Fallout: Van Buren Worldbook (FINISHED - Map and PDF inside)

Hardboiled Android said:
Well at a minimum, they're probably better off for drawing all of the Gehennas and the Molechs. They have a fortified position on the surface, no constraints of space or fear of cave ins, and killing all (or most) up on the surface will make it simplicity itself to go down to the Sheol pit and defeat it.
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That is always true but the path of least resistance was always bum rushing the lab and activating the droids. Now they'll have to face them manually and in a party that is composed of all Small Guns and Melee it's not an easy task.
 
Burham Springs arc has concluded. @Hardboiled Android

Clover and Reverend constructed makeshift barricades at the front of the mine as the acid gas did its work on slowing and dissolving many of the Gehenna. Successfully blocking them from emerging. They returned to the surface to meet the Prospectors, Reverend declaring that they were going to use Sparky's grenade pistol to collapse the mine, inciting an argument as Phil steadfastly refused to give up all the work they'd put in on this job and give up the treasure. The argument became rather tense.

Meanwhile Johnny Boy and Marked By War returned to Burham Springs, the Tar Walkers hunting band remaining just outside the town to hide and await a signal to bring them in. They just caught the tail end of the quickly souring argument, to which Johnny Boy defended Reverend's position. It was time to cut the job and forget all about it. The argument escalated into a gun-toting mexican stand-off between the party and the Prospectors. Thanks to a critical success Persuasion Check on Johnny Boy's behalf, the Prospectors surrendered and agreed to give the job up - or so they thought. They returned to pack their things at the Mining Office but none of the party accompanied them - leading to Sparky deciding to fire a grenade round off from the window of the building to attempt to kill the party. A very short lived battle occured as the Tar Walkers and the party stormed the mining office and forced the Prospectors into surrender - now they weren't just forcing them to abandon the job, they were also going to rob the Prospectors and send them packing with nothing but the clothes on their back and a little bit of food. Out of options and with two of their men running away, they submitted.

The Tar Walkers celebrated and set up camp and cooked the party (as well as Joseph the New Canaanite Missionary) dinner. An argument between the party arose - do they just cut their losses and head to New Canaan, or do they finish what they started and kill off the now agitated Gehenna? Popular vote between the party decided on the latter, except for Johnny Boy who refused to accompany the rest of the party on what he considered to be a suicidal mission. Terex, leader of the Tar Walker band, recited his tribe's ancestral poem about the battle in the mines and gave them the information they needed to navigate it successfully - so they set off, removing the barricades and discovering the first level of the mine had been successfully been cleared by the gas. However, descending to the second level they discovered they were not so lucky there and the gas had not spread. Equipped with makeshift molotov cocktails, flares, Phil's Super-Blowtorch and flaming torches,they were ready to fight. However they discovered the Gehenna could not detect them if they held absolutely still and so on the second floor they successfully (by throwing rocks and creating distractions) snuck by the Gehennas in total darkness by the skin of their teeth.

The third floor was not so successful however - failed Sneak checks meant the party had a battle with shambling Gehenna, however they overcame. Eventually finding themselves in the mine's ultimate room - the home of the Sheol and the Poseidon Energy laboratory. Using a Pip Point, Clover lobbed molotov cocktails and halted the Sheol from spawning pseudopods and Molechs - leaving it to be a stationary death-pool, attacked overwhelmingly with flame weapons, setting it alight and reducing it to smouldering, still jelly. They entered the lab and hacked the AGRICOLA Bots, initiating their waste-cleanup protocol and wiping out the Sheol and the Gehenna once and for all - looting the lab (including the HADES Light Combat Armor and HADES Power Armor Hardening schematics) and returning to the surface victorious and flush with loot.

Now, they packed their things, a lot heavier in pocket, and began to head on the long old road to New Canaan.
 
Dayglow Drifter said:
Hell yeah dude a solid outcome to one of my favorite quests and settings in your Van Buren world document.
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I thought it was a little funny that they basically upended the Prospectors at the end because they thought the mine was too dangerous to play around with but ended up doing the job anyway, but such is the way when you've got real players making decisions and you're not writing a script.

Roadtrip session next week. The players asked to do a double session on Friday and then Saturday so we'll likely be delving into New Canaan full on.
 
@Hardboiled Android

In planning the roadtrip session I decided to bring back an old group from the Great Wastes: The New Celts! In the form of a wandering band of nomadic gypsies that will attempt to get the party drunk and trick them/rob them blind.
 
Atomic Postman said:
@Hardboiled Android

In planning the roadtrip session I decided to bring back an old group from the Great Wastes: The New Celts! In the form of a wandering band of nomadic gypsies that will attempt to get the party drunk and trick them/rob them blind.
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Exciting! Though a lot of their charm comes from their tie in to the core region, which is lost being so close by as opposed to meeting them in New Mexico. Still, I'm sure it will be a fun time.

Just to clarify - are they going to reach New Canaan in the second part of the double session, or are they both road trip?
 
Hardboiled Android said:
Exciting! Though a lot of their charm comes from their tie in to the core region, which is lost being so close by as opposed to meeting them in New Mexico. Still, I'm sure it will be a fun time.

Just to clarify - are they going to reach New Canaan in the second part of the double session, or are they both road trip?
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The first session is the roadtrip, the second (longer) session will be their arrival at New Canaan.

At the moment for the roadtrip I've got planned:

A supernatural special encounter

A pre-war super-mall playing a cursed version of Mr. Sandman on loop infested with Giant Mantises and (implicitly) ghosts

() .

A New Celt wedding

An 80s "Search and Destory" party heading on motorbikes through the desert.

The latter I might cut but I'm trying to bring Reverend Hill the Desert Ranger out of his RP shell a bit and giving him some flavor with knowing of the 80s I think would be good for him.
 
I'm also workshopping a way to introduce an NPC that I used in a prior campaign that I had so much fun with that I've decided to reuse him.

Django, the Greatest Bounty Hunter in the Wasteland. Basically picture Zapp Brannigan with Metal Armor and a Rocket Launcher strapped to his back that believes he is the protagonist of the Wasteland and the party are either nuisances or his happy companions on his epic quest, accompanied by his own theme song.




Generally his role will be comic relief, getting in the way of the party's efforts to do things through well intentioned buffoonery at the absolute wrong time and occasionally being an actual savior. He was a party favorite in my prior campaign, so I thought I'd give him another spin just because I legitimately adore RPing him.
 
Atomic Postman said:
The first session is the roadtrip, the second (longer) session will be their arrival at New Canaan.

At the moment for the roadtrip I've got planned:

A supernatural special encounter

A pre-war super-mall playing a cursed version of Mr. Sandman on loop infested with Giant Mantises and (implicitly) ghosts

() .

A New Celt wedding

An 80s "Search and Destory" party heading on motorbikes through the desert.

The latter I might cut but I'm trying to bring Reverend Hill the Desert Ranger out of his RP shell a bit and giving him some flavor with knowing of the 80s I think would be good for him.
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Bone Dancers might be an interesting option - a decent amount of work got put in to them and they're a great setpiece, but there are no quests directly implicating them so far as I can recall. Just an option.

Atomic Postman said:
I'm also workshopping a way to introduce an NPC that I used in a prior campaign that I had so much fun with that I've decided to reuse him.

Django, the Greatest Bounty Hunter in the Wasteland. Basically picture Zapp Brannigan with Metal Armor and a Rocket Launcher strapped to his back that believes he is the protagonist of the Wasteland and the party are either nuisances or his happy companions on his epic quest, accompanied by his own theme song.




Generally his role will be comic relief, getting in the way of the party's efforts to do things through well intentioned buffoonery at the absolute wrong time and occasionally being an actual savior. He was a party favorite in my prior campaign, so I thought I'd give him another spin just because I legitimately adore RPing him.
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At first my feeling reading the name and seeing you were literally using the Django Unchained theme, I thought it was kind of cringe. But then when I started to play the song, reread your post, and imagine it all playing out, I legitimately found myself chuckling. So it sounds pretty great.

I'm not sure if you specifically want to introduce him next session. If not, the two options that spring to mind are that he's posted up at the hotel (or brothel) in Jericho. Maybe he has a bounty to collect on the head of the chief of the Promontory Point tribals, or the Bone Dancers. He's spending his advance on "research." Alternatively, he could be working as one of the slaver bounty hunters for Caesar, framing his actions heroically - though this might make him too unsympathetic to the player characters, and perhaps (considering the rigor of the Legion) would be beyond his limited skillset.
 
Hardboiled Android said:
Bone Dancers might be an interesting option - a decent amount of work got put in to them and they're a great setpiece, but there are no quests directly implicating them so far as I can recall. Just an option.


At first my feeling reading the name and seeing you were literally using the Django Unchained theme, I thought it was kind of cringe. But then when I started to play the song, reread your post, and imagine it all playing out, I legitimately found myself chuckling. So it sounds pretty great.

I'm not sure if you specifically want to introduce him next session. If not, the two options that spring to mind are that he's posted up at the hotel (or brothel) in Jericho. Maybe he has a bounty to collect on the head of the chief of the Promontory Point tribals, or the Bone Dancers. He's spending his advance on "research." Alternatively, he could be working as one of the slaver bounty hunters for Caesar, framing his actions heroically - though this might make him too unsympathetic to the player characters, and perhaps (considering the rigor of the Legion) would be beyond his limited skillset.
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The Bone Dancers have actually been a point of discussion for the party several times. They decided on going a much longer route to New Canaan (following the highways and roads to the south of Grand Junction/Burham Springs rather than cutting through the mountains to SLC) specifically because they learnt it was Bone Dancer territory. They had a minor debate when they realized they didn't have enough food and weighed the options of going out blind without a solid source of food on the longer route versus being secure in rations but the risk of running into Bone Dancer territory.

As for Django, I don't plan on introducing him specifically next session, just whenever fits best. Jericho is a good place for him however. In my prior campaign his introduction was related to the campaign's villain being a crooked Desert Ranger and one of the party members being a former Desert Ranger that still donned the jacket, and Django being 100% confident that the party member was the villain and declaring that his days of evil-doing were finally at an end, by the hand of the Wasteland's Greatest Bounty Hunter.

And yeah, Django I assure you is much more endearing in practice then on paper.
 
Also as for the Legion being sympathetic - in character they are quite misaligned with the Legion (However, the personal plots of several characters will pit them against Hecate as well so it will put them between a rock and a hard place) being rather anti-slaver with Reverend being an active Desert Ranger however out of character they are all extremely excited to interact with the Legion, upon learning that in 2253 Caesar would be in his 20s "Sigma Male Grindset Caesar" has become a party meme on the discord.



Arizona is looking to be a huge confluence of character arcs so whenever they get there, I imagine it'll be the most interesting segment of the campaign.
 
Atomic Postman said:
This worldbook is both an effort to construct a campaign for the Vault Archives Fallout PnP system (for my own personal usage as DM), and also an exercise in collaborative worldbuilding for its own sake. Effectively, dump those ideas that were later recycled, reimagined, or outrighted contradicted in New Vegas, and further to construct a vivid landscape of "The East" in 2253, when Van Buren was originally set and 28 years prior to the events of New Vegas. This setting was constructed incorporating the ideas and design documents of Van Buren in addition to entirely novel ideas and twists. The goal is to create a Fallout world that is consistent in tone, that carries the torch of Van Buren, and that allows the players to shape a world with their decisions in a manner not constricted by the potential future of New Vegas. It’s a Wild Wasteland out there, and the right people in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.


Though primarily written by me, this project came together thanks to the great creative feedback, input and copy editing by @Hardboiled Android and also feedback from @Dayglow Drifter

The theme to this campaign is “Prisoners of Love” by the Ink Spots.





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@Morgan_ finally did that PDF conversion lmao
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Love it. Gonna give this a read ASAP.
 
@Hardboiled Android @Dayglow Drifter Last night's session was a brief one. They technically started out in the PE Lab at the bottom of Burham Springs mine, where they successfully hacked the AGRICOLA Bots in suspension and avoided their fire suppression protocol, meaning that the Bots eliminated the Sheol and all of its spawn both in the mines and on the surface, finally putting an end to the Burning Spring. Joseph, the resident New Canaanite, realized that the death of the Tar Walkers religion meant they were ripe for conversion to the Good Book and so reneged on his agreement to escort them to New Canaan, instead offering them a courier job of delivering a letter requesting a fully-fledged mission to Prophet Jeremiah Rigdon. 250 NCR Dollars up front, 250 guaranteed on their arrival. Marked By War meanwhile received a Tar Walker tattoo on his shoulder (A bastardized Poseidon Energy symbol)

They set out onto the road, encountering the nomadic New Celts. Joining their wedding festivities and being fed by the boatload Moonshine. Johnny Boy, Reverend and Marked By War got very drunk, but Clover abstained. Marked By War was challenged to an arm wrestling bet by a man half his size named Argyll , and put 50 NCR Dollars into the pot. However, Argyll disappeared with the money. Meanwhile, a very drunk John played poker and lost 50 NCR Dollars of his own. Later, Marked By War searched out his would-be opponent, shouting his name amongst the crowd, only to be met by Argaele, Argyll's 6'4 muscle-bound brother, whom he had technically agreed to arm-wrestle. Marked By War just barely won out, securing 100 NCR Dollars as a result of the bet. Refusing to drink further to blackout, the party were kicked out of the New Celts festival. Though thanks to Marked's victory in arm wrestling they were square on money, they lost an entire day of travel to a severe hangover.

Later in their travels they received a Special Encounter: a group of human shaped cacti, rooted in a circle. Deeply unnerved by this they cut the cacti open, revealing solid human-like, bleeding flesh the whole way through. In a panic they blasted the Cacti with shotguns and moved along their way.

Eventually, they reached a Super Duper Mall, looping "Mr. Sandman" in eternity. Marked By War discovered that the location was a breeding grounds for Radscorpions, but they decided the potential loot was worth the fight. Looting the former Food Court, they ended up cowering in a supply closet as hordes of Radscorpions migrated across the length of the mall. That is where we ended our brief prelude session, with the rest continuing this very evening.

Also, bonus party meme courtesy of Reverend Hill, who has now decided to spec into Big Guns after falling in love with his Super-Blowtorch.

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@Hardboiled Android

Just wrapped up the session. They fought their way out of the mall barely scraping out with their lives (after a particularly bad critical Failure led to Reverend torching Marked By War accidentally with his Blowtorch) and hitting the road. They were ambushed in the outskirts of SLC by White Legs who had set human-catching traps, but they managed to turn the fight around and turn them into gore-paste, passing signs for Jericho and heading onward to New Canaan.

Upon reaching Level 4, Johnny Boy took the perk "Friends like these" which allows him to roll against Charisma to determine if he has a contact in a major settlement, the nature of which is decided by me (Lando Calrissian style). He rolled and it turned out he knew a man called Avery, a former mentor of his within his tribe (The White Runners) who stayed behind in New Canaan and became a convert. They entered New Canaan (by using their letter from Joseph to skip the queue of entering caravans) and delivered Joseph's letter to a very exasperated Prophet Jeremiah Rigdon and his right hand, Pastor Mordecai. Rigdon paid them and offered them a sensitive job, but told them to rest up and return to him the following morning to hear about it.

In the meantime, Reverend Hill and Marked By War headed to the healing clinic. Reverend had learnt Doc Angela's wife, Gideon (formerly Rex) was a Desert Ranger and wished to speak to him. Marked By War required healing from Doc Angela. Reverend had a catch up with Rex, who informed him the Guards were looking for someone to deal with rumours of the return of the 80s tribe down south. Rex also offered to hang out with Reverend following work and enjoy some prohibited substances to which Reverend agreed. Reverend then set off in search of Protector Connor of the guard to learn more about the 80s tribe rumours.

Meanwhile, Johnny Boy sought out Avery who was now a member of the New Canaan Guard. Upon seeing him, he fully broke down into tears and relayed the destruction of the White Runners at the hands of slavers and the enslavement of his girlfriend, Caitlyn. Avery consoled him and brought him to the temple, teaching him how to pray and offering to house him and his friends during their time at New Canaan.

Clover set off on his own to Gabriel's Market and did some trading. Haggling with Vault City traders to get a transmitter in order to contact his Enclave Remnant brethren.

Reverend spoke with the smug Protector Connor, who happily agreed to send Reverend on a scouting job to learn as much as possible about the 80s encampment at Motown. Reverend, ardent veteran of the Road War, wished to head out straight away and on his own.

Johnny Boy learnt of New Canaan's chem smuggling issue and accepted the job to crack down on the trade. A perfect job for Johnny and his friends. They were outsiders who could sniff around, but Avery knew he could trust Johnny Boy with anything.

Reverend asked a guard if he could inform Marked By War and Rex that he would be leaving for a few days and to apologize for his absence. He did so, prompting the healed Marked By War to rush to the New Canaan gate, citing there was no way in hell he was going up against the 80s without him. Initially determined to go alone, Reverend has a soft spot for Marked, and so they buddied up and headed out into the Wasteland.

So the session ended there. This coming week I'm running two seperate sessions, one for Clover and Johnny Boy tackling the New Canaan drug problem, and another for the Reverend/Marked By War buddy comedy adventure to find the 80s, with next Saturdays session relinking them.
 
Is Johnny-Boy's exposure with Mormonism going to turn into something more, you think? I honestly love DMing a party with a devoutly religious PC, it offers a lot of roleplaying opportunities.
 
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