Every day feels like a new beginning. I'm sure I'm not along in saying this, as the Commonwealth now celebrates the end of its first week out from underneath the shadow of the Institute. The fireworks from Bunker Hill were proof enough of that, as are the stories of the ongoing bender in Goodneighbor. For the first time in years, decades even, we can all finally breathe.
But in the midst of our revelry we must remember to lift a toast to those who cannot be here to share this moment with us: our friends and family members, stolen by the Institute during its reign of terror. Though there are too many to name here I feel the need to honor one in particular, without whom this victory would never have been possible: my dear friend Abigail. You may remember her as the lost Vault Dweller this reporter interviewed shortly after she stumbled into our city. Like many of us Abigail had lost loved ones to the Institute—her husband Nate, and her infant son Shaun—but where many of us had grown numb to the disappearances Abigail was determined to get them back.
The details of her journey would require many, many more papers to do it justice—someday I hope to write a book about it—but the important thing is that Abigail's courage and hope is what ultimately led to the Institute's downfall. It was not just the enduring march of the Minutemen, not the secret struggles of the Railroad, and not the unyielding conviction of the Brotherhood of Steel. It was all of these things together, and at the center of it all was her.
I'm going to miss her. But whenever I look out the window at our shining jewel of the Commonwealth, hear the children playing in the marketplace, or any of the hundred and one things that now bring a smile to my face, I'll always remember that it was all thanks to her.
Safe travels, Abby. Rest in peace.
The Institute is gone, but the Commonwealth is not yet whole.
As the victims of the Institute lick their wounds and prepare for the future, the three powers that assembled to achieve victory now withdraw to take stock and contemplate the shape of that future.
For the Minutemen, the death of the Institute is the first step in building the Commonwealth into a true unified government of the people, for the people.
For the Railroad, the death of the Institute has freed countless synths, most of whom still need shelter and protection from the lingering bigotry of the wasteland.
And for the Brotherhood of Steel, the death of the Institute is just one step in their ongoing mission to collect or neutralize dangerous technology, and in doing so save mankind from itself.
These are noble goals, championed by righteous hearts, but they are at cross purposes and there is little room in the Commonwealth for competing powers. As the dust settles each of them sizes up its one-time allies, contemplates its next move, and wonders if the peace brokered by the late Sole Survivor will last the month.
By the time the next war ends, cold or hot, which one of them will remain standing over the ashes of the others?
What is this?
This is my latest mistake, in the form of a Fallout 4 council strategy quest game (I'm honestly not even sure what the terminology is). Since this is the first time I've ever attempted anything like this it should crash and burn spectacularly, so why not enjoy?
Players will take the role of a vaguely-defined council that directs one of three factions in the Commonwealth: the Brotherhood of Steel, the Minutemen, or the Railroad. While these factions are not at war per se (Yet) they hold conflicting goals and will likely come into conflict with the others in one form or another. It's your job to make sure your faction comes out on top.
(A bit of a warning/disclaimer on the "mechanics" of this quest: most of them are malleable and mostly exist as guide rails for me rather than tools for you. All I really mean to accomplish with them is distill the nitty-gritty details of each faction's resources down to nice easy numbers so you, the players, can use them as a reference when making decisions. Ultimately if the half-assed numbers and rules I made say one thing and the rule of cool/drama say another, then the former goes out the window.)
Gameplay is divided up into turns which account for about a week in in-world time. Each turn a faction can carry out a number of actions according to its various stat ratings: Manpower is what you use when you want to move lots of people around. Attacking, defending, occupying strategic locations, and establishing checkpoints to hinder enemy movement are the basic Manpower actions. A faction's Manpower rating can never exceed it's Territory rating--your soldiers need to eat. R&D is what you use when you want to increase the Threat of your soldiers in combat. A faction's Threat can never exceed its R&D, so improving this is crucial. Intel is what you use when you want to find out what the other factions are up to, or keep the other factions from figuring out what you're up to. One Intel action can hide one Manpower or R&D action from an enemy Intel action, but if your enemy focuses two Intel actions on the same target and you don't have two Intel actions hiding it they'll see through it.
In addition, there are two stats which are passive; they do not grant actions like the other three, but provide other benefits:
Territory is the amount of raw resources available to your faction based on the number of Settlements you have allied with or conquered. Food, scrap, and new recruits pour in from your various holdings and can be channeled into improving each of the three main stats above. Territory points refresh once every four turns, or about a month; the number depends on your rating (Very Low=0, Low=1, Moderate=2, High=3, Very High=4, Overwhelming=5). The cost to improve a stat equals the level you want to increase it to times five, so increasing a stat from 1 to 2 would cost 10 Territory points total. Threat is how dangerous your soldiers are in combat, based on their equipment, weapons, and training. Your available Manpower and Threat combined creates your Combat Rating in a battle. Threat can also be boosted by fighting from a Fortified Location, the presence of heroes, and faction special abilities.
Councillor List
ebloasos
Tel Janin Aman
SirLagginton
Chipeminerm
BCK233
kristopherw
Iscaren
Guilliman
Waiting List
Void Stalker
BoSPaladin
butchock
The Dave
Cjdavis103
bryanfran36
I'm not solid on the number of players, so I'll call it six for now and maybe bump it up if there's a lot of interest? I reserve the right to be a petty tyrant and cherrypick players instead of going for first-come first-serve, but honestly if you can spell and have proper grammar I'm not going to be picky. We'll vote on what faction the group will be running once we have the roster filled.
And we have a winner!
THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL
Led by Elder Maxson in the Commonwealth, the Brotherhood of Steel is a pseudo-knightly order descended from deserters of the US military. They believe that the Great War was brought about by unchecked technology and have sworn themselves to the collection and preservation of dangerous technological artifacts. Originally based in California, the Commonwealth chapter was based in DC until it learned of the Institute's machinations in Boston and launched an expedition to eliminate the threat to humanity posed by synths.
Moderate Territory
*2 Resource points every 4 turns
*Maximum Manpower: Moderate
*4 Settlements to next level Moderate Manpower
*2 Manpower actions every turn
*15 Resource points to next level High Threat
*Multiplies Manpower by 3 in battle
*16/20 Resource points to next level Very High R&D
*4 R&D actions every turn
*Maximum Threat: Very High
*25 Resource points to next level Low Intel
*1 Intel action every turn
*8/10 Resource points to next level Special: Liberty Prime Destroy any settlement, fortified location, or resource location for free. Preparation takes one turn and is visible to all other factions. Inflicts temporary penalties to Diplomacy with each use. Special: Air Support Enemy checkpoints do not hinder unit deployment.
Boston Airport (Fortified)
The Prydwen (Fortified)
Cambridge Police Center (Fortified)
Nordhagen Beach (Settlement)
Croup Manor (Settlement)
County Crossing (Settlement)
Kingsport Lighthouse (Settlement)
Graygarden (Settlement)
Spectacle Island (Settlement)
(I'm shocked, I tell you)
GM FACTIONS
THE MINUTEMEN
First formed in 2180 to repel a Super Mutant attack on Diamond City, the Minutemen are a militia of volunteer fighters dedicated to protecting the people at a moment's notice. If your home is threatened by raiders, Super Mutants, or Deathclaws the Minutemen will come running with their signature laser muskets and Revolutionary War style. At least, in theory—the Minutemen have only recently recovered from a disastrous massacre at Quincy and are still rebuilding their ranks.
High Territory
*3 Resource points every 4 turns
*Maximum Manpower: High
*4 Settlements to next level Overwhelming Manpower
*5 Manpower actions every turn
*30 Resource points to next level Low Threat
*Multiplies Manpower by 1 in battle
*10 Resource points to next level Low R&D
*1 R&D action every turn
*Maximum Threat: Low
*10 Resource points to next level Moderate Intel
*2 Intel actions every turn
*15 Resource points to next level Special: Artillery Support Increase Threat by 1 when fighting within 3 tiles of allied settlement. Does not stack. Special: At a Minute's Notice Manpower is not capped by Territory.
Vault 111 (Fortified)
The Castle (Fortified)
Sanctuary Hills (Settlement)
Based in the ruins of downtown Boston, the Railroad is an underground organization with the goal of liberating synths from anyone who might seek to oppress or destroy them. Until recently their mission brought them into conflict with the Institute, which obviously did not want to see its technology falling into the hands of ragtag would-be freedom fighters. Following the Institute's destruction the Railroad's mission is now the recovery and rescue of any synths who managed to escape the blast at CIT, as well as the rebuilding of their intelligence network.
Low Territory
*1 Resource point every 4 turns
*Maximum Manpower: Low
*5 Settlements to next level Low Manpower
*1 Manpower action every turn
*10 Resource points to next level Moderate Threat
*Multiplies Manpower by 2 in battle
*15 Resource points to next level High R&D
*3 R&D actions every turn
*Maximum Threat: High
*20 Resource points to next level Very High Intel
*4 Intel actions every turn
*25 Resource points to next level Special: P.A.M. Gain a free report on a faction's Manpower activity each turn. Special: Hide in Plain Sight Gain a free report on a faction's Intel activity each turn.
If we do pick the brotherhood we could have liberty prime destroy the church, pam or whatever would probably predict it and they evacuate but we'll still deny them their most entrenched location
If we do pick the brotherhood we could have liberty prime destroy the church, pam or whatever would probably predict it and they evacuate but we'll still deny them their most entrenched location
Before you get too excited, be aware that Liberty Prime is very much your nuclear option. If you use him everyone will know, and if you abuse him they'll know that too.
Diplomacy is a thing that also exists in this game; there's a reason I included neutral settlements and towns. You're also technically observing a truce between the other two factions, brokered by the Sole Survivor before the battle of CIT.
But we're jumping the gun a bit--we need to fill the roster before getting into any of this!
Before you get too excited, be aware that Liberty Prime is very much your nuclear option. If you use him everyone will know, and if you abuse him they'll know that too.
Diplomacy is a thing that also exists in this game; there's a reason I included neutral settlements and towns. You're also technically observing a truce between the other two factions, brokered by the Sole Survivor before the battle of CIT.
But we're jumping the gun a bit--we need to fill the roster before getting into any of this!
I guess we could use diplomacy instead of the patriotic super robot but my thoughts on the Railroad align with Virgil's. But I'll probably be better to clean house around us first, if the brotherhood is chosen that is.
