BOTWAWKI Revised Thread

1945: The Second World War comes to an end with the detonations of atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Tokyo, and Nagasaki.
1961: The United States Space Agency puts Captain Carl Bell as the first man in space.
1969: The United States is reorganized into thirteen commonwealths, each of which encompasses several states. The national flag is changed to represent this, with fourteen stars, one for each commonwealth and the final one for the federal government and nation as a whole. The United States puts the first two men on the moon.
2020: The last final mission to the moon is completed, as the US Space Agency sees its budget fatally cut.
2037: The Mr. Handy robot is the first robot created for the mass market and is wildly popular among the American people for its labor saving uses.
2042: After a massive earthquake devastates Mexico City, the US military is brought into Mexico, effectively commandeering the resources and independence of the Mexican nation.
2052: The Resource Wars begin as the European Commonwealth launches several disastrous wars into the Middle East to secure their oil sources. The United Nations collapses by the middle of the year as the United States and most other players withdraw.
2053: The "New Plague" breaks out globally, and the United States declares full quarantine of the nation, forbidding overseas travel as the borders close. At the end of the year, terrorists use nuclear weapons for the first time, destroying Tel Aviv.
2054: The Resource Wars escalate as the Europeans and Islamic countries participate in a limited nuclear exchange, further devastating the region. In response, the United States government begins sponsoring Vault-Tec in its goal to create an underground environment for the survival of the species during a nuclear war.
2059: Saber rattling begins between China and the United States, as the US refuses to share fuel resources obtained from Alaska.
2060: Fossil fuels become too scare to use in cars, and most people are forced to give up their automobiles. Some electric and fusion powered cars are manufactured, but only in limited amounts. The situation brings the US economy nearer and nearer to bankruptcy. The war between Europe and the Islamic nations comes to a close as the last drops of oil are wrung from the Middle East. Both regions immediately dissolve into feuding states locked in constant war.
2065: Power rationing in the United States begins after a nuclear meltdown nearly occurs in New York City.
2066: America's refusal to sell or share oil to fossil fuel dependant China results in the breakdown of diplomatic relations and the invasion of Alaska by the Chinese. Anchorage is overrun and most of the state is occupied by China. American scientists invent the first crude fusion cell, and begin the slow process of upgrading the United States' power supply.
2069: As fighting in Alaska continues to stalemate, Canada faces increasing pressure from the United States as American military forces simply begin taking what they need from the Canadian countryside.
2072: As Canadian outrage grows against American military and business interests, the United States disbands the Canadian government and annexes Canada into the USA.
2074: China begins deploying biological weapons both in the field and on the American home front. The United States responds with a full invasion of mainland China.
2076: Food and energy riots devastate the United States, fuelled by pictures and video of American atrocities against Canadian civilians.
2077: At long last the Chinese are pushed out of Alaska after 11 years of vicious warfare.

October 23, 2077: The nuclear missiles fly between the United States and China, exterminating much of the world's population and bringing about a new dark age in human history.

2140: Radiation levels have declined to a level in which the population can once more establish a new era of civilization and conflict. After all, war, war never changes.

Leader Traits

Leader Traits are what sort of benefits that your leader brings to the faction as a whole. When your leader dies, the following leader will likely have a trait of his own. Yes, this means that your leaders are not permanent, and depending on what sort of government you have, leaders may change frequently or rarely at all.

Charismatic: Increases the effectiveness for all radio broadcasts and boosts immigration
Scientific: Reduces the costs of projects
Fearsome: Does hefty amounts of damage when in combat
Scavenger: increases the likelihood of finding good stuff when your leader goes with a scavenging or exploration party
Noble: Improves diplomacy with NPC factions
Lucky: Helps a little bit with everything

Origins

The Origins section of creating your faction revolves around the type of people that your faction was created out of. They should be fairly self explanatory. With the exception of Survivors, most of the different types can only start in one particular place.

Pre-War Military: This represents the descendants of military units which somehow survived the Great War at various underground bases in North America. Starts with high tech military equipment and tech parts, but small amounts of all other resources, can only start in Bunkers
Vault Dwellers: This represents the descendants of those who survived the Great War by residing in the Vault-Tec Vault system. Starts with a large amount of food, water, and tech parts; but has very limited military equipment; can only start in vaults, please read the vault section before deciding.
Tribal Nomads: This represents the descendants of those who survived the Great War by retreating to various less populated places and reestablishing a tribal civilization. Has large amount of low tech military equipment as well as food and water, no tech parts; can only start in Tribal Communities
Survivors: This represents the descendants of those who survived the Great War by nearly sheer luck, living in the ruins of the cities and eking out an existance scavaging from the rubble. Moderate in all respects, can start everywhere except for Tribal Communities and Vaults

Faction Traits

Choose this trait wisely. Unlike leader traits, this will NEVER change under any circumstances and are the very basis of your nation. If you would like something not seen here, bring it up in the thread, and I'll determine whether or not it's a valid trait for the NES.

Isolationist: Reduced faction appeal to immigrants and refugees
Technocratic: Faction gains +1 Tech Parts a turn
Defensive: Ammunition decreases at a much slower rate, troops are stronger when defending an outpost.
Expansionist: Non-capitol outposts’ populations grow at a faster rate, troops are stronger when attacking another outpost.
Religious: Loyalty will never go below 40%, thus preventing destruction from within.
Barbaric: All low tech troops are significant superior in combat, more loot gained from pillaging and razing other outposts.

Starting Community Types

Your starting community will be the place your nation is born from. While you may start as a humble settlement among the Wasteland, the type of place you choose to begin from will indubitably shape the sort of nation you create. Each starting type has its benefits, and some starting types can ONLY become settlements in a nation by starting with them (see Rules section for more information on settlements). Because I describe the details of outposts and settlements further below, this section will only discuss things related to the benefits and less desirable results of starting in each location. Lastly, some starting community types cannot be created in certain climate regions. Please see the terrain map before choosing your location.

Vault: A vault is part of a pre-war nuclear shelter campaign, which was advertised to protect the people, and even help them thrive in a post-nuclear environment. They are said to be self-sufficient and able to sustain internal support indefinitely. Can only be started in by Vault Dwellers, will have higher number of food, water, and tech parts. Most vaults can be sealed in an emergency, which prevents any attack. Therefore a vault will NEVER be attacked by NPC raiders. These can also be started anywhere on the map, regardless of terrain. There is one important addition to this place however, which can either make your or break you from the very beginning, beyond your own control. All vaults are part of the Vault-Tec Sociological Experiment. This means that every vault has a flaw or unique feature, which will be randomly selected at the start of the game. This means, that beyond the already stated benefits, stats like population, ammunition, and the army will be completely randomized, and unknown at the start. (Examples of Vault Names: Vault 101, Vault 3, Vault 21)

Pre-War Community: A pre-war community is a small town or suburb which somehow managed to survive the onslaught of nuclear war and its devastating aftermath while maintaining the pre-war concepts of civilization. You cannot start as one of these in a heavily developed city region (as on the terrain map). TOWNS OR SUBDIVISIONS ONLY. These communities begin with a fairly low amount of food and water, as well as a relatively high population. On the plus side, they produce their own food and water internally. These communities also have a fair amount of tech parts at the start. They also have ammunition and fairly good weapons, though not quite military grade. (Examples of Pre-War Community names: Goodsprings, Point Lookout, Shady Sands)

Urban Ruin: Located only within the highly urban regions of the former United States, these ruins are generally notable and relatively intact buildings. A good example would be communities based around pre-war landmarks or businesses. You can only start in a Urban Ruin if your starting location is within a heavily developed city region (as on the terrain map). Starting here will mean a large starting stockpile of food and water, but no means of producing more. Starting here will also mean a moderate amount of tech parts and ammunition as well. Starting weapons will be typically moderate, a small amount possibly being military grade. Your starting population number will typically be rather low. (example of Urban Ruin names you can use: Tenpenny Tower, Coca-Cola Company HQ, The King's School of Impersonation)

Tribal Community: These are recently established settlements by nomadic tribes which have in a sense reverted from civilization. You can only begin in one of these in a climate region that is not tundra or urban. These can only be started in by Tribal Nomads, and typically are able to feed and water themselves, but rarely have any starting weapons or otherwise. They also start with a relatively large number of people as compared to other starting sites. (No real name restrictions on these)

Bunker: These are Pre-War installations established by the United States military in the case of nuclear war. They come with large stockpiles of food, water, and ammunition, but no way to produce any more of their own. Starting populations tend to be fairly high. Also, it is quite likely that starting here will mean possessing decent military-grade weaponry. (No real name restrictions on these)

The Church Universal and Triumphant
Prophet Theodore Bundy (Charismatic)/EQandCivfanatic
Faction Trait: Religious
Capitol: Shadow Cathedral (Milwaukee, former USA; Urban Ruin)
Population: 1,000
Slaves: Illegal
Loyalty: 70%
Food: 1,234 (+500)
Water: 2,000 (+750)
Energy: 0 (+0)
Tech Parts: 25
Ammunition: 3,000
Military Equipment: 300 Low-tech Melee, 50 High-Tech Melee, 300 1-H Guns, 250 2-H Guns, 50 Laser Weapons, 5 Plasma Weapons, 1 Fat Man
Combat Training: Rabble
Outposts and Towns:

Projects:

Population and Slaves

Your population is all your people that you have available to you. Typically the numbers are going to start very small, but will quickly grow throughout the course of the NES. The "civilized" zones such as your faction won't be the only survivors out there, and based on your faction traits and other stats, you'll be receiving a slow flow of immigrants and refugees from more wild territories. This will be included alongside "natural" growth as well.

Unlike previous NESes, the Population stat isn't a representation of a larger population or a base from which to create an army. Your Population IS your army. Therefore, it is very important to keep your people happy and loyal as well as provide them with state of the art weapons and good equipment for battle. You have absolute control over your people, send them wherever you choose. They live to serve your whims and the faction as a whole. As long as they stay loyal, that is.

The slave stat is entirely up to you. If you want slaves, feel free to capture some. Thanks to state of the art bomb collar technology, it's easier than ever to enslave people! Just place the collar around a prisoner's neck and if they try to run away... BOOM.

Loyalty

The Loyalty of your population is loyalty towards the faction, not towards the ruler. A catastrophically low Loyalty number will result in civil war or even complete collapse if the ruler dies. Higher loyalty numbers make your soldiers more dedicated in combat and allow for a smoother transfer of power should your leader ever die. If your leader stays alive for a good long time, but has a low loyalty, people may "vote with their feet" by migrating to other factions or simply avoiding joining your faction in the first place. If your current leader dies with a high loyalty rate, you have the chance to receive an even better leader (i.e. with more than one trait) afterwards.

Education

The Education rating of your population represents the base that your intellectuals have when it comes to scientific endeavors. This is created so that we have an accurate descriptor which can define what sort of projects your faction can create or work on. Each type has a different effect, but do not feel too bad if you are the "lowest" type as this actually means you likely have a better handle on things such as farming or fighting than more intellectual factions. Educational levels WILL NOT be changed unless you somehow manage to remain a faction for 100 years or so or become a legitimate nation. The levels of Education are as follows:

Oral Education: This represents a culture which educates its youth through Oral Tradition and knowledge. This is the most practical of the Education levels, and if you are at this level, you will have a typically easier time at salvage and farming. Unfortunately, you're less likely to recover Tech Parts and Projects will generally be more expensive for you, while some which revolve around high technology will not be allowed altogether.

General Education: This represents an educational system moderately similar to what we have in real life. While your population is likely to be literate and have a good knowledge of history, this has very little practical application. Typically if you have a General Education you will not recieve any bonuses or detractions unlike all other types.

Applied Science Education: This represents a working engineering knowledge of pre-war technology. This is the best sort of education to have for the recovery of tech parts and getting old technology working. While you will not receive any bonuses towards research or new technology, you will be superior at recovery efforts and construction.

Theoretical Science Education: This represents theories and speculation as a form of education at a higher level of learning. While this won't help with day to day matters, if you want to research NEW technology, and not just harness the new world, this is the way to go.

Erudite: This is the rarest and most advanced education. This is for those who are experts in both Applied Science and Theoretical Science. Give up now, you'll never make it here.

Food and Water

Food and Water are the most important resources out there, period. Good food and purified water are essential to the literal survival of not just the faction, but the very species. Each person that you have in your faction will require 1 Food and 1 Water every year. If they do not receive it, they will die. This includes slaves unfortunately. Some old pre-war facilities have food or water production of their own, sometimes in large amounts. You can also find old stockpiles of food or water when scavenging.

Energy

Energy represents the production of electricity in your faction or other related energy. Energy can be turned into Tech Parts, representing the electrification of territory allowing the activation of some technology. Energy is most commonly produced from Urban Ruin sites. Energy is also essential for activating robots to join your army. 5 Energy can be turned into 1 Tech Part.

Scrap Parts

Scrap parts represent the random detritus that is the leftovers of the modern world. This can include anything from the shells of cars, to timber, to any assorted scrap metal, wood, or other building material. They are used in construction as well as to create low technology weapons for use. This is by far the easiest thing to salvage from any ruin, and can really only NOT be found in the middle of a desert. They can also be converted into ammunition or tech parts. See the below post for the exact conversion rates.

Tech Parts

Tech Parts represent any leftover bits of the old world that can be converted to practical uses in warfare and production today. Tech parts are used for pretty much everything, and are frequently hard to find. Unless you're a Technocratic society or have found a particularly wonderful place in the Wastes, you generally won't receive any per turn production of Tech Parts. The majority of the time, they will be found ONLY by scavenging amid the ruins of pre-war society. Tech Parts can also be converted into Energy. See the below post for exact conversion rates.

Ammunition

Ammunition is required for the use of all non-melee weapons. Without it, your guns are just fairly useless clubs and you'll get torn apart by the most primitive tribes. Different types of guns expend ammunition quicker, and you lose ammunition based on how many battles you fight in a turn and how many. You can find more ammunition through scavenging or by converting Tech Parts into new ammunition for your guns.

Military Equipment and Training

These are the types of weapons that you can use or produce throughout the course of the opening NES. There are some others not listed here which you can eventually discover, and with time, produce for yourself. You can produce most of these using some of the vital tech parts, which can be a very expensive, but rewarding enterprise. However, the United States, being the home of the gun nut, has a large amount of guns just lying around the place. Scavenging and exploring will often result in the recovery of different types of weapons. Even better, when you defeat a group of raiders or another faction's army, their weapons become your own. The list of goodies you can use to fight are in a below post. Lastly, if you don't have enough weapons for your whole population, it is assumed that they are using standard melee makeshift stuff, which is always the least effective tool.

Military training is the type of capacity that your population has for combat. Remember, all of your population generally knows at least something about fighting and war, otherwise they'd die off. Therefore, your whole population is your army and this stat reflects what sort of training they've received. Training is generally affected by your starting stats, and will not easily change. Below are the current training levels from weakest to strongest:

Rabble-Militia-Paramilitary

Exploration and Scavenging

As frequently mentioned above a large amount of your time and energy would be best focused on sifting through the ruins of society. By sending out scouting parties you can locate promising ruins which could work well as a outpost or community. You could also find nice bits of salvage and old-war gems, including hidden special projects that you could bring to life with just enough Tech Parts and/or Energy. My recommendation is that you have at least one scouting party heading out somewhere every turn. Of course, there's always the small chance that they'll get hit by raiders or other factions, so make sure to give them some firepower to help them out. To Explore to Scavenge simply say in orders "Send __ people to Explore and/or Scavenge in _____ spot.

Outposts and Expansion

In this NES there is no "blobbing" across the map like giant amoebas. Instead, the civilizations of the post-apocalyptic future begin by uniting a variety of small towns and outposts. They usually begin as fortified positions or tribal communities but ultimately evolve into a part of a much larger nation. You can create outposts in one of two ways. If you know, based on independent research (i.e. Google Maps) that there's something worth claiming near your current position, go for it. You could also send out exploratory parties, and I will mention places of interest that you could colonize. Ultimately you will have to send part of your population to establish the new base, and hopefully they will reach their objective. There's always the chance they will be hit by raiders on the way, so once again, make sure they have weapons. Remember, it's not a proper settlement if there's no one living there. There are several "standard" types of places you can discover that are detailed here. These do not include some of the places which qualify as starting zones, as they typically must be conquered, not colonized.

Urban Ruin: This is the most common type of outpost or settlement that you can establish. These typically are buildings, small towns, or landmarks leftover by the old world which are intact enough to be fortified and turned into outposts. When establishing a base in a urban ruin, you are likely to find tech parts, and this is the only way you're likely to discover the rarest of pre-war artifacts and weapons as well as plenty of standard ammunition and regular weapons. Typically Urban Ruins suffer a moderate amount of raider attacks, but are not heavily targeted.

Military Base: This is a particularly uncommon type of outpost or settlement you can discover and claim. These are particularly nice because frequently they have large amounts of ammunition, and occasionally even ammunition-producing machines. They can also have decent stockpiles of food and water within them, sometimes even limited production facilities of their own. One or two military bases may even have fun treasures hidden beneath them. Military Bases, due to their significance, frequently come under raider attacks.

Settlement: Whenever you're in a particularly barren region, there's always the option to simply just create a settlement out of spare parts in the area. While this may be useful to help monitor your territory or encourage trade, typically settlements have little or no resources of their own. If they're created in some of the very scarce fertile lands (none at the start) they can become profitable farming communities. They are also highly visible to raiders and will come under frequent attack.

Cave System: Outside of the cities, there are occasionally cave systems in the mountains and other isolated regions. These are frequently a good source of water, and perhaps other resources as well from failed post-war attempts at survival. They are also hard to find and therefore rarely come under attack by raiders, making them easy to defend and man.

Projects

There's two types of projects here. The standard kind, where you approach me about something you'd like to try, and I'll give you the price in tech parts/energy, and the moderator kind. The latter is highly sophisticated pieces of equipment that I've got charted around North America, much of it which could greatly aid your faction's development. Projects typically cost a combination of Tech Parts and Energy, but sometimes may require one or the other. I'll let you know when the price is secured. All projects WILL be tied to different outposts, and if you lose the outpost where a project is located, you lose the project to whoever claimed your site. Ye've been warned.

Warfare in Post-Apocalyptia

As I've already mentioned, there are no standing armies or militias. Every person in your faction knows how to fight and thanks to the leftovers of modern technology, only a small number of people actually need to stay home and farm or maintain things. In order to fight, simply state the number of people you want to send into battle, what weapons you want them to carry, and where you want them to go. Typically war is fought as a series of battles, not sustained fronts or warfare. Each battle will expend ammunition, so be careful of your stockpiles before you go out on campaign. If you run out of ammo, it is quite likely things will end poorly for you. Another important tip, NEVER send ALL of your people out to battle. You WILL lose your home base while everyone's gone. Always keep a garrison at your outposts if you want to keep them. When planning battles, feel free to be as detailed as you'd like. Whatever makes you enjoy the NES more!

A final tip. Even if there are no other factions near you, be ready for war. You never know if raiders or wasteland monstrosities will come pouring out of the Wastes to kill you in your own house. On that note, any fights a group of yours may have with raiders counts as a battle for ammunition purposes. Remember, only the guns with the group caught in battle will expend ammunition.

Trade and Diplomacy in the Wasteland

I'm assuming that no factions have communications with each other at the beginning. Contact will be mentioned in the thread, and I'd like to state that considering the state of the USA, there's a good chance of isolation for a few turns. Fear not, I'm going to happily provide those isolated with issues and conundrums of their own to ponder over and address in their orders. Diplomacy as a whole, when you do locate other factions, is an informal affair. Declarations of war are unneeded in most circumstances, just attack if you're going to attack. Treaties in general are typically out of character at the current time, though as nations develop, perhaps they will be of use. There's no global community to impress, just yourself and other survivors.

Orders and Updates

Based on what we've had so far in the terms of updates, here is the lowdown on what I expect and what you should expect with each update. My life is made easier when you are specific about deployment of various weapons and devices to all your various installations. Other than that, go nuts if you choose. Take a look at the Lessons of the Wasteland below for further tips on orders and how to act in this NES.

Updates will be divided into four significant sections. First of all are any major events which affect more than a single faction at a time. Typically this will include inter-faction wars or other catastrophes. Second of all are the various faction reports, which include stat changes, what's been going on internally in your faction, and the Overseer's Challenge. The Overseer's Challenge is an event which will occur in the time span of the next update, and must be responded to by you, the leader of your people. This will vary based on your location, actions, and my whims. They can occasionally lead to great reward or extreme disaster, depending on the choices you make. Ignoring the Challenge is a choice in of itself, so you've been warned. The Overseer's Challenges have been provided to help ya'll make it through the time without diplomacy and intrigue. The third section of the update will be the Diplomacy section, where any NPCs will contact you in order to make various deals and plans. Lastly we have the OOC section, where I will provide my own messages to various players about their orders or other non-in character developments.

First lesson of the Wasteland. Actually getting fresh water isn't the issue. The real issue at hand is water that is non-radioactive. The water holds onto radiation longer than the land, poisoning crops and making farming a difficult endeavor. When a settlement produces water, that is water that is purified and drinkable. If a person drinks too much radioactive water, they will die. As for water that's radioactive, it's probably safe to assume that ALL water is radioactive unless otherwise mentioned.

Second lesson of the Wasteland. Distance takes on a different meaning when all roads are blown apart by nuclear weapons and vehicles (and any sort of animal drawn propulsion) are complete gone. Keep this in mind when sending out large parties. The more distance they cover, the greater the odds they'll get hit by raiders. On the other hand, while small groups and individuals are not able to bring back as many items, they are less likely to be spotted by the raiding marauders.

Third Lesson of the Wasteland. As I stated MANY times in the ruleset, there will be no "blobbing" on the map. Outposts must be established, and territory must be painstakingly patrolled for many years if you eventually want to annex it properly into a new nation. Therefore, DO NOT expect typical fresh start NES expansion patterns in your orders.

Fourth Lesson of the Wasteland. At this time there are no significant trade or travel routes, besides small-scale migrant movements. Therefore, "Raid Trade Routes" will not get you much.

Fifth Lesson of the Wasteland. At this point in the NES there are NO other forms of law and order besides those of the factions you've created. Therefore, looking for other significant communities and so forth in your area will ultimately be futile as there are none.

Sixth Lesson of the Wasteland. As discussed in the background to this NES, the time of fossil fuels is long past. The fuel used in automobiles before the war were things such as Fusion and electric, neither of which can be powered at this point. No vehicles have been made since the war, and therefore there are none to be had (yet). This may change at different points in the future.

Seventh Lesson of the Wasteland: The population under the outpost section of your stats is included in the population stat at the top. Weapons in outpost arsenals are NOT included in the Military Equipment stat.

Eighth Lesson of the Wasteland: At this time, it's probably best to assume that you DON'T have the specialization to build sophisticated new things. Most vehicles, computers, and solar panels all fit into this.

Ninth Lesson of the Wasteland: At the moment, raiders are typically cannibalistic bunches with no weapons besides their improvised stashes (with occasional exceptions). They travel still, in pretty disorganized, but large groups. Typically, if you're well armed, they'll avoid you. Monsters, are not as discriminating, and also come in increasingly larger groups each year. As stated already, a single person may succeed where a massive expedition or large scale effort fails (Unless of course, the expedition is too large to fail).

Tenth Lesson of the Wasteland: Having a city state is not a bad idea (though other approaches have advantages too). It definitely makes life simpler if you can supply yourself and be self sufficient. Having people establish their own communities may give them unhealthy ideas.

Eleventh Lesson of the Wasteland: Don't rely on your old world knowledge too much of the location of various sites. Remember, the world ended in 2077 (not to mention a different timeline), 66 years after your modern knowledge. Old companies and locations may have changed vastly even before the war occurred.

Twelfth Lesson of the Wasteland: While Power Armor CAN be a weapon in of itself, it's not recommended. Think of it as heavy duty body armor than as an actual weapon in order to get the best possible use out of it.

Thirteenth Lesson of the Wasteland: A location can usually be salvaged more than once. Due to the pre-war nature of American consumerism, you can bet that there's a lot more to be found than at a first glance. However, it must be said that each expedition is still likely to find as many as prior ones would.

Fourteenth Lesson of the Wasteland: Vaults are generally entirely self-sufficient in terms of producing food and water. There are no crops which need to be grown or otherwise. It is all produced by the elaborate machinery of the Vault, and it's probably better not to ask how. Along those lines, Vaults typically do not have the materials for growing crops within them.

Fifteenth Lesson of the Wasteland: It has been brought to my attention that some of you are a bit unsure how the "economic system" of the Wasteland currently works. In most areas, you'll find that there is no currency, instead built upon a system of barter. The goods most in demand of course are food and clean water, so in places where a currency is encourage by the government, rather than being based on gold or silver, the economy would be based on food and water.

Sixteenth Lesson of the Wasteland: If you faction has changed locations, leaders, or goals, feel free to change the name. You are not stuck with what you have, and this is about the evolution of factions into eventual nations. Keep this in mind as you progress through the NES.

Seventeenth Lesson of the Wasteland: I assume that energy is indeed tradable. I consider it a tradable resource due to the likely plethora of batteries which could be used to store excess energy. Keep this in mind with your trading relations.

Eighteenth Lesson of the Wasteland: This lesson of the wasteland has been removed due to obsolescence.

Nineteenth Lesson of the Wasteland: If you're going to found a settlement across a body of water or use a body of water to supply a new settlement, you better be sure that you're allocating a transport craft each turn to do so. Otherwise, people gonna die.

Cannonville (Cannonville Reservoir, New York, USA; Settlement): +30 Food, +120 Water
-Population: 210
-Arsenal: 70 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 1-H Guns, 20 2-H Guns, 20 Laser Weapons
Chenango (Chenango Valley, New York, USA; Settlement): +330 Food
-Population: 200
-Arsenal: 70 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 30 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons
Fort Ithaca: (Ithaca, New York, USA; Urban Ruin):
-Population: 170
-Arsenal: 30 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 20 Laser Weapons
Hawleyton (Hawleyton, New York, USA; Settlement): +480 Food, +90 Water
-Population: 200
-Arsenal: 70 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns, 5 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons,
Hullsville (Hullsville, New York, USA; Settlement): +270 Food, +40 Water
-Population: 205
-Arsenal: 70 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 30 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons, 3 Mr. Handys
Oxford (Oxford, New York, USA; Settlement): +140 Food, +130 Water
-Population: 205
-Arsenal: 90 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 10 1-H Guns, 5 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons,
Whitney Point (Whitney Point, New York, USA; Urban Ruin): +370 Water
-Population: 200
-Arsenal: 70 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 30 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons
Windsor (Windsor, New York, USA; Settlement): +110 Food, +30 Water
-Population: 200
-Arsenal: 90 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 65 1-H Guns, 5 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons, 2 Mr. Handys

Mini-Fission Generator (Vault 104): ACTIVE
The Recycler (Vault 104): 0/1,000 Scrap Parts, 0/100 Tech Parts, 0/20 Energy

Bisset Creek (Bisset Creek, Ontario, Canada; Settlement): +120 Food, +180 Water
-Population: 680
-Arsenal: 150 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 5 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns, 3 Rafts, 1 Canoe

Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK): 0/1 Energy

Camp Martin (Martin River Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Settlement): +40 Food, +10 Water
-Population: 170
-Arsenal: 10 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns, 20 2-H Guns, 5 Laser Weapons, 1 Heavy Weapon
Kiosk (Kiosk, Ontario, Canada; Settlement): +40 Food, +40 Water
-Population: 150
-Arsenal: 30 1-H Guns, 30 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons
Sturgeon Falls (Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada; Settlement): +70 Food
-Population: 50
-Arsenal: 50 2-H Guns
Tembec Mill (Temiscaming, Ontario, Canada; Settlement): +430 Food, +50 Water
-Population: 130
-Arsenal: 60 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 40 1-H Guns, 40 2-H Guns, 5 Laser Weapons, 5 Heavy Weapons, 2 Power Armor Suits

Super Loggers: 400 Scrap Parts, 0/6 Tech Parts, 0/2 Energy

AFA Outpost (Air Force Academy, Colorado, USA; Urban Ruin): +50 Water
-Population: 175
-Arsenal: 50 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 70 1-H Guns, 125 Laser Weapons, 15 Heavy Weapons, 30 Plasma Weapons, 1 Fat Man, 5 Mini-Nukes, 20 Power Armor Suits
Fountain Valley (Fountain Valley, Colorado, USA; Settlement): +600 Food, +450 Water
-Population: 330
-Arsenal: 200 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 50 Laser Weapons
Mueller (Mueller State Park, Colorado, USA; Settlement): +50 Food, +250 Water
-Population: 70
-Arsenal: 25 2-H Guns, 75 Laser Weapons

The Big One: 0/20 Tech Parts Completed

Bear Creek (Bear Creek, Alabama, USA; Settlement): +110 Food, +30 Water
-Population: 210
-Armory: 10 1-H Guns, 30 Laser Weapons
Gulf Shores (Gulf Shores, Alabama, USA; Urban Ruin): +20 Food, +750 Water
-Population: 50
-Armory: 25 2-H Guns, 5 Laser Weapons
Silverhill (Silverhill, Alabama, USA; Settlement): +150 Food, +10 Water, +1 Energy
-Population: 150
-Armory: 50 Laser Weapons
Tarkiln (Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park, Florida, USA; Settlement): +60 Food,+600 Water
-Population: 280
-Armory: 20 1-H Guns, 190 Laser Weapons, 65 Power Armor Suits, 3 Mr. Gutsys

Garden of Eden Creation Kit (New Lafayette): 0/1 Energy

Adams Center (Adams Center, NY, USA; Settlement):+170 Food, +30 Water
-Population: 195
-Arsenal: 20 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns
Clayton (Clayton, NY, USA; Urban Ruin): +110 Food, +530 Water
-Population: 170
-Armory: 15 Low-Tech Weapons, 65 1-H Guns, 30 2-H Guns, 1 Steamship, 4 Canoes, 13 Rafts
Colling's Landing (Colling's Landing, NY, USA; Settlement): +30 Food, +10 Water
-Population: 230
-Armory: 30 1-H Guns, 20 2-H Guns
Copenhagen (Copenhagen, NY, USA; Settlement): +50 Food, +50 Water
-Population: 60
-Armory: 5 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 10 1-H Guns
Darlingside (Darlingside, Ontario, Canada: Settlement): +60 Food, +20 Water
-Population: 200
-Armory: 20 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 600 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 30 1-H Guns, 305 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons, 30 Heavy Weapons
Depauville (Depauville, NY, USA; Settlement): +60 Food, +30 Water
-Population: 100
-Armory: 30 Low-Tech Weapons
Gananoque (Gananoque, Ontario, Canada; Settlement): +370 Food, +520 Water
-Population: 680
-Armory: 15 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 70 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns
Independence River (Independence River State Park, New York, USA; Settlement): +170 Food, +100 Water
-Population: 220
-Armory: 5 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 1-H Guns
Lowville (Lowville, NY, USA; Settlement): +110 Food, +60 Water
-Population: 165
-Armory: 15 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 50 1-H Guns
Perchtown (Perch River State Game Area, NY, USA; Settlement): +510 Food, +350 Water
-Population: 410
-Armory: 125 1-H Guns, 70 2-H Guns, 60 Mirelurk Armor Suits
Three Mile (Three Mile Bay, NY, USA; Settlement): +230 Food, +380 Water
-Population: 140
-Armory: 5 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns
Tug Hill (Tug Hill State Forest, NY, USA; Settlement): +120 Food, +50 Water
-Population: 130
-Arsenal: 10 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 10 1-H Guns

Battleship City (Camden, New Jersey, USA; Urban Ruin): +10 Food
-Population: 360
-Arsenal: 100 1-H Guns, 240 Laser Weapons, 25 Plasma Weapons, 30 Heavy Weapons, 15 Power Armor Suits
Caumsett (Caumsett, New York, USA; Settlement): +50 Food
-Population: 80
-Arsenal: 40 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 30 1-H Guns
Coney Island (Coney Island, New York, USA; Urban Ruin): +20 Food
-Population: 50
-Arsenal: 40 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns
Fort Narwhal (Fort Dix, New Jersey, USA; Settlement): +550 Food, +130 Water
-Population: 680
-Slaves: 20
-Arsenal: 30 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 1-H Guns, 65 2-H Guns, 3 Heavy Weapons, 20 Laser Weapons, 4 Plasma Weapons, 30 Power Armor Suits
Fort Totten (Fort Totton, New York City, New York, USA; Urban Ruin): +320 Food
-Population: 700
-Arsenal: 45 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 150 Laser Weapons
Hyde (Hyde Park, New York City, New York, USA; Settlement): +30 Food
-Population: 150
-Arsenal: 40 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 1-H Guns
Jifkia (JFK International Airport, New York City, New York, USA; Settlement): +60 Food
-Population: 70
-Arsenal: 40 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 1-H Guns
Liberty Island (Liberty Island, New York City, New York, USA; Urban Ruin): +20 Food
-Population: 50
-Arsenal: None
Nyack (Nyack, New York, USA; Urban Ruin): +100 Food, +30 Water
-Population: 215
-Arsenal: 50 1-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons, 4 Plasma Weapons, 4 Heavy Weapons, 5 Power Armor Suits
Perth Amboy (Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA; Urban Ruin): +50 Food
-Population: 425
-Slaves: 50
-Arsenal: 25 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 25 1-H Guns, 20 Laser Weapons, 4 Plasma Weapons, 10 Power Armor Suits
Princeton Fort(Princeton University, New Jersey, USA; Urban Ruin): +20 Food
-Population: 235
-Slaves: 60
-Arsenal: 20 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 35 1-H Guns, 30 2-H Guns, 40 Laser Weapons, 4 Plasma Weapons, 5 Heavy Weapons, 10 Power Armor Suits, 3 Protectrons
Republic (Republic Airport, New York, USA; Settlement): +20 Food
-Population: 90
-Arsenal: 50 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 10 1-H Guns
Vault 2 (Manhattan, New York, USA; Vault): +1,000 Food, +500 Water, +1 Energy
-Population: 450
-Slaves: 70
-Arsenal: 145 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 5 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 115 1-H Guns, 37 2-H Guns, 26 Heavy Weapons

Project Purity (USS Narwhal): ACTIVE
Statue of Liberty Reconstruction and Relighting (Liberty Island): 2,100/4,000 Scrap Parts, 0/15 Tech Parts, 0/1 Energy per turn (permanent loss of EPT)

Cumberland (Cumberland, Maryland, USA; Urban Ruin): +20 Food, +60 Water
-Population: 100
-Arsenal: 30 Low-Tech Weapons, 20 High-Tech Melee Weapons, 30 1-H Guns, 50 2-H Guns, 2 Heavy Weapons, 10 Laser Weapons
Frostburker Army (Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA: Urban Ruin)
-Population: 285
-Arsenal: 100 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 50 1-H Guns, 50 2-H Guns, 70 Laser Weapons, 20 Plasma Weapons, 6 Heavy Weapons, 15 Power Armor Suits
Rocky Gap (Rocky Gap State Park, Maryland, USA: Settlement): +230 Food, +110 Water
-Population: 130
-Arsenal: 25 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 25 1-H Guns, 15 Laser Weapons, 1 Heavy Weapon
Savage River Dam (Savage River Dam, Maryland, USA; Urban Ruin): +720 Water
-Population: 190
-Arsenal: 25 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 40 1-H Guns, 15 2-H Guns, 100 Laser Weapons, 1 Heavy Weapon

Fort Wilmington (East 7th Street Park, Wilmington, Pennsylvania, USA; Urban Ruin): +10 Food
-Population: 50
-Arsenal: 10 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 30 Laser Weapons
Norristown (Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA; Urban Ruin): +20 Food
-Population: 40
-Arsenal: 50 Low-Tech Melee Weaepons
Pia (Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Urban Ruin): +50 Food
-Population: 100
-Arsenal: 80 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 20 1-H Guns, 15 Power Armor Suits
The Rush (Benjamin Rush State Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Urban Ruin): +70 Food
-Population: 120
-Arsenal: 30 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 10 1-H Guns, 5 Power Armor Suits

Buch (Buch Park, Fremont, Nebraska, USA; Settlement): +60 Food
-Population: 190
-Arsenal: 40 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 85 1-H Guns, 30 2-H Guns
Wehrspan (Wehrspan Lake, Nebraska, USA; Settlement): +120 Food, +50 Water
-Population: 115
-Arsenal: 30 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 15 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns
Zorinsky (Zorinsky Lake, Nebraska, USA; Settlement): +120 Food, +220 Water
-Population: 140
-Arsenal: 30 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 25 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns

Twinbear Post (Yreka, California, USA; Settlement): +150 Food, +100 Water
-Population: 210
-Arsenal: 90 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 5 1-H Guns, 5 2-H Guns

Base Station Albany (Whitehall, Albany, NY, USA; Urban Ruin)
-Population: 40
-Arsenal: 25 1-H Guns, 15 Laser Weapons, 2 Mr. Gutsys, 30 Sentry Bots
Outpost Alpha (Harriman, NY, USA; Urban Ruin)
-Population: 20
-Arsenal: 30 1-H Guns, 25 2-H Guns, 1 Mr. Gutsy, 20 Sentry Bots
Outpost Beta (Climax, NY, USA; Urban Ruin)
-Population: 20
-Arsenal: 10 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 1 Mr. Gutsy, 20 Sentry Bots
Outpost Delta (Cobleskill, NY, USA; Settlement)
-Population: 20
-Arsenal: 10 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 1 Mr. Gutsy, 20 Sentry Bots
Outpost Epsilon (Westend, NY, USA; Urban Ruin)
-Population: 20
-Arsenal: 10 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 1 Mr. Gutsy, 20 Sentry Bots
Outpost Gamma (Duanesburg, NY, USA: Urban Ruin)
-Population: 20
-Arsenal: 10 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 1 Mr. Gutsy, 20 Sentry Bots
Outpost Zeta (Afton, NY, USA; Urban Ruin)
-Population: 20
-Arsenal: 10 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 1 Mr. Gutsy, 20 Sentry Bots

Clear Creek (Clear Creek, Utah, USA; Settlement): +100 Food, +40 Water
-Population: 130
-Arsenal: None
Fairview (Fairview Lakes, Utah, USA: Settlement): +50 Food, +60 Water
-Population: 50
-Arsenal: 25 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 10 1-H Guns
Scofield-on-Lake (Scofield State Park, Utah, USA; Settlement): +360 Water
-Population: 250
-Arsenal: 50 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 50 1-H Guns
Winter Quarters (Winter Quarters, Utah, USA; Settlement): +300 Food, +50 Water
-Population: 90
-Arsenal: 10 Low-Tech Melee Weapons

Camp Forward (Middleburg, Florida, USA; Settlement): +300 Food, +110 Water
-Population:500
-Slaves: 10
-Arsenal: 200 Low-Tech Melee Weapons

The Master's Army
The Master
Location: ???
Ammunition: 50,010
Army: 3,520 Super Mutants, 200 Nightkin, 40 Behemoths, 80 Centaurs
Equipment: 2,160 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 420 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 25 Laser Weapons, 100 Heavy Weapons

When the bombs fell, many people fled the Portland area, including the various small towns around the city. Estacada was one of those towns, and though most people fled, a small community of survivors stayed behind. At first, things were peaceful, but fallout drifted through the area, killing many of the survivors, ghoulifying others, and forcing the non-affected to leave town. The fallout drifted away over the years, but the town remained a ghost town until a few years back when Will Jones and his hand full of survivors happened upon it. Though the occasional scavenger and raider had come through the town over the years, no one had settled down in the town. Located right next to the Clackamas River, in the Mt. Hood National Forest, it was an ideal site to start a new, self-sufficient colony.

Since the colony has been established, it has yet to fall into the radar of the various raiders, monsters, and cannibals which still maraud across the Wastes, but they are full of hope that they may survive the indubitably coming storm.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

Rochester, although a hub of transportation, between the former Buffalo and New York City areas and on the Erie Canal, the largest trade route in the region, wasn't hit too hard by the bombs. Unusually strong winds off of Lake Ontario hit the city and swept much of what little radiation there was away early. Regardless, in the way of the war, sitting on the main travel routes, Rochester was hit by massive waves of refugees and pillagers in the early years after the Great War. Many of those who survived in the city owe their lives to Andrew Guilet, a man of great age, still struggling to lead a small community.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

At the time when the bombs fell, Watertown, being a town far away from the big cities, was spared from being hit by the Chinese nuclear weapons. Being near the Canadian border also meant that, during the war in Alaska and the annexation of Canada, thousands of soldiers passed near the town. One column of soldiers had also been near when the bombs fell, and the soldiers took refuge in Watertown, helping to defend it from the first dangers that came in form of raiders, and later the monstrous mutant creatures that had appeared due to the radiation of the bombs. However, it was able to survive, thanks to the fact that the water from the nearby lake remained somewhat uncompromised and they also managed to patch up a primitive water depurator. They've managed to survive like this for the past seventy years, isolated from the rest of the world, until Jacob Marques took charge, and they realized that now it was time to go out once more and recover the land for the people.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

After the bombs fell, several hit Corpus Christi and the surrounding area. In the wake of the war, leftover societies fought over the rubble. The end result of this conflict resulted in the ruling gang of the AC ruins being a racist biker group. Years of fighting turns the gang into a rabid, efficient scourge on the area. Though, through the leadership of the gang's top boss, known only as "The Prez" organization and long term survival promises the violent tribals are set to change the face of the Corpus Christi Wasteland.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The Community is based in Agrestic is a small town near the border of Oregon which managed to survive the calamities by gating the entire community, and fiercely defending their small piece of land from anyone who wanted to settle anywhere near them. Solomon Nealon has gained great favor among these people for his quick eye on the Community's scavenging missions and has been elected their mayor. These people are staunchly conservative and cling desperately to a lost time.

Overseer's Challenge: Some of the youth in the community have formed a rather tight-knit gang which has terrorized some of the older residents and women. How should the authorities of The Community respond?

From the Classified Overseer's Vault 215 Files. Greetings Overseer. Congratulations for being your Vault's Overseer and manager of the Vault-Tec Sociological Experiment, Vault 215! Vault-Tec prides itself on the quality of its employees and hopes you will help lead humanity to a brighter future! Vault 215 has been designed with everything according to advertisement and should provide handily for a population of a thousand or smaller. However, sixty-five years after the activation of the Vault, i.e. when the war occurs, the radiation shielding around your Vault's nuclear power station will begin to fail, slowly leaking into the public sectors. Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!

(Starting in 2142, 1% of your population in Vault 215 will die, increasing by 1% every year until ultimately reaching 100% by 2242)

Overseer's Challenge: There has been recent debate over the use of the GOAT standardized test to determine the aptitude of people for various jobs in the Vault. How should the Overseer respond?

From the Classified Overseer's Vault 89 Files. Greetings Overseer. Congratulations for being your Vault's Overseer and manager of the Vault-Tec Sociological Experiment, Vault 89! Vault-Tec prides itself on the quality of its employees and hopes you will help lead humanity to a brighter future! Rather than a standard nuclear reactor, your vault has been equipped with an experimental geo-thermal power plant. Unlike standard reactors, these are likely to be more than enough for your standard power needs. Excess energy will be stored in prepared shielded battery containers in an automated process. Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!

(Vault 89 Will produce +5 Energy every year)

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

When the bombs fell, the small American garrison on Vancouver Island fled to the only suitable bunker on the island with their wives and families. Since the war, they have sheltered in the bunker, living off of the large stockpiles of food and other supplies.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The Virginny Empire was founded, or as close as you can get to founded, some time after the bombs fell and the world was shrouded in darkness and radiation, by John Radakker. Radakker gathered around himself many followers, other survivors, who looked to him for protection and leadership. How, you might ask, was Radakker able to gather these people around himself? Radakker was something of a local political figure, a demagogue of sorts who attracted public attention, and either idolization or hatred. A polarizing figure. He and his followers established some kind of authority in the region, and he proclaimed himself "Emperor". Though the correct term is likely the Virginian Empire, among the ranks of Radakker's adherents it is referred to almost as a moniker of affection as the "Virginny" Empire, and its people as Virginicans, often to outsiders, as Radakkites. Authority is maintained through a cult of personality, as well as the fact that Radakker's "Empire" is the center of the greater part of stability in the region.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

From the Classified Files of the Overseer of Vault 9: Greetings Overseer. Congratulations for being your Vault's Overseer and manager of the Vault-Tec Sociological Experiment, Vault 9! Vault-Tec prides itself on the quality of its employees and hopes you will help lead humanity to a brighter future! You've been lucky enough to be Overseer of a control Vault. The whole vault is to operate under the establishments of advertising and is set to continue indefinitely until you feel that conditions are suitable for reestablishment of society on the surface. Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The Acada Settlers continued to eke out an existence this year, as they sent out fresh scavenging parties to look for old world stores and scout out their surroundings. They lamented their misfortune when they found the Faraday Dam wrecked beyond repair, nothing more than loose stones and rubble amid a nearly empty and still radioactive lake. They wound up fighting a band of raiders there, and slaughtered the bunch of them, though they only had improvised weapons rather than any decent material for looting. Unfortunately a number of their own were lost in the battle. In the course of scavenging, another band found a plethora of goods stockpiled at Valley View Airport, salving a large number of Pre-War spare parts.

In other news, an old Water Treatment Plant within the ruins of Estacada was restored by Acada engineers and set to purifying radioactive water from the nearby river.

This year a refugee camp wound up being created outside the walls of Acada, as they were monitored by the local population for trustworthy types, while the remainder were left outside to rot until they proved themselves. Outside, a large number of folk continue await their chance to enter the town, attracting various types of critters and villains, looking to prey upon them.

Overseer's Challenge: Our policy towards the various wanderers and refuse of the Wastes has led to the arrival of hundreds of these people outside our walls. They hope for the chance to enter the safety of our lands, but at the same time have begun to worry our current citizenry greatly. They have not yet caused any trouble for us.

When the sirens rang out and the bombs began falling, the soldiers inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex quickly closed off their massive gates to the outside world, bringing in what civilians they could save, and prayed for the best. They watched silently as many other facilities throughout the country blink off one by one, reduced to mere statics on the radio. Miraculously, the facility was undamaged. The area outside the mountain base, however, was heavily irradiated. Reduced to nothing but mere deserts. The soldiers were saved, but they were also trapped in their base. And so, they remained trapped. For many years. Many, many years. Around 70 years later, the blast doors finally creaked open.

The base possessed in its deepest levels an unlaunched missile resting in its silo. Unfinished in time for the war, the missile has been affectionately termed "The Big One" by the Pre-War scientists who created it as well as its current guardians.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The community of Flour City suffered throughout the year, facing a monstrous wave of difficulties as its supplies of food and water continue to decline. Fortunately, its population losses were upset when the town threw its gates open to wanderers and refugees, though they had a close eye kept upon them.

The local community began operation expanding local farming to the best of their ability, though the soil of the wastes have proven uncooperative with these efforts. Testing nearby water sources have also resulted in the discovery of fairly high radiation all throughout the region's water. While drinking it may not kill a person immediately, prolonged use definitely would kill in time. These groups were frequently attacked and ambushed by raiders, lacking many defenses, and some citizens just plain went missing, almost as though someone was telling the raiders where and when to attack.

Flour City sent out two major scavenging expeditions this year, one to a nuclear power plant further east, and another to a nearby industrial park. The first expedition never returned, though reports from immigrants claim that much fighting has been reported in the direction they left, and some of the bodies have been identified as former citizens of Flour City. The second expedition faced two attacks by raiders, and even the activated robotic defenses of Kodak Park. They managed to defeat both groups and overwhelm the plant's defenses, despite not having any proper weapons of their own. They returned home with a minor haul, though they reported that a large stockpile of various Pre-War goods remain there, as well as a functioning water purifier in the ruins.

Overseer's Challenge: The recent attacks on our farmers and surveyors have led us to the conclusion that a group or multiple groups of raiders have planted spies within the immigrants who arrived last year. How should we respond?

The people of Fort Morgan survived through ingenuity and the mentality of improving as the Refuge comes to encompass more than southern Baldwin County. Barbarians are still a problem, but so far they've been unable to breach the defenses of the Fort. Only time will tell if the defenses will hold, and if the Fort-folk will be able to survive.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

All things considered, the Jeffersonian Libertarians had a pretty good year, for a faction that exists after the end of the world. Minor success was had in expanding local farms, but the barren soils proved continuously uncooperative.

Two expeditions were sent out this year, one to the old military base at Fort Drum, and another to the north near the Perch River State Game Management Area. The Fort Drum expedition met with severe raider resistance, and even some old automated defenses at the fort. Losses were heavy and the expedition was unable to bring everything they saw back, though they did bring back some fancy new weapons and ammunition. They claimed that the base has much more treasure to possess, but that it still has too many old robots and turrets to be safe as an outpost, plus it was hit heavily by nuclear weapons and is still highly radioactive in some parts. The other expedition only encountered one medium-sized group of raiders, but upon arriving at Perch River found several small streams and lakes with virtually no surface radiation left as well as a lot of old canned food stockpiles. Based on the terrain, the expedition reports the area as an ideal location for an agrarian settlement.

The strict immigration policies and aggressive "shoot all those uncooperative" has caused most potential immigrants to give Watertown and the Libertarians a wide berth, though some have made the effort to become citizens.

Overseer's Challenge: Some people have reported becoming sick after using the weapons and ammunition salvaged from Fort Drum. Though tests appear negative, there's a chance that they are radioactive and potentially lethal to its users over time. How should we use these weapons?

The New Confederacy showed its barbarity towards others this year, as potential immigrants were enslaved or killed, and their possessions forcibly seized. An Outpost was established on the south side of Corpus Christi Bay and used as toll and raiding stations for those trying to cross the Bay over the barely intact Causeway. They met with some opposition though, as particularly a large group of travelers managed to wipe out one of the fledgling outposts.

In other events, an expedition of outriders was sent to locate and salvage the Corpus Christi Air and Army Station, but it failed to return. According to what they could glean, the expedition made it to the Station, but were wiped out by a large group of raiders or other hazardous beings on their return trip and all their weapons and salvaged goods were taken.

Overseer's Challenge: A small part of the population has become sick recently, with what the medical staff believes to be a type of influenza and have warned that it could spread rapidly through the population, possibly with lethal effects. How should we respond?

Latin Fitzgerald and others started New Indy as a secure outpost against the environment and fellow man. Idealists, the people of New Indy believe that technology will help bring them from the jaws of extinction.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The Community faced internal disobedience this year as a gang of local youths began terrorizing the population. Ultimately, the Mayor forced them into the defenses and scavenging expedition, where all of them perished. Unfortunately, this led to some wailing and gnashing of teeth among parents. Discovered, after further investigation, however was a large stash of food and guns at the youth's hideout. It is unknown where they obtained both as all died in the recent expedition.

The scavenging expedition, led personally by the mayor, resulted in a large haul of essential items like food and water. The Greenhorn Reservoir was discovered to be mostly radiation free, and the expedition brought home quite a few barrels over the year. A couple raider attacks were fended off, with some considerable difficulty by the expedition.

Overseer's Challenge: It is unknown where the youth gang received their food and weapons, as they are not part of our local stores. This has raised fear that some outside group of raiders has managed to infiltrate our security. How should we respond?

Vault 215, with most of the population remaining behind the sealed Vault door, had a fairly quiet year. A debate over GOAT testing was resolved when the Overseer agreed to allow two retests per person. This has proven a less than popular decision among those who oppose the test's mere existence. A small scouting party was sent out near the small town of Government Camp, and they returned reporting that the town was mostly empty and they encountered nothing but a few mutated animals after venturing from the Vault. They claim that the region seems to be mostly unaffected by radiation and could be farmed to a small degree, due to the rough terrain. Several small streams and lakes exist that could be drained for water as well.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The year was a mixed blessing to Vault 89, facing triumphs and failure throughout the course of time. Scavengers wandering around the local urban ruins managed to return with a decent amount of food and water, as well as various other junk of the Pre-War world for recycling. They were constantly attacked, and nearly a third of them failed to return to the Vault, dying, unnamed, in the rubble. A large salvage expedition was sent to the Mexico City southern Industrial Park, but it failed to returned, having been overwhelmed by the pitfalls of post-nuclear existence as well as the Industrial Park's own automated defenses. An expedition to the airport proved more successful, sustaining no losses and returning with salvaged electronics from the installations there.

Attempts were made to farm in the rubble around the Vault, but overall these attempts were met with failure. Only a insignificant amount of territory was able to be till, with excruciating effort.

Vault 89 swung open its great door, welcoming many immigrants, and their supplies to the Vault. Large numbers of people throughout the Mexico City Wasteland have flocked into the vault, desiring the security it represents. Unfortunately, it's believed that the word has spread to the Waste's raider groups and the city could well face increased numbers of attacks, as seen with deaths of quite a few of those attempting to till the land.

Overseer's Challenge: Our open door policy to immigration has led to the arrival of a representative of a nomadic tribe from the wastes to the south. Having run dangerously low on food, they have requested to be allowed to settle within the Vault. They are said to number in the hundreds, but are a mostly peaceful tribe. How do we respond?

The forces of the Victoria Bunker have made a major impression among the denizens of Victoria Island as they emerged from their fortress this year. Wandering bands of people have been abducted by the power-armored forces of the Bunker and pressed into slavery. The Victoria Bunker has deployed numerous of these patrols across the islands, and would-be raiders wisely avoid their path and monsters are vaporized. Typically the more-peaceful residents have learned to evade the patrols when needed, another new hazard to life on the island.

The Bunker's scouts have discovered an island devastated by war. Due to its importance in protecting the pipeline to Alaska, as a Pacific Coast defense communication hub ,and the naval and army bases established there during the Resource Wars with China, the island was heavily hit, leaving its great forests as ash and splinters and its cities leveled. Despite this, numerous parts were salvaged from the ruins, hoping for establishing new developments for the Bunker in the future. The scouts report, that despite the damage, there may be more to discover as the island is patrolled.

Overseer's Challenge: The Bunker's generator appears to be malfunctioning due to increased workloads. How should we work to respond to this situation?

The Virginny Empire opened the doors for immigration this year, providing the very basic amounts of food and water for survival for a large number of would-be citizenry. These people have given their best efforts in local farming and work, hoping to achieve favor and larger rations as well as providing their own stockpiles to the empire. Alongside the massive influx of immigrants, however, the Empire faced a grim tragedy. A small, but well-armed force was sent miles north to an abandoned military base but never returned. It's believed they were wiped out in their journey by one of the many perils of the wastelands.

Overseer's Challenge: Our open door policy to immigration has led to the arrival of a representative of a nomadic tribe from the wastes to the south. Having run dangerously low on food, they have requested to be allowed to settle within the Empire's current boundaries. They are said to number in the hundreds, but are a mostly peaceful tribe. How do we respond?

The population of Vutg remained with their Vault door sealed this year, as the people of the wastes continued to pass by with no knowledge of the Vault's existence. They spent most of the year, using scrap parts within the vault to construct prefabricated buildings and barricades for use when they would go out into the surface. Very little else occurred this year.

Overseer's Challenge: Some of the youth in the community have formed a rather tight-knit gang which has terrorized some of the older residents and women. How should the authorities of Vault 9 respond?

The Acada Settlers were fortunate in having a rather quiet year, as the relatively sparsely populated region lacked any significant raider activity. One small band of scavengers from the community was wiped out, but overall losses were low as more supplies were brought back to the home settlement.

The most significant issue to occur resulted from the departure of hundreds of refugees from the walls of Acada. With most failing to meet the high standards of the community, they were encouraged to move on to the abandoned town of Colton, promised support and a new life there. Many of these people moved to the town, and set up shop there, digging up old farms and animals, as well as digging new wells. Ultimately, the town of Acada attempted to establish authority over the new settlement, but the people refused to acknowledge their rule. The new settlement has established their authority over their community, and have begun attempting to carve out their own way of life.

Overseer's Challenge: A group of strange mutant animals has infested the local sewers. They seem to be vaguely rodent-like, but of extraordinary size and strength. Fortunately, no one has died from attacks by these animals, but they could pose a risk to our citizenry.

In a triumphant march, the Earth Reclamation Command emerged into the wastes this year, opening the doors at Cheyenne Mountain and establishing a base in Colorado Springs. Under command of their general, a heavily armed force of power-armed soldiers with pre-war military weapons marched across the wasteland and established their headquarters in the Massive Dynamics Tower in the center of the city. They quickly dispatched the tower's initial defenses and set to fortifying their new outpost. The tower has only partially been explored as several large fortified doors have been discovered in the lower and upper levels of the building.

The main base continues to be isolated, establishing water cisterns for the collection of the few drops of rain which come by every year. The process was repeated outside the MD Tower, as they collected more water for drinking at the new site.

So far the people of the wastes have given the ERC a wide berth, choosing to avoid the incredibly well armed forces of these soldiers.

Overseer's Challenge: The scouts within the Massive Dynamics Tower have reported that within some of the vaults, it sounds as there could be people living within them. Voices and movement have been reported. How should we react to this?

Flour City was attacked by a large group of raiders, though our garrison was able to repulse them with a difficult fight.

Overseer's Challenge: We are at a crisis shortage of food and water, and people are likely to die this coming year from the lack of essentials. We estimate 150 people will die this year from lack of vital supplies, and more in the year after. How should we respond?

The Fort Morgan Refuge, rather isolated due to its remote location, had a fairly uneventful year. Scavengers were sent out to locate new resources and establish a new base for operations. The town of Gulf Shores was scouted, cleared easily of its local ghoul inhabitants, and an outpost was established in the center of the community. The Refuge opened its doors to honest migrants this year, bringing more people into their faction and their own stockpiles of supplies into the shared collection.

Overseer's Challenge: Some of our Laser Weapons have gone missing, and are believed to be stolen. We do not know who took them from the arsenal at Fort Morgan or where they are now. How do we respond?

The Jeffersonian Libertarians established a new settlement in the former Perch River Game Management Area this year, creating the new hamlet of Perchtown. The large pilgrimage of people to the new area were attacked by raiders, losing some of their party, but mostly managed to survive the trip. The new settlement has established a decent farming community, as well as using small local rivers for water sources. A small wall has been made from local trees and scrap, further protecting the new village.

The Libertarians also deployed a fresh expedition to the southwest, arriving in the abandoned town of Adams Center, looting it of old food, water, and other miscellaneous goodies. Though they found ammunition in the town, the whole area's stockpile of guns appeared to be ominously missing.

The new Water Purifier at Watertown has been functioning at optimal capacity, helping the thirst of the people in the region, though the town has a long ways to go before being self sufficient.

Immigration laws were loosened by the faction this year, as more people were welcomed in, and they soon arrived in droves throughout the course of the year, further straining the town's capacity.

Overseer's Challenge: Strange beasts have emerged from the waters near Perchtown, and have begun kidnapping our citizens. We have no idea where they are being taken by these monsters the locals have termed "riverlurks."

The Captain and crew of the USS Narwhal, top of the line attack submarine in the US navy, knew that the world was lost. Regardless of who "won" the war, the only true winners would be those who survived. As such, Captain Williams, commanding officer of the USS Narwhal smuggled the family and friends of the crew aboard the vessel. Submerging his ship for the last time under orders from the Military, the Narwhal Disappeared, and was listed by the navy as "Missing in combat, presumed destroyed." Years, decades, passed underwater, and, though the ship was more than capable of supporting those aboard, unrest grew within the families, who demanded to see the sun, that their children not grow old underwater as they had. Acquiescing, Captain Ahab, descendant of Captain Williams, finally rose to the surface, Looking for a new place to settle. Oddly, the sensors of the ship determined that the New York Harbor was somewhat clean of radiation, and so they brought the ship in close and moored it, beginning a life on the surface. Building homes and scavenging ships, the community quickly grew, fishing and preying on the smaller settlements.

Overseer's Challenge: Our reactor, while still providing energy, is quickly running out of capacity. At current usage rates, an outcome could be catastrophic to our community.

Causeway Outpost attacked and destroyed by an unknown force of raiders or other people or creatures.

The flu spread through our population like wildfire, killing many, with no organized response.

Overseer's Challenge: Our scouts have reported a large tribal group about to pass near the Corpus Christi area. How should we react to them?

The Frostburg Bunker # 4 was built by the Atomic Cake Enterprises for its Private Para-Military personal & families that were assigned to its now obliterated research labs. Hundreds of billions of dollars were spent in its building & stocking of supplies. Many specialized room were constructed for activities to keep the cabin fever from setting in.
Since the beginning when Taylor "Mustang" Morgan took charge he set in motion a series of programs. These programs ranged from hand to hand combat, weapons training, physical & mental testing to machine maintenance & repair. Some having strange effects. All personel were trained for the time when Mustang's future offspring would lead the bunker to make his mark in the world.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The New Indy community has begun aggressive expansion in its surrounding areas, expanding their living quarters to include old hotels and other areas. They've also begun recruiting from those who wander the wastes, in a variety of forms. Namely, it's become known that whether you want to or not, you will join the community of New Indy. Those who've agreed, have joined into the town with relative ease, while large groups of others have become enslaved when unable to defend themselves.

New Indy experienced tragedy this year when they attempted to explore the Raytheon building nearby. Unfortunately, the building possessed a considerable pre-war defense system which was still intact and laid waste to the interlopers. Only two lucky people survived the onslaught and escaped to tell the story barely with what they had on them.

Overseer's Challenge: We're running dangerously low on food, and could well be out by the end of this year. Some people have been muttering about the possibility of butchering slaves as a possible food source, how do we respond?

The Spring Valley Food Corporation was the primary food processing company in the American Midwest, just before the bombs fell. The company's facilities in Omaha included its corporate headquarters, the food processing plant, various warehouses, housing facilities for its staff, and connections to transportation networks. Thankfully, the Corporation was spared any direct hits by nuclear blasts and the walled compound remained like a virtual fortress in the post-apocalyptic world. The trained staff and skilled leadership allowed the company to function pretty much as before, except that as raw materials and an industrial-scale power supply were unavailable to the compound, food processing equipment could no longer function. The staff would be re-purposed for duties such as defending from raiders, scavenging useful supplies from the nearby ruins of Omaha, ensuring that the processed foods didn't spoil, and keep life in the compound as "normal" as possible. The company allowed survivors into the compound after the bombs fell, so long as they were able to contribute to the well-being of all of its inhabitants, although children and the elderly were also allowed in. Thanks to Pete Monroe's conservation efforts, there is still an enormous surplus of processed foods and other such supplies within the compound, and the facility continued to remain more or less self-sustaining, but now, with a growing population after seventy years of isolation, the food sources appear to be nearing an end.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The Community nearly faced disaster this year, as it was besieged in a vicious attack by a swarm of disorganized raiders. In an unknown manner they managed to sneak into the community, overrun the defenders, and abscond with a sizable amount of swag from their attack. The defenders were not impotent, bringing down many enemies, though many of them fell in the process, while the mayor and a large expedition were out to the east.

The expedition led by the mayor went to the town of Montague and the neighboring airport, and were fortunate to find a large amount of untouched food and other goodies. Unfortunately, they fell under various attacks throughout the expedition, by raiders and mutated creatures, as well as the automated defenses of the Airport. Despite the hardships, they stumbled across a great find, a collection of Power Armor Suits sitting in a crate inside an old ruined aircraft.

Overseer's Challenge: It is clear that our community has been betrayed, someone, somehow, let the raiders know when our expedition left and where our weaknesses were. We must respond to this new threat.

A Message from Vault-Tec to Overseer of Vault 1. Greetings Overseer. Congratulations for being your Vault's Overseer and manager of the Vault-Tec Sociological Experiment, Vault 1! Your vault has been selected to be the location where numerous people of ethnic minorities, including heathen Chinese, as well as political deviants will whether the nuclear storm! In order to assist you in this matter, your Vault has been equipped with double the regulatory amount of small arms. We hope that you will help lead our Great Nation to a better future! Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!

(Vault 1 received a large amount of non-Caucasian people sponsored by vault-tec, leading to a lower starting Loyalty level as well as more people overall, and you've also received some extra guns)

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the wastes. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

A Message to Program INAHAC, registered Vault-Tec AI. Initiate program "Absolution." Carry out survival initiatives for all residents (subjects) of Vault 100. Position to maintain: Overseer. Survival and Science is first priority. Cake to be distributed to notable subjects. Military robots have been provided to maintain order and authority. We do what we must, because, we can.

Overseer's Challenge: Statement: Residents of the Vault are attempting to gain access to the outside world for communication with the scavengers of the wasteland. Respond?

This year has been moderately quiet for the residents of Vault 215, as a small party of residents continued to go out and salvage new materials and weapons for the Vault's defense and well-being. The various bands of scavengers were occasionally traded with and allowed to continue on their way, though none were ever given the location of the Vault or admittance. Some concern was had over the deaths of some of the residents, but so far the amount of deaths have been minor, mostly the sick and elderly.

Overseer's Challenge: As promised by Vault-Tec, the reactor began leaking into the population this year, so far only in some of the lower levels and to a very low degree. Regardless, we may wish to determine how to proceed from this.

The tribe which sent representatives were rebuffed and have since settled north of the Mexico City Wastelands, calling themselves the Vipers and settling down in the region, with some animosity towards Vault 89.

Overseer's Challenge: There has been recent debate over the use of the GOAT standardized test to determine the aptitude of people for various jobs in the Vault. How should the Overseer respond?

The Virginny Empire welcomed in a large tribe of people wandering from the west, integrating them into the empire, and taking charge of their goods and knowledge. They were taught ways of raising the Brahmin in the urban ruins by the nomads, as well as ways of getting moisture from the skies and earth. They were brought into the new Civilian Defense Force, as the people begin training a regular armed force rather than ad hoc civilians.

Unfortunately the tribe was followed by an unusually well armed group of raiders, which attacked the city with ferocious force, and energy weapons were discovered upon them after a vicious battle in which they were ultimately defeated. The new guns have been added to city's arsenal as they begin to replenish themselves after the battle. Scavengers ultimately brought in more small arms after the battle, as well as limited amounts of food and water.

Overseer's Challenge: We do not have enough food to feed all of the people within our borders. We currently estimate that around 530 people will die next year of starvation in the Emprie at barebones rations. Some increasingly desperate people are likely to partake in cannibalism in order to survive. How do we react?

The Vault 9 community was rather quiet this year, though a local gang of young people began terrorizing the community without relenting, robbing and thieving. They've even managed to intimidate the law enforcement, which has left them alone for the most part. The government has been involved with opening the Vault doors and establishing a wall and pre-fabricating buildings around the Vault entrance in Scofield, rebuffing most communications with outsides and only sending out small scavenging groups.

Overseer's Challenge: The Vault gang has continued to grow, calling themselves the Tunnel Snakes, and now numbering in the dozens. They are even believed to have weapons of their own. How do we respond?

The Acada settlement has had it fairly easy this year, evading any maruading attacks from raiders or monsters on the community. Trade was begun with the neighboring settlement of Colton, exchanging food for water. The so-called "molerats" which had been infesting the abandoned ruins of Estacada were purged in a orgy of hunting as they were discovered to be edible, if not particularly tasty. Several scavenger teams were sent out this year, and two failed to return entirely, and a third fell under attack by ravenous two-headed bears, though most of the party survived.

Overseer's Challenge: An outbreak of some disease is concerning the population, while no one has died yet, some people recommend quarantine for those afflicted and their immediate friends and family. How should we respond?

The majority of the Earth Reclamation Command remains barricaded behind the massive steel doors of Cheyenne Mountain. They have picked up on their ancient equipment a radio broadcast from New York Harbor from a group calling themselves the Narwhales, but have had no way to respond to the broadcasts. The rest of the ERC have begun carving out a significant foothold in Colorado Springs. The Massive Dynamics Regional HQ has served as a new base, as heavy weapons have been used to clear out a sizeable surrounding area for good fields of fire, and a wall was built out of the rubble. This of course stirred up human and non-human residents of Colorado springs, leading to increasing amounts of attacks upon the ruin, all repulsed by the ERC's superior weapons and firepower. The local forces also took a systematic approach to clearing the tower, finding little automated defenses, but significant amounts of high-end Pre-War military equipment. Unfortunately they encountered a significant problem.

It became apparent to the occupiers that the building was used for numerous experiments and contracts with the former US government. The noble General Heckett was disgusted to find some records of these experiments, which occasionally used human subjects. In some of the locked vaults of the area, it became obvious that captive subjects frequently starved to death in their cells after the war. More horrifying was the fate of the researchers and security guards of the installation. On the very top floors, noises were heard behind some of the vaults, and they were cautiously opened by the ERC, who were shocked to find an apparent jungle behind the vault, flush with vegetation. The first patrol which went in failed to return, and the second, larger partrol found only their empty power armor suits. At this point they were attacked by green humanoids, wearing the outfits of pre-war researchers and some resembling their former comrade in arms. These Sporebeasts were apparently once human infested by unknown plantlife. The patrol barely managed to escape from the upper floors as the sporebeasts and even the vegetation turned against them, and the vault door was shut again.

Overseer's Challenge: The sporebeasts have been contained for now on the upper floors of the building, but we have heard alarms from old systems indicating that now the plants are aware of us, they are using the ventilation systems to spread from their once contained area somehow. They are coming for us.

The Fort Morgan Refuge continued to expand its presence in southern Alabama this year, sending frequent patrols into the ruins of Foley and bringing home a large amount of supplies. The use of power armor has allowed the prevention of any losses in combat, keeping most of the potential enemies of the wastes at bay. The theft of several laser rifles from the arsenal at Fort Morgan stirred up tensions as older residents of the bunker blamed the new immigrants for the missing weapons, which remained mysteriously gone at the end of the year with no response except paperwork to prevent future lost weapons. Some fear that the laser weapons may return in a most unpleasant manner.

Overseer's Challenge: Among the food we found in our recent scavenging expedition was seeds which could be used to grow wheat and other pre-war crops. However, there is a risk that we could lose these seeds, which we currently could eat as is, if they fail to grow in the fields. How should we use this discovery?

The Jeffersonian Libertarian settlements came under frequent attacks by raider bands, partially caused by the collapse of Flour City to the west, sending various hungry mobs into the east, some attacking Watertown. The Riverlurks also continued their attacks on the people of Perchtown, though no one was killed this year, and some of the riverlurks served as a minor source of food for the population. The patrols between the two communities were ultimately overwhelmed, disappearing without a trace except for scattered reports of gunfire into the wastes.

An expedition to the north towards the St. Lawrence River was fortunate to discover the relatively untouched and uninhabited town of Chaumont northwest of Watertown. Though the city itself was rather wrecked an infested by ghouls, to the west a small area known as Three Mile shows some promise as a location for a possible farming settlement.

Overseer's Challenge: A very large gang of roughnecks known as the Helangles have emerged from the ruins of Flour City, armed with the former community's stockpile of weapons and gadgets. They have heard of our prosperity and demand 400 Food and 400 Water or to face attack upon Watertown. How should we respond?

The Narwhales had a fairly eventful year, exploring the ruins of New York. Still possessing a higher level of radiation than most of the surrounding region, it was the most heavily hit area by bombs during the war. The Narwhales first discovered this when they encountered the sunken hulk of the USS Intrepid, apparently directly hit by an errant warhead. They also suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the denizens of the ruins, a city full of feral ghouls and other mutated monstrosities. They also failed to find any fishing boats, most of the local small ones having been abandoned before the war when oil became scarce. Fishing off the coast also met with failure, due to the extinction of the bulk of maritime species near coasts during the war.

The submarine's power plant was obviously starting to fail this year, as brownouts became more and more frequent, running the risk of collapsing it. Unfortunately, the city of New York, while plentiful in other supplies, seemed to lack the parts needed to fix a nuclear reactor.

Overseer's Challenge: There are travelling bands of folks and scavengers wandering the ruins of New York. While many are obviously villains, some may become decent members of society. What sort of attitude should we display towards these people?

The isolated bunker known as New Frostburk was fortunate to avoid the attention of most potential immigrants, and have been able to pick and choose from the best among them. They have become feared among the scavengers of the wastes, confiscating any goods or technology they may be carrying, and killing those who resist the effort. They have also become known for particular brutality against raiders and other predators in vicious attacks using advanced equipment upon their camps.

A large expedition was sent led by Bili Morgan himself to the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory and the slow moving group was faced by constant attacks by ambitious raiders and monsters, as well as clearing a few raider camps while in motion. The advanced weaponry kept the enemy bay and losses down, but ammunition expenses remained heavy. At the laboratory, a large amount of defense robots, activated by the War remained on the defensive, inflicting a heavy toll on the expedition. Unfortunately, the massive expenditure of ammunition on the return trip due to the frequent attacks quickly depleted what ammunition they brought and even some that they had recovered. Fortunately large amounts of food and water and military grade weapons were recovered along the route and at the laboratory, possibly making the loss of ammunition worth it.

An expedition to the Cumberland Regional Airport met with fewer attacks than the larger expedition, but they were better organized, believed to be starving and crazed refugees from the Virginny Empire or even Flour City to the north as well as typical raiders and monsters. They used up their ammunition and were even forced to abandoned some weapons during the worst of the attacks. Fortunately they managed to recover food, water, and spare parts on their journey.

Other smaller scouting parties were sent out to various rural areas, to determine their viability for settlement, and while they did suffer losses in all returning parties, only the ones going to Savage River and Deep Creek failed to return. According to the scouts of the three places Rocky Gap has apparently untainted water source which could be used for a small farming settlement. Warrior Mountain and the Grantsville area appeared too barren and radioactive to support much beyond scavenging.

Overseer's Challenge: The battles of last year have left us completely bereft of ammunition, and based on this a group of people are suggesting that perhaps the old technology is overrated and that all emphasis should be placed upon low-tech devices. A bit of a cult is forming around the leader of this movement, how should we respond?

As food shortages threatened to bring chaos to New Indy, massive slaughters of the local slave population as a food source took place in order to survive. The decision was unpopular among many, as some chose to leave the community rather than take part in the butchering. Others within the community stayed but refuse to take part in eating human flesh.

On Pendleton Pike, as people continued to eat human flesh in order to stave off starvation back home, a massive amount of old canned food and water were discovered in an old Super-Duper Mart warehouse by a very large expedition. This has given people hope for survival in the upcoming year. Another force went along Washington Street, scouring the region, building by building looking for salvage. They faced attack by local raiders and monsters, which were killed and eaten. Unfortunately very little other food was found, though numerous old canisters of purified water were salvaged from the ruins. Lastly an expedition of five were sent again to the Raytheon building and once more failed to return.

Overseer's Challenge: Further divide has been created in our community between those who chose to starve rather than eat human flesh. Those who refused have begun to resent the reset, and rhetoric has even begun to increase to levels of violence among the surviving population. How should we respond?

The Spring Valley Food Corporation sent out a large expedition into the ruins of Omaha this year, which faced constant and large attacks by various groups of starving refugees, raiders, and monsters. Much ammunition was expended, but they managed to recover a large amount of food, as well as a large amount of promising spare parts and other equipment. Meanwhile at home, the various refugees and other people wanting to gain admittance ultimately, fed up with being ignored, attacked the walls of the settlement, and were barely repulsed, having gained some ground into the ruin before being driven out. Some good news was had though as old tech parts were used to get some of the food producing equipment and water purifiers inside the old factory working again, allowing them to produce limited amounts of food and water on their own ground.

Overseer's Challenge: As word of our internal prosperity and security grows in the wake of the failed refugee attack, more people have begun travelling to our walls to beg admittance from the perils of the wastes. How should we respond to these people?

The Community experienced a rather quiet year, avoiding any unfortunate attacks or other incidents, and continuing to maintain the walls. A new curfew was enacted, forbidding non-authorized people to be outside at dark, locking down the settlement completely from attack from within or without. A fairly large expedition was sent southwest to Fort Jones, which also avoided any significant confrontations, salvaging goods from the nearby town.

Overseer's Challenge: Some people within our town have begun discussing the possibility that Mayor Nealon has lost his grip on reality. They suggest that there should be a new mayor with a more open view to expanding contact and control over the area outside The Community. Word has reached the mayor of this, how should we respond?

The Overseer of Vault 1 sent out several expeditions this year, after designing an aptitude test for any potential immigrants to the vault. They found the Cambridge area to be still moderately radioactive, as well as rubble filled with various raiders and other monsters. While some people were happily joining the Vault, the expeditions found little to bring back in their initial explorations, as they were more focused on scouting and mapping out the region as well as analyzing its dangers.

Overseer's Challenge: There has been recent debate over the use of the GOAT standardized test to determine the aptitude of people for various jobs in the Vault. How should the Overseer respond?

Expedition Mr. Gutsy Report 1(EMGR 1): Capital Hills Expedition Report Processed. Radiation: Low. Soil Quality: Low. 20 Volunteers Acquired after Violent Protest. No active settlements.
EMGR 2: West Hill Expedition Report Processed. Radiation: Low. Soil Quality: NA. 40 Volunteers Acquired with no protest. No active settlements.
EMGR 3: Arbor Hill Expedition Report Failed. Mr. Gutsy Offline. Systems Failure Reported.
EMGR 4: Menands Expedition Report Processed. Radiation: Low. Soil Quality: Low. 40 Volunteers Acquired with no protest. No active settlements.
EMGR 5: Roessleville Expedition Report Processed. Radiation: Low. Soil Quality: Low. 30 Volunteers Acquired with no protest. No active settlements.

RADIO REPORT ADVISORY. Signal detected from New York City Harbor. Identified USS Narwhal radio frequency, unauthorized human voice confirmed on military broadcast channel.

Overseer's Challenge: A cult has begun to emerge among the human population, revering the Mr. Gutsys and INAHAC. How should we respond?

The residents of Vault 215 began to vacate their home to new buildings outside the vault this year as the death toll towards radiation poisoning from a leaky reactor continued to grow. The food and water sources seem to remain pure as a scavenging party was sent out to locate a new home for the people. They believed they found it in the small town of Government Camp, which even still had areas for farming and hunting marked from before the war, as well as a small lake for water. Unfortunately the large population of the Vault is still likely too large for what Government Camp could provide.

Overseer's Challenge: The construction of what has become essentially a new community around our vault doors has led to the attraction of two-headed wild bears which have begun attacking our citizens. How do we respond?

Many in the Virginny Empire have called this their darkest hour, beginning with food rationing. The food, regardless of rationing soon ran out, leading to a sizeable portion of the faction preying on others, and soon a civil war erupted over the last bits of food as the remainder starved to death. Violence increased, and many more died in the process, while others left for greener pastures elsewhere. A scouting and salvaging expedition was fortunate enough to avoid the chaos of the darkest hour, journeying to the Golf River Country Club, where they reported the ground was good enough that crops could be grown there and Brahmin grazed with more efficiency than in New Richmond.

Overseer's Challenge: The situation continues to worsen as our scavengers failed to bring back a significant amount of food to change our circumstances. At the moment, even with the tightest rationing, only around a hundred people will survive this year on the food we have and can produce. How should we provide for our people?

The residents of Vault 9 had a fairly quiet year after an internal gang was quelled as they were welcomed into the administration of the vault while the worst ruffians were punished and pulled from society. Scouting teams were sent out to nearby pre-war communities, finding no real signs of civilization, or indeed, human life at all. The towns were mostly abandoned, and possess few goods of value at first glance. Fortunately, due to the remoteness of the entire region from pre-war population centers, almost all these communities seem as though they may be ideal for agricultural settlements.

Overseer's Challenge: Giant roaches seem to be infiltrating the Vault's security from through the walls. How should we respond to this?