Fallout: New Vegas - Points of Divergence

I. Intro

What if Ceasar's Legion were sane? What if they weren't complete monsters, or evil to the point of stupidity? What if they weren't built to fall apart once Caesar died? What if they, while still brutal and cruel, brought actual order and organization to their lands? Would things still turn out to be the same?

Other questions are: What if the Kings were more fleshed out? What if the Fiends and Vipers showed the depths glimpsed in the original world? What if Elijah maintained control of the Brotherhood? What if the NCR's sinister reputation wasn't based on exaggerations, rumors, and outright lies? What if the fate of the Mojave relied not on one person, but multiple pariticpants?

Why that last question? Because the Courier is dead...

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Basically, the points of divergence, aka the things that make Caesar's Legion different, are first, Ceasar finding different books about Ancient Rome during his time as Edward Sallow, and second, Caesar not having a brain tumor. This results in a Legion that, while led and controlled with an iron fist, with harsh punishments for disobedience, is more sensible, more willing to negotiate, and more willing to build, in general. A Legion of order and organization, based not on slavery, but on the practicalities of landed power focused by a strong man at the centre of it all. The New Roman Empire, the Nova Roma Imperii, risen again and looking towards what was good in the past to apply it to the future.

Your jobs, in this open world game, are to fight, explore, and interact; you can take bounties, sell food and purified water, take up arms in favor of a faction, and affect the larger story and world in your own way. What you would not be permitted to do, however, is cut yourself off from the world; no man or woman is an island, especially in the Mojave Wasteland.

II. New and Changed (Main) Factions







III. Rules



IV. Character Sheet Skeleton

So basically... what if all the factions weren't entirely dick-bags and could actually provide a more brighter outcome for the world? Sounds... HOPEFUL. New Vegas remains my favorite Fallout. I am interested.

@Hopeless, Gave you a thanks!

@Letter Bee Would it be possible to make a sub-faction for the Alternate Caesar's Legion that rivaled the NCR's rangers and Secret Service? Maybe a tribe that was fashioned after a certain Greek warrior city-state?

@Letter Bee Would it be possible to make a sub-faction for the Alternate Caesar's Legion that rivaled the NCR's rangers and Secret Service? Maybe a tribe that was fashioned after a certain Greek warrior city-state?

All right, you have permission.

I like the feelings of nostalgia I get from reading New Vegas lore. Count me in! Are the Khans going to be the same?

Definitely interested.

@Hippocamp, That depends; if you have any ideas for changes, I'm all ears, especially if you want to play a Khan character.

@Letter BeeGoing in the same vein as the other person who wanted to do a sub faction, would I be able to make a semi-autonomous/Legion allied tribe whose speciality is math and engineering? The idea behind it is that their founder like Caesar found a load of old world text books but instead on history, it was on math and physics and architecture. Their strength isn't in being brutal warriors but cunning architects and engineers who ally themselves with the Legion seeing some similarities between each other and the fact that the Legion will certainly need many capable thinkers and magistrates to run.

One story I came up with is that during their first encounter, the Legion thought that their camp was actually an NRC or some old world outpost until they found out the tribe in question had built it themselves from scratch. Most of them also don't use guns or field artillery but can create strong crossbows and reliable yet cheap siege engines although they could probably make a cannon given enough time and resources.

At any rate, genius work here you've made mate.

@ClocktowerEchos, Thank you.

Sorry for whining and yelling at our last encounter.

And, your idea is sort of what I was asking from my players in the first place. Approved.

Sample CS/My GMPC:

Name: Paradise 'Par' Rapids

Age: 19

Looks:


Personality: Par looks like someone motivated to make a quick buck, and most of the time, that much is true. He likes bottlecaps/water whatever you can pay him, and is often out for the most profitable trade deals. He also likes sex (dude or gal, it doesn't really matter), and isn't above using it to gain an advantage. But, underneath it all, there is a dedicated, somewhat idealistic person who genuinely believes in the power of free and fair - emphasis on fair - trade and genuinely honest living, a power that, he believes, can rebuild civilization in a better form.

Faction
S.P.E.C.I.A.L= (45 Points spread wisely. Cannot go over 10 on any one stat)
Strength: 4
Perception: 5
Endurance: 4
Charisma: 9
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 7
Luck: 6 (+1 from Intense Training, so 7)

Backstory: Born in NCR Territory to two members of the Crimson Caravan, Arthur and Miranda Rapids, Par was taught how to pursue the family business from an early age. Intelligent, precocious, and good with technology, Par was also handsome and, although not strong, was fast and decently lucky, allowing him to charm many people into giving him a fair and favorable deal. Nevertheless, he remained under the shadow of his parents until he turned sixteen, when he, along with some bodyguards, were allowed to strike out on their own, towards the Mojave and New Vegas. There, Par was confident he'd make his fortune and find adventure.

The Mojave would prove a harsh teacher, however, as Par, after a string of successful deals, would then be tricked into gambling away most of his money in New Vegas itself, leaving him without his wares, without anything to pay his bodyguards, and barely avoiding slavery or death. He did keep the clothes on his back, a set of mechanical tools, some food and a stimpack, and more importantly, his skills with technology were still in his head. And finally, he avoided getting fired, despite enduring intolerable public humiliation from the higher-ups in the Crimson Caravan's local HQ. He still had enough to plan for a comeback, and he was going to do it the honest way...at least at first.

First, going to the lower city, he found a member of the Kings and paid him to act as a bodyguard for a stimpack. Then, noticing that the Kings' gangster had an ill-maintained pistol, he offered to repair it as an alternate payment instead of the stimpack. The gangster agreed, but threatened to knife Par if he did anything, and when Par actually followed through on the bargain, making the pistol work good as new, the gangster was amazed enough to offer to guard Par for all of his time in the lower city. After that, the boy went to the Old Mormon Fort and the Followers of the Apocalypse, where, after some reluctance from the latter, he was allowed to do more work for them, as well as pursue their archives for more knowledge.

When the chance came to get back in the Crimson Caravan's good graces a year later, Par took it with open arms. This chance was rescuing a caravan stranded outside an old Vault, Vault 91, whose experiment was that its inhabitants each had some phobia or another, some of which were inherited. Over time, when Vault 91 opened, its people were half-ready to get outside and out of the tight and cramped spaces of the complex, while the other half were afraid of the things outside. Both sides were in civil war with each other, and had taken the Crimson Caravan's convoy prisoner just for passing through. And so, Par saw his chance.

Successfully talking both sides in the civil war through their differences, the boy, just a few weeks shy of 18, managed to not only secure the release of the caravaneers, but also Vault 91 and any settlements span off from it as a trading partner, winning immense profit from the Crimson Caravan Company, and regaining their trust. He also got, as his greatest gift from Vault 91, a solar-electric powered car. Yes, a bonafide car that can carry a small amount of goods, had a security system that prevented others from using it, and, after some jury-rigging, even a couple of sentry guns each to its hood and rear to fire at any intruders, making it a Technical.

And so, a year or two on after that, life was good...

Weapon choice: Sniper Rifle, Carbine, Pistol, Knife.

Perks (Add only three):

-Confirmed Bachelor
-Lady Killer
-Intense Training

'Tagged' Skills (the skills you are strongest in; add only three unless you take a 'Weak' Skill, see below):

-Speech
-Science
-Repair
-Guns

All other skills are assumed to be average unless you want to take a 'Weak Skill'.

'Weak' Skills (the skills you are weakest in, add only if you want more 'Tagged' Skills):

-Unarmed

Any other info not included in the above:

@Letter BeeYips, is there any sort of faction CS guide or should I just make one up and use the provided CS for the leader?

@Letter BeeYips, is there any sort of faction CS guide or should I just make one up and use the provided CS for the leader?

The latter.

How are we doing Skills and Perks? This is Aaron from Discord BTW. :)

How are we doing Skills and Perks? This is Aaron from Discord BTW. :)

Let me edit the CS Skeleton and the Sample CS; I had plans to include them, but completely forgot.

@APRoll201984@ClocktowerEchos@chiru@Hippocamp@Hopeless:

Edited the CS to include Perks and Skills!

@APRoll201984@ClocktowerEchos@chiru@Hippocamp@Hopeless:

Does anyone wish me to start the OOC now?

@APRoll201984@ClocktowerEchos@chiru@Hippocamp@Hopeless:

Got a majority vote; will start OOC now.