Nova and Lux

1. #1Brotherhood of Steelselective

   Keys: Brotherhood of Steel

   The Brotherhood of Steel (commonly abbreviated to BoS) is a post-War technology-focused paramilitary order with chapters operating across the territory of the former United States. Founded by rogue U.S. Army officer Captain Roger Maxson shortly after the Great War, the Brotherhood's core purpose is to preserve advanced technology and regulate its usage. Despite often being relatively isolationist, the Brotherhood has proved to be one of the most important organizations in the history of the wasteland, though their exact levels of power and influence have varied over time and by chapter. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. On October 23, 2077, the Great War struck. As Maxson was halfway through prying the story from Head Researcher Leon Von Felden, the facility lost contact with the outside world as nuclear weapons started to drop. Spared the nuclear devastation, Mariposa protected the inhabitants from nuclear fallout flooding the wasteland. Fearing that China would soon make up for the oversight, on October 24, Maxson ordered his soldiers and their families to prepare to vacate the base the next day. On October 25, Sergeant Platner volunteered to take atmospheric readings outside the base. Reporting no significant amounts of radiation in the atmosphere, final preparations for the Exodus were undertaken. On October 26, Maxson ordered the remains of the scientists to be buried in the wastes outside the base. A day later, on October 27, former US servicemen and their families left the base under the lead of Captain Roger Maxson, heading for the Lost Hills government bunker in the south. In November, a few weeks later, war refugees arrived at the bunker. The people suffered casualties along the way, as while the soldiers were protected by T-51 power armor, their families had no armor to speak of. Marauders that attacked the caravan quickly learned to target the unprotected civilians. Though the attackers paid with two lives for every one they took, many were lost, including Roger Maxson's wife but not his teenage son. Several soldiers broke off during the Exodus as well, led by Sergeant Dennis Allen. Ignoring warnings from Captain Maxson and defying the group's will, Allen's faction separated from the convoy in order to excavate the remains of the West Tek Research Facility using their power armor. They were never heard from again. Around 2151, the Brotherhood sent out knights to seek out Allen's group or its remains. All they found were desolate ruins. The Exodus survivors claimed the Lost Hills bunker as their own. The refugees expanded and adapted it to fit their own needs, becoming a bastion of technology in a world that has lost centuries of technological development overnight. Using surviving satellite connections, Maxson reached out across the continent, broadcasting a request for contact. By chance, Maxson found an old friend in Appalachia, Lieutenant Elizabeth Taggerdy of the US Army Rangers. Although initially hesitant to trust him, due to the public declaration of secession, she gambled and left the channel open. As Maxson revealed the depth of atrocities perpetrated by the United States government, Taggerdy's faith in the system was shaken, then dismantled. Following the winter spent at Camp Venture, she joined Maxson's banner. Witnessing how people around him slowly succumbed to depression, Captain Maxson formulated a new ideology for the survivors. It took him years to create it, replacing the tarnished Stars and Stripes with new symbols, new ranks, and new ideas to replace the ones scorched in nuclear fire. They would provide meaning for people before they became lost in the depths of despair after losing their friends, family, and their entire world. Although some under his command, particularly Lieutenant Taggerdy, were skeptical of his plans, Maxson believed that the way forward lay in new traditions and a new mythology, free of the burden of the past. He also believed that it would prevent any surviving politicians from exercising their authority over former American soldiers, especially those with an agenda that involved burning Americans on the funeral pyre of the regime. By June 20, 2082, all members under his command switched over to using Brotherhood ranks and practices. The Brotherhood kept growing in New California, welcoming into its ranks a National Guard unit that was formerly stationed near Mariposa. They acquired several bunkers and sent expeditions as far as the Mojave Wasteland, gathering intelligence and new recruits. As the Brotherhood in New California developed, so did its sister organization in Appalachia under Paladin Taggerdy. Although she showed a bias towards candidates with a military background while building up the ranks, she eventually understood Roger Maxson's vision and continued to expand and develop the organization using Camp Venture as a training outpost. Despite initial resistance to the new rank system by the rest in her outfit, the new ideas offered by Maxson eventually took root and were accepted.

   In Appalachia, the Brotherhood's insistence on acquiring munitions for their fighting against mutants led to ruffled feathers, especially with the Responders prior to the Christmas Flood in December 2082. However, they eventually found a common tongue, standing together during the Battle of Huntersville in May 2086. Although the Brotherhood sustained losses, it prevailed. This coincided with the announcement of a new mandate by Roger Maxson at Lost Hills: to gather, record, and save the collective knowledge of mankind for future generations, to act as a catalyst for the rebirth of civilization in time. Some in Appalachia responded to this new policy with enthusiasm, others with grudging acceptance, and yet others, like Hank Madigan, left the Brotherhood to join the Responders.

   The new mission quickly took a backseat, however, as the Appalachian Brotherhood encountered the scorchbeasts and the Scorched in the Cranberry Bog. Conferring with Maxson's ace researcher at Lost Hills, Scribe Hailey Takano, the Brotherhood in Appalachia quickly calculated that the scorchbeasts represented a potential extinction event for humanity. Lost Hills supplied a number of designs and weapon schematics to help stem the tide, including a sonic generator and an automated research program. Taggerdy pleaded with Maxson to grant her team permission to use nuclear weapons against the scorchbeasts but was forbidden by him because he found the concept of using nuclear weapons, even to help fight the scorchbeasts, to be too morally abhorrent after their world was destroyed by nukes.

   By the 2090s, communication between Lost Hills and Appalachia was on steady decline due to failing Old World communication infrastructure. Before being cut off, Maxson ordered Taggerdy to hold the tide, and proscribed the use of nuclear weapons. Eventually, the communications failed entirely, separating Lost Hills from Appalachia. The chapter in Appalachia fought on, trying to destroy the scorchbeasts through attrition, but by 2093, their numbers dwindled to the point where they were forced to close down Camp Venture, their first base, and focus their remaining forces at Fort Defiance and Thunder Mountain Power Plant. Declining support from the Responders and the constant fighting just to stem the tide of the Scorched and their masters took their toll, preventing the Brotherhood from completing the automated research program at Vault-Tec University, supplied to them by Takano. Eventually, the Brotherhood launched Operation Touchdown. This last ditch effort was launched in January 2095 and briefly stemmed the tide at the cost of the entire strike force, which included Knight Moreno and Paladin Taggerdy. Ultimately, the Brotherhood in Appalachia was wiped out in their last stand at Fort Defiance and Thunder Mountain on August 18-19, 2095, marking the end of the original Brotherhood in Appalachia. However, by 2103, a small group of reinforcements arrived on their way from Lost Hills to examine various centers of technology across the country, expand the Brotherhood across the East Coast, and find out what happened to Taggerdy. Known as the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force, they were led by Leila Rahmani and Daniel Shin and were to set up base in Fort Atlas in Appalachia. The team also had a scribe named Odessa Valdez. While Maxson's motive was sincere, wishing to find out what happened to his friend Taggerdy, Rahmani became certain the Council of Elders had an ulterior motive: to remove her influence and meddling as she would often argue over their ways.

   Along their hike across the country, the expedition found a town under threat by raiders. Wanting to assist them, Rahmani and Shin agreed to providing the townsfolk with weapons to help defend them. Unfortunately, the raiders were able to steal the guns and kill the townsfolk. During the assault, the Brotherhood lost one of their valued members, Alan Connors, and obtained two young refugee siblings who lost their parents, Marcia and Maximo Leone. This incident would set off a division between Rahmani and Shin, with Shin wanting himself and Rahmani to stand trial with the Council of Elders. Upon arriving in Appalachia, the group was dismayed to discover that Taggerdy's Brotherhood was wiped out by the scorchbeasts, with Vernon Dodge being the only known survivor. Rahmani decided that in order to establish the Brotherhood's presence in the region, the organization needed to cooperate with Appalachia's other factions, particularly the settlement of Foundation. Shin became skeptical of Rahmani's choices, particularly her desire to delay the re-establishment of contact with the elders in Lost Hills. Rahmani and Shin dealt with numerous conflicts, including Meg Groberg's raiders, battles against super mutants, and a plan to infect the water cycle with FEV orchestrated by a driven scientist.

   During a mission to explore an Enclave research facility, Rahmani, feeling that the elders from Lost Hills were a hindrance in her ideals of establishing the Brotherhood as a peacekeeping force, destroyed the radio transmitter, which infuriated Shin. As a result, there is no confirmation of the Brotherhood in Appalachia re-establishing contact with the Brotherhood in California, as well as their status post-2105. In 2135, Roger Maxson died of cancer. Already a legendary figure to the Brotherhood, he was essentially deified as the Founder and Deliverer. His son, Maxson II, replaced him as the high elder, while his grandson, John Maxson, joined the paladin caste, showing great promise. Around 2141, the Brotherhood ceased admitting new members from the outside, relying solely on their natural growth for increasing their numbers. The Brotherhood was a major power in the region at this point, firmly exercising their control on the lands surrounding their bunker and forming trade relations with the neighboring towns, especially the Hub. However, the focus on hard sciences gave in to the detriment of humanities, history in particular. This decline in soft sciences eventually led to some initiates of the youngest generations having no idea who Roger Maxson was. In 2150, they clashed with the newly reformed Vipers. The battles intensified in subsequent years, culminating in the death of High Elder Maxson II in 2155. John Maxson's father expected the raiders to break formation and flee when faced with Brotherhood warriors clad in powered armor, but did not account for their religious ferocity. A poisoned arrow nicked him when his helmet was off, and he died within hours. John Maxson was promoted to the elder council, while Rhombus was tasked with conducting a campaign of extermination against the Vipers. The paladins tracked down and wiped out almost all of their members within the span of a month. A handful of Vipers were able to flee north and east into the mountain range; while small groups continued to exist and raid in New California, they never regained their full power. Both Rhombus and John Maxson would eventually ascend to leadership roles, with John Maxson becoming the high elder in 2159 and promoting Rhombus to the role of head paladin. During the campaign, the Brotherhood sent a few scouts and emissaries to the Hub to track down Vipers members, and from these beginnings, the Hub and the Brotherhood began full trade relations. Caravans had delivered to the Brotherhood before, but not long after the destruction of the Vipers, caravan trains ran directly from the Hub to the Brotherhood on a regular basis. While the situation remained peaceful and prosperous, issues would develop between the Hub and the Brotherhood from time to time. In the late 2150s, the water merchants of the Hub attempted to barter a large quantity of water for a weapons stockpile. Although the Brotherhood turned down the offer, the merchants attempted to take the weapons regardless. The thieves were caught, but the Brotherhood elders voted down a retaliatory expedition. In 2161, the Brotherhood discovered the presence of a new enemy. In October, a group of knights on a patrol in the badlands discovered a dead super mutant. After examining the creature, Head Scribe Vree determined that it was sterile, but also notes that there must have been a central location that created these mutants. The elder council, fearing a potential invasion, enacted several security decrees, including a moratorium on training new recruits until the threat passed. The elders also sent out several scouts north and east into the badlands. Only one returned from the east, reporting an encounter with twenty super mutants, and none at all returned from the north. The council could not reach an agreement on how to act. Even as Hub merchant caravans started disappearing in the northern wastes, the elders refused to act until they were fully certain that there was an army massing in the northern mountains. The impasse was broken by the arrival of the Vault Dweller. Having rescued a Brotherhood initiate from bandits in the Hub, the Vault Dweller visited the Brotherhood and accepted the mission to the Glow, to recover the disk belonging to Sergeant Dennis Allen to learn the fate of the splinter faction from the Mariposa Rebellion. The Vault Dweller surprised everyone by surviving and returning with the artifact. They became the first outsider to join the Brotherhood in nearly twenty years. The Brotherhood shared what knowledge they had and some of their advanced technology with the Vault Dweller, allowing them to seek out the Master and destroy him in the Boneyard. Following the death of the super mutant leader, the Brotherhood further aided the Vault Dweller's quest, sending a team of crack assault paladins to storm Mariposa. Following the destruction of the Unity, the Brotherhood aided other human settlements to drive the mutants away with minimal loss of life on both sides of the conflict. The Brotherhood remained out of the power structure for a time, becoming a major research and development house by reintroducing advanced technology into New California at a slow pace. The wise guidance of Rhombus arguably brought the Brotherhood to the zenith of its power. The Brotherhood had good relations with the developing New California Republic, to the point that one of the states of the federation was named after the founder of the Brotherhood: Maxson. However, Lost Hills was never incorporated into the NCR. Over the years, the Brotherhood grew confident in its status as the sole source of advanced technology left to mankind, and allowed its prominence and influence to wane, growing stagnant. This stagnancy made them unable to deal with the technologically superior Enclave, when the Brotherhood learned of their existence circa 2240. In order to learn more about them, the Brotherhood reactivated a network of outposts in Northern California to observe Enclave activity. Thanks to their low profile, they achieved practical anonymity, even in the populous San Francisco. Once the Enclave was apparently destroyed by the Chosen One, the Brotherhood was without a foe to face. In an effort to end the stagnation, the Brotherhood expanded eastward (including the formation of the Mojave chapter under Elder Elijah) and sent out expeditions to recover technology, going as far as the Capital Wasteland in 2255, with the expedition under Senior Paladin Owyn Lyons. 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. By 2277, the Brotherhood was well-established in the Capital Wasteland with their headquarters at the Citadel in Washington D.C. under the leadership of Owyn Lyons. 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 fighting robot called Liberty Prime. Although this was a short-term boon for the East Coast Brotherhood, changes were on the horizon for the restorationists under Lyons. The key blow to the organization came with the death of Owyn Lyons circa 2278 and the loss of now-Elder Sarah Lyons later that same year. 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 warboss 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, abandoning Lyons' doctrine. Lyons' Brotherhood became a distant memory as Maxson restored the original mission of the Brotherhood of Steel. While some members found this distasteful and left, many still remained, proud to serve a refocused Brotherhood. 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. In California, the rampant expansionism of the New California Republic 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. The disagreements over the way technology should be handled eventually resulted in a full-out war with the New California Republic. The Brotherhood was eventually forced into a retreat. 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. The most well-known confrontation occurred during the NCR's Operation: Sunburst in 2276. Under Elder Elijah's leadership, the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was operating out of the solar power plant of 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. The Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood was considered effectively neutralized. The Mojave chapter went under lockdown following their defeat at HELIOS One and the retreat to Hidden Valley. Despite their victory over the Brotherhood, the war would cost the NCR dearly. Apart from losses in manpower and materiel, the greatest victim of the war was the NCR's economy. The NCR's gold reserves were completely destroyed by Brotherhood raids: new gold coins could not be minted and paper money could not be properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from the NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. To protect against an actual economic collapse, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie. Since then, many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation. In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub established their own currency, the veritable bottle cap, backing it with a standardized measure of water. After discovering advanced signals originating from the Institute, the Prydwen traveled to the Commonwealth. The Brotherhood established its headquarters at Boston Airport. The vessel serves multiple roles for the Brotherhood, including those of aircraft carrier, command center, clinic, personnel quarters, equipment maintenance bay and research facility. n plotting a course to find, access and destroy the Institute, Elder Maxson determined the first initiative to be repairing Liberty Prime back to working order. The Brotherhood is still active in the Los Angeles region around the year 2296. They also have their own airship, the Caswennan, which appears to be similar to the Prydwen. The Brotherhood is a military order with a strictly enforced hierarchy and chain of command. At the foundation of the hierarchy lies the Chain That Binds doctrine. It mandates obedience to one's superiors and forbids circumventing ranks when giving orders. Superiors may only give orders to their direct subordinates, but not their subordinate's subordinates. Although intended to ensure the cohesion of command, the doctrine has been generally interpreted as a simple mandate of obedience within the order, with the order flow requirements ignored, abandoned, or altered in practice. However, it does provide a technicality that can be invoked to relieve members of their rank, up to and including elders. Roger Maxson's goals in inventing a new tradition and mythology for the Brotherhood were two-fold. First, they would ensure that members of the Brotherhood would be stripped of their ties to the pre-War military and government, ensuring that any surviving general or politician would not be able to invoke their oaths and use them to unleash nuclear devastation on the world again (as was the case with Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Eckhart in Appalachia). Second, it would give the survivors an idea to believe in, something they could dedicate themselves to, and find meaning in their lives after the nuclear war. The inspiration came from the fall of the western Roman Empire when the knights and scribes kept the fire of civilization going after the empire imploded. As a rule, most Brotherhood chapters do not have an internal economy and allocate resources based on need, including weapons, armor, and even augmentations. Outside recruits are a special case: While they will receive basic equipment (such as Brotherhood armor and weekly allotment of ammunition), and an allotment of rations to maintain their health, they must serve for ten years before the Brotherhood will provide its most advanced services without charge. Higher-ranking members may bypass this requirement and allocate equipment at their discretion, for example, to reward services rendered to the Brotherhood or provide tools necessary for a mission. All equipment beyond personal items is issued by the Brotherhood and carefully tracked by serial number, especially weapons. The Brotherhood has several distinct classes that define a member's standing in the Brotherhood social structure, with a strict hierarchy distinguishing each member's position.

   The Brotherhood is egalitarian in nature, with male and female members both being able to rise up to any rank. At the Brotherhood's foundation, however, the women of the Brotherhood were also called "Brothers" instead of "Sisters," which would not carry over to the East Coast chapter. The beliefs of the Brotherhood were shaped by the experiences of Roger Maxson at Mariposa Military Base and in the aftermath of the Great War. At first, the Brotherhood focused on aiding survivors to the best of its ability, acting as an armed fighting force, rather than the military order it would become. The change came with the realization that the collective knowledge of humanity was in danger of being lost for generations to come. To keep the secrets of the past alive, Maxson decided to dedicate the Brotherhood to the preservation of technology and human knowledge, collecting it in order that the Brotherhood might become the catalyst for humanity's rebirth. As the guardians of civilization, the Brotherhood would focus on the big picture, with direct aid considered a secondary concern. While scribes were originally considered second-rate members, tools to protect the knights and maintain the Brotherhood's bases, this change in priorities placed them on equal footing with soldiers of the Brotherhood, tasked with preserving and developing technologies recovered from the field by the knights. Maxson's ultimate intention was to establish the Brotherhood as an organization that works closely with people outside of the Brotherhood, as guardians of civilizations, not its gatekeepers.

2. #2Abolitionistsselective

   Keys: Abolitionists

   The Abolitionists are a small group of former slaves, loosely organized under Hannibal Hamlin. Taking their name from the historic Abolitionist Movement, they revere Abraham Lincoln for his role in ending formal slavery in the southern United States through the Emancipation Proclamation and subsequent victory in the American Civil War, which paved the way for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery across the United States. Their goal is to resurrect Lincoln's ideals and bring his vision, of all men being free and equal, to the wasteland. Unfortunately, a lot of their knowledge is of dubious quality, warped by centuries of mistranslation and poor record keeping. Hannibal organized the group about six years prior, around 2271, after escaping slavery himself. In 2277, it is based in the Temple of the Union, a ruined office building containing the head of the statue from Lincoln Memorial that Hannibal discovered while on the run. The Abolitionists use the building as a safe haven for runaway slaves, providing them with food and supplies, then helping them on their way to freedom. However, the Temple is at capacity and lacks food, water, and shelter space to house runaway slaves. Hannibal wants to relocate to the Lincoln Memorial in downtown D.C., but requires aid to scout the area out and remove any threats, particularly super mutants. Relocating there would also help Hannibal create a proper shining beacon of hope for all slaves across the Capital Wasteland. Hamlin hopes that rebasing to the Memorial together with a restored Gettysburg Address will eventually spread stories of a safe haven for slaves, inspiring them to flee their slaving masters or even rise up against them in revolt. His followers agree with him, as the Abolitionists are the only ones making a stand against Paradise Falls and slavery in the Capital Wasteland: Neither Rivet City nor Owyn Lyons' Brotherhood chapter bother with helping slaves. Apart from sheltering freedmen at the Temple, small groups of Abolitionists are known to take on bounties against known slavers in the area.

3. #3Slaveryselective

   Keys: Slavery

   Slavery is a term referring to the owning of another person as property, typically for the purposes of exploitation as labor. Although largely extinct by the 21st century, it was reborn in the wake of the Great War, becoming the foundation of many wasteland economies, over two thousand years after Rome built an empire on the backs of slaves. The Brotherhood of Steel does not believe in forcing anyone to serve the order against their will. Accusing them of slavery is considered a particularly severe insult. The New California Republic explicitly banned slavery within its territories by 2241, with its standing police force committed to arresting any slavers within its borders, much like any raider, cannibal or lawless mutant.

4. #4New California Republicselective

   Keys: New California Republic, NCR

   The New California Republic (NCR) is a post-War federal republic founded in New California in 2189. It is comprised of five contiguous states located in southern California, with additional territorial holdings in northern California, Oregon, and Nevada. Considering itself an inheritor to pre-War values of democracy, personal liberty and rule of law, the NCR has developed a highly expansionist as well as imperialist culture, undertaking colonization efforts and military expeditions into neighboring regions in order to "civilize" them. However, these policies are not without controversy, and by 2281, many within and outside the NCR have come to criticize it as hawkish and prone to corruption.

5. #5(Unfinished) Enclaveselective

   Keys: Enclave

   The Enclave is a paramilitary organization and quasi-state originating from the pre-War American deep state consisting of high-ranking political, military, and corporate figures. It claims to be the direct continuation of the United States and its government, despite seizing power by subverting continuity of government protocols and murdering non-Enclave government survivors to continue the war against communism. Enclave ideology eventually evolved into pseudo-scientific racism and social Darwinism, deeming all non-Enclave humans to be inferior, near-human mutants to be exterminated. The resulting genocide to create a racially pure state of "true humans," its authoritarian structure, and numerous other atrocities, including slavery, human experimentation, and unprovoked attacks on American citizens, resulted in the Enclave being seen by the rest of humanity and even its former members as a fascist remnant of the pre-War government or simply "the rich old bastards who didn't want to give up their power." All Enclave members are considered war criminals and ruthlessly pursued, including by the New California Republic and the Brotherhood of Steel. The Enclave has patterned itself after the pre-War United States of America, scaling down its structure to match its smaller size. The Enclave is led by a president, elected by the people of the Enclave without a term limit. The Enclave also has a congress, but there is no mention of a judicial branch. Some governmental agencies have also been reformed in the Enclave. The Atomic energy Commission exists but has been scaled down significantly and around 2242 was responsible simply for maintaining the oil rig's nuclear reactor. The Enclave's society in its heyday was characterized by secrecy, pervasive surveillance, and conformity, particularly under President Richardson. The slightest sign of discontent was seen as disloyalty and grounds for permanent reassignment to mainland duties, rather than the cozy confines of the oil rig. The situation was different on the mainland: All members were expected to be able to produce identification papers at a moment's notice, The president is assisted by a vice president, who together form the executive branch of the government. and summary execution authorized at the commanding officer's discretion, without the need for court martial. If they so decided, they could decide to execute the offender on the spot, for example, for disobeying a direct order, but even carelessness and breaking delicate equipment (eg. EnclaveNet infrastructure) could easily lead to facing the firing squad. The atrocities were packaged as patriotic necessity, or rather, jingoism, emphasized by the ever-present patriotic anthems and iconography. For example, both Richardson's and Eden's speeches were preceded by a variety of anthems. Though most of the Enclave were conformists, dissension was present. While in Appalachia this led to a civil war and its extinction, in New California there were more outlets. The opening of Navarro and mainland operations allowed dissenters to simply desert its ranks and blend in with the wasteland population, benefiting from ignorance. This eventually changed, as the NCR and the Brotherhood became aware of the extent of the organization's crimes. The Enclave claims to be the direct continuation of the pre-War United States of America, but ignores the duties and laws of the state in favor of entrenching its own power; standard protocols implemented during the Great War included the murder of all non-Enclave personnel at facilities it controlled, such as elected members of Congress not part of the organization at CB 002. Enclave members weren't safe from each other either, as at the same location, refusal to fall in behind Thomas Eckhart resulted in a purge through mass gassing. Eckhart was determined to eradicate communism and its supporters through any means necessary. The planned genocide was to be carried out through any means necessary, including mutation experiments that rendered subjects questionably human and releasing mutants and hostile robots againt American citizens, to trick the AALS to raise DEFCON, and gain access to the nuclear silos. This promise was used to recruit soldiers to the Enclave banner, promising vengeance for the losses sustained in the Great War. The Sino-American War continued in the ranks of the Enclave, but morale suffered, leading General Ellen Santiago to question whether eradicating communism and vengeance justified tormenting and killing American survivors, on top of the murders of Congressmen and fellow Enclave members. The disagreement eventually spiraled into a civil war, extinguishing the Enclave in Appalachia, around early 2085. The Enclave faction on the opposite end of the continent, centered around the last President of the United States, survived. The plans to eradicate communism through genocide evolved into a plan to exterminate all non-Enclave humans. The Enclave used pseudo-scientific justifications, declaring that subtle alterations in DNA of humans outside the Enclave make them near-human mutants, who must be exterminated to maintain the integrity of the human race. This position was adopted around 2140, with the Enclave styling itself the last remaining bastion of humanity on Earth, and the only salvation of the human race. The idea of "saving the human race" has caused the Enclave to reject any cohabitation with non-Enclave humans. Before the War, the Enclave was a cabal 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, and other powerful men and women who together formed the group. In the opinion of its members, it was the greatest assembly of minds on American soil. To the outside, particularly in later centuries, it wasn't the United States, but the rich and powerful, unwilling to give up their power. 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. 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, covertly funded by funds embezzled from the Department of Agriculture by its secretary, Thomas Eckhart. Other facilities prepared in advance were Raven Rock and the Kovac-Muldoon Platform.

   The Enclave used Project Safehouse and Vault-Tec's network of underground shelters for a grand social experiment, to test the occupants in unique circumstances. 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. 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. 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. Others remained behind, only retreating to fortified shelters as the nuclear war became imminent. As the shadow government poised to take over the US government should the worst occur, the existence of the Enclave to the larger public was unknown. 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. The United States military refused to allow the Enclave access to some of its systems. 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. 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. 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. 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. An independent investigation by reporter Mags Veccio for the Boston Bugle 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. Unfortunately, she published her revelations on the front page in the week that would end in said nuclear conflagration. 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. On October 23, 2077, the Great War resulted in the destruction of the Old World and the creation of the post-atomic wasteland that would dominate the globe for the next several hundred years. The United States government largely ceased to exist, and despite well-prepared plans, the nuclear attack caught the Enclave by surprise. Some government officials who were supposed to retreat to the Congressional Bunker never made it, either failing to respond to hails or being removed from the list prior to the bombs for unknown reasons. Members of Congress who made it to the Congressional Bunker and were not part of the Enclave were summarily executed. Surviving members were then put to a vote as to whether to use the resources of Appalachia to continue the war against China or to oppose Eckhart's plans. Those that disagreed with Eckhart were locked inside while those that agreed with Eckhart were allowed to exit, at which point those inside the room they were voting in were gassed and executed. Communication between the Whitespring and the rest of the Enclave was mysteriously cut off almost as soon as the bombs dropped. Short of physically cutting the hardline communications systems, this shouldn't have been possible. Without contact with the oil rig, Raven Rock, and other Enclave outposts, Eckhart proclaimed himself President of the United States and Appalachian Enclave. Without any opposition, Eckhart quickly hijacked the mission of the Appalachian Enclave, ignoring his orders and shifting from a primarily scientific mission to a mission of revenge against China. Although Eckhart's reign lasted less than a decade, it left an indelible mark on the region and brought humanity to near-extinction. In his pursuit of vengeance, Eckhart planned to use Appalachia's automated nuclear missile silos to deliver secondary nuclear strikes on China to ensure its destruction. However, due to the nature of the automated systems, he first needed to convince them that Appalachia was under attack severe enough to warrant going to DEFCON 1 again. To do so, he unleashed progressively worse horrors upon Appalachia, from Liberators, through super mutants, to the scorchbeasts, massive mutated bats created by the Enclave, infected with a virulent plague capable of controlling living creatures. This proved to be the breaking point for a significant part of the Enclave, with opposition forces rallying around General Ellen Santiago. The result was a brief, but bloody civil war that ended in the death of every living member of the Appalachian Enclave: When Santiago's forces attempted to destroy MODUS, the AI defended itself. Although explosives already planted severely damaged its memory banks, it retained control over the bunker long enough to seal it and fill it with poisonous gas, wiping out the Enclave's Appalachian branch in 2086.

6. #6Followers of the Apocalypseselective

   Keys: Followers of the Apocalypse

   The Followers of the Apocalypse, or simply the Followers, are a humanitarian organization originating in New California. Followers focus on providing education and medical services to those in need, as well as furthering research in non-military areas. Once allies of the New California Republic, they have since parted ways due to disagreements over NCR foreign policy.

   Forgoing preaching in favor of humanitarianism, the Followers are generally welcomed by the inhabitants of the wasteland. Wherever they go, the Followers seek to provide services to those in need, namely medical care and agricultural instruction. Those in positions of power often regard them as seditious anarchists; though such accusations are not entirely without truth, the organization as a whole has no interest in seizing power.

   The Followers of the Apocalypse readily assist those who require aid and welcome anyone who wishes to join their ranks, including former members of the Enclave, Brotherhood of Steel, or just about any other faction. Although pacifists by nature, the Followers will not hesitate to defend themselves against attackers and will take up arms against those who threaten their ideals. Oftentimes they will be seen with hired guards adding much-needed protection and firepower to their organization.

7. #7Caesar's Legionselective

   Keys: Caesar's Legion

   Caesar's Legion (Latin: Legio Caesaris), also referred to simply as The Legion, is an imperialistic slaver society and totalitarian dictatorship founded in 2247 by Edward "Caesar" Sallow and Joshua Graham, built on the conquest and enslavement of tribal societies in the American southwest. To enforce unity in the absence of any civilian institutions, the Legion loosely models itself after the military of the Roman Empire, repurposing its language and aesthetics for the post-apocalypse. As of 2281, the Legion controls large amounts of territory east of the Colorado River, primarily in the former states of Arizona and New Mexico, with footholds in Utah and Colorado. Worshipped as the "son of Mars" by his followers, Caesar's ultimate goal is to conquer the New California Republic and merge its civil institutions and infrastructure with the military strength of the Legion, creating a new totalitarian empire. The Legion proper is first and foremost a slave army, the sole owner of which is Caesar. As Caesar conquers the peoples of the wasteland, he strips them of their tribal identities and merges them into his forces. There is no other tribe than the Legion itself. The non-tribal people who live in Legion-controlled territory are not considered legionaries. They are subjects of the Legion, living in the cities and towns under its control, and are generally left free to do whatever they wish, as long as they do not interfere with Legion operations or endanger its position. The Legion employs a very strict hierarchy and clear division of roles between the sexes. Legionaries are the main fighting force of the Legion, composed of able-bodied men enslaved by the Legion or born into it. They have only one purpose: to fight for Caesar until they fall in battle. This principle is imprinted into each legionary during his reconditioning or upbringing (for those born into slavery), creating fanatically loyal soldiers. Unlike the Roman Empire, experience and veteran status have no bearing on a legionary's position. While they receive better equipment as they advance, this is solely for the purpose of accomplishing more dangerous and complex tasks, with much smaller tolerance for failure. They have no personal freedoms or rights. Their only real choice is where and when they die for Caesar, to whom they are disposable tools, discarded the moment they stop fulfilling their purpose. Women are expressly forbidden from fighting, being considered breeding stock as well as being treated as money to be rewarded among Legionaries. They are caretakers, healers, midwives, and breeders, fulfilling roles essential to maintaining the Legion's continuous campaign of expansion. Of particular note are the priestesses, who raise children taken from their parents and raise them in keeping with Caesar's doctrine. While some members of the Legion express condescending or misogynistic opinions of women and their non-combat roles, the sexist segregation of genders in the Legion is not based on prejudice, but the principle of minimax. Caesar strictly divides the duties between the sexes in order to fully utilize their potential and optimize the Legion's might. By forbidding women from engaging in combat, he increases the likelihood of their bearing of children, especially necessary due to the high infant mortality resulting from the low level of medical care. Population growth is required for expansion, providing a greater number of warriors to use in military campaigns. Caesar himself is not particularly prejudiced against any sex, or rather, treats them both instrumentally, like pawns on a chessboard.

   In order to maximize breeding and eliminate factors that might lower it, Caesar has decreed homosexuality a capital offense and mandated child quotas from all legionaries. The vocabulary of Legion members is a mixture of Latin and English. There was no soft ⟨c⟩ in classical Latin, where it was always pronounced as /k/, such as in their pronunciation of Caesar's name as /ˈkaisar/. Individuals outside of the Legion generally use the Modern English pronunciation of /ˈsiːzər/. Legion members are fastidious about classical Latin pronunciations, including the /v/ to (w) phonology, heard in the greeting "ave" (hail) as "ah-wey" or in how Vulpes Inculta introduces himself, pronouncing his first name as "wool-pes." Those outside of the Legion that have come in contact with them may use the pronunciations interchangeably. Legion members are called "legionaries" (as opposed to "legionnaires," which is a modern phrase used by the French Foreign Legion. Those who are liked by the Legion are called "amicus," Latin for comrade/friend. The focus of the Legion's ideology is survival and long term stability at all costs. Caesar disregards democracies as ineffective, fostering corruption, and disintegration. Ancient Rome was a militarized autocracy that effectively assimilated the cultures it conquered, which he saw as the perfect template for a society that would survive and thrive in the face of the challenges of the post-nuclear world. By dedicating its members to a higher ideal, he seeks to prevent humanity from fracturing and destroying itself again. He believes that the only way to achieve this is through enforcing a nationalist, imperialist, totalitarian, homogeneous culture that obliterates the identity of every group it conquers. The individual has no value beyond his utility to the state, whether as an instrument of war or production. A natural consequence of this is the emphasis placed on personal sacrifice. Victory cannot be achieved without sacrificing blood and life. To this end, the Legion shuns robots, as they firmly believe that mankind requires warriors and their sacrifice, rather than gadgets that allow for bloodless victories. The Legion also forbids painkillers and other chems (including medically beneficial chems like stimpaks) as detrimental to the human condition and Caesar's long-term plans to reshape humanity. Ignorance of medical science among the legionaries also ensures that only the hardiest will survive and go on to become deadly veterans. Politically, this philosophy is expressed in a general disdain for democracy as a weak and ineffective system that fosters disunity, greed, and self-interest at the expense of the collective and the greater good. Caesar cites the NCR as an example, focusing on government corruption by wealthy brahmin barons and landowners, greed permeating every level of society, all leading to the abandonment of the collective and the greater good. The Legion is intended to be the Republic's opposite, shunning democracy in favor of a strong, centralized rule that would prevent fragmentation and internal weakness. The conquest of NCR will establish a new order, akin to the Roman Empire, complete with the transformation of the Legion from a marauding army into a domestic military force.

8. #8Great Khansselective

   Keys: Great Khans

   Despite the destruction of the New Khans at the hands of the Chosen One, the tribe's history did not end with Darion's death. Though his mercenary war band was the governing band, it was not the only one. Over the next few decades, the fragmented Khans gradually coalesced back into a single group. No longer small raiding bands, this time, the newly-renamed "Great" Khans became a unified tribe once more under the leadership of Papa Khan, who led an exodus into the Mojave Wasteland, abandoning New California in 2267. Upon arrival in Nevada, a vanguard of the Followers of the Apocalypse already present in the Mojave reached out to the Khans and taught them basic science skills, such as chemistry, reading and writing. They hoped that the Khans would use that knowledge to manufacture medicine to sustain themselves, but instead the tribe turned this knowledge into a profitable racket in drug running. Drugs were nothing new for the Khans, as they already knew how to use plants and herbs to create mind-altering substances, the Followers just made them more efficient and indirectly contributed to the popularity of substance abuse among the Khans. Still, some of the chems they produce go toward trading with others, namely the Fiends. As the third incarnation of the Khans, the Great Khans are the only truly organized band of raiders in the Mojave; both men and women can hold their own in a fight, whether in a brawl or a shootout. As a tribe however, the Great Khans are but a shadow of their former selves. Both their numbers and morale have been ravaged by a series of massacres and displacements until the current leader Papa Khan guided the tribe into an exodus into the Mojave Wasteland from California. Papa Khan governs his Khans in a similar fashion to his predecessor, Garl Death-Hand, using advisors to inform decisions for the good of the tribe, while still making final decisions himself. His trusted advisors include Regis, the chief of law enforcement and Papa's second in command right hand man; Jack and Diane, in charge of economics and chem trade; and Melissa Lewis, the lead scout. Unlike Garl however, Papa is willing to accept criticism of his leadership and does not punish his followers for speaking out against him. Papa Khan also has a system of succession in place differing from that of the original Khans. For the time being, Regis will take over should Papa Khan die. However, Papa is able to select an heir to succeed him, should they impress him. This heir does not have to be related by blood to Papa Khan, nor do they even have to be a Khan at all. The leader of the Khans is also able to step down at any time, for any reason, but an heir cannot decline their role until they become leader. The Great Khans reside in Mongolian-style tents called Gers (yurts) within Red Rock Canyon. However, unlike the other settlers of the Mojave, these homes are used for little more than sleeping in, as they usually only have room for a couple of beds and a central fire. A Great Khan often carries all of their possessions with them, if they should decide to have anything besides the bare essentials. Because of this, as well as their aggression, the other factions view them as savages. However, unlike the Jackals, Fiends, Scorpions and Vipers, the Great Khans are not hostile towards newcomers. If the Great Khans begin to dislike someone, however, they will often show great hostility. Due to a long and hostile history, however, they will open fire on anyone wearing an NCR uniform, regardless of if they are in fact an NCR member or not.

   The Great Khans subsist mainly on hunting and farming, and profit from the sales of chemicals and drugs produced in the Red Rock drug lab. The Canyon is an inhospitable location, lacking adequate food and water, leading to the Great Khans' dependence on drugs, which they can create quite easily and can sell to a multitude of factions.

9. #9Fiendsselective

   Keys: Fiends

   The origins of the Fiends is unknown, though they have been led by a man by the name of Motor-Runner for many years. They control the southwestern ruins of Vegas, placing Vault 3 well within their sights when the vault opened. Despite managing a relatively peaceful trading relationship with the outside world for a few weeks, the vault inhabitants were too trusting and without means to defend themselves. When the Fiends arrived to raid the vault, the inhabitants simply let them in, wherein the Fiends slaughtered them all. Seeing the potential of the vault and having trouble keeping his people out of Westside, Motor-Runner decided to make it their new home. Having firmly rooted themselves in this safe haven, the Fiends have since steadily grown stronger, and they now claim a large part of the southwestern New Vegas conurbation as their territory. The Fiends have little organization. Many of the more stable of the raiders are allowed to reside in Vault 3, but those considered to crazy even by Fiend standards are kicked out to aimlessly roam the northern Mojave looking for their next chem score or an innocent wastelander to jump. Like many other raider groups, the Fiends split into small war-parties, usually between three and four members, which allows them to operate in an enormous portion of the outer New Vegas, aside from their main area of the western and south-western city.

   Outside, they are usually gathered around campfires where much of their scavenged items, such as first aid and ammo boxes, can be found scattered around. Many raider camps are protected by makeshift walls and littered with graffiti. At times, they utilize traps in order to protect their shelter, as seen inside Zapp's Neon Signs. Fiends have a variety of different weapons, from basic melee weapons such as knives and pool cues, to an unusually large number of high-tech range weapons like Laser RCWs and plasma rifles. They are mostly found carrying basic guns like caravan shotguns, varmint rifles, and silenced .22 SMGs. Some Fiends can occasionally be found carrying weapons like chainsaws, Rippers, and flamers. Due to the wide range of different weapons varying from Fiend to Fiend, it is assumed that they are either scavenged, stolen or looted off people they had killed. They dress in various raider armors and wear distinct helmets adorned with war-painted ruminant skulls. The Fiends have also used the neon signs from Zapp's Neon Signs to erect a perimeter fence around their territory.

10. #10Jackalsselective

    Keys: Jackals

    The Jackals are a cannibalistic, savage raider tribe. The Jackals commonly use group tactics to overwhelm their enemies, but due to a lack of coordination and cowardice, they will instantly retreat whenever they doubt they can win. Their bands shelter in various hideaways and fighting over spoils is not uncommon. Jackals tend to file their teeth and turn them into canines. Another marked trait of their tribe is cannibalism, imposed by their experiences. Many Jackals are desperate to find food, leading them to feigning death or retreating temporarily from combat, just to be able to claim the bodies afterwards.

11. #11Scorpionsselective

    Keys: Scorpions

    No different than any other raider gang, the Scorpions are primarily composed of petty upstarts that make caps through small-time chem peddling. Scorpion gangers are usually armed with guns such as 10mm pistols, sawed-off shotguns or 10mm submachine guns. They also hold weak melee weapons such as switchblades or lead pipes. At least one of them in the suites will be wielding a Ripper. They almost always wear merc cruiser outfits.

12. #12Unityselective

    Keys: Unity

    The Unity (also called the Master's army) was the military and political organization created by the Master to advance his agenda. The Master desired to forcefully evolve humans into a single, perfect race removing the inequalities that are the cause of strife among humans. To this end, he used the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) on humans to uplift them. The Master's race would colloquially be known as the super mutants by most people of New California.

    With the discovery of the Los Angeles Vault, and the establishment of the Children of the Cathedral, the Master created the means of conversion and recruitment of people into his project. Under the guise of apostles of peace; establishing hospitals and churches in the cities of the wasteland. The Children and the mutants, led by the elite nightkin warriors, prepared for a war that would change the face of the Earth and bring upon the Master's goal for an ethnostate. The Unity was an egalitarian society. The Virus elevated all super mutants to a common level of physical aptitude, eliminating many of the differences that lay at the heart of the inter-human conflict. Many super mutants actually preferred the transformation, as the Unity was free of pettiness, hatred, and jealousy that plagued regular mankind. The only problems were one with intelligence. While perfect transformations led to induction into the Nightkin, the true new humans of the Master's ideal order, some candidates for transformation did not have the mental fortitude necessary to withstand the strain. While they were a minority among the mutants (most retained their pre-dipping intellect), their impact was severe enough to interfere with the Unity's goals. Most mutants didn't hate humans, instead believing theirs to be the better way. Humanity's reluctance to overcome its inherent problems meant that most had to be forced to change and adapt, as they would run when they heard the call, rather than embracing it. If humans embraced the call, the Master's plan would never be required in the first place, after all. There were differing beliefs, of course: Some super mutants viewed themselves as equals to normal humans, owing to their common ancestry. They viewed the mutation as merely a rebirth - and supported the Unity, believing it to be the best chance for peace, despite misgivings. The Unity was one of the most technologically advanced organizations in the wasteland. Its soldiers were commonly equipped with high-end heavy weapons and energy rifles while relying on their thick hide for protection. Armor was typically limited to joint or shoulder protection. All members of the Unity had access to quality medical care and reliable sources of food and water, an incredibly rare feat in the wasteland. Research into exotic branches of science was conducted. The Master's scientists conducted experiments in psionic warfare, attempting to replicate the Master's psionic potential by injecting FEV directly into the various areas of the brain, with mixed results. Four partial successes were recorded, creating incredibly powerful psychics who were nonetheless terminally insane.

13. #13Ghoulselective

    Keys: Ghoul

    Ghouls are mutated humans or animals affected by the phenomenon of ghoulification. In the case of humans, ghouls are sometimes referred to as necrotic post-humans in the Capital Wasteland, but this term does not seem to have been adopted outside of it whatsoever. Despite their zombie-like appearance, the flesh of ghouls is not actually rotten. ntense and prolonged radiation has ravaged their skin, much of their flesh, and in some cases many of their ligaments. Some have managed to retain their humanity, while others have fallen into madness and gone feral. Despite their infertility and in some cases mental deterioration, they have greatly extended overall lifespans and are immune to (and sometimes even healed by) background radiation and/or nuclear fallout. High levels of radiation are a crucial factor, but radiation poisoning typically results in death, rather than ghoulification. There are two primary ways in which ghouls can develop from a human. Irradiation and gradual transformation result in ghouls who retain their general human shape, but with a high degree of skin deterioration: Exposed muscle, flaking skin, and damaged connective tissue characterized by the absence of nose and ears. Another is surviving a nuclear blast relatively close to ground zero, suffering burns both thermal and radiation-induced, but surviving. The latter transformation is typically faster and substantially more traumatic for the victim and results in a generally much more horrifying appearance, with exposed bone, asymmetric deformations, and extensive unhealed wounds. The transformation can take anywhere from hours, to weeks, to as much as a year, depending on exposure levels. Age is also a non-factor, people with the capacity to become a ghoul can change as early as a newborn into old age. Once it is completed, the ghouls take on the aforementioned appearance, at a rate influenced largely by the manner of their exposure: the more radiation received in a short amount of time causes drastic changes, while symptoms of ghoulification are more gradual with chronic exposure. Ghouls generally experience loss of skin and connective tissue in a manner similar to leprosy, resulting in exposed muscle, blood vessels, and in extreme cases even bone and internal organs. As a rule, ghouls generally lose hair along with the skin, though this varies due to the unpredictable nature of the change. Vocal cords and the larynx are also usually affected by the change, resulting in a raspy voice – though again, this varies, such as the vocal cords experiencing only minor degradation when ghoulification begins, resulting in a far less raspy voice, compared to those who have experienced it for far longer. Other results of the change are widespread necrosis, rot, and other degenerative conditions like arthritis, cataracts, and glaucoma. Feralization and dementia can happen immediately. In fact, this necrosis can be exacerbated by a phenomenon whereby rotting flesh around sweat glands exudes macronutrients, which attract flies that further digest and consume the tissue of the ghoul. Some ghouls may also experience loss of appendages, but the radioactive regeneration allows for them to be reattached and retain functionality.

14. #14The Cult of the Mothmanselective

    Keys: The Cult of the Mothman

    The Cult of the Mothman (or simply the Mothman Cult) is a religious movement in the region of Appalachia based in the exaltation of the Truth of the Mothman, though the term is often used by outsiders to refer to the largest faction, the Followers of the Winged One. Prior to the Great War, the faithful congregated in a small makeshift church under the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant.

    Mere days before the bombs fell, Brother Charles experienced a vision, which prompted the cultists to seek shelter in the faraway Lucky Hole Mine. Following the War, mutant creatures resembling the legendary Mothman were seen across Appalachia, and the cultists eventually emerged from the mine to engage with them in various ways.

    The religion split into two major sects, which are bitterly at war;

    The Enlightened, a relatively secular movement, were the first group to leave the mine. They fled Appalachia with the prophet Brother Charles to exalt the Wise Mothman, an individual mortal being, distinguished by its otherworldly fuchsia glow. The Followers of the Winged One descend from those who remained in the mine (with the First Priestess of the Wood), and emerged later to carry out crusades, claiming considerable holdings in the region. Crazed and superstitious, they worship the numerous red-eyed "Holy" Mothman species as manifestations of their god of Light. Prior to the Great War, the Mothman was a mythical creature in Appalachian folklore, considered a "cryptid" in pop culture. Described as a terrifying half-man, half-moth hybrid, it was believed to haunt the area around Point Pleasant. It was feared as a herald of disaster, due to its historic 1967 appearance before the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which connected Ohio and West Virginia. The story was a media sensation, and caught the attention of many people, ranging from eccentric paranormal hobbyists to obsessive conspiracy theorists determined to "uncover" some deeper meaning in the legend. The Mothman was embraced by the town for attracting tourists, prompting the creation of the Mothman Museum, which sold cryptid novelty goods such as pulp novels, magazines, and posters. djacent to the museum, a pavilion was built around a large Mothman statue, infamous for its prominent, muscular buttocks.

    Long-term interest in Mothman sightings was generally insignificant, and the matter was not seen as worthy of genuine inquiry by the scientific community. However, the legend found enduring notoriety in the region, and left an imprint on pop culture which attracted sincere cryptid hunters and researchers. A clandestine organization coalesced in the quiet town of Point Pleasant, which hoped to directly interact with the Mothman through ritual. The group congregated within the root cellar underneath the Mothman Museum, which was converted into a small chapel, where Mothman enthusiasts attended meetings and sermons. They grew fervent in their worship of the Mothman as a divine being. They believed they could predict future disasters by communing with the Mothman, and often attempted to summon him for this purpose. On October 21, 2077, only two days before nuclear Armageddon was unleashed across the world, a service was held in the hidden church. The preacher was organizing a ritual to summon the Mothman, hoping to be warned of a coming danger. Shortly thereafter, they conducted the ritual. One member, Brother Charles, believed he had seen the Mothman in the periphery of his senses, who delivered a message of great danger. The omen was communicated to the preacher. He called a second mass the following day, and read a sermon titled "Impending doom," advocating for Charles and relaying the warning to the group.

    According to his sermon, the Mothman informed Charles that the cult must seek high ground, or they would perish in a flood on the following day. The preacher further proclaimed that the faithful must stand on the rooftops of Point Pleasant and wait for the flood, and ordered those present to spread the word. They planned to praise the rushing waters in the light of dawn as the faithless perished beneath them.

    For reasons which went unrecorded, a large group then eschewed the plan declared by the preacher, and fled Point Pleasant with Brother Charles. They traveled across the state to the entrance of a decommissioned mine, perched upon on a cliff overlooking Watoga.

    Decades later, the Enlightened would describe this event as a misguided ritual to the red-eyed "Pretender Mothman," yet attribute this revelation to the Wise Mothman. They also claim it was Charles who "guided his brethren to safety in the Lucky Hole Mine" by hearing the Whispers of the Wise One. Further, the Enlightened attest that the Wise One foretold of "fire and flood," while the preacher at Point Pleasant spoke only of a flood. The sprawling Lucky Hole Mine features two major chambers of worship; a large church area where a natural spring of drinking water has formed, and the hidden lair of a creature referred to by the cult as "the Firstborn of the Wood." Both are marked by giant sculptures of faces of unknown origin, which appear to have been excavated. The cultists believe the spring was formed when their god collected their tears in His branches and spread them on the earth. However, the Cult of the Mothman were not the first mysterious group to seek sanctuary here.

    Some time prior, an old woman approached the under-staffed security team of the inactive Lucky Hole Mine, asking for a "tour." She was turned away. Shortly thereafter, the mine was ordered to permanently cease operations by its parent corporation. Immediately following this development, the old woman returned with a group of people. Again, she requested a tour of the mine, and again, she was turned away. After this, people were seen lurking around the premises at night, and locks were found smashed. Before long, the security team left an entry on their terminal explicitly surrendering the decommissioned mine to this unknown group out of fear. Currently, the security terminal remains intact at the entrance of the mine, immediately next to the note He agrees. Per the corresponding note His home, according to the post-War dwellers of the mine, it was prophesied that the group would be denied a new home by the faithless three times before "He would open the way," which may refer to this historic incident.

    The first time the old woman visited, a guard decided to call the nearby Allegheny Asylum to ask about escaped patients, which places the incident no later than March of 2061. The Cult of the Mothman arrived at the Lucky Hole Mine before the bombs fell on October 23, 2077, and took shelter inside. As nuclear shockwaves ripped across the surface of Appalachia, the group settled into their new home.

    Meanwhile, in the years following complete societal collapse, there were frequent reports among the Charleston Emergency Government of people claiming to have seen Mothman. The creature was also documented by the Appalachian Enclave. Jeff Lane was a man obsessed with the paranormal, who moved to Point Pleasant because of the town's historic connection to supernatural events. He lived in an apartment adjacent to the Mothman Museum, a business he either owned or worked for. He had a key to the bathroom of the Museum which concealed the entrance to their hidden chapel. He remained in Point Pleasant after the War, and developed a fixation on an entity called "the Interloper," after encountering a "story teller" whom spoke of this entity waiting deep beneath the earth. Jeff described this man as "mad by any reckoning," but held his story to be "no less true," and became convinced that the Interloper was waiting for him. He described the Mothman as a mere "creature" and aspired to understand the horrors hidden in the periphery of the subconscious mind. Jeff eventually left Point Pleasant and made his way to the Lucky Hole Mine. By this time, he was completely obsessed with the Interloper, believing it had chosen him for some higher cosmic purpose. He arrived alone, and was unaware that his former neighbors had taken shelter here, though he noted that "the signs are all around that I am not the only one to hear the call." At this time, Lane expressed his desire to act as a "vessel" and a "conduit" for the Interloper, and his belief that he was specifically ordained for this role. After recording this tape, Jeff Lane disappears from history. Beyond these scant facts, the nature of his relationship with the Interloper and its cult is unknown. In the years following the War, some within the mine "turned to darker worship" under the guidance of a figure known as the First Priestess of the Wood. Many of the cultists within the mine began to worship the Firstborn of the Wood, to the disgust of others. When this perceived corruption of the religion became unbearable, a group fled the mine with Charles. They came to call this new sect "the Enlightened" and founded a church called the Lantern, somewhere beyond the hills of West Virginia, leaving those who exalted the First Priestess to dwell in the mine.

    The Enlightened define themselves by their exclusive reverence for the Wise Mothman, an individual mothman with magenta eyes. They describe this Wise One as a benevolent mortal messenger who wishes to impart wisdom upon mankind, and does not ask to be treated as a god. By 2088, groups of cultists began to emerge from the mine and settle Appalachia, building shrines in all regions of West Virginia except for the Cranberry Bog. They sought communion with the forces they believed dwelled in the forest. They also attempted to summon or encounter the Mothman and be blessed by his divine power. The cult consisted not only of individuals, but entire family units and communities. Some of their settlements appeared to be hatcheries for feral red-eyed mothmen. They came to call themselves the Followers of the Winged One. They have also been known to refer to themselves, perhaps in certain contexts, as "brothers of the Wood" or "servants of the Wood." They seek to become one with "the Light." At some point, the Followers purged their enemies in an event called the Crusade of Light.

    The First Priestess of the Wood eventually died, and her casket was enshrined in the chapel at Lucky Hole Mine, elevated prominently between the pulpit and the springs. A human skull was placed on this casket, neatly arranged with radstag antlers, evoking the form of an antlered human. Those loyal to the Priestess continued to address her and deliver blessings unto her posthumously.

    During the pre-Plague period, raiders came to control Point Pleasant until power changed hands to the Responders, who eventually fell to the Scorched. A ghastly shrine by the water indicates cult activity in Point Pleasant at some point before or after these events. The Scorched Plague hit Appalachia in 2085. Eventually, all of the faithful left West Virginia or died there. The latest written evidence of human activity in Appalachia dates to 2097. By the time Vault 76 opened in 2102, none remained alive in the region.

    In the wake of the Plague, Mothman stalked the ruins in silence. The cultists' distinctive remains were seen occasionally, especially near their abandoned settlements. Scores of scorched humans and feral ghouls were left milling about the region, but none have ever been spotted wearing cultist attire. When the 76 Dwellers emerged on Reclamation Day, the earliest among them reported seeing a friendly purple-eyed mutant moth in the wild, but sightings ceased by the end of the year. Outside of certain Enlightened summoning rituals, the Wise Mothman has not been spotted in the region since.

    Over the next year, various people groups returned or migrated to the region due to the defeat of the Scorchbeast Queen. As they fought viciously to settle the corrupted forests of Appalachia, red eyes fell upon them, and the Mothman disturbed their dreams. In 2103, the Followers of the Winged One returned en masse and thrived in West Virginia. Restored to their holy land, they resolved to drive out or destroy all within His domain who shun the Light of the Holy Mothman. The sect has maintained a mounting presence in Appalachia ever since. They began by fortifying and sanctifying positions across the state, including Clancy Manor, Ingram Mansion, Johnson's Acre, and their ancestral home of Point Pleasant. Shrines of various size can be found in any given forest in the region, and ephemeral ritual bonfires are constructed throughout the woods. Small bands of initiates and aspiring Mothman Priests freely camp in the wilderness by night and wander the country roads by day. High Priests are spotted in the region seasonally, some of them apparently caring for mothman eggs.

    They settled the church at Kanawha County Cemetery, hoping to track down the works of a deceased entomologist by the name of Dr. Wallace. They sought his doctoral thesis on the moths of the Appalachian region. Additionally, a shrine called Blake's Offering appeared very close to the ruins of KMAX Transmission, a student radio station whose host was a conspiracy theorist with a cryptozoological interest in Mothman. During the seasonal Equinox, members of the Enlightened travel to Point Pleasant, driving away the Followers who normally occupy this location. This begins a two-week long ceremony in honor of the Wise One. The Followers attempt to sabotage the hourly rituals throughout the festival, and ultimately reclaim the town each year after the Enlightened leave. During the first festival, a throne was constructed on top of the Mothman Museum. They also attached Hornwright industrial fans to the roof, which they use to disperse neurotoxic dust into the air.

    In 2104, a Follower named Brother Scarberry began socializing with the Dwellers of Vault 76. Meanwhile, a Smiling Man who seemed to have the shadow of a moth was seen wandering the wilderness. Shortly thereafter, the cult settled the Glade in Cranberry Bog, now known as the Sacramental Glade. In 2105, the Followers were found to be living in the sprawling Organ Cave beneath the Forest, and came into conflict with the Responders in the area. Around the same time, they were driven from Ingram Mansion, and their occult structures were cleared away to make room for a new development. Each denomination decries the other as heretical servants of "the Pretender Mothman." The Followers hold their spiritual beliefs to be observable truth. In their parlance, the Enlightened have actually "left the Light" in their apostacy from the larger faith. They take great offense that the Enlightened still practice some of the same rituals in the name of a different benefactor.

    In response, the Enlightened describe themselves as students of "the physical reality of the Mothman," and look down on the larger cult as believers in the supernal. In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar They scorn these "Dim Ones" as heretics projecting mythology onto unthinking creatures, and condemn their red-eyed Holy Mothman icon as "the Deceiver." In the words of the Enlightened, their former peers have "succumbed to the delusion of Holiness" in heeding "the Call of a thing beyond." They hold the Wise Mothman to be "among us, and of us," and they claim to "know that he is more alike to us than not."

    Both sects recognize the Mothman Equinox as a sacred cosmological event and claim ownership of the Mothman Museum. Both are interested in psychic phenomena, especially the ability to hear voices and remote viewing, though neither is known to use the word "psychic." The schism formally occurred when a group left the mine with Charles. The First Priestess of the Wood remained at the mine and eventually died there. As Interpreter Michaela tells the story in Exodus, the schism began when the entire cult began to hear the whispers of the Wise Mothman while living at the mine, filling many of them with fear. Conversely, Charles and some of the cultists focused on these whispers, and became "Wise" in doing so. Upon learning that the Enlightened still practice traditional Mothman rituals, Brother Scarberry remarks "It seems that there is the need for another Crusade of Light," alluding to some organized campaign of mass violence the Followers once carried out, possibly targeting apostates specifically. The timeframe, location, and parameters of this Crusade of Light are unspecified. On the tape Cultist - Mind's Eye, a Mothman Priest uses the plural "crusades," either alluding to a multitude of previous events or plans for a second Crusade in the future.

    Seasonally, the Enlightened wrest control of Point Pleasant from their adversaries for two weeks at a time, to conduct the Equinox festival. The Followers, in turn, attempt to disrupt their ceremonies until the festivities conclude and the Enlightened leave. The timing of the Mothman Equinox may or may not align with equinoxes observed by traditional astronomy.

    The Enlightened recognize and emphasize a distinction between voices associated with the Wise Mothman and those associated with the Interloper. The Followers are known to celebrate auditory hallucinations as "His voice" and "the voices of the Woods." The Followers of the Winged One are numerous throughout Appalachia and the surrounding regions. They impede trade between other societies by maintaining territorial control over trade routes.

    They have been recruiting individuals who were not at the Lucky Hole Mine at the time of the Great War. Ghouls are commonly seen among their ranks. The cult is stable enough that people have been born into it, and grown to adulthood in social isolation. Their structure includes Mothman Priests who preside over the disciples, as well as High Priests who have memorized sacred books, and other revered elders. Their society emphasizes the importance of crusades.

    The Enlightened are only known to live at a mysterious church called the Lantern. The highest rank of their secular society is to be called Wise. These Wise persons work in tandem with Interpreters, who oversee the basic Observers and guide them in visions. Unlike their infamously territorial counterparts, this smaller, more secretive sect are not known to disrupt other wasteland societies, and seem to have gone almost entirely unnoticed in general. The Followers appear to value primitivism, using a combination of wood, bones, wire, leather, vines, and cloth to construct their armor and shrines. Their bases usually utilize pre-existing structures, modifying them with bones, vines, wood, and otherwise to create shelters, balconies, and altars. Their places of influence are overwhelmingly infested with overgrown roots and vines.

    Some strongholds, such as Sacrament and Moth-Home, appear to be newly assembled from natural materials. Nearly all of their settlements are built around a prominent spire, where mothmen can perch. Sometimes a human sacrifice is bound and offered up on the spire. The creatures do frequently visit these settlements at night, and almost exclusively leave their eggs in the care of the cultists. The distinctive bones of a large aquatic creature are universal to cultist architecture. The nature of this creature is unknown, but the remains of one rest underwater at the Big Maw. The cranium of this beast is commonly used to construct an effigy of the Holy Mothman. Glowing red mushrooms, berries, or candles are often placed in the eye sockets. In 2103, the Followers reclaimed Kanawha County Cemetery. They apparently guided the roots of a large tree to rapidly grow towards the church and infest the building. As the church broke apart, they reinforced the structure with massive animal bones and tangled roots, in support of a central spire. Kanawha remains a major cultist settlement, and church services are held in the desecrated stronghold. The Followers can still be seen holding mass at the Kanawha church, as well as the church within the Lucky Hole Mine. They also occupy and meditate within original Mothman church in Point Pleasant. They are especially interested in reclaiming pre-War churches, such as the ones at Helvetia and the Swallowed Town, as well as historical estates such as Clancy Manor and Ingram Mansion.

    Recently-founded camps such as the one at Old Mold Quarry may make their presence known with simple canvas tents, torches, stakes, and a central bonfire. Blake's Offering is a large camp in the process of being fortified.

    When the Followers reclaimed Point Pleasant from the Scorched, they wove roots through the wreckage of the North Road Bridge, converting it into an enclosed worship space. The mutilated body of a Scorched hangs from a beam of lumber jutting over the entrance, Their totems are generally shaped from roots growing out of the ground, intertwined with human and animal bones. Most feature a single triangle prominently scratched into their surface or assembled from twigs. They also fashion sconces, chandeliers, and other strange displays purely out of human bones. At Kanawha County Cemetery, a cultist can be seen tending to an opened grave beneath a headstone (separate from the tomb of Dr. Wallace), indicating some of these remains are obtained by robbing graveyards. Cultist paraphernalia also exists at the cemetery above Hopewell Cave.

    In 2102, these totems could be found in the chapel beneath the Mothman Museum. It's unclear if they were present before the War, nor how the human remains may have been obtained. A key to the chapel is found at Wilson Bros Auto, where another totem is found, with a post-War animal sacrifice laying at its base. When the Followers reclaimed Point Pleasant in 2103, they spread the vines to infest the entire town, and erected several new totems. In 2104, they elevated crucified remains beneath signs reading "abandon hope," creating Totems of Warding which the Enlightened find disturbing. Nearly all of these effigies are topped with antlered radstag skulls, or the skulls of humans or brahmin affixed with tree limbs positioned to resemble antlers. Strangely, some appear to incorporate the skulls of gazelles, ibexes, or other creatures which are not known to live in the area, though they could have plausibly acquired these through trade, looting, or hunting in other territories. Some were fashioned from pre-war taxidermy, evidenced by fine wooden plaques. One variety of skull seen mounted at the Sacramental Glade and Organ Cave resembles a sheepsquatch, but not a sheepsquatch skull, and may have belonged to a mutant ram. The skull of a sheepsquatch or brahmin rests on a prominent casket at the Glade, much like the antlered skull laid on the coffin of the First Priestess. One totem in the Forest seems to distort light around it. Some specific shrines are marked by strange ambient audio, or the sudden absence of normal ambient audio such as wind and wildlife. Their "bone-tree" totems are very similar to those built by the Swampfolk of Point Lookout. As they typically feature antlers, they could be likened to a verdant stag. A unique totem seen in the Organ Cave features a fresh red eyeball set into the right socket of an off-center human skull, crowning a tangle of roots which has bloomed through the left. Shelf mushrooms grow at its base. Chems are commonly found at cultist settlements. Buffout is most abundant, and a chalkboard in the Lucky Hole Mine suggests putting buffout in a syringe. In the chapel beneath the Mothman Museum, there is a chem within the pulpit, and in the side room. At the waterfront prayer circle in Point Pleasant, a cultist kneels with a random chem placed directly in front of them. Hallucigen gas canisters can be found near ritual spaces at Moth-Home and Hopewell cemetery, and could formerly be found at Ingram Mansion. Cultists also appear to drink coffee and beer.

    The Enlightened use neurotoxic dust gathered from mothmen in their ceremonies, and believe it allows the imbiber to "see the world through His eyes." In Observations, the visions of an observer named Dave are dismissed due to their unusual nature and his heavy chem use. The dwellers of the Lucky Hole Mine were able to survive because an underground spring formed in the main chamber. The spring was not always present. The cultists believe it was created by their god when He gathered their tears in His branches and spread them upon the earth. The cultists at the Organ Cave drink from the blood-red water of the underground river, which may be the result of a natural iron deposit.

    Soup is a staple of their diet. Underground, the cultists pick glowing mushrooms and cook them into stew. They also eat canned soups. The door guards of the Lucky Hole Mine may occasionally produce a large bowl of noodles and eat it standing up, as will revelers at Clancy Manor. The manor's kitchen is littered with a remarkable abundance of large pots, several of them filled with stew. Bowls of chicken noodle soup and vegetable medley soup can be found on tables here.

    At their settlements, they hunt wild game, including radstags. Salt and sugar can be found at most cultist locations. Some also have spices. Although the Followers routinely capture and ostensibly butcher humans for ritual purposes, there is no clear evidence of them directly eating human meat. However, the Enlightened Observer Errol loudly implies a singular fascination with hunting individuals shown to him in visions and eating them. Both sects fill troughs with albino radstag blood as a ritual offering to the Mothman. These blood troughs are generally wrapped in barbed wire, moss, or roots. In one blood trough on the North Road Bridge, a mass of bloodbug meat has been placed, and the hides of radstags and foxes rest at the foot of the altar. Additionally, the troughs throughout Point Pleasant are wrapped in moss which pulsates with a red glow.

    Live humans are offered upon the spire at Moth-Home. The cultists who tend to the Interloper seem to engage in rituals involving bloodletting, but the specifics of this are entirely unclear. Jars litter the creature's lair, and a sickle can be found there.

    Errol attempts to sacrifice humans to the Wise One, who has repeatedly rejected the offering. The Enlightened also present diverse arrangements of produce and flora to the Wise Mothman. A strangler pod grows within one of their offering baskets. The Followers of the Winged One believe that in death, the Holy Mothman will shepherd them into a divine, eternal Light. They fear the Mothman as a god. They believe He is attracted to light, as well as the glow of radiation. They are known to refer to the Holy Mothman with a capitalized He pronoun, and sometimes honor Him as the Great Moth or the Bright One. They seem to use numerous varied titles for their mythological figures. Very little is known about the nature of their god or gods, and what their different titles might signify. One note found at Blake's Offering begins by invoking two distinct figures; "bright winged one sleeps beneath the earth/the silent watching one sleeps beneath the sea." The Followers extensively mythologize and deify various aspects of nature. They deeply revere the flora of Appalachia, and believe they are in direct contact with an entity they call "the Wood" or "the Woods," almost always capitalized, which they believe to have multiple voices and which brings them gifts in exchange for sacrificial offerings, including other humans. They also invoke this entity as "The Eyes of the Forest," "father of the Woods," and "the Harvester." They endeavor to "Grow out to Him." They worship Him at holy springs and even commit ritual suicide by imbibing poisoned drinks. They assign great spiritual significance to the entity's blood and the blood of the Firstborn of the Wood. The cult offers the "gift of the woods" to the faithful,[ and some cultists aspire to become a "child of the wood" themselves. The Followers of the Winged One were guided in their worship of this deity by a figure known as the First Priestess of the Wood.

    At the pulpit of the converted church in Point Pleasant, a pencil can be found next to a ruined book, perhaps emphasizing the improvisational nature of their belief system.

    The Enlightened dismiss the Followers' mythology, and preach only the importance of developing one's personal understanding of the Truth of the Wise Mothman. Both sects practice human sacrifice, though Observer Errol is confounded as to why the Wise One always leaves "when they begin to scream."

15. #15The Respondersselective

    Keys: The Responders

    The Responders are a volunteer disaster relief organization operating in Appalachia. Formed shortly after the Great War by local first responder units, they were dedicated to helping local communities survive. To this end, they instituted a variety of programs that ranged from basic outdoor survival training to a specialized combat division called the Fire Breathers.

    Like the other regional factions, the original Responders were wiped out by the Scorched Plague. Several years later, those who reclaimed Appalachia began to reform the Responders. A desire to revive the group began with Heather Ellis in Flatwoods. Later, in 2104, the Responders group re-established itself in the Whitespring Resort, led by Rucker. In the aftermath of the Great War, first responders in Appalachia mobilized to help their fellow citizens. Eventually becoming a unified group known as the "Responders", they encompassed government and crisis relief duties in Appalachia, providing automated survival training to those who needed it. Their goals included helping people who made it through the nuclear holocaust or were born after the dust had settled, as surviving in the post-War world became paramount. They set up numerous locations across West Virginia in a bid to establish some semblance of law and order. The West Virginian capital of Charleston became the heart of Appalachian reconstruction with the Responders at the forefront, the city itself showing great promise of rebuilding in the aftermath of the Great War. Among these refugees desperate for help were those from the Pleasant Valley Ski Resort, far away in the Savage Divide; left without help, they banded together under one David Thorpe. Thorpe rallied them into what would be the first of the region's raider warbands - and what would soon be a major threat to the Responders' mission. Weathering post-War hardships, the Responders held steady, despite the new threat of the raiders. The city of Charleston grew with its success and proved to be a safe haven against raider attacks. However, that was to change by 2082; a raiding party led by Rosalynn Jeffries, David Thorpe's lover, was routed handily by the Responders, despite some casualties. Most importantly, some raiders were captured alive - Rosalynn among them. With a powerful bargaining chip, the Responders hoped that they could negotiate some sort of ceasefire in exchange for their prisoners. Thorpe, on the other hand, was convinced that Rosalynn was dead. In a sheer display of cruelty, on Christmas morning, the Summersville Dam was rigged with mini nukes on Thorpe's order. The subsequent destruction of the dam resulted in catastrophic flooding that killed countless Responders, refugees, and other innocents. The survivors resettled at the Morgantown Airport. Despite the devastation, the Responders did not give up. Morgantown proved to be a jackpot, as after containing the trouble with the local gangs, they had a centrally-located base, distance between them and the nearest raider clans in the mountains, and contact with the Free States and the Appalachian Brotherhood of Steel. They also expanded into Flatwoods and began restarting some of the old infrastructures in the town to produce food and provide security. Their access to food, medicine, and other essential supplies was the foundation of their relationship with the Free States and the Brotherhood, with caravans crossing through the Savage Divide regularly. Four years after the flood, in January 2086, they reached the apex of their power and influence as they fought against the super mutants in Huntersville alongside power-armored troops of Paladin Taggerdy. The victory seemed to signal the beginning of a new era for Appalachia, as the Responders and Brotherhood forged an alliance and their patrols even managed to suppress the mountain raiders. Sanjay Kumar and Miguel Caldera were indispensable for maintaining the fleet and keeping it operational. However, things would not go their way. The Enclave, hidden away from prying eyes, split apart in the civil war after President Thomas Eckhart decided to have his way and force the automated security systems to raise the DEFCON level by releasing scorchbeasts on Appalachia, after subjecting it to Chinese drones, the Huntersville mutants, and other monstrosities. The civil war that destroyed the faction set the scorchbeasts loose, which rapidly infested the Cranberry Bog and started spreading out into the adjacent areas. The appearance of the Scorched was a shock to all survivors who came into contact with them, as was the plague they spread. The Responders decided to fight back, organizing a special fighting force called the Fire Breathers using the experience of Melody Larkin and Hank Madigan, a Brotherhood deserter, to train and organize the elite fighters. They would face the horrors of the wasteland and protect the lands west of Appalachia from the Scorched, encountering strange hostile creatures along the way. However, the Responders failed to consider the big picture. Maria Chavez, their de facto leader, did not believe the threat was as severe as the Brotherhood made it out to be and disliked their militarism and repeated demands for supplies. What just a few years earlier promised to be a long-lasting alliance was unraveling fast, culminating on March 12, 2095, when the Brotherhood demanded information about Amy Kerry's project. At gunpoint. Although Chavez relented, the relations were soured permanently. The fall of the Brotherhood in August 2095 left the Responders alone on the board and it was a matter of time until the scorchbeasts finally took them out. The raiders, desperately fleeing the Savage Divide, swept through the Forest, taking out many of the Responder outposts, including Flatwoods.

    The research project into a Scorched vaccine at AVR Medical Center was launched too late to provide a cure in time to protect the Fire Breathers. By September 2096, all of the pieces were in place to create it, but communications breakdowns due to constant Scorched attacks prevented Dr. Hudson from completing it and the Fire Breathers were forced to launch their operation to seal the Big Bend Tunnel and buy time for Appalachia without it. The operation took place in late October and failed. So did Hank Madigan on his attempt to establish the Scorched Detection System developed in conjunction with the Free States, captured and killed by the raiders. Finally, Morgantown Airport fell after a desperate defense against hordes of scorchbeasts and their minions on November 7, 2096. The Responders were wiped out. By 2103, however, as people came back to Appalachia, Heather Ellis, who had returned with the Settlers, moved to Flatwoods, discovered the history of the Responders, and decided to revive the group and their efforts by becoming one herself, continuing to live in Flatwoods with her dog Chloe and wearing the Responders paramedic jumpsuit to show her support to revive the group. Another woman, Tiffany Brantley, decided to join the elite Fire Breathers and is with Vendor bot Mack and the firefighter Protectrons at the Charleston Fire Department, already suited up in her Fire Breather uniform, currently stuck on having to take the exam. Around 2104, a woman named Rucker returned to Appalachia and found some of these people wearing the Responders uniform. Rucker researched the history of the original Responders by finding people who could tell her about the old group and expressed a desire to truly re-form the Responders. Rucker helped the ideals of the original Responders grow, reviving the faction and eventually needing to set up a permanent base. With waves of refugees coming to Appalachia, the new Responders needed a large place suitable to treating and housing the refugees. They eventually established themselves at the seemingly abandoned Whitespring Resort, turning it into a refuge. After setting up shop, they received the assistance of the enigmatic Orlando, who claims to be a liaison between the resort's "Management" and the Responders. During this time, the new Responders also managed to find and repair a vertibird, which allowed them to explore and help the regions outside of the Appalachian wasteland. One of the first groups they contacted were the Union, a group of survivors found in the ruins of Pittsburgh, now known as "The Pitt" following the Great War. Orlando and the Management provided the Responders with Ultracells as fuel to fly the vertibird. The original Responders had a decentralized, horizontal structure designed to address the needs of people under their care and aid them in need. Regular supply trains were established between the nearby farms and the Responder headquarters, with full members assigned to their protection, such as Jerry Abernathy. For rapid response in emergencies, the Responders also established an emergency response team, trained by Felix O'Dell and consisting of Derek Castle (guard and escort), Veronica Chang and Kevin Trayjor (field medics). In the early years, Responders largely operated under their pre-existing chains of command (police, paramedics, firefighters, etc.), ignoring attempts by the Charleston Emergency Government to assert their leadership over them. However, this early structure was far from unified and required a good deal of tact and diplomacy to keep them from falling apart. This problem was exposed less than a year after the war, when the responders grappled with the problem of Chief Mayfield's heavy-handed rule of Morgantown. After he ordered his police officers to open fire on the rebellious VTU students and imposed a mandatory curfew, Melody Larkin realized that moving on him would risk splitting law enforcement Responders from the organization. After relocating operations to Morgantown Airport, the faction was effectively guided by five senior members: Maria Chavez (senior Responder and de facto leader), Claire Hudson (chief medical officer), Sanjay Kumar (chief engineer), Melody Larkin (combat trainer), and Jeff Nakamura (quartermaster). However, the division of labor was handled on a merit basis, with the senior Responders working together with junior members. The Fire Breathers combat unit was a notable exception, operating with a strict chain of command under Melody, as a matter of necessity.

    The reformed Responders at the Whitespring Refuge are decentralized much in the same way as the original group was, with their main focus being on helping others. Rucker, who led the effort to revive the group, is de facto in charge of the new Responders, though she rejects being labeled as a singular leader. Senior Responders: The de facto leadership of the organization, typically people who have been with the organization since the beginning. Responders: Fully trained members of the faction who each had a job, a specialty, and housing assignment. The job of Responders was to help everyone, including volunteers and candidates. Fire Breathers: An elite combat unit specializing in fighting in toxic areas of the wasteland, especially the Ash Heap. Volunteers: People who underwent the automated training, enjoying weekly rations from the self-serve kiosks, access to the Forest Watch and other Responder communications, and a discount at the official vendors. Like Responders, volunteers also had jobs, specialties, and housing assignments. Survivors registered to become volunteers with a Responder or at the self-serve registration kiosk. Survivors and candidates became volunteers by participating in two experiments and/or training sessions. Volunteer Candidates who are undergoing training (whether automated or under another Responder), or are too young to become Volunteers or Responders. At the age of 13, candidates could be promoted. While candidates were assigned housing, they were not assigned jobs or specialties.

16. #16Atlantic City Municipal Governmentselective

    Keys: Atlantic City Municipal Government

    The Atlantic City Municipal Government is a major faction in Atlantic City, representing its civilian government. They are called Munis for short, a term coined by the Lombardi Family and the Showmen. It is one of the few actual governments in the region, responsible for everything necessary for the survival of Acee. Although the post-War municipal government is rooted in the historical government of Atlantic City (incorporated in 1854), it is actually a new incarnation borne out of necessity. Atlantic City was originally led by Carly Day, a career politician who relied on a cadre of professional administrators to keep the city running itself. Their hard work ensured smooth sailing and landslide wins in elections every four years for Day, who was left with only one question: Enjoying her free time in office. She dismissed the looming threat of nuclear war as just "hullabaloo," and the Great War blindsided her. Following the devastating floods and destruction, the people of Atlantic City expected her to lead, something she proved incapable of with just a fraction of her staff remaining. The city had enough food stockpiled for several months and she instituted strict rationing to stretch them out. However, Day took no steps to address the issue, simply coasting along. By February next year, rations started to thin out, with unrest spreading and her staff either leaving or dying. Day found herself bowing to the Atlantic City mob, which promised to take care of any unrest. The rations finally ran out in May (apart from Day's personal supply), which meant hunger for Atlantic City, especially since the bottle caps started circulating and pre-War money the city had in spades became worthless. Day turned to the mafia to secure food supplies by strongarming farms on the city's outskirts. Carly remained isolated from city affairs, ignoring the warnings of her secretary, Jim Harrison, who tried his best to wake her up to the fact that the people of Atlantic City were starving. His warnings went unheeded, leading to a string of further resignations. Even when Jim begged her to share her reserve to ensure his daughter would still have a father, she ignored him. Things came to a head in February 2085, with Atlantic City driven into the ground. There was no electricity for the common people, water was contaminated, and starvation was widespread. Worse yet, the mob was operating unopposed, and farms were regularly raided to collect foodstuffs for guests of the Casino Quarter. Eventually, they made the mistake of visiting Timothy Lane and his wife, Frieda Lane, to collect. Rather than acquiesce, Timothy fought back and shot their entire raiding party save one. The mob did not expect this development and offered no resistance as the Lanes marched on the city hall, confronting Mayor Day after the sole survivor revealed how bad the situation got. The official version is that Timothy made her leave the city, though in truth Timothy shot her. Together with other like-minded citizens of Acee, Lane and his wife reorganized the municipal government and brought some semblance of order to Atlantic City over the next twenty years. Frieda's know-how about purifying soil to sustain crops was instrumental. Since then, the Lanes have continued the thankless, but necessary task of keeping the city running, with the Lombardi Family and the Showmen constantly angling for some way to coerce them to do their bidding or outright get rid of them. While there is a constant struggle for influence, the two groups are too disorganized and focused on entertainment and pleasure to pose a real threat. The worst they can usually do is petty jabs and coining "Muni" as a shorthand for the government. The Munis don't really care, preoccupied with the bigger picture. By 2105, Atlantic City has become one of the most prosperous cities of the East, with the Lanes turning the city around. The Munis played and continue to play an extremely important role, ensuring that everyone in the city is provided with food, water, electricity, and protection from outside threats, such as the newly emerged Overgrown. While the pressures of governance have left their mark, as does the age, both Lanes seem to be happy to do the job - especially since they're atypical politicians. Especially Frieda, who disdains rubbing elbows in favor of applying elbow grease. Other members of the Munis think highly of both, especially Mayor Lane, seeing the Munis as the pillar that keeps Atlantic City from backsliding. Both the Showmen and the mafia are the other two pillars. Rather than fight them, Lane decided on an uneasy alliance, with the Munis providing governance and keeping the city running with everything it needed to prosper, while the mob and the Showmen provided entertainment and kept the peace to attract tourists and especially caravans to the town. While the compromise might seem surprising, Mayor Lane considered it a pragmatic choice: Atlantic City was a place of vice and sin, and the best he could hope for was making it into a civilized hell. The pragmatic policy has served him and the city well over the years, and even won him some secret admirers among the mob. The tension is still present, and on occasion results in clashes. The worst happen when the mobsters or Showmen try to weasel their way out of paying taxes, which raises the ire of Buttercup, Lane's head of IRS and a terrifying presence. The Munis fight the biggest fights in Atlantic City, and the greatest problem in recent years has been the grind that put a real strain on their ability to keep the peace and protect everyone. Especially with the emergence of the Overgrown.

17. #17The Enlightenedselective

    Keys: The Enlightened

    The Enlightened, or the Wise Mothman's Enlightened, are a religious faction who do not live in Appalachia, but travel there seasonally to hold a summoning ceremony. The group was formed when some members of the pre-War Cult of the Mothman rejected the post-War developments of the religion, and fled the state together. They have since come to exclusively revere the purple-eyed Wise Mothman, but do not worship him as a god. After an attempt by the Cult of the Mothman to summon their benefactor on October 22, 2077, it was proclaimed by an unknown preacher that the member known as Brother Charles had received a vision from the Mothman in the periphery of his senses, which foretold of an impending flood, and advised the cult to seek high ground. The Enlightened now believe Charles' revelations were the Whispers of the Wise Mothman, and recount the omen as a warning of "fire and flood." Heeding this omen, the Cult of the Mothman crossed the state to the cliffs overlooking Watoga, to take shelter in the depths of Lucky Hole Mine. No contemporary evidence exists of who suggested this specific destination or why, but in modern times, the Enlightened claim it was Brother Charles who guided his brethren to the safety of the mine. Some contingency of the Cult of the Mothman set out from Point Pleasant with Brother Charles in tow, and arrived at the Lucky Hole Mine before the bombs fell on October 23. Jeff Lane, a cult affiliate who worked at the Mothman Museum, remained in Point Pleasant after the war. He arrived some time later, raving about a being he called "the Interloper." The Mine features two major chambers of worship; a large church area, where a natural spring of drinking water has formed, and the hidden chamber where a large creature is worshipped. Both are marked by giant sculptures of faces which appear to have been excavated from deep beneath the earth. In modern times, standing near the creature produces an audible hum. While trapped here by the fallout, some of them "turned to darker worship," and communed with a being they called "Firstborn of the Wood" under the guidance of a woman known as the First Priestess of the Wood, a development which disgusted others among the group.

    During this time in the mine, according to the Enlightened, the entire cult began to hear whispers, which filled many of them with fear. Conversely, Charles and some of the cultists continued to listen to his whispers, and became "Wise" in doing so. Complicating this narrative, a note at the mine celebrates the First Priestess for enabling them to hear "His voice." Some Mothman cultists considered the group's new practices to be an unbearable corruption of their religion, and fled the mine. Many were not prepared to behold the post-apocalyptic world. As the Enlightened recount in Exodus, some among them despaired, and urged Charles to "reject the Truth" and return to the safety of the mine. However, Charles spoke of a far away place, which he envisioned as a "beacon of safety," and a "home for those that had heard the Truth and been Enlightened." After a long and dangerous journey, they reached their new home, where they founded their church and named it the Lantern, in hopes that it might serve as a shining beacon against "the ignorance of the world." They came to refer to those who remained at the Lucky Hole Mine as the "Dim Ones." That group eventually came to call themselves "the Followers of the Winged One," and would later be seen protecting the eggs of red-eyed mothmans and accompanying mothman hatchlings in combat. The group remain headquartered at their church, the Lantern. Its location is a secret which has so far been successfully withheld from the people of Appalachia, though it is presumed to be somewhere outside of the state.

    A group consisting of Wise Charles the Forewarned, Interpreter Clarence, and Observers Errol, Johanna, and Marlon, returned to Point Pleasant in 2104. This pilgrimage was taken to commune with the Wise Mothman during the Mothman Equinox, when he is most powerful. They have since returned twice, celebrating the Equinox as a seasonal festival. The Enlightened think of themselves blessed by the Wise Mothman's Truth, which they deem to be a lesson, a warning, and the path to enlightenment, all at once. They consider themselves students of wisdom. Integral to each member's path to enlightenment is the ability to hear the Wise Mothman's whispers, and to listen, that they might transcend the limits of human understanding. To a certain extent, the group also possesses knowledge of either astronomy or astrology, which they have obtained from listening to the Wise Mothman. The group is welcoming to those ignorant of the Truth, as they consider ignorance to be the first step on the path to enlightenment. The path to enlightenment involves several stages of learning, each of which is tied to a rank. Members of the first rank are dubbed Observers, signifying they have become aware of their ignorance, and are likened to the larva of a moth. The second rank, the Interpreters, are like the pupa, as they surround themselves in a cocoon of the Wise One's words, and cast form from them. Their highest title, Wise, is reserved for those few who break free from their cocoon like a moth, and become truly Enlightened. The Enlightened exclusively recognize the transcendence of the magenta-eyed Wise Mothman, which they consider a single sacred, yet mortal, being. They are known to call him "the Wise One" and, occasionally, "Papa." They believe Charles' vision on October 22, 2077 was granted by the Wise One, indicating that they believe he was somehow active before the War. They summon the Wise One at a seasonal equinox, which involves the inhalation of hallucinogenic neurotoxic dust gathered somehow from Mothman. They believe this grants the imbiber the opportunity to experience Truth first hand, by enabling them to "see the world through his eyes." This is accompanied by one's sense of hearing becoming distorted, and the ability to clearly hear Interpreter Clarence's voice over great distance during the ceremony.

    The Enlightened appear to respect the voices which wrack the mind of Observer Marlon. According to these voices, inhaling the neurotoxic dust for a prolonged period of time may prove to be harmful. The cultists also deeply admire Wise Charles for his condition; though blind and non-responsive, his cranium has visibly swollen to accommodate his expanding mind, and his eyes have begun to glow.

    The Enlightened widely attempt to engage in the psychic practice of remote viewing, and record the results in a series of texts simply titled Observations, in a practice comparable to keeping a community dream journal.

    Errol expresses confusion that the Wise Mothman always departs when his sacrificial victims begin to scream. He entertains the theories that his own unworthiness or the unworthiness of his victims is what offends the Wise One. Looking back on the pre-War Cult of the Mothman, the Enlighten consider them misguided followers of the red-eyed pretender, despite Charles' presence among them. However, they believe Charles' precognition (and by extension the survival of the cult) was granted by the Wise Mothman. Additionally, Observer Errol refers to the Mothman Museum as the Wise One's Museum, which suggests they reclaim the cultural legacy of the Museum as pertinent to the Wise Mothman, despite their denouncement of the cult headquartered there at the time of the War. The preacher who proclaimed Charles' omen on the eve of the War testified that the Mothman warned only of "flood," but as the Enlightened recount the event in Exodus, the Wise Mothman warned Charles of "fire and flood." In the first passage of Sayings of Interpreter Alicia, Interpreter James proclaims that the Wise Mothman is, was, and will be, "Before the Flood, before the Fire, [and] before the Dim Ones." Conspicuously, Flood and Fire are capitalized. Elsewhere in this text, the terms Truth, Doom, "the Ignorant" (collective), "a God," Vision, Listen, Hear, Observe, Interpret/Interpretation, and Enlightenment are also capitalized, signifying that these concepts all somehow qualify as proper nouns to them.

    The Enlightened refer to their former brethren as "The Dim Ones," and completely reject red-eyed Mothman (known as the "Holy Mothman" to its worshippers) as animalistic harbingers of a malicious non-human entity. They consider all mothmen except for the Wise One to be interchangeable feral creatures. However, they also personify this red-eyed mothman icon as a "pretender" and, formally, "the Deceiver." At the Equinox festival, perfect mothman eggs are deposited in a shrine called the Cradle of the Pretenders, indicating "Pretenders" is a term which can refer to red-eyed mothmen in multiplicity. The deployment of the phrase "The Deceiver Mothman and his Progeny" in False Gods of Appalachia may indicate that they consider these creatures to be the offspring of a specific "fire-eyed" mothman.

    The Enlightened consider themselves critical of superstitious and worshipful practices, and hold the Dim Ones' belief system to be outrageously superstitious and heretical. Charles is the only character known to have been among the original group who left the Lucky Hole Mine. All other characters may plausibly have been within the mine or joined later. Wise Hilary the Scourge and Wise Pearl the Augur make claims in their tomes related to events within the mine, but do not specify whether they witnessed these things firsthand.

18. #18Blood Eaglesselective

    Keys: Blood Eagles

    The Blood Eagles are a brutal raider faction who formed in Appalachia in 2103. Due to their unnecessary violence and merciless systems of internal control, the Blood Eagles were not among the gangs who formed the coalition of Crater Raiders, and the two groups are hostile to each other. The Blood Eagles' origins are somewhat conflicted, and a source of rumor among Appalachian wastelanders. Some claim that they originated from old biker gangs, with no desires to make friends with anyone in the wasteland. However, Beckett, a former member of the gang, says that they were formed by a tattered group of con-men and other criminals. Soon, a malevolent clique formed within the gang and quickly siezed control from the inside out. These ruthless opportunists still rule as the gang's current leadership.

    Since then, they have become a cruel and sadistic army of raiders who are the largest hostile force in Appalachia as of 2103, staking a claim on most of the Ash Heap, Savage Divide, and Cranberry Bog. Repurposing many of the old raider camps littering the region, their massive numbers and high-tech weaponry make them a consistent thorn in the side of everyone who isn't with them.

    They often prey on Blue Ridge Caravan Company trading parties coming through Big Bend Tunnel, and will do anything to stop them from coming through their territory. By 2103, a gang led by a woman named Dagger had moved into a den in the Mire, and they began extorting Jennie Brown's village for supplies.

    In another incident, a group led by another woman, Tally Lang, stormed into Vault 96, trailing some Hellcats and looking to loot the vault. The group included Needles, Eightball and Dillo. Their actions led to the death of Woods and many mercenaries. Tally's group accidentally became locked in.

    In 2104, the Rust Eagles began holding gladiatorial combat in the Metal Dome. Vault Dwellers and Brotherhood warriors willingly participated in exchange for supplies.

    In early 2105, some Blood Eagles moved into a shack in the far northeast corner of Appalachia, where they appear to be domesticating mirelurks. They also repelled an attack by burrowing mole miners within the deserted mine beneath the Crosshair. The Blood Eagles are othered by the coalition of Crater Raiders due to their propensity for hyperviolence. They revel in violence and bloodshed, and generally attack on sight, with little regard for their own safety, as laid out in their gang code. Any Eagle can climb up the hierarchy by formally challenging more higher ranking members in a game of their choosing. These games are taken seriously, even if the game of choice is an actual tabletop game, and no cheating will be tolerated. A "best 2 out of 3" rule determines the winner for non-lethal games. If the loser is the higher ranking member, they must step down willingly or they will be executed if still alive.

    They are led by a triumvirate of three powerful raider leaders: The Blood, the Eye, and the Claw; this allows the Eagles to survive if one, or even two of their leaders are killed, as there will always be the last of the trio alive to rebuild. The rank of Blood, Eye, or Claw are earned and override the specific names of any leader. Thanks to the anarchic nature of their gang, leaders are often challenged and rarely have long lifespans. They recruit members through capitalizing on their addictions. They will actively monitor chem addicts, offer them a spiked, highly addictive dose of Buffout, and withhold the drug from the victim unless they pledge to join. Sometimes, they'll even capture non-addicts and force them to ingest the pills, just to trap them into their ranks.

    Most of the time, members are not in a state of lucidity, on account of all the chems. Those who achieve sobriety cannot enjoy it for long: anyone among the group showing signs of clarity or strong will is in danger of being singled out and publicly tortured, leaving the victim disfigured or dead. They exhibit an unparalleled affinity towards taming and hacking, often using robots and attack dogs to further fill their legion. The entire Watoga Underground robotic security detail was hacked and put under Blood Eagle control, including Assaultrons and Mister Gutsies, and they will regularly send tamed dogs and mongrels into battle as the forward scouts and diversions, while the humans close the gap. Beginning in 2105, they have been seen taming mirelurks.

    Blood Eagle camps are equipped with alarm systems, so if a member gets attacked or detects an intruder and manages to reach the alarm to activate it, all Blood Eagles in the camp are alerted and engage the threat until the alarm stops or they lose sight of the target for an extended period of time. The alarm also sends out Blood Eagle attack dogs to engage the intruder as well. Leaders of Blood Eagle camps can sometimes be seen wearing a power armor chassis with unique raider power armor painted in Blood Eagle colors on it. Blood Eagles generally wear black leather jackets, and many wear facepaint. When idle, they may listen to the radio or play the banjo.

    They can be seen butchering radstags for meat at several settlements. Others are more focused on cannibalism.

19. #19Anglerselective

    Keys: Angler

    Anglers are amphibious animals found on the Island and in the Appalachian Mire. They are quadrupedal creatures with elongated limbs and sharp claws, and also possess the ability to spit incendiary projectiles at range. Their bodies are armored with scales, while barnacles may anchor themselves among the bony growths lining their backs and limbs. As anglers wait submerged for prey to be ambushed, they use their glowing "lure" to mimic the look of lure weed, an edible flower common to the island. nglers are potential mutations of anglerfish or frogs, sharing the "lure" and upturned jaw of the former, and the limbs, proportions, and habitat of the latter.

20. #20Radbeaversselective

    Keys: Radbeavers

    A pre-War animal that had several unique traits such as transparent eyelids, protecting them while swimming underwater as well as sharped teeth, kept sharp by grinding them together. Typically found in the Forest and occasionally the Cranberry Bog, radbeavers are mutated versions of furred pre-War beavers. While maintaining their size, beavers underwent a series of other mutations. The growth of fur has been reduced, revealing wrinkled, fleshy pink skin. The tail and back are covered in jagged spike growths protruding from the body and they have prominent noses and teeth.

21. #21Catselective

    Keys: Cat

    The domestic cat (Felis catus or Felis silvestris catus) is a small, typically furry and carnivorous mammal. Cats survived the Great War with little apparent change, though the collapse of society led to the emergence of a large number of feral cats. Humans continued to domesticate cats across the continent.

22. #22Blue Devilselective

    Keys: Blue Devil

    The Blue Devil is an enigmatic species of creature that was once the subject of a cryptid legend in Appalachia. Aries has paid Clyde to assist in an investigation of the Blue Devil's origins. In particular, Aries is interested in finding a Blue Devil with "white on it" and wants to track down and hunt a mother Blue Devil. Although Clyde's investigation does not name a specific species the Blue Devil originated from, he says that "they" used to be bred for racing and then fighting before the Great War. This continued after the bombs dropped, but Clyde has not fully determined a reason for the Blue Devil's immense size compared to other canine-like creatures. Clyde goes on to say that the size "could have something to do with that place, and what's near by," though the note does not clarify what "that place" is. Clyde notes that Blue Devils are reproducing in the wild, but most pups are not healthy enough to survive. However, those that do survive grow very quickly and are hostile even at a young age. As for the coloration of the creature, Blue Devils typically have dark black hair that appears bluish under certain lighting conditions. However, none of the creatures Clyde surveyed had white hair as Aries suggested. Blue Devils stand on two legs.

23. #23Brahminselective

    Keys: Brahmin

    Brahmin are one of the most important mutated species that emerged in post-nuclear America. Descended from the Indian brahman cattle variant imported to the U.S. for crossbreeding purposes, they developed two heads as a result of irradiation. These toasty brown critters were quickly adopted by survivors as the most versatile and capable livestock animal in the wastes. Their major advantage is the fact that while ornery, they are actually easy to manage with as little as a pointy stick.

    A large, two-headed mutant used as a pack animal, capable of carrying up to 500 lbs. Brahmin also provide milk, and their feces are an efficient fertilizer and fuel for fires. When slaughtered, they become even more useful as source of meat, leather (tough and durable, fit for everything including tents, clothes, armor, belts, saddle bags, shoes), bones (which can be fashioned into clubs, tools, dice, hoes, arrowheads), tails (perfect as brushes), and even fat for soap making. They also don't need much to survive, as they can go without water for extended periods of time and can subsist on whatever weeds they find in the arid wasteland, digesting them in eight-compartment stomachs (double the number compared to pre-War cows).

    These advantages made them the cornerstone of many a post-nuclear economy, including the New California Republic, whose vast brahmin herds are the driving force of its industry and the influence of the powerful brahmin barons. By extension, they also fuel the economy of parasites, such as New Reno during the 2240s, when cattle rustling brought much needed income to the crime families of the city.

24. #24Dogselective

    Keys: Dog

    Dogs are creatures found across the post-War United States. Many have remained domesticated pets, but many more have turned feral and hunt the wasteland in packs. The dogs that survived the War are a larger and tougher breed, now almost wolf-sized. Even so, just as they have in ages past, many dogs have remained faithful and beloved companions.

25. #25Chickenselective

    Keys: Chicken

    Some chickens have managed to survive relatively unmutated and resemble their pre-War counterparts. In 2296 such chickens are being bred by some individuals in California.

26. #26Rad chickenselective

    Keys: Radchicken

    Rad chicken variants have been exposed to high levels of radiation, leaving them atrophied and naked. They are slightly smaller than their pre-War ancestors, and likewise pose no threat.

27. #27Frogselective

    Keys: Frog

    Usually found near bodies of water, these frogs have mutated from those living prior to the Great War. The front legs have developed into powerful arms able to lift the body off the ground, rendering the smaller rear legs idle during movement. The long toes of the front arms are tipped with sharp talons.

    Frogs are marked with a distinct bright-blue glow and occasionally discharge crackling arcs of electricity. The glow is similar to that of Nuka-Cola Quantum, showing similarities to the Nukalurks found at Nuka-World in the Commonwealth and the Nuka-Cola plant in the Capital Wasteland. The mouth is filled with numerous small, pointed teeth, and the back is covered in sharp quills.

28. #28Foxselective

    Keys: Fox

    Foxes in Appalachia have not undergone any apparent major mutations, but have suffered from some degree of hair loss. Much like the squirrel, their general appearance has remained largely the same as those living prior to the Great War, with only a few minor changes, such as their larger ears.

29. #29Gulperselective

    Keys: Gulper

    The "gulpers" found on the East Coast were originally amphibious salamanders that were altered by both the nuclear fallout of the Great War as well as the persistent radioactive phenomenon known as the Fog covering the Island. These creatures grow exponentially over their lifespans, with the oldest ones towering over most humans. The East Coast gulpers are mutated hellbender salamanders. One of the rare creatures found on the islands of Maine, they are ferocious and territorial, similar to deathclaws. Gulpers roam both the shores and the inland areas of the Island, at times hanging on trees in order to take their victims by surprise. They can also slide through swamps and hide underwater, where they are commonly found.

    In Appalachia, gulpers can be found throughout the Mire and the Cranberry Bog. They stand with a hunched back, upright on their hind legs when moving slowly or standing still. They run using all four legs and are able to outrun a non-mutated human. If a player gets too close, they can pounce and swing their claws, dealing damage. When engaged in combat, they will rush towards the player, trying to dodge bullets if shot at, and will strike with various melee attacks.

    Gulpers have the passive ability of slowly regenerating health and they will not enter buildings or climb stairs. If one does so, the gulper will retreat but stay in the general area. Sometime after the Great War, experiments were conducted in Vault 4 by Lloyd and Cassandra Hawthorne attempting to hybridize humans and rad-resistant species. A group were successfully bred by impregnating women with genetically engineered embryos. During an uprising of the test subjects in Vault 4, most of the staff were slaughtered (including the Hawthornes), and several of the gulper specimens escaped and began nesting in the flooded area around the pre-War Hollywood Boulevard. Though sharing the name of its East Coast counterpart, this "gulper" more closely resembles an axolotl (which is also a species of salamander) rather than a hellbender salamander, with pale-pink skin and a mouth full of human-like fingers, as well as distinct human-like hands and eyes.

30. #30Mega slothselective

    Keys: Mega sloth

    Before the Great War, Isaac Garrahan owned several sloths at his family's estate. They are recorded to have escaped the enclosure on at least two occasions, and the lack of sloth remains in the cages at the Garrahan Estate implies they escaped again following the War. The mega sloths are three-toed sloths mutated by radiation. Standing much taller than the average human, their body is covered with filthy and shaggy fur with clusters of mushrooms growing in the fur on their back, similar to fungus grew in the fur of pre-War sloths. These megasloth mushrooms release clouds of spores when the sloth shakes its body, deterring aggressors that get too close. They have heavily calloused patches of skin and sharp teeth. Mega sloths are much larger than pre-War variants.

31. #31Mongrelsselective

    Keys: Mongrels

    Mongrels are creatures found across the post-War United States. The equivalent of ghouls for dogs, mongrels are found in both the Commonwealth and Appalachia.

32. #32Mole ratselective

    Keys: Mole rat

    Mole rats have sharp claws and even sharper tusks that they use to tear great chunks of flesh from their prey. Mole rats are either huge rats or the result of gene-splicing Kodiak bears with maladjusted lab rats. They seldom run in packs larger than a half dozen or so.

33. #33Mutant houndsselective

    Keys: Mutant hounds

    Mutant hounds are dogs that have undergone a major mutation after being contaminated by the Forced Evolutionary Virus. They are often accompanied by super mutants, although wild packs can be encountered in Appalachia.

34. #34Opossumsselective

    Keys: Opossums

    Opossums are the mutated descendants of the pre-War North American opossum, found throughout Appalachia. Opossums have appendages sprouting from their back, two tails, and multiple heads. The placement of their heads vary.

35. #35Owletsselective

    Keys: Owlets

    Owlets are juvenile owls which have been rendered nearly featherless by mutation following radiation exposure. They are flightless but have adapted to this by living in caves and can quickly hop along the ground to escape predators.

36. #36Radrabbitselective

    Keys: radrabbit

    Outwardly, the radrabbit survived the Great War relatively unscathed, except for losing most of its fur. The rabbits survive and breed despite the hostile environment, avoiding any predator they may encounter.

37. #37Radratsselective

    Keys: Radrats

    Once regular rats before the Great War, the North American rat population was tainted by the radioactive fallout from the onslaught of atomic warfare. Radrats are much bigger than their pre-War counterparts. They have large teeth and pearl-like eyes. Radrats are small rodents, although slightly larger than the pre-War equivalent due to their extended contact with radiation. Their fur, like that of mongrels, has fallen off due to radiation and has left them with wrinkled, tight skin. They also emit the same noises as mole rats. They are however much tougher than normal mole rats, having more hit points and dealing more damage.

38. #38Radstagselective

    Keys: Radstag

    The radstag is a mutation of the stag species that once inhabited the forests of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The mutation twisted them into mockeries of their former selves, with a secondary head forming like with brahmin, along with a pair of vestigial hoofed limbs protruding from its chest. Radstags typically avoid confrontation while grazing on the Commonwealth's grasses and shrubberies, preferring to flee any predators threatening them. However, when backed into a corner or otherwise forced to fight, it will stand its ground and use its horns to defend itself. Many populations of radstags are fundamentally flawed and permanently damaged by the mutations they suffered. The Island and Appalachia, for example, are home to erratic and devolved radstag herds, which have lost all of their fur, with skin hardened by radiation and exposure to the fog into leather. The degenerative mutations actually increase their resilience and ferocity, despite gaping holes in their bodies and malformed horns. Descended from deer, the radstag is primarily a prey creature. It's quite fast and resilient, requiring a bit of precision when hunting. This creature drops radstag meat and a radstag hide on death. They are dicephalic, or two-headed; each head is able to swivel and turn on its own. A closer inspection of the heads shows that each head's inner eye is blind. Radstags also have two underdeveloped legs hanging limply from their chest, qualifying them as hexapedal. Aside from the ability to bend when a radstag lays down, these legs are nonfunctional.

    Radstag are usually brown-furred and patchy in places, with small pus-filled cysts from radiation, which most often cover the flanks, feet, heads and snouts. The cysts more frequently appear on the rabid and glowing varieties and can cover most of the body. Radstag yearling coats are more colorful than those of adult radstags and feature white spotting, similar to the fawns of their deer ancestors.

39. #39Radtoadselective

    Keys: Radtoad

    Typically found in The Forest and Toxic Valley, radiation from the Great War mutated toads into larger, more aggressive radtoads. Radtoads are large mutated forms of smaller pre-War toads. They maintain four strong primary legs, but have also grown a thin set of arm-like limbs protruding from the sides of the jaw. Radtoads possess ferocious pointed teeth and a long, tri-barbed tongue. Numerous yellow-red eyes are scattered about the head, and clusters of eggs are strewn about the back. Radtoads use their long tongue to hit targets at a distance, choosing to attack with jagged teeth up close. Most radtoads can also release a cluster of eggs that act as mines. If a target tramples the cluster, the pile will burst, inflicting damage.

40. #40Scorchbeastsselective

    Keys: Scorchbeasts

    Thought to be derived from a species of pygmy bats, scorchbeast are the apex predators of Appalachia. The creature has retained its ancestors' pointed ears, membranous wings, and echolocation. However, it has lost most of its fur, grown to a tremendous size, developed an extra pair of functional legs, and evolved to become the carrier of a plague which converts any infected living being into the Scorched. Despite their size, scorchbeasts possess considerable agility, and even when grounded they can leap several times their body length in one bound. Despite the behavior of their progenitors, scorchbeasts are not averse to daytime hunting and are known to cooperatively hunt in groups. Strong and aggressive, it attacks with razor-sharp teeth and claws. The beasts are potent foes, as lamented by the Responders, whose anti-scorchbeast tactics boil down to doing everything in their power to keep away from it and finding an enclosed space to fire from, as scorchbeasts are simply too big to fit into small spaces. Scorchbeasts also emit radiation and are capable of using powerful ultrasonic echolocation as a means of navigating or commanding their Scorched servants on the ground. In addition to this, they possess the ability to emit a powerful sonic blast capable of shattering wood and metal structures from their mouths much like mirelurk kings and mothmen, but on a far larger scale. Their other nonconventional attack includes flying over an area and saturating it with an acidic, radioactive mist that permeates through cover. Scorchbeasts, detectable by the distinct sound of their wings when they are flying overhead, are generally hostile to the player character and will summon additional Scorched enemies while fighting. They utilize three different attacks, the first being a long-range sonic attack, which is performed while flying and counts as explosive damage rather than energy damage. The interval between these attacks is at least ten seconds. The second attack is a radioactive fog, commonly referred to as crop dusting due to its dispersing from its wings much like a crop duster, and capable of traveling through roofs and walls. The scorchbeast will continue to dust an area, even if one is hidden. The scorchbeast queen uses a variant of this attack that deals poison damage, rather than the standard radiation damage. The third attack style is a sweeping attack which it utilizes while on the ground, using its wings to swing at its enemies within melee range to deliver heavy damage to them. They can also perform a lunging attack to force enemies to turn around to resume attacking it if it lunges over them and gets behind them. Their final attack consists of a shockwave attack that can not only damage enemies, but also summon Scorched to its aid to take out its would-be killers.

41. #41The Scorched Plagueselective

    Keys: The Scorched Plague

    The Scorched Plague is a mutagenic infection that ravaged Appalachia between 2085 and 2103, wiping out nearly all human life in the region save for those sheltered within Vault 76. By 2103, through the efforts of the Vault Dwellers of Vault 76, the plague's inoculation had been distributed to many Appalachians, including settlers, the Crater Raiders, the Brotherhood of Steel and those at Nuka-World on Tour, halting the spread of the disease to humans. As of 2105, the plague still exists. The origins of the Scorched Plague begins with the Scorchbeast; originally, what was once a typical bat was grotesquely mutated via the machinations of the Appalachian Enclave's biochemical experiments around 2083, deep below the Cranberry Bog. While containment of these creatures was far from successful, it would not be until 2086 that the megalomaniac aspirations of then-Secretary of Agriculture turned President Thomas Eckhart unleashed the Scorchbeasts entirely on an unsuspecting Appalachia. In the early stages of these experiments, the bats appeared to have an uncanny ability to attract other animals, but the biochemical experiments were considered a failure. It was not until the bats were accidentally exposed to both biochemical agents and radiation that the Scorched Plague came to be. From a naturally-secreted particulate falling from their wings, the Scorchbeasts spread this infection wherever they reached.

    Regardless if it were a human, animal or mutant, the Scorched Plague was able to infect nearly every living thing it touched, with possible droplet methods of infection, with few exceptions. The plague starts with a series of intense physical changes in its victims. At first, the victim's skin will darken, and smell of ash. Eventually, intense burning lesions begin to form all over the infected body, which would appear to be smoldering. After some time, the victim's skin will split open, exposing their reddish-pink flesh and the strange presence of green ultracite crystals that break up from beneath their skin. At this point, the infection has fully taken hold of its victim, transforming them into a Scorched.

    Coupled with these physical changes is the degradation of the victim's mental faculties, more so if they are human. Most importantly, however, is their assimilation into the Scorchbeast's hive mind. As a Scorched, the victim is completely enthralled to the will of the hive mind, hostile to everything that is not already infected. In the case of Scorched humans, the assimilation into the hive mind is not completely absolute, as infected humans may demonstrate some awareness as to what state they're in. Physically, however, they have little to no ability to go against the greater whims.

    Every Scorched was a vector for greater infection, a purpose with which they are compelled to fulfill until they totally succumb to the disease within them and are left as nothing more a petrified, ashen husk.

    Scorched humans made up the breadth of the Scorched Plague's victims. Most human Scorched are able to effectively utilize weaponry, including firearms. Fighting carriers of the Scorched Plague in and of itself was extremely dangerous, as transmission was a great risk, coupled with the then-lack of any form of inoculation.

    Initial scorchbeast sightings were often dismissed as rumors or hallucinations, but soon the various factions of Appalachia would be forced to assess the severity of the unstoppable plague. Many scrambled to develop means with which to combat the spread of the disease, developing a variety of countermeasures in an effort to destroy, contain or even cure the plague. However, divisions and hostility would set in; some dismissed the severity of the plague, others simply underestimated the threat and were too late to make a difference, or squabbling politics and mutual distrust between organizations would lead to the downfall of every major player in the region.

42. #42Scorchedselective

    Keys: Scorched

    A Scorched human can result when a human is infected by the Scorched Plague which in turn mutates its host. The effects are similar to those that affect other animals. Scorched humans are able to use melee weapons and firearms. They wear tattered civilian wear, military uniforms and faction outfits such as the varied dress of the Responders or raider armor. Their vocalizations refer to themselves in the plural, with typical phrases being "we are one" or "never alone." In 2103, following the elimination of the scorchbeast queen and subsequent vaccination of the settlers and raiders who have returned to Appalachia, the Scorched influence on the region is in decline. Fixtures comprised of the dismembered corpses of Scorched are not uncommonly found mounted onto the walls of outposts and strongholds claimed by regional factions such as the Blood Eagles or the Cult of the Mothman, showing how they are managing to combat the Scorched as well with the vaccine available.

    There are no known scorched ghouls. Feral ghouls are known to be highly resistant to the Scorched Plague.

43. #43Sheepsquatchselective

    Keys: Sheepsquatch

    The Sheepsquatch is a woolly-haired cryptid reported across numerous counties in West Virginia, predominantly within the southwestern region of the state. A cryptid stalking the Appalachian mountains, the Sheepsquatch myth was an obsession for many cryptid hunters, including one named Calvin van Lowe, who devoted his life to hunting it down. The cryptid is known to have existed in the years before the Great War, but knowledge of its existence was not widespread. Graduate students Michael Turner and Cindy Holloway met their ends from a Sheepsquatch, while cryptid hunter Ray Gary was left crippled after encountering one, keeping his experience secret to save others from the same fate.[2] The wandering storyteller talks at length about the creature, describing his own experiences with the cryptid and speculating on its origins. Sheepsquatchs stand on two legs.

44. #44Mothmenselective

    Keys: Mothmen

    Mothmen are a species of mutant insect found in Appalachia. Named for the 20th century folkloric figure (or "cryptid,") these furtive creatures are worshipped by the Cult of the Mothman, who still inhabit the museum at Point Pleasant dedicated to its mythology. Hostile mothmen can be encountered quite regularly by visiting cultist locations at night, though they occasionally spawn elsewhere and observe humans from a distance.

    Most of these creatures are believed to be interchangeable animals--even by their worshippers, who consider them divine heralds of a higher power. However, a sect calling themselves the Enlightened exclusively revere the purple-eyed Wise Mothman, which they believe to be a unique, sentient, mortal creature who somehow existed before the Great War. These rare creatures like to stalk humans, only to flee or defend themselves when confronted. They may also stand on a perch in the ruins or wilderness, watching over a specific area. However, they do not attack opportunistically, and must be threatened or startled into combat. If approached from a distance, they generally acknowledge and warn enemies before resorting to violence. Adult mothmen are typically solitary creatures unless congregating at a site of worship or nesting ground.

    When idle and alone, they tend to sit with their wings wrapped around themselves like a shroud. At a glance, they could be mistaken for a huddled, cloaked figure, were it not for their piercing eyes. Their silhouette is further distinguished by segmented antenna, evoking small antlers or furrowed brows. Their leathery wings are usually drawn back in the presence of people. They pull themselves forwards on four undulating legs, with a pair of forelegs held close to the face. As they amble over land, their wings drag behind them like overlong coattails. This reduces stress on the abdomen, their center of gravity, which must be dragged across the ground. The top and back of the body is protected by a heavy brown mane, somewhat resembling the mantle of a fur cloak.

    Though they may chaotically slam around the environment when defending themselves, they are not known to bite, scratch, sting, wrestle, or otherwise attempt to physically strike their foes.

45. #45Radsquirrelsselective

    Keys: Radsquirrels

    Radsquirrels have retained the general size and form of their pre-War counterparts. The main differences between pre-War and post-War squirrels are loss of fur, loss of cheek tissue, malformation of the eyes, and small growths along the body. Squirrels will flee from all hostile actors and have no attacks with which to defend themselves.

46. #46Giant antselective

    Keys: Giant ant

    These mutated arthropods, of order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae, and genus Camponotus were exposed to large levels of radiation, growing larger. Large and small forager ants make up the bulk of these ants' colonies, while soldier ants guard them to apply defense. Small, flight-enabled swarms also exist and act together as if by a hive mind in the group. Ants are not a serious threat, only being dangerous when swarming the player character due to encroachment of their territories. Giant ants are large insectoids inhabiting the area earlier known as Northern California and Oregon, and tend to live in dark places, such as caverns, and can be found in Arroyo and Broken Hills. As they are insects they have three pairs of legs, and a powerful exoskeleton. They are also prone to turn into a frenzy, should their primary sense organ, their antenna, be damaged. The heart of the swarm, a giant ant queen is significantly larger than drones and soldiers and capable of spitting acid at attackers. However, her large size renders her largely immobile, while the wings are little more than a vestigial limb, capable of threat displays, but little beyond that. The queen is roughly four to five times larger than the average giant ant. When threatened, she buzzes her wings and will hiss at the enemy. She will then proceed to spit an acidic saliva at the enemy in an attempt to ward them off. She cannot move much, so avoidance is easy, especially in smaller spaces.

47. #47Yao guaiselective

    Keys: Yao guai

    Yao guai are large, mutated ursines that are descended from the bears that lived across America before the Great War. They are able to reproduce, as evidenced by the presence of cubs. Wild yao guai will attack nearly any other animals or people they encounter, including deathclaws. Despite this, yao guai exhibit a gentle, familial bond toward one another when found together and can even be domesticated.

48. #48Bloatfliesselective

    Keys: Bloatflies

    An example of the mutations caused by the Great War, the bloatfly is an evolution of either the Musca domestica (common housefly) or Tabanus genera of biting horse fly. Tentatively classified as part of the Tabanidae family in the order Diptera, class Insecta, phylum Arthropoda and kingdom Animalia by the Enclave, it is a major divergence from its evolutionary forebears. The standard bloatfly has a green and brown carapace and is significantly larger and more tenacious than its predecessors. Its size inhibits previous flight characteristics and agility, making it impossible to feed like pre-War horse flies did. Instead, it uses its engorged stinger and pupae gestating within its abdomen to incapacitate prey. The stinger is capable of launching mature larvae with a barbed sting at the end. These latch onto the target and deliver a neurotoxin capable of incapacitating larger prey, allowing the bloatfly and its larvae to feed. Its neurotoxin is ineffective against humans and larger targets, causing only localized necrosis. As a result, the bloatfly serves as prey rather than predator among wastelanders who utilize its meat for food. Bloatflies can resort to scavenging in situations where prey or other sources of sustenance are scarce. It adapted to its enlarged size with a unique gland that enables it to balance and maintain speed despite its size. Bloatflies are a common sight in the wastes, varying in size and exhibiting territorial instincts alongside an absence of self-preservation. They can be found in swarms of two to four and will attack targets relentlessly. Bloatflies may explode upon death.

49. #49Beesselective

    Keys: Bees

    Bees are creatures that congregate and travel in swarms. These swarms can be seen surrounding beehives, which are found on the exterior of trees, rock faces, and outbuildings. One swarm gets released from a hive whenever honey or honeycomb is taken from it. Honey beasts have small beehives on their backs, and release bee swarms upon being attacked.

50. #50Bloodbugsselective

    Keys: Bloodbugs

    Bloodbugs appear to be roughly two feet in length from the head to the tip of the abdomen. Like their pre-War ancestors, bloodbugs possess six long double-jointed limbs, one pair of finely-veined wings, and a long, pointed proboscis that extends from between two compound eyes. The proboscis is the bloodbug's primary means of assault, sinking it into prey almost like a syringe and inflicting radiation poisoning to the victim.

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