Faction Name: Brotherhood of Steel Mojave Chapter

Description: Formerly led by Elijah, the Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was forced to go into hiding following a disastrous battle against the NCR at HELIOS One. Having lost their elder and overhalf their knights and paladins, the chapter would have been wiped out had they not fled the battle and taken shelter inside a concealed pre-war military installation in Hidden Valley. Since that fateful day, the chapter has survived by remaining hidden from the NCR and stealthily procuring food and supplies from traders, biding their time and gathering data on the state of things in the Mojave to share with the rest of the Brotherhood.

Recently, however, the other Elders have finally sent aid, along with a new mission from Arthur Maxson himself- to find a way to stop the Green before it can become a threat to humanity's survival. With no allies and the the NCR still hunting for the chapter, however, they will need to seek out allies or uncover pre-war technologies if they want any hope in succeeding in their mission.

Territory: Hidden Valley Bunker

Sphere of influence: The Mojave Chapter has only survived this long by staying under the NCR's radar, and as a result has little influence outside of their bunker. However, they occasionally send research and recon teams into the Green-heavy regions west of New Vegas, and have a few undercover suppliers that work to keep the chapter fed and supplied.

Force Composition: With the reinforcements from the west, the Mojave Chapter currently has 34 paladins, 55 knights, 15 combat-capable initiates, and 34 scribes, with a total population of approximatly 250. Additionally, they possess approximately 20 operational Duraframe Eyebots.

History: The Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel first came to the Mojave under the direction of Elder Elijah, whose radical ideas put him at odds with the western elders. They occupied the Hidden Valley bunker and HELIOS One power plant, with the latter being of such great interest to Elijah that he made it their headquarters despite being poorly defensible. When the NCR arrived in the Mojave, conflict was inevitable, and in 2276, the NCR carried out Operation: Sunburst, laying siege to HELIOS One. The battle was a devastating blow to the chapter, and in the chaos, their elder disappeared without a trace. The chapter might have been wiped out if it were not for Head Paladin McNamara taking command and leading the remaining Brotherhood defenders in a retreat back to Hidden Valley, where they locked down and hid from the victorious NCR.

For the next few years, the Brotherhood remained hidden, occasionally sending teams of paladins or knights to the surface to perform reconnaissance or seek out technology. While some of these missions led to further losses of Knights and Paladins, they also bore fruit, including the recovery of a armored Enclave Eyebot prototype. It was during one of these expeditions, a failed effort to procure replacement HEPA filters for Hidden Valley's air filtration system, that the Brotherhood first came into contact with the phenomenon now popularly known as The Green, and the deadly effects of its spores.

While the Brotherhood did eventually obtain the needed filters elsewhere, the rapid emergence of this strange new plant life, and its considerable lethality, became a matter of far greater concern. The Brotherhood continued to send expeditions to gather data on The Green, modifying their power and recon armors with self-contained breathing apparatus- and implementing stringent decontamination procedures- to prevent any more fatalities from Greenlung. Meanwhile, the scribes shared whatever data they recovered with the western elders, not just of The Green, but of any technology they had recovered, including the prototype Eyebot.

In 2286, the Mojave Chapter received a contingent of reinforcement from the west, composed of Brotherhood veterans and duraframe eyebots disguised as NCR refugees and civilian-model eyebots. However, this aid did not come without conditions attached- the leader of the reinforcing Brotherhood members, Sentinel Irving, bore an encrypted message from Arthur Maxson himself. The message claimed that based on the data they had gathered, The Green was a threat to humanity and that the Mojave Chapter was to be tasked with stopping it spread by any means necessary, and at any cost. The message further explained that Irving was to be assigned to serve as the chapter's Sentinel to ensure compliance with Maxson's orders.

While some of the Brotherhood (particularly Hardin, who disliked the shakeup to their rank structure that left him third-in-command) were displeased at these changes, they could not deny that the assistance was sorely needed. Over the next two years, the new Sentinel familiarized himself with the region, the chapter he had been assigned to, and the threats that they faced. By 2288, the Brotherhood had identified a number of leads to be pursued, in hopes that at least one of them would allow them to defeat a foe that not even the NCR had been able to best...

Name: Sentinel Derek Irving

Appearance: Irving is a fit Caucasian man of average height in his mid-40's, whose face and body shows signs of the hard life that he's lived. He has short, graying black hair and light stubble. His body harbors several scars, as well as several bullet fragments from at least one AP 5.56 round- and possibly more.

Affiliation: Brotherhood of Steel Mojave Chapter

Previous Affiliations: Brotherhood of Steel San Francisco Chapter

Gear/Equipment: Irving's personal combat attire includes T-51b Power Armor formerly owned by a now-fallen Mojave Chapter Paladin, and a suit Recon Armor when out of his power armor. Having gone up against the NCR's Rangers and snipers in the past, he has opted to not include any rank markings on his armor. His preferred weapons are a P94 Winchester Plasma Rifle, an AEP7 laser pistol for a sidearm, and a Ripper for a melee weapon.

Background:
Derek Irving was born to Brotherhood parents in Lost Hills in 2243. During his early life, he chose to pursue the path of a Paladin and upon attaining the rank, was assigned to the San Francisco Chapter. While Irving distinguished himself in the war with the NCR, even scoring two confirmed Ranger kills (and one unconfirmed), he harbored a number of outspoken views that strained his relations with his superiors. He claimed that the war with the NCR was a mistake, that they should have targeted the Shi and Van Graffs instead. Furthermore, he had a reputation of destroying technology that he deemed too dangerous to fall into the hands of the "unenlightened".

In one particularly controversial incident, Irving's team discovered a lost Robobrain maintenance and repair facility, he set its atomic reactor to melt down rather than risk anyone getting their hands on what he saw as a travesty of life and technology, despite his elder's wishes to use the facility against the NCR. Because of the increasingly dire situation that the Brotherhood was in, they couldn't afford to get rid of a seasoned veteran like him, so instead they had him "kicked upstairs", being promoted to Senior Paladin and tasked with training initiates inside of the bunker.

When word reached his ears of the young Arthur Maxson's successful ascension to Elder, Irving became an outspoken supporter of Maxson's policies and interpretation of the Codex. When the western elders received instructions from Maxson to deal with The Green, Irving was promoted to the formerly East Coast exclusive rank of Sentinel and sent with a group of other veteran Brotherhood members to the Mojave Wasteland under the cover of NCR refugee waves. He suspects that his promotion to this station is less due to the elders' confidence in him, and more a way to kick him even further upstairs and away from them.

While McNamara remains the Elder of the Mojave Chapter, his declining health has allowed Irving to serve as the de facto leader of the Brotherhood. Since arriving at Hidden Valley, Irving has worked to understand the situation in the Mojave, its major players, and the Brotherhood's own position here. He's had to deal with the logistics of the chapter's increased numbers and the harsh reality that even with the NCR gone, the holdouts still want them dead and have the numbers to make it happen. His time in San Francisco may have prepared him for weirdness, but the situation in the Mojave is nothing like anything he's seen before.

Faction Name: The Followers of the Apocalypse (New Vegas Branch) [In progress]

Description: The Followers were originally a secular tribe dedicated to higher learning, egalitarianism and conditional pacifism. Their concern for equality and the common good make them popular with the masses in the Wasteland, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. Given their medical and scientific expertise, even powerful factions which may regard them as naive, seditious, or troublesome are usually required to tolerate their existence. However, at times the Followers’ resistance to political and military authority attracts anger and violent retribution from the Great Powers in the Mojave.

Territory:

Sphere of influence: Freeside, also diffused through many refugee camps and settlements

Force Composition:

History: The Followers’ existence in Freeside was dealt a crippling blow on the night the King burned. Many Followers were killed in the riots, and the annexation of Freeside and the atrocities committed by Denver’s Dogs only hardened the Followers against the NCR. The Followers opened the Old Mormon Fort and New Vegas Medical Clinic to the remnants of the Kings gang, and others made homeless and destitute by the 3rd Infantry. This swelling of the Followers’ ranks with refugees and malcontents bolstered their numbers, temporarily making up for their losses.

However, a greater blow came with the loss of the Old Mormon Fort to the Greenlung. The riots had taken the lives of many young and active Followers - those with experience in campaigning and fighting. This time, the Greenlung took many scholars and doctors - those with senior leadership experience and technical expertise, which could not be easily replaced by fresh recruitment.

All Followers are required to value life. However, the loss of the Mormon Fort, which had been brought about by helping the NCR, a now hated enemy, strained this principle. The fact that the Followers were forced to withdraw from the Fort, abandoning their most senior and beloved comrades to death, all in the process of helping an invading and persecuting force, pushed many Followers beyond the brink.

The Followers had always been loosely organised, and with many of its senior members gone, and the organisation reeling from successive tragedies, various sub-groups have arisen and begun straining in different directions. The majority of the Followers still favour a non-violent and appeasing approach for both idealistic and pragmatic reasons. They cannot afford to antagonise the NCR with its military might. A significant number of others, however, believe that their very survival, and that of the Wasteland, is under threat unless they divert their resources to armed self-defence.

Both pro-pacifist and pro-force factions of the Followers have begun dispersing their members throughout various locations in the Mojave. While Freeside and the New Vegas Medical Clinic remain their centre of influence, rumours abound of underground safehouses and isolationist, no-contact cells. The Followers’ lack of formal hierarchy makes them well suited to concealing the whereabouts of their factional leaders from their enemies - and from each other.

Appearance: Gloriana is of average height with a well-muscled and athletic build, her face and body well-worn from years of military service. Her curly brown hair hangs just past her ears with strands of grey appearing here and there. Time and service have done a good job at marring the simple beauty Gloriana once had as a young woman with scars and wrinkles covering her well freckled face.

Affiliation: Founder and leader of The Rough Riders mercenary company

Previous Affiliations: NCR Military, NCR Veteran Rangers

Gear/Equipment: Gloriana is likely to be seen wearing her veteran ranger armor painted in the same six color desert pattern as the rest of her rangers. She usually wears her helmet but has a navy-blue beret with a gold lion pin to replace it when necessary. When in garrison or off duty she normally wears well-worn denim jeans, a button up flannel over a tank top and combat boots. Regardless of where she is her ranger sequoia revolver stays holstered at her hip accompanied by a knife somewhere on her person. When in combat or in an operation Gloriana will tend to bring whatever is necessary, a habit typical of veteran rangers.

Background: From a small town nestled in the mountains of southern California Gloriana is not public about her childhood, mentioning only that life in the NCR called her away from her family and home. Enlisting into the service as quickly as she could Gloriana cut her teeth as a rank-and-file grunt embracing the culture shock and the camaraderie that came with it. She was hooked and despite the desperate decision to flee into a life of service she wasn’t terrible at it. Gloriana is very soft-spoken, friendly, and compassionate traits not often accredited to infantrymen, but it helped greatly with the rapport between her and her unit. She was well liked by those she served with and proved her metal in combat numerous times.


Eventually approached by an opportunity to join the NCR Rangers Gloriana jumped on the chance. What had once been an essential escape had now become her passion. She loved the challenge and the rough and tumble life in the field, so the Rangers seemed like a perfect fit. Still young when she passed selection and earned her ranger badge Gloriana felt a little out of her element, but another woman took her under her wing, Ranger Teresa Lutz. They had gone through training together and over the duration of it instantly clicked. While Gloriana rarely left enemies behind her as she transferred from unit to unit, she always felt like she never really had friends. Teresa was the first person that made her feel like someone genuinely cared about her and the two of them became inseparable. Life in the military made it difficult for them to stay by each other’s side but they would stay in contact as frequently as possible and any chance for leave was spent together. After a few years the two of them were married, dedicating their lives not just to the rangers but to each other. At this point Gloriana had volunteered to become a veteran ranger and this is what would take her away from Teresa and slowly start to plant the seeds of dissent in her mind.


Spending most of her time at the spear tip of the NCR’s expansion started to open Gloriana’s eyes even wider to the negligence and failings of the NCR as an institution. Eventually she just didn’t love it like she used to, something she struggled with for a while but life as a veteran ranger kept her engaged and satisfied. She had spent most of her time hunting down Caesar’s Legion targets across the Colorado River leading up to the First Battle of Hoover Dam. During the battle she had gotten caught up in repelling the attack on Camp Golf while her wife Teresa was stuck at the front-lines at Hoover Dam. When news got back to her that Teresa had died after getting trapped in Boulder City Gloriana’s morale was crushed. After that day she never truly felt like the same person and everything she did with the rangers just didn’t feel right.


She had spent the next few years spinning her wheels hanging on for Teresa’s sake and for the sake of the rangers she served with, but she could never shake the loss. Once assigned to Baja for what seemed like a useless ghost hunt Gloriana started drawing up the plans for her departure. Most of the rangers she served with in her platoon shared her sentiment. So, once they were recalled back to Nevada in preparation for the Second Battle of Hoover Dam just to have the rug pulled out from under them, they walked away forming the Rough Riders. A chance to set things right and make up for where they failed. A chance for Gloriana to bury her ghosts. She visits the Boulder City memorial as often as she can muster the strength, but she still can’t make it past that cold stone with Teresa’s name etched into it.

Description: The Rough Riders are a small tight knit mercenary company operating in the Mojave after the NCR’s withdrawal from the area. Founded from a company of NCR Veteran Rangers under the command of Veteran Ranger Gloriana Lutz. Fed up with the bureaucracy and incompetence that all but infested the NCR, no love was lost when they walked away from it. Many of their initial contracts came from caravan companies that paid them to scout out potential routes or escort their caravans through especially rough terrain.




Territory: Headquartered at Wolfhorn Ranch the Rough Riders have reinforced and expanded on the ramshackle homestead turning it into a self-sufficient headquarters more than suitable for supporting their numbers with excess crops used to barter or build relations with local communities. Their other notable garrison is at the mountain top observation post Outpost Guardian. Under contract from the 3rd Infantry Battalion, they dug in and fortified the position. Using it primarily as a jumping off point for reconnaissance missions into the surrounding areas.



Sphere of Influence: The Rough Riders maintain garrisons at their headquarters in Wolfhorn Ranch and at Outpost Guardian. These areas are patrolled heavily but it’s not uncommon for them to be spotted elsewhere in the Mojave, either in service to their 3rd Infantry Battalion contracts or on independent business. They are generally well respected by the settlements in the Mojave and are often called on to mediate small town disputes and help quell local disturbances. A service they usually provide with no expectation of payment.



Force Composition: The Rough Riders consist of about 100 personnel. 40 of them are NCR Veteran Rangers, mostly members of the founding company but there are a few new faces. Making up the difference are NCR patrol rangers and regular soldiers. All of them are considered combatants and able to take on missions when necessary.


A vital aspect of Rough Rider operations stems from their extensive application of horses and pack animals. Used to rapidly deploy small units over long distances, turn regular infantry into shock units, or just make long distance scouting missions more efficient. All members of the Rough Riders are trained rigorously in horsemanship and their horses have become the lifeblood of their operations allowing them to operate well outside of the confines of the Mojave. In some areas of Wolfhorn Ranch it’s easy to forget that you’re inside of a military compound with barns and corrals giving it the appearance of a traditional horse ranch. Although following the famine, care of the horses has become increasingly difficult to maintain and a sizeable amount was lost to starvation. With their numbers now close to 50 they are a resource looked after even more closely than before.

Currently structured into 3 platoons, rotations between each one is common in order to ensure that each soldier is given a chance to unwind and that the home front is well looked after. These 3 companies are as follows.

HQ Platoon: It may not always be the same people but there will always be a sizeable force in the home guard. The primary duty of this company is to protect Wolfhorn Ranch. Although due to their self-sufficient nature personnel assigned to this company will also be responsible for tending to the farms and animals, maintenance of equipment and facilities, and more general day-to-day operations.

OP Guardian: Due to their current contract with the 3rd Infantry Battalion a garrison at Outpost Guardian has been stood up. Personnel assigned here will spend most of their time manning the outpost or using it as a base-camp for operations into the surrounding areas.

Away: Generally used to refer to personnel not in garrison and operating out in the wasteland. Duration spent in this status is solely dependent on how long an operation lasts and some personnel can be classified as “away” for months until they return to garrison.




Equipment: Stemming from their time in the NCR Veteran Rangers, the founding members of the Rough Riders have always kept a diverse arsenal allowing others to choose whatever gear suits them and their mission set best. An example of some of the equipment at their disposal is the .308 M1 Garand battle rifle, 5.56 light machine gun, .45-70 govt brush gun, .308 sniper rifle, .50 anti-material rifle, 5.56 service rifle, 40mm grenade launcher, and .45-70 revolvers. Although it’s not uncommon to see other weapons checked in and out of the armory.

Their uniform is similar in design to standard NCR fatigues except normally worn with a navy-blue blouse, and khaki or 6-color desert camo trousers. Issued combat armor and helmets to wear over their fatigues most members choose to wear as little as possible and replace their helmets with Stetson cavalry hats worn with gold cords and yellow handkerchiefs tied around their throat. A sign of bravado amongst the Rough Riders but also representative of their highly mobile approach to combat. Most soldiers inevitably end up only wearing a helmet and chest guard to avoid impeding their mobility.


A small reserve of NCR Veteran Ranger armor is maintained and used only by the most elite of the Rough Riders. Most of it is a pre-war USMC variant with the armor painted in 6-color desert camo (chocolate chip) and the brown trench coat replaced with a navy blue one at the operator’s discretion. If operating with NCR personnel where confusion could occur, they will either wear a navy-blue trench coat and/or distinguish themselves with yellow markings, normally a handkerchief tied around their neck or arm.




History: Formed shortly after the NCR’s withdrawal from the Mojave the founding members of the Rough Riders all came from Veteran Ranger Gloriana Lutz’s company. They had grown disillusioned with the meandering bureaucracy of the NCR and chose to strike out on their own. Initially working with caravan companies to help get established. Their skills in the wilderness made them excellent scouts and many companies like Crimson Caravan and the Gun Runners used them to survey new supply routes or escort caravans through treacherous territory.


Amid the chaos that consumed the Mojave and left reeling from the famine themselves the Rough Riders were forced to form a bond with local communities or risk dying out themselves. So, for little to nothing in return the Rough Riders would help settlements, however they could for little to nothing in return. This included running off raiders, mediating disputes, guiding hunting parties, guarding general stores, and training settlers to better protect themselves. All of this in the hope that when they had something to give it would come back to the Rough Riders. Normally it was just small quantities of food that the people would pool together for them, but it helped keep them in business.

Contract work at this time was at an astronomical high. Caravan companies desperately needed help moving their products as more and more caravans carrying essential supplies were raided before ever reaching their destinations. Using their previous connections and reputation, the Rough Riders were able to step in to bolster security and help some caravans avoid raiders by navigating more treacherous trails. While still a modest boon to the overall dismal situation in the Mojave, it still made an impact for those that needed it.


All of these were moves that would help set them apart from the quickly deteriorating organization they used to belong to. In most settlements the Rough Riders were spoken of positively and community outreach during such a troubling time seemed to foster support for the mercenaries amongst the locals. Eventually due to their former interactions with one another and increasing need for more resources Gloriana and the Rough Riders would end up taking contracts for the NCR by proxy of the 3rd Infantry Battalion. Except this time, they weren’t beholden to the system that so often failed the ones it was supposed to protect.

BoS Knight/Paladin from Maxson's group that's sort of an inversion of the standard Heir Apparent Excellent Leader trope. Bitter that the Mojave group failed. Confident that Maxson/Irving would have done better and that had they been there he'd be Third (if not Second) in line rather than Hardin. Very capable soldier, but less capable as a leader. Confident nonetheless that he is a great leader.

BoS Infiltrator/Agent, which is to say Scribe/Scout/Spy.
Capable enough in physical matters, but much more geared to the cerebral. Trying to fish out any information on The Green. That's the mission. Also, due to standard BoS self importance, trying to find out any information that might be beneficial to whatever operation is to come next, after the defeat of The Green.

If neither of those sounds good or sort of contradicts IC posts I'd also be interested in writing a sort of adversarial group. My idea for that is to try to walk a line between science and insanity with a group that has been studying The Green and thinks it may be best to either let it take the Vegas area completely or seem to control it. To harvest it for food, let it bring some of the desert to life, treat it like a New Eden. Could go for a "are they scientists or cultists?" vibe.