Adapting Van Buren (Workshop - Complete on Page 30)

I should be clear that when I mean hex - square is probably easier. I make the same synonymous mistake in my PnP, my combat grids are actually squares. I'm sorry for the confusion. 1 square = 20 miles. It allows for players to track what a day of travel is.
I'm gonna make it 23, its roughly approximate and slightly easier with the scale of my basemap. Plus I've seen some RPG posts citing 24 miles as one day's travel
 
This is going to be a long, possibly multi-part post about the Great Salt Lake.

Vault 70 and the Great War
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Prior to the Great War, the construction of Vault 70 was commissioned, funded and overseen by the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints. Built underneath Salt Lake City's Temple Square, the Vault experienced major tampering as a result of support from a devout Mormon senator and a close-knit cadre of Mormons within the State Department. The 'experiment' regarding failed vault-suit extruders was identified and accounted for, the Vault being stocked with ample modest, normal American clothing. Regulation Vault-Tec education programs were replaced by the LDS's own Church schooling and even the standard issue 10mm handguns were replaced by .45 chambered 1911s.

When the Great War came, the Church was ready. By design, Vault 70 would be their own temple of God to ride out the apocalypse. Generations inside the Vault began to dissolve the corporate, strictly hierarchical aspects of the LDS as new generations embraced their faith completely alien to the pre-war machinations of the Church.

After generations inside their subterranean temple, a long term series of critical, unrepairable faults meant that in 2170 the Mormons made their exodus. The failed Vault was sealed, the control module for the door mechanism being taken with them if in the off chance they ever needed to return to the empty husk. To the surface they went.

What they found was complete annihilation. Nothing like the stories their grandparents had told them. Temple Square was all but ruins, surrounded by vast expanses of twisted girders and piles of unrecognisable concrete, interspersed with large irradiated blast craters. To make matters worse, concrete dust from the ruins and nests of gigantic mutant Mantis made Salt Lake City an actively inhospitable location. Salt Lake City and the LDS had fallen, but the faith had survived in its people, and although they didn't know it, their faith had already begun to change.

So they headed north to Ogden, where the air was cleaner, the damage lesser and the ruins devoid of hostile life.

Settling around the remains of a Mormon temple, they formed their new Garden of Eden (using a handy kit), their New Canaan.


New Canaan
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OST Atmosphere:

New Canaan is a growing town surrounded by an adobe brick wall (currently in the progress of expansion and construction) not dissimilar to that of the Mormon Fort in Vegas, albeit taller. A large junk-constructed draw gate acts as entrance to the town.

There are a small number of adobe houses from the original settlement of New Canaan, but many Canaanites build and live inside 18th century style single story wooden houses/lodges painted white. Carpentry is a venerated skill, after all.

Ruined buildings from the former Ogden are stripped to their foundations and transformed into "Ruin Gardens" where all sorts of manner of produce are grown.

Each Sunday the New Canaanites gather to the town's temple. The town has a number of shops, including Gabriel's Market where meals and produce are given and sold at open stalls. There is no bar or saloon, as alcohol is banned in New Canaan. They also have a gun store, but they only sell to those who have earned their trust.

The lives of New Canaanites are strictly to that of God's ways. No homosexuality, no cursing, no drinking, no coffee. Those who blaspheme, steal or otherwise do repeated or serious wrongs are publicly caned or lashed in the town square depending on the severity of their wrongdoing.

New Canaan has a robust medical centre located in its town, equipped with medical tools and supplies left over from their Vault, whatever they can scavenge from SLC and even their own remedies. It's no Boulder Dome but it's the best in the state.

The average New Canaanite male dresses in western or flannel shirts and jeans (much like Daniel) with straw or wide brimmed hats. The women similarly wear straw hats, desert fashioned bonnets and conservative light dresses. The New Canaanite guards dress in much a similar fashion to Joshua Graham, equipped with SLCPD body armour, white shirts and jeans. Most New Canaanites possess a .45 Auto Pistol, though only few practice with it.

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New Canaan has seen plenty of change since it's founding. The discovery of a desalination plant at the edge of the Salt Lake in Syracuse was a game changer. The New Canaanites established an outpost at this Syracuse plant and restored it to working order, utilizing an old water chip from their ancestral Vault as the key to getting it working. At first manually transporting the water by Brahmin, over years they constructed a well concealed pipe system to pump water to a repository in New Canaan proper. They became flush with water and salicornia grown at Syracuse along the shore.

Though infrequently if not consistently repelling raiders, New Canaan remained isolationist for much of its existence, until recent decades. Lone missionaries were sent across the Wasteland to scout, log and preach the good word to the outside world to mixed success.

Under the leadership of Prophet Jeremiah Ridgeon (now unfortunately suffering from cancer of the lungs), New Canaan began to leverage it's supply of water. Sending missionary caravans to surrounding tribes promising bulks of fresh water for the acceptance of the Lord and the abandoning of their false faiths. In exchange for trade also of meats, animal hides and tribal herbs.

True change began with the defeat of the 80's tribe along I-80 by the Desert Rangers, assisted by the New Canaanites as the 80s made a final stand at a fortification in the ruins of Wendover. Then came the arrival of merchant caravans from the far west. Places like Vault City, Modoc, Sac-Town, Redding and New Reno. Trade flourished, bottlecaps were introduced to New Canaan society, and vice versa the New Canaanites began to send water caravans west into northern New California, along with the good word. Although initially sceptical of trading with a religious community, the Western traders soon found the New Canaanites to be grounded and honest folk. They were no hubologists. A small bazaar has formed outside of the gates of New Canaan, as it's gates are not suited to fit the wide berth of numerous large scale caravans.

Fragments of New Canaan
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The Hands of God: Judah Black was always a....strong presence in the community. His sermons were the most energetic, the most exciting and impassioned. A hard-liner of the faith in the community, he always advocated for the most draconian of approaches in all areas. So says the good book. He gathered quite the flock, "black sheep" as the young Pastor Mordecai chidingly calls them.

Eventually he began to let it be known his hatred of the changes overcoming New Canaan. The merchants of the west were charlatans and corrupters, down their path lay sodom and gomorrah. Where once New Canaanites had no concept of money, they worked together for the community under God, they now cared for material possessions and chasing of trinkets.

He wasn't half wrong, as several Canaanites were discovered taking whisky, vodka, Jet and other Chems smuggled to them by merchants of New Reno, exiled to Jericho in southern Salt Lake City for their debauchery.

The turn came when Brigham Bundy, a Canaanite of 16, died of overdose from Jet and booze. Rallying his growing flock of black sheep into a frenzy, he and his followers emerged into the bazaar and shot dead every member of a caravan he claimed to have sold the young one the drugs. Citing that this was his moment of clearing the money lenders from the temple of God. He claimed Jeremiah Ridgeon was weak, his cancer a sign from God that he was not to lead New Canaan, but Judah himself instead.

A stand-off emerged between him, his flock and the rest of the Canaanites, and they were exiled to Salt Lake City.

There they have settled in the ruins of Temple Square, their "New Jerusalem" where they devolve into further religious fervour under the burning heart of Judah Black.

Jericho

Jericho is a watering hole that lies adjacent to the Long 15 in southern Salt Lake City, formed from ex-mormons who either lost faith or were exiled. Built from and surrounded by junk, Jericho hosts a modest hotel and casino, a brothel and a saloon. Western merchants often make the short trip south to let off steam. I will make a bigger post about Jericho shortly.

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Problems/Hooks in New Canaan
  • The Syracuse Water Plant has been slowing in water production. The water chip has given up the ghost, and needs replacement. Tensions are rising amongst the traders, and without clean water New Canaan will suffer greatly. The best chance is searching the ruins of Vault 70 for a replacement chip, but the problem lies that New Jerusalem sits directly on top of Temple Square. Being both brother Canaanites and privately sympathised by the Captain of the Guard, they refuse to act. So, Ridgeon is searching for outsiders to save them. Worse still, unbeknownst to anyone cave ins of the SLC sewers have meant Giant Mantises have taken up the depths of Vault 70 as a nest, the Queen Mantis growing fatter from the lingering radiation of its defunct generator.
  • The Hands of God have taken upon themselves to raid incoming caravans from the west to stifle and eventually end trade, and due to the aforementioned sympathies, it is too controversial to put a stop to them
  • A solo mission to convert the Eagle Rock tribe (descendants of survivors of an Eagle Rock Airlines crash in the Uintah mountains) has not returned. Pablo, a missionary apostle, is seeking armed guards to investigate the situation
  • Someone is smuggling chems to the youth of New Canaan, and the Guards can't crack who's doing it and how.
  • To the far south, the 80s have established a growing war camp. Though they are currently at war with a local warlord, concerns are rising they seek to siege New Canaan as reprisal for their humiliation at Wendover



 
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If you keep updating this thread daily checking up on it is going to become part of my daily post-work routine, I am currently beginning a multi-week break from TTRPG writing due to being in the middle of a move.

By the way are there any plans to include The Circle of Steel in any way? I've always felt like you could get some cool writing out of their whole concept.
 
If you keep updating this thread daily checking up on it is going to become part of my daily post-work routine, I am currently beginning a multi-week break from TTRPG writing due to being in the middle of a move.

By the way are there any plans to include The Circle of Steel in any way? I've always felt like you could get some cool writing out of their whole concept.

Yes. The Brotherhood of Steel have a rather large arc in New Mexico and the Circle of Steel (hardliners sent as corrective internal affairs i.e Christine rather than the VB madmen) are crucial to that. Depending on player choices they and the Circle could redefine the East and send it on a different course to New Vegas. The choice won't be as clear cut as you might assume with regards to Brotherhood extremists. That will come later. Salt Lake City, Denver and Boulder Dome come first.
 
Are there any plans to kind of anchor your lore into the lore of the games by introducing a New Vegas character as an NPC of some kind or something?
 
Are there any plans to kind of anchor your lore into the lore of the games by introducing a New Vegas character as an NPC of some kind or something?

I'm trying to keep that as minimal as possible. Plus it being 2253 makes that easier. But as I said before it's entirely possible the players could end up face to face with a young Caesar and a very Darth Vader (equally young) Joshua Graham stood at his side. Dead Sea technically will appear as a baby. Pastor Mordecai in New Vegas canon becomes Bishop Mordecai and is referenced as having been trapped and killed by the White Legs.

Important NPCs in New Canaan:

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Jeremiah Ridgeon: New Canaan's current Prophet (leader) who has spearheaded the turn from the town's isolationism through assisting the Desert Rangers, encouraging trade and beginning the water caravan mission program. Suffering from inoperable lung cancer, he is a man with many problems and little time to solve them. You get the impression were he not so burdened, he'd be extremely pleasant. Faith has taken a second step to practicality which has earned him the ire of some but the respect of others. He is assisted by his close friend, Pastor Mordecai, in his affairs and who now takes his place in giving Sunday sermons. He believes (and with good reason) that the Hands of God plan to return to New Canaan and perform a coup. Killing estranged members of the tribe is the last thing he wants to do, but if it's necessary to protect the prosperity of their people he's more than willing.

Pastor Mordecai: A man in his 30s with an old soul. In contrast to Jeremiah, Mordecai carries the stresses and burdens of New Canaan but veils it beneath a charismatic, calm demeanor (picture a Sam Elliott type demeanor). Though he is a man of the faith, it doesn't entirely define him. He believes that the Hands of God can be brought back into the fold, and that violence is not the answer, but rather compromise. He encouraged Jeremiah to allow the conversion of Ghouls and John, the wandering Super Mutant working construction on the wall.

Captain Mark 'Deafy' Green: Nicknamed Deafy due to his perchance for pretending to have poor hearing, an act he uses to selectively listen and guide conversation. Green is privately sympathetic to the Hands of God and attended Judah's sermons, acting as a roadblock to doing anything about them. He secretly organizes the shipment of water from Syracuse with other like-minded Canaanites to New Jerusalem in order to give them a helping hand. His demeanour is that of someone outwardly loud and one who thinks they are charismatic, but are in fact not. His stubborn demeanor can prove vexing. Still, he's the best shot in Utah and knows it.

Doc Angela: New Canaan's resident sawbones. A motherly busy-body, she lost her first child to fever and as such tends to over medicate and over-diagnose the children of New Canaan. She is married to Rex, a converted Desert Ranger who she saved the life of following the battle at Wendover. Rex has a bum leg and doesn't say much (Angela tends to fill the dead air). On his wife's behalf he has put down his guns, but he still keeps his old armor in a locked chest at his home. Mostly now he carries boxes and acts as an assistant to her medical work.

Pablo: An experienced solo missionary with little fear. He's met the Dead Horses, Crazy Horns and the Tar Walkers. He's advocated before for rallying the Canaanites to push the Prospectors out of Burham Springs as it was the holy site of the Tar Walkers, but to no effect. His concern for Johnson (the lost missionary) is unusual, as disappeared missionaries are typically not followed on (nobody came for Graham after all). Truthfully, this is because he is deeply in love with Johnson. A fact which can never come to light in New Canaan. He prays that he'll find him alive on this expedition.
 
Pablo: An experienced solo missionary with little fear. He's met the Dead Horses, Crazy Horns and the Tar Walkers. He's advocated before for rallying the Canaanites to push the Prospectors out of Burham Springs as it was the holy site of the Tar Walkers, but to no effect. His concern for Johnson (the lost missionary) is unusual, as disappeared missionaries are typically not followed on (nobody came for Graham after all). Truthfully, this is because he is deeply in love with Johnson. A fact which can never come to light in New Canaan. He prays that he'll find him alive on this expedition.

I like this guy, personally the little teaser you gave for his quest in the previous post was the one that stood out to me the most for some reason.
 
I like this guy, personally the little teaser you gave for his quest in the previous post was the one that stood out to me the most for some reason.

It's very heart of darkness/David Livingstone with some soap drama thrown in. Plus gives a darker side to the New Canaanites because naturally they'd be homophobic.
 
What is the fate of the missionary, if you don't mind me asking?

Haven't actually decided. Being dead would be obvious and lead nowhere. The missionary living among them but being very sick (much like Livingston) only saveable by a Doctor PC would provide some juicy drama. Similarly him going "native" and deciding life free of repression in this rural tribe would be neat too.

The drama of getting up into the mountains, the suspense of what the tribe will be like and their initial hostility leading to the situation potentially going very sour is the main meat.
 
Also what are the Eagle Rock tribe like? I like the whole "airline crash survivor" angle for a group of tribals.



Also what's this warlord guy like?

They're lightly cannibalistic. Not in the sadistic ritual way the Bone Dancers are but more in a pragmatic eating their enemies or fallen to survive kind of way. You can imagine where that particular tradition originated. They revere the original captain of the plane as some kind of God because he saved all their lives, and they believe the afterlife is them joining the captain flying in the sky eternally. Wary of outsiders to the extreme.

The warlord is a chemlord. Has his own gas-station fort where he produces Chems that he ships as far as Phoenix. Buffout addict to the max and a real Unarmed fighter. Willing to challenge any bro 1v1 in a fair fight. He'll likely make peace with the 80s by giving them motorcycle parts.
 
They're lightly cannibalistic. Not in the sadistic ritual way the Bone Dancers are but more in a pragmatic eating their enemies or fallen to survive kind of way. You can imagine where that particular tradition originated. They revere the original captain of the plane as some kind of God because he saved all their lives, and they believe the afterlife is them joining the captain flying in the sky eternally. Wary of outsiders to the extreme.

This fucking owns bro

He'll likely make peace with the 80s by giving them motorcycle parts.

How are you implementing vehicles, by the way?
 
This fucking owns bro



How are you implementing vehicles, by the way?

You can take a peak at my Vault Archives PnP for that. I've got a whole section on it.

Narratively, extremely sparingly. The 80s have a handful of motorbikes and Boulder Dome possess a truck but that's about it so far. The players will be able to get their hands on a prison bus if they bust into Van Buren again.
 
This is going to be a long, possibly multi-part post about the Great Salt Lake.
-Like the mention of a close knit cadre of Mormons in the State Department, very true to life.

-Like the mention of the big wall, it was a detail that always stood out to me in Lonesome Road for some reason. I also like your justification for the New Canaanantie style of dress, and your description of their architectural style is very sensible. Wood may be a bit hard to come by though - maybe there are lumber colonies in the nearby mountains? Could be something to do there.

-Is there any reason it's called "Gabriel's Market" other than the Angel, and if it is just named after him is it just because he's a big shot angel?

-I'd like to hear more about the goings-ons at Syracuse other than Deafy, seems like it could be an interesting place to me. Maybe its the site of trans-lake shipping or it could become that as a means to skirt trade around raiders and New Jerusalem? This idea comes to me because it seems like a boat could be a convenient way to get to Promontory Point and retrieve the Golden Spike. The islands of the Salt Lake also seem interesting, could be the haunt of pirates, cultists, tribals, or any number of freaks and weirdos. Maybe some of these islanders have tkaen possession of the Golden Spike and you have to get it from them.

-Judah Black conflict good.

-It's a minor note, but you do it consistently, maybe it's autocorrect; it should be "Rigdon," not "Ridgeon."

-It's interesting that the 80s are subdued, I imagined they'd be an up and coming group at this time, but it makes sense. Will Wendover be a visitable location in the campaign?

-Excited to hear more about Jericho.

-Queen Mantis is a good early level boss fight.

-This is probably an obvious revelation, but your transpositioning of the name Eagle Rock gave me a lightbulb moment that I assume everyone else had but I never had before. Burham Springs was Eagle Rock pre-War. I always thought of this as just a generic American town name, but of course it was set up by Prometheus. Prometheus, who was chained to a rock abnd had an eagle rip out his liver for eternity. For giving the gift of fire. Eagle Rock, the town on fire. Duh.

That said, the transposisitoning is a little odd. Was Eagle Rock Airlines a Prometheus subsidiary pre-War? I guess you're making it so Burham Springs was the pre-War name, Burning Springs post-War. Makes sense, the triple nameing always felt weird and contrived to me, and you don't have the NCR to give it its name in this setting so it has to be pre-War. The location of your Eagle Rock tribe seems like a bit of a coincidence though - guess you're just doing a "poetry, it rhymes" as with the naming conventions and names around the Salt Lake.

-Where is the 80s war camp? And on a second note, presumably the 'canon' outcome is they lose, but not so badly that they cease to be a threat since they obviously resurge in three decades.

Yes. The Brotherhood of Steel have a rather large arc in New Mexico and the Circle of Steel (hardliners sent as corrective internal affairs i.e Christine rather than the VB madmen) are crucial to that. Depending on player choices they and the Circle could redefine the East and send it on a different course to New Vegas. The choice won't be as clear cut as you might assume with regards to Brotherhood extremists. That will come later. Salt Lake City, Denver and Boulder Dome come first.
Will you repurpose the Scrapeprs Union from Dafwo with characters from VGB grafted on or just copy the VB model with minor changes for the absence of NCR?

Important NPCs in New Canaan:

Great characters here.

-Really like Deafy's thing, feels like something right out of the original games.

-Unless it's some other character we haven't been introduced to I'm guessing Anglea is the one giving drugs to the kids because she's big hearted and wants to ease suffering? Or maybe that quiet husband of hers is taking from her surplus since she has so much lying around. Always the quiet ones.

Narratively, extremely sparingly. The 80s have a handful of motorbikes and Boulder Dome possess a truck but that's about it so far. The players will be able to get their hands on a prison bus if they bust into Van Buren again.
Now this, this fucking owns
 
Thanks as always for the feedback and compliments.

Wood may be a bit hard to come by though - maybe there are lumber colonies in the nearby mountains? Could be something to do there.

I thought about this too. Simple answer: traders from Idaho or trade with a forested tribe like the Crazy Horns.

-Is there any reason it's called "Gabriel's Market" other than the Angel, and if it is just named after him is it just because he's a big shot angel?

Ask Josh Sawyer. It was in the original document and I saw no reason to change it.

-I'd like to hear more about the goings-ons at Syracuse other than Deafy, seems like it could be an interesting place to me.

Syracuse is pretty simple. It's just the desalination plant guarded by a junk wall. There's a guard there with a mounted Light Machine Gun mounted on the wall that they use to scare off approaching White Legs. It only has a cannister and a half of ammo but it only takes a small scattering of shots to spook away the White Legs so it's no worry.

The rest of the Salt Lake is White Legs territory. They're relatively weak and cowardly however, due to their poor tactics and lack of weapons beyond spears and baseball bats. They have nomadic camps that they seasonally move around the Salt Lake. Perhaps they use small canoes to traverse the lake.



-It's a minor note, but you do it consistently, maybe it's autocorrect; it should be "Rigdon," not "Ridgeon."

It was indeed autocorrect. My phone even now is reading yours as red.

-It's interesting that the 80s are subdued, I imagined they'd be an up and coming group at this time, but it makes sense. Will Wendover be a visitable location in the campaign?

The way I figured it the 80s had control of the 80 and it's their ancestral home - we hear from Jed Masterson that the NCR/West only heard of New Canaan and started trading a few decades back - this would be impossible if the 80s controlled the Highway. Similarly, the 80s retaking the 80 with the collapse of the Rangers in 71 and making travel on the 80 impossible is a plot point of HH. Therefore to me the series of events seems to be that the Desert Rangers got the 80 under control to the point it opened trade and travel, which then fell apart when the Rangers went away and the 80s were free to take it back.

Wendover could be an outpost of the Desert Rangers, but I plan on doing an outpost down in Arizona so it might be superfluous.


-This is probably an obvious revelation, but your transpositioning of the name Eagle Rock gave me a lightbulb moment that I assume everyone else had but I never had before. Burham Springs was Eagle Rock pre-War. I always thought of this as just a generic American town name, but of course it was set up by Prometheus. Prometheus, who was chained to a rock abnd had an eagle rip out his liver for eternity. For giving the gift of fire. Eagle Rock, the town on fire. Duh.

I only just now had this realization.

That said, the transposisitoning is a little odd. Was Eagle Rock Airlines a Prometheus subsidiary pre-War? I guess you're making it so Burham Springs was the pre-War name, Burning Springs post-War. Makes sense, the triple nameing always felt weird and contrived to me, and you don't have the NCR to give it its name in this setting so it has to be pre-War. The location of your Eagle Rock tribe seems like a bit of a coincidence though - guess you're just doing a "poetry, it rhymes" as with the naming conventions and names around the Salt Lake.

Burham Springs was indeed the pre-war name and my approach with naming is that if I don't have a name for something - draw a name unused from Van Buren.


Where is the 80s war camp? And on a second note, presumably the 'canon' outcome is they lose, but not so badly that they cease to be a threat since they obviously resurge in three decades.

Somewhere near Delta Utah is my stone throw guess, but it's not really a certain matter. The canon outcome is that they're either stopped before their siege or the Canaanites successfully repel the war party at their gates. The latter would be dependent on what kind of state New Canaan is in.

Either way, it's a war party. The 80s are a large tribe. It would be a set back but decades of biding their time will bring them back to strength by NV


Will you repurpose the Scrapeprs Union from Dafwo with characters from VGB grafted on or just copy the VB model with minor changes for the absence of NCR?

Taking aspects of Van Buren whilst avoiding the parts that clearly ended up in the Mojave Chapter. Naturally there will be similarities because well, that's kind of the point of the Brotherhood but plenty of new stuff too.


Unless it's some other character we haven't been introduced to I'm guessing Anglea is the one giving drugs to the kids because she's big hearted and wants to ease suffering? Or maybe that quiet husband of hers is taking from her surplus since she has so much lying around. Always the quiet ones

Good guess. It's Rex. He's mostly trying to smuggle in cigarettes, cigars and booze for himself and to put some hair on the chest of the Canaanite youths. Sneaking them in the medical supply boxes he manages. He slipped up and didn't mean to let the Reno merchants slip Jet in - that one was on Bundy's perogative as Rex had begun to let the kids pick what they wanted. Rex just wanted the poor kids to have a smoke and a whisky with him whilst he recounted stories of daring do.
 
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Salt Lake City - The Legion Expedition
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OST Atmosphere:


Gallus, Lars, Caius and Caelus are a band of Legion Explorers sent from the Magnum Chasma by the personal orders of the Malpais Legate himself to explore the Utah and provide a detailed report of the situation at the Great Salt Lake. Mapping routes, logging factions and tribes for potential future conquest. They are currently stationed at an old Motel, they've constructed simple tire-fortifications and raised the flag of their Legion, fixed above a crucified (dead) White Leg as warning.

Each member is a formal tribal of the Grand Canyon, each from a different tribe so as to discourage kinsmanship when away from Caesar's influence.

Equipped with standard Prime Legionary armor and weighty Fire Axes, although Gallus their leader carries with him a Hunting Shotgun.

Offish but not aggressive to wanderers, they're quick to question intentions but anyone willing to trade or exchange services for bottlecaps, they are open to conversation. Especially if it means learning more about the area. They will also tell the players of the Legion, however a cleaner and more proud version of reality (a vast army of united tribes with a single purpose of civilising the Wasteland and bringing order)

Gallus is keen to not only perform his duties, but to also return with resources and wealth in order to impress his superiors and potentially improve his rank.

Most recently they took a trip to the Great Salt Lake and faced a middling White Leg encampment along the shore. Caelus was killed in the attack by an unlucky spear strike to the throat , but the Legionaries were overwhelmingly victorious. A quick but bloody massacre, especially considering they were vastly outnumbered.

What complicated things however, was the discovery of a child at the camp. An infant. Unwilling to abandon the child, Gallus told the others the child would become a future Legionary, but privately it was out of a sense of sympathy and perhaps a distantly buried wish for fatherhood. The infant is now cared for in Gallus's room in a makeshift cot fashioned from a laundry basket. He feeds the child with their small pouches of Brahmin milk, but keeps the child close at most times.

Each of the Legionaries has their private misbehaviour, Gallus with his unbecoming attachment to the child. Lars has been secretly scavenging Nuka-Cola and has formed something of an addiction, willing to pay 3x the usual price for a bottle. His behaviour that of someone emotionally stunted - a an adolescent never given a childhood. Caius is mostly silent and is often found staring into space, patting his legs in some sort of rhythmic pattern. If asked, Gallus will thank the players for notifying him of this - as the rhythm is an old tribal beat of the Fredonians - a behaviour he should not be doing.

Gallus is concerned about feeding the child for the long journey back to Magnum Chasma, but is unwilling to leave the camp. "officially" because he is concerned over White Leg reprisal (who have made pitiful attempts at prodding their fortification - hence the crucifixion) but privately because he does not wish to leave the child alone. He will pay the players to find a surviving Super Duper Mart to find suitable items (baby formulae primarily).

The Legionaries have a major hook with regards to Jericho, but I will elaborate on this later.





 
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Salt Lake City - Jericho
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OST Atmosphere:


Jericho is a community of outcasts and those with nowhere else to go. Located in the dilapidated ruins of Salt Lake City in one of the few spots with surviving buildings, it's surrounded by a poorly constructed, half finished junk wall.

Originally formed by a group of New Canaanites who rallied together to argue for democracy in New Canaan - they did not trust God's Providence to decide their leader. Tensions rose and exploded, and they were exiled as godless atheists. Since then, other ne'er-do-wells such as thieves, homosexuals or the incestuous have been sent this way.

In the past, New Canaan has sent missionaries to try and bring them back into the fold, but they've been met by the end of a shotgun barrel - and they haven't returned since. New Canaanites aren't welcome. End of story. Jericho is defined by its sense of bitterness and Godlessness - the people here are without direction or much of a future, just surviving day to day. In that regard, they're normal Wasteland folk.

Though the town is moderately to lightly populated, with bands of Western traders milling about, it has four main spots of interest for travellers:

The Union: A bar and spot to gamble inside the remains of the old Union Pacific station. The gambling tables are more just spots to play poker and cards, are overseen by Martin and Uma Young - brother and sister, also wife and husband. They run the bar and brew their own moonshine out back.

Dusty's Desires: A brothel ran by Sally, a lesbian. Now calls herself Dusty. Her girls are mostly outsiders, though one of them is Molly, her New Canaanite lover. Sally walks with a staggered step due to back pain - a result of her lashings and canings before her exile.

Easy Rest Hotel: A hotel and "cafe" inside an old townhouse run by Donnie, an atheist. The cafe is run by Pete, an escaped prisoner from NCR - mostly serves rat and mantis meat gruel.

Bob's Bits: A general store ran by Bob, a Ghoul who gravedigs and loots corpses. Everything found in this store was plucked from the dead. Bob isn't very popular.

Important NPCs:

Franklin: A Follower of the Apocalypse with a chip on his shoulder. He came to New Canaan and originally worked there as a medical assistant, but he became the source of the trouble when he began to spread seditious thoughts of democracy and the evil of theocracy. Marked as the leader of the atheists, he was caned and lashed. Bitter, he tries to maintain a basic hydroponics farm to keep Jericho fed.

Sheriff Connor: A former New Canaanite guard and an atheist. Of them all he suffers the most without the direction of the guard or the guidance of his faith. Gruff, but clearly of troubled mind. Wears leather armor and carries a double barreled shotgun. He's assisted by his two deputies, escaped NCR prisoners Everett and Delmar.

Dusty: The most anti-Canaanite of them all. She holds an active hatred for New Canaan and the faith, for obvious reasons.

Everett, Pete and Delmar: Gunslingers from Redding who were hired by the Van Graff crime family to sabotage NCR expansion north, down Sac-Town way. They were caught, imprisoned and put into a chain gang of which they eventually escaped. Fleeing east, unwilling to convert to the faith and with nowhere else to go, they ended up in Jericho.

Problems/Hooks in Jericho:

  • The town is starving. They regularly have to pay tribute to White Legs but even if they didn't, the hydroponics still wouldn't be enough. The soil is bad and the Western traders only stop by for poker, booze and whoring. They already do all their food trading up in NC. You can't eat bottlecaps.
  • A Hands of God disguised themselves and then kidnapped one of Dusty's girls. Beating her to an inch of her life, they cut up her face so that she could be a whore no longer. They sent her back to Jericho with a message: convert and join New Jerusalem, help them retake New Canaan to repent or face destruction by the Hands of God.
  • Jericho was visited by Gallus and the other Legionaries. Sheriff Connor believes this could be a way out for all of them. To join an army well fed, clean and with direction. It would be a risk, but it might be their only way to survive. He will ask the players to speak with Gallus. Gallus will be more than happy to recruit them, being able to bring back soldiers (the men) and slaves (the women) to Magnum Chasma. The only condition is that those too sick, weak or mutant (i.e Bob) will be left behind. If they do this, they will be presented with a crudely made metal bull token, a symbol that the players are friends of the Legion.
 
Taking aspects of Van Buren whilst avoiding the parts that clearly ended up in the Mojave Chapter. Naturally there will be similarities because well, that's kind of the point of the Brotherhood but plenty of new stuff too.
You misunderstand, I was referring to your co-op faction in Dallas-Fort Worth in the Great Wastes. Obviously you took a lot of that from Van Buren, but with new details grafted on since there's no NCR nearby to justify the scrappers presence. The same applies in this setting, so it would make sense to repurpose it with some new details filled in. Not sure how you got Brotherhood from what I said but I suppose I was very unspecific
 
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