Concentration (game creation sheet)
From Hot War Wiki
Tone:
Closest to the 'Quality BBC Drama' tone. Not full-on survival horror but there should be low-level elements of horror in the game. Everything looks washed out and grainy, like the cinematography of 'Children of Men'.
What are the characters doing?:
The characters have been given one of the most boring jobs the SSG has to offer: acting as guards on barges of refugees being sent down river to the camps in the Thames Estuary. It's thankless work, made all the worse by seeing the misery and degradation of the refugees. The brutality of the military personal who also work these shifts doesn't help at all.
In the middle of all this, the characters have been approach by a group wanting something to do with the refugees. Maybe it's the Government sounding them out to see if they would be party to horrific schemes to get rid of massive numbers of unwanted people? Maybe it's an underground organisation dedicated to liberating the camps and overturning the monstrous schemes of the military?
Who are the antagonists?:
A mysterious 'someone' from outside of London has been causing trouble lately. Small armed bands, and individual saboteurs have been infiltrating central London and causing chaos. Who is their mysterious leader and what his his or her ultimate goal? And why are some of the saboteurs and militants dressed in raggedly ancient clothes, almost Victoria looking? And the always seem to come from the direction of the Zone of Alienation...(pg.XX)
There are many groups, both large and small, who covertly or overtly campaign against the Government treatment of refugees. The Free Society are one such group, tending towards the more militant end of the spectrum. Whether or not they can be considered antagonists depends very much on the setup of the game, but it can be guaranteed they at least some of them will be very suspicious of the SSG and anyone associated with them.
Captain Nicolai Berezin is a former GRU (Soviet military intelligence) officer who defected to the British side during the early stages of the war. he has since proved himself to be a valuable source of information and strategic insight. He now holds a ranking position as an 'adviser' to the Special Situations Group. But is he really what he says he is, does he still owe allegiance to his former masters? And if not, who is he really working for?
In every prison, there are those who rise to the top, who gain the favour of their jailers and the fear of the prisoners. The internment camps are no different. The camp gangs are brutal little groups of men and women, most those with military, police or prison experience. They are used as 'trusties' by the military authorities to keep order behind the wire and contacts by outside criminal elements. They make the lives of ordinary refugees even more miserable than they already are.
Who else is involved?:
Martin Darby MP, a politician.
A loud, brash American refugee who is being sent to the camps for a lack of proper papers.
A military police 'Redcap', Corporal Phillip 'Big Phil' Carter.
The Vernons are a family of East London gangsters (under the leadership of Uncle Clive) who have made a killing (both literally and metaphorically) during the chaos of the post-War period. One of their most lucrative trades is smuggling luxury goods into the camps, for the benefit of the refugees and the military. They also smuggle girls out of the camp to use as prostitutes in their shabby brothels.
Suggestion for an opening scene:
A loading jetty by the Thames. Chickenwire fences funnel refugees clad in rags down to the waters edge where they are pushed and prodded into the barge. Today, a delegation of politicians is watching proceedings. The delegation includes Martin Darby.
Occasional men and women are dragged from the scrowd and taken behind a brick hut by the military policemen.
Corporal Phillip Carter pokes and hits refugees with his billy club as they get on the barge, pocketing any valuables they might still have in their posssesion. The air is filled with the sounds of crying children and shouting or weeping adults.
