RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026

 I want to buy some souvenirs from this trip and maybe snacks for the voyage home.

Thinking about my idealized shopping experiences from when I lived in the area, I can't help but think of Globe Imports and Picky Picky Picky. Both places prepared me to take my girlfriend (now wife!) to her Senior Prom.

Globe Imports was the retail version of those catalogs where you can buy cheap knickknacks and kitsch in bulk (It's giving more Oriental Trading Company catalog than necessarily Wish.com or Temu in my mind). I bought a black silk rose and incense-infused matches there. I might have also bought scented tea candles there, as well. (They're out of business, but strong enough in my mind that I might bring them back in the setting.)

Picky Picky Picky sells outdoor equipment as well as military surplus. We had decided to go with a camouflage theme for our prom outfits, so I was able to buy off the rack for my outfit. Getting a camouflage dress for her took a little more effort and creativity, but the result was worth it.

This does make me wonder what the currency of the area is going to be like. I could follow the Fallout tradition of bottle caps. Though a funny idea does occur to me that the main currency could be marijuana. The standard unit would be a dime bag or "dime" though small silver coins might sometimes substitute for product.

Different strains could affect valuation, creating "denominations" of currency, but even a baggie of "ditch weed" will get you somewhere.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 24-What are the major imports to the area?

What is it your campaign region needs but doesn't have and how do they get it? Maybe it's not a need but a want? Some other place has the very best something and the people of your campaign desire some of that action.

Historically, the main things that have been imported into the region are manufactured goods, tools and machines.

While self-sufficiency and local production would be the name of the game for a while after an apocalypse, I'm sure they would still be importing any machines or technologies that can't be produced or maintained locally.

I'm not entirely clear on what kinds of technologies those might be, because I'm leaving things deliberately open in terms of exactly what sort of technology does or did exist before the War That Ended Everything. Especially with the Fallout franchise hanging over the genre right now, the ability to include some of the more gonzo elements and technologies, which are supported by Ashes Without Number.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 23-What are the major exports of the region?

A campaign can be big and different places within it will be known for different products. Pick a few of the best sellers or most interesting things and tell us about them.

Logging has been the economic engine of the area almost from its initial settlement. I expect some version of that to continue, though nowhere near the scale it achieved in the 20th century.

Cow Town was able to export farm products to the local settlements of Sohum and even as far south as Willits before their current famine.

Squatch-ville actually has easier access to points east along Highway 96, so would likely have trading partners in Yreka (a real place, believe it or not!). My current thinking is that Squatch-ville is actually the most successful of the region's Enclaves, so there would likely be a good bit of surplus for them to export, typically in the form of hides and meat from deer, bear and other forest creatures, as well as acorns and other nuts. Woodcrafts are also popular exports.

Marijuana is an actively cultivated crop throughout the region, with growing operations large and small all over the place. Enclaves have large grows, but even homesteaders might grow some to trade for other things that they can't produce. Mutated and weaponized forms of the plant are probably lurking in the Ruin of Calpoly.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 22-Tell use about notable Flora and Fauna!

 Take us on safari around your campaign and its setting. What are some of the unique and/or unusual creatures and plants in your game?

One of the fun things about Ashes Without Number is that it is intended to be compatible with B/X D&D, so there are a number of OSR monster manuals that I can draw from for mutated versions of local wildlife. Though my wife just gave me the best version of this: A carrion crawler descended from the common banana slug.

While the banana slug is not strongly associated with the area (It's currently a mascot at UC Santa Cruz, a good distance south), it does live here, and my wife and I both have formative memories of encountering them in their small version. A huge mutated banana slug feels very right.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 21-What are the major organizations of the campaign? How do they deal with visitors?

Corporations, guilds, secret societies; what groups with influence exist in the campaign and how do they interact with the setting and its denizens?

I haven't laid down any major factions beyond the Enclaves themselves. The big challenge is that there's not a lot of development in the area and I wound up expecting less and building less to make this area work. There are fewer Enclaves and Ruins here than is expected for a "typical" Ashes Without Number setting

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 20-Are there any mysteries as yet unsolved?

 Legendary tales, lost civilizations, or cryptid creatures; does the setting have anything for the amateur detective?

The main mystery I have currently set up is "What's going on with Hupa?" There are certainly details to be established in a lot of places that could qualify as mysteries, but a lot of this is still in development until it's needed for a scenario.

Even though I have established that Sasquatch are real, I have not touched on other potential cryptids that might or might not be real in the setting.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 19-Any 'Must See' sites?

Are there any places or things a visitor to the setting just has to check out?

One of the main draws of the area in the present day is its natural beauty. The other is the number of homes with elaborate Victorian architecture. The Carson Mansion (which I have placed as the seat of Ureka government) is one of the most photographed homes in the world.

Even in the post-apocalyptic future, I think most of that would still be intact. Nothing in this area would be a major conventional military target. (Though the Hupa backstory might reveal some twists. We'll see what happens as things develop.)