The Apocalypse is just the beginning

While we were painting, John N was talking about wanting to do some gaming using the upcoming Tomorrow's War  rules and our existing stores of 40K-scale figures.  He wanted some kind of narrative that would fit most of what we had available (plus zombies), and here's the first draft of the forces that may battle it out on these pages in coming months:

Alternate background for 28mm wargaming:

America, post Apocalypse.  Set in the early 23rd century, after decades of genetic manipulation, political chaos around the world and limited nuclear and biological wars.  US mostly fell apart and various groups arose to fight over the scraps.

New Forces:

Oni: Engineered warrior-monsters made by the Japanese to fight their overseas wars.  As often happens with such things, those holding the leash lost control.  They were first sent in to quell the rampant civil wars in China, but ended up merely supplanting the warring factions with their own control and started spreading from there.  They can make incursions almost anywhere, but are most active in Mexico and the US Southwest/Texas.  (40K Orks)

American Union: Remains of old America hanging on and attempting to push out to extend control.  Regular soldiers and power armored shock troopers, centered in the Great Lakes area of the US and Canada. (40K Imperial Guard and Space Marines)

Badlanders: Road-warrior type gangs and tribes living in the less appealing areas, resisting Union incursions or raiding Union sites for arms and supplies.  Frequently include mutants and Brutes, engineered laborers whose strength has been turned to combat purposes. (40K Traitor Guard, Pig Iron rebels)

Locusts: Badlander group that has found a way to control, or at least herd, the zombies that prowl the wastelands.  Their typical MO is to send zombies into an area to kill everyone and then move in to pick over the remains.  For more well defended areas they will send in regular troopers in to supplement the zombies. (40K Vraks guys, Pig Iron rebels, zombies)

Spawn of Barracas: Cult group that spread rapidly in the wake of the apocalypse.  Their belief is that Hell has come to Earth and that humanity must master Hell or be consumed by it.  They are surprisingly high tech for a cult, with powerful weapons and power armored troopers as well as regular soldiers, mutants, and genetic monstrosities.  They are active in a wide area, but their main strongholds are in the Rockies. (40K Chaos Marines, cultists, etc.)

Fortocracies: Various small, independent city-states that grew out of local military bases or National Guard units taking over their immediate area in the wake of the apocalypse.  For the most part they remain petty dictatorships, though conditions vary widely.  A number have been absorbed into the Union as it expands – some peacefully, some by force.  They tend to use regular soldiers and vehicles, though they generally don’t have more high tech items such as power armor and have limited ability to replace valuable equipment like tanks. (Wargames Factory troopers, misc. guys with guns)

 Since writing this, I've also remembered that I have a bunch of AT-43 Red Blok walkers.  Maybe they'll be added to the Fortocracy arsenals or even form the core of another group, we'll see.