Fallout: Texas (The Great Wastes)

[Atomic Postman]

Bogged down with my uni essay work at the moment so haven't really had the time/typing energy to do the kind of post I wanted, but some musings I had during my pause for lunch earlier:

@HardboiledAndroid is going to hate me for this but I'm doubling back on the Dune Sea concept once again. Texas won't be technically cut-off from the Four Corners but it will in the pragmatic sense that the space east of Sante Fe, NM (Assumedly around the spot where the Legion stopped their advanced in NM since Denver is their furthest ever eastern point) and between that and the likes of Amarillo/Lubbock/ is basically just barren desert badlands. Hot and totally empty. Not an impassible wall as such, but much like how the Big Empty region in part has its namesake because people just think there's fuck-all there (As Christine indicates) there's really no reason for any sane person to just head out into that unless they've got a specific goal for where they're going. As indicated for the likes of people like Tycho and Cassidy who (IIRC from the FO Bible) made a dedicated mission of getting to Texas. If you want to pinch off the borders a little cleaner you could also throw in a nuclear plant meltdown at El Paso or something. I also think "The Badlands" or the "New Mexico badlands" is a bit more naturalistic/western sounding than Dune Sea. I think the idea of completely and totally boxing in Texas is seeming increasingly silly to me, as there's more occam's razor/natural explainations for it.

I am thinking of sliding the Sidewinders to originating from somewhere like Fort Hood or another millitary base, as I am cooking up a faction (Chem Runners as the placeholder name) that are descended from DEA (the Fallout alt-history equivalent that I will name later) and related border control forces that basically utilized their authority, gear to assert power and used their supply/stock of drugs as a resource for control - down the line this has led them to develop into something pretty different from their origins. I will develop this idea further another time. Sicario and Breaking Bad as media influences.

Some reshaping on Boomtown - moving them to Austin/the shadow of Austin at a mega-interstate.

The "Muscleocracy" of the Dynasty (placeholder name) and their arena are still in the works and whilst I still like the idea of a faction that values Unarmed fighting so heavily (Fist of the North Star style) and runs a gladiatorial arena in the classic sense is something I want to do, I might actually hand their whole thing of having the biggest stock of water over to the Lonestar Traders/Boomtown just because I think the reasoning for Boomtown and the Lonestar Traders being such a powerhouse is quite flimsy at the moment. This is a retread of the Hub but honestly, water being a base of mercantile power is just such an automatically sensible thing you'd see it repeated all over. Not sold on this idea either. Perhaps I could recombine them - the Fist of the North Star gladiator factions and Lonestar operating in the same space - perhaps call on some Austin flavour - "The Longhorns"? - gives some nice faction friction too inside the city.Perhaps the Longhorns officially run the show and are the muscle - but Lonestar has the de-facto mercantile power under them.

Also The Flamekeepers aren't based out of a fracking station but the central Poseideon Refinery for Texas's drained, broken fracked lands. Just because oil refineries already look like dystopian fortresses.

hopefully when i slog out this essay I'll get back to writing proper lore posts. But at the moment what is already a thread that is a post-it note for ideas has degenerated further into idle musings.

 

[Hardboiled Android]

@HardboiledAndroid is going to hate me for this but I'm doubling back on the Dune Sea concept once again. Texas won't be technically cut-off from the Four Corners but it will in the pragmatic sense that the space east of Sante Fe, NM (Assumedly around the spot where the Legion stopped their advanced in NM since Denver is their furthest ever eastern point) and between that and the likes of Amarillo/Lubbock/ is basically just barren desert badlands. Hot and totally empty. Not an impassible wall as such, but much like how the Big Empty region in part has its namesake because people just think there's fuck-all there (As Christine indicates) there's really no reason for any sane person to just head out into that unless they've got a specific goal for where they're going. As indicated for the likes of people like Tycho and Cassidy who (IIRC from the FO Bible) made a dedicated mission of getting to Texas. If you want to pinch off the borders a little cleaner you could also throw in a nuclear plant meltdown at El Paso or something. I also think "The Badlands" or the "New Mexico badlands" is a bit more naturalistic/western sounding than Dune Sea. I think the idea of completely and totally boxing in Texas is seeming increasingly silly to me, as there's more occam's razor/natural explainations for it.

I don't think I have as big a problem with this as you might think. My main concern is with the size of the Dune Sea - as long as it extends from the Sangre de Cristos/San Andreas mountains in New Mexico to the Caprock Escarpment, I'm happy as a camper. I think tis totally reasonable that individuals should be able to pass through it, I think its only necessary that its difficult to do, difficult to do with any consistency, and basically inviable for any regular/bulk transportation without something motorized. So more on the level of the Gobi Desert, the Sahara, or Death Valley instead of the Divide. Ideally I still think its the most interesting if it has supernaturally sized dust storms and is almost a hard barrier.

I was never particularly attached to the name of "the Dune Sea," but I should note that "Badlands" is somewhat problematic since generally Badlands refers to extremely rough and rocky areas, rather than a rolling desert like we would find in the Dune Sea, but this is a minor point. Though I should note that one of the points in favor of Dune Sea is that it contributes more I feel to the neo-biblical feeling of the Deluge Remnants.

I am thinking of sliding the Sidewinders to originating from somewhere like Fort Hood or another millitary base, as I am cooking up a faction (Chem Runners as the placeholder name) that are descended from DEA (the Fallout alt-history equivalent that I will name later) and related border control forces that basically utilized their authority, gear to assert power and used their supply/stock of drugs as a resource for control - down the line this has led them to develop into something pretty different from their origins. I will develop this idea further another time. Sicario and Breaking Bad as media influences.

DEA faction is extremely cool - though I should note that just because you have one border faction doesn't mean you can't have another, border is a big place. And I really like the concept of the Sidewinder as descended from border guard/Mexican occupation forces, ties in really well with the rest of the lore. Plus, I also like Fort Hood as a crater/host to tube bugs.

Some reshaping on Boomtown - moving them to Austin/the shadow of Austin at a mega-interstate.

I will say I found the current position of Boomtown in the current layout really elegant, laying at the center of a semicricle of settlements.

The "Muscleocracy" of the Dynasty (placeholder name) and their arena are still in the works and whilst I still like the idea of a faction that values Unarmed fighting so heavily (Fist of the North Star style) and runs a gladiatorial arena in the classic sense is something I want to do, I might actually hand their whole thing of having the biggest stock of water over to the Lonestar Traders/Boomtown just because I think the reasoning for Boomtown and the Lonestar Traders being such a powerhouse is quite flimsy at the moment. This is a retread of the Hub but honestly, water being a base of mercantile power is just such an automatically sensible thing you'd see it repeated all over. Not sold on this idea either. Perhaps I could recombine them - the Fist of the North Star gladiator factions and Lonestar operating in the same space - perhaps call on some Austin flavour - "The Longhorns"? - gives some nice faction friction too inside the city.Perhaps the Longhorns officially run the show and are the muscle - but Lonestar has the de-facto mercantile power under them.

Eh, I thinkl the current geographical explanation for Boomtown's power is enough.

Also The Flamekeepers aren't based out of a fracking station but the central Poseideon Refinery for Texas's drained, broken fracked lands. Just because oil refineries already look like dystopian fortresses.

So no more giant burny hole?

 

[Atomic Postman]

I don't think I have as big a problem with this as you might think. My main concern is with the size of the Dune Sea - as long as it extends from the Sangre de Cristos/San Andreas mountains in New Mexico to the Caprock Escarpment, I'm happy as a camper. I think tis totally reasonable that individuals should be able to pass through it, I think its only necessary that its difficult to do, difficult to do with any consistency, and basically inviable for any regular/bulk transportation without something motorized. So more on the level of the Gobi Desert, the Sahara, or Death Valley instead of the Divide. Ideally I still think its the most interesting if it has supernaturally sized dust storms and is almost a hard barrier.

Yeah that's kind of what I'm aiming for, but moreso making more of West Texas inhabitable with settlements dotted around there rather than it being a death-zone. People just don't really cross into the lived-in part of New Mexico or the western part of the state (i.e where the Legion will one day reside) because there's very little point. It's long, empty and the Four Corners itself is filled with savage, primitive tribes

I was never particularly attached to the name of "the Dune Sea," but I should note that "Badlands" is somewhat problematic since generally Badlands refers to extremely rough and rocky areas, rather than a rolling desert like we would find in the Dune Sea, but this is a minor point. Though I should note that one of the points in favor of Dune Sea is that it contributes more I feel to the neo-biblical feeling of the Deluge Remnants.

Good point. I suppose ultimately doesn't matter much what it's called - The Church could refer to it as one thing, and your average Wastelanders as another.

DEA faction is extremely cool - though I should note that just because you have one border faction doesn't mean you can't have another, border is a big place. And I really like the concept of the Sidewinder as descended from border guard/Mexican occupation forces, ties in really well with the rest of the lore. Plus, I also like Fort Hood as a crater/host to tube bugs..

Don't worry I still like the Fort Hood dungeon too. In thinking on it I do suppose there's a distinct difference in an army platoon that was deployed at the border versus the DEA and the border patrol. Especially since the Chem Runners are a very different kettle of fish to their more government derived origins. It just didn't seem that way when I was idly daydreaming whilst hurriedly eating my soup between work chapters today.

will say I found the current position of Boomtown in the current layout really elegant, laying at the center of a semicricle of settlements

It still could be that, seeing as Brady isn't hugely far from Austin. Either way, map locations are still somewhat flexible. Places like Sidewinder and Pleasant Hills are still in the air, Brahmaville is loosely close to San Antonio et cetera.

, I thinkl the current geographical explanation for Boomtown's power is enough.

I've just had something rub me wrong with Boomtown since iteration 1 and I'm still trying to iron it out. Something isn't ringing right and I don't know what. First it felt too "kitchen sink" and boring, now it feels incomplete or like it's missing something. Not sure. Feel like I'm getting closer.

no more giant burny hole?

Nah giant burny hole very important. Perhaps it's a super-complex - both the first fracking facility and the centralised refinery for the region. I just really like the idea of a refinery as a fortress.

I also have an interesting idea for how the Flame Keepers interact with other factions that could act as a nice hook - collecting/being given prisoners/criminals from other settlements. Of each 10 they wrangle back to base, 9 are fed to the flame to cleanse their sin and 1 is kept alive to be press-ganged into service. The survivor is chosen randomly among the ten. Anyway, I will keep the rest for the eventual flamekeepers post.

 

[Hardboiled Android]

Yeah that's kind of what I'm aiming for, but moreso making more of West Texas inhabitable with settlements dotted around there rather than it being a death-zone. People just don't really cross into the lived-in part of New Mexico or the western part of the state (i.e where the Legion will one day reside) because there's very little point. It's long, empty and the Four Corners itself is filled with savage, primitive tribes

So long as settlement is still comparatively rare, centered around a few scarce oases and maybe the Pecos valley.

I've just had something rub me wrong with Boomtown since iteration 1 and I'm still trying to iron it out. Something isn't ringing right and I don't know what. First it felt too "kitchen sink" and boring, now it feels incomplete or like it's missing something. Not sure. Feel like I'm getting closer.

I would agree with this, it could probably use a bit more flavor. But I'd sawy keep water to the Dynasty at Meridian (or wherever)

Nah giant burny hole very important. Perhaps it's a super-complex - both the first fracking facility and the centralised refinery for the region. I just really like the idea of a refinery as a fortress.

Ok, sounds great.

 

[Dargonsploof]

Has anything more come from this?