was promptly arrested and the area was investigated, but it seems he was on his own. Regrettably, he tripped down a staircase on his way to his cell and died of the resulting head wound, broken arm, and shattered rib cage. You can only pray that there will be no attempts, or that all will be such failures. It has already seen use in political cartoons.

Several significantly less amusing assanation attempts went on throughout the Midwest, especially in Oklahoma where the divides in the America First Party, including conflicts between the anti-Catholic KKK and Father Coughlin’s All for Long League, led first to a failed internal purge, then both factions launching assanaiton campaigns in a twisted sort of contest (according to some testimony). This promptly led to retaliation in kind from all targetted, leading to the death of more than a hundred individuals in bombings, drive-by shootings, poisonings, and murderous break-ins, to say nothing of various bystanders. The Red Army Faction has claimed responsibility for some of the more dramatic actions, including the mass poisoning of a banquet for a Share Our Wealth Club.

Inside the SPA, the Totalists attempted to unseat you by insisting on a snap election, as was well within the rights - recall elections are always permissible. Unfortunately for them, you easily won by a greater margin than before. It would be rude to gloat, so you didn’t. Not even a little.

The establishment of the mutual-aid organizations has led to a growth in your popularity in many areas, although previous missteps have slowed it somewhat, leading to a great deal of hesitation for many. However, others have chosen to get involved in helping and being helped, allowing them to be exposed to the arguments for socialism and syndicalism. Cities and farms both see increases in your support.

In even better news, the ASA has formally met and agreed to add a statement condemning nativism as “capitalist imperialism brought from abroad and returned home when it should instead be cast out everywhere” and advocating for the organization of immigrant groups.

Regrettably though, a clash between syndicalists and orthodox socialists has developed. While the center was able to cool tempers and there is no risk of a split, many are advocating for empowering local unions on similar terms to the SPA cadres, while others seek to subordinate those unions to the cadres to varying degrees and still others push various compromises, from status quo to officially establishing a position for a union representative in the cadres and a cadre representative in the unions.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee will be investigating the unfortunate rumors regarding capitalist agitation and preparing a response against it.

The State Legislative Committee is determined to fix their errors of the previous month, and is beginning to consider rehiring any bureaucrats they can get their hands on.

Norman Thomas is hoping to spend a fairly quiet month attempting to nationalize railways wherever possible and condemn Hoover for his many missteps.

Smedley Butler, determined to strengthen the Red Guards still further, is working to instill a greater sense of discipline in them through the auspices of the VFW and the training camps.

Charles Schenk will finish preparing his new-founded agency for spying and begin a campaign of direct action against class enemies.

Ben Stevens is trusting you to protect the new farming communes while he is heading to California to make further efforts at organizing the disaffected farmworkers.

The Propaganda Committee is focused on extending and expanding the reach of SPA propaganda through music, papers, pamphlets, and posters, with the goal of whatever propaganda they try to broadcast in the future having greater reach.

And the SPA Cadres, dissuaded from further seizures for the moment, are mostly focused on simple charitable activities to remind people of why the SPA is the party of the people...but some more extreme factions are looking to remind the enemies of the people what their fate will be.



You have 10 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 1 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You have 2 Semi-Temporary and 2 Temporary Influence for Militant actions. You are currently taking no focus.

+10 to the next 3 rural organization or agitations actions. +10 to the next Union action.


The reactionaries flee before us, and we shall advance! The revolution grows nearer by the day! Show no mercy and do not hesitate, for our enemies will inevitably do the same. Continue to suppress the reactionaries within 3 months. (From the Fosterites, +Strength to the Fosterites, +Relations with the Fosterites,+10 to the next direct action roll, - support with the ASA, AFL-CIO, and SPU if completed. -Relations with the Fosterites if failed.)

The current economic situation is confused and disordered. While capitalist exchanges have been totally replaced in some places, in others they have been merely supplanted or supplemented. The detrimental effects are already being felt as people revert to bartering and swapping. Some sort of reform must be made, within 3 months.. (From the Syndicalists and Orthodox. +10 to the next Union action, +Relations with the Syndicalists, +Relations with the Orthodox, +Relations with the Center, -Strength to the Center, +support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW if completed. -Relations with the Syndicalists, Orthodx, and Center,-support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, loss of income if failed).

Liberation cannot just be economic. The chains of capital weigh on the mind as well, in the forms of patriarchy, racism, imperialism, and more. Just as we advocate for the breaking of the chains of capital, so must these chains be broken. And the party and syndicates are both united behind us on this. Make 4 significant steps on the path of social justice within 6 months. (From the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, the Anarchists, the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA. + Support from the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA, +Relations with the Syndicalists, the Anarchists, and the Orthodox, +1 Temporary Influence for Union actions, -support the the IWW MM, the TUUL, and the Red Grange, -Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor if completed. +Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, +support with the IWW MM, the TUUL, and the Red Grange, +1 Temporary Influence for rural-focused Union actions, -Support from the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA, -Relations with the Syndicalists, the Anarchists, and the Orthodox, if failed.

The heart of America is the “amber waves of grain” and the men and women who farm those waves. Between the Dust Bowl and the Bleeding Midwest, they have suffered horribly, and the CSA is indifferent to their plight, leaving them to fall prey to reactionary demagogues. No revolution can succeed with the support of those who grow the crops that feed the factory workers and the army! Commit to supporting the farmers and farmworkers of America 3 times within the next 6 months. (From the Red Grange and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor. ++ Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, ++ Support with the Red Grange, +5 to all rural-focused actions next month if completed. --Relations with the Red Grange, -- Support with the Red Grange, -- popular support in rural areas if failed.)

California is one of the largest states in America, with an enormous population, a powerful industrial base, and a vast agricultural heartland. It also features some of the most powerful opposition to the workers’ movements, thanks to endless bombardments of propaganda, foreign support from many parties, and the judicious use of force. But the workers there are nevertheless ripe for organization...and an election is coming up. Make major gains in popular and political support in the Golden State. (From the Parliamentarians, the Center, the Orthodox, the ASA, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamster’s Union. ++ Support from the ASA, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamster’s Union, ++ Relations with the Parliamentarians, the Center, and the Orthodox, +2 temporary Influence if completed.)

The South has been a heartland of reactionary politics since the War of Independence, but there is great potential for socialist support within it’s cultural boundaries. The steelworkers of Birmingham are no less oppressed than their northern counterparts, while sharecroppers white and black are horrifically exploited. Political power in those states is all but impossible, but the organizing of workers can lead to great things nonetheless. By the upcoming election, gain significant support within the South. (From the Syndicalists, Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, the Red Grange, the IWW MA, and the IWW MM. +++ Support from the IWW MA, ++Support from the Red Grange and the IWW MM, ++Relations with the Syndicalists and Ultraleft-Farmer Labor, +1 temporary Influence for two months if completed.)

While severe corruption of course can not be tolerated, a little simply greases the wheels. And perhaps more importantly, harshly rooting out everyone who has any sort of misconduct on their record creates all sorts of dangerous images, painting the one responsible as a power-crazed madman purging his political enemies on minor charges and of the body being purged as riddled with larceny. Best to wait a few months before taking further measures to root out corruption...say, taking no actions against it for three months. (From the Teamster’s Union, ++ support from the Teamster’s Union if completed, --support from the Teamster’s Union, -2 to all actions for one month if failed.)


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships and county governments alongside even more widespread but less official influence. You even control most states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/100/140/180. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any number of changes to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/140. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Fosterites: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Fosterites, will politically indebt you to other factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize the Fosterites, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals, since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/125. Result: Lay groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sensed a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 10/25/40/50. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.

Assistant Adjustment: Even as your assistants work to make sure their views are supported by the party machinery, they are also being genuinely helpful in managing the fractious ranks and building towards the coming revolution. You could always use a few more...or perhaps you need to remove someone. Cost: Political turmoil, modification to bonuses. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Options to change assistants.

Speak for Liberty: While the SPA is at least somewhat united behind you, your willingness to push for social revolution has had the anarchists in the party and their similarly socially left allies be some of your most enthusiastic supporters, despite their relatively small numbers. If you want to make use of that support, you will need to help them. Speak on the topic of liberty, encourage support for racial minorities, demand women’s liberation...perhaps go so far as to say homosexuality is acceptable. Let them know they have an ally in you. Cost: Political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 50. Result: Increase in Strength and Relations of Anarchists.

Condemn Atrocities: If you wish to keep the violent and vicious Fosterites from gaining strength, you need to lay the groundwork before you break them. Make it part of the SPA program to condemn excessive brutality, the murder of noncombatants and innocents, and wanton destruction. While the language will mostly be used against capitalists and Longists, it can also be applied to the sort of things they advocate for, making a useful cudgel against your enemies in the party. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60/90. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Insist on their Effectiveness: Though the Fosterites have had some of their bloodlust slaked, they are still demanding more blood, more death, more destruction. They appear to have no compromise in them..let’s see if they have any common sense. While they may decry these reforms as cowardice and giving in to bourgeois demands to muzzle the workers and “suppress their righteous rage until the flame of revolution gutters out,” you are doing nothing of the sort! You are simply trying to make them a more capable and organized force, an army capable of winning the revolution you all want. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/60/80. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Divide and Defeat: The Fosterites are united only by their insistence that you go faster, that you birth the revolution sooner - and that like all births, that it be bloody and painful. And so the right pressures, ever so gently applied, can leave them broken and adrift, eliminating a potential political threat and greatly weakening an adventurist segment of the SPA. The pressures are asking what they want, which might be a dangerous question if you don’t have a good answer... Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 2 month. DC: 35/70/100/120. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Back Up Butler: Butler has done an excellent job of reforming and expanding the Red Guard, turning it from a barely-controlled paramilitary into an effective force However, some of the changes he has made have been contentious, and he plans more. Some have begun suggesting you should rid yourself of him...something which you have no intentions of doing so. Make that clear, and make it crystal clear that Smedley Butler has your full confidence. Cost: Loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/20. Result: Increase to Smedley Butler’s Influence

Command the Cadres: The SPA Cadres have been enjoying their newfound independence, and will be reluctant to give it up again even temporarily, but you are liked and respected enough that they will do it. Even if they will complain. Cost: Political impact depends on what you choose. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Adjust SPA Cadre actions as you see fit.

Empower the CSA: Yet another internal political crisis is beginning to rear its ugly head, although at least this time you have some advance warning. This time, it’s caused by a combination of ideological disagreements and aggravation within the CSA over the increased independence of action of the SPA Cadres. Members of various unions have begun to agitate for an adjustment to the status quo, one where local unions would be further empowered, “allowing industrial democracy to flourish within our ranks” according to one CSA representative and “risking severe division and chaos” according to one SPA member. Cost: Severe losses of Relations with all factions in the SPA except the Totalists, Syndicalists, Fosterites, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor. -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/80/115/155. Result: Get a local unions subordinate with 2 Influence, increase in support with all CSA factions except the Red Grange and the ASA. Increase in CSA mandates.

Subordinate the CSA: Yet another internal political crisis is beginning to rear its ugly head, although at least this time you have some advance warning. This time, it is caused by ideological disagreements about the roles of a union and a party in organizing the workers and a desire by the CSA to reign in overly-enthusiastic cadres In response to demands for effectively making local unions entirely independent branches of the greater structure, members of the SPA have put forth a proposal to ensure greater coordination between local unions and SPA cadres to prevent any stepping on of toes. According to an SPA member, this would “ensure all organizations representing workers are collaborating in a democratic and harmonious fashion” and “subordinate the workers to an authoritarian social structure” according to a CSA representative. Cost: Severe loss of support from all factions in the CSA except the SPU, the Red Grange, the TUUL, and the ASA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/80/115/155. Result: +2 Influence to the SPA Cadres, increase in Relations with all SPA factions except the Syndicalists and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor. Increase in SPA mandates..

Suffer a Compromise: Yet another internal political crisis is beginning to rear its ugly head, although at least this time you have some advance warning. Despite some ideological elements, it is by and large a power struggle, one that can rather easily be handled. A few words in a few ears, addressing some local concerns, arranging for some good-fath negotiations...these are the sorts of things you are meant to handle. And you will handle it. No matter how frustrating it is to have to do it again. Cost: Increase to Stress, minor losses of Support and Relations with everyone (probably). Time: 1 month. DC:25/50/80/115/155. Result: Crisis is defused amicably, options for dealing with this particular problem. Possibilities for gaining support through competent handling of the crisis.

Organizational Reform: With yet another intra-party spat developing, you find yourself getting frustrated. You need to take measures for preventing these sorts of problems from arising again...along with making sure reformist sentiments and corruption don’t set themselves back in. Clear out the deadwood, impress your authority upon the leadership, and get everyone working together for the greater good of the workers. Cost:???. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100/125. Result: Reduced chance of further political crises, +1 Gravitas, reduction in Stress.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/110/120. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/100/160. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Medical Assistance: A small trickle of doctors and nurses have begun to join party ranks, motivated by a mix of fear, hope, and the fact that the SPA seems to be the only faction with some sort of direction in many cities. While this has led to some ad-hoc benefits, such as the formation of Nurse’s Unions and the establishment of small clinics that offer discounts to SPA members, there is nothing widespread yet. Encourage and cultivate the development of such systems to make your urban supporters healthier and heartier. Cost: -2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Easier access to medical assistance for your urban supporters.

Further Factory Seizures: Though the strikes are beginning to slow drastically as the federal government awakens from its slumber and doubt is being cast upon your motivations, the workers still have the upper hand. Strikebreakers are fended off with rifle and billy club, scabs are fdefeated or co-opted. We must go forward! Claim more factories, take the centers of economic power, seize the means of production from sea to shining sea! Cost: Hostility from outside forces. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/55/70. Result: More factories seized, further expansion to income.

Negotiate With Bosses: With the capitalists left destitute by the sudden loss of their property, they are denied much of their strength and leverage and reduced to begging for scraps. While some find it amusing and want to leave them dependent on charity and others want to force them into the street brigades, some propose a more humane alternative: giving them small pensions and encouraging them to integrate as workers. This kind treatment would not officially be dependent on them agreeing to give up any legal claim to the property they supposedly owned. But there would be that implication. Cost: Some minor displeasure from the left of the party, 4 Resources, -3.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Decrease in complaints from former factory owners about you, reduction in unrest.

Rural-Urban Exchanges: The current system of interaction between farming cooperatives and worker-run factories is ad-hoc and limited by the capitalist framework both currently function in, but frameworks can be worked around. Simply arranging for direct transfers of materials, food, and products between mines, factories, and farms would be the easiest way to solve this problem, and the least controversial. Many are concerned that this would not be capable of handling the complexities of a modern, industrial economy however. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 30. Result: Establishment of more formalized and direct exchanges between worker-run facilities, increase in economic efficiency.

Socialist Markets: An alternate proposal, one popular among the more Orthodox wings of the party, is that workers at these facilities could be given labor vouchers representing the value of their work. These vouchers could then be exchanged for products at markets. The main difference between this and conventional finance is that the value of vouchers would be decided democratically and that they cannot be accumulated. Cost: Decrease in support and relations with the syndicalist wings of the SPA and CSA, 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in income, establishment of labor voucher based markets in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support and relations with orthodox wings of the SPA and CSA. Increase in economic efficiency. Reduced strength of the Center, increased strength of the Orthodox.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? The widespread establishment of these grows ever more vital as the toll of being forced to pay ridiculous fees for the use of capitalist’s services and the inefficiencies of going without begin to take their toll. Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/50/80. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased Relations and Strength for the Syndicalists. Increase in economic efficiency. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Rationalize Production Schemes: With the vast number of factories seized, different product schematics, manufacturing methods, and research facilities are now in the property of the workers. Though some of the men responsible for the more cutting edge possibilities are reluctant to work with “filthy Reds,” sufficient bribery has overcome such concerns. Begin working to integrate the best of each factory and develop further innovations to turn the existing industrial base into the greatest in the world! Cost: 4 Resources, -4 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin integrating the segmented knowledge and innovations of the various companies and improving on their work.

Arms Production: The Red Guards need more and better weapons. They need ammunition. They need grenades and uniforms. They need vehicles to transport them and fuel to supply them. An army is an incredibly difficult thing to supply, but you will need to support one. While you can’t make anything heavier than mortars currently, small arms can be produced in significant quantities. It’s time to start arming the forces of revolution so that they can match the foot soldiers of reaction and the servants of capital. Cost: 8 Resources, -6 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/70/120. Result: Begin producing large quantities of weapons, Red Guards better armed and equipped, unlock new options to supply and train them.

Union-Integrated Planning: Currently, each factory and farm does as it sees best. While the creation of any market system would help coordinate their operations indirectly, doing so effectively would require the return of the profit motive and economic labor discipline. An alternative proposal, to be done separately or in combination, would be to create an Office of Economic Planning, responsible for creating 3-month production targets with the democratic input and experienced guidance of the workers. Such plans would be complex things, but they would also enable great economic efficiency. Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/100/165. Result: Establishment of a democratic department for handling economic planning. Must establish what the goals of that planning are soon after. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Appoint an Outreach Manager: With efforts at denying you support growing in numbers and sophistication, you need to develop your advocacy among workers in response. From the imported Chinese scabs and desperate Okies of California to the suffering smallholder farmers of the Great Plains to the exploited miners and factory workers to the American heartland, there are millions just waiting to join your cause...if only they could be persuaded of their exploitations and educated of their class interests. Cost: Influence, loss of support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Appointment of a subordinate responsible for outreach and agitation, vote on how much to commit to them, potential gains in Support or Relations.

Farming Tools: With the farming cooperatives being newly established, they are often short on seeds, tools, livestock, funds...all sorts of essentials. It is quite possible some of them will falter without outside aid even as the Red Grange strains their funds to provide what is needed. The entire point of the CSA is cooperation and solidarity. There can be only one possible answer to their requests. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Farming cooperatives more economically successful, increased support from the Red Grange, increased Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, increased popularity in the Midwest.

The Farmworker’s Union:With the slowly growing awareness of the importance of the rural population, some have proposed providing the Red Grange with some assistance in expanding their organization to be on industrial lines and thus begin including rural farmworkers of every variety, from the tenant-sharecroppers of the South to the wandering, poverty-stricken Okies of the west and all the types in between. Such assistance would always be very welcome, even if some think it can be better used elsewhere. Cost: 3 Resources, slight loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40. Result: Increased support from the Red Grange, increased Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, increased popularity in rural areas.


Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 4 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

(2 Semi-Temporary Influence Committed) A Democratic Chain of Command?: The Bolsheviks increasingly relied on a fairly conventional military structure as the Russian Revolutionary War dragged on, while the Black Army had a system of soldier’s councils and recallable officers. Both schools of thought have inspired the structure of various Red Guards cells, along with other sources such as the federal army, the militias of the American Independence War, and the forces of the Third Internationale. Devising a system that will be understandable, egalitarian, democratic, and above all effective must be a priority, even if it will not be possible to pressure all Guards units into following it, let alone the various splinter groups. Cost: ?? Time: 2 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Choices on how to structure the Red Guards and how much pressure to use for spreading it, dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the Red Guards.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally-violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in a military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectations and tighten standards, to increase the amount of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 4 months. DC: 25/50/80/110. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises which are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Target Rural Reactionaries: While local Red Guards have performed heroically,, there are various counterrevolutionary elements that remain strong throughout the Midwest. Hostile local militias, criminal gangs ranging from corrupt families who treat their towns life fiefdoms to bandits who resemble the villains of a Western movie, Longist groups, tendrils of the KKK and similar organizations, and more all threaten the newly converted socialists...many of whom have converted back when sufficiently intimidated or otherwise persuaded. While there has been something of a truce in the Midwest after the army moved in, some in the party speculate that they are merely seeking an opportunity, and should be defeated before they find one. Cost: Probable backlash, loss of support from the SPU, slight loss of support from the AFL-CIO. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/50/75/100. Result: Destroy hostile forces in some sections of the Midwest, gain relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox, gain support from both factions of the IWW, strengthen farming cooperatives. Increased support from the Red Grange, increased Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Purchase More Arms: Relatively few arms factories were seized, but some were, and already Red Guards units have begun to benefit, but the acquisition of weapons for them is an often haphazard process and only a few units have even standard rifles. But it would be easy enough for larger quantities to be purchased and distributed so that the vast throngs of syndicalist soldiers have good guns and adequate ammunition. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/25. Result: Better-equipped Red Guards.

Medals of Honor: For there to be awards given to Red Guards soldiers who show special merit, there should be awards in the first place. What they are to be like is a matter of debate, but not a particularly acrimonious one. As long as it appears to have some effort behind it, people will be satisfied, although obviously more investment in making their recipients feel appreciated will mean they are more impactful. Let the doers of great deeds, as groups and individuals, be honored. Not just for their courage, but for their sense. Not just for battle, but for labor. Cost: none. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/40/80/120. Result: Increased morale among the Red Guards.

A Rural Blair Brigade: The Blair Brigade is a small force, but they have been highly effective. Unfortunately, they can only be in so many places at once. The general discipline and skill of the Red Guards is only increasing as the commencement of total class war approaches, but it can’t compare to them or their equivalents, such as the majority of the US Army. The founding of a second “elite” force to protect the newly established farming cooperatives (or avenge them, more likely) from serious threats would dramatically increase the quality of the militants in rural areas available to you. Cost: 3 Resources, - 0.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Foundation of a rural-focused Blair Brigade.

Distribute Trainers: There are only so many skilled, experienced veterans who can serve as a training cadre. While there are plenty of men who survived the Legation Wars and the various Latin American Interventions, only some of them are willing and able to assist you. But equally, there are only so many camps set up. One proposed alternative is to send the trainers to the Red Guards instead of the other way around. Cost: Somewhat weakens the training cadre. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/60/80. Result: Trainers dispersed, slow improvement in the Red Guards.

Recruit Rural Red Guards: Cheaper and simpler than creating an elite formation, and likely to be more immediately useful, you could simply sponsor the mass recruitment of Red Guards and self-defense units to protect these communes and cooperatives against reactionary oppression. They will be armed with what they can scrounge and with what can be shipped to them, they will be trained by men old enough to be their grandfathers, but they will be defending their homes and families and they are unlikely to face serious opposition in any case. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/40/60. Result: Widespread establishment of Red Guards around rural cooperatives.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is just as staunchly secular, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Protestant Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of loss of CSA suport, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Establish schools for adult workers.

Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 2 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.

Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Photos for All: Photography is an incredibly powerful medium for displaying the impact of events upon people. The Dust Bowl, the Bleeding Midwest, the many deprivations and horrors caused by capitalism...and the triumphs wherever such things are fought would all make excellent subjects for photography. The camera can spread your message and make another potent tool in your arsenal. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Expanded use of photography in propaganda.

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, likely to cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Mock Federal Incompetence: The federal government has demonstrated viciousness and idiocy in an incredibly variety of ways. There are districts of the capital city where Congressmen can’t go for fear of being mobbed. States are tearing themselves apart while the army flails ineffectively and commits massacre after massacre. Dozens of attempts at reform have been struck down, disappeared, or rejected while millions starve and suffer. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it, but there are plenty who reject the evidence of their eyes. Force them to see. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Federalist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for its most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

The Moral of the Story: The radio is also being popularly used for entertainment, and there is the occasional show you like to listen to in order to relax. There’s no reason the SPA can’t sponsor a few shows about bands of thieves stealing from robbers, the ordinary adventures of hard-working laborers, or perhaps a grand tale of an alien world wracked by civil war...Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create socialist-themed radio entertainment.

Street Art: Such artwork can be created in many other cities where you have a presence as well...it will probably go better if you don’t have to deal with hostile police and “citizen’s groups.” You will create murals and graffiti in every style imaginable, showing the sins of capitalism and the glories of what will come after. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70. Result: Create socialist street art throughout SPA-controlled or influence areas.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.

Challenge the Instability: The evident failures of bourgeois democracy are displayed before all of America: a president and a vice-president dead or incapacitated, no one able to determine who or how they should be replaced, state governments frantically banding together, federal authority beginning to vanish, rising unrest in America’s colonies...what sort of nation could accept this, what sort of system could allow this? And what alternative is there? All these questions are to be answered. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/30/45/60/90. Result: Condemn the failures of the United States government, explain why your proposal is a superior alternative.

There is Power in a Union: Strength can be its own sort of comfort in dark and dangerous times. And you have strength aplenty. While there are many who might fear you, the alternatives are equally terrifying. Promise them protection, promise them safety as members of the CSA, promise them peace and stability, as much as can be gained. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Convince people to join you to protect themselves from various other threats.

Anti-Americanization: While the melting pot is a lovely concept, it also means that meaningful elements of various individual cultures are destroyed or appropriated. To resist such trends will require meaningful and long-term effort, but a start can be made through advocacy over the use of autonomy to establish holidays celebrating ancient customs and adding languages such as German, Yiddish, and Finnish to the days of schoolchildren so the tongues of their ancestry are not lost. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from socially conservative factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/60/90. Result: Agitate for expressions of local cultural heritage.

Offer an Alternative: The internal pink unions of the SPA have largely evaporated. The reformist, class-collaborationist unions supported by the SPU have begun dissolving themselves, primarily merging with the more confrontational AFL-CIO. But in many cases their members have been left adrift, with damaged worldviews and betrayed feelings. Now they are vulnerable to capitalist or reactionary subversion...but they can also be convinced to take a more radical stance. There just needs to be a place for them. Cost: Increased strength to the AFL-CIO. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/70/100. Result: Disaffected moderate workers recruited into the AFL-CIO and propagandized to be more radical, increase in AFL-CIO support.

Street Theater: Work and labor are all well and good, but people need to relax and be entertained as well. And so entertainment shall be provided. Plays, skits, comedy groups, all shall be created. And of course, aside from the classic and common sorts of entertainment, some of it will have an edge to it as the entertainers seek to provoke thought and encourage the questioning of the current order. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/55/85/100. Result: Establish small traveling syndicalist entertainment groups.

Youth Groups: Children are the future. They must be protected and nurtured and educated, given the tools they need to succeed in a world that changes more and more by the day. And if their parents can’t care for them, there needs to be an alternative. An extension of the existing childcare institutions, informal practices, and an alternative to the Boy Scouts all in one has been proposed: The Young Worker’s League (the name was chosen to avoid coming down on the syndicalist vs. socialist debate). Cost: 1 Resource, -0.25 Resourcer per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/75. Result: Establishment of youth groups and clubs.

Catholic Liberation: The Catholic church is a powerful reactionary force, particularly after the savage anti-clericalism of the Italian Revolution. But many of its adherents are syndicalists or at least progressives, and the Irish and Italian voting blocs have allowed themselves to be courted by the SPA despite unease from some segments of the party. Now it is time to take that relationship to the next step, and this begins by reducing anti-clerical tendencies in the party and presenting a face friendly to the Catholic church in theory, if not in practice. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, Totalists, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, loss of support from Protestants. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Catholics, increased ease of recruitment.

Anti-Olson Approaches: Olson has already begun working to secure his powerbase through the remains of the Progressive Party and Farmer-Labor, reaching out to Federal and even Longist groups to increase the strength of his reformist movement. While outside of Minnesota his position remains precarious (and even within the state), he is growing stronger. And so that base must be cut away. Attacks on his character, attacks on his politics, attacks on his record, any and all will be used to dismantle his support, although a degree of care must be taken for these attacks to not be blatantly sponsored by the SPA leadership. Only a degree though, it can be an open secret. Cost: Increased tensions with Olson. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/60/75. Result: Decreased support for reformism.

Against All Racism: Racism is not something you will tolerate, nor is it acceptable to the CSA. While proclamations can only have so much impact, it is worthwhile to make them, especially if it can be followed up by action. But simply speaking against it will count for something, Cost: Decreased support from the IWW MM. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/60/105. Result: Racism and discrimination are condemned, chance of action being taken independently of you.

We’re Doing the Right Thing: Obviously we aren’t a band of radical thieves. Our actions were provoked by intolerable conditions, by stolen pay and abusive bosses and other ill-treatment. We won’t be seizing your factory, you are a good capitalist, you treat your workers well. You do treat your workers well, right, comrade? Cost: Annoys the left-wing of the party. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/80/110/140. Result: Increased support among moderates and progressives, reduced backlash from seizures and other direct action. Loudly insist that these seizures are a case of individual action against malignant individuals.

Encourage the Seizures: There will be no cowardice in the SPA. You are seizing factories because the system they operate under is inherently unjust, and the workers of the world will be rectifying that. And if you don’t like it, stay out of their way. Rally the workers to your banner, radicalize them, and go forth! Take the means of production, for the Revolution nears every day! Cost: Very provocative. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/45/65. Result: Increased support an radicalization within the party, more enthusiasm for seizing factories and other facilities.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/80/120. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increas in support from socially-left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions has left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 55/100/150. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/90/150. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA-controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/25/40/50. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

Better Lawyers: The first round of hired lawyers were...of questionable use. But the idea is sound, and there is one advantage to hiring people fresh out of law school: they know who in their class would be better but would be still willing to wkr with a bunch of reds. And if that fails, you can take some other tacks for recruiting...Cost: Mild losses in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25. Result: Hire better lawyers.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. Given that the factions which most disdain your rural focus also disdain electoralism, this will be exceedingly unpopular with some sections. Cost: Minus Relations with Syndicalists, mild loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/85/120. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Expand Socialist Subsidies: The newly established subsidies for businesses that maintain certain standards of behavior have been decried as excessive interventionism, but they have also kept many fed and warm, and the value generated has been far more than the governments have been put in. Expand these subsidies to expand the impact...and possibly allow for the reasonable establishment of additional revenue streams by taking advantage of these policies. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/75. Result: Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention and business establishment. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox. Increase to income.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begin relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA-controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, it kept the British revolution safe from the initial attempts at crushing them, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Begin Re-hiring: The massive purge was somewhat excessive. The new hires are lacking in experience. There have already been several severe issues, and it will be some time before they stop happening. Significant reforms are needed, but there might not be time for that. A simpler alternative would be to identify the most trustworthy of the purged bureaucrats and re-hire them. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Reduced DCs for state-level actions, malus reduced or eliminated.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with, and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Assistants Adjustment

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double-edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.

Local Autonomy Programs: The first implementation of the principles of local autonomy will begin. A relatively simple set of legislation will be passed, allowing school districts to choose to have optional “Cultural Enrichment” classes where students will learn the language, history, and traditions of their ancestors and granting municipalities permission to have local paperwork and signage in any language they desire, so long as English is also prominently available. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/50. Result: The first beginnings of local cultural autonomy.

State Nationalizations: Huey Long has already done it, and so has the federal government and their supporters. It is time for the government of the workers to begin directly intervening in the economy. State-backed investors will purchase commanding shares in certain factories and facilities, transferring part-ownership to the workers and coordinating the economic functioning in order to bolster the state as a whole...and in order to better equip the workers for the inevitable backlash. Cost: Possible minor backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90/150. Result: Increase to income, some factories taken over by the workers and the states under the cover of law.

Strengthen the Justifications: With flimsy laws providing flimsier protection, it's clear they need to be fixed. Though fierce opposition has begun rallying, with everything from filibusters to bribery to harassment being attempted to keep the seizures from having actual legal justification. There are even threats of the army being called in to restore order, threats that are not followed through on only because of the fear of a full-on civil war. Strengthen the justifications, encourage the seizures, and prepare for the class war. Cost: Minor losses in CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: The legal basis for factory seizure is strengthened.

State Police Forces: With the National Guards hampered, there are other potential forces that could be used to suppress us...or used to crush reactionaries. To that end, the state police forces will be secured, their leadership replaced with trusted syndicalists, Red Guards will be hired, and they will be shifted to being under Congressional influence even as their arms are improved and their procedures revamped. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: State police forces have their loyalty secured.


The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 6 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Judicial Reform: One of the matters most clamored for is judicial reform. The American justice system is incredibly corrupt, designed to allow the wealthy to skate away from criminal cases and lawsuits with equal ease, and the courts have long been a tool to prevent workers from liberating themselves. Lawyers, judges, juries...all will need replacement, reform, or renovation come the Revolution. Begin working out alternatives. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin coming up with a multitude of options for judicial reform.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

Help for Hispanics: As the SPA grows in influence in the American Southwest, awareness of the historical mistreatment the Hispanic population of the United States has endured. Just as with the Native Americans and the colored populations, you need to open a dialogue with these groups. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Hispanic Americans.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: The dismantlement of the state bureaucracies has proven difficult to overcome, even as replacements are hired as fast as possible. Furthermore, there has been a growing current of concern within the party that bureaucrats will end up becoming a new capitalist class. However, they are also recognized as being a vital part of existing apparatuses, and one that will be difficult to replace. Discussions need to be had on how their function can be handled in a post-capitalist society, or how they will be replaced. Practical experience from dedicated syndicalists working at varying ranks of state bureaucracies can be synthesized into the beginnings of a roadmap. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/125. Result: Begin developing the party-line on how bureaucrats and civil servants will be handled. Reduce malus from lack of experienced bureaucrats

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Document Rural Life: Farmers live vastly different lives than urban workers. And even within that broad category, there is a vast gulf of distance between a Midwestern smallholder, an Appalachian backwoods farmer, and a Southern sharecropper. Documenting some of their experiences, their cultures, their hardships, and their desire for themselves and their children could help overcome gaps of understanding and painful clashes that have bedeviled your efforts in rural propaganda and organizing. It might be seen as a boondoggle by some, but it also may add weight to your argument. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Reduced difficulty of rural organization and propagandization.

Justice and Violence: Violence is one of the eternal topics people argue about. When is it acceptable, why is it acceptable, what limits should there be? Some proclaim it all equally abhorrent, others insist it is always necessary. The SPA has an ample variety of attitudes, some of which are counterproductive. The cowardice of the SPU and the bloodthirst of the Fosterites both threaten the revolution. The correct course is obviously somewhere in between the extremes: self-defense is obviously acceptable, and so is violence in the pursuit of justice, but you must decide where the lines are...and when they should be crossed. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Decide what sorts of violence are acceptable and when, develop a more defined thesis on it.

Appoint a Committee of Ideology: This will be a contentious group whose arguments will echo throughout the party, but those arguments will be necessary for the building of a true socialist state. Economy, law, social organization, the role of religion and race, the question of minorities, internationalism, centralism, federalism, and councilism...all these things need to be discussed. And you don’t have the time to do it, so you will have to get other people to do it for you. Cost: Likely to decrease the Strength of the Center, will occasionally make decisions you don’t like. Will have to commit Influence and Gravitas. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Create subordinate to handle various Intellectual actions, vote on how much to commit.


Investigate the Machines: Fragments of the Democrats and the Republicans have begun drifting towards you over the past several months, with the latest gunfight bringing about a sharp change in several group’s positions. However, they are still trusted insiders in their parties, and this gives you an opportunity to get an inside look at the often rather opaque workings of the party machines, to better co-opt or destroy them. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/65/125. Result: Gain information and opportunities to take over or break various political machines.


Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Increase to income.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 40/80/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.

Into the Navy: Another possibility for infiltration is the navy. A scheme to try and stabilize a few coastal cities has been passed, and the fleet is being expanded, meaning new sailors are being recruited. This is a perfect opportunity to begin slipping syndicalists into their ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/??/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

A Program of Subversion: The SPA has neglected the possibilities of infiltrating and subverting hostile organizations. Pink unions, anti-syndicalist militias, and rival political parties are all viable targets for the sowing of dissent, fostering of splits, and eventual destruction. But to do so effectively, we must build up our capacity for identifying those who can deceive, for preparing tactics and methods, for establishing lines of communication. Cost: -1 Resource per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Set up training program for political infiltrators and agent provocateurs, improve efficacy of spying.

(1 Influence Committed) Anti-Corruption Investigation: Time and time again, members of the SPA have betrayed the trust of the workers for their own financial gain. Such practices will no longer be tolerated. Books will be sorted through, testimony will be taken. Those who have embezzled or stolen, committed nepotism or accepted bribes will be found and punished. Cost: Likely to have political ramifications. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/75. Result: Corrupt individuals identified and punished.

Find the Red Army Faction: This “Red Army Faction” is a potential concern, although it’s likely to be nothing more than a tactic to put some pressure on you. But if you feel it necessary, it would be fairly simple to spy on the place they asked you to deliver messages to and begin investigating their network to find out how they operate and what their goals are. Cost: May anger the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Begin investigating the Red Army Faction to find their membership, safehouses, and goals.

Hunt Infiltrators: The Longists and Federalists have doubtless begun infiltrating us, trying to sow division and sabotage our efforts. Perhaps this has already begun bearing fruit, or perhaps it will become a problem in days to come. Either way, the spies must be found and removed. With limited sources of information, it may prove difficult, but it is a task that must be accomplished as soon as possible. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Begin hunting for spies within the CSA.

Propaganda of the Deed: There are many tools for spreading syndicalism and disrupting reactionaries. Bombs and guns are excellent at doing both. By demonstrating the spirit of revolution, weakening the forces the oppressors can bring to bear, and striking fear into the hearts of those who stand against us, we shall strengthen the cause! The class war shall come and end the conflicts of history, and no price is too great to pay it! Cost: -3 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/35/50/65/90. Result: Begin a campaign of political bombings and assasinations.

Protective Measures: With violence rising by the day, measures must be taken to protect the leaders of the revolution. The Guard must be expanded, with the new members set to providing protection wherever needed. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55/85. Result: Recruit more bodyguards.

Sabotage Records: An alternate proposal to outright attacking bankers and factory owners is infiltrating courthouses, banks, and other such locations and then destroying the records, usually in the guise of a robbery to avoid attention. While less likely to satisfy the bloodlust of some and not as punishing to the enemies of the workers, it does have some benefits. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/50/80. Result: Begin destroying records of mortgages, factory ownership, etc.

Robin Hood Revolutions: The Bolsheviks funded themselves through bank robberies before they were able to seize power. While the size and strength of the SPA mean such tactics are no longer needed, they could still be useful. A campaign of public, armed theft will do much to demoralize our class enemies and tie up their investigation and intelligence resources. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60. Result: Begin a campaign of bank robberies, increase to income.

Union Entryism: Not every factory has been seized, not every union is a revolutionary one. In particular, there are several states with growing industrial bases that have minimal SPA support. Infiltrating these areas and their factories will be important, especially since many of these factories are responsible for producing the equipment needed by the slowly reforming Federal Army. It will be a difficult task for those agents assigned, one which will need a great deal of skill, but it will be an invaluable one for us and for the Syndintern. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/???/???. Result: Pink unions and non-unionized factories infiltrated, especially in states where support is lacking.

Look into the Heartland: Rumors have spread of anti-syndicalist agents making contact with disaffected elements throughout the Red Belt. And they would have ample options. Black Legion remnants, church groups, conservative farmer’s associations, and even elements of the AFL and SPU may well turn against the revolution with the right inducement. But given the somewhat amateurish efforts of the BOI, it’s unlikely the right inducement will be given. Still, it’s worth looking into. Sending some trusted men out to ask a few polite questions and poke around a few backwoods towns isn’t a huge investment. Cost: 0.25 Resources per Influence invested.. Time: 1 month. DC: ???/???/???. Result: Find what, if anything, is true of those rumors.

Spies in the House: The rich have servants. Maids, nannies, handymen, butlers, gardeners... all are trusted to go into people’s homes, to stay there with minimal supervision, and sometimes even to assist in more discrete functions. And while they are typically members of the labor aristocracy, they are just as often subjected to cruel abuses of all kinds. And so many of them may well be willing to aid you, giving you access to an invisible but dense information network...although it is also possible that the BOI and Longists will have anticipated this and established counters. Cost: 0.1 Resources per Influence invested. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Find and recruit spies and informants among servants.

Rooting Out Domestic Enemies: Of course, a similar approach could be done to members of the SPA who hire unionized domestic workers, to say nothing of the countless secretaries, aids, and functionaries who are vital for keeping the vast infrastructure of the party running. Anyone of them could be turned into a spy. So it may well be worth gently vetting those individuals for potentially troublesome sympathies and ties.If any evidence of spying is found...They cannot be allowed to subvert our revolution. Cost: Will piss a lot of people off. Time: 1 month. DC: ???/???/???. Result: Find spies and informants among your own servants.

Preparing for a Kornilov Affair: When the tides of revolution rose in Russia, the force of counterrevolution attempted everything they could to stop it, including a military coup. The Kornilov Affiar was a defeat for the reactionaries thanks to the preparations of the Soviet, preparations we have barely begun. We need to expand our military, infiltrade Longist and Federal forces, seize the rails..but for the coup itself, we need to secure methods of evacuation for SPA members in Washington lest we suffer the fate of the Last Bolsheviks.Cost: Mildly annoy some people in Washington. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??. Result: Begin preparing to evacuate leaders of the SPA and allies such as Reed and Thomas in event of a coup or purge.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only twice per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one). This will have a political cost if used on the SPA Cadres.

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -9 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month. Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Meet the Red Army Faction: The RAF put instructions in their letter for contacting and meeting with them. The letter doesn’t say much about their intentions specifically, although you can guess at some of their goals and objectives. Arranging to meet with them might let you find out more, to learn how hostile they are to you, to see if you can gain any influence over what they have planned...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Meet with the RAF, options for what you do during that meeting.

Adjust Your Priorities: Long-term commitments are risky in the chaotic situation the American nation is in. Temporarily stepping back from them would allow you to handle crises as they come back. Cost: Minor penalties to targeted action. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: De-commit Influence from selected action, narrative penalties.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no foci..

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

A Lot of Chutzpah - Part of propaganda is not...lies exactly, but occasionally de-emphasizing certain aspects of your end goal for the sake of quieting opposition. It might take a lot of chutzpah to say yes out of one side of your mouth and no out of the other, but it also takes a lot of chutzpah to overthrow capitalism. Time: 1 month. Effect: +2 Appeal per month for white Americans, -1 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans.

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoisie are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Letters From Cousins: Your most potent tool for recruiting among the sharecroppers of the Black Belt are the connections they have to newly unionized men and women who have traveled to Chicago and New York and Detroit and a thousand other cities, and found a welcoming community amongst the unions. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier organization and recruiting in the Black Belt.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 
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notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Suffer A Compromise: 1 Gravitas, 1 Influence, 28+89+10+10 = 137
Once more chaos and disunity cripple the best hope for the American worker, right when presenting a united front would allow you to strike major blows for your cause. It leaves you with a headache as shouted arguments echo across the CSA debate floor and muckraking journalists eagerly air every scrap of dirty laundry these fights unveil.

It is intensely frustrating, but you spend hours dealing with it because the alternative is worse. You soothe tempers, make agreements, down cup after cup of coffee to keep yourself awake for late night debates, sleep in your office to save time on traveling...and find yourself beginning to suffer the consequences of it. It’s worth it though, it has to be.

People are always angling to get some sort of advantage, a trait you quite happily abuse during these endless meetings, always keeping a consensus position around you. In the end, you carve out a broad enough center that people can come to some sort of agreement without shouting or snapping, although everyone is left fuming (at each other, fortunately).

The final agreement reached is that the unions and cadres will have a better system for directing concerns towards the center in the hopes of improving the responsiveness of the system and working to create improved coordination between different organizations of the working class on a local level. Combined with a great deal of pork, horse-trading, and other such business, everyone is left somewhat satisfied and impressed with your skill at maneuvering. How long this state of affairs will last is an open question, but for now, everyone stands united once more as the country collapses around you.

Result: Things are patched up and the debate is finished for now. Gain in Relations with all SPA factions due to impressive maneuvering, no net change in CSA support.


Rural-Urban Exchange: 1 Influence, 9 = 9 +10 (Focus) = 19
The seized factories have been struggling for some time. Say what you will about capitalist systems, but if you have money they can make them work for you. This new, kludged-together, improvised structure...lacks that trait and any similar one. Mostly, elected factory foremen have been relying on bartering to get food, raw material, and other goods. In places where a majority of factories have been seized and support is strong, this works well enough. In others, it has led to outrageous prices and severe shortages.

Work is done on a proposal in which a set of middlemen will be responsible for handling these trades instead, but the effort falters due to personnel shortages, leaving the entire system in limbo.

Perhaps next month, things will work out.

Result: Can be attempted again, DC reduced.

Farming Tools: 1 Influence, 11+7 = 18
Even with the struggles of production, surpluses of all sorts of things are being produced. They are often highly uneven surpluses, but they are surpluses nonetheless. Tractors are sent out, and harvesters, and pumps so that water can be dragged up from deep beneath the earth. Experts are hired using collected donations, seeds and saplings are planted to revitalize the soil and create windbreaks.

It’s not enough to fix the horrific damage of the Dust Bowl, but in Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma the quantities of aid poured in are enough to keep farmers on their land and fill their bellies. And the aid is received with a smile.

Stevens assures you that it will be remembered. Some segments of the CSA are willing to question that.

You don’t feel the need to.

Result: Increased popularity in the Midwest.

Medals of Honor 1 Influence: 75+10+10 = 95 +15 (Omake) = 110
The council meeting is raucous and loud. Red Guards, retired soldiers, union organizers, union representatives, SPA bureaucrats...there were nearly two dozen enthusiastic, opinionated people sitting in a Pittsburgh bar they had rented for the night. They had covered a dozen mostly routine things, but now they were coming to something significant: a proposal someone had sent up for the creation of a system of medals. Comrade Reed had endorsed the broad strokes of it, as had General Butler, and so for many, there wasn’t anything to argue about, either out of trust in those two men or out of an unwillingness to fight the inevitable.

But enough of them thought that the proposal was a waste of time, or that it could be made better, that the arguments would take some time.

First, one proposal was made, then another. Medals were counterrevolutionary, medals should be only for soldiers, medals should be only for workers, medals should be for anyone who achieves. Medals should be certificates, medals should be plaques, medals should be actual medals, medals were counterrevolutionary. In the end, it came down to a few questions.

Should there be some kind of physical medal?

[] Yes, there should be a medal.

[] Yes, there should be a physical commemoration of some kind, just not a medal.
-[] Write-in

[] No, medals are counterrevolutionary

Should there be some sort of public ceremony?

[] Yes, the winners of medals should be publicly honored.

[] Yes, there should be some sort of acknowledgment.
-[] Write-in

[] No, ceremonies are counterrevolutionary

And what sort of things should be enough to earn someone a medal?

[] Write-in, can be anything.


Target Rural Reactionaries: 2 Influence, 47+29+10+10 = 96 +10 (Omake) = 106
The Midwest had been bleeding for years. Dust storms tore at the soil, killing crops and people with equal indifference. Drought parched the land, turning once fertile plains into inhospitable deserts. People fled in droves and cried out for aid, hoping desperately for some salvation. Instead, they were delivered death. From every direction came ill-disciplined armies. Federal soldiers in their polished boots, syndicalist Red Guards in their red armbands, Minutemen in their motley farmer’s outfits.

And then the massacres began. Suspicious locals were rounded up and imprisoned or executed out of hand. Goods were seized, with resistance frequently being declared treachery. Hapless noncombatants were abused by cruel military and paramilitary figures. The human cost will likely never be known, nor will who was responsible for what.

You know, looking over the stack of reports, that you carry at least some of the blame.

But you and the Red Guards did some good too. Food was delivered at no cost, farmers were protected from foreclosures, refugees were protected and sent to safer places, farms were reorganized along properly democratic, socialist, and collective lines. You nod, reviewing the reports again. The actions of the Red Guards did more good than harm, overall.

Unfortunately, it seems that people are trying to undo that good. You issue a command, and once more men and women in red armbands flock into Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Kansa, and Oklahoma. Local leaders of reactionary groups are tried and executed for their crimes against the people. Counterrevolutionary organizations are attacked. It’s not clean, but it’s needed.


Five men sat together in a borrowed home, eating beans and bread, speaking quietly. It wasn’t safe for men like them, not in this part of West Virginia. But they were fighting for the people of America, and for democracy. And they had a mission to complete, their first one since they had gathered.

Samuel Wilkins carved a slice of turkey and passed it to the last member of the squad, licking his lips in anticipation of the taste of the perfectly smoked flesh. He was always the cook, by sheer virtue of being the best. And he worked hard to live up to that title, borrowing cookbooks from whatever source he could, even having experimented with a few “Oriental” recipes that he had modified for American palates.

Ben Grimes leaned back in his seat and said nothing. He rarely did, old injuries from when a barn he had been sleeping in was burned having left talking strenuous. He was a stranger to most, preferring to spend his time out in the woods, taking the lead in scouting by default and often returning with a map showing where every enemy position was and a deer to be cooked after victory.

Jimmy and Bob Miller, two brothers who strenuously insisted they were eighteen, were both trembling in excitement. They could barely eat as they pressed their older comrades for war stories, eyes shining. And they were told tale after tale, of desperate last stands and cunning ambushes and duels in coal mines and clashes in town squares, tales that ran the length and breadth of the state, tales that might even have a faint glimmer of truth in them.

The last words of one story hung in the air. “And then, as the hearse burned and the thugs protecting it ran, I said ‘I heard they were going to a funeral.”

John Smith reached down and took a drink of liberated beer, sighing as the liquid hit his parched throat. “I think that will be the last story tonight.”

Then bullets sprayed across the night, shattering the window and sending up sparks where they collided with the rough stone walls.

Captain John Smith sucked in a breath. The Red Guards had found them. Someone had told. He dived down, then found a smile forging its way across the face.

That meant they had found the Red Guards. He snapped out orders, adrenaline rushing through his system. “Private Jimmy! Private Bob! Take the back entrance, if it's under fire hold it, if not go and flank. Sergeant Samuel, you are with me. Corporal Ben, get to the woods, you need to tell the general...”


But Ben wouldn’t be telling anyone anything as a huge man, red-haired and wild-eyed, burst in the room, a shotgun in his hands. Ben turned and then he screamed, the last sound he would ever make a howl of desperate agony. The keen was drowned out by the boom of the gunshot, and then Captain Smith could barely hear anything but a ringing in his ears. Some distant part of him watched in horror as his soldier’s guts poured out, spilling across the floor. The man stepped on them and fired again. Blood flecked across his red-bearded face, making him seem like a demon come to harvest their souls.

But the Captain was in command now, and he wasn’t going to let some Bolshevik bastard win without a fight. He snatched out his pistol, rolling to make himself a harder target. “Samuel, get outside, get to the general!” he shouted, knowing the words left his mouth but not hearing a thing.

And even as he spoke he lifted his gun and fired three times. The Red Guard collapsed, clutching at his chest, more blood spreading across his face, some leaking from his mouth.

Bullets kept shooting through the window. One caught Jimmy in the shoulder and he collapsed screaming. His brother threw down his gun and dropped next to him, bawling surrenders and desperate pleas.

The sergeant had already made his escape. There was only one thing left to do.

He went out to die fighting. And instead, he fell limp, the gun falling from nerveless hands. He hadn’t heard the gunshot, hadn’t seen where he came from, he couldn’t do anything more than spit as Red Guards advanced past him and then returned, as the two boys were marched at gunpoint, a crude bandage on one, their hands on their heads and tears pouring from their eyes.

He didn’t see the gun that killed him either.

Result: Hostile rural groups devastated by the offensive in the Midwest and Appalachia, many successful raids and victorious gunfights.

A Rural Blair Brigade: 1 Gravitas, 46+10+10+10+10 = 76
The Blair Brigade is only a few thousand strong, all concentrated in a single force for maximum effectiveness. But capitalism is crushing people under its iron heel across the nation, and while the Red Guards are growing more skilled every day, they are not equal to the task before them.

And so from the rural heartland of America, men who fought for the interests of capital on Caribbean islands and in Chinese cities are called to a truer cause. With guns made by workers freed of exploitation they are armed, by their own elected officers they are led. And so the Wheatland Avengers march out, ready to give battle. Although their first fight may well not be what they expected...

Result: Thousand strong well-equipped and trained force recruited.


Recruit Rural Red Guards: 1 Influence, 51+10+10+10+10 = 91
While the Wheatland Avengers will undoubtedly be vital, as their name suggested they are not expected to be available to protect people. The material conditions in the Midwest are different from the ones in the urban heartland of the SPA, necessitating a different approach. So a far greater burden is put upon the Red Guards who will be protecting individual communes and cooperatives. They are not heavily armed or well-trained, but they are more than capable of fending off loose attacks by Klansmen, banking foreclosure officers, and members of Farmer’s Clubs.

And they are recruited in vast numbers. The Great Plains are full of the disturbed and dispossessed, and many of them have turned to violence. It is a simple matter to recruit those same men to protect and keep order in cooperatives and ensure their defense against reactionary forces. And even beyond them, there are many determined to protect their homes. And last but not least, there are the dedicated syndicalists and socialists serving as stalwart examples to both.

Result: Large numbers of poorly equipped and trained but generally well-motivated paramilitaries recruited, intended mostly for defensive purposes.

A Replacement for Bureaucrats: 2 influence, 84+18 = 102+7 = 109
With the revolution coming closer, matters of what things will look like after are becoming increasingly important to the most forward-looking syndicalists and socialists. A relatively non-controversial matter is how bureaucracy will be handled.

Of course, it ties into several more controversial matters including federalism, the degeneration of the revolution, and the balance of power between the party, the state, and the union. But that bridge will be crossed later.

A few relatively non-controversial suggestions are to expand education to ease the transition of workers and socialists into the bureaucracy and to expand outreach efforts to existing members in the hopes of converting them to your side through non-coercive methods.

But there is also a rather messy, albeit civil, debate on other matters.

First, there is the question of how much local control there should be, with fears of corruption, tyranny, and inefficiency running rampant among supporters of every position.

Second, there is the question of appointed, professional bureaucrats versus elected ones.

Third and finally, there is the question of organization. Should they be part of an official, apolitical government organization? Should they be integrated into unions? Should they function as part of the party apparatus? Or should they perhaps be part of a horizontal hierarchy, as the anarchists propose?

Regardless of the future, for the time being, everyone agrees that the immediate concerns should be for how to replace the fired state officials and ensure they have at least some accountability.

The proposed solution, which is met with broad acclaim, is to establish democratic Investigatory Councils responsible to the workers and farmers of America in order to vet new hires and ensure good behavior and governance from existing ones.

Result: A reasonable compromise is established, people begin discussing things for the future.

Document Rural Life: 1 Influence, 32+5 = 38[
Again the lack of established propaganda infrastructure hurts your efforts. There are scattered photos taken, powerful images of farmers standing despairing in their ruined homes, of burned churches with the corpses of Red Guards still seeming to defend them, of endless caravans of wandering farmers, but there are doubtless thousands of missed opportunities, and the photos taken are mostly distributed on a local level.

Columns and articles are written, describing the steadfast progressivism of many farmers, who desire only that workers may have the fruits of their labor and have no ideological opposition to socialism and syndicalism. Examples of Farmer-Labor and Progressive politicians who have allied with you and their strong support in rural areas are dredged up. And the horrible suffering “market dislocations” is causing among them is also highlighted. But again, none of these truly have the impact you desired.

Most of this effort is concentrated in states where you are already strongly influential, leaving relatively little to be mentioned beyond abstract details about the sharecroppers in the Black Belt and the Okies in California.

And it does not penetrate into the wider consciousness of the SPA as much as you expected. Perhaps attempting to create such a cultural change from the top down was an error...or perhaps you simply need to put more effort into it.

Result: Some greater awareness of what being a farmer is like in America among the SPA, meaning increased sympathy for them.

Investigate the Machines: 2 influence, 70+71 = 141
The old political machines throughout the nation have been shattered by mass protests and individual action. Campaigns of voting and campaigns of terror have broken dozens of political machines, but dozens more remain, and new ones are rising all the time. The Democrats retain significant control in urban areas of Texas, James Farley has been building a network of local governments in upper New York, and Pendergast plays the Longists and the Feds off each other while resisting near-daily attacks and assassination attempts from the Red-Black Army and other Red Guards units in Kansas City.

Even in cities utterly dominated by the SPA, the machines remain. Chicago gangsters still have sway over local positions, Minneapolis is effectively Tobkin’s personal fiefdom, and Mayor Curley retains significant influence over Boston even as the Harbor Strike eternally threatens to turn into a general strike.

This is to say nothing of cities like Los Angeles, Jacksonville, or Charlottesville, where the machines are growing in power all the time.

And quiet reports from trusted sources in many of these machines as well as more open ones from those who fight them have pointed to an inescapable conclusion. These machines are being funded. It seems like every single one, whether in SPA territory or AFP territory or outside both, has received significant outside support. And there can only be one group responsible...

Result: Major gains in information about the surviving political machines.

A Democratic Chain of Command: 2 Influence, 20+35+10 = 65
The worker’s army is to by and large be a people’s army, one led by elected officers and rooted in civilian structures. That’s all well and good, but Butler has serious concerns about the effectiveness of such militias when faced with professional troops, particularly their capacity for sustaining a long war. He also has several suggestions for overcoming those concerns that will require a different approach.

For a more immediate solution, he has bluntly expressed a few ideas to the CSA. Even the simplest proposal has had many in an outroar, and he has freely stated that he sincerely believes each and every part will eventually be needed to create a truly effective army.


However, for the time being, you suspect you could not withstand the backlash that would cause.

You cannot be certain what measures will be accepted and what will be rejected by the CSA. You can be certain any proposal you make will see protests.

(I will roll a d100+10 for the proposal selected by plan vote. A success means it will be passed in full, a failure means it will be watered down in some way or you will have to accept other concessions. Even proposing these measures will have a political cost, as well as adding to the DC.)

[] Officers above the rank of colonel in the Red Guards are to be chosen by a combination of the election of their fellow officers and the appointment of those higher-ranked. (Will allow for better central control of the Red Guards, particularly on the operational and strategic levels, will seriously upset everyone. DC+50)

[] Red Guards units will be ranked according to their readiness for combat, so that in event of a serious conflict those most capable of withstanding it can be sent in first while those ranked lower can be prepared for the hellish experience of modern warfare. (Will make the Red Guards more resilient, will mildly upset everyone. DC +15)

[] Red Guards units will have echelons created within them so that one echelon can be deployed and members of the remaining echelons used as replacements. (Will make the Red Guards more resilient, will mildly upset everyone. DC +10)

[] Select Red Guards units will be designated for training in specialized functions, such as reconnaissance, motorized warfare, or combat engineering, although actual training will be limited for some time. (Will make the Red Guards more flexible. DC +5)

[] Organizational guidelines for the command structure, unit size, and equipment for Red Guards units will be created and distributed, with priority for support going to those most willing and able to follow these guidelines. (Will allow for better central control of the Red Guards, will moderately upset everyone. DC +20)

[] Write-in, will be reviewed and subject to veto or modification.

Anti-Corruption Investigation: 1 Influence, 33
The anti-corruption investigation ends with little fanfare. Trials and tribunals were had, juries issued punishments, a few who had scraped by with warning gave heartfelt apologies, and political allies withdrew their support.

You attempted to use the whole affair to gain some support - your enemies had been thoroughly investigated as well. It didn’t work.

You attempted to try and tighten rules to make a lasting change, but couldn’t make it stick, although some seemed interested.

There were no scandals, no miscarriages of justice, no dramatic surprise witnesses that overturned what you thought you knew.

Result: Things end with a whimper.

Personal: Spend Time With Family
Your daughter has heard about the poster design competition and is eager to contribute. You and Louise have both been dragooned into serving as her models, leading a charge with the striped grain-and-gear flag of the CSA in your hands. It’s a surprisingly taxing position for you to hold, or perhaps you are simply aging.

But after she has some satisfactory sketches you are freed from such duties and get to do something you haven’t in too long: share a meal with your family.

Louise made a delicious meal, one you have devoured enthusiastically. All the while, Hannah chatted excitedly about the friends she had made and the things she had learned, including some bits of history you never heard of, such as the Defenestration of Prague. She speaks with great enthusiasm about how different people portrayed it.

Louise is gently encouraging her to say more, and you do the same. You might have to go looking for a few books on the topic for her birthday...

Result: Reduction in stress, health is starting to degrade, ideas for your daughter’s birthday gift.

Meet with the Red Army Faction.

Interlude

Focus: Letters From Cousins
There is strong support for the SPA among the colored community, especially among those who have traveled north and some branches of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. But these are mere fractions of the greater group who remain in the South, suffering on plantations little different from the ones their ancestors were forced to work.

Many are politically inactive, too beaten down and terrified to be willing to fight. Many more have begun supporting Long as he fights the Dixiecrats in their heartlands and makes moderate reforms for them. But from what your colored comrades say, many more want more. They want justice. They want every drop of blood shed with the overseer’s lash and the mob’s noose to be repaid with the bayonet. And if you can convince them to take it...

The letters flow.

“I was treated like a man.”

“They acted like I was an equal.”

“White men sent the Klan packing before I even made it to my ma’s home.”

“They don’t call us uppity.”

You can only hope it will be enough.

Result: Focus completed

Report from the Coordination Committee: 2 Influence on Looking into the Heartland, 94+78+5 = 177
The file you receive on the reports of the investigation Schenk and the Coordination Committee cooperated on could more properly be called a book. Nervous at what you will learn, you open it and begin to read.

The first thing you see is a map of the Red Belt, covered in blue and white dots. Even Chicago, New York City, and Toledo have colored patches. And they seem to be layers thick in some areas. Each colored speck represents a meeting of a Longist or Federalist group, the report goes on to explain.

It adds further that the majority of these groups seem to be more about organization and discussion, lacking the capacity or support to do anything concrete. Those who have tried have generally been handily defeated by local Red Guards units and union militias. Thus, it was deemed to not be particularly concerning.

However, you are warned, this is likely to change in the future. The factory seizures have turned your threat from a theoretical possibility to an actual practicality, and while some capitalists are simply beginning to flee others are preparing to fight. Meanwhile, regressive ideologies are being exploited to mystify workers and farmers.

And worst of all, the federal government appears to be taking advantage of this.

Red Guards have spotted parachutes dropping from the sky and chased agents infiltrating by train and car. Factory owners have received influxes of funding they are using to “upgrade their security.” Various groups are growing more organized and sophisticated in their recruiting, propagandizing, and direct action efforts. Sympathetic members of the criminal proletariat in Chicago have identified mafia leaders meeting with government men. And from sea to shining sea, there is a slow uptick in acts of resistance and protest against the SPA and CSA in even the most stalwart strongholds of syndicalism.


But the workers are not idle.

Our own propaganda arms are rising to the challenge, the Red Guards are prepared for anything, and the slowly forming Committee for the Defense of the Revolution is hard at work. Rumors of especially dangerous anti-syndicalist militias are already being chased, and there are several promising leads. These counterrevolutionary organizations will need to be rooted out...and as several members of the committee noted, it will be important to do so without the same sort of brutal thuggery that radicalized so many workers.


Report from the State Legislative Committee: 4 Influence on Better Lawyers, 57+43+11+97-13=195
A different approach was taken this month. Specifically, each and every member of the State Legislative Committee spent the entire month conducting group interviews with lawyers. It might be overkill, but after the previous debacle, you want there to be no further screwups.

Regrettably, not everyone agrees with that set of decisions, and quite a few committee members are annoyed at what they perceive as you completely wasting their time. But you know you are right, and the lawyers they hire this time are much better than last time around.


Report from Norman Thomas: 2 Influence on Railway Socialism, 71+33=104, 2 Influence on Mock Federal Incompetence, 91+83=174
However, even with the committee inactive, the legislatures they represent are always hard at work. And they are always looking to improve the lot of their constituents and make progress towards socializing the country. Sometimes, they just need a bit of direction.

And Norman is happy to provide it, using the Senate floor as a debating platform. He recites statistics of accidents caused by mismanaged railways, describes the inefficiencies of having multiple competing gauges, and lambasts railway executives for prioritizing personal profit over the nation and the “workers who make their luxurious lives possible through their blood and toil.”

While his attempt at nationalizing railways of course fails, it does provoke enough of a reaction to get many state governments involved in such a project. And they have immense popular support.

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the Railway Workers Industrial Union have both declared strikes in support of nationalizing the rails, calling them “red strikes,” in which they only allow worker-allowed traffic to pass.

While this has drastically heightened tensions throughout the nation, it appears to be an effective tactic...although it hasn’t worked yet.

But Norman isn’t done yet.

He calls on Hoover to answer for not just his failings, but the failings of the American system as a whole. He lists massacres and slaughters by the dozen and recounts stories of the victims and the “crimes” they were so brutally executed for. He then asks how many of those responsible have been put on trial.

“Your silence is the greatest indictment of your government possible,” he tells them, which is enough to provoke a barrage of outrage from a dozen different senators.

And once again, the SPA delegation walks out from the Senate, daring someone to stop them.

Norman’s speech is reprinted again and again. Challenges are raised to representatives and senators at every opportunity. They are heckled and harassed day and night. Answers are demanded from every single person with any sort of authority in the federal government. Robert Bingham and Henry Stimpson, Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor respectively, receive especially vicious criticism, vicious enough that Bingham decides to leave the government and is replaced as acting Secretary by Ogden Mills, who no one appears to have any confidence whatsoever in.

If someone still thinks the federal government should be in charge, they clearly need medical attention.

Report from Smedley Butler: 2 Influence on Instilling Discipline, Pt.2, 30+32+10+10+10 =112
With the current refinements being made to the Red Guards chain of common and a variety of methods being used to try and corral some of their worst impulses, Butler decides it is time some good old-fashion military discipline gets instilled.

And wow does he instill it.

Starting with a whirlwind tour of a dozen of the training camps, he stamps down on corruption and misbehavior wherever possible. Sloppy behavior is chewed out, undisciplined behavior is punished, malicious behavior gets the offender drummed out of the Red Guards. He is strict and unrelenting and refuses to take no for an answer from anyone.

Smedley Butler will die before he tolerates having such poor excuses for cowboys calling themselves his soldiers. And he’ll make sure you do it too. Smedley Butler will feed you your own guts if you so much as think of using your gun and red armband to get a discount. Smedley Butler is tough enough to fight a half dozen men at once and leave them broken on the floor.

The Red Guards have begun learning a very important lesson:

Do not fuck with Smedley Butler. And do not fail to meet his standards.

You suspect the reports you are getting might be a little exaggerated.

Report from Charles Schenk: 3 Influence on A Program of Subversion, 74+78+60+10=222
With all his attention dedicated to the program for subverting and infiltrating the many enemies of the SPA, things go very well. The initial group will be too small to handle everything they will be needed for, but what else is new?

Already, the Commission for Defending the Revolution (led by the Committee for Defending the Revolution, they really should change those names) is preparing its first missions, and already the operatives are demonstrating improvement, or so you are assured.

And soon, Schenk promises you, the capitalists and reactionaries will be rendered incapable of opposing you.

Report from Ben Stevens: 2 Influence on Union Organizing California Farmworkers, 41+16+10 = 67+10 (Focus) = 77

Stevens went out himself to see what could be done in California. Upon his eventual return, the report he gives shows a state and a working-class divided. Long has been agitating in California and has significant support among farmworkers, but the Red Grange and a few rural-focused branches of the IWW are popular too.

The Share Our Wealth Clubs and the unions fight viciously for the hearts, minds, and bodies of the worker, but both frequently ally with each other to fight the agents of capital.

But the Share Our Wealth clubs are winning thanks to a more (but not entirely) conservative social stance, backing from various benefactors, and a more extensive system for rural propaganda, all things you lack.

Report from the Propaganda Committee: 2 Influence on Songs of the Revolution,10+16+5+5 = 36, 2 Influence on Newspapers, 54+86 = 140, 2 Influence on Posters, 8+74+5 = 87
The attempt at organizing wandering singers doesn’t go wonderfully. There are arguments about what songs people should be expected to sing, distracting debates over the possibility of integrating this program with others, clashes about structure. But grit and determination and a shared commitment is enough to make everyone pull together.

The system is bare-bones: singers are hired on an individual basis by local party chapters and sent to sing wherever they please, except when they are requested to attend a function which they will receive extra pay for. There’s some who wonder if it is an ideologically correct system, as the singers seem ripe for exploitation. There are some who wonder if it's an efficient system, as it leaves many gaps and potential for corruption.

But it is what exists. And now it just needs to be set up.

The efforts at creating a system of newspaper distribution goes better. There are already many left-wing newspapers being published of highly varying quality. A set of official CSA criteria, presented by a committee of representatives from various reporting-related unions and voted on by the CSA as a whole, is published. It includes guidelines on topics ranging from political content to layout to diversity of viewpoints.

And to incentivize the following of those guidelines, some limited support is offered.

There are some criticisms regarding the guidelines. Some sections are overly strict, some are too vague, and the section encouraging “using the voice of the people to pressure those who claim to speak for them” nearly sees the whole thing thrown out, but in the end, it passes.

It will take time to spread though.

Meanwhile, posters and pamphlets begin to fill the streets of many cities. Design contests are held, submitted informational pieces are used, and at every step of the process, the workers as a whole are involved. There are a million messages that need to be spread, and the Propaganda Committee is determined to spread them. They work with existing groups, integrating them into a broader network of publishers that crosses the country.

Pamphlets are handed out on street corners and dropped from the roofs of buildings. Posters are stuck on lampposts and walls and in some cases are used to absolutely cover doors to the point where they can’t be opened.

And this is only using what is already there, the committee has already arranged to begin expanding the capacity the SPA has for printing and publishing.

Report from the SPA Cadres: 2 Influence on Food and Shelter, 93+64 = 157, 2 Influence on Intimidation, 63+97+10 = 170
The cadres are determinedly working to better the lives of workers, something that can only be applauded. Fresh housing cooperatives are slowly being built, with much better conditions than the previous improvised ones. The kitchens are being expanded to handle more people at once and reduce waste, while new varieties of meals are included and new recipes are shared. The party works together, each part moving in harmony.

And the people fed and sheltered respond with unwavering support. Food prices might be slowly rising, and various goods are starting to have erratic supplies, but the efforts of the cadres and workers are keeping things stable and the standard of living...steady-ish, even as the conditions in America grow worse.

Refugees keep flooding in, anti-syndicalist forces keep resisting. But both are solvable problems.

Especially the anti-syndicalist resistance. A tactic favored by the police is turned on the agents of reaction: wherever they gather, armed groups force their way in, disrupt the event, and seize the leader, arresting them under the Democracy Laws or simply charging them at a People’s Tribunal.

Deaths are somewhat rare, as they are generally deemed unnecessary, but quite a few fall while resisting arrest or are found worthy of execution.

Many more are injured or crippled, but it's of little concern, as the determined efforts of the cadres do their jobs and break various potential resistance groups.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
No matter how ridiculous the instructions make you feel, you follow them to the letter. You are not unfamiliar with subterfuge, even if you prefer to leave it to other men. So you enter Central Park late one night in a crude disguise: a long coat and a hat. It makes you sweat, but you have handled worse discomfort.

You are only accompanied by a single guard, one of your most trusted - Isaac Goldstein has been in the party since he was a boy, and he has shed blood in your defense no less than four times. Even so, the relative lack of protection is enough to make you uneasy. Every rustle of bushes in the night or snap of a twig has your head pivoting as you try desperately to track the sound.

You find the bench that was described, then the hollow in a tree beside it. You slip in a letter with a time and a place and leave, gladly returning to your bed and your wife’s arms.

Two days later you again leave with only Isaac for company.

You make your way down into the city, into the Lower East Side, where Jewish immigrants in their thousands have arrived seeking to prosper in a free land, and now seek to make the land free. You wind your way through streets festooned with banners of the grain and gear and six pointed stars, patrolled by men in yarmulkes and red armbands.

You find a little kosher butcher shop run by a man Schenk assured you was discreet.

Waiting for you are three men. Two you do not recognize.

One is Schenk.

He holds up a hand, speaking before you can.

“I’m sorry about all this, Jack. I wanted to simply tell you the truth, but I was outvoted. In any case, you know now. I am a member of the Red Army Faction. And of course, you already know our demands: Class war, unrelenting and unceasing, until the red flag is flown sea to shining sea. There can be no hesitation, no betrayal of our principles, no peace until we have triumphed. And there is no price that shouldn't be paid for the victory of the working class.”

The man standing to his left speaks. “And you aren’t willing to give us that. You are a reformist, nothing more. Olson and Norris and LaFollette are your allies.”

He seems like he’s going to say more, but the man on Schenk’s right interrupts him. “Comrade Reed has demonstrated his commitment and courage many times. The Red Guards have been unleashed on reactionaries time and time again. A tactical disagreement does not make him a reformist.”

It’s rather obvious what they are doing.

Annoyingly, that doesn’t mean it fails.

The two men to Schenk’s side keep badgering you, one offering praise and being conciliatory, while the other offers insults and snarls aggressively.

And all the while Schenk keeps the peace, handling things. You are put at a disadvantage by the circumstances, you are outnumbered and on unfamiliar ground.

And so you find yourself questioning your own judgement.

So you turn the tables.

Schenk wants cooperation with the Red Army Faction? Well, what will the workers get out of it?

You make him describe what he envisions, treating it like any of the operations he has proposed to you.
Some of them seem half-mad schemes, like training livestock to be part of the “total war” he envisions as an inevitability.

Some of them seem almost counterproductively vicious, like the taking of hostages from capitalist families and direct attacks on churches.

Some of them seem bold but potent, like the creation of “do-or-die” squads from the most determined Red Guards to be used for near-suicidal missions.

And some of them are just common sense, like the expansion of the Revolutionary Guards so that they can be used to more effectively investigate and defeat counterrevolutionary plots.

He has a lot to say, and a lot to offer. But what the cost is he doesn’t say.

But you can guess at what it would be anyway.

At a minimum, he will want to allow for cooperation between the SPA’s networks and the RAF’s networks.

He will also probably want protection for RAF agents committing their acts of total war.

There might be more, but you will have to decide.

Schenk, seeing you hesitant, begins to boast of some of their operations. He describes how the RAF has assassinated leaders of Share Our Wealth Clubs throughout California, disrupting such counterrevolutionary organizations. He brags of leaving the mutilated bodies of Pinkertons outside the homes of other strikebreakers.

And he smiles as he speaks of it.

You have some choices to make...

[] Fully reject any cooperation with him and his ilk. This will certainly cause Schenk to leave, and may provoke a dangerous reaction. However, you trust the loyalty of your guards.
[] Delay and buy time. He will continue working with you to advance the cause of the proletariat, but he will likely be maneuvering to persuade you to accede to his point of view. Of course, you can do the same...and you can reopen negotiations later.
[] Lay an offer on the table. The Red Army Faction have some decent points, and they are hardly the most intolerable people you have worked with. But they do need to be kept on a leash. (The Red Army Faction becomes a faction similar to other SPA factions with their own special ability group. They also have an additional stat, Cooperation, which represents how inclined they are to listen to you as opposed to how much they like you. Initial Relations and Cooperation will be determined by the point total of the offer. Concessions add points, demands remove them.)
-[] Work with Schenk to ensure members of the Commission of Revolutionary Defense are wholly dedicated to the cause. (+5 points)
-[] Provide financial aid to the Red Army Faction. (+3 points. -2 Resources per month, may cause a political reaction if discovered)
-[] Agree to allow Red Army Faction members the protection of the SPA, including encouraging cadres to hide them, letting them use Commission resources such as safehouses, and providing legal defenses for captured faction members. (+5 points, may cause a political reaction.)
-[] Agree to share information between the Commission and the RAF. (+2 points)
-[] Agree to begin stepping up the campaign against reactionaries. (+3 points)
-[] Agree to begin working to marginalize reformists within the party. (+3 points)
-[] Ask Schenk to step down from his position and let you appoint a replacement without rancor. (-5 points)
-[] Ask for major Red Army Faction operations to only be launched with your permission. (-4 points)
-[] Ask that certain categories of actions such as the taking of hostages or attacks on churches be restricted. (-4 points)
-[] Ask to be provided a list of RAF members. (-6 points)
-[] Ask that they do not even consider attacking members of the SPA. (-3 points.)
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
It’s a warm summer night. The heat suffocates him, it presses down on him like a blanket. He gasps for breath, trying to move, but he can’t, something is holding him down. He thrashes desperately, clawing at the darkness.

Something grabs him. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” some horror shrieks, its voice piercing and pleading and scraping like rust on rust.

To his shock, he realizes it's him.

“Wake up, wake up comrade, it’s just a nightmare!” someone yells.

He finds himself wrapped in a crushing grip, and then another. He keeps struggling, but gradually the panic fades and he remembers where he was.

Gradually, he stills and his comrades release him. Even in the dark, he can see the concern on their faces. He tastes self-loathing as bitter and acidic as vomit.

“It’s alright, we’ve got you,” brave, kind Samuel says, reaching out and laying a hand on his forearm.

He leans into the contact, not sure if it’s the desire to feel his skin on Samuel’s or simply wishing for a human touch.

“I...I was back...in the...”

Someone began to rub his back and his eyes began to prickle with tears.

“We know. It’s alright. You just hit your head down there, that’s all. You’re a wounded soldier,” Samuel says.

“And more importantly, you are our comrade.”

He tried to explain that he wasn’t worth it, that he was more than just wounded, but he couldn’t find the words.

So instead he asked them to stay with him.

And they did, every single one.

And the next morning he tied on his red armband just like they did.

Maybe Samuel was right and he was a wounded soldier.

But he had been wounded before, and he had still fought for a racketeer’s pocketbooks. He had a better cause now, and he wasn’t going to do any less for it.

But Samuel had made him promise to find a doctor who knew head wounds. He would write to the Party once his shift was done, he decided. They might know someone he could go to.

For now, he had strikers to protect.


Rumors and News

June is a month of chaos. Devastating dust storms have swept across the Great Plains, far more intense than anything the region has experienced. Rain black with soil fell on the Rockies, while thousands of tons of soil were sent flying west fast enough to strip flesh from bone. The amount of dead...you don’t want to think about that. Syndicalist farming cooperatives, Longist church towns, federal loyalty camps, isolated rural communities, all have suffered horribly. Fresh waves of refugees have begun to depart, but where they will go no one knows.

But people are working to help as much as possible. While SPA cadres are already raising funds, Long is turning his party machinery to the task, and the federal army is once more marching in to distribute food and medical aid and use their engineering expertise to defy nature.

And taking the lead is a broad coalition. All three splinters of Farmer-Labor, Progressives, machine bosses, Democrats, Republicans, politicians, and community leaders of every stripe have begun working together in the worst affected areas to try and maintain some stability. This has included an effective truce on paramilitary action, which is already fraying. But it has not broken yet.

Elements of the federal government have seized on this as a great American triumph, ably using it as propaganda fodder and proclaiming how this proves that all that’s needed are some bare minimum reforms. Rumors have immediately begun spreading through the capital and beyond, helpfully relayed by the compliant bourgeoisie press, of politicians moved by the display of cross-party unity and desire for change working on a secret committee to present a grand bill to solve all America’s problems.

And while all this is ongoing, the more credulous or deluded Americans fail to notice local reactionaries seizing power and enacting vicious campaigns of suppression against dissidents with the tacit approval of the government. The form it takes varies, as southern Dixiecrats rally together to crush any hope of black liberation and seize power from Longists, while Creel works with local party machines in the West to bewilder socialists and Longists alike with dazzling deceptions and relentless propaganda.

What Long is up to you aren’t quite sure. He is evidentially planning something: Century has noted that he has had extensive close-doored meetings with at least twenty different people, ranging from leaders of the Redeemed KKK to leaders of the New Orleans colored community. He seems to have found some degree of accommodation with the more racist elements of Southern politics, but skirmishes between Minutemen, including the rare black unit, and federal police and paramilitaries continues. Individual Democrats are constantly shifting their allegiances, particularly in cities, while in the rural areas dedication to Huey Long stays strong no matter what.

In more exciting news, a brief leak suggesting the general staff was planning to launch an attack on Argentina and Chile has led to hasty backpedaling, with MacArthur claiming it was nothing more than a training exercise. Honestly, he’s probably telling the truth, but no one is in a mood to believe him.

Meanwhile, it appears the Red Army Faction has gone international. A series of attacks have been carried out throughout Canada, striking soldiers, police, and Special Constables who particularly distinguished themselves in the crushing of the Winnipeg General Strike, the Cape Breton Commune, and the West Canadian Revolutionary Government. Those heroes of capital have been stabbed, shot, splattered with acid, and burned in the past month, with two dozen dead and several more severely injured. How many attacks are actually the RAF and how many are imitators is somewhat unclear, but no matter what it is an impressive act of revenge, and it has provoked a severe reaction by the Canadian government, including police opening fire on one assassin as he fled into a crowded Catholic church.

Needless to say, the current government is losing some popularity.

Your attention, as ever, is more on the struggle in America. The party has managed to come through the latest crisis reasonably well and it’s stronger than ever. Your popularity grows steadily in urban and rural areas both, with hostility to nativism spreading wherever IWW firebrands speak. Regrettably, extending that logic to their black brothers appears to be a bridge too far for many, albeit not for all. Still, continued progress on that front will require serious effort. You are certain of it.

The Totalists appear to have made their last gasp for relevance before dissolving almost utterly. Some join the Fosterites, others meld back into the Centrists, and Browder and a few others end up joining the Parliamentarians in the hopes of acting as pressure to push them leftward.

And of course, the political violence throughout the country continues spiraling.

Across the Deep South, urban Longist offices, America First facilities, and AFP-friendly companies are coming under attack, ranging from crude paintings to broken windows to firebombings. Police responses are split and largely ineffectual as the departments fight among themselves about if they should care or not. You aren’t even certain if this is something the Democrats are doing deliberately or if this is an expression of grassroots anger.

Meanwhile, the Red Guards and Union Defense Committees and various militias continue their campaign to defeat the capitalists. Democrats and Republicans alike come under attack. Homes are vandalized, offices are destroyed, property is seized. Rumors have leaked of a possible “counterrevolution” coming from the rural areas of various SPA-controlled states, leading some Red Guards to attempt to identify and arrest those counterrevolutionaries, but others stood to protect innocent workers from what would likely be a lynching.

The situation was resolved without bloodshed, and Butler assures you things are under control.

Finally, you see clear evidence of the Red Army Faction at work. While they have only taken responsibility for a few of the attacks on the capitalist parties, they have been hard at work elsewhere, launching several raids in Montana on mining bosses and their thugs.

And you begin reading through old reports, wondering how many attacks you assumed were spontaneous or were missing information on the perpetrators were the work of Schenk’s comrades.

And within the ranks of those aware of your reactionary problem, methods to be used and measures to be taken are debated. As long as they remain, they will be a potential thorn in your side materially and politically.

Mexico is stabilizing as the Cristero Quasi-War begins to slowly die down and Zapata’s grand reforms continue, with French and British aid both helping him develop the economy even as his health fails.

Unrest continues in India as the National Parliament election results in an intensely divided government, the dysfunction growing further hampered when some of the more radical syndicalists boycott to protest caste restrictions and government hostility. You wish them the best of luck.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee is working to organize a broad response to the famine, preparing towns and cities from Minnesota to West Virginia for an influx of refugees and working to establish and expand stores of food.

The State Legislative Committee, terrified by the specter of famine, are primarily focused on setting price ceilings, but they also intend to expend some effort on re-hiring bureaucrats and establishing the democratic oversight committees.

Norman Thomas is splitting his efforts between continuing his efforts to see the railways fall into the grip of the workers and challenging the federal government through political grandstanding and showboating.

Smedley Butler is continuing his efforts to instill discipline in the undisciplined.

Charles Schenk is finishing establishing and organizing the more externally focused subdepartments of the Commission for Defending the Revolution and working to identify the leadership of the many reactionary groups that must be dealt with.

Ben Stevens is aiming to direct as much aid as possible to those affected by the famine.

The Propaganda Committee, aside from continuing their previous efforts, are working on expanding outreach to farmers and farmworkers alike.

And the SPA Cadres are working to expand and establish public library systems, to agitate and protest against even the specter of yet another costly intervention, and to turn the housing cooperatives from improvised installations to true homes for all who need them.


You have 10 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 0 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You have 2 Semi-Temporary for Militant actions. You are currently taking no focus.

+10 to the next 2 rural organization or agitations actions. +5 to all rural actions.


The current economic situation is confused and disordered. While capitalist exchanges have been totally replaced in some places, in others they have been merely supplanted or supplemented. The detrimental effects are already being felt as people revert to bartering and swapping. Some sort of reform must be made, within 3 months. (From the Syndicalists and Orthodox. +10 to the next Union action, +Relations with the Syndicalists, +Relations with the Orthodox, +Relations with the Center, -Strength to the Center, +support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW if completed. -Relations with the Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Center,-support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, loss of income if failed).

Liberation cannot just be economic. The chains of capital weigh on the mind as well, in the forms of patriarchy, racism, imperialism, and more. Just as we advocate for the breaking of the chains of capital, so must these chains be broken. And the party and syndicates are both united behind us on this. Make 4 significant steps on the path of social justice within 5 months. (From the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, the Anarchists, the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA. + Support from the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA, +Relations with the Syndicalists, the Anarchists, and the Orthodox, +1 Temporary Influence for Union actions, -support the IWW MM, the TUUL, and the Red Grange, -Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor if completed. +Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, +support with the IWW MM, the TUUL, and the Red Grange, +1 Temporary Influence for rural-focused Union actions, -Support from the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA, -Relations with the Syndicalists, the Anarchists, and the Orthodox, if failed.

California is one of the largest states in America, with an enormous population, a powerful industrial base, and a vast agricultural heartland. It also features some of the most powerful opposition to the workers’ movements, thanks to endless bombardments of propaganda, foreign support from many parties, and the judicious use of force. But the workers there are nevertheless ripe for organization...and an election is coming up. Make major gains in popular and political support in the Golden State. (From the Parliamentarians, the Center, the Orthodox, the ASA, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamster’s Union. ++ Support from the ASA, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamster’s Union, ++ Relations with the Parliamentarians, the Center, and the Orthodox, +2 temporary Influence if completed.)

The South has been a heartland of reactionary politics since the War of Independence, but there is great potential for socialist support within its cultural boundaries. The steelworkers of Birmingham are no less oppressed than their northern counterparts, while sharecroppers white and black are horrifically exploited. Political power in those states is all but impossible, but the organizing of workers can lead to great things nonetheless. By the upcoming election, gain significant support within the South. (From the Syndicalists, Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, the Red Grange, the IWW MA, and the IWW MM. +++ Support from the IWW MA, ++Support from the Red Grange and the IWW MM, ++Relations with the Syndicalists and Ultraleft-Farmer Labor, +1 temporary Influence for two months if completed.)

While severe corruption of course can not be tolerated, a little simply greases the wheels. And perhaps more importantly, harshly rooting out everyone who has any sort of misconduct on their record creates all sorts of dangerous images, painting the one responsible as a power-crazed madman purging his political enemies on minor charges and of the body being purged as riddled with larceny. Best to wait a few months before taking further measures to root out corruption...say, taking no actions against it for 2 months. (From the Teamster’s Union, ++ support from the Teamster’s Union if completed, --support from the Teamster’s Union, -2 to all actions for one month if failed.)

This Frankenstein of an economic system cannot be maintained. Food prices are beginning to rise, while staple goods are becoming overwhelmingly common, resulting in sharp price drops. Tooling and machinery is getting much rarer, spare parts are becoming in short supply...nothing is serious yet, but there are all sorts of worrying trends. Take steps to reform and stabilize the economy within 6 months. (From the Syndicalists and Orthodox. +10 to the next two Union actions, +Relations with the Syndicalists, +Relations with the Orthodox, +Relations with the Center, -Strength to the Center, +support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, increase in popular support if completed. -Relations with the Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Center,-support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, loss of income, severe decrease in popular support if failed)

The investigation revealed a far more serious presence of reactionaries in nearly every city and town than previously believed. Often built around church groups and other social institutions, they could serve as a potential nucleus for unrest, sabotage, counterrevolution, and potentially a white terror. All who are aware of this are in agreement: one way or another, this must be dealt with as soon as possible. Currently, people are debating what the best method will be. (No penalties or bonuses for using harsh or conciliatory methods. ++support from all CSA factions when completed. Minor losses of support in the CSA if the reactionaries cause problems until then.)

The American education system was carefully designed to serve the will of the capitalists as part of their effort to ensure their dominance. From deliberately enforced inequality to classroom structures designed to make children acquiesce to the abuses of capitalism, no portion of it was left unscathed. We shall create an education system with higher ideals, for adults and children alike. Accurate history and economic science will be taught alongside art and music and math, and none shall be denied any knowledge. All it needs is to be built. Which will hopefully commence soon. Start 3 education-related actions within 8 months. (+Support from the AFL-CIO, ++ support from the IWW MM, slight increase in popular support if completed. --support from the IWW MM if failed.)


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on the topic. The topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships and county governments alongside even more widespread but less official influence. You even control most states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests from these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/75/120/185. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any number of changes to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/140. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Fosterites: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Fosterites, will politically indebt you to other factions, annoys the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize the Fosterites, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/25/50/75/125. Result: Lay the groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sensed a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 10/25/40/50. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.

Assistant Adjustment: Even as your assistants work to make sure their views are supported by the party machinery, they are also being genuinely helpful in managing the fractious ranks and building towards the coming revolution. You could always use a few more...or perhaps you need to remove someone. Cost: Political turmoil, modification to bonuses. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Options to change assistants.

Speak for Liberty: While the SPA is at least somewhat united behind you, your willingness to push for social revolution has had the anarchists in the party and their similarly socially left allies be some of your most enthusiastic supporters, despite their relatively small numbers. If you want to make use of that support, you will need to help them. Speak on the topic of liberty, encourage support for racial minorities, demand women’s liberation...perhaps go so far as to say homosexuality is acceptable. Let them know they have an ally in you. Cost: Political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 50. Result: Increase in Strength and Relations of Anarchists.

Condemn Atrocities: If you wish to keep the violent and vicious Fosterites from gaining strength, you need to lay the groundwork before you break them. Make it part of the SPA program to condemn excessive brutality, the murder of non-combatants and innocents, and wanton destruction. While the language will mostly be used against capitalists and Longists, it can also be applied to the sort of things they advocate for, making a useful cudgel against your enemies in the party. Cost: Some political turmoil, annoys the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60/90. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Insist on their Effectiveness: Though the Fosterites have had some of their bloodlust slaked, they are still demanding more blood, more death, more destruction. They appear to have no compromise in them..let’s see if they have any common sense. While they may decry these reforms as cowardice and giving in to bourgeois demands to muzzle the workers and “suppress their righteous rage until the flame of revolution gutters out,” you are doing nothing of the sort! You are simply trying to make them a more capable and organized force, an army capable of winning the revolution you all want. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/60/80. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Divide and Defeat: The Fosterites are united only by their insistence that you go faster, that you birth the revolution sooner - and that like all births, that it be bloody and painful. And so the right pressures, ever so gently applied, can leave them broken and adrift, eliminating a potential political threat and greatly weakening an adventurist segment of the SPA. The pressures are asking what they want, which might be a dangerous question if you don’t have a good answer... Cost: Some political turmoil, annoys and weakens the RAF. Time: 2 months. DC: 35/70/100/120. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Back Up Butler: Butler has done an excellent job of reforming and expanding the Red Guard, turning it from a barely-controlled paramilitary into an effective force However, some of the changes he has made have been contentious, and he plans more. Some have begun suggesting you should rid yourself of him...something which you have no intentions of doing so. Make that clear, and make it crystal clear that Smedley Butler has your full confidence. Cost: Loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/20. Result: Increase to Smedley Butler’s Influence

Command the Cadres: The SPA Cadres have been enjoying their newfound independence and will be reluctant to give it up again even temporarily, but you are liked and respected enough that they will do it. Even if they will complain. Cost: Political impact depends on what you choose. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Adjust SPA Cadre actions as you see fit.

Organizational Reform: With yet another intra-party spat developing, you find yourself getting frustrated. You need to take measures for preventing these sorts of problems from arising again...along with making sure reformist sentiments and corruption don’t set themselves back in. Clear out the deadwood, impress your authority upon the leadership, and get everyone working together for the greater good of the workers. Cost:???. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100/125. Result: Reduced chance of further political crises, +1 Gravitas, reduction in Stress.

Ban the Nativists: With anti-nativist sentiment at an all-time high in the ranks of the SPA and among the workers, you can easily push through a change to the party platform and membership requirements to formally expel what dregs of nativists influence have slid in. This might mean a drop in your support, given that you have effectively forced out will doubtless take their votes and voices elsewhere, but all their efforts will be nothing more than spit in the wind. Cost: Minor losses in SPA Relations, CSA Support, and popularity. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/70/100. Result: Purge nativists from the SPA, +1 Gravitas.

Standards of Integrity: With the removal and punishment of many corrupt individuals, it's time to make sure they and their ilk don’t come back into power. You tried to push through higher standards of integrity and behavior for people running on SPA tickets or on the SPA payroll, including requiring them to publish their finances for all to scrutinize, but it floundered due to a lack of momentum. So you will get behind things and push. Cost: Loss in Relations with all factions, loss of support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55. Result: Pass reforms to make it harder to be corrupt in the future.

Push for Moderation: So far, actual resistance from these reactionaries has been minimal and easily dealt with. There’s no need to step things up and provide martyrs or risk radicalizing them. They should be marginalized and propagandized against, but they should not be repressed. They aren’t threatening enough to require it. Cost: Increases political costs of attacks from reactionaries. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Nonviolent methods for dealing with the current crop of reactionaries grows more popular.

Meet Them With Violence: Already these reactionaries have resisted the seizure of the means of production and protested against the transformation of society. They are receiving support from far more dangerous groups as well. They are obstacles before the tide of history, and they must be swept away. And we shall not hesitate in doing the sweeping. Cost: Increases political costs of attacks from reactionaries. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Violent methods for dealing with the current crop of reactionaries grows more popular.


Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: -1 Influence, potential loss of support from the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/110/120. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote-buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/100/160. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Medical Assistance: A small trickle of doctors and nurses have begun to join party ranks, motivated by a mix of fear, hope, and the fact that the SPA seems to be the only faction with some sort of direction in many cities. While this has led to some ad-hoc benefits, such as the formation of Nurse’s Unions and the establishment of small clinics that offer discounts to SPA members, there is nothing widespread yet. Encourage and cultivate the development of such systems to make your urban supporters healthier and heartier. Cost: -2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/25/50. Result: Easier access to medical assistance for your urban supporters.

Negotiate With Bosses: With the capitalists left destitute by the sudden loss of their property, they are denied much of their strength and leverage and reduced to begging for scraps. While some find it amusing and want to leave them dependent on charity and others want to force them into the street brigades, some propose a more humane alternative: giving them small pensions and encouraging them to integrate as workers. This kind treatment would not officially be dependent on them agreeing to give up any legal claim to the property they supposedly owned. But there would be that implication. Cost: Some minor displeasure from the left of the party, 4 Resources, -3.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Decrease in complaints from former factory owners about you, reduction in unrest.

Rural-Urban Exchanges: The current system of interaction between farming cooperatives and worker-run factories is ad-hoc and limited by the capitalist framework both currently function in, but frameworks can be worked around. Simply arranging for direct transfers of materials, food, and products between mines, factories, and farms would be the easiest way to solve this problem, and the least controversial. Many are concerned that this would not be capable of handling the complexities of a modern, industrial economy however. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20. Result: Establishment of more formalized and direct exchanges between worker-run facilities, increase in economic efficiency.

Socialist Markets: An alternate proposal, one popular among the more Orthodox wings of the party, is that workers at these facilities could be given labor vouchers representing the value of their work. These vouchers could then be exchanged for products at markets. The main difference between this and conventional finance is that the value of vouchers would be decided democratically and that they cannot be accumulated. Cost: Decrease in support and relations with the syndicalist wings of the SPA and CSA, 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in income, establishment of labor voucher-based markets in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support and relations with orthodox wings of the SPA and CSA. Increase in economic efficiency. Reduced strength of the Center, increased strength of the Orthodox.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? The widespread establishment of these grows ever more vital as the toll of being forced to pay ridiculous fees for the use of capitalist’s services and the inefficiencies of going without begin to take their toll. Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/50/80. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased Relations and Strength for the Syndicalists. Increase in economic efficiency. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Rationalize Production Schemes: With the vast number of factories seized, different product schematics, manufacturing methods, and research facilities are now in the property of the workers. Though some of the men responsible for the more cutting edge possibilities are reluctant to work with “filthy Reds,” sufficient bribery has overcome such concerns. Begin working to integrate the best of each factory and develop further innovations to turn the existing industrial base into the greatest in the world! Cost: 4 Resources, -4 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin integrating the segmented knowledge and innovations of the various companies and improving on their work.

Arms Production: The Red Guards need more and better weapons. They need ammunition. They need grenades and uniforms. They need vehicles to transport them and fuel to supply them. An army is an incredibly difficult thing to supply, but you will need to support one. While you can’t make anything heavier than mortars currently, small arms can be produced in significant quantities. It’s time to start arming the forces of revolution so that they can match the foot soldiers of reaction and the servants of capital. Cost: 8 Resources, -6 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/70/120. Result: Begin producing large quantities of weapons, Red Guards better armed and equipped, unlock new options to supply and train them.

Union-Integrated Planning: Currently, each factory and farm does as it sees best. While the creation of any market system would help coordinate their operations indirectly, doing so effectively would require the return of the profit motive and economic labor discipline. An alternative proposal, to be done separately or in combination, would be to create an Office of Economic Planning, responsible for creating 3-month production targets with the democratic input and experienced guidance of the workers. Such plans would be complex things, but they would also enable great economic efficiency. Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/100/165. Result: Establishment of a democratic department for handling economic planning. Must establish what the goals of that planning are soon after. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Appoint an Outreach Manager: With efforts at denying you support growing in numbers and sophistication, you need to develop your advocacy among workers in response. From the imported Chinese scabs and desperate Okies of California to the suffering smallholder farmers of the Great Plains to the exploited miners and factory workers to the American heartland, there are millions just waiting to join your cause...if only they could be persuaded of their exploitations and educated of their class interests. Cost: Influence, loss of support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Appointment of a subordinate responsible for outreach and agitation, vote on how much to commit to them, potential gains in Support or Relations.

The Farmworker’s Union: With the slowly growing awareness of the importance of the rural population, some have proposed providing the Red Grange with some assistance in expanding their organization to be on industrial lines and thus begin including rural farmworkers of every variety, from the tenant-sharecroppers of the South to the wandering, poverty-stricken Okies of the west and all the types in between. Such assistance would always be very welcome, even if some think it can be better used elsewhere. Cost: 3 Resources, loss of IWW MA and IWW MM support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40. Result: Increased support from the Red Grange, increased Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, increased popularity in rural areas.

The Agricultural Worker’s Union: With the slowly growing awareness of the importance of the rural population, some have proposed providing the Red Grange with some assistance in expanding their organization to be on industrial lines and thus begin including rural farmworkers of every variety, from the tenant-sharecroppers of the South to the wandering, poverty-stricken Okies of the west and all the types in between. Such assistance would always be very welcome, even if some think it can be better used elsewhere. For instance, the IWW pointed to their already existing Agricultural Worker’s Union, arguing that it should instead be expanded to include tenant farmers. Needless to say, the Red Grange disagreed. Cost: 3 Resources, loss of Red Grange support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40. Result: Increased support from both factions of the IWW, increased popularity in rural areas.

Meat and Potatoes: The rising prices of food have begun to cut painfully into the budgets of the local party branches, who are primarily responsible for running the soup kitchens. Until prices go back down, the party as a whole could take on greater responsibility and purchase the food for the soup kitchens, getting a better price through sheer size. Cost: - 3 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: No drop in quality of quantity of food given out as charity, probable future increases of quantity and quality.

The Union Home: The housing cooperatives serve adequately, but they were never meant to be a long-term solution. Improvements have been made, but it is time to begin the next step and work on providing dignified homes for the homeless. The construction unions stand ready to do their part! Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/35/60/90. Result: Construction of large quantities of apartments to house people for free.

Refugee Rescuing: Overwhelmed and undermaintained railways have been blocked by mountains of dust, broken trains, and debris. Bridges have collapsed. Roads have been rendered impassable. And anywhere these disasters have been avoided, there are too many people trying to flee for all to escape. Local authorities are doing all that they can, and doing it far better than any would expect, but it’s not enough. So the Combined Syndicates of America will march to the rescue. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Assistance will be given to help refugees get out of the Dust Bowl, arrangements will be made to resettle or house them.

Famine Relief: The sheer devastation of the dust storms has denuded entire counties, often forcing people to flee in every direction. The result has been a catastrophic loss of food production in many places, leading to many former farmers being on the verge of starvation. While aid from existing authorities is already being distributed, more would be better and the opportunity to demonstrate the moral superiority of socialism cannot be denied. Send shipments of wheat and potatoes and corn from areas that are unaffected, and let the hungry be fed. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Significant food shipments organized by the SPA.


Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 4 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

(2 Semi-Temporary Influence Committed) A Democratic Chain of Command?: The Bolsheviks increasingly relied on a fairly conventional military structure as the Russian Revolutionary War dragged on, while the Black Army had a system of soldier’s councils and recallable officers. Both schools of thought have inspired the structure of various Red Guards cells, along with other sources such as the federal army, the militias of the American Independence War, and the forces of the Third Internationale. Devising a system that will be understandable, egalitarian, democratic, and above all effective must be a priority, even if it will not be possible to pressure all Guards units into following it, let alone the various splinter groups. Cost: ?? Time: 1 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Choices on how to structure the Red Guards and how much pressure to use for spreading it, dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the Red Guards.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

(2 Butler Influence) Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in the military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectations and tighten standards, to increase the number of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/80/110. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises that are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Purchase More Arms: Relatively few arms factories were seized, but some were, and already Red Guards units have begun to benefit, but the acquisition of weapons for them is an often haphazard process and only a few units have even standard rifles. But it would be easy enough for larger quantities to be purchased and distributed so that the vast throngs of syndicalist soldiers have good guns and adequate ammunition. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/25. Result: Better-equipped Red Guards.

Distribute Trainers: There are only so many skilled, experienced veterans who can serve as a training cadre. While there are plenty of men who survived the Legation Wars and the various Latin American Interventions, only some of them are willing and able to assist you. But equally, there are only so many camps set up. One proposed alternative is to send the trainers to the Red Guards instead of the other way around. Cost: Somewhat weakens the training cadre. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/60/80. Result: Trainers dispersed, slow improvement in the Red Guards.

Raiding Reactionary Groups: The most powerful and organized reactionary groups have been identified. Their threat cannot be tolerated, and so it must be suppressed. They will be surrounded in their churches, attacked in their homes, arrested at their workplaces. They will be purged. Hopefully, the remainder will take the hint and cease being a thorn in our side, or we will have to purge them too. Cost: Possibility of provoking unrest, collateral damage, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/80/120. Result: Attack and break up the most notable counterrevolutionary organizations identified previously.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is just as staunchly secular, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Protestant Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of loss of CSA support, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broaden the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Establish schools for adult workers.

(2 Propaganda Committee Influence) Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss’s back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/80. Result: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, increased ease of recruiting.

(2 Propaganda Committee Influence) Newspaper Distribution: Various socialist and syndicalist newspapers are produced by SPA members, affiliates, and allies, ranging in quality from the professional The Red Banner made using the equipment formerly belonging to The Chicago Tribune to smeared sheets being printed in basements. Not only do they allow for the expounding of your political program and views, but they perform a variety of community functions. Setting up new printing presses and newsstands can only help you spread your message. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60/100. Result: Expanded newspaper distribution, easier recruiting and organizing

Photos for All: Photography is an incredibly powerful medium for displaying the impact of events upon people. The Dust Bowl, the Bleeding Midwest, the many deprivations and horrors caused by capitalism...and the triumphs wherever such things are fought would all make excellent subjects for photography. The camera can spread your message and make another potent tool in your arsenal. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Expanded use of photography in propaganda.

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Expand Rural Propaganda: Speeches and radio messages are already being broadcast, describing in broad terms your goals, your successes, and denigrating your rivals. The news of the ever-growing syndicalist movement will surely persuade many, but there are certainly other tacks to be taken. Encouraging more agitators and investing more time into propagandizing rural areas will doubtless increase your support in the farms of the country to greater levels, hopefully squeezing out Long and the hostile remnants of Farmer-Labor. Cost: 2 Resources, may cost support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increased and better propaganda directed at rural areas.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for its most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

The Moral of the Story: The radio is also being popularly used for entertainment, and there is the occasional show you like to listen to in order to relax. There’s no reason the SPA can’t sponsor a few shows about bands of thieves stealing from robbers, the ordinary adventures of hard-working laborers, or perhaps a grand tale of an alien world wracked by civil war...Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create socialist-themed radio entertainment.

Street Art: Such artwork can be created in many other cities where you have a presence as well...it will probably go better if you don’t have to deal with hostile police and “citizen’s groups.” You will create murals and graffiti in every style imaginable, showing the sins of capitalism and the glories of what will come after. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70. Result: Create socialist street art throughout SPA-controlled or influence areas.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.

Challenge the Instability: The evident failures of bourgeois democracy are displayed before all of America: a president and a vice-president dead or incapacitated, no one able to determine who or how they should be replaced, state governments frantically banding together, federal authority beginning to vanish, rising unrest in America’s colonies...what sort of nation could accept this, what sort of system could allow this? And what alternative is there? All these questions are to be answered. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/30/45/60/90. Result: Condemn the failures of the United States government, explain why your proposal is a superior alternative.

There is Power in a Union: Strength can be its own sort of comfort in dark and dangerous times. And you have strength aplenty. While there are many who might fear you, the alternatives are equally terrifying. Promise them protection, promise them safety as members of the CSA, promise them peace and stability, as much as can be gained. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Convince people to join you to protect themselves from various other threats.

Anti-Americanization: While the melting pot is a lovely concept, it also means that meaningful elements of various individual cultures are destroyed or appropriated. To resist such trends will require meaningful and long-term effort, but a start can be made through advocacy over the use of autonomy to establish holidays celebrating ancient customs and adding languages such as German, Yiddish, and Finnish to the days of schoolchildren so the tongues of their ancestry are not lost. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from socially conservative factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/60/90. Result: Agitate for expressions of local cultural heritage.

Offer an Alternative: The internal pink unions of the SPA have largely evaporated. The reformist, class-collaborationist unions supported by the SPU have begun dissolving themselves, primarily merging with the more confrontational AFL-CIO. But in many cases, their members have been left adrift, with damaged worldviews and betrayed feelings. Now they are vulnerable to capitalist or reactionary subversion...but they can also be convinced to take a more radical stance. There just needs to be a place for them. Cost: Increased strength to the AFL-CIO. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/70/100. Result: Disaffected moderate workers recruited into the AFL-CIO and propagandized to be more radical, increase in AFL-CIO support.

Street Theater: Work and labor are all well and good, but people need to relax and be entertained as well. And so entertainment shall be provided. Plays, skits, comedy groups, all shall be created. And of course, aside from the classic and common sorts of entertainment, some of it will have an edge to it as the entertainers seek to provoke thought and encourage the questioning of the current order. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/55/85/100. Result: Establish small traveling syndicalist entertainment groups.

Youth Groups: Children are the future. They must be protected and nurtured and educated, given the tools they need to succeed in a world that changes more and more by the day. And if their parents can’t care for them, there needs to be an alternative. An extension of the existing childcare institutions, informal practices, and an alternative to the Boy Scouts all in one has been proposed: The Young Worker’s League (the name was chosen to avoid coming down on the syndicalist vs. socialist debate). Cost: 1 Resource, -0.25 Resourcer per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/75. Result: Establishment of youth groups and clubs.

Catholic Liberation: The Catholic church is a powerful reactionary force, particularly after the savage anti-clericalism of the Italian Revolution. But many of its adherents are syndicalists or at least progressives, and the Irish and Italian voting blocs have allowed themselves to be courted by the SPA despite unease from some segments of the party. Now it is time to take that relationship to the next step, and this begins by reducing anti-clerical tendencies in the party and presenting a face friendly to the Catholic church in theory, if not in practice. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, Totalists, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, loss of support from Protestants. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Catholics, increased ease of recruitment.

Anti-Olson Approaches: Olson has already begun working to secure his power base through the remains of the Progressive Party and Farmer-Labor, reaching out to Federal and even Longist groups to increase the strength of his reformist movement. While outside of Minnesota his position remains precarious (and even within the state), he is growing stronger. And so that base must be cut away. Attacks on his character, attacks on his politics, attacks on his record, any and all will be used to dismantle his support, although a degree of care must be taken for these attacks to not be blatantly sponsored by the SPA leadership. Only a degree though, it can be an open secret. Cost: Increased tensions with Olson. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/60/75. Result: Decreased support for reformism.

Against All Racism: Racism is not something you will tolerate, nor is it acceptable to the CSA. While proclamations can only have so much impact, it is worthwhile to make them, especially if they can be followed up by action. But simply speaking against it will count for something. Cost: Decreased support from the IWW MM. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/60/105. Result: Racism and discrimination are condemned, chance of action being taken independently of you.

Encourage the Seizures: There will be no cowardice in the SPA. You are seizing factories because the system they operate under is inherently unjust, and the workers of the world will be rectifying that. And if you don’t like it, stay out of their way. Rally the workers to your banner, radicalize them, and go forth! Take the means of production, for the Revolution nears every day! Cost: Very provocative. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/45/65. Result: Increased support and radicalization within the party, more enthusiasm for seizing factories and other facilities.

We’re Singing on the Radio: With the developing core of singers and musicians working for the SPA, and the fairly robust radio network, the next step is obvious. Begin recording that music and adding it to the currently news-focused radio networks to make them more entertaining to listen to. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Begin recording various songs and playing them on the SPA radio network, adding them to whatever the individual stations have managed.

The Growing Pie: Yet another possible propaganda angle to approach would be the economic benefits of syndicalism. When all the workers are united and capitalist and banker leeches are no longer siphoning off the hard-earned profits of the workers for their own ends, we can expand the amount of wealth and industry for all, no matter their color or faith or place of origin. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Begin spreading propaganda about the economic benefits of syndicalism and socialism.

Religious Freedom: While you will not go so far as to demand the inclusion of religious symbology and rhetoric into the propaganda of the SPA, you will make it clear that you stand unswervingly for religious freedom. Many workers share many faiths, from Catholicism to Episcopalianism to Baptism, to say nothing of the minority religions of the country. And you promise that none shall be oppressed or suppressed. Cost: 1 Resource. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Begin spreading propaganda in favor of religious freedom and tolerance, hopefully countering the rumors describing you as a bunch of church-burning lunatics.


State Minority Rights: It is clear that there will be no progress on civil rights while the undemocratic and incompetent Hoover regime still controls the White House and Congress is so divided and disunited. Not unless that progress comes on the state level. Fortunately, there are multiple states willing and eager to pass various forms of equality-related laws, from sweeping bans of voting impediments to the abolishment of discriminatory laws to mandates to prevent abuse and discrimination. There will be backlash for pushing this, from allies and enemies both, but moral and practical imperatives drive you to pursue it nevertheless. Socialization requires liberation. Liberation requires equality. Cost: Likely loss of support, loss of support from conservative factions of the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/80/120. Result: Pass significant anti-discrimination laws, increase in support from socially left factions, gains in support from minority populations.

Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions has left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 55/100/150. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: A scant few Republicans have shown themselves to be potential allies, at least on legislative matters. Their party has for now absorbed the Progressives, creating a fragile and unstable union that could explode at any moment...and you might just be able to pick up the pieces. Insurgent Republicans and former Progressives have praised your advocacy for the recent, defeated laws. And they know together you will be stronger. Approaching them could be worthwhile. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/90/150. Results: You convince some members of the Republican Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

The Reformist Coalition: Recent events have given rise to a broad, vaguely left-of-center coalition determined to see stability returned to the nation. They have worked tirelessly to aid those harmed by the recent dust storms, winning much adulation and support for it. And already they are working to begin passing reforms in many states and even on a federal level. Nearly every party has people aligned with this coalition, and they are growing stronger every day. They may well capture the working class’s energy and direct it from revolution to reform. And that cannot be allowed. While their recent growth is impressive, they are still relatively marginal, especially in strongly SPA areas. As such, they can be dealt with through co-opting and absorption, with reforms meant to diffuse the power of the working-class instead turned to strengthen it. Cost: Loss of support from those opposed to electoralism. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/75/100. Result: Segments of the growing coalition co-opted, increase in support from those who favor electoralism.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA-controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/25/40/50. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

Agricultural Subsidies: Another potential way to bolster the farming cooperatives, and farmers in general, is to expand the subsidies to them. The state governments have enough money for it, and considering the behavior of several other governments, only a hypocrite would complain if they went even moderately into debt. The current crisis means that keeping as many farms as possible viable could be quite important, if conditions worsen enough to provoke a general famine as opposed to simply rising prices. Cost: Very mild loss of support with both factions of the IWW. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/55/70. Result: Expand agricultural subsidies, gain in support from The Teamster’s Union, the Red Grange, and Regional Unions. Gain in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor.

Limited Food Prices: Action must be taken to prevent food prices from rising out of control. Once more price controls will be adjusted and expanded to allow the vast populations who labor tirelessly in mines and factories to eat. It’s a familiar dance to many. Cost: Mild loss of support from the Red Grange, minor loss of Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/50/60. Result: Food prices stabilize, gain in Relations with the Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Centrists, gain in support from the ASA, both factions of the IWW, and the Regional Unions.

Assist the Refugees: While worker-based action will certainly alleviate the conditions of the incoming refugees, a combination of distance and limited resources means there is only so much they can do. But there are plenty of state governments where the socialists, even if they cannot control the government, can push for the refugees to be aided. This isn’t a political consideration. This is a human one. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/50/65. Result: Refugees aided, some increase in popular support.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begin relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA-controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

(2 Norman Thomas Influence) Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, it kept the British revolution safe from the initial attempts at crushing them, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 2 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Political Grandstanding: With Capitol Hill effectively dead due to the sheer dysfunction, now it is time to turn the Senate and House seats you control into bully pulpits. In committee and on the floor, you and yours will go on the attack through speeches and shouts. This is not a bid for passing a bill or an attempt to whip up some political support. This is an attempt to expose the social, economic, and political order of the United States as the blood-soaked horror it is from the very top. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/115/150. Result: Increase in popular support, the humiliation of all your political opposition.

A Juneteenth Celebration: June 19th is the day the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, one of the greatest acts of one of the greatest American presidents. After his defeat, a conspiracy of reactionaries, bankers, and capitalists did what they could to crush the legacy of Lincoln and suppress the successes of Reconstruction. With limited support in the Deep South, we cannot undo that harm at its source, but we can enshrine this day as a holiday across many states, making a clear statement of our beliefs and attitudes that will stand alongside our anti-lynching laws. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Pass laws declaring June 19th to be a state-wide holiday in several states, increase in support among black people.

The Big Bill: Capitol Hill is always rife with rumors, many of which are patently ridiculous. But you, Thomas, and Schenk think there might be something to one in particular. Democrats and Republicans and members of all three Farmer-Labor splinters have been exchanging significant looks, having hushed conversations, and meeting privately. Supposedly, Senators Wagner, Garner, and Moses have been working together to write a bill, along with many other major political figures like Quentin Roosevelt, James Watson, and Robert LaFollette Jr. Whatever this bill is, it will be bad news. Find out more and begin working to stop its passage. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/65/100. Result: Find more about this “big bill”

Demand Non-Intervention: Rumors of another US Army intervention in South America are spreading as well, provoking discontent and anger from everyone. These rumors are almost certainly false, even MacArthur has said so with his typical arrogance and utter lack of tact. But you can force the US to officially commit to a policy of non-intervention. This will likely result in a pullback of US support for several South and Central American juntas and boost your popularity among isolationists with broad support. But even with as much hostility to the idea of intervention, it will take a great deal of effort to pass. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 75/125. Result: Anti-intervention bill passed with broad support from several parties.

Bureaucratic Modifications: With the changes proposed, begin hiring bureaucrats subject to democratically elected committees designed to ensure that corruption, malfeasance, and obstructionism cannot take root in them. This will hopefully dramatically improve the efficacy of every state government where reactionaries were purged and curtail the influence of any who were missed...which is an unlikely proposition. Still, having another hedge against them feels useful. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25. Result: Dramatically reduced penalty from bureaucratic inexperience, improved efficacy of state governments.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Assistants Adjustment

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double-edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.

Local Autonomy Programs: The first implementation of the principles of local autonomy will begin. A relatively simple set of legislation will be passed, allowing school districts to choose to have optional “Cultural Enrichment” classes where students will learn the language, history, and traditions of their ancestors and granting municipalities permission to have local paperwork and signage in any language they desire, so long as English is also prominently available. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/50. Result: The first beginnings of local cultural autonomy.

State Nationalizations: Huey Long has already done it, and so has the federal government and its supporters. It is time for the government of the workers to begin directly intervening in the economy. State-backed investors will purchase commanding shares in certain factories and facilities, transferring part-ownership to the workers and coordinating the economic functioning in order to bolster the state as a whole...and in order to better equip the workers for the inevitable backlash. This can be combined with subsidies and a variety of other economic tools to greatly strengthen the influence of workers in the economy. Cost: Possible minor backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/80/100. Result: Increase to income, some factories taken over by the workers and the states under the cover of law. Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention in the economy, possibly ease other economic reforms. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox.

Strengthen the Justifications: With flimsy laws providing flimsier protection, it's clear they need to be fixed. Though fierce opposition has begun rallying, with everything from filibusters to bribery to harassment being attempted to keep the seizures from having actual legal justification. There are even threats of the army being called in to restore order, threats that are not followed through on only because of the fear of a full-on civil war. Strengthen the justifications, encourage the seizures, and prepare for the class war. Cost: Minor losses in CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: The legal basis for factory seizure is strengthened.

State Police Forces: With the National Guards hampered, there are other potential forces that could be used to suppress us...or used to crush reactionaries. To that end, the state police forces will be secured, their leadership replaced with trusted syndicalists, Red Guards will be hired, and they will be shifted to being under Congressional influence even as their arms are improved and their procedures revamped. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: State police forces have their loyalty secured.


The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 5 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Judicial Reform: One of the matters most clamored for is judicial reform. The American justice system is incredibly corrupt, designed to allow the wealthy to skate away from criminal cases and lawsuits with equal ease, and the courts have long been a tool to prevent workers from liberating themselves. Lawyers, judges, juries...all will need replacement, reform, or renovation come the Revolution. Begin working out alternatives. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin coming up with a multitude of options for judicial reform.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Justice for Jim Crow: The institution of slavery and its ideological legacies and descendants have left their marks upon even the most liberated black communities in America. Not only are they still frequently denied full equality under the law, but they frequently are forced to endure neglect or hostility from the police, charity organizations, and even the Red Guards. They have been systematically stripped of social, political, and economic power, and even when they acquire it violent attacks soon deprive them again, such as during the Sack of Tulsa. Steps must be taken to address these inequities, to dismantle Jim Crow and see justice done. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for racial justice.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

Help for Hispanics: As the SPA grows in influence in the American Southwest, awareness of the historical mistreatment the Hispanic population of the United States has endured. Just as with the Native Americans and the colored populations, you need to open a dialogue with these groups. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives such as the SPU. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Hispanic Americans.

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Justice and Violence: Violence is one of the eternal topics people argue about. When is it acceptable, why is it acceptable, what limits should there be? Some proclaim it all equally abhorrent, others insist it is always necessary. The SPA has an ample variety of attitudes, some of which are counterproductive. The cowardice of the SPU and the bloodthirst of the Fosterites both threaten the revolution. The correct course is obviously somewhere in between the extremes: self-defense is obviously acceptable, and so is violence in the pursuit of justice, but you must decide where the lines are...and when they should be crossed. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Decide what sorts of violence are acceptable and when, develop a more defined thesis on it.

Appoint a Committee of Ideology: This will be a contentious group whose arguments will echo throughout the party, but those arguments will be necessary for the building of a true socialist state. Economy, law, social organization, the role of religion and race, the question of minorities, internationalism, centralism, federalism, and councilism...all these things need to be discussed. And you don’t have the time to do it, so you will have to get other people to do it for you. Cost: Likely to decrease the Strength of the Center, will occasionally make decisions you don’t like. Will have to commit Influence and Gravitas. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Create subordinate to handle various Intellectual actions, vote on how much to commit.

Why the Resistance?: The recent revelations have concerned many in the ranks of the party. The sheer amount of remaining reactionary influence could serve as a serious threat to the security of the future worker’s state. So it is worth finding out what has caused it. It cannot all be caused by class interests or federal support, there has to be something else causing it...Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 55/110/165. Result: Begin working to figure out what’s caused the hostility to seemingly sudden hostility in SPA supporting areas and how it can be handled.


A Black Budget: Given the likelihood of the Commission for Revolutionary Defense being involved in some less-than-savory affairs, it may be worth siphoning some money into hidden accounts so that it can be put to use but remain harder to use. Paying spies from sources that aren’t clearly your coffers, purchasing equipment or information from organized crime, serving as a place to deposit money made from bank robberies...there are many possible uses. Cost: -2 to -2.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Resources available that can be put to use for covert operations and remain obscure.

Taking a Peek: With the sudden revelation of Schenk’s dual loyalties, you find yourself wondering who else has friends or interests you should be worried about. You wonder if you can trust Schenk to do the investigation...you wonder who else you could trust to do it. You hate how shaken you feel about this...but he’s not likely to try and hide any corruption or betrayal he uncovers from you. You are fairly confident of that. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Find information about chosen subordinate.

Someone Else to Spy: With Schenk’s loyalties suddenly in doubt, you find yourself...concerned about what he’s been doing, especially regarding the more inward-facing side of things. The Revolutionary Defense Committee having his attitudes would be potentially very unfortunate. You aren’t going to fire him, but you are going to be looking to curtail his influence, and one way would be to focus him more externally and find someone else to take care of the more day-to-day duties for the Committee and leave the Commission to him. Cost: -1 or 2 Influence, may annoy Schenk and the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Create an internally-focused Intrigue subordinate, vote on who they are.

The Revolutionary Guard’s Loyalties: You need to make sure the Revolutionary Guard is at least not entirely influenced by Schenk and the RAF. They were created before him, and you have never seen any sign of such attitudes from them, but he does have at least nominal influence over them, since the Commission appoints the Committee, who selects the Guard, who elect the Commission...although Schenk has just been appointing the people elected. Does that mean he thinks they already share his views? Was he trying to avoid suspicion? Was it a commitment to internal democracy? Or was he simply too focused on other matters? You will have to go around Schenk, or try to anyway, but you have to find out. Cost: Risk of annoying Schenk or the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Find out the Revolutionary Guard’s loyalties. The more Influence or Gravitas invested, the higher the likelihood Schenk realizes what’s up.

Identify the Leadership: The reactionary organizations did not spring up fully formed like Athena from Zeus’s forehead. They had help and support and leadership, and that all needs to be found, however they are dealt with in the end. Targeted arrests, assassinations, or suppression, all will be simpler the more we know about them. And given that these groups behave more like social clubs or lobbying organizations, it shouldn’t be hard to find out plenty. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/55. Result: Find out more about these reactionary groups.

Infiltrate The Enemy Within: There are reformists within the SPA, from those who think capitalism can be voted away to those who genuinely don’t want to end capitalism. Many of these have links to outside organizations. These links need to be identified, and the traitors who are using them. They don’t necessarily need to be dealt with like other enemies, but we need to be aware of them so we can keep undercutting their support. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75. Result: Find more about reformists within the SPA, Left-Farmer-Labor, the Progressives, and the coalition they may be forming. Find out more about Olson’s plans.

Find the Red Army Faction: You can’t leave this alone. You need to know who else is aligned with the RAF, and where they have their headquarters and where they draw their funding from...just in case the worst happens. What exactly the worst is changes from day to day, but you know being able to find the RAF will be helpful no matter what nightmare scenario you are picturing. Cost: Risk of seriously upsetting Schenk or the RAF. Time: ??. DC: High. Result: Find who else supports the RAF, find out where they are. The more Influence or Gravitas invested, the higher the likelihood Schenk realizes what’s up.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Increase to income.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 40/80/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Find What They Want: The Syndintern has begun making contact with you, but not on a steady basis. You need to arrange a more reliable system of meeting with their representatives if you want to change that. And you need to change it if you want to get a good idea of what they want and gain access to the extensive support they could provide. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Gain access to Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.

Into the Navy: Another possibility for infiltration is the navy. A scheme to try and stabilize a few coastal cities has been passed, and the fleet is being expanded, meaning new sailors are being recruited. This is a perfect opportunity to begin slipping syndicalists into their ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/??/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

(3 Schenk Influence) A Program of Subversion: The SPA has neglected the possibilities of infiltrating and subverting hostile organizations. Pink unions, anti-syndicalist militias, and rival political parties are all viable targets for the sowing of dissent, fostering of splits, and eventual destruction. But to do so effectively, we must build up our capacity for identifying those who can deceive, for preparing tactics and methods, for establishing lines of communication. Cost: -1 Resource per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Set up training program for political infiltrators and agent provocateurs, improve efficacy of spying.

Hunt Infiltrators: The Longists and Federalists have doubtless begun infiltrating us, trying to sow division and sabotage our efforts. Perhaps this has already begun bearing fruit, or perhaps it will become a problem in days to come. Either way, the spies must be found and removed. With limited sources of information, it may prove difficult, but it is a task that must be accomplished as soon as possible. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Begin hunting for spies within the CSA.

Propaganda of the Deed: There are many tools for spreading syndicalism and disrupting reactionaries. Bombs and guns are excellent at doing both. By demonstrating the spirit of revolution, weakening the forces the oppressors can bring to bear, and striking fear into the hearts of those who stand against us, we shall strengthen the cause! The class war shall come and end the conflicts of history, and no price is too great to pay it! Cost: -3 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/35/50/65/90. Result: Begin a campaign of political bombings and assasinations.

Protective Measures: With violence rising by the day, measures must be taken to protect the leaders of the revolution. The Guard must be expanded, with the new members set to providing protection wherever needed. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55/85. Result: Recruit more bodyguards.

Sabotage Records: An alternate proposal to outright attacking bankers and factory owners is infiltrating courthouses, banks, and other such locations and then destroying the records, usually in the guise of a robbery to avoid attention. While less likely to satisfy the bloodlust of some and not as punishing to the enemies of the workers, it does have some benefits. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/50/80. Result: Begin destroying records of mortgages, factory ownership, etc.

Robin Hood Revolutions: The Bosheviks funded themselves through bank robberies before they were able to seize power. While the size and strength of the SPA mean such tactics are no longer needed, they could still be useful. A campaign of public, armed theft will do much to demoralize our class enemies and tie up their investigation and intelligence resources. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60. Result: Begin a campaign of bank robberies, increase to income.

Union Entryism: Not every factory has been seized, not every union is a revolutionary one. In particular, there are several states with growing industrial bases that have minimal SPA support. Infiltrating these areas and their factories will be important, especially since many of these factories are responsible for producing the equipment needed by the slowly reforming Federal Army. It will be a difficult task for those agents assigned, one which will need a great deal of skill, but it will be an invaluable one for us and for the Syndintern. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/???/???. Result: Pink unions and non-unionized factories infiltrated, especially in states where support is lacking.

Spies in the House: The rich have servants. Maids, nannies, handymen, butlers, gardeners... all are trusted to go into people’s homes, to stay there with minimal supervision, and sometimes even to assist in more discrete functions. And while they are typically members of the labor aristocracy, they are just as often subjected to cruel abuses of all kinds. And so many of them may well be willing to aid you, giving you access to an invisible but dense information network...although it is also possible that the BOI and Longists will have anticipated this and established counters. Cost: 0.1 Resources per Influence invested. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Find and recruit spies and informants among servants.

Rooting Out Domestic Enemies: Of course, a similar approach could be done to members of the SPA who hire unionized domestic workers, to say nothing of the countless secretaries, aids, and functionaries who are vital for keeping the vast infrastructure of the party running. Anyone of them could be turned into a spy. So it may well be worth gently vetting those individuals for potentially troublesome sympathies and ties.If any evidence of spying is found...They cannot be allowed to subvert our revolution. Cost: Will piss a lot of people off. Time: 1 month. DC: ???/???/???. Result: Find spies and informants among your own servants.

Preparing for a Kornilov Affair: When the tides of revolution rose in Russia, the force of counterrevolution attempted everything they could to stop it, including a military coup. The Kornilov Affair was a defeat for the reactionaries thanks to the preparations of the Soviet, preparations we have barely begun. We need to expand our military, infiltrade Longist and Federal forces, seize the rails..but for the coup itself, we need to secure methods of evacuation for SPA members in Washington lest we suffer the fate of the Last Bolsheviks.Cost: Mildly annoy some people in Washington. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??. Result: Begin preparing to evacuate leaders of the SPA and allies such as Reed and Thomas in event of a coup or purge.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only twice per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one). This will have a political cost if used on the SPA Cadres.

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Call on the RAF: Talk to Schenk, let him know what you need, he goes somewhere to talk to the RAF leadership, and whatever you asked for gets accomplished. You try not to think anything more of it. Cost: Cooperation from the RAF. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Cooperation allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -9 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month. Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Handle Tobin: Tobin is up to something. Most likely its just run-of-the-mill corruption, but there’s a possibility, a strong one, that he is knowingly working with the BOI. It’s time to find out personally. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Meet with Tobin, lay out what you know, demand an explanation.

Adjust Your Priorities: Long-term commitments are risky in the chaotic situation the American nation is in. Temporarily stepping back from them would allow you to handle crises as they come back. Cost: Minor penalties to targeted action. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: De-commit Influence from selected action, narrative penalties.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no foci.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

A Lot of Chutzpah - Part of propaganda is not...lies exactly, but occasionally de-emphasizing certain aspects of your end goal for the sake of quieting opposition. It might take a lot of chutzpah to say yes out of one side of your mouth and no out of the other, but it also takes a lot of chutzpah to overthrow capitalism. Time: 1 month. Effect: +2 Appeal per month for white Americans, -1 Appeal per month for black, Jewish, and immigrant Americans.

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoisie are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Anti-Foreclosure Teams - The most immediate threat to the remaining farmers are foreclosures. There are a variety of methods of dealing with this problem, from paying the banks to driving off their agents to buying the property at auction then returning it. Begin doing so in mass. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain +10 to all actions involving resisting foreclosure or eviction.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Rural-Urban Exchanges: 1 Gravitas, 55+5 = 60
The delicate networks of trade that an industrial economy depends on are slowly reforged over the month.

The middlemen are installed in more and more places. In some, they are elected by the strike committees that have taken over factories. In others, they are hired by farming cooperatives or factories - many former bourgeoise find themselves taking on these roles, usually with appropriate supervision. Still other places have teamsters and railworkers taking responsibility for handling shipments.

It’s economic anarchy, but it's functioning. There are backlogs and delays of everything, but store shelves are staying mostly stocked and factories are managing to stay running.

Socialism and syndicalism are triumphing as capitalism totters under mortal blow after mortal blow.

That is not to say it is still without problems. Communication is often inefficient, leading to long waits in which supplies run low and machines run to a halt.

Worse, the multiple mediums of exchange every enterprise must interact with has proven to be a confusing and difficult to manage system. Shipments are misdelivered accidentally or on purpose dozens of times per day in many cities, leading to frequent discontent, and the prices on many goods are still higher than they were before.

But they have been lowering and stabilizing, both positive signs. There needs to be more done of course, but not as much as Hoover or Long would have you believe.

Result: More efficient, but still messy, set of arrangements for the exchange of goods between various enterprises established.

Union-Integrated Planning: 2 Influence, 10+26+12 = 48
In a dingy room in a half-abandoned Chicago hotel, nearly two hundred men (and more than a few women) gather. Papers are laid out on the table. A massive map of the country covers half of it, cities and railways and mining centers and farmland laid out, some circled in red. On the other half are piles of diagrams and charts and tables, all covered in scrawls and ink stains.

“There’s too much information, we can’t possibly process it all,” someone observes, typing frantically on a mechanical calculator.

“We need to decentralize,” someone else comments.

The first planning session has come to an agreement after several hours of trying to collate all the available information: with their current level of resources, it was impractical to make any sort of grand plan.

Three alternatives were proposed, with varying degrees of popularity.

The first was to decentralize and have many independent planning commissions with an overall committee responsible purely for keeping track of the various targets and informing people of them. This proposal was broadly popular among many, for reasons both ideological and practical. Both syndicalists and orthodox socialists view this as a potential transition to their favored economic system, while those more pragmatically-inclined see numerous opportunities to do well by doing good.

The second was to broaden the planning commission. Instead of making specific goals for each sector of the economy, they would be responsible for instead creating general priorities that would be up to the individual industries and unions to follow. This is less popular for many reasons.

Last and least popular with the CSA, a significant increase to the budget of the planning commission would allow them to better handle the enormous task. With this swell of resources, they would be able to finance multiple branch offices and supply themselves with ample calculators and computers.

You decide to throw your weight behind...

[] Total decentralization. To attempt to plan the entire office with a single committee and their subordinates is utterly impractical.

[] Broad oversight. The determination of the people, freed from the chains of capitalism, will make up for any shortcomings or inefficiencies.

[] Expand the budget. This endeavor will employ incredible numbers of educated people and huge quantities of resources, but if that is what is required to see it through properly, so be it. (-5 Resources, upkeep increases to -4 Resources a month.)

Appoint Union Representative: 1 Influence, 8+10 = 18
The Combined Syndicates are rather unwieldy due to their sheer size and chaotic structure. Lines of authority conflict, committees have overlapping jurisdictions, many unions ignore the CSA when it suits them too, delegates find themselves with conflicting instructions, vital sessions are half-attended.

It mostly works off grit, determination, and good faith. Even when members might not like each other, there is a sense of mutual respect and a desire for cooperation that keeps everything functional. And that sense has created a peculiar culture within the CSA.

So your proposal to create what is effectively an equivalent of the Speaker of the House with broadly similar power and authority clashes badly with that culture.

You push it through nonetheless. Many owe their positions to you, others simply feel obligated out of respect. The vote is a close-thing even then, passing only by a dozen votes.

And so you dare not attempt to press for a favored candidate.

Fortunately, the CSA itself is able to agree on a broadly popular individual: Frank Little, one of the IWW’s most dedicated and passionate organizers, still bearing the scars of an attempted murder. His election is met with applause.

However, no matter how popular he is, various union groups and subcommittees and commissions, and other sections of the increasingly byzantine CSA are not happy with his appointment. They had championed their own candidate, a nobody you suspect was supported on the basis that he would not interfere, and they are not pleased with his utter failure.

That’s a problem for another day. Now there is the question of Little. You truly admire the man and having a good working relationship will make him more effective, but the CSA values its independence. Being too close may annoy them.

[] Greet him formally, ensure the distance between party and union is maintained. (Commit 1 Influence. Little will have 2 Influence. Minimal CSA impact.)
[] Greet him as a representative of the will of the people just as you are. (Commit 1 Gravitas. Little will have 3 Influence. Moderate CSA impact.)
[] Greet him as a comrade and ally. Take him completely into your confidence. (Commit 2 Influence. Little will have 4 Influence. Major CSA Impact.)

Result: Some loss of support with the CSA, gain Frank Little (+3 to all Union actions) as subordinate for Union actions, gain spirit Passive Bureaucratic Resistance (-3 to all Union actions)

State Minority Rights: 1 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 99+2+15=116+4=120
The Reverend King stood silently, overcome with shock and sheer joy. His life had been a struggle. He had fled the South after his college had been ransacked by the KKK, taking his family, including his young son, north. Even here, in the lands that had fought to destroy slavery, he encountered vicious racism. And so he had stood against it with his flock, and in his faith he had found strength.

But to his joyous surprise, they did not stand alone. There were so many men and women willing to aid him in fighting racism, so long as it was done under the red banner. They seemed to have no desire to discriminate. In their ranks were Jews and Christians, blacks and whites, people of the East and the West. All that united them was their politics and their zeal. It made him a bit uncomfortable at times, for he could see it turned against the little church he had founded for those like him so easily, but it was that same zeal that made them such wonderful allies.

And he needed those allies, to keep the church safe, to protect his family, to guard him and his flock when they entered a segregated restaurant and sat themselves in the white section and refused to be moved.

And now he and those allies had triumphed. And as his shock faded, he straightened and began to speak.

“Brothers and sisters, I wish to thank you all. We have struggled against the forces of oppression and segregation. We have suffered many losses and drank of the bitter cup of defeat. But the Lord has smiled upon us. Free at last! Free at last! Thank G-d Almighty, we’re free at last!”

And the congregation joined him. And right in the middle of the street, to the amazement of the newsboys who had told them, they began to sing “Hallelujah.”

It takes the remaining conservatives and moderates by surprise. Despite all their arguing, all their virulence and eloquence, despite appeals to reason and proclamations of doom, something many thought would never happen has begun to sweep the nation.

Bill after bill is drafted in state after state. Suits are filed by the dozen in courts. The topic is on nearly everyone’s lips: Equal rights for all.

Signs with quotes from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution underlined are waved, marches where black workers and white walk side by side and hand in hand are held, defiant speeches are given before schools and buses and restaurants are forcibly desegregated.

And the best part is that most of the momentum surged up from below. When word of the bills trickled down, many conservatives expected rage and fury to divide the Socialist Party of America, that daring to break the color line would break you. Instead, it has only further unified and galvanized the working class.

When a judge delivers his verdict, declaring “separate but equal a travesty and a falsehood. Forced separations mean forced inequality” the cheers and whoops and the singing of “John Brown’s Body” were not organized.

When the final “Aye” was delivered on a bill banning discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex, place of origin, and ancestry in Seattle, the celebrations that shook the city were not pre-planned.

Photos of the spontaneous demonstrations and articles describing the “racial madness” that overtook so many cities and even many smaller, more rural places covered the country within the week.

The message was delivered loud and clear. And if some don’t like what they hear? They can measure their strength against what was just shown.

They will be found wanting.

Result: Despite fierce but disorganized opposition, broad civil rights bills have been passed and all manner of discriminatory laws have been struck down. This provoked a massive and largely spontaneous demonstration of support from the majority of SPA supporters, although it has also provoked immense hostility among some.

A Juneteenth Celebration: 1 Influence, 5+15=20
One bill that slipped by almost unnoticed was declaring June 19th, the day the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, a holiday and encouraging people to reflect upon the evils of slavery and racism and work against them, especially on that day.
Slightly embarrassing, not one state actually manages to get the bill passed before Juneteenth. You suppose you can’t fault people wanting to get the substantive bills that forbade voter suppression and segregation or mandated affirmative action for minorities first.

But it does mean that people won’t be paying attention to this new holiday for a year or so, by which point most of the impact will have faded.

Result: Juneteenth was made a holiday...after June 19th.

Justice for Jim Crow: 2 Influence, 70+72+20=162
Even as laws are being passed to grant what has been denied for far too long, representatives of many organizations are gathering in Chicago to discuss it. The fact that this conference is being sponsored by the SPA turns many away, but the massive wave of bills passed does attract attention even from those who ordinarily spurn you...and you insist that no one who is willing to contribute in good faith and isn’t a security risk is turned away.

Members of the National Negro Business League, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People all attend in large numbers, despite being disinterested or even opposed to syndicalism.

And that is to say nothing of all the leftist organizations that attend. Representatives of Red Guards units, union leaders, the Colored Communist Party, the Black Brigade, the African Liberation Group, and many, many, many members of the Socialist Party Party of America are everywhere in the convention.

You visit as well, recognizing the importance of this occasion.

There are panels and speeches and celebrations. There are memorials for the many that have fallen in the struggle for civil rights. There are denunciations of the KKK, Black Legion, the Silver Legion, and the White Citizenship League.

And because politics is what it is, there are plenty of opportunities to impress people on the power of syndicalism: Red Guard drills, tours of the worker-owned factories throughout Chicago, and more.

You depart satisfied, having made yet another unquestionable statement.

And then you read a report on the results of the conference. It’s much longer than you expected.

The first few pages are nothing you did not expect. They discuss the need to defeat white supremacist groups, highlight the importance of expanding and exporting voting rights and banning segregation to other states and advocate for the formation of political and social institutions to protect black rights.

It’s the rest that catches you by surprise. Housing reform, economic compensation for the depredations of slavery and generations of inequity, cultural exchanges, exposure programs, policing reforms, the modification of the 13th Amendment, transformations to education..there’s much further to go than you had expected.

The next several pages after all the proposed changes are listed out describe an ideology that has been growing in popularity called Intersectional Socialism. You read through it carefully, taking notes in the margins. It argues that the racial and gender barriers instituted by capitalism will remain, not just because of conscious biases but because the legacy of such discrimination will remain for generations even when being actively fought.

It also emphasizes that class, race, and gender all have their own elements of discrimination and oppression. A wealthy black capitalist is still a victim just as much as a poor white worker is. There are situations in which wealth matters more than race, and situations where the opposite is true.

You’ll have to think about this.

Result: Many new actions

Why the Resistance?: 2 Influence, 90+11+7=108+4 = 112
With a general awareness of large numbers of reactionaries remaining who have not yet chosen to use peaceful or violent means of resistance but are beginning to organize spreading, there is ample support for crushing them...but there is equal popularity in the idea of recruiting them and bringing them over to join you.

Either way, knowing what’s caused this sudden surge is worthwhile. And so the least threatening party members are sent to many towns and neighborhoods and are asked to do surveys. Meanwhile, anti-syndicalist preachers, elected officials, capitalists, and other figures of local importance are conversed with.

The information gathered is...enlightening.

The first and most important point is that the support for full-on revolution is not as popular as you would expect given the broad support behind general strikes and factory seizures. Every step forward on the road to revolution has alienated some who would rather stay behind. For some its tactical, for others its ideological, and some will simply oppose any revolution no matter what.

This is one type of reactionary.

The second and third types are both racists, albeit to a different degree. One actively opposes any sort of right for minorities and sees nothing wrong with Jim Crow. The other type would love to invest huge sums in the Black Belt...and have all the black people stay there. Again, each step you take forward causes more.

This is another.

Fourth are the socially conservative. Mothers scared of their daughters being “loose,” husbands angered at the loss of control over their wives, preachers denigrating the decline of traditional values. In many of these, there is a strong streak of fear, particularly regarding the atheist to anti-theist nature of the SPA platform.

This is the last type of reactionary.

Aside from the angry capitalists and the like. There’s nothing unexpected there.

They have different goals and different methods. But their organizations will be collapsed and co-opted, broken by the might of the people. Even if there is ample evidence that they are being offered advice and support from the federal government. Evidence you are keeping hidden for now.

You’ve learned plenty that’s important. But probably the most significant thing is that all these groups have been varying degrees of present for a long time. It’s just that they haven’t been organized enough to matter at all until recently.

Result: More detailed understanding of what’s caused this sudden upsurge of anti-syndicalism.

Find What They Want: 1 Influence, 48
There are plenty of French and British scattered throughout the country. That makes it relatively simple to find the representatives of the Third International and arrange for the transportation of some ambassadors.

Already the tighter relationship has borne fruit in the form of small shipments of French rifles and British machine guns. But with support comes expectation, expectations you will have to meet.

Result: Syndintern Mandates and Syndintern Abilities unlocked.

[H3]A Democratic Chain of Command: 2 Influence, 17+82+20=119[/H3]
The chain of command has grown in sophistication, the Red Guard has expanded in size. You might not match them against the Army in a fair fight, but you don’t think Butler is planning on having any of those.

Butler is...satisfied with the way the regular Red Guards have been performing and how they are organized. He still compares them very disfavorably to his Marines, but he says “they’ll toughen up plenty soon enough. The ones who survive anyway.”

It’s the more professional and well-equipped soldiers who have his attention now. Butler aims to turn them into a true elite and then expand them enough that they can be the backbone of a force to defend democracy.

To that end he has proposed yet another radical reform:

He wants to bring the Blair Brigade and the Wheatland Avengers into a centralized command and turn them into the nuclei of expanded professional soldiers, held to a higher standard and organized separately from the ordinary Red Guards.

And with the stroke of a pen and a few words in the right ears, the measure is passed. There have been so many changes already, what’s one more?

Result: Red Guards command reformed, establishment of a separate and somewhat more professional force based around the Blair Brigade, Wheatland Avengers, and those who have been through the training camps.

Personal Action: Exercise
You run. And you sweat. Your lungs burn, your legs ache. Your bodyguards are barely breathing hard.

You maybe should have done this a while ago.

You lift weights, the metal making your hands ache. Your arms tremble with each painstaking repetition.

You probably should have done this a while ago.

You swing at the bag, knuckles raw and red as you duck and weave. Your hair is plastered to your head, your chest is heaving. Your trainer calls “Time” and you collapse, utterly spent.

You definitely should have done this a while ago.

Result: Health improved, steam let off.

Focus: Promises of Equality
Another declaration is signed on June 20th, 1934.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, no matter their color or creed, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, Prosperity, Self-Determination, and the pursuit of Happiness, That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of the Negro denied the rights and liberties that should have been long since granted and the Worker oppressed and starved by plutocratic capitalism. But through their own organization and agitation, many rights and privileges have been won in several states of the Union. This is to be applauded, but it is also to be seen as a step on a long path.

And should the forces of capital, reaction, and racism attempt to bar us, they shall be defeated just as the British were.

Result: Focus completed.

Report from the Coordination Committee: 1 Influence on Meat and Potatoes, 17+5=22, 1 Influence on Refugee Rescuing, 82+5=87
Immense amounts of funds are spent purchasing food. The staples are focused on: relatively little meat is bought despite the name of the propaganda campaign that comes with it, in favor of cheaper but equally filling alternatives, including huge quantities of Canadian corn.

Such a major purchase of course encounters complications. Slow deliveries lead to some kitchens shutting down on a temporary basis, and there are numerous quality issues. In several cases, the supplies delivered were infested with weevils.

It is by no means a perfect situation. But it is far better than the alternative.

And there are plenty who need to be fed. A refugee chain has been established. As people flee the dust, they find themselves being passed from camp to camp until they arrive somewhere with room for them to stay. They are boarded in churches and fed from the backs of trucks, they are sheltered in schools and protected by mingled bands of soldiers and farmers.
It’s utter chaos, but it's chaos that is being handled for now.

Report from the State Legislative Committee: 2 Influence on Limited Food, 75+21-12=84, Prices, 2 Influence on Bureaucratic Modifications, 79+65-12=132
Part of that handling is the modification of price controls, lowering the ceiling somewhat to keep them from spiraling out of control. An additional law is passed in some of the worst affected states that more severely punishes price gouging.

They are implemented smoothly, prices changing across the country as though a switch was flicked. Though many farmers who escaped the wrath of the Dust Bowl are pushed closer to destitution, it is a minor cost when compared to the specter of starvation.

And just as smoothly, the laws are instituted that grant a degree of oversight over the many state bureaucrats. At every level of employment, small councils are elected and paid similar to jurors, but they are given the task of reviewing complaints and investigating corruption.

There are still serious teething issues to work out: corruption among the councils, lack of expertise and familiarity, and bureaucrats avoiding difficulty by the simple measure of bribing the councilmembers.

Even so, as experienced and professional bureaucrats are hired, many in the SPA feel they will be kept in line by these councils.

Of course, some are concerned by these changes, but they are outweighed and outvoted and left to sulk.


Report from Norman Thomas: 2 Influence on Railway Socialism, 4+96=100, 2 Influence on the Big Bill, 95+4+10=109
With the issue raised, Norman begins pushing it on various state governments. He and his many political allies turn all their charm and persuasion onto many Congressmen and Senators. And while there are some stumbles and some recalcitrance, the painful process of getting such a serious bill passed despite the efforts of slowly dwindling reactionary groups begins.

Meanwhile, Norman himself is spending time snooping in Washington itself. He greases palms, makes offers, and has guarded conversations at increasingly frantic galas. And slowly he begins to paint a picture of this potentially deadly bill.

By all accounts, it is absolutely enormous. An aide who managed to catch a glimpse compared it to a segment of the Talmud in size. Which didn’t clear it up for you, until Flora drew a rectangle that took up half your desk to show its length and width and used your thickest book to give you an idea of its depth.

You sincerely hope that he’s exaggerating.

Norman’s investigation continued past that, to see what it could be. Along the way, he found indications that the group working on it might extend further than you thought, perhaps including all parties but yours. Or perhaps not. That would be a great many people to satisfy.

After nearly three weeks of investigating, he has gathered more information on the bill. It is a messy compromise, but a potent one. It is designed to be easily modified, with pre-written alternate sections. And while Norman doesn’t see too much of a problem with what he has found of its contents, it terrifies you.

This bill is an enormously interventionist reform. It sets sharp limits on working hours, mandates worker’s compensation, establishes government-backed pension funds, and more.

If it is passed, it may well badly damage your momentum. But if you fight it openly you create a massive vulnerability. Propaganda is always at its most dangerous when it is the truth.

So you decide to make some arrangements.

One quick meeting with Floyd and you see there’s plenty more to be concerned about. Because for every reform to benefit the workers, there is one that seems to be aiming at the second round of the Palmer Raids, often in cloaked language you have to puzzle out.

Perhaps the only beneficial thing is that the bill includes some surprisingly progressive language on racial matters.

You doubt the Dixiecrats know about this. And that gives you an option.

Maybe.

You can tell them. You will have to do so privately or risk the censure of the party. But letting them know means they will fight against it.

[] Take the risk. You'll deal with the devil. And the Dixiecrats aren't that much worse. (Will unlock actions to arrange and hide the meeting. + Stress)

[] You will stand by your principles.

Report from Smedley Butler: 2 Influence on Instilling Discipline, Pt.2, 60+54+10=124
You barely even need to read the reports anymore. You trust Butler, perhaps more than you should. You trusted Schenk too, after all...and he could easily become a potential Napoleon.

But you don’t see any evidence of that currently. He’s busily whipping reluctant Red Guards into shape, demanding higher and higher standards, pushing more men and a few women through the training camps, working to expand the armaments available to your comrades...and most of all refusing to tolerate any slackness.

[H3]Report from Charles Schenk: 1 Influence on Identify the Leadership,60+10=70, 2 Influence on A Program of Subversion, 6+1+10=16[/H3]
Most of them made it easy. If they really feared a Red Terror, doubtless they would be far less bold. Or perhaps this is a strange sort of courage and they hoped to make themselves martyrs. Regardless, while the list of names is far too long, you can at least take comfort in the knowledge that it’s unlikely it's missing many.

There are a few different categories among the names. Some are priests and pastors, or even one or two rabbis wary of the socialism of fools. Some are mayors and police chiefs and council members forced down from their stolen thrones. Some are...quite possibly KKK members, or at least inclined that way. Some are capitalists.

And some have no visible grievance except perhaps an unfortunate encounter with Red Guards.

Regardless, you know where they live.

The majority of Schenk’s attention, however, is on finishing preparing his spy ring. Unfortunately, there was a serious accident that has greatly hampered his efforts. Several experts he had recruited to serve as teachers and some of his would-be spies died in a fire. While suspicious, he has deemed it to have a natural cause.

This has set him back a month and created a hole in the ranks he has only barely managed to fill. But things are partly ready anyway. Ready enough he’s charging SPA accounts for it.

Report from Ben Stevens: 1 Influence on Famine Relief, 39+5=44, 1 Influence on Red Grange Contributions, 64+5=69
Understandably so, the famine takes up the majority of Ben Steven’s attention this month. You suspect he will be similarly distracted next month.

He spends SPA resources like water, purchasing all the food that can be spared, and arranging for it to be shipped to refugee camps and isolated towns, seeking to fill every empty belly.

And when that’s enough he goes to the Red Grange and convinces them to spend their strike fund on the same thing.

Literal tons of food are purchased and sent forth.

It’s not enough. But it’s more than it could be.

Report from the Propaganda Committee: 2 Influence on Posters and Pamphlets, 56+39+5=100, 2 Influence on Newspaper Distribution, 52+19+5=76+5 = 81, 2 Influence on Expand Rural Propaganda, 16+66+10=92
Production lines for pamphlets are set up, organized groups to vet content are formed, writers and designers are hired. Every possible consideration is made to ensure this propaganda will be as influential as possible.

The pamphlets discuss many topics, providing short explanations and punchy visuals as they condemn capitalism and racism. Every matter that SPA propaganda has already emphasized gets at least one run of pamphlets.

And with them comes posters. Black arms and white arms, clasped together, both wearing the red armband. A great mass of people united in a wave crashing down on their oppressors. Chains being broken. George Washington handing a torch to Abe Lincoln who hands it to you. Swarms of eagles attacking capitalists.

You are impressed at the sheer variety.

And with these new posters comes new papers. More than five different nationwide socialist newspapers are formally established, experienced reporters and muckrakers getting split up to staff them all. And as part of the effort, funding is given to many independent newspapers ranging in tendency from syndicalist to communist to anarchist. Even a few social democratic and progressive newspapers get some funding.

The program is deliberately designed to appeal to as many different groups as possible. There are magazines for homemakers, papers for farmers, and tabloids for factory workers. However, each major paper has one or two article series, comic strips, and advice columns in common in the hopes of building ties between groups.

And it’s the Farmer’s Gazette that gets the most attention this month. Hundreds of issues are printed out, each one detailing the enormous efforts you are making to feed the desperate farmers. And each one contains a shocking exposé of the roots of the problem: capitalism.

Since capitalism is so pervasive, any problem can be blamed on it. But it truly did massively exacerbate the drought.

And it’s not just newspapers that hammer this line. Song and speech and sound trucks are all used to combat the capitalist realism and reaction that span the Great Plains. And no propaganda piece is more effective than when it is delivered with a filling meal. Especially when those who prove disruptive have to wait at the end of the line.
While the thrust of the effort is in the Midwest, some effort is spared out in California and the Deep South. Even a few reservations receive very brief visits.

Report from the SPA Cadres: 1 Influence on Public Libraries, 23+5=28, 2 Influence on A Union Home, 47+89=136, 1 Influence on Agitate for Non-Intervention, 72
The existing library system is deemed largely sufficient by many in the cadres. Funds are raised to purchase some fresh crops of books, consisting roughly equally of dime novels, leftist theory, and children’s books.

This has provoked some annoyance by many who were hoping for more, including your wife and daughter. Hannah has gone to speak on the matter at a party meeting. You are so incredibly proud of her. And they didn’t even know who she was (at first.)

However, the cadres did have a good reason for distraction. Driven by the waves of refugees and the complaints about the cooperatives, unions and cadres have gathered together to prepare a massive effort to build housing. It will not be truly high-quality housing, but it will be much better. The apartments are small, but they have electricity and a few basic amenities, while many others can be used in common.

Given concerns about lacking expertise, highlighted by a few unfortunate incidents involving excessive eagerness, most of this month’s effort went to the logistics of stockpiling materials and arranging for construction teams to travel. The brigades make it easier, given the sheer number of hands that can help with the parts that require only unskilled labor.

The remainders of their effort are spent on strikes and protests against further interventions. While there is no further government commentary on the matter, it does win you some reasonably positive publicity.

Call on the RAF: At Schenk's Command, Sabotage Records, 24+15-10=29
From the report you get, the RAF is not lacking in skill or courage.

One band went on a raid in Texas, robbing a bank with many mortgage records in broad delight, waving red banners. Upon being surrounded, they set the records room aflame with them in it.

Another group successfully took a bank in the dead of night, gunning down a dozen guards and splattering the marble floors with their blood before seizing the tellers as hostages and forcing their way out, records of debts and bags of cash in town.

Yet a third briefly paralyzed Los Angeles by seizing three banks at once and leading a prison break of captured agitators at the same time.

These are undeniably impressive acts...but there aren’t that many of them. The RAF is limited to a cell or two in a few cities, and many were unlikely to perform such a public operation.

So while the propaganda value is worthwhile, there’s a limited material impact. And getting the most out of that propaganda would require you to publicly associate with the RAF.

And you have no desire to do that.
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
[X] Total decentralization. To attempt to plan the entire office with a single committee and their subordinates is utterly impractical.

[X] Greet him as a representative of the will of the people just as you are. (Commit 1 Gravitas. Little will have 3 Influence. Moderate CSA impact.)
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
There have been many times when you have needed to speak with Daniel Tobin. Each time, you traveled to him, to the heart of his power in Minneapolis. In some years, that’s been the headquarters of the Teamster’s Union. In others, it’s been a fine restaurant where the waiters knew him by name. This year, it would have been the city hall.

But you have a point to make, so you don’t go to him. You are sitting at your desk, writing busily, signing orders and scratching down notes for a planned speech. Flora ushers him in. You don’t look up as you thank her, still busily writing.

And writing.

And writing.

After a few minutes, he coughs.

And you keep writing.
Finally, he stands up. “I can see you are busy, I will be back later,” he says.

“Sit down, comrade. I have some questions for you!”

Your voice fills the room. You aren’t loud, you aren’t shouting. Your tone is perfectly mild. But all the same, Tobin hears the snap of the whip in your words and sits down so fast the chair slides back across the carpet.

“There have been some financial irregularities in the records of the Teamster’s Union. Which would be acceptable, everyone skims sometimes. And you can’t always use union funds to support Red Guards or some of our other initiatives.”

You look up for the first time and slide a single page of the records in question across to him. A single line is circled three times in black ink.

“But that doesn’t mean I am going to tolerate you taking money from the Feds.”

Tobin swallows. “I can explain, it’s not what it looks like,” he promises.

“Get on with it.”

He begins speaking quickly but not frantically.

He starts telling a tale of a rebellious subordinate working to frame him. All the while, you stare at him, eyes cold and face frozen.

Against your unrelenting determination, his usual smoothness avails him nothing and he soon abandons it. His words become frantic as he stumbles over them, and he keeps calling you by your name as he claims it was an effort at stealing from the Feds.

“I didn’t keep a promise I made to them, Jack, you believe me right? I bilked them out of thousands of dollars and put half of it into the Red Guards, Jack, I swear.”

You don’t blink.

“If you try and break me, I’ll break you right back. I know every dirty secret in this organization, what happens when I spill them all?” he rails.

He begins stomping back and forth. “You think your revolution is going to fix anything? There’s always going to be the poor, there’s always going to be the people keeping them poor. It’s not going to change anything. In another hundred years, there will be another bunch of deluded bastards trying to fix everything with their guns.”

He whirls, glaring. “You might make it a little better but it won’t last. There will always be people like me, Jack. You won’t win.”

Having spilled his bile he sits back, daring you to respond.

You give a speech of your own, full of passion and fury. You pace across the room, you shake your fist, you rage and roar and proclaim the inevitability of the triumph of the working class.

“There may well need to be another revolution! There may need to be a thousand of them! But each and every day the evils of the world grow weaker, and soon the final conflict will be at its end!”

And as you speak you consider what shall be done with Tobin.

[] Cities can be dangerous places.
-[] Schenk should have a “conversation” with him first.
[] A public people’s tribunal, and then execution. The simplest approach, although one that will generate an outcry.
-[] Schenk should have a “conversation” with him first.
[] Have him arrested and tried for corruption. He may reveal that dirty laundry he threatened, and there’s no guarantee he will be found guilty
-[] Reveal that he has been working with the Feds as part of the trial.
-[] Schenk should have a “conversation” with him first.
[] Do your best to get him thrown out of office. Given how much influence he has, he might well manage to survive it.
-[] Reveal he has been working with the Feds as part of the political struggle.
[] Send him back to Minneapolis, with a couple friendly RevDef men.
-[] Schenk should have a “conversation” with him first.
[] Write-in
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
hmm

it might not be the strategicly best option but its the one I can live with.

[X] Have him arrested and tried for corruption. He may reveal that dirty laundry he threatened, and there’s no guarantee he will be found guilty
-[X] Reveal that he has been working with the Feds as part of the trial.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
The sun beats down on the Iowan farm, utterly disinterested in how it scorches the land and makes those who labor below it sweat. There are nearly forty men and women and boys and girls on the co-op farm. In the distance a pair of young men with red armbands are standing idly by, toting rifles and chatting. In between the two a few young children run, having escaped the tyranny of summer school and chores an hour ago and still having plenty of energy despite the heat.

But most of the people are hard at work. A tractor pulls a harvester across the dying wheatfields, hay is baled, animals are fed, and in the shade of the porch, a few old folks putter about, bringing out cool water and lemonade to the sweating laborers, all except for one.

He sits there, tapping away at a mechanical calculator and frowning at the numbers it gives him. He consults a sheet, taps at it again, and frowns.

“Christ in Heaven, who do these bastards think they are?” he snarls.

His wife gives him a look and he quails briefly, but continues.

“They didn’t give us half the help they promised - we were supposed to have three of those damn harvesters! As is, a third of the crop will wither before we can get to it. And those so-called Guards have done nothing but loiter around and shoot rabbits. And now they are saying that we can’t sell our grain for anything like a decent price! We won’t be able to fuel that fucking tractor if we don’t get more cash!”

He is ranting now, shaking his fist at the sky. Even now, work doesn’t stop. It can’t stop. But people are staring at him as they labor. His wife rushes over.

“Jordie, sit down before you rupture your heart!” she commands, pressing on his shoulders with fingers worn thin by worry and work.

He slides her hands off his shoulders and grips them tightly. Then he obeys, collapsing into the seat.

“I don’t know what we’re supposed to do. I know they are setting the prices because there’s people taking advantage of the drought, but it’s not enough, not for us. We were barely treading water before...”

Another old man brings him a glass of something stronger than lemonade and sits down with him.

“We were drowning a year or so ago, before they came by and told the bank off. Those Red Guards seemed mighty fine then. The bad doesn’t wash out the good.”

Jordie takes a drink and his belly warms a little. The world seems a little less bleak.

“But the good doesn’t wash out the bad. Still, they aren’t bad fellows. And they have some good ideas.”

There’s a spark in his eye and he turns to his papers, grabbing a pen and scrabbling on one.

“When they weren’t getting paid enough, they all got together and wouldn’t work till they got paid more. That Milton fellow was telling Cynthia about one he was in the other day, trying to impress her.”

A few people barked with laughter at the tongue lashing he doubtless got, but Jordie kept writing.

“So we’ll do one of our own. We’ll write to every farmer in the county, and then we’ll write to our Congressmen. And not a one of us will sell a scrap of grain unless the price we get is enough to keep the farm going.”

Far away, in an office in Des Moines, another group of men are hard at work. They take calls and write letters. They meet with community leaders and Union Defense Committee Commanders and worker’s representatives and state Congressmen and police chiefs and lawyers. They make deals and trade favors. They organize strikes and marches, they soothe tempers and maintain unity. They lead and direct and guide.

And they always advance the cause of the working man.

One of them, working in a cramped office on a tiny desk with a bad leg held together with glue, hears a phone ring. He turns towards the sudden jangle, knocking the desk over. Paper falls everywhere and something wooden snaps. He lets out a curse as he lunges over it, reaching for the door.

He stumbles out of the office still cursing, and hears the phone ring again. Seeing no one else around, he picks it up.

“Yes, hello, this is the Des Moines SPA office.”

His eyebrows shoot up as he hears the reply.

“Christ in Heaven, who do these bastards think they are?”

His cheeks turn pink slightly and he murmurs an apology for speaking so crudely.
“We got them their land back. We protected them from bandits of every sort. We got them free tractors and replaced all the livestock they lost for a song! And this is the thanks we get?”

He scrabbles for a pen, writing on his hand for lack of anything better.

“Alright, thank you. I am sure this will be resolved soon. One way or another. We know how to deal with scabs here sir, I assure you.”

He rushes back into his office, grabs a pair of files and then sets them on fire. He stomps on the flames as soon as he judges the burning complete, an eager smile on his face. Then he runs down towards his boss’s conference room. This is a bombshell, and he is going to be the one to deliver it.


Rumors and News

The horrors of the famine do not vanish in their entirety, but they fade. Stocks of food are shipped from everywhere they are available, including a massive purchase of South American grain by a coterie of industrialists looking to burnish their public images. The drought has not relented, but the horrific dust storms have died down.

This is very good news, because a band of farming co-ops calling themselves the Fix the Price movement have begun protesting the price controls and other parts of the SPA’s rural policy., Aside from letter-writing campaigns, petitions, and backing their own candidates, there have been several marches and protests. And the worst part is mysterious slowdowns and outright refusals to sell food from many of the farmers and co-ops involved. It’s begun to cause trouble in the cities.

They have demanded greater political representation for farmers and ranchers, including more control of local water supplies, more investment in preventing famine, and reduced price controls. Their leaders have compared the SPA’s policies to Bolshevik War Communism and claim they only wish assurances that they won’t be treated like Russian peasants. If they keep it up, you will make them wish they had been treated that way. Sometimes, you even mean it.

Regardless of their causes, they have begun sparking unrest. While many of your subordinates are already leaping on the problem, there has still been a sudden spike in food prices and some shortages in cities, especially of meat. This has increased the expenses for keeping the soup kitchens running and left a lot of people contemplating very dangerous solutions. Something will need to be done about it, although if the weather continues to improve that will solve the problem on its own.

Even with the anger from some farming cooperatives, many others have been impressed by your dedication to helping people in the famine, and you receive another groundswell of support among farmers, although it is not matched by a swell in urban popularity. In better news though, word has come of secret syndicalist meetings throughout the South as people hear of the passage of so many powerful civil rights laws.

And factions of the CSA have begun arguing that more needs to be done. The Native American, Hispanic, Irish, Italian, and Chinese populations in the US have all suffered badly at the hands of capitalist-dominated governments throughout history. They deserve protection and acknowledgement as well.

Meanwhile, agitation and organization efforts continue across the country. Creel has launched a major crackdown on “anti-American radicalism” after his efforts at reformism were frustrated. While there was some success in the countryside as small Farmworker’s Unions and Share Our Wealth Clubs were broken up, his decision to try and destroy SPA popularity among the Chinese backfired. Badly.

As it turns out, midnight raids on entire neighborhoods, constant harassment from racist police, and randomly abusive interrogations don’t do much to win you loyalty.

Many who have been receiving Creel’s patronage have decided to look elsewhere, and Long is only too happy to provide. The governor of Nevada, for one, has openly declared himself a Longist.

However, other federal efforts to gain support by piggybacking off the success of the Progressives have mostly worked out, even as they continue to bleed popularity from those tired to stagnation and incompetent government. Even if many of those who abandoned them will balk at raising arms against the American government, they still deny the Democrats and Republicans activists, donors, and votes.

The Progressives and their assorted allies continue to grow rapidly throughout the country. It’s really quite impressive They have been determinedly organizing local politicians and groups, building a formidable base of support throughout many parts of the country. The friendship of Floyd Olson, William Borah, and Quentin Roosevelt has suddenly begun to grow to critical importance for many politicians. And “loyal oppositions” to the ruling parties have sprung up in California, New England, the Upper South, and the Midwest.

Long meanwhile, has been struggling to solidify his base in the Midwest and support among progressives. And it seems he has decided that the reactionary Dixiecrats are too much of a burden for that. Pelley has been frozen out of Long’s inner circle, according to Century. Several prominent white supremacist politicians have been the target of blistering condemnation, while Long has doubled down on his hostility to the Klan.

And most shocking of all, Henry Ford has died. He apparently had some sort of engine failure while driving. You weep.

Then something even more shocking happened. Long sent you a letter. He wants to meet in Washington, DC.

There is chaos in the South as Long abandons former allies such as Talmadge and Bilbo. Facing growing unrest from an unequal alliance of white and black farmers, the Dixiecrats tried to go back to getting support from the federal government.

They are not exactly rejected, but they are not welcomed with open arms either. Deprived of any possible support, they turn to whipping up racist and anti-Semitic sentiment.

While the effectiveness is questionable, it has resulted in some serious violence throughout the country. The Deep South, parts of Indiana that still have not entirely been purged of racism, much of the Southwest...there are even a few attempted riots in New York City and Philadelphia that are forcefully suppressed.

Probably the most significant instance of violence was a brutal four-way farce as Longists, socialists, KKK members, and BOI agents all attempted to attack a museum at the same time.

To be more accurate, the socialists and Longists were trying to attack a museum espousing the Lost Cause, the socialists for ideological reasons, the Longists for revenge. The KKK members were trying to defend it. The BOI agents were trying to arrest everyone.

By the time the gunshots had died down and the fires had burned out, nearly fifty people were dead, the museum was a burned-out shell, and the chaos had spread throughout the town with bloody consequences.

There have also been a series of organized attacks on the KKK and other white supremacist groups by Minutemen. Whether this is due to Long’s commands or simply them taking inspiration for his diatribes is unknown, but you welcome it gladly.

Canada has been wracked by unrest as the spate of assassinations continues, but several individuals who the Canadian government has claimed were responsible for the initial deaths have been arrested and publically executed. Riots and accusations of railroading and rigged trials have gone on unabated despite the apparent show of strength, but Schenk has confirmed that at least some of those executed are guilty.

The rest of the RAF is keeping their heads down, but they are planning a major action of their own. Specifically, they are planning to attack a Californian prison where many men and women accused of “criminal syndicalism” are being held without trial. They have a man on the inside and large quantities of explosives, and between those they should be able to crack the prison open.

You have noticed something concerning in the ever-changing political currents of Washington. Curtis’s push to create an anti-radical coalition collapsed almost immediately, and no one has been foolish enough to try and revive it. But people are discussing it in almost nostalgic tones, and wondering if there was perhaps more sense in it than it seemed at the time.


Plans from Subordinates

The Coordination Committee has turned their attention from the receding famine to taking control of the agricultural situation. Many local farmers who attempted to join the Fix the Prices Movement will find themselves persuaded to do otherwise, through both persuasion and intimidation.

The State Legislative Committee is attacking it from a more political direction, albeit again using a carrot-and-stick approach. Laws subsidizing farmers and offering support against the ravages of the Dust Bowl are being drafted, while legal scholars are being consulted to help create a legal argument for land seizure to help pass another set of laws.

Norman Thomas is alternating between traveling the country to make the final push for various states to nationalize the rails and working to form an alliance with the Reformist Coalition.

Butler is still continuing to work to discipline the Red Guards and bring them up to a higher standard.

Schenk is putting the finishing touches on recruiting his last group of spies and preparing to begin looking for allies and spies inside the Fix the Price movement.

Ben Stevens is heading back to California to rally further support against the oppression of Creel and his thugs, although he has expressed concern about the Fix the Price movement and how the majority of the CSA will react to them.

The Committee of Propaganda is dividing their efforts in many directions this month. They are working to establish plays, theater, and entertainment of many varieties, further designing anti-racism propaganda, creating collections of stories and comics with pro-syndicalist and anti-racist messages, and expanding the repitoire of music available on the radio.

Little has decided to tread lightly for the first month. He will be touring unions throughout the country, encouraging them to donate a portion of their strike funds to the CSA and setting up charities operated by the unions that will help support the cause.

The cadres are still continuing their efforts at constructing better homes. Some are also looking to begin debating the role of women in the Revolution, holding conferences and symposiums and debates.

You have 11 Influence and 2 Gravitas total. 0 Gravitas and 2 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are currently taking no focus.

+10 to the next 2 rural organization or agitations actions. +10 to the next Union action.


The current economic situation is confused and disordered. While capitalist exchanges have been totally replaced in some places, in others they have been merely supplanted or supplemented. The detrimental effects are already being felt as people revert to bartering and swapping. Some sort of reform must be made, within 3 months. (From the Syndicalists and Orthodox. +10 to the next Union action, +Relations with the Syndicalists, +Relations with the Orthodox, +Relations with the Center, -Strength to the Center, +support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW if completed. -Relations with the Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Center,-support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, loss of income if failed).

Liberation cannot just be economic. The chains of capital weigh on the mind as well, in the forms of patriarchy, racism, imperialism, and more. Just as we advocate for the breaking of the chains of capital, so must these chains be broken. And the party and syndicates are both united behind us on this. Make 2 significant steps on the path of social justice within 4 months. (From the Syndicalists, the Orthodox, the Anarchists, the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA. + Support from the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA, +Relations with the Syndicalists, the Anarchists, and the Orthodox, +1 Temporary Influence for Union actions, -support the IWW MM, the TUUL, and the Red Grange, -Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor if completed. +Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, +support with the IWW MM, the TUUL, and the Red Grange, +1 Temporary Influence for rural-focused Union actions, -Support from the IWW MA, the AFL-CIO, and the ASA, -Relations with the Syndicalists, the Anarchists, and the Orthodox, if failed.

California is one of the largest states in America, with an enormous population, a powerful industrial base, and a vast agricultural heartland. It also features some of the most powerful opposition to the workers’ movements, thanks to endless bombardments of propaganda, foreign support from many parties, and the judicious use of force. But the workers there are nevertheless ripe for organization...and an election is coming up. Make major gains in popular and political support in the Golden State. (From the Parliamentarians, the Center, the Orthodox, the ASA, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamster’s Union. ++ Support from the ASA, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamster’s Union, ++ Relations with the Parliamentarians, the Center, and the Orthodox, +2 temporary Influence if completed.)

The South has been a heartland of reactionary politics since the War of Independence, but there is great potential for socialist support within its cultural boundaries. The steelworkers of Birmingham are no less oppressed than their northern counterparts, while sharecroppers white and black are horrifically exploited. Political power in those states is all but impossible, but the organizing of workers can lead to great things nonetheless. By the upcoming election, gain significant support within the South. (From the Syndicalists, Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, the Red Grange, the IWW MA, and the IWW MM. +++ Support from the IWW MA, ++Support from the Red Grange and the IWW MM, ++Relations with the Syndicalists and Ultraleft-Farmer Labor, +1 temporary Influence for two months if completed.)

While severe corruption of course can not be tolerated, a little simply greases the wheels. And perhaps more importantly, harshly rooting out everyone who has any sort of misconduct on their record creates all sorts of dangerous images, painting the one responsible as a power-crazed madman purging his political enemies on minor charges and of the body being purged as riddled with larceny. Best to wait a few months before taking further measures to root out corruption...say, taking no actions against it for 1 month. (From the Teamster’s Union, ++ support from the Teamster’s Union if completed, --support from the Teamster’s Union, -2 to all actions for one month if failed.)

This Frankenstein of an economic system is an awkward kludge. Food prices are slowly rising, while many manufactured goods and raw materials are either overwhelmingly common or far too rare. Tooling and machinery is getting much rarer, spare parts are becoming in short supply...nothing is serious yet, but there are all sorts of worrying trends. Take steps to reform and stabilize the economy within 5 months. (From the Syndicalists and Orthodox. +10 to the next two Union actions, +Relations with the Syndicalists, +Relations with the Orthodox, +Relations with the Center, -Strength to the Center, +support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, increase in popular support if completed. -Relations with the Syndicalists, Orthodox, and Center,-support from the ASA and both factions of the IWW, loss of income, severe decrease in popular support if failed)

The investigation revealed a far more serious presence of reactionaries in nearly every city and town than previously believed. Often built around church groups and other social institutions, they could serve as a potential nucleus for unrest, sabotage, counterrevolution, and potentially a white terror. All who are aware of this are in agreement: one way or another, this must be dealt with as soon as possible. Currently, people are debating what the best method will be. (No penalties or bonuses for using harsh or conciliatory methods. ++support from all CSA factions when completed. Minor losses of support in the CSA if the reactionaries cause problems until then.)

The American education system was carefully designed to serve the will of the capitalists as part of their effort to ensure their dominance. From deliberately enforced inequality to classroom structures designed to make children acquiesce to the abuses of capitalism, no portion of it was left unscathed. We shall create an education system with higher ideals, for adults and children alike. Accurate history and economic science will be taught alongside art and music and math, and none shall be denied any knowledge. All it needs is to be built. Which will hopefully commence soon. Start 3 education-related actions within 7 months. (+Support from the AFL-CIO, ++ support from the IWW MM, slight increase in popular support if completed. --support from the IWW MM if failed.)


Hold a Rally: It’s a classic for every political party for a reason. There’s nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.

Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. Or to defend yourself and your decisions. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 1 Resource and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on the topic. The topic must be written in. Some examples: “The importance of unity in the socialist cause,” “The corruption of the Hoover administration,” “Why feminism and socialism must go together,” and “Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA.” Can synergize with other actions.

Send Socialist Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe’s supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there. Unlock actions to follow up on the agitation.

Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships and county governments alongside even more widespread but less official influence. You even control most states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests from these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. However, given the likely federal determination to show strength, such a provocative action could be risky. Cost: Backlash from within and without the Party, possible legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/65/100/145. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.

Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing support within the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining support within the CSA.

Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any number of changes to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times. Cannot be done for SPA Cadres

Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Extremely low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/140. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

The International Question: With contact made with the Syndintern, they will soon begin encouraging internationalist behavior. Considering the amount of assistance you will need for them, it would be wise to help support revolutions in Canada and in the various client states of America, along with taking part in the broader Syndintern in less overt ways. Gauging the positions of various factions on this will help you understand your position. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Find out the position of all factions of the SPA and CSA on internationalism.

Display your Dedication: You are being accused of weakness, softness, and cowardice. Despite all you have suffered and sacrificed, it is not enough for some. Fine then, you will show them how much the cause means to you. A whirlwind tour across the country, visiting every union and party office you can meet, will provide the proof and silence their accusations. From Seattle to New York City, from Portland to Houston, anywhere men and women struggle for their liberation you will stand in their support. Cost: No Personal Action next month. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Gain Relations with all SPA factions.

Squeeze the Fosterites: The newest group in the SPA has a dangerous ideology, one that threatens to provoke a reactionary alliance that could deal painful blows to your cause. The more mainstream factions recognize this, and would likely be willing to cooperate with you to hammer the divides in them and pressure them to return to the fold (with a price in mind, of course. Such is politics). Those who resist this pressure will be embittered, but they are going to be a minority of a minority. What harm can they do? Cost: Will further radicalize any remaining Fosterites, will politically indebt you to other factions, annoys the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Begin campaign to marginalize the Fosterites, will have options on how to handle it until it ends.

Pro-Liberation Politics: The anti-racism program must be built on. The party’s ideological limitations on the matter must be removed. There is more to be done...there is always more to be done. Some will back you to the hilt on this, others will oppose it to the end, but you must trust that the desire for unity triumphs over factional bickering...and you will spend some time laying the groundwork first before announcing your new proposals since they will likely be controversial. Cost: Relations with party factions, support in the CSA. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/20/45/65/115. Result: Lay the groundwork for and then propose modifications to the party line to further support anti-discrimination measures. Higher Relations will mean better results.

Shore Up Support: You have sensed a slight chilling of your relations with the CSA, although many in their ranks are still your determined and dedicated allies. But you cannot predict how everything will fall out, and so rather than take their assistance for granted, you will spend some time speaking and working with them, making sure they know they are appreciated and hearing requests. It’s simply part of being a leader, unfortunately, even if it’s one you don’t enjoy. Cost: Slight increase to Stress, time spent schmoozing is time not spent building up to a Revolution. Time: Until ended. DC: 10/25/40/50. Result: Reduced negative impact of actions on CSA support, hear requests and suggestions from your supporters.

Assistant Adjustment: Even as your assistants work to make sure their views are supported by the party machinery, they are also being genuinely helpful in managing the fractious ranks and building towards the coming revolution. You could always use a few more...or perhaps you need to remove someone. Cost: Political turmoil, modification to bonuses. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Options to change assistants.

Speak for Liberty: While the SPA is at least somewhat united behind you, your willingness to push for social revolution has had the anarchists in the party and their similarly socially left allies be some of your most enthusiastic supporters, despite their relatively small numbers. If you want to make use of that support, you will need to help them. Speak on the topic of liberty, encourage support for racial minorities, demand women’s liberation...perhaps go so far as to say homosexuality is acceptable. Let them know they have an ally in you. Cost: Political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 40. Result: Increase in Strength and Relations of Anarchists.

Condemn Atrocities: If you wish to keep the violent and vicious Fosterites from gaining strength, you need to lay the groundwork before you break them. Make it part of the SPA program to condemn excessive brutality, the murder of non-combatants and innocents, and wanton destruction. While the language will mostly be used against capitalists and Longists, it can also be applied to the sort of things they advocate for, making a useful cudgel against your enemies in the party. Cost: Some political turmoil, annoys the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60/90. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Insist on their Effectiveness: Though the Fosterites have had some of their bloodlust slaked, they are still demanding more blood, more death, more destruction. They appear to have no compromise in them..let’s see if they have any common sense. While they may decry these reforms as cowardice and giving in to bourgeois demands to muzzle the workers and “suppress their righteous rage until the flame of revolution gutters out,” you are doing nothing of the sort! You are simply trying to make them a more capable and organized force, an army capable of winning the revolution you all want. Cost: Some political turmoil. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/60/80. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Divide and Defeat: The Fosterites are united only by their insistence that you go faster, that you birth the revolution sooner - and that like all births, that it be bloody and painful. And so the right pressures, ever so gently applied, can leave them broken and adrift, eliminating a potential political threat and greatly weakening an adventurist segment of the SPA. The pressures are asking what they want, which might be a dangerous question if you don’t have a good answer... Cost: Some political turmoil, annoys and weakens the RAF. Time: 2 months. DC: 35/70/100/120. Result: Decrease in the Strength of the Fosterites.

Back Up Butler: Butler has done an excellent job of reforming and expanding the Red Guard, turning it from a barely-controlled paramilitary into an effective force However, some of the changes he has made have been contentious, and he plans more. Some have begun suggesting you should rid yourself of him...something which you have no intentions of doing so. Make that clear, and make it crystal clear that Smedley Butler has your full confidence. Cost: Loss of CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/20. Result: Increase to Smedley Butler’s Influence

Command the Cadres: The SPA Cadres have been enjoying their newfound independence and will be reluctant to give it up again even temporarily, but you are liked and respected enough that they will do it. Even if they will complain. Cost: Political impact depends on what you choose. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Adjust SPA Cadre actions as you see fit.

Organizational Reform: With yet another intra-party spat developing, you find yourself getting frustrated. You need to take measures for preventing these sorts of problems from arising again...along with making sure reformist sentiments and corruption don’t set themselves back in. Clear out the deadwood, impress your authority upon the leadership, and get everyone working together for the greater good of the workers. Cost:???. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100/125. Result: Reduced chance of further political crises, +1 Gravitas, reduction in Stress.

Ban the Nativists: With anti-nativist sentiment at an all-time high in the ranks of the SPA and among the workers, you can easily push through a change to the party platform and membership requirements to formally expel what dregs of nativists influence have slid in. This might mean a drop in your support, given that you have effectively forced out will doubtless take their votes and voices elsewhere, but all their efforts will be nothing more than spit in the wind. Cost: Minor losses in SPA Relations, CSA Support, and popularity. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/70/100. Result: Purge nativists from the SPA, +1 Gravitas.

Standards of Integrity: With the removal and punishment of many corrupt individuals, it's time to make sure they and their ilk don’t come back into power. You tried to push through higher standards of integrity and behavior for people running on SPA tickets or on the SPA payroll, including requiring them to publish their finances for all to scrutinize, but it floundered due to a lack of momentum. So you will get behind things and push. Cost: Loss in Relations with all factions, loss of support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55. Result: Pass reforms to make it harder to be corrupt in the future.

Push for Moderation: So far, actual resistance from these reactionaries has been minimal and easily dealt with. There’s no need to step things up and provide martyrs or risk radicalizing them. They should be marginalized and propagandized against, but they should not be repressed. They aren’t threatening enough to require it. Cost: Increases political costs of attacks from reactionaries. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Nonviolent methods for dealing with the current crop of reactionaries grows more popular.

Meet Them With Violence: Already these reactionaries have resisted the seizure of the means of production and protested against the transformation of society. They are receiving support from far more dangerous groups as well. They are obstacles before the tide of history, and they must be swept away. And we shall not hesitate in doing the sweeping. Cost: Increases political costs of attacks from reactionaries. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Violent methods for dealing with the current crop of reactionaries grows more popular.

Remove the Reformists: The threat of the incoming bill is not just to your voters, it could also dangerously embolden the dormant reformist wing of the SPA. Purging them after the bill is revealed will be taken badly. Purging them before...it won’t be taken well. But it will be less costly. Of course, you could work to marginalize them without resorting to having them full-on removed from the SPA. Cost: Severe loss of SPA Relations and CSA Support. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Purge reformists from the SPA with varying degrees of efficiency

United in Action: Tighten regulations and rules and push through a few measures granting you more authority over internal SPA matters. It might upset some, but it won’t be too controversial. You’ll put forth a slate, people will argue about it...you have done this dance before. And if you do it right now, you can get people used to you having great authority before they realize why you want it. Cost: Varying loss of SPA Relations and CSA Support. Time: 1-2 months. DC: ??? Result: Pass a package of various reforms to further centralize power around you.

Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization.

Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.

Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: +X Resources per month.

Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won’t be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month. Gain support from the Teamster’s Union.

Social Bonds: With the credit unions established, one immediate possibility to secure desperately needed funds is a simple scheme inspired by ones begun then abandoned during the Weltkrieg. Ask people to buy Labor Bonds, which can be redeemed at a later date for an amount equal to their purchase value. The money raised in the meantime can be put to use for any number of programs or initiatives. Cost: You will have to pay them back in a year. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/75/100/110/120. Result: Large, one-time boost to Resources.

Mass Recruiting, Pt. 2: The sheer mass and organization of the working class gives you a potent tool for further empowering the American socialist cause. The overwhelming pro-SPA propaganda has begun countering the decades of mystification the American workers have undergone, but there are still many groups who stubbornly resist the tide of revolution. Some, such as the petty capitalists and highly-paid workers, need an explanation of the benefits of your cause. Some, such as reactionary churches, need to be exposed for the falsehoods they spread. But for some, financial and material incentives will be needed to secure their support, along with reminders as to the fate of class traitors. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Further increase to size of the unions.

Mass Organization: With the unions growing in size on a daily basis, measures need to be taken to ensure the democratic control of the unions is maintained. Through vote-buying, carefully designed structures, and coercion, corrupt bosses maintain their positions, while other leadership figures openly advocate for reformism or racism. The Revolution will not succeed with dedicated leadership from dedicated syndicalists. The political fight caused by this will be long and bloody and painful, but it will secure your position in the party, hopefully without causing too much splintering or outcry. Cost: Significant losses of support from party factions and the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/100/160. Result: Grip on party politics strengthened, subvote, actions to follow up unlocked.

Medical Assistance: The economic dislocations are leading to constant grumbling, but for those who have taken control of their labor, the shortages and unpredictable prices are acceptable, especially since food and shelter and other such essentials are not too badly affected. But one matter of significance has been: many doctors are finding the prices of medication are rising, and many others have simply left for places they view as safer. It’s not a crisis...yet. But it could become one if effective, decisive action is not taken soon. And of course decisive action is expensive action. Cost: -5 Resources, -3 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/45/70. Result: Hire doctors, improve the production of medicine, and make medical care easier to access for your urban supporters.

Standards of Exchange: The smoothness and efficiency of exchange and transportation systems between mines, factories, and farms is growing as new methods are experimented with and old ones are discarded. Middlemen are cut out or reined in, agreements are formalized, reputations are forming. But it could always use another push to try and make things work even better. Work with union leaders to try and set a few standard methods of exchange, regularizing an ad hoc system. Cost: May upset some people, chance of losing support from the Teamster’s Union, chance of increased corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 35. Result: Further improve systems of exchange between enterprises.

Socialist Markets: An alternate proposal, one popular among the more Orthodox wings of the party, is that workers at these facilities could be given labor vouchers representing the value of their work. These vouchers could then be exchanged for products at markets. The main difference between this and conventional finance is that the value of vouchers would be decided democratically and that they cannot be accumulated. Cost: Decrease in support and relations with the syndicalist wings of the SPA and CSA, 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in income, establishment of labor voucher-based markets in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support and relations with orthodox wings of the SPA and CSA. Increase in economic efficiency. Reduced strength of the Center, increased strength of the Orthodox.

A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as “market socialism” and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? The widespread establishment of these grows ever more vital as the toll of being forced to pay ridiculous fees for the use of capitalist’s services and the inefficiencies of going without begin to take their toll. Cost: loss of support from TUUL and ASA, loss of relations with the Orthodox. 5 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/50/80. Result: Increase in income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Gain of support from IWW, Teamster’s Union, and Regional Unions, increased Relations and Strength for the Syndicalists. Increase in economic efficiency. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Rationalize Production Schemes: With the vast number of factories seized, different product schematics, manufacturing methods, and research facilities are now in the property of the workers. Though some of the men responsible for the more cutting edge possibilities are reluctant to work with “filthy Reds,” sufficient bribery has overcome such concerns. Begin working to integrate the best of each factory and develop further innovations to turn the existing industrial base into the greatest in the world! Cost: 4 Resources, -4 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin integrating the segmented knowledge and innovations of the various companies and improving on their work.

Arms Production: The Red Guards need more and better weapons. They need ammunition. They need grenades and uniforms. They need vehicles to transport them and fuel to supply them. An army is an incredibly difficult thing to supply, but you will need to support one. While you can’t make anything heavier than mortars currently, small arms can be produced in significant quantities. It’s time to start arming the forces of revolution so that they can match the foot soldiers of reaction and the servants of capital. Cost: 8 Resources, -6 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/70/120. Result: Begin producing large quantities of weapons, Red Guards better armed and equipped, unlock new options to supply and train them.

(2 Influence Committed) Union-Integrated Planning: Currently, each factory and farm does as it sees best. While the creation of any market system would help coordinate their operations indirectly, doing so effectively would require the return of the profit motive and economic labor discipline. An alternative proposal, to be done separately or in combination, would be to create an Office of Economic Planning, responsible for creating 3-month production targets with the democratic input and experienced guidance of the workers. Such plans would be complex things, but they would also enable great economic efficiency. Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 45/100/165. Result: Establishment of a democratic department for handling economic planning. Must establish what the goals of that planning are soon after. Decrease in Strength of the Centrists.

Appoint an Outreach Manager: With efforts at denying you support growing in numbers and sophistication, you need to develop your advocacy among workers in response. From the imported Chinese scabs and desperate Okies of California to the suffering smallholder farmers of the Great Plains to the exploited miners and factory workers to the American heartland, there are millions just waiting to join your cause...if only they could be persuaded of their exploitations and educated of their class interests. Cost: Influence, loss of support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Appointment of a subordinate responsible for outreach and agitation, vote on how much to commit to them, potential gains in Support or Relations.

The Farmworker’s Union: With the slowly growing awareness of the importance of the rural population, some have proposed providing the Red Grange with some assistance in expanding their organization to be on industrial lines and thus begin including rural farmworkers of every variety, from the tenant-sharecroppers of the South to the wandering, poverty-stricken Okies of the west and all the types in between. Such assistance would always be very welcome, even if some think it can be better used elsewhere. Cost: 3 Resources, loss of IWW MA and IWW MM support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40. Result: Increased support from the Red Grange, increased Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, increased popularity in rural areas.

The Agricultural Worker’s Union: With the slowly growing awareness of the importance of the rural population, some have proposed providing the Red Grange with some assistance in expanding their organization to be on industrial lines and thus begin including rural farmworkers of every variety, from the tenant-sharecroppers of the South to the wandering, poverty-stricken Okies of the west and all the types in between. Such assistance would always be very welcome, even if some think it can be better used elsewhere. For instance, the IWW pointed to their already existing Agricultural Worker’s Union, arguing that it should instead be expanded to include tenant farmers. Needless to say, the Red Grange disagreed. Cost: 3 Resources, loss of Red Grange support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40. Result: Increased support from both factions of the IWW, increased popularity in rural areas.

(2 SPA Cadre Influence Committed) The Union Home: The housing cooperatives serve adequately, but they were never meant to be a long-term solution. Improvements have been made, but it is time to begin the next step and work on providing dignified homes for the homeless. The construction unions stand ready to do their part! Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/35/60/90. Result: Construction of large quantities of apartments to house people for free.

Support for Friendly Farmers: The outrageous demands of many farmers and agricultural co-op leaders are not supported by all their number, and not everyone is taking advantage of the situation to jack up prices or hold vital grain hostage. Give those who have demonstrated solidarity for their fellows and simple good sense a reward for it. Financial support to help them expand their co-ops, applause and honor, political backing...there’s all sorts of things you can give them. And hopefully some of their compatriots will take the hint. And hopefully the CSA won’t get too upset...Cost: Slight loss of CSA Support, 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45. Result: Give economic support to friendly co-ops, food prices stabilize somewhat, weaken the position of the hostile co-ops.

Negotiate with the Co-Ops: Hostile farmers throughout the Midwest are threatening your food supply, and so you have no choice to hear their demands and hope there's some kind of compromise. You aren’t exactly sure what they want, some sort of economic or political protection based on their manifesto, but you can hear them and maybe it won’t be too onerous. And despite the outrage of the CSA, if negotiations fail that just means you have the high ground when it comes to alternatives. Cost: Moderate loss of CSA Support. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Negotiate with hostile co-ops, hear what concessions they demand.

A Purge of the Bureaucracy: The byzantine bureaucracies of the CSA have decided to demonstrate their distaste for you. Fine. You will return the favor. You will gut them. Have them fired. Have them arrested. You are this close to having them shot. Every scrap of evidence suggesting corruption will be waved around, transformed by your pen and your presence into an unforgivable sin, and they’ll be forced out. And trustworthy, loyal men will be put in their place. Cost: Political backlash, likely to weaken the capabilities of the CSA and upset a lot of people. Time: 1 month. Result: Remove Passive Bureaucratic Resistance.

Organizational Charts: The structure of the CSA’s non-elected offices and departments and committees and commissions is a complete and utter mess. There are redundancies, there are fiefdoms ruled by petty tyrants, there are deliberately obtuse chains of command, all designed to protect and preserve unearned, unelected power. It’s a great snarling knot, and it needs to be unraveled. So you will have your loyalists in the CSA begin tracing the structure, finding every scrap of information they can so you can plan an attack. Cost: Will further anger the bureaucrats. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75/90. Result: Gain detailed understanding of the mess that is the CSA Bureaucracy.

Simplify the Structures: Instead of mapping a labyrinth, you could cut a knot. You have the votes, you have the support. You will spend some time designing a new structure that’s more sane and effective. And then you will make it so. The parasites and corrupt bastards will retain positions and power, but they will have no way to hide now, and it should hopefully be more efficient since that’s the purpose it will be designed for. Cost: Will further anger the bureaucrats. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/125/225. Result: Dramatically modify and simplify the structure of the CSA Bureaucracy.

Set Some Boundaries: You could also take a more peaceable approach to things. Crack down on a few of the worst cases, let a few of the more moderate ones slide, and then back off. They’ll get the hint (you hope) and things will return to more or less a status quo...but now you are aware of the problem. And that means you will be halfway to solving it. Cost: Moderate increase/tolerance of corruption. Time: 3 months. DC: 40/80. Result: Remove Passive Bureaucratic Resistance.

Democratization: Yet another possibility is to force them to accept more democratic participation and oversight in their decision-making. It will doubtless be popular among many even as it will enrage the bureaucrats, but it will hopefully force them to stop playing silly buggers and tone down on the theft and double-dealing and backroom games. Hopefully. Cost: Will further anger the bureaucrats. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/???. Result: Hopefully remove Passive Bureaucratic Resistance and democratize the bureaucracy, increased support from the CSA.

Leave Them Their Fiefs: Finally, you could just leave well enough alone. Pull away, give them what they want. There will be costs in resources, time, and tears, but you just aren’t in a position to handle another crisis. This can wait till after the revolution. Or until it’s a little closer to it, anyway. Cost: Severe increase/tolerance of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Remove Passive Bureaucratic Resistance.


Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 4 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Increased armaments for Red Guards, ease of training Red Guards increased, further actions to arm and equip Red Guards unlocked.

Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Anarchists, Syndicalists, and Parliamentarians. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.

Street Medics: One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 2 months. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.

Acquire Explosives: The Syndintern has access to large stocks of a variety of explosives. In addition, there are many ways of making things that can blow up when you have access to vast amounts of industry. Begin stockpiling explosives for use in defensive or offensive actions, although giving them to inexperienced Red Guards could be risky. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Acquire small but growing and highly eclectic stockpiles of explosives.

Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase in corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Increase to income.

Scab Intimidation: The scabs and reactionary militias are outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. This may change as refugees continue flowing into the cities and capitalists fund their running dogs, but for now you have the advantage, and you must seize it. The Red Guards will defeat and drive off these “self-defense groups” and “protectors of the American way” and “private security forces” and show them that they are as dust before the tides of history. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/?/?/?. Result: Reactionary militias and scab groups defeated and destroyed in areas you are strong.

Security Procedures: The protection of leadership is the duty of the Revolutionary Guard, but there are not enough of those brave men to protect everyone. So it will be up to the Red Guards to protect union halls and party offices. To do so successfully will require the development of better security procedures than standing outside the front door. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 10/30/50. Result: Improved security for SPA facilities.

A Red Terror: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. You have allowed reactionary militias to prosper in places, and the miners of Montana and the workers of New York City have both paid the price for it. In the Midwest and West Virginia, preachers thunder brimstone sermons and incite their followers to arms against you. Collapsing Klan remnants and their equally violent offspring cling to power in Indiana and Ohio and the Dakotas. And everywhere federal agents and police attempt to suppress the Revolutionary Spirit. It is time to cleanse your holdings of them. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/30/50/70/90/110/150/190. Result: Begin operations to shut down remnants of reactionary and capitalist military forces begin

(2 Butler Influence) Instilling Discipline, Pt. 2: The Red Guards are still an irregular force. Only a small portion has experience serving in the military, and an even smaller part is able to devote their full time to fighting and training and drilling. But it is time to fix that. Working with respected figures among their ranks, it is time to raise expectations and tighten standards, to increase the number of exercises, to begin honing the force, This will doubtless cause some to leave, or form their own organizations, but as long as they accept a degree of oversight over their operations, that is acceptable. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/50/80/110. Result: Improved discipline of the Red Guards.

Honor of the Regiment: One way to encourage good behavior of the Red Guards is to have that behavior reflect on something larger than themselves but more digestible than the syndicalist cause: their unit. Encouraging pride in the larger Red Guards groupings, the creation of distinct uniforms, and the utilization of unique symbology will hopefully create a spirit of socialist brotherhood between the members of the Red Guards groupings, and this spirit can be used through propaganda to make some of the more volatile individuals think twice. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Create larger Red Guards units with a greater sense of esprit de corps.

A Show of Strength: The furthest fringe of the party, as disorganized and bloodthirsty as they are, does have a point. Reactionary militias are growing bolder, feeling empowered by the collapse of order. Wherever you are weak, they grow powerful, and this cannot be tolerated. Striking a few of these groups, such as some of the Green Mountain Boys who live close to your stronghold, will let your point be made with relatively little bloodshed. Cost: ?? Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30/45/60/75/90. Result: Launch a few operations to attack some easy targets.

Create Oversight Committees: One thing the capitalist “democracy” of America got right was making sure the military is entirely controlled by the civilian government. While de jure this is true for the Red Guards, it is not always de facto. One way to fix this would be to create committees of mixed soldiers and civilians that severe misbehavior can be reported to and that would generally provide oversight and direction. This may well be a controversial effort, but it will definitely be popular with some segments. Cost: Loss of Relations with Totalists and Ultra-Ultraleft, loss of Support from TUUL, SPU, and the Teamster’s Union, potentially upsetting to Red Guards Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create oversight committees, greater control over Red Guards, increase in support from ASA, IWW, and AFL-CIO, gain in Relations from every other faction.

Making Bankers Bleed: While most banks have collapsed under the strain of crisis and depression, several have been consolidated into larger enterprises that are more effectively able to withstand bank runs and anti-foreclosure efforts. But these banks have offices and vaults in cities throughout America, cities dominated by the Red Guards and friendly police forces. Steal their gold, destroy their paperwork, execute their corrupt leadership. Make them understand that there will be no place for men like Morgan and Fargo. Cost: Likely to provoke a severe reaction, loss of support from AFL-CIO and SPU, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/25/50/100. Result: One-time influx of Resources, records of debt destroyed, bourgeoisie terrorized.

Purchase More Arms: Relatively few arms factories were seized, but some were, and already Red Guards units have begun to benefit, but the acquisition of weapons for them is an often haphazard process and only a few units have even standard rifles. But it would be easy enough for larger quantities to be purchased and distributed so that the vast throngs of syndicalist soldiers have good guns and adequate ammunition. Cost: 6 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/25. Result: Better-equipped Red Guards.

Distribute Trainers: There are only so many skilled, experienced veterans who can serve as a training cadre. While there are plenty of men who survived the Legation Wars and the various Latin American Interventions, only some of them are willing and able to assist you. But equally, there are only so many camps set up. One proposed alternative is to send the trainers to the Red Guards instead of the other way around. Cost: Somewhat weakens the training cadre. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/60/80. Result: Trainers dispersed, slow improvement in the Red Guards.

Raiding Reactionary Groups: The most powerful and organized reactionary groups have been identified. Their threat cannot be tolerated, and so it must be suppressed. They will be surrounded in their churches, attacked in their homes, arrested at their workplaces. They will be purged. Hopefully, the remainder will take the hint and cease being a thorn in our side, or we will have to purge them too. Cost: Possibility of provoking unrest, collateral damage, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/80/120. Result: Attack and break up the most notable counterrevolutionary organizations identified previously.

A Central Command: There are always more reforms that need to be completed. And the next one Butler wants to work on is establishing some sort of central command and general staff for the entire Red Guards, or at least for the more professional components of it. Consisting of Butler, some other experienced soldiers, and...you’ll need to figure out the rest. Should they be elected like other officers, or perhaps by the CSA? Or some combination thereof? Or maybe only the supreme commander should be elected, and he can decide who will be on his staff? It’s going to be a tricky business. But it’s an important one. Cost: Likely to upset the CSA and the Red Guards. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/65/110. Result: Establish a unified central command for some/all of your paramilitaries.

De-Kulakization: You are going to take a page or two from the writings of one of the few Bolsheviks who survived the Russian Revolution. The reactionary farmers are trying to halt the Revolution in its tracks. You won’t allow it. Send in the Red Guards and execute those responsible for this scheme...after giving them a tribunal, of course. Everyone deserves an opportunity to plead their case. You doubt they will have luck though. The manifesto being circulated has gotten quite a few people’s blood up, and you’ll be satisfying them most wonderfully, although some cooler heads are worried about the consequences of this. Cost: Loss of support from the Red Grange and the AFL-CIO. Loss of Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Possibility of provoking unrest, collateral damage, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/80/120. Result: Attack, arrest, try, and execute the leaders of the farms and co-ops trying to drive up prices or refusing to sell. General increase in Support and Relations.

Smuggling Arms South: The sharecroppers of the Black Belt are aware of your actions on civil rights, and they are engaged in their own determined struggle for liberation and self-determination, one that has been going on for years. One with undeniable revolutionary overtones. It’s time to give them aid. And what they need right now is a way to protect themselves from the orgies of violence the KKK and other “white citizen’s groups” are inflicting. You can’t send Red Guards that far south. But you can send them rifles and shotguns and plenty of ammo. And you’ll have to hope that will be enough. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Sneak meaningful quantities of weapons and ammunition down to the Black Belt.

International Volunteers: The Syndintern has made their first request of you. The situation in South America is unstable. Chile is half-Syndicalist, there’s unrest in the north and south of Brazil, and rumors of organizing farm workers in Argentina. And they need support and a demonstration of international solidarity. Sending volunteers from their hemisphere will do some good in that regard. Cost: 2 Resources, reduced effectiveness of Red Guards. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Increase in SyndIntern Relations. Vote on how many to send.


Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is just as staunchly secular, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of “Christian socialism” and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Protestant Christians, increased ease of recruitment.

The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it’s time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn’t hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it’s time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of loss of CSA support, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1

Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create a system of cheap socialist private schools.

Organize Childcare, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.

Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broaden the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.

The Worker’s School: There are many subjects not taught in great detail to the workers through the American education system. Leadership, management, socialist ideology...and of course anything behind the most basic parts of math, science, and history, not to mention various less immediately practical subjects. Creating schools for adults, or training wandering schoolteachers to help them, is yet another way to expand your influence and benefit the workers. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Establish schools for adult workers.

Photos for All: Photography is an incredibly powerful medium for displaying the impact of events upon people. The Dust Bowl, the Bleeding Midwest, the many deprivations and horrors caused by capitalism...and the triumphs wherever such things are fought would all make excellent subjects for photography. The camera can spread your message and make another potent tool in your arsenal. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Expanded use of photography in propaganda.

Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.

Anti-Longist Propaganda: The Longists are ideologically incoherent, propped up by those they claim to oppose, corrupt, violent, brutal, prejudiced, openly favor the Confederacy and vilify heroes such as John Brown and Thomas Paine, and above all else they are ineffective. While their influence has been mostly expunged from areas you dominate, they still have some presence in parts of several states, most notably New York and the rest of rural New England. Target them. List their failures, condemn their faults, give them no rhetorical respite. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Increased anti-Longist propaganda.

Pillory Capitalist Greed: The Longists and the Federalists agree on one thing: capitalism is here to stay. They desperately seek to keep the same failing system, and they will spend as much blood as they need to in order to preserve their hierarchies and privileges. Capitalist greed is behind every death from want or violence since at least 1925. Politicians love to proclaim millions have died to syndicalism and revolutions. It is time to count the tally killed by capitalism and reaction. It is time to lay out the contradictions of capitalism and destroy any denial or defense. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Increase in general anti-capitalist propaganda.

Against the Opium: Religion has historically played a large role in American life, and the chaos of the Great Depression has led to something of a revival for its most unusual and esoteric branches. Many churches are strongly reactionary, offering pie in the sky for empty bellies on earth. And many are corrupt as well. Stephenson had pastors helping him, and reaping the sick “benefits” of his brutal actions. Publicize these sins, demand an accounting, and begin breaking the stranglehold of religion on American thought. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Result: Increase in anti-church propaganda.

Radio Debates: One of the many potential uses of the new radio networks is to publicize debates between syndicalists and their opposition. The concept has attracted a great deal of interest, since such arguments were an important part of Lincoln’s electoral victories. There is also a great deal of debate in how they are to be structured...Cost: Variable. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30. Result: Votes on how to structure the debates.

The Moral of the Story: The radio is also being popularly used for entertainment, and there is the occasional show you like to listen to in order to relax. There’s no reason the SPA can’t sponsor a few shows about bands of thieves stealing from robbers, the ordinary adventures of hard-working laborers, or perhaps a grand tale of an alien world wracked by civil war...Cost: 3 Resources, -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Create socialist-themed radio entertainment.

Street Art: Such artwork can be created in many other cities where you have a presence as well...it will probably go better if you don’t have to deal with hostile police and “citizen’s groups.” You will create murals and graffiti in every style imaginable, showing the sins of capitalism and the glories of what will come after. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70. Result: Create socialist street art throughout SPA-controlled or influence areas.

Public Life: The gardens have begun to bring people together who were formally separate: members of different tenant’s unions now work together to turn an abandoned ruin into a fruitful garden, people from all walks of life relax in them when they can do so without interrupting work, and the recent arrivals and old hands can come together over an appreciation of fresh vegetables. This is a success worth building on. While people are adding to these gardens already, asking musicians to play by them or setting up benches and tables on the edge, or even segregating spaces for children to play, you could encourage this effort to spread thousands of miniature parks alongside the gardens to help encourage the entwining of various communities. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Expand community gardens with other (cheap) community activities and facilities, encourage interaction between different groups.

Challenge the Instability: The evident failures of bourgeois democracy are displayed before all of America: a president and a vice-president dead or incapacitated, no one able to determine who or how they should be replaced, state governments frantically banding together, federal authority beginning to vanish, rising unrest in America’s colonies...what sort of nation could accept this, what sort of system could allow this? And what alternative is there? All these questions are to be answered. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/10/15/30/45/60/90. Result: Condemn the failures of the United States government, explain why your proposal is a superior alternative.

There is Power in a Union: Strength can be its own sort of comfort in dark and dangerous times. And you have strength aplenty. While there are many who might fear you, the alternatives are equally terrifying. Promise them protection, promise them safety as members of the CSA, promise them peace and stability, as much as can be gained. Cost: 1 Resource, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Convince people to join you to protect themselves from various other threats.

Anti-Americanization: While the melting pot is a lovely concept, it also means that meaningful elements of various individual cultures are destroyed or appropriated. To resist such trends will require meaningful and long-term effort, but a start can be made through advocacy over the use of autonomy to establish holidays celebrating ancient customs and adding languages such as German, Yiddish, and Finnish to the days of schoolchildren so the tongues of their ancestry are not lost. Cost: 1 Resource, loss of support from socially conservative factions. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/60/90. Result: Agitate for expressions of local cultural heritage.

Offer an Alternative: The internal pink unions of the SPA have largely evaporated. The reformist, class-collaborationist unions supported by the SPU have begun dissolving themselves, primarily merging with the more confrontational AFL-CIO. But in many cases, their members have been left adrift, with damaged worldviews and betrayed feelings. Now they are vulnerable to capitalist or reactionary subversion...but they can also be convinced to take a more radical stance. There just needs to be a place for them. Cost: Increased strength to the AFL-CIO. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/70/100. Result: Disaffected moderate workers recruited into the AFL-CIO and propagandized to be more radical, increase in AFL-CIO support.

Street Theater: Work and labor are all well and good, but people need to relax and be entertained as well. And so entertainment shall be provided. Plays, skits, comedy groups, all shall be created. And of course, aside from the classic and common sorts of entertainment, some of it will have an edge to it as the entertainers seek to provoke thought and encourage the questioning of the current order. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 25/55/85/100. Result: Establish small traveling syndicalist entertainment groups.

Youth Groups: Children are the future. They must be protected and nurtured and educated, given the tools they need to succeed in a world that changes more and more by the day. And if their parents can’t care for them, there needs to be an alternative. An extension of the existing childcare institutions, informal practices, and an alternative to the Boy Scouts all in one has been proposed: The Young Worker’s League (the name was chosen to avoid coming down on the syndicalist vs. socialist debate). Cost: 1 Resource, -0.25 Resourcer per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/75. Result: Establishment of youth groups and clubs.

Catholic Liberation: The Catholic church is a powerful reactionary force, particularly after the savage anti-clericalism of the Italian Revolution. But many of its adherents are syndicalists or at least progressives, and the Irish and Italian voting blocs have allowed themselves to be courted by the SPA despite unease from some segments of the party. Now it is time to take that relationship to the next step, and this begins by reducing anti-clerical tendencies in the party and presenting a face friendly to the Catholic church in theory, if not in practice. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Anarchists, Totalists, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, loss of support from Protestants. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Catholics, increased ease of recruitment.

Anti-Olson Approaches: Olson has already begun working to secure his power base through the remains of the Progressive Party and Farmer-Labor, reaching out to Federal and even Longist groups to increase the strength of his reformist movement. While outside of Minnesota his position remains precarious (and even within the state), he is growing stronger. And so that base must be cut away. Attacks on his character, attacks on his politics, attacks on his record, any and all will be used to dismantle his support, although a degree of care must be taken for these attacks to not be blatantly sponsored by the SPA leadership. Only a degree though, it can be an open secret. Cost: Increased tensions with Olson. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/60/75. Result: Decreased support for reformism.

Against All Racism: Racism is not something you will tolerate, nor is it acceptable to the CSA. While proclamations can only have so much impact, it is worthwhile to make them, especially if they can be followed up by action. But simply speaking against it will count for something. Cost: Decreased support from the IWW MM. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/60/105. Result: Racism and discrimination are condemned, chance of action being taken independently of you.

Encourage the Seizures: There will be no cowardice in the SPA. You are seizing factories because the system they operate under is inherently unjust, and the workers of the world will be rectifying that. And if you don’t like it, stay out of their way. Rally the workers to your banner, radicalize them, and go forth! Take the means of production, for the Revolution nears every day! Cost: Very provocative. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/45/65. Result: Increased support and radicalization within the party, more enthusiasm for seizing factories and other facilities.

We’re Singing on the Radio: With the developing core of singers and musicians working for the SPA, and the fairly robust radio network, the next step is obvious. Begin recording that music and adding it to the currently news-focused radio networks to make them more entertaining to listen to. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 10. Result: Begin recording various songs and playing them on the SPA radio network, adding them to whatever the individual stations have managed.

The Growing Pie: Yet another possible propaganda angle to approach would be the economic benefits of syndicalism. When all the workers are united and capitalist and banker leeches are no longer siphoning off the hard-earned profits of the workers for their own ends, we can expand the amount of wealth and industry for all, no matter their color or faith or place of origin. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Begin spreading propaganda about the economic benefits of syndicalism and socialism.

Religious Freedom: While you will not go so far as to demand the inclusion of religious symbology and rhetoric into the propaganda of the SPA, you will make it clear that you stand unswervingly for religious freedom. Many workers share many faiths, from Catholicism to Episcopalianism to Baptism, to say nothing of the minority religions of the country. And you promise that none shall be oppressed or suppressed. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Begin spreading propaganda in favor of religious freedom and tolerance, hopefully countering the rumors describing you as a bunch of church-burning lunatics.

Arts and Entertainments: With your solidifying control over many cities, that comes with control over more than just the means of production. The SPA controls the means of entertainment! Movie theaters, playhouses, concert halls, and more...now that control must be used. Let the workers enjoy the fruits of culture, let the Revolution be extended to the backstage and the projector room. Cost: 0.5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/70. Result: Bring theaters, concert halls, etc. under worker control, begin developing socialist-themed works of entertainment.

Painting a Picture: The museums and art galleries now only operate with the approval of Red Guards and have been opened to all. But the collections of the rich still shelter within their mansions. Bring them out, let there be art for all the people. And let work be done on creating new art, on sculptures showing the unity of the people and paintings showing the future of socialism. Cost: 0.5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/70. Result: Bring art galleries, private collections, etc. under worker control, begin developing socialist-themed works of entertainment.

Speeches on the Ground: There are many who hesitate and vacillate, who fear what socialism will mean. They have seen undisciplined bands of Red Guards exacting “taxes” and heard of merciless slaughters of wedding parties and church groups. They worry about how the means of production will be seized and what the social revolution will entail. Some degree of concern is understandable of course. They labor under capitalist realism and mystification. So they need to be reassured. Let them talk to dedicated socialists, let them hear that their concerns are meaningless. Surely many of them will become good syndicalists and socialists once their fears are assuaged. And if not...well, that can be dealt with too. Cost: 1.5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 60/95/130/170. Result: Create and spread large amounts of propaganda, aim it at those scared at the prospect of revolution with the goal of reassuring them.

Attack the Co-Ops: The rural areas are thick with reactionaries and opportunists, using the famine to try and extract more selfish profit. This cannot be tolerated, it cannot be allowed. Condemn them all, tar them, shame them, stain them. Their iniquity is unacceptable. Use your control of the radio wave and the printing press to drown out their spurious complaints, make it clear that the profiteering and reaction of farmers and co-ops will not be tolerated. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/80. Result: General increase in CSA Support and Relations, increase hostility against corrupt farmers and rural reactionaries, improve urban popular support.

Attack the Segregationists: Target those who still support segregation and racism harshly in propaganda. Smear them as the foot soldiers of capital, as upholders of a brutally oppressive system, as pathetic losers and absolute assholes, then smear them some more. Claim that if they want to live away from black people in separate but equal spaces, they can go to Canada. Condemn and insult them. Give them no mercy. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: General increase in CSA Support and Relations, increase hostility against segregation, improve popular support.

Attack the Selfish: Selfism behavior and profiteering is not acceptable, but it has continued. Middlemen charging outrageous prices, foremen and union leaders abusing their positions, farmers trying to take advantage of the famine, thieves and criminals and racketeers, corrupt bureaucrats stealing and skimming. It cannot be tolerated, it cannot be allowed. Begin a campaign encouraging boycotts, rejection, and reporting of those who engage in such antisocial behavior. Target the bureaucracy, target the criminals, target the profiteers, target the corrupt, target the hostile co-ops, and leave no stone unturned. Cost: 1.5 Resources, will upset a lot of people. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/45/80/120. Result: Begin massive anti-corruption campaign, attacking it on all vectors.

Condemn Cowardice: There can be no half-measures, no limp, tentative reforms. So long as capital holds power in this country, the workers will not be safe. Rumors of collaboration between the rich and poor for the sake of stability, whispers of compromise, none of it will matter. In a few years all that hard work will be rolled back and the gains of the worker’s movement will be lost, unless they are set in stone. And so nothing less can be tolerated. And that must be made clear. Cost: 1 Resource, will upset some people. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/80/105. Result: Begin anti-reformism propaganda campaign.

Tales to Tell: The printing press can do more than inform and elucidate. It can entertain! There are plenty of cheap dime novels and comics being printed. Indeed, sometimes it seems that’s all that’s being made. Why not do some yourself? There are plenty of writers with syndicalist or socialist leanings, and plenty more who can spin an entertaining yarn. Some can even do both! So get them writing, get the artists drawing, and start making everything from children’s stories to weird fiction. Cost: 1 Resource, -0.5 Resources per month. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/35. Result: Begin creating short story collections, novels, children’s books, comic books, etc. and publishing them.

Political Cartoons: In many newspapers, there are mocking cartoons with labels and captions showing the author’s opinion on various events. In recent months, a common motif is a ship sailing through dangerous waters. They are quick, easy to understand, and popular. And it’s time to have some of your own...or some more of your own, anyway. They can be part of newspapers or posters or pamphlets, they can be everywhere. Cost: 1 Resource, -0.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/45/65. Result: Create lots of political cartoons and hire lots of political cartoonists.

Educational Articles: The news is meant to inform. It can also be used to educate. Short columns can be included on science and history, but they can also include theory. Short, easily digestible chunks of theory for the casual reader. Hopefully, it can be made to work, you can’t imagine how someone would make Das Kapital easy to understand. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/60/80. Result: Begin publishing short, understandable, educational articles on various subjects including politics and economics.

Editorial Control: With the growing power of the newspapers, you need to make sure that the editorials demonstrate correct attitudes. Tighten your control over their offices, set firmer standards for what can be said, create a mandatory list of topics to be discussed at least once a month to help shape public discourse. The power of the written word will help bring about the Revolution, so long as it is used properly. Cost: 1 Resource, minor loss of Relations with the Anarchists. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Gain ability to set tighter editorial standards, including a free action to have a topic be discussed and emphasized for a month.

Demonstrations of Force: A more moderate solution to sending in the Red Guards to destroy reactionary farms would be to remind them that you could do that. Use radios and newspapers to make it clear the sheer strength and numbers of the Red Guards, and let them consider their options. You are sure they will come to their senses soon enough. Cost: Minor loss of support from the Red Grange and the AFL-CIO, minor loss of Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Possibility of provoking unrest, collateral damage, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/80/120. Result: Publicize the strength and power of the Red Guards through radio broadcasts and newspaper articles. General increase in Support and Relations.


Poach the Democrats: The lines in the Democratic party are hardening as they find themselves pulled in so many directions. Some find themselves attracted to Huey Long’s populism, others the Dixiecrats' savage racism. Still, others are shifting to the Progressives, to the remnants of Farmer-Labor...but there aren’t many left who are willing to join a revolutionary party. It will take quite a bit to find those who will. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 65/110/160. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Working With Republicans: The Republican party is uniquely pro-business, even more so than the Democrats. But they are also the party of Lincoln, and many of the more progressive Republicans have been applauding your efforts on desegregation, especially once they realize it had actual popularity. They might well be willing to join you to support your efforts, and join the party...as long as they don’t fear revolution. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 65/110/160. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.

Peel Them Off: The broad anti-syndicalist coalition cannot easily be defeated, but any big tent will leave some out in the rain. Try and push smaller reform bills targeted at specific segments of that coalition and persuade them to join you in the hopes of stealing their momentum or getting a useful club to swing at them when they finally produce their big bill. Cost: Unknown. Time: 2 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Pass some minor reform bills, break up the reformist coalition somewhat.

The Reformist Coalition: The semi-leftist coalition of seemingly every intelligent capitalist and foolish reformist so desperate to stabilize the country has exploded in popularity and power. The reforms they pass are broadening in scope, as an unofficial steering committee consisting of a few of the progressive movement’s leading lights and shadowy dealers, including Floyd Olson and James Curley. Nearly every party has people aligned with this coalition, and they are growing stronger every day. They may well capture the working class’s energy and direct it from revolution to reform. And that cannot be allowed.They could easily be a potent threat and deadly rival, but they are not there yet. You hope. They can probably be dealt with through co-opting and absorption, with reforms meant to diffuse the power of the working-class instead turned to strengthen it. Cost: Loss of support from those opposed to electoralism, growth of internal reformists. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/95/130. Result: Segments of the growing coalition co-opted, increase in support from those who favor electoralism.

Co-Opt the Machines: While the political machines in SPA-controlled areas have been dismantled thoroughly, some yet remain. Halt their gradual dismantlement and co-opt them into your service instead, helping you gain votes in some contested towns and cities. Of course, embracing them means embracing their shadier side as well. Cost: Increase in corruption, risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/25/40/50. Result: Increase in popular support, the Teamster’s Union likes it.

Agricultural Subsidies: One message that was delivered loud and clear by the angry demands of the profiteering farmers is that they feel unsupported by the various enterprises and activities. Cut the knees out from under them and push a series of subsidies and other financial benefits to address their concerns. Of course, this may well embolden them and it may cause complaints that you are giving into threats if you try and back this course...Cost: Likely to cause loss of support or Relations. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/120/140. Result: Pass agricultural subsidies to alleviate concerns of farmers and co-ops. Increase in support from the Red Grange and the AFL-CIO, increase in Relations with the Parliamentarians and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor

Agricultural Seizures: One message that was delivered loud and clear by the hostility, violence, and reaction of the profiteering farmers is that they cannot be trusted or left alone. They need to be brought under the control of the working class, they need to have their economic power smashed, or else you may find the cities starving while they sit on piles of food. And that is a concern now, let alone in the depths of a revolution. Some may claim this is an overreaction, some may wring their hands, but the bulk of the CSA is behind you. Cost: Backlash, loss of support from the Red Grange, the AFL-CIO, and the Right AFL-CIO, loss of Relations with the Parliamentarians, the Anarchists, and Ultraleft Farmer-Labor. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: Pass laws confiscating the lands of profiteering farmers and placing it into better hands.

Sewer Socialism: American infrastructure is doing...poorly. Neglect and violence has led to bridges beginning to crumble, railways needing repair, and roads vanishing from dust and rain. The repairs will be costly and take a long time, but they can begin relatively simply by passing some spending bills in SPA-controlled states. Adjustments can be made to the infrastructure for the benefit of the workers, as well. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Infrastructure development begins.

(2 Norman Thomas Influence) Railway Socialism: The most essential piece of infrastructure is perhaps the rails. These are what tie together the mines and farms and factories and allow an industrial economy to function. Control of the rail hubs was what gave the Bolsheviks many initial successes in the Russian Civil War, it kept the British revolution safe from the initial attempts at crushing them, and it was vital in the establishment of the French Commune as well. Even during the Slaver’s War, the Union’s superior rail network was vital. And if state governments are the ones repairing the rails and operating them, perhaps they should be the ones owning them...Cost: Expensive. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Begin massive railway repair program, seize the rails thus repaired through “legal” methods.

Political Grandstanding: With Capitol Hill effectively dead due to the sheer dysfunction, now it is time to turn the Senate and House seats you control into bully pulpits. In committee and on the floor, you and yours will go on the attack through speeches and shouts. This is not a bid for passing a bill or an attempt to whip up some political support. This is an attempt to expose the social, economic, and political order of the United States as the blood-soaked horror it is from the very top. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/115/150. Result: Increase in popular support, the humiliation of all your political opposition.

Demand Non-Intervention: Rumors of another US Army intervention in South America are spreading as well, provoking discontent and anger from everyone. These rumors are almost certainly false, even MacArthur has said so with his typical arrogance and utter lack of tact. But you can force the US to officially commit to a policy of non-intervention. This will likely result in a pullback of US support for several South and Central American juntas and boost your popularity among isolationists with broad support. But even with as much hostility to the idea of intervention, it will take a great deal of effort to pass. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 70/120. Result: Anti-intervention bill passed with broad support from several parties.

Patronage Networks: Patronage is a reality of any political system, no matter how reformers rail against it. It has even begun popping up in the newly cleansed state bureaucracies, to say nothing of unions or the small-town governments on your side. So it must be dealt with and used to your advantage. Beginning to create and use these networks will also allow you to have at least a degree of control...which means you will be one making bargains with slimy bastards. Joy. Cost: Stress, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15. Result: Increase to support in the CSA, increase to support from the Teamster’s Union, slight increase to popular support. Enhances effects of Assistants Adjustment

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Corruption is a double-edged sword, and one that could cut you deeply. It is time to start taking measures to protect yourself, first by beginning to work with state governments to establish organizations that will purge corruption within elected and unelected offices...and making sure these organizations are resistant to the lure of corruption themselves. Cost: Slight loss of support in the CSA, slight decrease to support from the Teamster’s Union. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Slight increase in popular support, slight reduction in corruption, further actions for reducing it unlocked.

Local Autonomy Programs: The first implementation of the principles of local autonomy will begin. A relatively simple set of legislation will be passed, allowing school districts to choose to have optional “Cultural Enrichment” classes where students will learn the language, history, and traditions of their ancestors and granting municipalities permission to have local paperwork and signage in any language they desire, so long as English is also prominently available. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/25/50. Result: The first beginnings of local cultural autonomy.

State Nationalizations: Huey Long has already done it, and so has the federal government and its supporters. It is time for the government of the workers to begin directly intervening in the economy. State-backed investors will purchase commanding shares in certain factories and facilities, transferring part-ownership to the workers and coordinating the economic functioning in order to bolster the state as a whole...and in order to better equip the workers for the inevitable backlash. This can be combined with subsidies and a variety of other economic tools to greatly strengthen the influence of workers in the economy. Cost: Possible minor backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/80/100. Result: Increase to income, some factories taken over by the workers and the states under the cover of law. Expand subsidies to workplaces, unlock further options for government intervention in the economy, possibly ease other economic reforms. Increase in support from ASA and increase in relations with the Orthodox.

Strengthen the Justifications: With flimsy laws providing flimsier protection, it's clear they need to be fixed. Though fierce opposition has begun rallying, with everything from filibusters to bribery to harassment being attempted to keep the seizures from having actual legal justification. There are even threats of the army being called in to restore order, threats that are not followed through on only because of the fear of a full-on civil war. Strengthen the justifications, encourage the seizures, and prepare for the class war. Cost: Minor losses in CSA support. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Result: The legal basis for factory seizure is strengthened.

State Police Forces: With the National Guards hampered, there are other potential forces that could be used to suppress us...or used to crush reactionaries. To that end, the state police forces will be secured, their leadership replaced with trusted syndicalists, Red Guards will be hired, and they will be shifted to being under Congressional influence even as their arms are improved and their procedures revamped. Cost: Possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: State police forces have their loyalty secured.

Strengthen Your Political Control: The halls of Congress are filled with your allies and fellow socialists alike, forming a strong and united bloc. Or so it seems. In truth, the arguing and infighting routinely takes up hours, even with Norman working to shield you from the worst of it. With controversial legislation on the horizon, you need to tamp down on it and make your bloc in Congress truly a united front that will never break. Cost: Likely backlash, -1 Gravitas, probable loss of support in the CSA, loss of Relations with the Anarchists, the Centrists, and the Parliamentarians. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Tighter control over SPA and allied politicians, Norman Thomas gains +1 Influence, 1 less Influence committed to Norman Thomas.

The Next Steps: To truly end white supremacy in America will require a sea change on every level of culture, something you are only toddling in the right direction due to the infrastructure it will require. However, you can work on repairing some of the damage. A second series of laws can be passed, giving educational benefits to colored people, offering them low-interest loans so they can purchase housing and improve their economic security, and push for their integration into government offices. Cost: Likely popular backlash, probable minor losses of support in the CSA. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/65/105. Result: Pass a series of state laws designed to eliminate the economic damage of Jim Crow and slavery.


The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won’t matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.

Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.

A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of reduced support in the CSA based on the decisions. Time: 4 months. DC: 0. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.

Judicial Reform: One of the matters most clamored for is judicial reform. The American justice system is incredibly corrupt, designed to allow the wealthy to skate away from criminal cases and lawsuits with equal ease, and the courts have long been a tool to prevent workers from liberating themselves. Lawyers, judges, juries...all will need replacement, reform, or renovation come the Revolution. Begin working out alternatives. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75. Result: Begin coming up with a multitude of options for judicial reform.

Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Chance of further losses Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of increase in support.

On the Women’s Question: Women’s liberation must be part of the revolution. Some advocate for the complete destruction of the institution of the family...they may go a bit far, but you understand where they are coming from. There are things you can do to help them achieve true equality. Some of them are obvious, like removing infantilizing laws that restrict women’s rights and tearing down barriers that prevent women from working. What else can you do? Cost: Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for women’s liberation.

Relations with Reservations: There are scattered Native American reservations across the country, full of people who haven’t been citizens until recently, who have been forced off their homes and into desolate places, who have had their history and culture defaced and desecrated. In many ways, the imperialism and colonialism inflicted upon them is America’s first sin. You don’t know what they want, you don’t know what they need. You will have to begin asking those questions. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Native Americans.

Help for Hispanics: As the SPA grows in influence in the American Southwest, awareness of the historical mistreatment the Hispanic population of the United States has endured. Just as with the Native Americans and the colored populations, you need to open a dialogue with these groups. Cost: Unpopular with social conservatives. Loss in Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor and the Parliamentarians. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Increase in support from IWW MA and Regional Unions, increase in Relations with Syndicalists and Orthodox factions, begin developing a roadmap for justice for Hispanic Americans.

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: The newest unions are staunchly conservative on social and economic issues. Advocating for better wages and shorter hours seems to be a step too far for many, let alone more unusual proposals like requiring factories to have childcare facilities and compensation for injuries or outright revolution. While the Great Depression has affected them, and they have heard of the various horrors inflicted upon workers by the government, both matters are distant to them. The cruelties of capitalism need to be brought home to them. They need to be persuaded that there must be a revolution. Cost: None. Time: 2 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Begin developing strategies for en masse radicalization.

Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA’s ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.

Justice and Violence: Violence is one of the eternal topics people argue about. When is it acceptable, why is it acceptable, what limits should there be? Some proclaim it all equally abhorrent, others insist it is always necessary. The SPA has an ample variety of attitudes, some of which are counterproductive. The cowardice of the SPU and the bloodthirst of the Fosterites both threaten the revolution. The correct course is obviously somewhere in between the extremes: self-defense is obviously acceptable, and so is violence in the pursuit of justice, but you must decide where the lines are...and when they should be crossed. Cost: Varies. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Decide what sorts of violence are acceptable and when, develop a more defined thesis on it.

Appoint a Committee of Ideology: This will be a contentious group whose arguments will echo throughout the party, but those arguments will be necessary for the building of a true socialist state. Economy, law, social organization, the role of religion and race, the question of minorities, internationalism, centralism, federalism, and councilism...all these things need to be discussed. And you don’t have the time to do it, so you will have to get other people to do it for you. Cost: Likely to decrease the Strength of the Center, will occasionally make decisions you don’t like. Will have to commit Influence and Gravitas. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Create subordinate to handle various Intellectual actions, vote on how much to commit.


A Black Budget: Given the likelihood of the Commission for Revolutionary Defense being involved in some less-than-savory affairs, it may be worth siphoning some money into hidden accounts so that it can be put to use but remain harder to use. Paying spies from sources that aren’t clearly your coffers, purchasing equipment or information from organized crime, serving as a place to deposit money made from bank robberies...there are many possible uses. Cost: -2 to -2.5 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Resources available that can be put to use for covert operations and remain obscure.

Taking a Peek: With the sudden revelation of Schenk’s dual loyalties, you find yourself wondering who else has friends or interests you should be worried about. You wonder if you can trust Schenk to do the investigation...you wonder who else you could trust to do it. You hate how shaken you feel about this...but he’s not likely to try and hide any corruption or betrayal he uncovers from you. You are fairly confident of that. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Find information about chosen subordinate.

Someone Else to Spy: With Schenk’s loyalties suddenly in doubt, you find yourself...concerned about what he’s been doing, especially regarding the more inward-facing side of things. The Revolutionary Defense Committee having his attitudes would be potentially very unfortunate. You aren’t going to fire him, but you are going to be looking to curtail his influence, and one way would be to focus him more externally and find someone else to take care of the more day-to-day duties for the Committee and leave the Commission to him. Cost: -1 or 2 Influence, may annoy Schenk and the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Create an internally-focused Intrigue subordinate, vote on who they are.

The Revolutionary Guard’s Loyalties: You need to make sure the Revolutionary Guard is at least not entirely influenced by Schenk and the RAF. They were created before him, and you have never seen any sign of such attitudes from them, but he does have at least nominal influence over them, since the Commission appoints the Committee, who selects the Guard, who elect the Commission...although Schenk has just been appointing the people elected. Does that mean he thinks they already share his views? Was he trying to avoid suspicion? Was it a commitment to internal democracy? Or was he simply too focused on other matters? You will have to go around Schenk, or try to anyway, but you have to find out. Cost: Risk of annoying Schenk or the RAF. Time: 1 month. DC: ??. Result: Find out the Revolutionary Guard’s loyalties. The more Influence or Gravitas invested, the higher the likelihood Schenk realizes what’s up.

Infiltrate The Enemy Within: There are reformists within the SPA, from those who think capitalism can be voted away to those who genuinely don’t want to end capitalism. Many of these have links to outside organizations. These links need to be identified, and the traitors who are using them. They don’t necessarily need to be dealt with like other enemies, but we need to be aware of them so we can keep undercutting their support. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75. Result: Find more about reformists within the SPA, Left-Farmer-Labor, the Progressives, and the coalition they may be forming. Find out more about Olson’s plans.

Find the Red Army Faction: You can’t leave this alone. You need to know who else is aligned with the RAF, and where they have their headquarters and where they draw their funding from...just in case the worst happens. What exactly the worst is changes from day to day, but you know being able to find the RAF will be helpful no matter what nightmare scenario you are picturing. Cost: Risk of seriously upsetting Schenk or the RAF. Time: ??. DC: High. Result: Find who else supports the RAF, find out where they are. The more Influence or Gravitas invested, the higher the likelihood Schenk realizes what’s up.

Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party’s financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Increase to income.

Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.

Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child’s play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.

Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators/organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there. Unlock actions for following up on the organization/agitation.

Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/25/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.

Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.

Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. The steady sidelining of officers with syndicalist sympathies has left you with fewer avenues, although the recruiting spree does offer fresh opportunities for entering the lower ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 2 months. DC: 40/80/?/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

Steal Weaponry: The National Guards of several states are in total disarray. Extensive orders have been placed in other states for more equipment. But federal troops are securing the majority of depots, with strict orders and intense security procedures. Only a few SPA and AFP dominated states have resisted the federal commands, leaving fewer points of access for these thefts...and those points are certainly being watched. Cost: Risk of discovery, 1 Resource. Time: 1 month. DC: 75/??/??/???. Result: Begin creating stockpiles of weapons and equipment such as grenades, machine guns, mortars, etc.

Into the Navy: Another possibility for infiltration is the navy. A scheme to try and stabilize a few coastal cities has been passed, and the fleet is being expanded, meaning new sailors are being recruited. This is a perfect opportunity to begin slipping syndicalists into their ranks. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/??/??. Result: Make contacts within the military.

(2 Schenk Influence) A Program of Subversion: The SPA has neglected the possibilities of infiltrating and subverting hostile organizations. Pink unions, anti-syndicalist militias, and rival political parties are all viable targets for the sowing of dissent, fostering of splits, and eventual destruction. But to do so effectively, we must build up our capacity for identifying those who can deceive, for preparing tactics and methods, for establishing lines of communication. Cost: -1 Resource per month. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/90/135. Result: Set up training program for political infiltrators and agent provocateurs, improve efficacy of spying.

Hunt Infiltrators: The Longists and Federalists have doubtless begun infiltrating us, trying to sow division and sabotage our efforts. Perhaps this has already begun bearing fruit, or perhaps it will become a problem in days to come. Either way, the spies must be found and removed. With limited sources of information, it may prove difficult, but it is a task that must be accomplished as soon as possible. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/60/100. Result: Begin hunting for spies within the CSA.

Propaganda of the Deed: There are many tools for spreading syndicalism and disrupting reactionaries. Bombs and guns are excellent at doing both. By demonstrating the spirit of revolution, weakening the forces the oppressors can bring to bear, and striking fear into the hearts of those who stand against us, we shall strengthen the cause! The class war shall come and end the conflicts of history, and no price is too great to pay it! Cost: -3 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/35/50/65/90. Result: Begin a campaign of political bombings and assassinations.

Protective Measures: With violence rising by the day, measures must be taken to protect the leaders of the revolution. The Guard must be expanded, with the new members set to providing protection wherever needed. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/55/85. Result: Recruit more bodyguards.

Sabotage Records: Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/35/50/80. Result: Begin destroying records of mortgages, factory ownership, etc.

Robin Hood Revolutions: The Bolsheviks funded themselves through bank robberies before they were able to seize power. While the size and strength of the SPA mean such tactics are no longer needed, they could still be useful. A campaign of public, armed theft will do much to demoralize our class enemies and tie up their investigation and intelligence resources. Cost: -1 Resources, risk of discovery, possible backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/60. Result: Begin a campaign of bank robberies, increase to income.

Union Entryism: Not every factory has been seized, not every union is a revolutionary one. In particular, there are several states with growing industrial bases that have minimal SPA support. Infiltrating these areas and their factories will be important, especially since many of these factories are responsible for producing the equipment needed by the slowly reforming Federal Army. It will be a difficult task for those agents assigned, one which will need a great deal of skill, but it will be an invaluable one for us and for the Syndintern. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/???/???. Result: Pink unions and non-unionized factories infiltrated, especially in states where support is lacking.

Spies in the House: The rich have servants. Maids, nannies, handymen, butlers, gardeners... all are trusted to go into people’s homes, to stay there with minimal supervision, and sometimes even to assist in more discrete functions. And while they are typically members of the labor aristocracy, they are just as often subjected to cruel abuses of all kinds. And so many of them may well be willing to aid you, giving you access to an invisible but dense information network...although it is also possible that the BOI and Longists will have anticipated this and established counters. Cost: 0.1 Resources per Influence invested. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Find and recruit spies and informants among servants.

Rooting Out Domestic Enemies: Of course, a similar approach could be done to members of the SPA who hire unionized domestic workers, to say nothing of the countless secretaries, aids, and functionaries who are vital for keeping the vast infrastructure of the party running. Any one of them could be turned into a spy. So it may well be worth gently vetting those individuals for potentially troublesome sympathies and ties.If any evidence of spying is found...They cannot be allowed to subvert our revolution. Cost: Will piss a lot of people off. Time: 1 month. DC: ???/???/???. Result: Find spies and informants among your own servants.

Preparing for a Kornilov Affair: When the tides of revolution rose in Russia, the force of counterrevolution attempted everything they could to stop it, including a military coup. The Kornilov Affair was a defeat for the reactionaries thanks to the preparations of the Soviet, preparations we have barely begun. We need to expand our military, infiltrate Longist and Federal forces, seize the rails..but for the coup itself, we need to secure methods of evacuation for SPA members in Washington lest we suffer the fate of the Last Bolsheviks. Cost: Mildly annoy some people in Washington. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??. Result: Begin preparing to evacuate leaders of the SPA and allies such as Reed and Thomas in event of a coup or purge.

In the Dead of Night, Farming Edition: Those who stand against the might of the working class will be cast down and broken. By the ballot or the bullet, they will be defeated. But that will take time, and they could do untold amounts of damage first. So they need to be removed. Quickly, quietly, and in the dead of night. The leaders of the profiteering farmers and reactionary co-ops will be seized, tried, and punished. And justice will be done, and a stern lesson taught. Cost: Public backlash, will cost support with the Red Grange, the AFL-CIO, and the Right AFL-CIO, may cost additional support, will cost Relations with Ultraleft Farmer-Labor, the Parliamentarians, and the Anarchists. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?? Result: Seize and arrest the worst of the profiteering farmers.

In the Dead of Night, Reactionary Edition: Those who stand against the might of the working class will be cast down and broken. By the ballot or the bullet, they will be defeated. But that will take time, and they could do untold amounts of damage first. So they need to be removed. Quickly, quietly, and in the dead of night. The leaders of the reactionary groups that still infest SPA-controlled territory. will be seized, tried, and punished. And justice will be done, and a stern lesson taught. Cost: Public backlash, will cost support with the AFL-CIO and the Right AFL-CIO, may cost additional support, will cost Relations with the Parliamentarians and the Anarchists. Time: 1 month. DC: ?/?/?? Result: Seize and arrest the leaders of various reactionary groups.

In the Dead of Night, Bureaucrat Edition: Those who stand against the might of the working class will be cast down and broken. By the ballot or the bullet, they will be defeated. But that will take time, and they could do untold amounts of damage first. So they need to be removed. Quickly, quietly, and in the dead of night. The most vilely corrupt bureaucrats will be seized, tried, and punished. And justice will be done, and a stern lesson taught. Cost: Public backlash, will cost support with the Teamster’s Union, the AFL-CIO, and the Right AFL-CIO, likely to cost additional support, will cost Relations with the Centrists, the Parliamentarians, and the Anarchists. Will anger the CSA bureaucrats. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??? Result: Seize and arrest the worst of the corrupt bureaucrats.

Find Tools, Farming Edition: There are always individuals willing to betray their class interests, to serve as dupes out of principle or greed. That has been one of the greatest weaknesses of the worker’s movement, but it also applies to the other classes. Look among the profiteering farmers to see if there will be people who can assist with the discrediting, defeat, or destruction of their movement. Cost: Cooperation has a price. Time: 2 months. DC: ?/??. Result: Catspaws and infiltrators established among the profiteering farmers.

Find Tools: Reactionary Edition: There are always individuals willing to betray their class interests, to serve as dupes out of principle or greed. That has been one of the greatest weaknesses of the worker’s movement, but it also applies to the other classes. Look among the various reactionary movements to see if there will be people who can assist with the discrediting, defeat, or destruction of their political organizations. Cost: Cooperation has a price. Time: 2 months. DC: ??/??. Result: Catspaws and infiltrators established among the reactionaries.

Find Tools: Bureaucrat Edition: There are always individuals willing to betray their class interests, to serve as dupes out of principle or greed. That has been one of the greatest weaknesses of the worker’s movement, but it also applies to the other classes. Look among the corrupt CSA bureaucrats to see if there will be people who can assist with the discrediting, defeat, or destruction of their cliques. Cost: Cooperation has a price. Time: 2 months. DC: ??/???. Result: Catspaws and infiltrators established among the corrupt CSA bureaucrats.

Steal the Bill: You only have scraps of the big bill, not enough to prepare a proper defense against it. So you need to get more of it. You know where various politicians live and work, and surely one of them has a copy somewhere? Schenk knows some men familiar with this sort of thing, they’ll do the job and find you a copy. And if you are lucky, they won’t even leave a trace behind. Cost: 4 Resources, temporary -1 Resources per month. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/?? Result: Hire a burglar to get you a complete copy of the bill.


Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.

Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.

Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.

Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.

Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.


Free Actions

Tweak a Subordinate’s Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only twice per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate’s priorities (change order, add one, remove one). This will have a political cost if used on the SPA Cadres.

Ask For a Favor: Party members already sacrifice their time and money and sometimes their health and their life, but you must ask for more. Though it will cost some precious goodwill, continued success will bring it back, and so you can confidently ask for favors. Cost: Variable amount of Relations, changes in Strength of factions. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Relations and Strength allows.

Call on the RAF: Talk to Schenk, let him know what you need, he goes somewhere to talk to the RAF leadership, and whatever you asked for gets accomplished. You try not to think anything more of it. Cost: Cooperation from the RAF. DC: No roll. Result: May get as many favors as Cooperation allows.

Throw Your Weight Around: You are the leader of the SPA, the man who helped lead the Seattle and Chicago General Strikes to success, the man the Syndintern has trusted with bringing about the Revolution. Though you are democratically elected, you have undeniable authority. Authority you truly prefer not to use...unless you absolutely have to. Cost: -9 Relations with all factions of the SPA, narrative effects. The cost will change as you use it for better or worse. DC: 0. Time: 1 month. Result: Temporarily convert 1 Gravitas to 1 Authority.

Meet with Long: What the devil does Long want with you? You supposed you can ask him yourself. Most of the SPA won’t know or won’t care, but the Red Army Faction and a few other radicals will probably be upset. You aren’t too happy with it yourself. Cost: +Stress, -Relations with the Red Army Faction. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Meet with Long.

Secretly Meet With Long: What the devil does Long want with you? You supposed you can ask him yourself. Most of the SPA won’t know or won’t care, but the Red Army Faction and a few other radicals will probably be upset. So you’ll just cut them out of the loop. Cost: +Stress, risk of --Relations with the Red Army Faction. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Meet with Long.

Adjust Your Priorities: Long-term commitments are risky in the chaotic situation the American nation is in. Temporarily stepping back from them would allow you to handle crises as they come back. Cost: Minor penalties to targeted action. Time: 1 month. DC: 0. Result: De-commit Influence from selected action, narrative penalties.

Choose A Focus: You are currently taking no foci.

The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).

Spread the Word - The inevitability of the revolution and the glory that will come after must be spread from sea to shining sea. The Newspapers and pamphlets and posters will make everyone see your message, even if they deny it. Time: 1 month. Effect: 1 Temporary Influence for propaganda involving the written word.

Apply Red Paint - Art is one of the greatest gifts of human civilization, and it is one that must be made accessible for the people. There are many disparate movements organized around making syndicalist and socialist art in America, but many of these movements are nothing more than a single young man painting in an apartment. An investment in resources will see these movements flourish once the artists are no longer starving. Time: 1 month. Effect: 1 Temporary Influence for propaganda involving visual art.

Sing Proud Songs - Music can fire up emotions and raise spirits, grant hope or terror. It can spread messages, true or false. And it is time for the music of the people to spread the word of liberation. Time: 1 month. Effect: 1 Temporary Influence for actions involving music.

Spread the Word - The inevitability of the revolution and the glory that will come after must be spread from sea to shining sea. The Newspapers and pamphlets and posters will make everyone see your message, even if they deny it. Time: 1 month. Effect: 1 Temporary Influence for propaganda involving the written word.

Cross the Color Line- America has segments of its past that are shameful and regrettable. That cannot be changed, but we can step forward and try to make things better. Integrated Red Guards, integrated unions, integrated party affairs...let the color lines in America disintegrate. Let racism and white supremacy be destroyed Time: 2 months. Effect: +10 to all anti-prejudice actions for the next 2 months.

The Failing Middle Class - The wealthy proletariat and the petit bourgeoisie are major backbones for MacArthur and the Democrat-Republicans. But as the economy grows worse, many fall into poverty and so become easier to radicalize. Time: 1 month. Effect: +10 to the next roll involving recruiting the wealthy.

Union Recruiting - Not every worker has chosen to join a union. Some are scabs, some are scared, some are reactionaries. Regardless, with tensions rising every day, the threat they pose to the Revolution grows. Pressure can be applied through the carrot and the stick to see them join unions and develop class consciousness. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 union recruiting actions gain +5 to their roll.

Blitz the Soldiers - The current US Army and Air Force are powerful despite their small size. Well-trained and led by a skilled corp of officers who have cut their teeth in dozens of imperialist actions, they could deal significant damage to the Revolutionary cause...unless their soldiers could be convinced to join us. Time: 1 month. Effect: The next 3 actions for recruiting or co-opting soldiers gain +5 to their roll.

Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).

Form Spartacus Columns - the KKK and the Silver Legion, to name just a few, inflict all sorts of horrific violence upon sharecroppers, and that is leaving aside the abuse they receive from police and frequent incidents of mob violence. Between a lack of weapons and a lack of organization, little can be done against them. Your strikers have defeated soldiers, paramilitaries, and police. They can do it as well. Time: 1 month. Effect: Easier to arm and organize the sharecroppers.

Establish Community Organizations - The social life of these small rural towns often revolve around reactionary churches. Co-opting these existing institutions or creating new ones will be essential to solidifying your control. Time: 2 months. Effect: Gain +5 to the next 3 Cultural actions that affect rural areas.
 

notbirdofprey

Active member
Pronouns
He/him
Negotiate with the Co-Ops: 1 Influence, 14+25=39
You go in looking to make a few simple deals and bring the co-ops back into the fold. You didn't expect it to be easy, but you did think it would not be a complicated affair. As soon as you began trying to organize a meeting, you were disabused of that motion.

The Fix the Price movement is a chaotic, disorganized one that makes the SPA look like a well-disciplined army. There are Red Grange organizers, rural petit bourgeoisie, destitute farmers, dissolute speculators, co-op representatives, and more. And all of them are united by some vague demands, a general array of tactics, and little else. The only leaders are a few figureheads who rallied others to the cause. Some of them haven't even met each other! Their goals and grievances vary wildly and they have effectively non-existent centralization. And you quickly realize that unless you simply capitulate, someone will try and keep the movement going. And capitulation may well embolden them.

That would be bad enough, except the CSA is an uproar over you "surrendering" to "rightist anti-socialist agitation and profiteering." Your defenders are being drowned out on the debate floor as people begin seizing on the opportunity to smear you. Some of them are genuinely opposed to the Fix the Price movement, some of them are angling to gain power within the CSA, some are hoping to get concessions of their own. There might even be a few fools hoping to replace you.

Your supporters are many, and they rally to your cause. How can the socialists turn away from the rural proletariat when they have begun developing class consciousness? Is seeking to prevent another Dust Bowl Famine truly such an unacceptable demand? If they have aligned themselves with the bourgeoisie, then clearly they must be levered from that, just as we have begun levering away the labor aristocracy!

In the end, you aren't able to handle the negotiations alone. A great many CSA representatives are sent with you, each of them with their own goals you will need to manage as well.

You and a dozen others, plus a strong detachment of Revolutionary Guards, take a train out to Des Moines. Multiple times you are forced to halt or change trains, and once the Guards see action as bandits attempt to exact a toll from your train. But finally, you arrive in the heart of the Iowa Socialist Party. Greeted by applause and protests, you are ushered from the station to a fine hotel, where another dozen men are waiting for you.

You apologize for the delay and make some polite conversation as you take them in. They are as mixed a lot as you expected: sun-wizened farmers, calloused laborers, a scarred man you recognize as a friend of Ben Stevens, a fleshy man in a suit.

The representatives of the Fix the Price movement are friendly to you, by and large. They know you have fought for farmers before, and that efforts to address at least some of their grievances are already in their works. The CSA representatives are mostly surly and mistrustful, but they will bow to your will. You have made sure of it.

So you sit down and begin making agreements. You know who you are dealing with and you know what they want.

The Red Grange and some segments of the AFL-CIO and IWW lobbied to get involved in this but were largely overruled and outvoted by those less favorably inclined towards farmers, who announced their intention to come along to ensure you would not be gentle on potential counterrevolutionaries. With them came several more members from the Midwest who are less hostile. All of them are interested in getting some pork spending, and you suspect many of them have less pure financial motivations. Many of the more hostile group wants punishment for members of the Fix the Price movement and the collectivization of agriculture. Both factions are also interested in getting more food.

The Fix the Price movement has three main factions. There is a loose alliance of small farmers, medium farmers, and some farmworkers, another alliance between the more radical farmworkers and those whose farms have been turned into co-ops, and an extremely tense alliance between the wealthiest farmers, bankers, and landowners.

All are interested in escaping retaliation, and seem suspicious of many local SPA offices who they think are riddled with corruption. They also all want investments in agriculture and an end to price ceilings. The farmers want your help in ending foreclosures, the co-ops want better political representation, and the bankers are hoping you will compensate them for the losses you have inflicted upon them.

After a great deal of wrangling, you finally manage a final offer:

(I will roll a 1d100+25. The current DC is 0. Success means the offer you propose will be broadly accepted. The greater the margin of success, the more it is accepted, the more you gain support from the Red Grange, etc. A failure means that a significant portion of the Fix the Price movement will reject the offer and continue striking. The greater margin of failure, the worse the consequences.)

[]Punishment and Retaliation
-[] Agree that no one will be charged for their actions during the Farmer's Strike (-20 DC, will anger the hostile faction of the CSA)
-[] Push for token criminal penalties (-10 DC)
-[] Push for moderate criminal penalties (0 DC, will please the hostile faction of the CSA)
-[] Push for severe criminal penalties (+30 DC, will greatly please the hostile faction of the CSA)
-[] Agree to push for the formation of farmer's militias to prevent any Red Guards getting...ideas (-25 DC, will greatly anger the hostile faction of the CSA)
[] Finance and Subsidies
-[] Agree to expand financial investments in agriculture (-10 DC)
-[] Agree to establish agricultural colleges (Will require further actions)
--[] in the Midwest (-15 DC.)
--[] in the Steel Belt (-10 DC, will please the neutral faction of the CSA)
--[] Use access to incentivize collectivization (+10 DC, will please the neutral faction of the CSA)
-[] Agree to establish tractor and harvester factories (Will require further actions)
--[] in the Midwest (-15 DC.)
--[] in the Steel Belt (-10 DC, will please the neutral faction of the CSA)
--[] Use access to incentivize collectivization (+10 DC, will please the neutral faction of the CSA)
-[] Agree to adjust price controls
--[] Agree to end some ceilings (-5 DC, will anger the hostile faction of the CSA)
--[] Agree to end all ceilings (-20 DC, will greatly anger the hostile faction of the CSA)
--[] Agree to purchase portions of agricultural products at set prices (-10 DC)
---[] Push for these rates to be better for collectivized enterprises (+5 DC, will please the neutral faction of the CSA)
--[] Push to remove price floors (+20 DC, will please both factions of the CSA)
-[] Agree to push for further anti-foreclosure measures or to enable the farmers to do so themselves by helping them establish militias (-25 DC)
[] Politics (Everything here requires an action)
-[] Agree to invest in the Red Grange to allow them to help organize more co-ops and farmers (-10 DC, will anger the hostile faction of the CSA)
-[] Allow for the creation of non-co-op farming associations which can be represented by the Red Grange (-15 DC, will greatly anger the hostile faction of the CSA)
-[] Allow for some form of territorial representation in the CSA (-25 DC, will have political consequences.
-[] Launch an anti-corruption investigation
--[] Make it thorough (-20 DC, will greatly anger the CSA)
--[] Make it standard (-10 DC, will anger the CSA)
--[] Make it token (-5 DC, will slightly anger the hostile faction of the CSA(

Write-ins will be vetted.

Send Union Organizers to California Cities: 1 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 21+55+30=106, Report from Ben Stevens: 2 Influence on Send Socialist Agitators To California Farms, 77+61+20=158
California is constantly being flooded with immigrants. Chinese workers escaping the terror of the warlords, Indonesian and Filipino and Indian guest laborers hoping to send money home, poor American farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl, Mexican refugees running from Revolution and Cristeros. They pour in in their thousands every month.

Very few leave. Long hours, poor working conditions, expensive food, atrocious rent, abusive bosses, corrupt police, and dangerous neighborhoods all take their toll. They live and die in crowded slums or wander from rural flophouse to rural flophouse, always looking for steady work and never finding any.

If they dare to ask for better, at best they are beaten. Many aren't that lucky, and find themselves blacklisted, deported, imprisoned, or murdered. But that stops very few.

And when hundreds of organizers and agitators poured into the state, they found fertile soil in which to plant their seeds.

Katherine stood on a box in the middle of the farm. "Where did Creel's promises get you? Did your pay go up? Did your work get easier? Did it get safer? Or did his negotiation organizations take your money and help your bosses fuck you harder?" she demanded, scornful and snarling.

Some of the men flinched at hearing a woman talk so, but most were too caught up. "We got nothing!" someone shouted.

"You got nothing! You did what you were asked and you got nothing! Well, I say it's time to stop doing what you're asked. Start doing the asking! Make them react to you, because there are more workers than there are bosses. This is America, the group with the most voters wins! And you all outvote the scum you work for!"

As she spoke, a band of hard-eyed men carrying truncheons approached. Katherine fell silent for a moment, then kept on roaring, riling up the crowd. Someone noticed her pause and followed her gaze.

They shouted a warning and the hundred-something band of workers turned to face their boss's enforcers.

Their leader did some very quick math. "We just heard the noise and got worried there was trouble. Carry on," he said, turning and heading back the way he came.

And as rich as the countryside proved to be, there was steady conflict between those who had already found their own organizations and those newly recruited to the red banner. Workers fought among each other as often as they fought the police and the Pinkertons. There were great gains, but many felt they could have been greater.

In the cities, the Longists were fewer and the socialists were stronger. The Chinese scabs had found themselves cast as foreign agitators and many had described the "inherently authoritarian and devious mind of the Oriental man."

They had endured harassment, rejection, and humiliation, they had been attacked by police and private militias. But the constant anti-nativist rhetoric of the SPA meant that few of those militias wore red armbands.

And so the Chinese scabs were more than willing to listen when men and women came to offer them justice and freedom and help, food for their hungry and clothes for their needy, and shelter for their homeless. More and more of them began wearing red.

And all the while, workers on farms and factories kept organizing and kept asking. By some accounts from excitable organizers, nearly 50% of the workers were in SPA unions by the end of the month.

They wrote letters and signed petitions and held protests and organized strikes and sit-ins. And they kept asking for more.

All they received was silence, scorn, and steel.

The asking turned into demanding. Groups that had stayed underground started rising up. They marched through neighborhood after neighborhood, daring the authorities to stop them. They kicked out the owners of farms and seized the property. They shot their bosses and beat their police and arrested their politicians.

Creel's promises had lost their luster, his propaganda had stopped ringing true. And all he had left was force.

And a very clever cartoonist draws a map of California with powder kegs scattered everywhere.

Send Covert Organizers to the Black Belt: 2 Influence, 1 Gravitas, 65+43+97+30=235
TW: Racism, physical and sexual violence, blood

July 2nd

If some spirit was keeping track of every town in the South, it would find it strange that more than a third of them had wandering salesmen or traveling ministers or vagabonds come in on one particular day, and most of the rest had the same trickle in over the next few days.

They would find it even stranger that people gathered in churches and homes to hear these mysterious wanderers speak. But if the spirit looked at who was doing the listening and who was doing the speaking and what was being spoken on, it might understand.

For those listening were the black men and women of the South, painfully growing old under a rain of a thousand insults and humiliation, under a reign of terror of the white sheet and the noose and the policeman's baton. And those speaking were men and women just as black who had fought to free themselves of such things, and who had succeeded.

July 10th

It's blisteringly hot in the church, even with the sun setting. Pastor James wiped his forehead, the white kerchief already stained with his sweat. It's not just the humid Georgia weather that's making things so uncomfortable. People are getting heated.

"You think you'll get anything more than scraps from that capitalist bastard in New Orleans?" their guest speaker raged at a pair of Minutemen officers.

His accent had sounded educated, Northern, but had quickly turned into something very familiar to the pastor as he had grown angrier.

"Long's done more for us than any Red. The KKK haven't come 'round in months because of his Minutemen, and some of us own our own farms now, and the rest of us are on the way there!"

"He'll betray you as soon as it's profitable for him!"

Their anger made the whole building tremble and shake as they fought back and forth, trading shouts and barbs. Their audience looked on, increasingly uncertain.

Pastor James started to rise, to demand they calm themselves.

Then a rifle butt slams into the church doors, and an all-too-familiar voice leaks in through the dying noise.

"Well, we heard you niggers were getting uppity. So we're going to remind you of your places. Turn out the Reds and the Minutemen, and we'll let you off easy."

Their guest speaker stands up. "I'm going to go out. It might spare you."

The two Minutemen pull out pistols. "No, you aren't. The whiteys aren't going to get away with this."

One glances over. "Pastor, take the women and children out the back please."

The men take up weapons as the knocking intensifies. As the Pastor ushered out everyone else, he looked back and saw them all standing together, as comrades ready to fight.

July 15th
They've traveled throughout the country, from the Mississippi to the Atlantic coast, speaking in churches and concert halls and open fields. They've traveled in the dead of night, disguising themselves, avoiding every scrap of attention they could.

They are beginning to realize they needn't have bothered.

Because it seems like the KKK can barely do anything about the increasingly restive people they were supposed to preach to.

And so they travel openly, marching into towns, giving their speeches, establishing unions, pushing to cross the color line. They organize militias and make demands, they seek support and offer testimony of the way they are treated under socialism.

And when cops, Klansmen, or Pinkertons try to stop them, they fight back.

Samuel ducked behind a tree, his heart in his throat. He fumbled with the shotgun, trying to slide the shell in.

"Come out, you filthy Red nigger, we just want to talk," a malevolent voice taunted.

Gunshots echoed through the trees as a figure draped in white fired into the air. Others drifted behind him, barely visible in the predawn darkness. They cackled and mocked him, promising all manner of terrible things.

"We'll string you up with a noose of your own guts if you make us come find you, we'll cut off your black balls and shove them in your mouth. You got a mother? We'll hunt her down and make our dogs fuck her!"

Samuel let out a soft curse. He had wanted to stretch his legs, nothing more. And now he was going to die. He cursed again as he failed to get the shell in once more, his hands shaking in terror.

And then there was another barrage of gunshots. The taunts turned into cries of alarm as muzzle flashes lit up the night like fireflies. White sheets turned red as they turned to flee, the terror of surprise overtaking them.

One, the leader who had first spoken, blundered towards Samuel just as he ducked out from the tree, still trying to load his shotgun. They collided, the shell flying from his hands. "Bastard!" the Klansman hissed, and then he punched Samuel in the face.

Of the two of them rolled across the ground, snarling and spitting. Samuel used the empty gun to pry him away as the Klansman snatched at a knife. The blade was blackened except for a pair of initials: E. E.

Samuel swung the shotgun. The butt crashed into the man's arm. The knife spun through the air. The Klansman tried to stand, tried to flee, but his feet were tangled in his robes and he collapsed to the ground.

"I surrender," he shouted, throwing his hands up.

Samuel raised the shotgun and brought it down. Again. And again. And again. The skull caved in and blood spattered him. He brought it down again. Brains covered the end of the shotgun. He brought it down one final time. Then he bent over and threw up.

His stomach empty, he heard his comrades shouting for him and left the corpse behind. He had work to do.

July 27th.

The enemies of socialism and Longism and democracy and equality are coming, people whisper. They are gathering in Atlanta, and they are going to march out and kill everything in their path, they say.

We're not going to let them, they declare.

And in a half-dozen towns, newly-formed Red Guards and veteran Minutemen units of every color decide to take pre-emptive action. Police stations are stormed. Armories are seized. The leaders of various racist organizers are dealt with. Sometimes they are locked in jail. Sometimes they are put on trial. Sometimes, strange fruit is left hanging from the poplar trees, with a skin made of white cloaks.

A terror spreads across the South. Rumors fly faster than sound. Self-defense groups organize. Lynch mobs form. Men are killed. Women are raped. Homes are destroyed. Stores are looted. Churches are burned.

It's chaos, but amongst the chaos, there are islands of order. And in these islands, the American flags begin to come down.

In some towns, they are replaced with the Socialist-Syndicalist-Anarchist red-black banner and the Garveyite red-black-green flag, with the IWW Globe and the ASA Grain and Gear.

In others, they are replaced with the Stars and Bars.

Out marches the US Army under General Joyce. Tanks and machine guns and flamethrowers could overwhelm rifles and shotguns and flimsy barricades, but they have different orders.

Looters are arrested. Rapists and murderers are executed. The militias still fighting are defeated and destroyed. Those that have won are offered amnesty.

And so the militias disband. But they do not disarm. They appeal to their patrons. They need weapons, training, support.
And another clever cartoonist draws a map of the United States with every state in the south turned into some kind of powder keg.

Free Action: Meet with Long
You are suspicious about this offer. Quite reasonably so, you think. But Long has let you pick the time and place, and so you are confident it's not some sort of bizarre assassination attempt. And you doubt it is some scheme to make you confess to plotting to overthrow the government. So you can't figure out what he wants.

You decide to find out. On the 1st of July, you tell him to meet.

On the 2nd, he comes to you, meeting you in your DC office. He brings four Minutemen with him, but leaves them outside the building, glaring at your Red Guards, who return the favor.

He sits down in your office. You are writing. He glances around and then begins to speak.

"You know, Mr. Reed, I admire the hell out of you. I might not always agree with you, but you have your principles and I think they are fair enough. There's not much difference between seizing the means of production and making every man a king, after all!

And to be frank, we have a mutual problem. Less of one now, that Ford had his unfortunate accident," he says, giving you a sharklike grin.

You put down your pen. "An accident?" you ask.

He nods. "And the police won't find anything else. But it's not Ford who is the big problem. It's other fellows, like Bilbo and Talmadge. And that sonofabitch MacArthur. For all Mac's high and mighty talk, he's not all that different."

"Bilbo and Talmadge? The men you gave speeches for? The men you stood on stage with? Your allies?" you ask, barely holding back a snort.

Again he nods, and you think you might see the barest trace of shame on his expression. Although you can't imagine a man like Long being ashamed of anything.

"When I was getting the AFP off the ground, some Democrat party bosses had offers to make me. They thought I would do better than the head-in-the-sand fools who had control. But their backing had a price. Talmadge and the KKK were part of it, there were all sorts of bastards I had to deal with. They wanted me to be their puppet. But the Kingfish dances on no one's strings!"

He pounds his fist on your desk for emphasis, loud enough that it causes Flora to open the door. She very quickly closes it again, although you catch a glimpse of metal in her hand.

"Anyway, I got rid of them as soon as I could, and I think I made my stance on them clear enough. Even as we speak, some more rats are being taken care of. There won't be a single Klansmen left in Arkansas or Louisiana by August, or my name isn't Huey Long. And I want your help making sure of that. You tell your boys not to fight mine, and I do the same. And when KKK thugs or Pinkertons show up, we both give them what for. That's free, all you gotta do is get your people to do it. Sound good?"

Before you can answer he plows on.

"And there's another offer I have to make you. You and you socialists and syndicalists and communists and what-have-you have done a lot of good, more than I reckoned you would. I don't much like the idea of a revolution, seems like it would hurt more people than it helps, but if MacArthur or Hearst or Zemurray or those Standard Oil pricks make one necessary, you'll have my help in it."

You are about to thank him but he keeps going. You wonder if he ever breathes.

"If we're allies. That's my price. We form a fusion ticket, work together, and you agree not to start any revolution unless they cross a line. And you'll have me and my party working with you and yours. That's my offer."

Finally, he is silent, and you have to decide how to respond to that...speech.

[] "Welcome to the fold, Comrade Long." Full acceptance.
[] "We'll stand against the KKK together. Nothing more." Accept his first offer, but not the second.
[] "I can't trust a man who's worked with Voynists like Pelley and Ford for so many years. Flora will show you out." Reject him.

The RAF's Report: Prison Break, 98+20 = 118

They didn't bother sneaking in. The guards would be watching for that. And they didn't need to.

They were driven in by a chauffeur, four men and four women exiting the car, wearing elegant suits and dresses, looking like they had gotten lost on the way to the opera.

They said they were lawyers here for a few prisoners, and when a guard questioned them, they demanded the name of his supervisor with such haughty disdain he fell over himself apologizing.

Another guard led them in to be searched. And the one doing the searching seemed to be very clumsy. He missed everything there was to find. One of the lawyers nodded at him and passed him a slip of paper. "You'll find your sweetheart here, safe and sound. The money will be there too. We stick to our bargains."

On the other side, there was an address on the far side of town. By the time he got there and came back, whatever would have happened would be over. The guard did not hesitate.

His superior wondered where the asshole had gotten to and vowed to tear a strip off him for skiving. The father of three sickly children and husband to a rosy-cheeked wife he lavished all his tenderness on would never get a chance to do so.

He fell dead with six bullets in his chest about a half-hour later. He died doing something that wasn't quite sobbing and wasn't quite choking as pink foam frothed along his lips.

His corpse lay on the ground, stepped over by bare and by booted feet. Some of the escaped prisoners ran, some were carried. Bullets stitched through the air, sparking off concrete. Shouts of alarm and shrieks of terror rang through the air. Those who were left in their cells hollered for freedom, banging on the bars, begging for rescue.

They were left behind.

As the escapees and their rescuers fled through the prison, a van came smashing into the prison gate, smashing it off its hinges. Bullets lashed out of it, spraying the guards scattered throughout the courtyard before turning to those who manned the walls and towers. Inside the prison a warden bawled into a phone, begging for reinforcements.

The escapees crossed the courtyard, paying no attention to the dead and the dying. Bullets struck some down. They were shot in the head, and the group kept running.

They got out the broken gate. They got down the road. They ducked into waiting cars. They escaped.

Behind them, an explosion rippled through the air as one last surprise was left behind for the enemies of the people.

Focus: Form Spartacus Columns

With your organizers and agitators, you send guns and supplies. In hidden compartments beneath truck cargos, stocks of ammunition and explosives are smuggled south. In church basements and isolated hideouts in the woods, small depots are formed.

And first in the dead of night, then in the light of day, black men and women march and shoot and drill, learning to fight. The crack of gunfire stops being something to fear as they learn of their own strength, and make the price of attacks and lynchings far higher than it has been since the most radical days of Reconstruction.

Any who are willing to fight are welcomed to the cause. And the ranks of the Spartacus Columns swell, turning from a whisper in the winds to a multi-thousand strong organization within mere weeks. And the growth isn't slowing down any time soon.

Result: Focus completed.

A/N: There was lots of synergies this turn, including some with stuff you hadn't known was happening.
 
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