Fire!!!! Plot seed for discussion

[Lord Mhoram]

This plot came to me the other day at work. I live in Utah, right up in the moutains. We had a storm come through the other night and start some brushfires up on the moutaintops- I could see the first and the planes fighting it from work. With a western draught, and dry woodsy stuff all over the west, fires are in the paper a lot.

So I go thinking, some superviallian gets control of a laser death sat. Rather than going after people, he (maybe a terrorist dunno) hits 4-8 times in a few hundered yard circle, move a few miles off and does it again, with the purpose of starting the entire western third of the USA on fire, with massive brush and wildfires.

Questions to consider-
How far does he get (depends on how nasty your game is I guess- not too four color to burn off all the west).

This is a scene/villian plan- what do you do to make a plot of it for the heroes. Are they trying to stop the villian and the lasersat, are they doing damage control on the fire...

For those that know, how much is there in the way of firefighting capability. If there were 10 sepearate huge raging wildwires over a 8 state area how much could each get? would it overwhelm the normal teams, would the miltary get involved?

Lets get some discussion going for a plot we can all then singe our players with.

[Barghest]

Think back a couple years ago when we had multiple fires across the west (we had what, four here in Utah, several in California, Idaho, Montana, and five or so in Arizona). We were putting several hundred firefighters on the bigger blazes. Smaller blazes got smaller crews. As I recall a couple governors called out National Guard units. That's one of the things they are there for. To be used for extra firefighting or police in the event of disasters. I don't know a specific number of firefighters available but I am pretty certain that Leavitt called out some Guard and that AZ did too.

[dei1c3]

I think the President even sent in the Army to fight the fires. Certainly a national emergency-level disaster could be created and, yeah, in a world with supers you have to think they'd get involved.

Related question: What are the game mechanics (if any) for fighting fires?

Chris

[OddHat]

Originally posted by dei1c3

Related question: What are the game mechanics (if any) for fighting fires?

IMO, better to use GM fiat and role play than rely on mechanics for something like this. You could use various stat or skill rolls ("You want to know how to create a fire break, and you don't have PS: Forest Rnager? Well, make an INT roll and maybe you can figure out something...").

[lemming]

Originally posted by OddHat
"You want to know how to create a fire break, and you don't have PS: Forest Ranger? Well, make an INT roll and maybe you can figure out something...".

It's also a useful skill if you want to get hold of a picinic basket.

[OddHat]

Originally posted by lemming
It's also a useful skill if you want to get hold of a picinic basket.

Shouldn't that be Tallent: Smarter Than The Average Bear?

[Redmenace]

Questions to consider-
How far does he get (depends on how nasty your game is I guess- not too four color to burn off all the west).

The mass forest fire attack was of course actually tried by the Japanese during the second world war with incendiary devices delivered by trans-Pacific balloon.

How far would he get? As to how far he could a military grade laser thats non geo stationary could make a swipe of a third of the US with the focal, point of the beam moving at several thousand miles an hour. As I'm sure you are aware it doesn't take much, particularly when it'd hot or following a drought. That's too much for even super heroes.

I suggest that the bad guy has limited access, maybe the US military counter hackers regain control or maybe it's a neglected/abandoned Soviet system that just sputters out. With a limited time the villain would probably try to fire for effect. Hitting inaccessible, rugged areas that aren't too far from or are upwind from population centers or military bases.

1.) Some terrain is much harder to fight fires on. Very often areas that are still forested are mountainous. This slows down response, makes fighting them even more exhausting and in canyons the natural air flow can make the fires blow up hill like a flame-thrower.

A few years back Oakland Ca. had this situation with the added threat that the hills were densely built with homes. That was a bad one, take all the problems of fire fighting then add mass evacuation to it. Oakland not only received national guard help but also convict chain gangs digging fire breaks and Canadian firemen and equipment.

2.) Another side effect that happens locally is poison oak. When it burns the irritant oils are released making clouds of blinding smoke that if inhaled can incapacitate and or kill if the person can't get rapid treatment.


This is a scene/villain plan- what do you do to make a plot of it for the heroes. Are they trying to stop the villain and the lasersat, are they doing damage control on the fire...

1.) A super hero, the right one anyway, would make interesting smoke jumpers and some one with tunneling, fire or water powers could be invaluable.

2.)As a real world note, Andrews air force base and Sandia national Labs were both threatened by wildfire this year and last. They weren't evacuated but there were plans to do so. The whole fire might be a very elaborate "go for broke" gambit to divert attention while they steal military or even nuclear hardware.

3.) Fire has it's part in the natural cycle of course. Very often the removal of old growth makes an opportunity for new. If an invading species, I'm thinking extra terrestrial but whatever, wanted to supplant earth's native biosphere with there own or wished to plant body snatcher pods, carnivorous triffids, ego draining lotus flowers etc. this would be a way to get a massive head start. Hey you said 4 colour.

4.) As of late, numerous unsolved missing persons and murder cases are reopened during and after fires when a dumped body or vehicle is exposed by removed brush. I don't know what you should do with that macabre tid bit but I thought I'd throw it out.


For those that know, how much is there in the way of firefighting capability. If there were 10 separate huge raging wildwires over a 8 state area how much could each get? would it overwhelm the normal teams, would the military get involved?

In California we've had individual fires which called for National Guard involvement so something on the scale you are talking about would definitely involve a massive military reaction. We can also call upon Canadian firefighters and armed forces, and have, but only so long as their own land isn't burning. They have been routinely better equipped with water drop seaplanes, called super scoopers, that make a big difference in stopping and containing fires.

The Marines often employes C130s, big cargo planes used to drop lots of water at a time but they have to land on a runway and reload unlike the seaplane super scoopers. No body has too many scoopers so C130s are going to be a major part of a multi state fire. As an aside visibility in these situations is awful and to better direct a water drop the pilot has to get in low. This results in many crashes, fatalities as well as aviation fuel adding to the problem. A super human who could fly, lift a huge water tank and or has some super vision that allows him or her to see through smoke and IR clutter could really be the hero of the hour.

Demolitions experts could cause avalanches to smother canyon fires at the expense of the environment, but I imagine that the majority of enlisted men would be lugging hoses, clearing deadwood and other fuel, seeing to evacuation keeping looters down, always happens, and maybe setting fires to make a break in the "fuel line" of the fire. Supers could be drafted on the spot or called in by a plea from state governors or perhaps the President to do just about the same things only better.

I think you've got a start on a really different and solid adventure.

[Redmenace]

Originally posted by dei1c3


Related question: What are the game mechanics (if any) for fighting fires?

Chris

I don't have good answer but I'd say write the water up as a suppress or dispel, maybe area effect cone or line, vs the points in the fire baught as EB or Rka.

[BlackSword]

Originally posted by Redmenace
[B]
A few years back Oakland Ca. had this situation with the added threat that the hills were densely built with homes. That was a bad one, take all the problems of fire fighting then add mass evacuation to it. Oakland not only received national guard help but also convict chain gangs digging fire breaks and Canadian firemen and equipment.

Well, since prison wardens and guards are terminally stupid in comics, this is obviously a great way to start a prison break. But who cares about a bunch of car jackers, thugs getting out? Well again (depending on the genre), bring in the comics ability of disbelief and uncommon sense to use either supers such as Mr. Freeze, or common masterminds (like Luthor in the Justice League cartoon where he is a prisoner, not the comics where he is president). While entertaining to see Lex Luthor doing manual labor, wait until he figures out a way to stage a massive break of all the convicts. Since this a game, there has to be some sense of rational or logic, either other prisoners are busy someplace else, or the massive strength of Bane or another super-villain is required to help speed up the building of a firebreak. Of course you have superheroes watching over the super convicts, but is that a child in danger over there?

[Lord Mhoram]

Originally posted by Redmenace
[
I think you've got a start on a really different and solid adventure.

Yes. I thought so as well, but had no details on the real world mechanics.

The germ of the idea came to me, and I thought others might like to run something like this too, it could be a really nice change of pace from the normal "epic earth shattering" plots. We see invasions all the time, megalomaniacs trying to take over and what not, but not a lot of fire.


Thanks to everyone for all the details.

[Zed-F]

Originally posted by Redmenace
I don't have good answer but I'd say write the water up as a suppress or dispel, maybe area effect cone or line, vs the points in the fire baught as EB or Rka.

You could also do a power vs. power check -- roll damage for each and compare the BODY scores, higher value winning as for whether a particular patch of fire got put out.

[Dr. Necropolis]

Great suggestions! If I were to steal this idea, and I will, I'd probably forgo the Mastermind and his Laser altogether. The enemy would be drought conditions and the worst fire season in decades.

There should be something here for every character type, from logistics and strategy for the more cerebral types, acting as a sea-scoop plane for the flying bricks, to cutting firebreaks with EB's for the energy projectors, running around getting normals out of harms way for the speedsters, smoke jumping for the invulnerable and adrenaline junkie types.

But, some players aren't satisfied unless there's an ass to kick at the adventure's climax. It might be hard to get the players high fiving around the table after kicking the fire's ass.

[Blue Jogger]

Originally posted by OddHat
Shouldn't that be Tallent: Smarter Than The Average Bear?

I thought it was Positive Reputation: Smarter Than The Average Bear
balanced out with Watched by Mr. Ranger (14-, As Pow)
and possibly a Rivalry with other bears.