Lubin

A large town sitting on a tributary of the Oder river, Lubin was an industrial centre and a hotbed of anti-communist resistance. Even before the war broke out the city saw protests against martial law that were violently suppressed, and uprisings in 1984 saw the town rise up in open warfare against the Polish government, which responded with mass deployment of ZOMO and government death squads. The town was severely damaged by civil unrest when NATO troops arrived in 1985, but the people welcomed the Americans and West Germans as liberators. Although spared nuclear strikes, Lubin suffered heavily from conventional airstrikes as both Soviet and NATO forces tried to deny the area's industrial base to their opponents. They succeeded, and Lubin's once nationally-prominent industries now lie in ruins, with gutted and burned out factories ringing the town's residential areas. Despite all this, the town's population managed to survive, and with more than 26,000 inhabitants Lubin is the largest surviving community in west Poland.

About a year ago, the city's self-defense forces staged a coup under the leadership of the American-born Lieutenant "Maury" Lachowiz, who proclaimed himself the Duke of Lubin and set up a regime staffed mainly by his family members. The people tolerate their Duke's eccentricities because he has been able to maintain a good sized military that has fended off most Marauders in the area. The Duke plans to expand his "Duchy" over several towns in the surrounding area - he is currently waiting for the siege of Boleslawiec to be resolved before moving against the winner, and trying to acquire the contents of the supply depot in Glogow in order to fit out an armored platoon - he has got his hands on several former Polish and West German tanks and has some officers who are experienced in armoured warfare, but he has enough military experience to know that he needs supplies of fuel and spare parts to make this a viable permanent part of his armed forces. The people of the town do not know of their Duke's plans for expansion, and most would be uneasy if they did, since such expansion risks jeopardising the security of their town. The town is quite well fortified, with an impromptu wall made of salvaged industrial materials surrounding the inhabited areas.

As part of his plans to build up his armoured unit, the Duke demands the right to "buy" all fuel or vehicle spare parts and fuel bought into the town, although he will pay 50% of the regular price in shells - a successful opposed PERSUASION check will bring this to 75%. The townspeople are neither particularly hostile nor particularly friendly towards travelers - the town is secure enough that a group of armed men does not pose an existential threat by themselves.

Recently a column of reguees arriving from the west, including several German civilians, was captured by the city defense troops who mistook them for Marauders. The refugees are being held in an old library building in the city centre under heavy guard. The Duke is not sure what to do with them. He has enough food to feed them for now, but doesn't want to be responsible for them when winter comes, and he cannot spare the soldiers to escort them out of the town. He would be happy to compensate anybody who could solve this problem for him - the situation is getting worse as rumours spread among the town that the refugees contain Polish government spies.