I would make a vote, (which as I probably haven't earned as a newcomer), for Vancouver instead of Quebec. Here's my reasoning:
According to the Fallout history that I'm aware of, Canadian relations with the United States became more and more strained during the "Sino-American War" between the US and China in Alaska.
The American government basically strong-armed their way into Canada allowing them to move troops through the country, with some Americans starting to call Canada "Little America," which surely built up plenty of resentment.
Eventually, America officially annexed Canada into the United States after someone attempted to sabotage the oil pipeline (Which we could probably assume went through near BC on the west coast instead of in the east.)
If we want to do Canada, and have a bunch of interesting things to play with, the west coast cities seem to make for a more interesting setting for us to write in.
With the distance from the centralized American government, the western Candian cities probably harbored much more resentment toward the United States, especially when they basically strong-armed their way into a path to Alaska.
As well, the oil pipeline and years of troop movement would provide numerous battlegrounds, supply depots, and plenty of other things which could have contributed to eventual straining of relations here within our current narrative.
With the Enclave Oil Rig just off the coast of California, and the NCR pressure from the south, it would make a kind of sense for exiled Enclave forces to make their way further north, eventually running into a staunch group of Mounties (pro-Canadian patriots). The Coalition was probably formed near the previous borders of Canada/USA so as to establish order and some kind of peace between warring groups. (Think the F4 Minutemen, except angrier. Lol.)
In that context, there will probably be pro-USA die hards originating from Seattle, especially among ghouls who may blame Canadians for not allowing them to deal with the Chinese threat earlier. As well, there will certainly be Chinese-influenced groups further north which may either still be fighting their same fight, or possibly looking to make amends for the sins of their fathers.
As well, such a "forward base" at the end of the war would be an excellent location to develop high-impact FEV strains in an attempt to influence the war. With Mariposa under heavy scrutiny in the last days before the bombs fell, a second "base" outside of the traditional United States would make a kind of sense, especially if it could be secreted in one of the last places that investigators would look.
This would allow for supermutants, especially unique kinds, to have developed north of the city. This would also allow for the BoS to show their faces considering their origins to Mariposa, if they had recently "discovered" that there may have been a northern facility that they didn't realize had appeared.
Considering that these places were also the sites of numerous supply runs and even battles, there is probably a TON of salvage out there, but likely a lot of resistance from locals in dealing with the "big dog" governmental structures.
Shoot, it would even provide a link into the Great Khans if we wanted to add them to the mix, too. Lots of ways to link things together.
I dunno, just seems like a really interesting intersection of cool opportunities, pasts, and cultures clashing compared to the relatively peaceful Quebec in the Fallout timeline.
In this scenario, it looks like we've got the following groups:
- The Mounties
- Pro-USA Patriot Faction
- The Coalition
- The Enclave
- The NCR (Possibly)
- Chinese remnants
- Supermutants
- Brotherhood of Steel
- Great Khans (Possibly)
This list, of course, wouldn't preclude any minor settlement groups that we "discover" along the way, similar to Little Lamplight, The Gun Runners, Crimson Caravan Company, the Talon Mercs, etc. We can come up with our own versions of those within the context, of course.
But anyways, just my thoughts. Like I said, I'm kind of a Fallout nut. <grin>
