As I’ve explained to you all numerous times before (ad nauseum, to be honest), each player involved in The Plum Island Horror will be controlling one of the six available factions. These factions represent groups of people who are associated with one another for one reason or another … work, recreation, favorite bourbons, culinary tastes, blood types – that kind of thing. We’ve done extensive research, analysis of personnel records, combing of social media, hacking of phones and whatever else we could think of to bring as accurate a portrayal of these loosely-bound groups of individuals as possible. The factions each have their own particular personality and flavor, reflecting the general skills, tendencies and behavior of these hapless, cobbled-together groups of individuals who are desperately trying to save their home island – and probably all of humanity as well. No pressure at all. Here is a brief synopsis of what you can expect from each of these factions, which of course will always result in you losing the game regardless. But hey – you will be defeated in uniquely entertaining ways each time, so there’s that to look forward to. 

Neighborhood Watch

Many years ago, there was a huge corruption scandal involving then Greenport Mayor Nigel Tipton and certain high ranked officers of the Plum Island Constabulary. Needless to say, and without getting into all the gory details, confidence in the rule of law and order on the island hit an all-time low. In reaction to that trend, some citizens (lead by a number of military veterans) formed the Neighborhood Watch, which acted as a bulwark against the rise in crime and sinking quality of life on Plum Island. Now lead by former Navy SEAL and active outdoorsman Biff Rogers, this organization has stepped up and really made Plum Island a much safer place to live. This faction prides itself in being quick and agile, able to navigate the island and having a precise knowledge of all its nooks and crannies. They also know how to live off the land and can fend for themselves and others quite well. For example, the Tailgate Caravan unit is a fleet of station wagons and pickup trucks delivering clothing, vittles (food for those of you who have never watched Hee-Haw) and moonshine (for that extra “pep in your step”). Absolutely perfect sustenance for a crisis such as this! These weekend warriors can therefore put up a good fight on its own and also provide bread and bullets to the other factions. A definite first-tier faction when you’re looking at putting together a flexible and competitive team of survivors. 

Greenport Township

The town of Greenport is the beating heart of this island. It the second largest employer (next to the Plum Island Research Laboratory), it is the cultural and entertainment center for the area and thus is a magnet for tourism. It also helps that its current mayor, Andrew X. Mayberry, is a friendly, boisterous and smart politician. He won the office riding the emotional wave created by his powerful speechmaking and the islanders love his approach and so far, his results. Mayberry is the head of this strong faction as it is made up of those municipal departments that serve the town and island’s infrastructure. As such, it specializes in repair, maintenance and civil service. These units are very specific in what they do well and are thus invaluable in these kind of emergency circumstances. For example, the Transit Authority (led by ex-NASCAR driver Ed Kramden) can pick up and deliver units – and they don’t even need tickets! The Sanitation Department, under the leadership of the Bob Vila protégé Ralph Norton, is super handy with a wrench, blowtorch and duct tape and can fix just about anything. And though generally this faction’s members are not that great in combat situations, the “bravest” of the Greenport Fire Department are tough enough and can wield those fire hoses with great skill. This faction is a good one to have in tandem with perhaps one of the other more fighting-oriented teams so that they can go about their work in peace and quiet. 

Plum Island Constabulary

An organization that has dealt with some controversy in the past, it is nevertheless considered to be one of the elite police forces in the eastern U.S. Preferring the rather old-school title of “constabulary”, the Plum Island Constabulary (PIC) is similarly built on a solid, old-school foundation of hard training and dedicated officers. This faction prides itself first in its ability to “guard and provide” for the populace of the island and as such its Administrative and Combat Ratings are high compared to the other factions. Therefore, they are great at crowd control and other community-based actions. In addition, all units in this faction are armed and thus all have Ranged Combat ability. This is particularly important in a situation where hand-to-hand combat is frowned upon. The Detective Squad is led by the famous detective Francis Drebin, a sleuth who starred in her own TV reality series called “Island Cops”. The squad has superior searchers and can be used to find important assets, clues and people. They even have their elite Canine Unit, headed by the pack-leading German Shepherd “Chase”. The PIC also has the only mobile Compound unit in the game. Their Paddy Wagon unit can provide protection, firepower and be relocated when needed. A veritable fort-on-wheels! This faction is really deadly for the Horrors but can also provide valuable social services. Another first-tier faction that players should seriously consider for their game. 

Plum Island Research Labs Security Services 

The “Pearl” was at the center of this crisis and many accusatory fingers have been pointing at the lab’s Security Services (PIRLSS) in particular since the tragedy occurred. It was their primary responsibility to secure the facility and make sure that nothing untoward could happen to the laboratory or to the general public (though “the public” was obviously a distant second on the priority list). Well, we see how well that worked out. This faction represents the not only the physical screen of security guards who patrol the buildings and structures, but also the intellectual screen of scientific staffers who are responsible for the integrity of the research. This is probably the most specialized faction of the six in the game. Its main strength is attempting to curtail the spread of the biohazard infection but it does so with the use of mostly experimental and untried procedures. So there is always a chance things will go somewhat “off the rails”. With some good luck, the scientist and cleaner crews of this faction can be highly effective … you’ll just have to do some praying that the science will actually work when needed. When things are clicking, these nerds and geeks can rule the day. When stuff goes wrong, it will go very wrong – and then these lab rats will skulk away and hide in a dark corner. But hey – just follow the science! This is a very challenging faction to run alone and probably needs to be paired with a heavy-combat group. Then again, why not risk it all and just dive in? On a positive note, PIRLSS does have its Security Guards unit which zooms around on their Segways and is trained to fire on the move. I believe they call themselves “Rolling Thunder” … quite embarrassing, actually. 

National Guard

Ah yes … the National Guard. Stationed at nearby Camp Captree, this is a big time military contingent and probably a wargamer’s favorite faction. Big guns, fancy equipment and cool tactics. You’d suspect that this group is a must-have for this game and you may be right. But then again, there is a big downside if you are depending on this force to save the day for you. As powerful as they are, they are not all immediately available to you. It takes time and resources to muster these forces and as such, only the Military Police and the Army Helicopter units are in play at the start of the game (stationed at the Old Republic Airport). Slim pickings if things go sideways early on. The rest of the units can only enter the game at the rate of one unit per Game Round and only at a secure helipad, beach or docks area! So early-game, the choices are not great. The only exception to those deployment restrictions is the Special Forces unit of Sergeant Forrest O’Rourke. These badass grunts can enter at any area – even one that is chock full of Horrors. The National Guard is a hard-hitting and deadly faction that will eliminate a ton of Horrors – if the game hasn’t gone into the tank by the time they all get deployed. The other shortfall for these troopers is that they are not very good at administrative work and thus you can’t count on them to help the civilians very much nor fix things very well. They are much too busy killing monsters and taking names (yes, they even name the Horrors). All in all, the National Guard is a pretty limited, albeit effective, contingent. 

Islanders Athletic Club 

Everyone recalls the epic Wimbledon Doubles Finals of 2005 when the duo of Gorgan Zola and Lynn Berger took the crown as doubles tennis champions. But what many don’t know is that these two ladies honed their skills as part of the Islander Athletic Club (IAC) of Plum Island. And many others have since followed in their footsteps, leading the pack in golf, tennis, swimming and many other sports. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that the IAC facilities have the best-looking fields of play on the east coast, thanks to their elite groundskeeping crews. When the disaster occurred, the IAC was holding numerous events around the island, so a great many athletes were present when the storm hit. As such, they have banded together to form a faction consisting of dozens of talented athletes. This group is fairly versatile and a good one to have in your player array. The swimmers, headed up by champion backstroker Michael Spitz, can move from one beach or dock to any other beach or dock on the map, providing great maneuvering flexibility for the player. The doubles tennis and golf foursome pros have unique Ranged Combat abilities, one issuing deadly tennis ball serves and the other long-range golf ball drives. And the groundskeeping crew can “mow down” swaths of Horrors in Close Combat with their riding mowers. All led by the talented and motivating coach, Sid Calhoun. There’s no question that this is a valuable faction to have on your side as it does give you a number of game play options, regardless of the overall situation. 

Non-Player Characters (Yeah, Yeah … I Know – Not Really a Faction) 

Yes, I can hear you all saying, “Hey Hermann, you dolt – I thought you said there were only six factions! Don’t you even know your own game?” Have no fear – this is merely a generous bonus feature that I am adding to this article because I’m just that kind of guy. There are actually three other units that may or may not enter the game on your behalf. And the really cool thing about these units is that they are Non- Player Character (NPC) units and therefore can be controlled by any player. So, they can be added to your faction “on the fly” – and every player can add them during their activation as well. The Shore Patrol unit starts the game on the map in the Coast Guard Station area and is thus immediately available for use by the players. They help with evacuations using the Coast Guard Cutter and can even get involved in fighting as they carry sidearms. Additionally, two other NPC units may appear as well during the game. One is the Wolverines unit, which represents the Plum Island High School football team, cheerleaders, marching band, coaches, etc. This unit is very effective at charging into close combat using its speed to increase its hitting power (football players tackling, cheerleaders tumbling, trombone players marching, and so on). The second unit that can show up in the game is the Hero of the Day unit. Wow – things are really looking good for you and your team if this individual shows up! This unit does everything well – as it should! Just picture a mix of Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver and then sprinkle in some Tom Hardy and Milla Jovovich on top of that for some extra spice. A real smorgasbord of kickass awesomeness that can really swing the game in your favor. So there, I told you this was a really cool bonus feature! Why doesn’t anyone ever believe me? 

Conclusion 

So, there you have it – a quick summary of what to expect from the various factions that can be found in your copy of The Plum Island Horror. One of the cool aspects of this game is that it provides endless variety for the players as you can mix and match these six factions and see which combos work and which don’t. They are designed to be asymmetrical and not just clones of one another. You will definitely have different, and not necessarily balanced, game experiences as you work through all the permutations and combinations of faction participation. Is there a perfect match of factions? I suspect not, but there might be a perfect makeup for you and your friends as far as what style of gameplay you enjoy. We’re hoping that half the fun of the design will be your group exploring those dynamics. But honestly – does it really matter? This game will own you and your compatriots no matter which factions you choose. But hey – don’t let me dissuade you from at least trying. I love seeing the look of futility on everyone’s faces – for me, it looks like victory. 

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Previous The Plum Island Horror Articles:

The Plum Island Horror: An Overview of Gameplay (or … How to Lose at The Plum Island Horror Without Even Trying)

The Baddies of Plum Island and How to Fight Them (If You Dare)

The Plum Island Horror: First Encounters

The Cards of Plum Island (or … How Can Such Mundane Components Contain So Much Evil?)

The Plum Island Horror: The Peril of P.I.R.L

The Plum Island Horror: Roasted