Powder Gangers

The Powder Gangers are a gang of escaped prisoners acting as raiders operating in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281.

Background
In the distant past, the NCR Correctional Facility was the Jean Conservancy (aka Southern Nevada Correctional Center), a low-security all-female prison. When the NCR occupied the Mojave, it became a perfect spot to house prisoners on a work release program. The inmates were tasked with maintaining a railroad alongside the Long 15 under military supervision, keeping the vital link between the Boneyard and New Vegas alive. However, as the war with the Legion escalated, more and more prison guards were redeployed to the Colorado against the warden's objections. Coupled with the fact that the inmates routinely worked with explosives to blast through rock or old train cars littering the tracks and were used as essentially slave labor for a major infrastructure project in grueling conditions, an uprising was a question of time.

Under the lead of Samuel Cooke, a small group of inmates gathered weapons and explosives before rebelling against the military police staffing the facility. Blasting their way out of the cell block, they quickly overwhelmed what little NCR personnel was present at the site, killed the warden, and established their own rule. The prisoner population dispersed, with some following Cooke into Vault 19, others staying with Eddie as Powder Gangers, and some heading out to cause mayhem throughout the Long 15.

The revolt shut down Highway 93 and the NCR's main road to Vegas. The situation worsened when the Powder Gangers stole Sloan's dynamite supply, shutting down Quarry Junction and inadvertently unleashing deathclaws on the quarry and the highway. Eventually, the gangers established a sizable presence outside the prison, with a ring of camps around it, focused on raiding caravans that tried to push through to Vegas and launch attacks to terrorize the local towns of Goodsprings, Sloan and Primm.

Organization
There are several groups of loosely organized Powder Gangers that organized quickly after the prison break. Many remain in the prison and have been raiding surrounding areas under the leadership of Eddie. There are factions of Powder Gangers spread far along the southwestern part of the Mojave Wasteland, all the way down towards Nipton.

The smaller groups of Powder Gangers are all lead by a strong or cunning underboss, like Joe Cobb. A large contingent of Powder Gangers can be found in Vault 19, under the leadership of Samuel Cooke, although there they are identified as escaped convicts.

Outside relations
Due to their hostility, the Powder Gangers have little to no friendly relations with outside groups. They are hated by both the NCR, for disrupting trade caravans and ambushing patrols, and Caesar's Legion, for harassing Legion raiding parties west of the Colorado River. In fact, if the Courier gets too close to their camps wearing Powder Ganger faction clothing, they will typically attack even if the Courier is on good terms with them.

Neutral relations are not completely unheard of, as seen in Nipton, although they are very rare. The willingness of Samuel Cooke's group to join the Great Khans suggests, at least some respect is held for them, though no formal relations will exist between the two groups without intervention from the Courier. Even they think the Fiends are a pack of strung-out freaks, they try to avoid.

Interactions with the player character
The Courier has several opportunities to aid the Powder Gangers in their activities. The first of these is participating on the raid on Goodsprings. After gaining their trust, Eddie will have the Courier running errands and the Vault 19 Powder Gangers will ask for help around the Vault. A couple enslaved Powder Gangers can also be released from the Legion raid camp.

Technology
The favored and most common weapons among the Powder Gangers are explosives, primarily the powder charges and dynamite, which they acquired during their time in prison and escape and from Sloan, the nearby quarry town. However, they also have a large arsenal of guns, some stolen, others looted from dead NCRCF guards.

Appearances
Powder Gangers appear in Fallout: New Vegas and J.E. Sawyer's Fallout RPG. The 215 Rail Line Powder Gang were also due to appear in Black Isle's canceled Fallout 3.