Post-Apocalyptic shard for the New World of Darkness
World of Darkness: Fallout
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Fallout of the World of Darkness
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
Fallout of the World of Darkness
A post-apocalyptic shard
Premises
War. War never changes.
The 21st century saw humanity careening to what seemed like final destruction. The fossil fuels and other resources who had propelled the industrial revolution forwards were slowly but surely expended. War spread through the world as nation fought nation for the control of the last remaining oil fields or uranium mines while China and the United States prepared for a final confrontation. It came after decades of warfare, an invasion of Alaska and Canada and manifold atrocities. The 23rd October 2077, the world died in nuclear fire as both superpowers unloaded their arsenal against one another. Humanity was reduced to warring groups eking a survival in the wasteland or underground communities pressed into prepared vaults. The flora and fauna mutated, giving birth to a thousand monsters and dangers. Yet mankind survived long enough for radiation to become bearable, rediscovering agriculture and animal husbandry and slowly moving forwards once more. This was not without danger though. In 2161, the communities of California were threatened by a massive mutant army led by a creature who called itself the Master. They were defeated but the remnants of the horde fled north and east, with the materials to make more of their kind. In 2241, remnants of the U.S government embarked on a genocidal campaign before being repelled the war culminating with the destruction of the last functional oil rig on Earth.
Now, in 2275, nearly two centuries after the Great War, mankind has not changed. In the west, the New California Republic spread through along the Pacific, before looking east with hungry eyes for it needs electrical power, food and water as any living thing. In the east, a man took the ancient mantle of Caesar, founding a society bound by the memory of ancient Rome and trying to build a new empire in what remains of Arizona and Nevada. This Legion looks in all directions for expansion, to the west where their leader came from, to the east and the ruins of Denver, even to the south and proud Mexico. At the center of these countries' paths stands the city of New Vegas, still spreading light across the Mojave desert. Far in Utath near the great salt lake, tribes fight tribes while holding to the words of ancient prophets. Mankind has not changed and yet, there are monsters undreamt of more innocent epochs. In Oregon, cannibal tribes traipse and dance fighting mutants and creatures from the sea, while cavorting in crimson woods. The Old World let sometimes wonders sit in its ruins but most often horrors who spread death across the wasteland.
And these are only what men and women have built. Humanity was never alone in this darkened world and predators didn't let something as petty as the near extinction of the human race deter them. Vampires still stalk the night, seeking the blood of the innocent and twisting minds for their deathless intrigues. Spirits and ghosts still peer across the veil, seeking those who hear them and can open the door to material existence. Sorcerers still walk seeking the mysteries of a world gone mad. Most humans still have no knowledge of the supernatural, especially in the societies who are rebuilding but there are entire tribes for whom skepticism was never an option. The Great War, and some whisper scientific atrocities leading up to it, have loosed enough monsters in the world that even animated corpses are not that strange. There are more things in the world that dreamt in all philosophy and who knows what haunts the trackless wastes.
Themes: Return to the Mythic Ages. Old Ideals and New Beginnings
Most educated people in the wasteland can see their world torn between old ideals and new beginnings but few can understand to which point this is apt. The world has regressed to a much older state. No being remains who can remember but the wastes of 2275 have more in common with prehistoric earth than any other age. The land is full of magic and mystery as if the absence of humanity had loosed the bonds of the supernatural. Fountains of youth bubbling in the dusty desert, raiders gangs enslaved by blood to one of the Kindred, tribal shamans boasting lesser witchcraft… All these and more can be found if one looks hard enough. The graveyards of the Old World are full of wonders and horrors who are far from mundane. People from the New California Republic or established communities may scoff at it, but those who walk the ruined roads know there are things not meant for mortal eyes. This is a wild age in need of ordering when humanity turns back to its old haunts and drive monsters from it. It is an age ripe for the mantle of heroes even as cities are slowly rebuilt and states spread through the continent.
The societies of the wastes are at a crossroads. On a branch of the path, nearly all can see or remember some of the wonders of the Old World. Even for someone walking the streets of Shady Sands or Flagstaff or any of the new cities, the life of the average American two centuries ago is a forlorn dream. They remember a time where humanity could thrive and not only survive. Ironically there are factions who are driven by ideals like democracy and the rule of law pre-war America had long discarded, unknowingly hearkening to older times. Yet the laws of yesteryear led to the War, led to the near-destruction of humanity. And for each technological marvel of the Old World, there is an atrocity revealed in metal and plastic. Explosive collars now in the hands of slaver, mind-bending concoctions, the experiments of Vault-Tec, a thousand thousand disturbing testimonies near two-centuries old corpses… All these argue against trying to rebuild what was before. But where leads the other path? The one leading from the ruins of the Old World and into a new? Some factions follow even older models like Caesar and his dream of reborn Antiquity, some turn to robots and artificial intelligence, perhaps some will find stranger idols still.
So, this worldbuilding project is a crossover between Fallout and the New World of Darkness. I find the idea of a post-apocalyptic earth interesting as most splats are urban. On the Fallout side of things, I follow the HOI4 mod Old World Blues who has massively expanded the map notably by detailing the Northwest and Mexico. They are building slowly their way to the East Coast so no Fallout 3 or 4 content at the moment.
A post-apocalyptic shard
Premises
War. War never changes.
The 21st century saw humanity careening to what seemed like final destruction. The fossil fuels and other resources who had propelled the industrial revolution forwards were slowly but surely expended. War spread through the world as nation fought nation for the control of the last remaining oil fields or uranium mines while China and the United States prepared for a final confrontation. It came after decades of warfare, an invasion of Alaska and Canada and manifold atrocities. The 23rd October 2077, the world died in nuclear fire as both superpowers unloaded their arsenal against one another. Humanity was reduced to warring groups eking a survival in the wasteland or underground communities pressed into prepared vaults. The flora and fauna mutated, giving birth to a thousand monsters and dangers. Yet mankind survived long enough for radiation to become bearable, rediscovering agriculture and animal husbandry and slowly moving forwards once more. This was not without danger though. In 2161, the communities of California were threatened by a massive mutant army led by a creature who called itself the Master. They were defeated but the remnants of the horde fled north and east, with the materials to make more of their kind. In 2241, remnants of the U.S government embarked on a genocidal campaign before being repelled the war culminating with the destruction of the last functional oil rig on Earth.
Now, in 2275, nearly two centuries after the Great War, mankind has not changed. In the west, the New California Republic spread through along the Pacific, before looking east with hungry eyes for it needs electrical power, food and water as any living thing. In the east, a man took the ancient mantle of Caesar, founding a society bound by the memory of ancient Rome and trying to build a new empire in what remains of Arizona and Nevada. This Legion looks in all directions for expansion, to the west where their leader came from, to the east and the ruins of Denver, even to the south and proud Mexico. At the center of these countries' paths stands the city of New Vegas, still spreading light across the Mojave desert. Far in Utath near the great salt lake, tribes fight tribes while holding to the words of ancient prophets. Mankind has not changed and yet, there are monsters undreamt of more innocent epochs. In Oregon, cannibal tribes traipse and dance fighting mutants and creatures from the sea, while cavorting in crimson woods. The Old World let sometimes wonders sit in its ruins but most often horrors who spread death across the wasteland.
And these are only what men and women have built. Humanity was never alone in this darkened world and predators didn't let something as petty as the near extinction of the human race deter them. Vampires still stalk the night, seeking the blood of the innocent and twisting minds for their deathless intrigues. Spirits and ghosts still peer across the veil, seeking those who hear them and can open the door to material existence. Sorcerers still walk seeking the mysteries of a world gone mad. Most humans still have no knowledge of the supernatural, especially in the societies who are rebuilding but there are entire tribes for whom skepticism was never an option. The Great War, and some whisper scientific atrocities leading up to it, have loosed enough monsters in the world that even animated corpses are not that strange. There are more things in the world that dreamt in all philosophy and who knows what haunts the trackless wastes.
Themes: Return to the Mythic Ages. Old Ideals and New Beginnings
Most educated people in the wasteland can see their world torn between old ideals and new beginnings but few can understand to which point this is apt. The world has regressed to a much older state. No being remains who can remember but the wastes of 2275 have more in common with prehistoric earth than any other age. The land is full of magic and mystery as if the absence of humanity had loosed the bonds of the supernatural. Fountains of youth bubbling in the dusty desert, raiders gangs enslaved by blood to one of the Kindred, tribal shamans boasting lesser witchcraft… All these and more can be found if one looks hard enough. The graveyards of the Old World are full of wonders and horrors who are far from mundane. People from the New California Republic or established communities may scoff at it, but those who walk the ruined roads know there are things not meant for mortal eyes. This is a wild age in need of ordering when humanity turns back to its old haunts and drive monsters from it. It is an age ripe for the mantle of heroes even as cities are slowly rebuilt and states spread through the continent.
The societies of the wastes are at a crossroads. On a branch of the path, nearly all can see or remember some of the wonders of the Old World. Even for someone walking the streets of Shady Sands or Flagstaff or any of the new cities, the life of the average American two centuries ago is a forlorn dream. They remember a time where humanity could thrive and not only survive. Ironically there are factions who are driven by ideals like democracy and the rule of law pre-war America had long discarded, unknowingly hearkening to older times. Yet the laws of yesteryear led to the War, led to the near-destruction of humanity. And for each technological marvel of the Old World, there is an atrocity revealed in metal and plastic. Explosive collars now in the hands of slaver, mind-bending concoctions, the experiments of Vault-Tec, a thousand thousand disturbing testimonies near two-centuries old corpses… All these argue against trying to rebuild what was before. But where leads the other path? The one leading from the ruins of the Old World and into a new? Some factions follow even older models like Caesar and his dream of reborn Antiquity, some turn to robots and artificial intelligence, perhaps some will find stranger idols still.
So, this worldbuilding project is a crossover between Fallout and the New World of Darkness. I find the idea of a post-apocalyptic earth interesting as most splats are urban. On the Fallout side of things, I follow the HOI4 mod Old World Blues who has massively expanded the map notably by detailing the Northwest and Mexico. They are building slowly their way to the East Coast so no Fallout 3 or 4 content at the moment.
The Mojave Desert
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
The Mojave Desert
The harsh desert of the Mojave has relatively been spared by the Great War. Relatively being the operative term. Relatively few bombs fell there, even if the payload was enough to reduce Las Vegas to ruins. Still Hoover Dam still stood at the end, able to produce power for the wasteland, the remnants of the Nevada Rangers managed to keep peace in the newborn settlements and no less than four vaults survived the centuries, although one suffered an horrible fate upon opening. In 2275, compared to other regions, the Mojave Wasteland is not such a bad place. There are some raider gangs, remnants of groups pushed by the NCR such as the Vipers and Jackals, and the roving bands of the Fiends nested in the ruins of South Vegas, there are monstrous oversized insects, Deathclaws and even mutated plants. Still compared to the bone-adorned forests of Oregon, the battlefields of New England, or even the tribal lands of Utah, it's nice. The seemingly immortal pre-War magnate Robert House has founded the town of New Vegas, protecting the newly opened casinos with a robotic army. He is a distant ruler at worst and let the smaller communities in peace. Still war will come to the Mojave soon. Not only the New California Republic intends to conquer it ousting the Brotherhood of Steel Chapter there, but from the east Caesar intends to bring his legion to bear, seizing the spires of New Vegas for his own.
The Mojave Commonwealth is a lie, an administrative designation in NCR memos. It serves to describe all communities assumed to not be immediately hostile to the Republic. In truth the towns of Goodsprings, Novac, Primm, Nipton, Boulder City and others are not under any unified government even if they are tied by trade along the ruined interstate. Most of the raiders clans have long been driven out, or being forced to adapt to changing circumstances and lay roots, making the place soft in the minds of hungry general. They may be surprised to find some hard points like the Boomers, an isolationist survivalist community in the ruins of Nellis Air Base, or remnants of the Master's army occupying the mountains of Jacobstown. Of course, even if these disparate communities united, they would be no match against the NCR's undivided attention, except if they were under the patronage of another greater power.
The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel is an entity on its own. Officially their leader Elijah has been sent there to retrieve technology. Indeed the desert is full of it. REPCONN, a pre-War corporation with eyes on space-flight was headquartered there. The land is home to several Vaults and sometimes the cruel experiments inside yield useful results or equipment. And there is Helios-1, a power station harnessing the very energy of the sun as well as rumors of access to lands unknown filled with wonders. Yet those aware of Brotherhood's internal politics know that Elijah's posting is exile in all but name. The term may be strange for the secular Brotherhood, but the Elder is a heretic, both by his willingness to give technology to outsiders in select parcels, and his drive to explore the secrets of the Old World rather than destroy them if they prove unethical. Elijah's subordinates are wary. They know their leader's wishes push them on a collision course either with the NCR or even House's New Vegas if they try to grasp his own technological stores, perhaps even both. Said leader doesn't care. He will catch the sun in his hand or die trying.
New Vegas is the daughter and creation of Robert House. This pre-War magnate not only seemingly achieved immortality, but gathered nearby tribes to recreate the luxury of old, fed by the power of Hoover Dam. He taught them to exchange pleasure against hard bottlecaps, food and other resources, managing to found what may be the wasteland's first true tourism spot. All of this is defended by his robotic legions. Few know House's true goals and he seems actively disinterested in the governance of his city. He recruits agents among other factions, let them access his technology and shares with them the dream of mankind leaving the bounds of Earth and going to others more bountiful worlds. These agents are few but House makes them mighty indeed before sending them restore old power conduits, break open ancient vaults. He sent many of them lately south searching for unknown artifacts. His arrogance may cause his death, but the billionaire seems unfazed by the possibility. After all he already survived an apocalypse. Still under him there are others like the leaders of the tribes he picked for his casinos who have other dreams. These ones see how New Vegas could be the shining center of a kingdom encompassing most of Nevada and why not spill in other lands. For the moment, they chafe under House's iron hand but with enough effort, even the deathless can die.
The Fiends are simple in appearance. They are the Mojave biggest' raider gang, having slaughtered the inhabitants of Vault 3 and haunting the ruins of South Vegas, organizing raids on nearby communities. Yet there are many mysteries surrounding them. The first being of course their continued existence. They are druggies and cannibals and yet endured for at least decades. They are heavily armed and with energy weaponry at that, high-tech toys not often deployed even by the functional NCR. The Vault they occupy, and the nagging suspicion of many they come from another facility explains some of these things but not their apparently inexhaustible numbers. Although nobody not of their cult has ever been invited to their underground home. Even slavers and those who want to hire them as mercenaries must do so in their outlying camps. Still it is known they have entered an alliance with the Great Khans, a former raider gang pushed out of the NCR. Perhaps the leaders of the Khans know something other wastelanders don't but what's unarguable is even the most chem-addled Fiend do not attack their allies.
I think considering that both the NCR and Caesar's Legion are not present in 2275, that encompasses all factions present in the Mojave. The Fiends of course make no freaking sense but that's par of the course for most raider groups so late in Fallout history.
The Vaults mentioned in the intro in having succeeded in having the population surviving two centuries are 3 (No experiment, slaughtered by the Fiends); 19 (paranoïa inducing experiments, gave birth to the original Fiend contingent), 21 (everything decided through chance) and 34 (heavily armed population, part of which became the Boomers)
The harsh desert of the Mojave has relatively been spared by the Great War. Relatively being the operative term. Relatively few bombs fell there, even if the payload was enough to reduce Las Vegas to ruins. Still Hoover Dam still stood at the end, able to produce power for the wasteland, the remnants of the Nevada Rangers managed to keep peace in the newborn settlements and no less than four vaults survived the centuries, although one suffered an horrible fate upon opening. In 2275, compared to other regions, the Mojave Wasteland is not such a bad place. There are some raider gangs, remnants of groups pushed by the NCR such as the Vipers and Jackals, and the roving bands of the Fiends nested in the ruins of South Vegas, there are monstrous oversized insects, Deathclaws and even mutated plants. Still compared to the bone-adorned forests of Oregon, the battlefields of New England, or even the tribal lands of Utah, it's nice. The seemingly immortal pre-War magnate Robert House has founded the town of New Vegas, protecting the newly opened casinos with a robotic army. He is a distant ruler at worst and let the smaller communities in peace. Still war will come to the Mojave soon. Not only the New California Republic intends to conquer it ousting the Brotherhood of Steel Chapter there, but from the east Caesar intends to bring his legion to bear, seizing the spires of New Vegas for his own.
The Mojave Commonwealth is a lie, an administrative designation in NCR memos. It serves to describe all communities assumed to not be immediately hostile to the Republic. In truth the towns of Goodsprings, Novac, Primm, Nipton, Boulder City and others are not under any unified government even if they are tied by trade along the ruined interstate. Most of the raiders clans have long been driven out, or being forced to adapt to changing circumstances and lay roots, making the place soft in the minds of hungry general. They may be surprised to find some hard points like the Boomers, an isolationist survivalist community in the ruins of Nellis Air Base, or remnants of the Master's army occupying the mountains of Jacobstown. Of course, even if these disparate communities united, they would be no match against the NCR's undivided attention, except if they were under the patronage of another greater power.
The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel is an entity on its own. Officially their leader Elijah has been sent there to retrieve technology. Indeed the desert is full of it. REPCONN, a pre-War corporation with eyes on space-flight was headquartered there. The land is home to several Vaults and sometimes the cruel experiments inside yield useful results or equipment. And there is Helios-1, a power station harnessing the very energy of the sun as well as rumors of access to lands unknown filled with wonders. Yet those aware of Brotherhood's internal politics know that Elijah's posting is exile in all but name. The term may be strange for the secular Brotherhood, but the Elder is a heretic, both by his willingness to give technology to outsiders in select parcels, and his drive to explore the secrets of the Old World rather than destroy them if they prove unethical. Elijah's subordinates are wary. They know their leader's wishes push them on a collision course either with the NCR or even House's New Vegas if they try to grasp his own technological stores, perhaps even both. Said leader doesn't care. He will catch the sun in his hand or die trying.
New Vegas is the daughter and creation of Robert House. This pre-War magnate not only seemingly achieved immortality, but gathered nearby tribes to recreate the luxury of old, fed by the power of Hoover Dam. He taught them to exchange pleasure against hard bottlecaps, food and other resources, managing to found what may be the wasteland's first true tourism spot. All of this is defended by his robotic legions. Few know House's true goals and he seems actively disinterested in the governance of his city. He recruits agents among other factions, let them access his technology and shares with them the dream of mankind leaving the bounds of Earth and going to others more bountiful worlds. These agents are few but House makes them mighty indeed before sending them restore old power conduits, break open ancient vaults. He sent many of them lately south searching for unknown artifacts. His arrogance may cause his death, but the billionaire seems unfazed by the possibility. After all he already survived an apocalypse. Still under him there are others like the leaders of the tribes he picked for his casinos who have other dreams. These ones see how New Vegas could be the shining center of a kingdom encompassing most of Nevada and why not spill in other lands. For the moment, they chafe under House's iron hand but with enough effort, even the deathless can die.
The Fiends are simple in appearance. They are the Mojave biggest' raider gang, having slaughtered the inhabitants of Vault 3 and haunting the ruins of South Vegas, organizing raids on nearby communities. Yet there are many mysteries surrounding them. The first being of course their continued existence. They are druggies and cannibals and yet endured for at least decades. They are heavily armed and with energy weaponry at that, high-tech toys not often deployed even by the functional NCR. The Vault they occupy, and the nagging suspicion of many they come from another facility explains some of these things but not their apparently inexhaustible numbers. Although nobody not of their cult has ever been invited to their underground home. Even slavers and those who want to hire them as mercenaries must do so in their outlying camps. Still it is known they have entered an alliance with the Great Khans, a former raider gang pushed out of the NCR. Perhaps the leaders of the Khans know something other wastelanders don't but what's unarguable is even the most chem-addled Fiend do not attack their allies.
I think considering that both the NCR and Caesar's Legion are not present in 2275, that encompasses all factions present in the Mojave. The Fiends of course make no freaking sense but that's par of the course for most raider groups so late in Fallout history.
The Vaults mentioned in the intro in having succeeded in having the population surviving two centuries are 3 (No experiment, slaughtered by the Fiends); 19 (paranoïa inducing experiments, gave birth to the original Fiend contingent), 21 (everything decided through chance) and 34 (heavily armed population, part of which became the Boomers)
Major Faction: Brotherhood of Steel
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
Major Faction: Brotherhood of Steel
The Brotherhood of Steel is a tangle of contradictions. On one hand they can boast to be one of the oldest still extent faction in the Wasteland. Only some states who maintained continuity even when reduced to scant cities, such as the Mexican Republic of the Rio Grande, the artificial intelligence Tlaloc, and some remnants in Cascadia and Canada, can say the same. It's also the only faction who is spread through all the former landscape of the United States. Chapters are present in Washington and Montana, Texas, and even on the faraway East Coast around the ruins of the capital. Still their boasting in that regards is empty. Chapters are autonomous independent entities and Lost Hills has no means of enforcing commands on them. Indeed, recently defeated by the NCR, the founding Chapter of the Brotherhood is but a city-state, eking a living in an underground bunker. And far from the gaze of outsiders, they are very divided. Not only the different Chapters exhibit much ideological variance, but it is also reflected in Lost Hills where the ruling council tear itself apart, not knowing what to do now that their technological superiority has disappeared.
The Brotherhood takes its origins in Pre-War America, although scant weeks before the bombs fell. Captain Roger Maxson of the United States Army discovered that the base he was stationed in was host to nightmarish experiments meant to create super-soldiers. He mutinied just in time to see the world end and leading army personnel and their families to prepared bunkers. There the Brotherhood was born. Maxson decided to renounce the flags and organizations of the Old World who had failed humanity, although not technology. Indeed the order he founded would gather knowledge, ensuring it would never disappear, save for these technologies who served only to lead to self-destruction. The Brotherhood would keep the fire of human culture burning until the time came to leave their bunkers and lead the rebuilding of America, not as it was, but as it should have been. With time these principles shifted for the worse. The Brotherhood traded and watched the Wasteland but didn't found the communities there worthy of their help. They sent warriors in power-armor clean ruins of dangerous machines and take any advanced technology they found. They didn't set themselves as tyrants over the survivors but retreated to their hermitage, slaying any who tried to intrude without rarely granted permission.
Few even among the order know why they evolved in that direction although they recognize it was not the path of least resistance. The Brotherhood of Steel knew well that they were not invincible, Maxson's son and successor succumbing to a poisoned dart from a primitive raider tribe, but power-armor and energy weaponry were so above the average settlement' tech level, it could have been sorcerous in nature. So why not emerge and set themselves as the technological priest-rulers of the region? The question is not a theoretical, the Washington Chapter near the ruins of Seattle did just that. The dirty secret is that the Brotherhood of Steel has a way to deal with political dissidents who is the key to their presence in so many regions. When a faction grow too powerful and challenge the orthodoxy, they are generally driven out of Lost Hills and sent to a place whose technological resources excite their greed. Rare are those who challenge the council who cannot be swayed with the idea of leading their own force of power-armored Paladins and set shop elsewhere where they can do as they wish. Not all Chapters are born that way, some were deliberate expeditions and others were born of army remnants who listened to Maxson's calls and agreed to his organization.
Indeed while all other aspects may greatly vary, the organization of the Brotherhood remains its mark. It is a tripartite. There are scribes who study new technology, Knights who repair and maintain it, and Paladins who are the greatest warriors of the order and gain access to the revered power armor. If there is an image associated with the Brotherhood of Steel, it's less their heraldic device (a winged sword with three gears around), or their motto (Ad Victoriam) but squads clad in the armor of the Old World. No other Wasteland faction has access to so many of it. This was a source of great pride for Lost Hills although the fact the NCR managed to prove it was far from invincible caused them to rethink their priorities. Power Armors may be very resistant to small-arms fire, they can be breached by dedicated sharpshooters, or energy weaponry, and in some cases even conventional artillery had been used to great effect against Paladins. It says something on the order they understand it only now and not thirty years ago when the Enclave, another remnant of Pre-War America showed up.
Dangerous Technology
The Brotherhood was founded to curtail the technological excesses of Pre-War America. While it is doubtful that scientific advancements were the cause of the Old World's moral decay, one can forgive Roger Maxson's for thinking it. After all he was privy to the results of some of the experiments on the Forced Evolution Virus and the mutants it bred. According to the Codex gathering the ideology of the Brotherhood, dangerous technology who must be kept from human hands include the creation of "soulless machine", mutagens and weapons of mass destruction. All the rest is negotiable. The Brotherhood of Steel is infamous for its hoarding of energy weaponry and robotics but this is technology they hoard rather than destroy. If a Chapter follows orthodoxy, it must try and destroy nukes, giant death robots and poisonous artificial pathogens. Few are so extreme though and such weapons often find their way into Brotherhood's bunkers.
One should note that while only extremists would destroy settlements for the crime of owing their existence to pieces of Old World technology, the idea of actually helping them through sharing of terraforming technology is abhorrent to the order. They will argue that there is no way to tell if the items will work as advertised, and indeed the Crimson Forest in Oregon is proof even the G.E.C.K.S can rot, greed and pride are generally at the heart of their attitude.
The Brotherhood of Steel is a tangle of contradictions. On one hand they can boast to be one of the oldest still extent faction in the Wasteland. Only some states who maintained continuity even when reduced to scant cities, such as the Mexican Republic of the Rio Grande, the artificial intelligence Tlaloc, and some remnants in Cascadia and Canada, can say the same. It's also the only faction who is spread through all the former landscape of the United States. Chapters are present in Washington and Montana, Texas, and even on the faraway East Coast around the ruins of the capital. Still their boasting in that regards is empty. Chapters are autonomous independent entities and Lost Hills has no means of enforcing commands on them. Indeed, recently defeated by the NCR, the founding Chapter of the Brotherhood is but a city-state, eking a living in an underground bunker. And far from the gaze of outsiders, they are very divided. Not only the different Chapters exhibit much ideological variance, but it is also reflected in Lost Hills where the ruling council tear itself apart, not knowing what to do now that their technological superiority has disappeared.
The Brotherhood takes its origins in Pre-War America, although scant weeks before the bombs fell. Captain Roger Maxson of the United States Army discovered that the base he was stationed in was host to nightmarish experiments meant to create super-soldiers. He mutinied just in time to see the world end and leading army personnel and their families to prepared bunkers. There the Brotherhood was born. Maxson decided to renounce the flags and organizations of the Old World who had failed humanity, although not technology. Indeed the order he founded would gather knowledge, ensuring it would never disappear, save for these technologies who served only to lead to self-destruction. The Brotherhood would keep the fire of human culture burning until the time came to leave their bunkers and lead the rebuilding of America, not as it was, but as it should have been. With time these principles shifted for the worse. The Brotherhood traded and watched the Wasteland but didn't found the communities there worthy of their help. They sent warriors in power-armor clean ruins of dangerous machines and take any advanced technology they found. They didn't set themselves as tyrants over the survivors but retreated to their hermitage, slaying any who tried to intrude without rarely granted permission.
Few even among the order know why they evolved in that direction although they recognize it was not the path of least resistance. The Brotherhood of Steel knew well that they were not invincible, Maxson's son and successor succumbing to a poisoned dart from a primitive raider tribe, but power-armor and energy weaponry were so above the average settlement' tech level, it could have been sorcerous in nature. So why not emerge and set themselves as the technological priest-rulers of the region? The question is not a theoretical, the Washington Chapter near the ruins of Seattle did just that. The dirty secret is that the Brotherhood of Steel has a way to deal with political dissidents who is the key to their presence in so many regions. When a faction grow too powerful and challenge the orthodoxy, they are generally driven out of Lost Hills and sent to a place whose technological resources excite their greed. Rare are those who challenge the council who cannot be swayed with the idea of leading their own force of power-armored Paladins and set shop elsewhere where they can do as they wish. Not all Chapters are born that way, some were deliberate expeditions and others were born of army remnants who listened to Maxson's calls and agreed to his organization.
Indeed while all other aspects may greatly vary, the organization of the Brotherhood remains its mark. It is a tripartite. There are scribes who study new technology, Knights who repair and maintain it, and Paladins who are the greatest warriors of the order and gain access to the revered power armor. If there is an image associated with the Brotherhood of Steel, it's less their heraldic device (a winged sword with three gears around), or their motto (Ad Victoriam) but squads clad in the armor of the Old World. No other Wasteland faction has access to so many of it. This was a source of great pride for Lost Hills although the fact the NCR managed to prove it was far from invincible caused them to rethink their priorities. Power Armors may be very resistant to small-arms fire, they can be breached by dedicated sharpshooters, or energy weaponry, and in some cases even conventional artillery had been used to great effect against Paladins. It says something on the order they understand it only now and not thirty years ago when the Enclave, another remnant of Pre-War America showed up.
Dangerous Technology
The Brotherhood was founded to curtail the technological excesses of Pre-War America. While it is doubtful that scientific advancements were the cause of the Old World's moral decay, one can forgive Roger Maxson's for thinking it. After all he was privy to the results of some of the experiments on the Forced Evolution Virus and the mutants it bred. According to the Codex gathering the ideology of the Brotherhood, dangerous technology who must be kept from human hands include the creation of "soulless machine", mutagens and weapons of mass destruction. All the rest is negotiable. The Brotherhood of Steel is infamous for its hoarding of energy weaponry and robotics but this is technology they hoard rather than destroy. If a Chapter follows orthodoxy, it must try and destroy nukes, giant death robots and poisonous artificial pathogens. Few are so extreme though and such weapons often find their way into Brotherhood's bunkers.
One should note that while only extremists would destroy settlements for the crime of owing their existence to pieces of Old World technology, the idea of actually helping them through sharing of terraforming technology is abhorrent to the order. They will argue that there is no way to tell if the items will work as advertised, and indeed the Crimson Forest in Oregon is proof even the G.E.C.K.S can rot, greed and pride are generally at the heart of their attitude.
Main Faction : The New California Republic
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
For me Fallout Ghouls and Super-Mutants would be better represented by Merits and/or Conditions. Notably because they can become Major Templates in my book.
Main Faction : The New California Republic
The good book says the kingdom of heavens is like a mustard seed growing to a tree so great all the birds of the sky come nest in its branches. The NCR would say the comparison. Their story begins with Vault 15 who by happenstance, oversight or deliberate malice had been both overpopulated and harshly divided. When it opened, three groups became raiders forming the Khans, the Jackals and the Vipers. The last founded the township of Shady Sands and was persecuted by the others. They were delivered by the Vault Dweller on their quest to fetch water to their thirsty people. How things have changed. Shady Sands now may be one of the greatest cities in the wasteland, perhaps the greatest city which is not squatting on the ruins from the time before. The New California Republic grew after the passage of the Vault Dweller, devouring the cities they had walked and adding them through trade and diplomacy. The Hub, Junktown, the Necropolis and its ghouls, the Boneyard who was once Los Angeles? All now satellites orbiting Shady Sands, and it didn't stop there.
From what they know, the New California Republic is the largest state in the Wasteland. Nobody can say for sure but the elders of the Brotherhood of Steel who have the most complete map of the former United States tend to agree. Caesar's Legion may be a contender when they will assert control over both Arizona and Colorado, but for the moment the NCR is supreme. Its northern territories stop just shy of the land controlled by Arroyo. It snakes along the Pacific save for the Shi-controlled San Francisco and is bordered by the Mojave to the east. There are lands remaining in Baja outside direct control but it's only a question of time before they bend. Renowned city-states like Vault-City and New Reno are so caught in the orbit of the Bear, they may be vassals in all but name. They may yet be won in peace, choosing to be fully assimilated. They may yet be won in war, the Republic's armies are vast especially in these times of expansion. Yet for the moment their eyes are fixed upon New Vegas and Hoover Dam. The Republic may compare itself to the mustard tree of the good book, or the seed fallen into good earth, but for its neighbors it is more akin to a strangling vine who creeps ever slowly towards them.
Politically speaking, the NCR considers itself a democracy. Its representatives and senators are elected through universal suffrage. Still the executive branch of the government, the President and its cabinet have massive powers, especially military as they can declare wars and negotiate peace of their own accord. Moreover the Republic while having passed recently its first century, has only known four presidents. Aradesh the founder, his daughter Tandi who was constantly reelected till her death, the ineffective Wendel Peterson and the war hero Aaron Kimball. Many for good or ill, point the monarchic tradition it gives the state. Still compared to many states of the Wasteland, the Republic can boast faithfulness to the ideals of liberty and democracy. Even Super-Mutants and Ghouls are full citizens there. Still it doesn't keep it from being an expansionist empire under the current administration looking in all direction for more land and wealth. Yet it is starkly divided. Being one of the states with an active political life means NCR's society is torn apart by very different ideas on what they could be or even should be. Among some segments of the population, debates on the senate floor are heated enough to serve as radio entertainment.
Perhaps all in the eyes of the beholder. For some the Republic is groaning under its own weight, corrupt interests holding sway on many representatives. The powerful barons of the Big Circle who hold the food supply, caravans companies who fight to the death for control of the trade roads, even arms syndicates like the Van Graffs and the Gun Runners have all their say in NCR policy and many of the largest consortium dream themselves merchant princes without understanding the terms. The Republic won its war with the Brotherhood but at the price of nearly all its gold reserves which caused a financial crisis. It prints its own dollars but as they are backed by fiat, people still prefer the old bottlecaps of the Hub who are indexed on water, something especially true in the Mojave. There are many reasons to be wary of more expansion as the state is struggling to swallow what it has eaten already. Still rumors about Caesar's Legion and its advance westwards are excellent at riling people up. The values of the NCR lead it into a confrontation with the openly slaver state even as Caesar dream of a triumphant return to the land of its birth.
Political life in the NCR may seem simple now. The presidential party of Aaron Kimball supports expansion and support of the Mojave expedition. They sit a the right of the assemblies and are openly supportive of the caravan companies and arms consortiums even if they expect in exchange these groups to furbish the army in equipment. Their main opposition comes from senator Allgood of the Boneyard. The former Follower of Apocalypse, a group known both for its outspoken attachment to freedom and pacifistic tendencies. Allgood is both his name and an appropriate sobriquet for the man who mockingly declared "All must be good indeed so let's expand." He is not alone, in the dark rooms of the senate, mayor Hayes of Dayglow is also a common face. The man suffers from what wastelanders call Old World Blues, an attachment to Pre-War America. Still he is supported by intellectuals and people who want a resolution to the conflict with the Brotherhood of Steel. His promises of advancing NCR's technological level may win him the next election and both the reformist elders of the Brotherhood and surprisingly Robert House of New Vegas have already made overtures in this sense. They remain discreet however, they know their support may cost Hayes more than it brings.
Main Faction: New Vegas
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
Main Faction: New Vegas
To understand New Vegas's complexities, one must understand its master. Robert Edwin House is not like the other leaders of the Wasteland. Yes there are Ghouls who witnessed the end of the world with their own eyes. Yes there are whispers of experimentations in the Vaults who were made to study different methods of lengthening life. Yet none of these individuals were Mr House, founder of Robco Industries. He was wealthy beyond even legendary Sinclair who built the Sierra Madre. He had the resources to truly build defenses enough to preserve some of the city he loved from the War. He had resources and intellect enough to persist, immortal and sane. Something that is quite rare in the Wasteland. Yet immortality has a price. No living being will ever witness the true body of Robert House, withered old things fed by pipes, interred in an egg of wondrous science. It is almost nothing for him now, an anchor to the world for a mind coursing through a hundred machines. House's mind is hosted by his securitrons, a cloud of fire and lightning speaking through their mouths. For many, perhaps most, this bodiless existence would be a nightmare without end. He loves it, having digitized some of his friends, lovers and followers which allows him to enjoy company.
He rebuilt Vegas, brought fire and knowledge to the tribes who haunted its streets and put things back into business. Said tribes were bought by the threats of robots who were beyond any technology they possessed, and tales from the Old World riches, House could guide his followers to enjoy. After all, with Hoover Dam even barely functional, the magnate could electrify the Strip and grant the newly-minted families a glimpse of what the city had been like before the bombs fell. New Vegas grew around the Strip, fat on those who came to the city's dazzling light and never left. Of course, as any egocentric billionaire, House doesn't care New Vegas is an island of unparalleled luxury surrounded by the shantytown of Freeside. Perhaps it feels like home, like the last days of America? In truth, for all his talks of being a hyper-rational realist, House is driven by emotion on quite a few points. Even the leaders of the Families sometimes wonder why decide to rebuild the casinos and the vice industry rather than a sustainable community or even a science center? Because House loved Vegas to the point he recreated its dark underbelly as a necessary element for his pantomime.
Those who know the affairs of ghosts, an admittedly rare breed wonder about the state of the master of Vegas and rightly so. He is a ruthless master but an absentee one. The only thing he demands from the Families holding the Strip is a tribute, part of their earnings. This cap hoard is used to buy the service of mercenaries for unknown goals. Most are sent far from the Mojave, in ancient ruined cities, searching for items built just before the bombardments. Others are sent to closed facilities, searching to reconnect them to Vegas grid, and bind their robotic guardians to House. None of these couriers, adventurers and hired guns are trusted of course. House trusts nothing but his soldiers and servants of metal whose minds he designed to be unable to ever betray him. They have none of the flesh frailties and he is sure that once he has the way to upgrade them to their full potential and withdraw them from Pre-War caches, nothing could resist him. Not that he intends to seize military control of the Mojave. He doesn't care about it and would have it remain a network of communities without central authorities or even fall under NCR control, as long as they pay their dues.
He looks to the stars considering the planet as good as a lost cause. His intent is to restart a space program, he already funded one before the War and lead humanity on a new home. The fact he would surely not survive unhooking from his private lair's life support systems has not for the moment entered his calculations. For the moment too, he did not confide his plans to anybody.
This may sign his end. House rules the Families but the Families rule Vegas as well as other gangs and they certainly have plans for the Mojave. In the cozy Ultra-Luxe, the White Glove Society sends feelers through the wasteland, seeing themselves as the promised leader of a vast mercantile empire. Elements within it remember they used to consume human flesh, something not so rare across post-apocalyptic cannibals and salivate about vast herds across the roads from Nevada to Oregon. In the vicious Gommorah, the Omertas look to returning to their raider roots and embrace the way of the horde once more. The fact they would look as a more depraved and technologically advanced version of Caesar's Legion, without any of the Dominus' rare qualities, is lost on them. Yet being unable to do anything with power has rarely kept people from seeking it. And in the Tops, Benny, leader of the Chairmen is gazing hungrily over House's place, having very good idea on how an army of robot would be used to build a kingdom from a desert.
And these dangers to House's position are only those of the Strip. Freeside may just be to the billionaire the place to dump the refuse of his glittering city, but beyond the fortified gates, a society has emerged who is not entirely ruled by the values House champions. There, gangers work with the pacifistic Followers of Apocalypse because they understand that medicine lengthens their own lives too. There the gangs are silently coming under the leadership of one King and even the proud Van Graffs come from New Reno are smiling when pointing their energy weaponry could very well force barred gates. Perhaps one day, Mr House and the Families will open their eyes to breached walls, not by the NCR, not by the Legion, but by the people they ignored for so long.
So Mr House, like the Brotherhood of Steel in a fashion is not playing the same game than most other factions. For all his talks of autocracy, he seems interested by only two linked things: Riches accumulation and through it restarting the space race to escape the planet. Except for the segregation of Vegas and Freeside, he proudly doesn't care about anything of his peoples's lives.
I find it hilarious by the way that for all his vaunted intellect House has a hammer, his Securitron Army, and many problems who look like nails. Admittedly not the NCR he bribes by other means but he cares about the Dam and almost nothing else. Even Caesar intends to do something with Vegas.
Fun fact, in the Old World Blues mod who inspire this setting House can actually recruit alternate Families. Fiends for the Ultraluxe, Khans for the Gommorah and the Kings for the Tops. The King can actually if chosen be part of a path to dethrone House.
To understand New Vegas's complexities, one must understand its master. Robert Edwin House is not like the other leaders of the Wasteland. Yes there are Ghouls who witnessed the end of the world with their own eyes. Yes there are whispers of experimentations in the Vaults who were made to study different methods of lengthening life. Yet none of these individuals were Mr House, founder of Robco Industries. He was wealthy beyond even legendary Sinclair who built the Sierra Madre. He had the resources to truly build defenses enough to preserve some of the city he loved from the War. He had resources and intellect enough to persist, immortal and sane. Something that is quite rare in the Wasteland. Yet immortality has a price. No living being will ever witness the true body of Robert House, withered old things fed by pipes, interred in an egg of wondrous science. It is almost nothing for him now, an anchor to the world for a mind coursing through a hundred machines. House's mind is hosted by his securitrons, a cloud of fire and lightning speaking through their mouths. For many, perhaps most, this bodiless existence would be a nightmare without end. He loves it, having digitized some of his friends, lovers and followers which allows him to enjoy company.
He rebuilt Vegas, brought fire and knowledge to the tribes who haunted its streets and put things back into business. Said tribes were bought by the threats of robots who were beyond any technology they possessed, and tales from the Old World riches, House could guide his followers to enjoy. After all, with Hoover Dam even barely functional, the magnate could electrify the Strip and grant the newly-minted families a glimpse of what the city had been like before the bombs fell. New Vegas grew around the Strip, fat on those who came to the city's dazzling light and never left. Of course, as any egocentric billionaire, House doesn't care New Vegas is an island of unparalleled luxury surrounded by the shantytown of Freeside. Perhaps it feels like home, like the last days of America? In truth, for all his talks of being a hyper-rational realist, House is driven by emotion on quite a few points. Even the leaders of the Families sometimes wonder why decide to rebuild the casinos and the vice industry rather than a sustainable community or even a science center? Because House loved Vegas to the point he recreated its dark underbelly as a necessary element for his pantomime.
Those who know the affairs of ghosts, an admittedly rare breed wonder about the state of the master of Vegas and rightly so. He is a ruthless master but an absentee one. The only thing he demands from the Families holding the Strip is a tribute, part of their earnings. This cap hoard is used to buy the service of mercenaries for unknown goals. Most are sent far from the Mojave, in ancient ruined cities, searching for items built just before the bombardments. Others are sent to closed facilities, searching to reconnect them to Vegas grid, and bind their robotic guardians to House. None of these couriers, adventurers and hired guns are trusted of course. House trusts nothing but his soldiers and servants of metal whose minds he designed to be unable to ever betray him. They have none of the flesh frailties and he is sure that once he has the way to upgrade them to their full potential and withdraw them from Pre-War caches, nothing could resist him. Not that he intends to seize military control of the Mojave. He doesn't care about it and would have it remain a network of communities without central authorities or even fall under NCR control, as long as they pay their dues.
He looks to the stars considering the planet as good as a lost cause. His intent is to restart a space program, he already funded one before the War and lead humanity on a new home. The fact he would surely not survive unhooking from his private lair's life support systems has not for the moment entered his calculations. For the moment too, he did not confide his plans to anybody.
This may sign his end. House rules the Families but the Families rule Vegas as well as other gangs and they certainly have plans for the Mojave. In the cozy Ultra-Luxe, the White Glove Society sends feelers through the wasteland, seeing themselves as the promised leader of a vast mercantile empire. Elements within it remember they used to consume human flesh, something not so rare across post-apocalyptic cannibals and salivate about vast herds across the roads from Nevada to Oregon. In the vicious Gommorah, the Omertas look to returning to their raider roots and embrace the way of the horde once more. The fact they would look as a more depraved and technologically advanced version of Caesar's Legion, without any of the Dominus' rare qualities, is lost on them. Yet being unable to do anything with power has rarely kept people from seeking it. And in the Tops, Benny, leader of the Chairmen is gazing hungrily over House's place, having very good idea on how an army of robot would be used to build a kingdom from a desert.
And these dangers to House's position are only those of the Strip. Freeside may just be to the billionaire the place to dump the refuse of his glittering city, but beyond the fortified gates, a society has emerged who is not entirely ruled by the values House champions. There, gangers work with the pacifistic Followers of Apocalypse because they understand that medicine lengthens their own lives too. There the gangs are silently coming under the leadership of one King and even the proud Van Graffs come from New Reno are smiling when pointing their energy weaponry could very well force barred gates. Perhaps one day, Mr House and the Families will open their eyes to breached walls, not by the NCR, not by the Legion, but by the people they ignored for so long.
So Mr House, like the Brotherhood of Steel in a fashion is not playing the same game than most other factions. For all his talks of autocracy, he seems interested by only two linked things: Riches accumulation and through it restarting the space race to escape the planet. Except for the segregation of Vegas and Freeside, he proudly doesn't care about anything of his peoples's lives.
I find it hilarious by the way that for all his vaunted intellect House has a hammer, his Securitron Army, and many problems who look like nails. Admittedly not the NCR he bribes by other means but he cares about the Dam and almost nothing else. Even Caesar intends to do something with Vegas.
Fun fact, in the Old World Blues mod who inspire this setting House can actually recruit alternate Families. Fiends for the Ultraluxe, Khans for the Gommorah and the Kings for the Tops. The King can actually if chosen be part of a path to dethrone House.