RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 13-Where can we get a drink and a bite to eat?

Give us a few of your most notable restaurants and bars in the campaign setting. Tell us something about these places and what makes them distinctive.

The most unique restaurant in the area in the present day is the Samoa Cookhouse, effectively the last remaining lumberjack cookhouse. I'd like to see it continue into my setting, if possible. It is, as the name implies, in Samoa, across the bay from Ureka.

Meals are still served "cookhouse style:" a fixed menu with food brought out on serving platters so that each diner may serve themselves.

There's also a local dive bar called The Shanty that I think would be fun to keep around. Especially since it is a dive bar, but the collapse of civilization can cause a lot of recontextualization and idealization of a past that never was.

A friend of mine reminded me of a food truck called Speedy Taco that both of us enjoyed. The location that truck usually parked at is ratfolk territory according to my map. So I could go a number of directions. Maybe the humans took it when they tried to claim more territory, but couldn't hold the Broadway Cinema (where the truck was typically parked). Or it expanded to multiple Speedy Taco trucks and that becomes a recognizable brand throughout the area. Or maybe the ratfolk still have it and operate it, making tacos and burritos tuned to their diets. 

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 12-What do people do for entertainment around here?

Music? Theatre? Sports? Gambling? What do the adventurers in your campaign do on their 'day off'? What is there for tourists to spend money on?

In the Enclave of Ureka, there is a performing arts center, a movie theater, a fairground with race track and a high school with a football stadium and basketball courts. The movie theater is used to show classic films. The performing arts center hosts various performances, such as plays and ballets, as well as podcasts (typically panel discussions regarding current events or other topics, though the discussions are not typically recorded and there's no real method of distribution, unlike present day podcasts). The high school football field is used for gladiatorial games and arena sports like jugger. Its proximity to ratfolk territory does mean that some of these games involve ratfolk gladiators, some of which are prisoners and some are volunteers. (Where is Ratacus?)

In Cow Town, there is a small theater, as well as rodeo grounds. The rodeo grounds haven't been used in some time, as none of the animals that survive can be spared to perform or serve as show animals. The local podcasters are storytellers and gossips primarily, appearing on the theater stage when  a play or other production isn't happening.

In Squatch-ville, most of the entertainment is morality tales and stories from the ancient Sasquatch culture. Like many other aspects of life in Squatch-ville, the arts and entertainment follow Sasquatch models more than human ones.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 11-Where would we go to find 'adventure'?

 We've left the relative safety of the starting area and now we're looking for action!

The most immediate location for adventure is "Old Ureka," the inland portions of the city that have been occupied by the ratfolk.

Beyond the city of Ureka, there are populations of raiders throughout the redwood forests. In the present day, the area is full of small communities of hippies, pot growers, back-to-the-landers, and other misfits. In a post-apocalyptic context, it's easy to imagine these as raider communities.

The ruins of Calpoly are one of the most dangerous areas to explore. The remains of Cal Poly Humboldt and the city of Arcata have been overrun by plants and animals created in the genetics lab. The university's specialties in the modern day include marine biology, green tech, and marijuana. In a politically unstable and technologically aggressive future, I can imagine all of those things being weaponized. After the collapse, the results of these projects are unrestrained.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 10-What's the first thing we should do?

When heading out on a trip through the campaign setting (even just the 'starting area'), where should you go first?

There are other places to go and things to do that are a bit more adventurous, so they're getting saved for later entries, but one definite thing to do would be to take a boat tour of Humboldt Bay.

I don't know if the Samoa Bridge (both of them) would survive, but I think it would be more fun if it didn't because it would bring back boat travel to the bay. The last ferry boat in Humboldt Bay, the Madaket, is currently run as a tour boat. Madaket Ferry Lines has emerged from the ashes, providing transportation to those who live around the bay.

Even if the communities of Manila and Samoa on the North Spit have fallen to just a few families, building a simple dock means that they can be connected to Ureka by the ferry.

Though like many waterways in the area, there are the slamon to contend with. Overgrown variations of the pre-collapse salmon species, the slamon gets its name from its tendency to attack boats by ramming them and tipping them over. Also, the slamon are not above eating any people that fall out of the boats they tip over, either.

This is making me wonder about Tuluwat, the largest island in Humboldt Bay. As much as is feasible, the island is the property/territory of the Wiyot tribe in the present day. It's also presently linked to Eureka and Samoa via the Samoa Bridge, but if that fails in our post-apocalyptic future, the only access will be by water. As part of the backstory for what's going on in the Ruin of Hupa, I posit that indigenous Americans industrialized and militarized independently from (and in response to) the US as a whole. Was Tuluwat involved in any of this? Is there a military installation there? Is or was there a navy of some sort patrolling the bay? What people still live there and what are their opinions on the people of the mainland?

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 9-Who's in charge here?

Who are the major movers and shakers in the campaign?

Eureka is run by Mayor William Henry Carson, who occupies the formerly glorious Carson Mansion. While I like the name, I don't think he's strongly related to William McKendrie Carson, who was its original owner and inhabitant. I'm tempted to suggest that he took the last name Carson to legitimize his power.

Order is kept in Eureka by the Ratcatchers. As the name suggests, they are primarily focused on keeping ratfolk out of the human-occupied portions of the city, but they do also protect Ureka from human troublemakers as well. The Ratcatchers are led by Sheriff Allen Ross.

The Sasquatch run things in Squatch-ville, though I haven't taken the time to set any of them up as individuals. They never sought power, but the humans in their care placed it into their hands. This is likely some of the core friction in Sasquatch politics. How much are they guiding and how much are they controlling? How much control do they need to have over the humans and at what point are they ultimately causing them harm? How much are the humans their "children," in need to care and support, and how much are they "adults," capable of making mature decisions?

Cow Town's influence has waned as its population has withered. They were previously able to export food crops to Ureka and other small communities, but now can barely feed themselves. What trouble breaks through the apathy of the citizenry is addressed by a small Town Watch under Mayor Bruce Garbutt.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 8-Tell us about the local peoples and their cultures

Describe the people and their Species, Nationalities, and other identifying features.

There are 3 known sentient species in the area. Humans (including mutant humans), Ratfolk, and Sasquatch.

Since the chaos of the collapse, due to various contagions, including radiation, humans have been prone to developing various mutations. Some are beneficial, some are detrimental, and others are just weird.

Humans predominate the existing Enclaves, and rule 2 out of 3. The humans of Squatch-ville live under the guidance and care of the Sasquatch.

The ratfolk have evolved from rats to full sentience. Whether this was a result of environmental contagion or deliberate intervention from the labs of Calpoly, no one knows. They are ruled by a Rat King, a collective of ratfolk who have joined their tails and their minds into a communal whole of formidible intelligence and (according to rumor) psychic powers. They used to roam Ureka freely, but have been pushed back from Old Town, along the coast, to the inland neighborhoods.

The cryptid known as Sasquatch has since become a proven fact. The humans fleeing the tsunami that destroyed Crescent City fled inland into the redwoods. The local Sasquatch community took pity on them, revealing themselves so that the people could survive. They have since become the leaders of the very successful community known as Sqatch-ville.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 7-What's the weather like today?

Is there a particular climate or weather that's prominent in the region of the campaign? Does it vary? What is it like and how bad does it get?

The default weather I remember for much of my time living there is cold and overcast. If it got above 70 degrees, it was a heat wave. Winters are dominated by rain. As I've told people since I moved away, "It's never not jacket weather."