St. Louis Timeline

St. Louis in 2058 is a central hub of international travel in North America. Located on the extreme northern border of the Confederated American States, it is also a hotbed of quasi-political activity as both the CAS and UCAS want the city and the revenue it produces.

The Indian Problem and the formation of the Native American Nations did not have a direct affect on St. Louis as a city. There were, of course, effects that trickled down from the national level, but no direct effect at the city level.

When the awakening hit in late 2011, St. Louis, along with many cities along the Mississippi, received a marvelous, and sometimes devastating, display as a Great Form River Spirit raced up and down the river for several hours, apparently uncontrolled. It capsized a few barges and wrecked several ports before disappearing. The summoner and banisher, if any, are still unknown.

When goblinization struck on April 30, 2021, St. Louis reeled under the massive changes. As fate would have it, four people of major influence were goblinized that day without suffering any major mental trauma. These people were two corporate executives, a city council member, and a respected priest. After a few weeks of adjustment for both the city and those changed, plus two assassination attempts, these three men and one woman settled back into their jobs. When news of their acceptance into society got out, there was a massive influx of orks and trolls into the St. Louis area. All were hoping to find acceptance in this “enlightened city.”

Needless to say, they weren’t accepted as easily as they had hoped. Most were forced to settle in lower class neighborhoods, particularly the economically depressed area of East St. Louis, Illinois. This has resulted in St. Louis having an unusually high concentration of metahumans.

Over the next few elections, a strong anti-metahuman element began to creep into St. Louis politics. When the CAS seceded in 2033, portions of the St. Louis government were able to apply enough pressure to the Missouri State government to allow St. Louis and a sizable chunk of southern Missouri to break away also. Illinois allowed East St. Louis and some surrounding territory to be annexed as well. St. Louis didn’t want it, but it was part of the deal to allow secession. St. Louis became the capital of the new state of South Missouri.

Throughout the 30’s, racial tensions continued to mount in St. Louis. Both pro- and anti-metahuman groups became more and more militant. One of the most active groups was the Society for Orks Rights Defense, or SORD. SORD was a “pro-active” group, which advocated a “hit them before they hit us”, approach. As the tension and violence rose, so did the number of thefts of heavy weapons and military grade items.

When racial violence exploded across the globe on the infamous Night of Rage, St. Louis was rocked to its core. Since racial tension was already so high, most metahumans were better prepared than most. As soon as the first word of the violence hit the streets, SORD mobilized.They rallied their troops and other metahumans, then barricaded the bridges leading into East St. Louis, declaring the area a safe haven for all metahumans. Bands of heavily armed orks and trolls raced throughout the sprawl, helping other metahumans get into East St. Louis.

Firefights flashed through the city as SORD used it’s stolen weapons to fight off groups of Humanis and other anti-metahuman groups. Near dawn, the Humanis groups made a concentrated push into East St. Louis, slamming into the SORD barricades on the I-55/70 Bridge. Humanis broke through and a full-scale battle erupted in East St. Louis. Knight Errant, the local law enforcement contractor, tried in vain to control, or at least contain the violence. Even a couple of low-grade chemical weapon strikes (irritant and nausea gasses only) from nearby Scott Air Force Base had little effect. Around noon, SORD finally pushed Humanis back across the river then held their advance. Both sides were to drained to continue the fight.

The loss of life, both human and metahuman, was staggering. Over 500 dead, and over 2000 wounded on both sides. Property damage was estimated at over 300 million. But, since the worst damage was in East St. Louis, it was never properly repaired.

SORD maintained its vigilance for a few days, until things settled down. Since SORD was pretty much doing the law enforcement in East St. Louis, Knight Errant left it alone to concentrate its efforts in Downtown.

In time, SORD returned to their own neighborhoods and the metahumans from other areas returned home. Since Knight Errant considered the whole area a lost cause, organized crime moved in to fill the power vacuum, and now controls large areas of East St. Louis. The Mafia and a coalition of gangs are the biggest powers, followed by the Yakuza, and then the Seoulpa rings. Jamaican voodoo posses are trying to get a foothold, but this is being resisted fiercely.

SORD is still strong and has influence in metahuman neighborhoods. They also run “sanctuaries”, where metahumans can get food, shelter, and protection.

Knight Errant has given up on East St. Louis, and walled in the major highways leading through the district. They patrol these highways and protect traffic from the UCAS border to downtown. They will respond to major disturbances (read explosions) in East St. Louis, but leave the rest alone. East St. Louis is really no worse than most Barrens; it is just that law enforcement is determined within the neighborhood instead of by an organized force.