The Beginning of the World as We Know It 4
The Story
Summary
I’ve been away for some time, but have been feeling the old craze. Also my WPM has dropped from 128 to a mere 104 recently, and I could use some practice again. So here’s a new rendition of my last Fallout-based forum game. I hope we have as much fun this time as we did last time. The forums have changed quite a lot since I’ve run the game, hope they’re not too much different mechanically.
The Fallout world exists in an alternate timeline that split away from the history of the real world following World War II. Up until the Great War in 2077, the Fallout world was dominated by the distinctively American culture of the 1950s, though with different technological progression. The Fallout world's setting is heavily influenced by the science fiction anthology Worlds of Tomorrow, which was released during the Golden Age of Science Fiction in the 1950s. We began in 2240, numerous years after a major nuclear war known as the Great War, or the Last War. Assume that everything that has taken place in the relevant games took place in the lands outside of the playable area. For your interest and background on the universe:
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_world
Faction Set-up
Faction Name: (No use of any faction present in Fallout universe please or anything directly naming Walt Disney, all others fair game) Check out the Capitol Type section for suggestions on names and so forth. Typically it may be best to start out simply naming your faction after wherever you start
Leader Name:
Leader Trait: Choose one from Strongman, Perceptive, Enduring, Charismatic, Intelligent, Agile, or Lucky
Starting Location: Essentially anywhere located on Google Maps that could also be found on the provided world map, as long as it’s east of the Mobile River and south of the Savannah River
Leader Background: optional, story based
Origins: Choose one from Pre-War Military, Vault Dwellers, Tribal Nomads, Raiders, Survivalists, Civilians, Local Government, or Immigrants
Trait: Choose one from Maritime, Tech Defensive, Expansionist, Religious, Barbaric, Industrious, or Friendly
Background: Optional, story based (If you choose Vault, Not Applicable)
It should be noted that your selection of starting types will determine what gear and equipment your faction possesses at the start of the game. This will be mostly gear that will be thematic to your choices.
Spoiler :
Leader Traits
Leader Traits are what makes your leader special. 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. Your starting leader trait also affects what equipment you have when your faction is created.
Strongman: You provide a +1 Military Skill bonus when you lead your forces in combat. Provides a bonus starting stockpile of High-Tech Melee Weapons.
Perceptive: When leading exploratory and scavenging expeditions, you have a better chance of finding unique items and weapons. Provides a bonus starting stockpile of Laser Weapons.
Enduring: In combat, when you suffer losses, it is more likely that your people will be wounded instead of killed. Provides a bonus starting stockpile of Combat Armor.
Charismatic: Your faction will receive double the amount of immigrants most factions receive. Provides a larger starting Population.
Intelligent: When leading exploratory and scavenging expeditions, you have a better chance of finding Tech Parts. Provides a bonus starting stockpile of Tech Parts.
Agile: When leading exploratory and scavenging expeditions, your leader is less likely to be ambushed by or encounter monsters or bandits. Provides a bonus starting Stockpile of Stealth Boys.
Lucky: Helps a little bit with everything. Provides a random starting bonus of unknown size and value.
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 a large and high tech military stockpile, but possesses no means of food and water production and low stockpiles of each, lasting only a few years. Can only start in a Bunker.
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 low tech military equipment, animals, and food and water, but no tech parts. Tribal Nomads start with Tribal Education, which allows them to gather food without needing Farms.
Raiders: Your people used (or maybe still do) to prey on other survivors of the Great War. Perhaps you were or are cannibals. You definitely have slaves. Raiders start with Slaves, a large amount of low tech weapons and assorted ballistic firearms. They have low food and water stocks, but Tribal Education, allowing them to gather food without needing Farms (Strange Meat is People!).
Survivalists: Your people are descended from those who saw the Great War’s holocaust coming. Situated in fortified compounds across the country, they stockpiled food and supplies to prepare themselves for the end of the world. Survivalists start with General Education, and an existing Farm and Water Station. They have a small supply of ballistic firearms.
Civilians: Some people managed to make it through the Great War by sheer luck, surviving in the ruins of the old world without losing their identities to new tribalism. Civilians start with General Education, assorted ballistic firearms, and large amounts of food and water stockpiled. They also possess the largest stockpile of Scrap Parts of any Origin.
Local Government: Not all parts of America fell completely apart in the wake of the Great War. Some isolated towns were preserved by quick thinking action by local mayors and/or law enforcement. In these places, civilization survived intact, despite the chaos and bloodshed all around. These Settlements start with prebuilt Fortifications, and a decent stockpile of food and water, as well as assorted ballistic firearms.
Immigrants: America is still the land of opportunity, even after the Great War and Florida has always been the place of choice for people looking for an easy lifestyle. Whether they are from elsewhere in the vastness of North America or from across the seas, Immigrants have a small stockpile of food and water, and a random starting bonus of unknown size and value, found in their travels.
Faction Traits
Choose this trait wisely as this defines the basic zeitgeist of your people, rather than just your leader. 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.
Maritime: Building ships are half the applicable cost, and you start with a Dock and Small Boat.
Warlike: Soldiers fight better in all battles. Faction starts with Fortifications.
Industrious: Scrappers retrieve 50% more Scrap Parts while salvaging ruins.
Friendly: Larger amount of immigrants per turn.
Agricultural: Starting Settlement’s fertility is Fertile, rather than Average. Your people are able to farm any location, and even Worthless fertility still counts as Subsistence rather than providing nothing.
Adventurous: Exploratory expeditions are more likely to find unique items and treasures. Starts with a random starting bonus of unknown size and value.
Starting Community Types
These communities are the type of settlements that are created based on your above choices. There are only three options: Vaults, Bunkers, and Settlements. Vault Dwellers start in Vaults, Pre-War Military starts in Bunkers, and everyone else starts in Settlements.
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. 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 your arsenal will be completely randomized, and unknown at the start. (Examples of Vault Names: Vault 101, Vault 3, Vault 21)
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.
Settlement: A Settlement is a standard community in this setting. It has walls, homes, and covers a vast variety of differences, from squatting in old ruins to a purpose-built town in the wilderness.
Sample Standard Game Stats
Spoiler :
Atom Union: Polyblank
Leader: Commissioner Mark Jobs (Lucky)
Faction Trait: Industrious
Capital: Albany
Total Population: 1,580
Slaves: 0
Education: Advanced
Food: 1,240 (+1,000)
Water: 1,540 (+1,500)
Energy: 14
Scrap Parts: 2,600
Tech Parts: 8
Ammunition: 1,695
Chems: 0
Alcohol: 0
Unique Items: Intact Computers (2)
Military Skill: 4
Outposts:
Spoiler :
Albany (Settlement; Albany, GA): +250 Food, +500 Water
-Population: 680
-Farming (Average): 50/50
-Structures: Farm, Laboratory, Fortifications (2), Power Plant, Automated Defense System, Radio Tower, Water Station
-Arsenal: 140 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 120 1-H Guns, 25 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons, 10 Scrap Power Armor Suits, 10 Protectrons
Arlington (Settlement; Arlington, GA): +250 Food, +500 Water
-Population: 500
-Farming (Average): 50/50
-Structures: Fortifications (3), Water Station, Farm, Automated Defense System
-Arsenal: 130 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 120 1-H Guns, 10 2-H Guns, 10 Laser Weapons, 10 Scrap Power Armor Suits
Easebur (Settlement; Leesburg, GA): +500 Food, +500 Water
-Population: 400
-Farming (Fertile): 50/50
-Structures: Fortifications (3), Water Station, Farm, Automated Defense System
-Arsenal: 130 Low-Tech Melee Weapons, 120 1-H Guns, 5 2-H Guns, 5 Laser Weapons, 10 Scrap Power Armor Suits
The Rules
Spoiler :
Caps: A Merchant’s Tale
Nothing here yet, but perhaps as the wasteland economy develops, there will be.
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 years. 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.
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 from the wasteland or other factions. Thanks to state of the art bomb collar technology, it's easier than ever to enslave people! Slaves produce double Scrap Parts when assigned to salvaging the old world than Population. They can also be used as soldiers who will not retreat when faced with overwhelming odds, as they would rather die in combat than have their head explode.
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. Education will evolve through Challenges and the decisions you make as the ruler of your people. The levels of Education are as follows:
Tribal Education: This represents a culture which educates its youth through Oral Tradition and knowledge. At this level, you are able to send your people to farm and gather food without having to build a farm. While this does require slightly more micromanagement, it means that you do not have to build farms to eat, which is nice.
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. However, it does allow you to build more types of structures and equipment than Tribal Education does.
Advanced Education: This represents a working knowledge of pre-war technology and theoretical research. This is the most developed form of an educational system for your people, and represents higher degrees of learning. Advanced Education is not strictly required, except for building laboratories to conduct your own research into futuristic technologies.
Supplies in Their Natural Habitats
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. Food and water is very rarely found during scavenging, as it has either long since expired or was looted in the few weeks after the Great War itself.
Food is produced by assigning population to be farmers. You can increase the number of farmers you have by building Farms at your settlement. Factions with Tribal Education are an exception to this rule. Each settlement has a “Fertility” level that determines how much food can be provided per farmer. It may be tempting just to find a fertile location and stack a bunch of farms there, but remember, if you depend on a single community for all of your food, that could make you very vulnerable to a surgical strike by an enemy. The fertility levels are as follows:
Worthless: No food can be provided at this settlement.
Subsistence: Each assigned farmer provides +1 Food.
Average: Each assigned farmer provides +5 Food.
Fertile: Each assigned farmer provides +10 Food.
G.E.C.K.: Each assigned farmer provides +50 Food.
Energy represents the production of electricity in your faction or other related energy. Energy can be found in scavenging old buildings, but is the most difficult resource to find in this manner. The only reliable way to accumulate energy is through your own production. Energy is then used to power advanced power armor, vehicles, and some buildings. Energy is also essential for activating robots to join your army.
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 weapons. They can also be converted into ammunition with the appropriate facilities.
Tech Parts represent various more advanced and developed salvage. This would be things such as tools or equipment that is not easily reproduced in the post-apocalyptic world. They are tough to find, and invaluable when you do, as they can be used to create the most advanced buildings and weapons.
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.
Chems are a bit of a wildcard when it comes to resource production. They can be found in course of exploration and salvaging, but otherwise they be produced by a Chemist. Chems are drugs that provide enhancements in battle. Each soldier who uses a Chem before battle becomes significantly more effective in combat. Chems can also be used to buy off raiders and provide occasional solutions to Challenges that come your way.
Alcohol provides significantly smaller bonus to combat than Chems, but function in the same basic manner. Alcohol can be produced with a Still structure. Alcohol can also be used as a substitute for Ammunition in creating explosives. With the proper structures, down the line it can also be used to make Energy. If you have a Water shortage, Alcohol can provide an emergency supply of liquid to keep your people from dehydration, 5 Alcohol = 1 unit of Water in this situation. Enjoy your drinks!
Lastly, there are unique items out there that can be recovered and used in the construction of the most sophisticated structures. These unique items are very rare, but if you do find them, you can trade them with other factions, ideally at a high cost. These unique items are Intact Computers, Defunct Reactors, Precision Tools, Machining Gear, Radio Gear, and Laboratory Equipment. You will most likely find them in places that have yet to be scavenged by you or any other faction.
Military Equipment and Skill
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 Skill is the type of ability 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 experience and abilities they possess in the terms of combat. Obviously the higher the better, and the more you fight, the better you get. This is also inherently increased with the Fearsome or Barbaric traits.
Exploration and Salvaging
As frequently mentioned above a large amount of your time and energy would be best focused on sifting through the ruins of society. With scouting parties you can locate promising ruins which could work well as an outpost or community. You can 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 simply say in orders "Send __ people with ____ weapons to Explore in _____ spot.” Expeditions to places as yet unexplored will always be more likely to find rare parts and materials than simple salvagers.
Salvaging the old world is by far the most tedious thing that needs to be accomplished by your people. This involves stripping old railroads of their metal, disassembling old buildings, chopping down trees, or otherwise gathering the Scrap Parts you need to build basic things. If you live in what was once a highly developed urban area, you can spend years, maybe decades, taking apart the wreckage of the old world. If you live in the wilderness, this may be more difficult. You will salvage more Scrap based on how many people you assign to this task. Every Population can gather 1 Scrap per turn, and Slaves gather 2 Scraps per turn. There is also a slight chance that salvagers will find a hitherto undiscovered cache of other supplies beyond Scrap Parts.
Outposts and Expansion
The civilizations of the wasteland 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. There's always the chance settlers will be hit by raiders on the way, so once again, make sure they have weapons. 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.
Every settlement has its own population, structures, and arsenal. All weapons, robots and vehicles are included in each town’s stats, and you must move them around if you want an equal division of defense. Be warned, moving weapons and gear may attract raiders who want what you have. On the flip side of this, all other resources are kept track of faction-wide rather than by individual settlements.
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 firefights, 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. 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, it can only help.
Challenges and Updates
Ask anyone, as long as my interest is held in a forum game, I update regularly. My goal is multiple updates a week, especially in early stages before factions meet each other. As the world expands and more factions and settlements are added, we will settle into a weekly update tradition. I don’t know how most games do it on this newfangled version of CFC, but I expect orders on the thread in spoilers or via Private Message if you want to be enigmatic to everyone. I consider it a supreme dick move to look at someone’s orders if they post them on the thread and will find a way to punish you if I don’t kick you out of the game entirely.
An unique point of this game is that each turn will bring your faction at least one Challenge that you must resolve. This could be anything from a minor dispute among families in your faction, to critical issues such as food or water shortages. Each update you must address your Challenge from the past turn or face the consequences of inaction.
The World of Fallout Florida
War, war never changes.
The outbreak of war with China led to a significant drop in the importance of Florida to the United States’ government. Most military forces moved to the west coast, and with the Baby Boomer generation beginning to fade, the civilian population soon followed. As a state which relied heavily on tourism, nuclear, pandemic, and war scares began to cripple the state, leaving it with a declining infrastructure and severe economic troubles. As international travel was brought to a halt, many hotels and theme parks shut down, unable to maintain a solid business. Therefore, when nuclear weapons were unleashed, Florida was not a priority target for Chinese missiles and attacks. Though large urban centers and military bases were hit, much of the state was spared from direct nuclear attack. Unfortunately the chaos that followed did more damage and harm than any nuclear weapons could.
The geography of Florida is as diverse as it is unique. In the south, the Everglades has overrun the ruins of Miami, and much of the southern part of the peninsula has been claimed by the swamps. These swamps are deep and mysterious, few enter them and fewer leave, especially in the vine-choked ruins of the great city of Miami. Miami itself consists of half-sunken skyscrapers and derelict vessels, as well as hordes of various creatures and monsters looking to feast. Along the western coast of the peninsula lie a number of sparse and disparate coastal communities, most long abandoned by their residents. Tampa was badly hit by nuclear weapons during the war and traditionally has been avoided by scavengers due to high radioactivity. On the eastern coast from the edge of the swamps to Jacksonville is an unending row of hotels and beach towns, stretching as far as the eye can see. These tilted hotels are without number, standing as if tombstones to the people who once lived in them, a modern Easter Island, facing toward the sea. In the center of the state is the metropolis of Orlando, the most populous city in Florida at the time of the war. Hit hard by nuclear weapons, it is full of ruins, and the skies remain choked with dust and radiation. In the south the old amusement parks crumble, though some remain hauntingly active, as some old rides still, just barely, function, without any riders or operators. Throughout northern Florida and southern Georgia, the numerous small towns and cities remain mostly abandoned, lost during the chaos after the war. Some treasures may remain, as scavengers from more organized communities look for ways to prolong their existence.
Last edited:
