Grand Derrick
The Grand Derrick rises from the Trashlands as a rusting monument to the old world's greed, repurposed into something the old world never imagined: a center of healing. This pre-fall oil rig has been converted into a floating city where Full Dead doctors practice medicine, Salt Wise patients receive treatment, and the symbiosis between the two keeps both the dead and the dying alive. Markets line the streets, medical pavilions dot the borders, and fishing trawlers and salvage ships visit the ports with the regularity of tides.
The settlement exists because of pollution. The Trashlands' contamination infected and mortally wounded Salt Wise colonies in nearby waters, and a group of Full Dead doctors, carrying medical knowledge from their former lives, found and treated the sickened sailors. The relationship that formed was direct and practical: Full Dead provide medical care, and Salt Wise provide protection and food. The Salt Wise scavenge raiders and bandits from the surrounding waters and bring them to the Derrick, where they serve a different purpose for the Full Dead population. Neither side pretends the arrangement is anything other than what it is.
The Benevolent Association of Dead Folk governs the settlement, a council of fifteen leading Full Dead doctors that has grown from the original five founders but always maintains an odd number to prevent split decisions. They oversee trade agreements, shop licensing, legal decisions, punishment, and medical research. Doctor Janet Drummond, a renowned biochemist and psychiatrist, leads the effort to cure Salt Wise of pollution-related disease and holds a solid majority of the Association's votes on major decisions. The organization is genuinely selfless in its mission: the top priority is the survival and safety of anyone they contact, and the spread of knowledge.
Some come to the Grand Derrick to study under the Full Dead doctors. Others come to live away from land. Others come to profit through the markets and medical pavilions. Aspiring doctors are sometimes sent as emissaries to mainland communities in need, carrying old world medical knowledge into settlements that have forgotten what a stethoscope is. The Derrick is industrial in design and utilitarian in concept, but what happens within its repurposed walls is something closer to grace: the dead healing the living on a platform built for extracting poison from the earth.
The settlement exists because of pollution. The Trashlands' contamination infected and mortally wounded Salt Wise colonies in nearby waters, and a group of Full Dead doctors, carrying medical knowledge from their former lives, found and treated the sickened sailors. The relationship that formed was direct and practical: Full Dead provide medical care, and Salt Wise provide protection and food. The Salt Wise scavenge raiders and bandits from the surrounding waters and bring them to the Derrick, where they serve a different purpose for the Full Dead population. Neither side pretends the arrangement is anything other than what it is.
The Benevolent Association of Dead Folk governs the settlement, a council of fifteen leading Full Dead doctors that has grown from the original five founders but always maintains an odd number to prevent split decisions. They oversee trade agreements, shop licensing, legal decisions, punishment, and medical research. Doctor Janet Drummond, a renowned biochemist and psychiatrist, leads the effort to cure Salt Wise of pollution-related disease and holds a solid majority of the Association's votes on major decisions. The organization is genuinely selfless in its mission: the top priority is the survival and safety of anyone they contact, and the spread of knowledge.
Some come to the Grand Derrick to study under the Full Dead doctors. Others come to live away from land. Others come to profit through the markets and medical pavilions. Aspiring doctors are sometimes sent as emissaries to mainland communities in need, carrying old world medical knowledge into settlements that have forgotten what a stethoscope is. The Derrick is industrial in design and utilitarian in concept, but what happens within its repurposed walls is something closer to grace: the dead healing the living on a platform built for extracting poison from the earth.
Demographics
Full Dead form the core population of the Grand Derrick, concentrated in the medical and scholarly roles that define the settlement's purpose. Salt Wise constitute the other major population group, present both as patients receiving treatment for pollution-related illness and as protectors who patrol the surrounding waters. A mixed population of other strains includes students learning old world medical techniques, traders working the markets, and those who have chosen to live away from the mainland.
The settlement is growing. Markets, medical pavilions, fishing operations, and salvage crews all draw new arrivals, and the Grand Derrick's reputation as a center of knowledge and healing spreads further with each doctor the Association sends to the mainland. The population mix is practical rather than ideological: people come because they need healing, want to learn, or see opportunity in a settlement that values contribution over background.
The settlement is growing. Markets, medical pavilions, fishing operations, and salvage crews all draw new arrivals, and the Grand Derrick's reputation as a center of knowledge and healing spreads further with each doctor the Association sends to the mainland. The population mix is practical rather than ideological: people come because they need healing, want to learn, or see opportunity in a settlement that values contribution over background.
Government
The Benevolent Association of Dead Folk governs the Grand Derrick as a council of fifteen leading Full Dead doctors. Founded by the original five who established the settlement, the council has grown but always maintains an odd number of members to prevent split decisions. The Association oversees trade agreements, shop licensing, legal decisions, punishment, and the direction of medical research.
Doctor Janet Drummond holds a solid majority of the Association's votes on major decisions. A renowned biochemist and psychiatrist, she leads the effort to cure pollution-related disease among the Salt Wise and is known for a genuine desire to help that extends beyond political calculation. The organization's stated priority is the survival and safety of anyone they contact and the spread of knowledge, a mission they pursue with an institutional selflessness unusual in the wastes.
Doctor Janet Drummond holds a solid majority of the Association's votes on major decisions. A renowned biochemist and psychiatrist, she leads the effort to cure pollution-related disease among the Salt Wise and is known for a genuine desire to help that extends beyond political calculation. The organization's stated priority is the survival and safety of anyone they contact and the spread of knowledge, a mission they pursue with an institutional selflessness unusual in the wastes.
History
The Grand Derrick began when a group of five Full Dead doctors, carrying medical knowledge from their former lives, discovered Salt Wise colonies sickened by the Trashlands' pollution. They treated the dying sailors, and the relationship that formed became the foundation of a settlement. The Salt Wise, restored to health, provided protection and sustenance in return, and the symbiosis grew into a community.
The Benevolent Association of Dead Folk expanded from its original five founders to fifteen members, always maintaining an odd number for clean votes on major decisions. Over time, the oil rig attracted students seeking to learn old world medicine, traders looking to profit from the markets and medical pavilions, and refugees seeking a life away from the mainland's violence. The Association began sending aspiring doctors as emissaries to mainland communities in need, spreading the knowledge that had kept the Grand Derrick alive. Doctor Janet Drummond emerged as the leading figure, her genuine desire to help and her solid majority on the council shaping the settlement's direction toward medical research and outreach.
The Benevolent Association of Dead Folk expanded from its original five founders to fifteen members, always maintaining an odd number for clean votes on major decisions. Over time, the oil rig attracted students seeking to learn old world medicine, traders looking to profit from the markets and medical pavilions, and refugees seeking a life away from the mainland's violence. The Association began sending aspiring doctors as emissaries to mainland communities in need, spreading the knowledge that had kept the Grand Derrick alive. Doctor Janet Drummond emerged as the leading figure, her genuine desire to help and her solid majority on the council shaping the settlement's direction toward medical research and outreach.
Geography
The Grand Derrick occupies a pre-fall oil derrick in the Trashlands, its industrial structure repurposed into a floating city. Medical pavilions, markets, and residential areas have been built onto and around the original rig framework, creating a settlement that is utilitarian in concept but surprisingly functional in practice. Fishing trawlers and salvage ships dock at the ports, their arrivals and departures shaping the rhythm of daily life.
The rig's position in the Trashlands places it near the polluted waters that sickened the Salt Wise colonies, making it both the source of the medical crisis the settlement was founded to address and the strategic center for treating it. The surrounding ocean is the domain of Salt Wise protectors who patrol for raiders and threats, maintaining the defensive perimeter that keeps the medical operations running without interruption.
The rig's position in the Trashlands places it near the polluted waters that sickened the Salt Wise colonies, making it both the source of the medical crisis the settlement was founded to address and the strategic center for treating it. The surrounding ocean is the domain of Salt Wise protectors who patrol for raiders and threats, maintaining the defensive perimeter that keeps the medical operations running without interruption.
