Fallout RPG

Due to severe resource constraints limiting the ability to deploy combat vehicles, including tanks and other armored vehicles, the U.S. military and defense contractors began developing self-powered combat suits in August 2065.[Non-game 2] Mechanized cavalry units provided with them would retain the mobility of a soldier moving on foot while giving them the ability to use heavy weapons with ease.[6] Research proceeded rapidly. While early prototypes were unsuccessful, lessons learned in the process paved the way for future advances in military sciences, construction, and fusion power.[Non-game 2]

The most important achievement of this early stage of research was the development of a fusion cell. Crude but effective, the design was unveiled to the world in 2066.[7] It further strained Sino-American relations after the United States refused to share its crude oil reserves with the Asian superpower. The subsequent Chinese invasion of Alaska in winter of 2066 forced the military and its contractors to begin producing the first sets of powered infantry combat armor.[Non-game 5] In 2067, the first West Tek production model of powered infantry combat armor, designated T-45, was sent off to the front line to defend against the Chinese attackers.[8][Non-game 2] The T-45 and its later iterations thus became the first series of power armor to be used, successfully, in battlefield combat, greatly shaping the nature of warfare.[9][10] Although lacking in mobility, this early model allowed soldiers to carry heavy weapons into combat,[6] becoming key to countering masses of Chinese infantry and tanks. China rushed to develop its own version, but it was years behind the United States.[Non-game 2]

Anticipating this move, the military invested in the development of the pulse gun to counter the threat, should it arise.[11] In a way, China engineered its own demise, as the deployment of the T-45 also led to the development of the West Tek power armor frame, the basis on which all subsequent armor was manufactured.[6] West Tek continued developing a superior model, designated T-51. By 2069, the company was the single largest defense contractor for the United States government, with the next generation power armor its largest contract. However, the ambitious nature of the project led to many delays and it took nearly ten years to complete the development cycle.[Non-game 2][12] In the meantime, the T-45d became the symbol of American might. Various modifications were developed and tested using it as a basis, including the MP-47A unit, featuring an autonomous medical delivery system and rudimentary onboard AI.[13]
In 2074, American T-45 model D (T-45d) power armor units, mechanized cavalry, and infantry divisions invaded mainland China.[Non-game 6] However, the invasion quickly bogged down as the T-45's proved insufficient to overcome Chinese defenders equipped with new weapons like the Gauss rifle, and its aging design caused logistical issues, as the armor burned through energy cells at a rate that was alarming and unsustainable. Meanwhile the T-51 model power armor remained in development, with various production models being tested in combat conditions at Fort Strong in Massachusetts, in order to troubleshoot the design. Even this far into the development cycle, problems were still present, delaying deployment. For instance, the September 2075 iteration had the desired mobility and protection, but were far from stable, and soldiers tended to tip over on hard landings. Gyroscopic stabilizers and shock absorbers were subsequently added to address this issue.[14]

Despite these setbacks, the armor's problems were eventually ironed out and the joint efforts of West Tek and Fort Strong resulted in the first production run of T-51 power armor being sent to China in June 2076.[15][16] It outperformed the T-45d in every aspect, providing the United States with the means to overcome Chinese resistance on all fronts. Many units were sent to China, where the renewed American offensive finally sent the People's Liberation Army into retreat.[Non-game 2] In January 2077, General Constantine Chase completed the Anchorage Reclamation, using winterized T-51b power armor troops as spearhead.[Non-game 5] The completion of the Anchorage Reclamation also coincided with the introduction of the T-60 power armor, developed first as an upgrade of the T-45 series, then spun-off into a separate series.[17][Non-game 7]

The Great War and the destruction of the United States ensured that the T-51 model B (T-51b) and T-60 power armor remained the most advanced designs to see mass production. However, there had also been limited production runs for other models, such as the T-65 power armor, preserved and sold by the Secret Service in Vault 79[18] and the Enclave Hellfire armor, prototyped by the Enclave Research and Development Division and later shipped to Vault 51 in 2080.[19] In addition to these models there were also other advanced prototypes in development at the time the bombs fell: the U.S. government, sensing the impending arrival of nuclear war, had initiated the development of the next generation of power armor, designated X-01 for usage following the apocalypse.[20] The complexity of the new armor, however, meant development progress was slow. Though a handful of functional prototypes were created before the war, they were buggy and deemed to not be combat-ready. Before the finishing touches needed to iron out the armor’s kinks were completed, the bombs would fall ensuring that very few intact examples of X-01 armor would survive the war. Among these was an experimental model given to the Nuka-Cola Corporation as part of a joint military project known as Project Cobalt. This program attempted to harness the power of Nuka-Cola’s newly created Strontium-90 based Quantum compound to help power the armor and fuel other military projects in exchange for giving the company’s president access to experimental life extension technology. Although both experimental projects were ultimately successful in achieving their goals, the bombs would fall before the Quantum data could be delivered to the military and the research on it was subsequently lost for over 200 years. Knowledge about the X-01 armor itself survived because the schematics for a nearly-functional prototype were sent to the Enclave oil rig by the Enclave in Appalachia just prior to the bombs falling.[21]
In the years that followed the bombs falling, power armor development was effectively halted. A few post-War organizations such as the Brotherhood of Steel and Hubologists would succeed in developing new variants of T-51 series armor in the form of Ultracite and hardened power armor. However, these models were only incremental improvements over the base model and never saw widespread deployment. It is known that knights of the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel are responsible for maintaining, along with manufacturing new weapons and power armor (presumably only pre-War designs).[22] Among the benefits of power armor was its recycling system, processing urine into drinkable water, allowing a user to theoretically survive for weeks without water supplies.[1] Water could also be manually replenished by someone outside the suit.[23] Survivors in Pittsburgh would use leftover factory material to create the Union power armor sometime prior to 2103, with defenses comparable to pre-war armor, while Raider gangs were able to repurpose power-armor chassis' with makeshift power-armor providing weak protection.

The first true advancement in post-War armor development came in 2198, when the Enclave at the oil rig restarted work on developing advanced versions of power armor using the X-01 prototype as a base.[Non-game 8] Their initial progress was slow, but a Presidential Order mandating the development of an upgrade in 2215 altered things greatly.[Non-game 9] Five years later, the first advanced power armor was developed and mass-produced for the use of Enclave field units.[Non-game 10] While production of the new armor was gearing up, existing T-51 stock was used for training troops on Control Station Enclave and logistical duties.[24]

At some point, the Enclave developed an equally durable but lighter model of armor called the Advanced power armor Mk II which used cutting edge composite material. However, it was only manufactured in small quantities due to the destruction of the Enclave's oil rig in 2242. The death of key personnel during the event, along with the loss of many Enclave resources was a heavy blow to the survivors. In the wake of the event, the survivors were forced to resort to using subpar models of Enclave power armor for a time that in many ways were inferior to pre-War models. This state of affairs would continue until segments of the Enclave eventually arrived in the Capital Wasteland and settled into Adams Air Force Base. In the Capital Wasteland, a reexamination of past combat data and older failed prototype armor was commenced by the Enclave, which also researched new materials. The result of this subsequent research was the next-generation Enclave Hellfire armor: the pinnacle of post-War power armor design.[25][26]

Born in 2251, at Lost Hills in New California, the three year old Sarah lost her mother in infancy,[Non-game 1] and accompanied her father on the transcontinental expedition to Washington, D.C. in 2254,[2] under the elders' council mandate to recover technology from eastern cities and bases.[3][Non-game 1] The expedition arrived in D.C. in 2255, following The Scourge, and Sarah began combat training under the supervision of Paladin Tristan, with whom she formed a close professional bond.[Non-game 2]

Over the next twenty-two years, Sarah accumulated training, experience, and leadership skills. As she rose to become one of the finest fighters at the D.C. Bunker, her father (promoted to elder from star paladin, for the discovery of Liberty Prime) gradually switched the chapter's mission from recovery to super mutant containment.[4] He lied to the elder council about following the original mission, and eventually disobeyed direct orders, leading to Lost Hills breaking ties with him.[5] Sarah remained loyal to her father, with her accumulated skills and experiencing rivaling his during his time as a paladin.[Non-game 1] In recognition of her achievements, Owyn granted her the highest possible rank, sentinel, and allowed her to form the Lyons' Pride, an elite squad used to plug holes in the frontline and respond to the most dangerous of super mutant attacks.[6] Each member of the Pride is hand-picked by Sarah,[7][8] and openings only happen when she has to fill casualties. The starting point is the ability to reliably take down super mutants at 150 yards (about 130 meters).[9]

The history of the New California Republic dates back to the survivors of Vault 15 who emerged from the shelter around 2097, founding the town of Shady Sands. With the assistance of the Vault Dweller, who destroyed the Khan raider tribe, Aradesh and his daughter, Tandi, led the community into prosperity. With expanding trade routes came cultural exchange, eventually culminating in a movement aiming at forming a national entity. The idea resonated with other wastelanders and won popular support, leading to the formation of the New California Republic in Shady Sands in 2186, with a trial council government established to draft the constitution.[Non-game 1] Three years later, in 2189, the republic proper was voted into existence as a federation of five states organized around major settlements in the wastes.[8] The states are Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, Hub and Dayglow.[23][Non-game 4]

Within a century of its founding, the NCR became a model example of post-apocalyptic success and good ethics. Steady expansion and development led to widespread political enfranchisement, the establishment of rule of law and its enforcement, security from threats within and without (to a reasonable degree) and standards of living above mere subsistence became a reality for its massive population of over 700,000 citizens.[5][Non-game 1][24] The situation improved even further with the Mojave Campaign and the flow of electricity and water from Hoover Dam to the Republic. However, the protracted campaign has come at a cost.[Non-game 4]

The NCR entered a period of transition after the death of President Tandi, experiencing rapid economic growth and dramatic political changes, endangering its original grand ideals. Beginning a policy of expansion under successive presidents, the single greatest example of this change was the morally corrosive, imperialistic Mojave Campaign. Championed by President Aaron Kimball, it aimed for the unilateral annexation of New Vegas and surrounding territories as the sixth state of the NCR. Years of campaigning led to a stalemate, with the Treaty of New Vegas locking NCR as the protector of New Vegas from Caesar's Legion, without a single cap in tax revenue from the New Vegas Strip or concessions from Robert House, proprietor of the New Vegas Strip. The war with the Brotherhood of Steel and the Caesar's Legion stretched the NCR thin, with extended supply lines, profiteering and political maneuvers limiting its ability to respond to emerging threats, all while New Vegas benefited from commerce brought in by tourists, traders, fortune seekers and NCR soldiers.[Non-game 4] Additionally, a massacre perpetrated by the NCR at the settlement of Bitter Springs during their conflict with the Great Khans cast a dark shadow over the republic and their military, with men, women, and children being killed alike, without going reported in the NCR press.[Non-game 5] Despite that, the campaign was supported by a majority of the NCR citizens due to it greatly improving access to electricity and water via Hoover Dam. However, the Mojave Campaign did receive criticism from a vocal minority that includes the Followers of the Apocalypse.[20][25]
However, it was not the Second Battle of Hoover Dam that threw the NCR into a crisis, but rather the unexpected and unprecedented destruction of Shady Sands in 2283.[9] The loss of the capital city, including key government branches such as the NCR Senate, NCR Council, and OSI sent the NCR into freefall.[26] By 2296, their presence in the Boneyard was reduced to a military unit and civilian refugee settlement under the command of Lee Moldaver based at Griffith Observatory, which was destroyed in an assault by the Brotherhood of Steel.[21] Up to this point, the legacy of the NCR lived on through different smaller groups in New California, such as NCR refugees in Vault 4, or a Los Angeles gang styling themselves as "the Govermint."

NCR forces also persisted in the Mojave, though they had abandoned many of their former encampments within the region.[27][28] As of July 2296, the largest known NCR remnant consists of a single battalion of surviving NCR Army troopers and NCR Rangers who have since established a presence in Freeside,[22] and seemingly is making efforts to rebuild the NCR from within that community.[29]

Before the Great War, the Enclave was a cabal[Non-game 3] of powerful individuals from across the United States, including presidents, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, prize-winning scientists, members of the military, influential politicians, wealthy industrialists,[30] and other powerful men and women who together formed the group.[31][32][33][13][34] In the opinion of its members, it was the greatest assembly of minds on American soil.[35] Together, these figures created a unified, conspiratorial extra-governmental "collaboration," intended to shape American policy for its own ends.[Non-game 2] To some on the outside, particularly in later centuries, it was not the United States as a whole, but the rich and powerful who were unwilling to give up their power.[36]

The Enclave was involved in many of the deepest conspiracies and secrets of the federal government, such as covering up the existence of extraterrestrial life, mainly to the ends of studying alien technology for their own use. When the organization Quaere Verum tried to expose this conspiracy, stealing an alien tech-based prototype weapon, they were swiftly hunted down and killed.[Non-game 4][Non-game 5][33] The Enclave were also involved in the federal government's secret creation of biological weapons of war before the Great War; they were responsible for deploying at least one deathclaw on the Alaskan frontline during the Sino-American War,[37] a development which caused industrialist Robert House, who had been independently preparing for nuclear war and was unaffiliated with the Enclave, to realize that a hidden player was involved in the conspiracies which would contribute to the coming war.[38][39] As another part of this, the Enclave may have influenced the federal government's research on the Forced Evolutionary Virus and super mutants.[40][41]
As the Resource Wars dragged on and the risk of nuclear war increased, members of the Enclave invested into various contingency measures to survive the coming war. Funded by corporate and government money, these installations would enable the Enclave to continue waging war even after the United States ceased to exist. One such installation was the presidential oil rig out in the Pacific Ocean, owned by Poseidon Oil, with the Whitespring Congressional Bunker acting as a hub for future Enclave operations,[42] covertly funded by funds embezzled from the Department of Agriculture by its secretary, Thomas Eckhart.[43] Other facilities prepared in advance were Raven Rock and the Kovac-Muldoon Platform.[44][Non-game 6]

The Enclave heavily subverted the Vault-Tec Corporation, a prominent defense contractor and one of the largest companies in the United States, for its own purposes. They used Project Safehouse and Vault-Tec's network of underground shelters for a grand social experiment: to test the occupants in unique circumstances.[45] They directly invested in Vault-Tec's facilities, including both their regular Vaults and also special "management Vaults," to influence the company's direction towards their own goals,[39] and they also exerted direct influence over Vault-Tec executives such as Barb Howard, seemingly to create the idea that Vault-Tec itself would be willing to start nuclear war.[46]

Vault monitoring and research were conducted under the Vault Behavioral Project. In order to monitor the populations being experimented upon, the Enclave's oil rig possessed a great deal of equipment that allowed them to observe and control the Vaults. For example, the Enclave sent the all-clear signal to Vault 8 shortly after the War, prompting them to leave their vault and build their city. These monitoring tools also let the Enclave see that the population of Vault 13 was largely intact, although this wouldn't become important until much later.[Non-game 7][47]

However, the Vaults themselves were only part of the Enclave's full plan. The wasteland itself, at least according to Enclave operative Hank MacLean, was also part of the Enclave's experimental plans, which included something known to Vault-Tec executives as "Phase Two." What "Phase Two" specifically entails is currently unknown, though it is known that it would involve the Forced Evolutionary Virus and at least Vault-Tec Vaults 32 and 33, and was only intended to occur after Vault-Tec had achieved hegemony by wiping out all competitors on the surface.[48][40][49]

The original idea behind the Vault experiments was to gather data to enable the creation of a multi-generational starship to settle another planet, as the Enclave assumed Earth would be rendered uninhabitable by nuclear war and human civilization would need to expand into the stars to survive.[Non-game 8]
In March 2077, with the world heading directly for nuclear confrontation, the President of the United States and other members of the Enclave retreated to various fortified areas around the globe.[13][Non-game 9] Others remained behind, only retreating to fortified shelters as the nuclear war became imminent.[50]

As the shadow government poised to take over the U.S. government should the worst occur, by late 2077 the existence of the Enclave was potentially known to the public, but only vaguely at best, mostly the subject of longstanding rumors but covered in at least one newspaper in Boston in the last week before the war.[13] Although news outlets across the nation picked up the subject of the "missing" president, discussing the rumors of peace negotiations with China and the president's absence, the Enclave was already heading to the ground.[51] However, this did not stop individuals from attempting to uncover its existence both from within and without the government. As the only way to join the Enclave was to be invited by them, a large majority of the government was unaware of its existence beyond rumors and irregularities in the budget.[citation needed] The United States military refused to allow the Enclave access to some of its systems.[52] Furthermore, the "powers that be" in the government largely opposed the notion of a nuclear first strike against China that some members of the Enclave promoted.[53]

The secrecy wasn't perfect, and some members of the public and government pursued their own investigations. In June 2077, Senator Sam Blackwell began an investigation into the Congressional Bunker Project and Vault-Tec's potential involvement.[43] His activities drew the ire of Thomas Eckhart, a powerful member of the Enclave responsible for establishing Enclave control over The Whitespring bunker. Following a threat on his daughter's safety, Blackwell went into hiding, joining the Free States, and attempted to publicly unveil the Enclave's existence in a controversial interview published in the Charleston Herald.[54] In reality, this was not caused by Eckhart or anyone else with the Enclave, but rather by a completely unrelated regional business magnate, Daniel Hornwright, who had sought to remove Blackwell on account of the senator's opposition to an automation ballot vote.[55]

Sometime in 2077, following the U.S. president's withdrawal from D.C., Hollywood actor Cooper Howard would also come close to discovering the Enclave due to his investigation into the corporate conspiracy surrounding Vault-Tec, and what he believed was a deal between Vault-Tec and Robert House in which Vault-Tec would give their cold fusion diode to House, in exchange for House giving them the nuclear missiles they would use to start nuclear war. Cooper discovered these details in part through spying on his wife Barb, a high-ranking Vault-Tec executive who had been threatened by the Enclave to claim that Vault-Tec would be willing to start nuclear war to ensure their profit margins. Though Barb, through her encounter with the man who delivered the threat, knew that some hidden force was controlling Vault-Tec,[56] neither she nor Cooper knew the true scale of the Enclave. Still viewing Vault-Tec and Robert House as the ultimate threats, with Barb's help, Cooper ended up stealing the cold fusion diode in Las Vegas and giving it the U.S. president, who was making a clandestine visit to the city for unspecified reasons, via a meeting arranged by Congresswoman Diane Welch.[57][58] The Howards only realized their mistake when Cooper was subsequently arrested by U.S. federal agents working for the House Un-American Activities Committee, seemingly done to silence and discredit him for knowing too much. Cooper took full responsibility for his actions in order to protect his wife and daughter. Cooper's actions ended up delivering the cold fusion technology to the Enclave, which may have contributed to their enduring post-War status.[59]
An independent investigation by reporter Mags Veccio for the Boston Bugle newspaper also uncovered evidence linking the Enclave with the highest echelons; she figured out that the president abandoned the White House in favor of the Poseidon Oil Rig, and an anonymous source tipped her off that its official designation was "Control Station Enclave." This gave, as Veccio stated, "credence to the long-running rumors of a secret, militarized 'shadow government,' known as the Enclave, that would take control of the United States in the event of a nuclear conflagration." Veccio was right. However, she published her revelations on the front page in the week that would end in said nuclear conflagration.[13] Although news outlets across the nation picked up the subject, discussing the rumors of peace negotiations with China and the president's absence, the Enclave was already heading to the ground.[60]

In 2076, the NBC division of West Tek achieved breakthrough results in the Pan-Immunity Virion Project. The United States Defense Department, fearing international espionage, moved a military team under the command of Colonel Robert Spindel and Captain Roger Maxson onto the site to secure and oversee the project, now dubbed the FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus) project.[8] On January 7, 2077, all FEV research was moved to the newly constructed Mariposa Military Base to commence testing of the virus on human subjects.[9][10] The security team was transferred to the newly constructed base as well, to provide protection for the research going on within the facility. They were not informed of the nature of the research.[2]

The situation unraveled shortly before October 10, 2077. The soldiers stationed at Mariposa discovered the fact that the scientists under their care were performing experiments with the Forced Evolutionary Virus on military prisoners. The revelation prompted a nervous breakdown in Colonel Spindel, who locked himself in his office. Captain Maxson was the only officer left to handle the deteriorating situation. Soldiers were screaming for blood and the whole situation was at risk of devolving into a bloodbath. On October 12, when Maxson had to step in to prevent one of his subordinates from killing a member of the science team, he ordered interrogations of the science team under his authority as acting commander. He hoped to prevent a full mutiny by offering his troops a semblance of justice.[2]

The first scientist was brought before Maxson a day later, on October 13. Chief Researcher Robert Anderson explained that human experiments at the facility were sanctioned by the government. He outlined the program to the captain, emphasizing the fact that it was the government that ordered it. When Maxson refused to believe him, the scientist lost his nerve and started screaming how he was just following orders and that he was a military man just like Maxson. The captain shot him in response. He rationalized it as trying to prevent a full-scale mutiny, but even he did not believe it.[2]

The killing of Robert Anderson effectively established Maxson as the leader of the rebellion. His position was further reinforced just two days later on October 15, when he attempted to speak to Colonel Spindel through the door of his office. It soon became clear that the colonel had lost touch with reality, so Maxson and several of his men broke down the door just in time to hear the colonel apologize and shoot himself. Subsequent scientist interrogations invariably ended in executions. Erin Shellman held out the longest by October 18, finally convincing the captain that the experiments were really ordered by the government with her detailed account.[2] On October 20, 2077, Captain Maxson declared his unit in full secession from the United States over the radio, attempting to force the government to respond to the situation at Mariposa. No response came. A day later, he ordered the families of soldiers under his command to take shelter within the facility.[2]

The Brotherhood of Steel first entered into conflict with the Enclave on the West Coast during the year 2241. As the Enclave began to reveal its presence to the post-nuclear world, the Brotherhood of Steel reopened several observation outposts in New California to monitor their activity and learn their motives.[11] During this time period, the Brotherhood of Steel tasks the Chosen One with infiltrating Navarro Air Base and retrieving schematics for the Enclave's modified vertibird's.[12] There are implications that clashes occurred between the two during the NCR-Brotherhood War. Following the events of Navarro's destruction at the hands of the NCR sometime after 2246, the Brotherhood of Steel openly began to hunt down and annihilate remnants of the Enclave on the West Coast.[13]
In the late 2250s to 2260s,[14][15] the New California Republic's growth would eventually lead to a collision course with the Brotherhood. As the NCR's power grew, the Brotherhood adopted a policy of reclaiming technology from people outside the order, energy weapons most of all.[Non-game 1] The disagreements over the handling of technology eventually resulted in a full-out war with the New California Republic. The Brotherhood was eventually forced into a retreat.[16] At least six Brotherhood bunkers were lost to the NCR, four of them destroyed by the Brotherhood themselves in a last-ditch attempt to deny them to the enemy.[17] Despite gaining the upper hand over the Brotherhood, the NCR also suffered losses in manpower, materiel, and economy. The NCR's gold reserves were raided heavily by the Brotherhood, causing bank runs. The NCR switched to fiat money to prevent further crisis, but this led to inflation and loss of consumer confidence.[Non-game 2][Non-game 3] One major confrontation occurred during the NCR's Operation: Sunburst in the Mojave Wasteland in 2276. Under Elder Elijah's leadership, the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was operating out of the solar power plant HELIOS One when the NCR launched an attack. The NCR's numerical superiority over the Brotherhood, coupled with Elder Elijah's immense reluctance to leave HELIOS, allowed the NCR to overwhelm the defenders, leading to the loss of over half the chapter.[18] The NCR subsequently considered the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood to be effectively neutralized.[Non-game 4] The survivors of the Mojave chapter retreated to the Hidden Valley bunker, going under lockdown to prevent detection and bide time to recover. The chapter restricted its operations to recon patrols and occasional high-priority raids, all at night, using Hidden Valley's DERVISH camouflage system to mask their movements.[Non-game 5]
The Brotherhood's presence in the east suffered a further setback when Elder Owyn Lyons, head of the Capital Wasteland division, refused a direct order from the Lost Hills elder council, confirming their suspicions that he had gone rogue and was no longer pursuing the original mission. In response, the Brotherhood completely shut off communications to Lyons' division and denied them any reinforcements.[19]

By 2277, the Brotherhood was well-established in the Capital Wasteland, with their headquarters at the Citadel in Washington D.C. The Enclave, however, wanted to control Project Purity for themselves, leading to a conflict between the Brotherhood and the Enclave, culminating in the Battle of Project Purity. The Brotherhood were able to prevent the Enclave's assault using a giant combat robot called Liberty Prime. Although this was a short-term boon for the East Coast Brotherhood, changes were on the horizon for the chapter.[20]
The key blow to the Capital Wasteland division came sometime before August 2279, with the death of Owyn Lyons and the loss of now-Elder Sarah Lyons not long afterwards. With the seat of power emptied, the remaining Brotherhood members elected multiple ineffectual leaders. Meanwhile, the adolescent Squire Arthur Maxson matured into a capable warrior and tactician, eventually defeating Shepherd, the new war boss of the Capital Wasteland super mutants, around 2282. This feat earned him a provisional leadership position within the Capital Wasteland division. This position was bestowed by the West Coast elders, who revealed that they still monitored their errant brethren.[3]

Maxson's position solidified in 2283 when he negotiated a treaty with the Brotherhood Outcasts, bringing them back into the fold and reforming the entire organization, turning away from some of Lyons' humanitarian goals and restoring the original mission of the Brotherhood of Steel.[3] While a few members found this distasteful and left,[21] a majority still remained, proud to serve a refocused Brotherhood.[22] Maxson became leader of the Brotherhood's Eastern branch, setting it on a new, more authoritarian path. Around this same time, the Brotherhood began constructing a massive airship known as the Prydwen at the conquered former Enclave facility of Adams Air Force Base; the ship began full operation in 2282.[23][24] With it, the chapter began to project its presence across the wider East Coast.[25]
The Brotherhood first sent a recon team into the Commonwealth in 2280. They were extremely successful, finding troves of pre-War documents and advanced technology. The second, Artemis, was a failure; its members were killed off in engagements with various hostiles, with the lone survivor, Paladin Brandis, going into hiding. The third recon team, Gladius, also fared poorly, with their numbers whittled down to three by various threats. The surviving trio of Gladius have made their base at Cambridge Police Station and seek to carry out their mission as best as possible and re-establish communication with the Citadel to report their most concerning findings about the region.[31][32][33]

The Brotherhood in the Capital Wasteland eventually received Gladius' message and deployed in force; the message evidenced the existence of the Institute, a scientific cabal which the Brotherhood deemed dangerous to humanity.[34] The Brotherhood sent a full combat expedition led by Elder Maxson, comprised of the Prydwen and a fleet of accompanying Vertibirds, with the main objective of seeking out and destroying the Institute. In the subsequent war for the Commonwealth, the Brotherhood may have also entered conflict with the Railroad and/or the Commonwealth Minutemen, other regional powers.

A mainstay in the history, industry, and culture of the United States of America, Massachusetts was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United Kingdom in the New World (later known as North America),[Non-game 1] becoming a hotbed of secessionist sentiment around the mid-18th century. The conflict between the New World colonists and the British crown was aggravated by the latter's attempts to enforce increasingly oppressive taxes on the colonies without giving them representation in the parliament, resulting in incidents like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. The powder keg finally ignited in 1775, when the Thirteen Colonies openly rebelled against British authority during the American Revolutionary War.[1] Two battles in the towns of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts were the first open engagements of the war, which eventually spread across the other twelve colonies.[Non-game 2]

Compared to other parts of the former United States, the Mojave survived the Great War relatively unscathed, largely due to the efforts of Robert House, who had predicted nuclear war would be inevitable twelve years before it struck, and made preparations to save Las Vegas. When the nuclear apocalypse began, 77 atomic warheads were launched at the city and its surroundings, but intricate defense systems set in place by House resulted in 59 of the warheads forcefully disarmed mid-flight, and another nine were blasted out of the sky by a laser defense system situated atop the Lucky 38 Hotel & Casino. The remaining nine hit the surrounding desert, but not the city itself.[6]

The Mojave Wasteland's name had been coined by at least 2083, when one of its residents, Daniel Shin, was recruited into the Brotherhood of Steel by Knight Alan Connors.[7] Nearly twenty years later, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force passed through the Mojave on their way to Appalachia. Jack Cabot mentions that his father Lorenzo thought there was an alien city buried under the Mojave Desert, just like Ubar in Rub' al Khali.[8]

In the years immediately following the War, the Mojave was largely ignored by the developing post-apocalyptic civilizations, such as the New California Republic in the west and Caesar's Legion to the east, thus allowing raiders, slavers, and super mutants to prosper there.[9] For years, Vegas sat at its heart, decayed by almost two centuries of neglect and becoming little more than the territory of various squabbling Vault dweller-descended tribes over the years.[Non-game 1] Various small and/or isolated communities would spring up across the wider Mojave over time, with water remaining as one of the major limits on human resettlement in the desert.[RPG 1][RPG 2]

Mr. House, who had preserved himself to survive the war, was initially forced into a coma but revived in 2138. He became aware of the status of Las Vegas, but chose to bide his time before rebuilding society according to his wishes. By 2161, the Desert Rangers, a survivalist and vigilante organization, had been formed by the members of a survivalist community in the Nevada badlands, and they were at least nominally present in the Mojave.[10]

Factional dynamics in the Mojave continued to shift in the 23rd century. These dynamics were intertwined with the larger movements of two major post-War powers, the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion, into the Mojave; see the following section for those details.

Around 2231, a power struggle within Vault 34 led to the self-imposed exile of half of the Vault's population, who went on to settle at Nellis Air Force Base and form the isolationist tribe known as the Boomers.[11][12][13]

Some time after 2241, a group of super mutants made their home in the Mojave under the leadership of Marcus at Black Mountain and later Jacobstown after the nightkin leader Tabitha usurped Black Mountain from him.[14] Contemporaneously, the consolidation of the NCR's control over New California also led to various raider tribes, including the Vipers, the Jackals, and the Great Khans, fleeing into the Mojave and other regions bordering the NCR's territory.

In the 2260s, a Brotherhood of Steel expedition was sent into the Mojave to claim Hoover Dam, and this force, led by Elder Elijah, became the fully-fledged Mojave chapter. The Mojave chapter never ended up claiming Hoover Dam; instead, they took the HELIOS One power plant as their headquarters, but were forced into hiding in the Hidden Valley bunker complex after their loss to the NCR during Operation: Sunburst in 2272.By 2280, much of the southwestern ruins of New Vegas had become occupied by the Fiends, a group of violent, chem addicted raiders. Their position was strengthened by their use of Vault 3 as a headquarters, having massacred its original dwellers, who had naively opened themselves up for trade without preparing any defenses.

NCR/Legion conflict and birth of New Vegas
From the 2250s onwards, the NCR began its Mojave Campaign, seeking to expand its borders by annexing the region. The NCR's initial focus was seemingly not on the Las Vegas area, but instead further to the east around Bullhead City, in retaliation against raiders who had killed multiple NCR citizens in the area. The "Pacification of the Mojave," referring to the extirpation of raiders and tribals around Bullhead City, finally concluded in 2270. It was evidently then that the NCR turned its focus towards Vegas.[Non-game 2]

Around those same decades, Caesar's Legion was consolidating its power in the east, and advancing steadily towards the Mojave. The Desert Rangers fought in Nevada and Arizona to stop them, but realized this was a losing battle, and they ultimately chose to merge into the New California Republic Rangers in 2271 to stand a better chance against the Legion. In doing so, the NCR also took up the responsibility of protecting southern Nevada from the Legion.[15][16]

In 2274, President Aaron Kimball sent the NCR Army into the Mojave at large, with the objective of occupying and repairing Hoover Dam. Mr. House detected the arrival of NCR advance scouts to Hoover Dam and, realizing these were signs of an organized civilization, took action to restore Las Vegas. Using his Securitrons, House forced out all but three of the tribes which formerly occupied the Las Vegas Strip. These three collaborator tribes became the Three Families, who helped House rebuild the New Vegas Strip and create the city-state of the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas.[17][18] The slum community of Freeside eventually formed in the neighborhood outside New Vegas, due to the joint efforts of the Followers of the Apocalypse and the Kings—a newly-established local gang—to establish some order in the neighborhood, which had been purposefully cast away by Mr. House.

Subsequently, when the NCR arrived at Hoover Dam in force, House's Securitrons were already there waiting for them. The NCR was forced to negotiate with House, resulting in the Treaty of New Vegas.[19] The clauses of the treaty allow for the NCR to send 95% of Hoover Dam's power output back to their home states, as well as granting them rights to establish military bases at the Hoover Dam and McCarran Airport. In exchange, Mr. House's New Vegas Strip retains its sovereignty and could receive the tourism of NCR citizens without interference from the government as well as the remaining 5% from the dam.[20][21]

Shortly thereafter, combined forces of the Legion's 86 conquered tribes arrived from the east, led by Caesar and the Malpais Legate, seeking a city to call their capital.[22] The Legion launched an attack on the dam and the NCR troops stationed there but were repelled and forced back east. Most of the credit went to Chief Hanlon for issuing a tactical retreat to Boulder City and luring the Legion into a trap laid by the NCR Rangers that leveled half of the town, then routing the surviving Legionaries back across the dam. This ultimately led to the attempted execution of the Malpais Legate. The outcome of the battle solidified the delicate balance of power in the Mojave; between the NCR, Legion, and House, should one attack the other, the third could take advantage of the conflict and attack in turn.

Though the Legion had been defeated, Caesar's goal of claiming New Vegas as the Legion's new capital remained unchanged, and the Legion spent the next four years replenishing its forces in preparation for a renewed conflict.

The city of Washington and the surrounding environs were the heart of the pre-War United States and, as a result, a prime strategic target for the People's Republic of China. As the Sino-American War drew to a conclusion, the city was increasingly fortified against a nuclear attack. Buildings were reinforced with armored layers to deflect the blast wave and preserve their structural integrity and safeguard the legacy of the American nation,[Non-game 1] while infrastructure was upgraded and modified to become fully automated and capable of working even after centuries of no maintenance.[7] The last monument to be erected within the city is the Anchorage War Memorial, situated on FDR Island in the Potomac River it was constructed after the conclusion of the Battle of Anchorage.[Non-game 2]

By March 2077, in the light of the recent advances by the American military against the Chinese, key military, civilian, and corporate leaders abandoned Washington and the United States, expecting a retaliatory nuclear strike.[Non-game 3] The situation came to pass in October, when the American offensive pushed deep towards Beijing. National Guard units and their auxiliaries were mobilized and deployed throughout the nation. The most highly trained units were dedicated to Washington, D.C., to assist and evacuate the civilian population. Most servicemen were not briefed on the imminent threat.[8] When nuclear weapons began to land on American soil, the West Coast was struck first. Its disappearance from the grid acted as an early warning, allowing civilians to get to shelter, and the armed forces to mobilize. In the end, it did not make much of a difference, as the future Capital Wasteland was saturated with nuclear weapons, coming in multiple waves.[9] The densely urbanized center of Washington was spared most of the direct impact.[10]

The intense thermal radiation from the bombardment set much of downtown Washington on fire. The conflagration lasted for weeks, perhaps even months. The National Mall was one of the few areas mostly spared from the fire. Some survivors used the Museums surrounding it for shelter. Others lost their mind after witnessing so much devastation, causing an already chaotic situation to degenerate further.[11] Outside the city the situation was hardly better. What remained of the military joined remnants of the auxiliary units and civilian authorities, trying to establish a semblance of order and begin cleanup operations.[12] However, the situation rapidly deteriorated. The absence of top level leadership resulted in a power vacuum and inability to coordinate relief efforts. While what remained of the authorities did its best to contain the situation and reclaim the devastated landscape (removing irradiated soil and dumping it in makeshift hazmat areas,[13] cordoning off irradiated areas like the Metro.[14] and setting up a network of military checkpoints on roads to control the flow of refugees[15]), their efforts were too little to turn the tide. The desertion rate was high,[16] increased by the high mortality rate among refugees exposed to radiation,[17] and the ever decreasing ability of the remaining authorities to properly care for them.[18] Many of the servicemen and their auxiliaries also suffered from radiation poisoning.[19] In the face of a total collapse of society and the relief effort, the remaining authorities collapsed, leaving the wasteland in a state of chaos.[20] A peculiar monument to this collapsed state was created when a dry docked aircraft carrier at the Washington Naval Yard attempted to exit the yard, but wound up beaching itself.[Non-game 4]

Following the disastrous conflict with the Enclave, the Brotherhood enjoyed a stable, but hardly unrivaled position. Suffering from severely depleted stockpiles and shortage of manpower at the beginning of the conflict, casualties taken during the fight with the Enclave and the loss of their most important military asset, Liberty Prime, made the future uncertain. Occupied by its research into the Enclave technology and the amount of gear and weapons it recovered, the Brotherhood slowly regained strength as it slowly chipped away at the years-long process.[60][61] One of the greatest achievements of the Brotherhood of this time was starting the construction of the Prydwen, an armored airship greatly increasing the Brotherhood's ability to project power.

The biggest setback suffered by the chapter was the death of Elder Owyn Lyons circa 2278 and the loss of his successor, Elder Sarah Lyons, later that same year. With the seat of power emptied, the remaining Brotherhood members elected multiple ineffectual leaders, while the adolescent Squire Arthur Maxson matured into a capable warrior and tactician, eventually securing a victory over Shepherd, the new war boss of the Capital Wasteland super mutants, in 2282. This feat earned him a provisional leadership position. In fact, this position was bestowed by West Coast Elders, who revealed that they still monitored their errant brethren. Maxson's position solidified in 2283, when he negotiated a treaty with the Brotherhood Outcasts, bringing them back into the fold and reforming the entire organization, merging Lyons' Doctrine with salvageable elements of traditional doctrines. Lyons' Brotherhood became a distant memory as Maxson took the united Brotherhood forces into a new direction. While some members found this distasteful and deserted,[62] many more remained, proud to serve a refocused Brotherhood.[63]

As a result, the Brotherhood became the most powerful organization in the Capital Wasteland, exercising control over the region out of the Citadel[64] and Adams AFB.[65][66] Under its control, the Capital Wasteland is known as an exporter of purified water and technology.[41]

In Charleston, lacking directives from the federal government and with Governor Evans and his supporters missing,[57] the Appalachian Territory officials organized an emergency government, working in conjunction with the Responders, a group of Appalachian first responders helping people in the aftermath of the war.[58] Charleston became an oasis of stability amidst the devastation and chaos. Taggerdy's Thunder and other military units were lost without contact with command and decided to sit tight, waiting for orders.[59] The fate of civilians outside Charleston depended largely on where they wound up. Watogans fared the worst, forced out of their city by a virus attack that hit it shortly before the bombs dropped.[60][61] Morgantown was torn apart by rival cliques formed by the students of Vault-Tec University.[62] Harpers Ferry struggled to survive and were forced to ask the Free States for help, even though they had shunned them before.[63][64]

Affluent vacationers in the elegant resorts that dotted the Appalachians were snowed in and isolated from the rest of the region.[65] Their money, power, and influence turned out to be meaningless when the food supplies ran out part-way through the winter and they turned on one another, fighting over scraps just to survive. The experience of the winter of 2078 broke many of them, leading to the violent establishment of the raiders.[66]

In the following years, the Responders steadily expanded their sphere of influence from Charleston, while Camp Venture served as the nucleus of a new chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel under Paladin Elizabeth Taggerdy (though they later relocated to Fort Defiance).[67] The Free States also left their bunkers in 2079,[68] helping re-establish Harpers Ferry.[69] They also controlled the Thunder Mountain Power Plant before Taggerdy's soldiers wrestled control of it from them.[70]

As the region entered the 2080s, President Thomas Eckhart, in a bid to raise the DEFCON level for Appalachia, monitored by automated security, started unleashing horrors on the region, beginning with the Chinese Liberators secured at Fujiniya Intelligence Base, a covert intelligence facility established to monitor the region's "factory cities" and later missile silos.[71][72] The raiders grew in strength and clashed with the Responders. On Christmas Day 2082, after losing a patrol to Charleston and with it, his lover, Rosalynn Jeffries, David Thorpe, the leader of the Pleasant Valley Raiders, blew up the Summersville Dam with mini nukes stolen from the Brotherhood, wiping Charleston out.[73]

This attracted the attention of the elusive Order of Mysteries, which started a campaign of covert operations against the raiders, buying time for the Responders to rebuild at Morgantown.[74] In addition, the move solidified relations between the Responders and the Brotherhood, as well as opened relations with the Free States.[75] The Responders and the Brotherhood fought together at Huntersville[76] against super mutants unleashed from behind the scenes by Eckhart and the Enclave in January 2086.[77][78] The victory at Huntersville promised a new dawn for Appalachia.[76] Meanwhile, desperate to trick the DEFCON system, Eckhart released the scorchbeasts in the Cranberry Bog, a project he kept secret even from his officers.[79] As the Enclave descended into an ultimately lethal civil war between his loyalists and those too disgusted to follow the president's orders, the monsters wrought havoc on the region, steadily spreading out.[80] The Scorched Plague was ultimately the death-knell for Appalachia's original survivors, as it created hordes of dangerous creatures known as the Scorched, a hivemind created by the plague completely overtaking its hosts.[81][82] Harpers Ferry was destroyed in 2086, ending a seven year long project and forcing the Free States back to square one.[83] Meanwhile, the Brotherhood focused on eliminating the threat, relying on the Responders for a good part of their logistics.[84] However, the relations between the two groups slowly soured, as the Brotherhood demanded more resources and supplies from the Responders, to the point of intimidation.[85] The raiders, once suppressed by the war, reemerged in the Divide, taking territory once more and destroying the Order thanks to a defector from the Orders' ranks.[86]

The culmination of the Resource Wars, on the day of October 23, 2077, in the mere two-hour span of the Great War, nuclear warheads were fired by military actors from both the United States and China, and the results changed the face of the planet and affected all life on it for many centuries to come. After the atomic fire had ceased, the surface of the Earth was very different. Millions of man-made buildings and cities were demolished or severely damaged, with only a few exceptions. Most of the plants that had once flourished died as the Earth was changed from a diverse landscape to a barren and hot desert, radiation becoming a serious threat to what little life remained. Functionally, the reset button had been pressed for humanity. Countries such as the United States ceased to exist all together, their former territories turned into scorched wastelands filled with new dangers due to mutations in wildlife that altered many of the species. As the remnants of humanity began to spread once again, new violence was introduced in the form of differing factions with many choosing to become raiders and slavers to survive. They began warring against each other in the new world, slowing the already difficult progress of the reclamation of humanity. Overall, the wasteland remains a different, radioactive landscape, where everyday life is a struggle.