Bloomfield Space Center design document/3

This is part 3 of the Bloomfield Space Center design document for Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Kyle "The Hook" (Male – Human)



 * Importance - Intermediate
 * Level - 12


 * STATS
 * ST - 05
 * PE - 08
 * EN - 05
 * CH - 03
 * IN - 04
 * AG - 07
 * LK – 06


 * Traits – Finesse, One Hander


 * Perks – Demolition Expert, Tag!


 * Tag Skills – Deception (90%), Traps (110%), Firearms (105%), Persuasion (70%)

Some people are born leaders. These people possess the dynamic personality to guide and influence others through great words and actions. They rise above mediocrity to champion their cause and give meaning to the lives of those who follow. Great and memorable things happen when born leaders set about a task, and often become the thing of legends. Kyle "The Hook" is not that person.

Kyle was the guy with the gun. Five years ago, Kyle was just a cog in a greasy, unkempt machine. He was one of a handful of raiders who decided to go out on his own. Unfortunately, Kyle had zero influence on his colleagues around him, possessed a pointy stick, and had a rusty meat hook for a left hand to brave the hazards of the wastes. But Kyle devised a plan in that cavern he called a mind. He decided he would steal the gun of his raider leader (it was the only gun in the raider camp), kill him, and command any who opposes him to leave at once or face death (no one said it was a good plan).

Well, there's a god with a great sense of humor floating around in the brown haze known as the sky, because Kyle was able to pull off his "genius" plan. After a late night rotgut fest, the leader of the raiders ended up passing out in-between Kyle's tent and the tent of some other guy whose name is not important. Kyle wisely chose not to drink as much as everyone else in camp and made his move when he thought no one was awake enough to notice (or care). Kyle snagged his leader's gun (a .44 caliber hand gun), pointed it at his leader's head, and pulled the trigger. In the bloody, chunky mess that used to be his leader's head, Kyle declared himself the new leader. No one was sober enough to care. However, the following morning, after Kyle retrieved the rest of his former leader's ammunition, Kyle rousted his fellow raiders and re-declared himself the leader of the raider camp and decided to name his band of raiders the Rusty Hooks. About half of the raiders decided to stay, figuring Kyle could do no worse, and the other half gave Kyle the finger and left camp. From that point on, Kyle ruled with an "iron fist," so to speak, but was surprisingly fair. His band of raiders were rather loyal to Kyle, especially after Bear became his second in command (Bear commanded a lot of respect among his raider-mates, especially since he was a super mutant). Over the years, Kyle's Rusty Hooks grew to accept Kyle as their leader, mostly due to the fact he was the guy with the gun. What pretty much sealed the deal for Kyle was when he found Bloomfield Space Center. It is because of this great find that the Rusty Hooks increased their loyalty to Kyle and that they still consider him their leader, even though Kyle is no longer the only guy with a gun (thanks to the weapons cache in the security room in Bloomfield).

Kyle is an average built guy in his late thirties with shoulder length, grungy hair, and sun burned, leathery skin. Surprisingly enough, he still has most of his teeth which can be seen through all its plaque filled glory behind his half-assed beard and mustache. As alluded to earlier, Kyle is also not a very smart man, though he fancies himself a veritable genius. He will often make up long, polysyllabic words that almost sound real, just to give the impression he is quite intelligent and learned. Nothing could be further from the truth, though no one in the Rusty Hooks seems to mind, save for maybe Sid, the resident mechanic.

If the player can find a way to get passed Kyle's ridiculous self image and peculiar vocabulary, then the player will find a fairly reasonable man, though a ruthless criminal when the need calls. If Kyle is convinced the player has no intention of disrupting his little haven in the wastes, there is plenty of opportunity to work with Kyle and the Rusty Hooks.

Kyle the Hook Personality Outline

 * Leader of the raider tribe.
 * Left hand is a sharp, rusted meat hook – hence the name.
 * Dirty, brash, fair, dumber than he looks.
 * Thinks he's brilliant.
 * Will often use big, made up words to sound smart.
 * Damn proud he and his cronies found Bloomfield and claimed it as theirs.
 * Rules with an iron, er, um, hook.
 * Easily miffed, especially if someone calls him on his made up words.


 * Scripting stuff goes here


 * Scripting to keep in mind:
 * If Kyle and troop become enemy to player, Kyle gives a +5% combat bonus to his buddies. This bonus disappears after he dies.

Sid (Male – Human)



 * Importance - Intermediate
 * Level - 7


 * STATS
 * ST - 05
 * PE - 08
 * EN - 06
 * CH - 04
 * IN - 06
 * AG - 07
 * LK – 03


 * Traits – One in a Million; Increased Metabolism


 * Perks – TBD


 * Tag Skills – Firearms (90%), Mechanics (75%), Medic (75%)

Sid is not a gifted man in either looks or brains. He was always the guy who hung out in the back, never trying to stand out from the rest of the pack. The only thing that kept Sid from disappearing into obscurity completely was his mechanical and science skills. Now, no one would confuse Sid with a bona fide mechanic/science expert, but he did show an above average skill with such things. If he tinkered with something long enough, he usually figured out how to get it to work – mostly.

For the longest time, Sid was content being the forgotten Rusty Hook. He coasted from one raid to the next, hiding behind the braver (or dumber, depending on how one looked at it) warriors during a fire fight, always assuring himself the minimal respect of at least being in the fray, if not in front of the fray. Sid might have lived his entire life coasting on the coattails of his mates if it were not for the unfortunate abduction of Jillian McKinley, the Rusty Hooks' true mechanic and science expert. When Jillian was hauled away by a security robot during a raid, and was never seen or heard again, Kyle appointed Sid the resident mechanic. That would have been just dandy for Sid if Kyle never found Bloomfield. However, now that Bloomfield was the declared hideout for the Rusty Hooks, Sid actually has to work and show results. This put a hamper on Sid's preferred lifestyle of sloth and mooching, so Sid is none too pleased with his current predicament – a predicament exacerbated by the fact that Kyle is not pleased Sid only got the sub-reactor to work at 45% efficiency, and has yet to produce anything "useful" from all the shit that's laying around Bloomfield. Sid knows that his time is limited if he does not produce something for all his work, and is pretty desperate for any help.

Sid will be fairly short with the player at first, but will lighten up if the player shows interest in helping Sid attain either better mechanical skill, finish his little projects, or return Jillian to the Rusty Hooks so Sid can fall back into obscurity.

Sid Personality Outline

 * Wannabe electrician and mechanic who monkeyed around with enough things to sorta get them working.
 * Has quite a few screws loose.
 * Looks like he hasn't washed in years.
 * Has fits of rage if something he's working on does not go as planned – which is often.
 * Player can trade items with him, though his prices seem unusually high.
 * If player becomes leader of these raiders, Sid' prices will drop fifty-percent.


 * Scripting stuff goes here

Bear (Male – Super Mutant)



 * Importance - Major
 * Level - 10


 * STATS
 * ST - 08
 * PE - 05
 * EN - 08
 * CH - 03
 * IN - 07
 * AG - 07
 * LK – 05


 * Traits – Gifted, Bruiser


 * Perks – Action Boy, More Criticals, Tag!


 * Tag Skills – Unarmed (120%), Melee Weapons (110%), Firearms (110%), Persuasion (100%)

Some within the ranks of the Rusty Hooks would say Bear is the true leader of the pack. Bear is the uncompromising tactician when it comes to violent caravan raids, the diplomatic liaison when it comes to settling disputes within the gang, and the enforcer of the law within the Rusty Hooks. This is all the more extraordinary considering Bear is a super mutant. Some would even say that the only reason Kyle gets any respect at all is because Bear seems uniquely loyal to him. In fact, Bear's loyalty seems to boarder on the submissive, like a regularly disciplined dog.

Bear has been with the Rusty Hooks since almost its inception. About a month or so after Kyle the Hook "established" the Rusty Hooks, Bear was found leading a caravan through the wastes. When Kyle and his band attacked the caravan, Bear single-handedly killed six Rusty Hooks with his unusual iron bear claw weapon, before taking several bullets to the chest which rendered him unconscious and nearly dead. When Bear awoke and was pretty much back to normal (seems the bullet wounds were not as fatal as everyone thought thanks to that super mutant hide), he was mysteriously loyal to Kyle; so much so that Bear beat the living shit out of a few "possible" dissenters as a message to anyone who might even think of betraying Kyle. Since that time, Bear has been very close to Kyle the Hook, as well as offering advice to Kyle, which kept Kyle in power.

The big "mystery" as to why Bear is so loyal to Kyle is that Kyle, despite all his dumbness, is actually quite the expert at demolitions – almost idiot savant-like. Kyle instantly saw the potential of having a fierce super mutant like Bear under his command, so he created the heart bomb. Sid, the Rusty Hooks' part time medic and full time slacker, inserted the heart bomb for Kyle, persuaded by a .44 pointed at his skull. After secretly placing the bomb and stitching Bear up away from prying eyes, Kyle told Sid that if he ever mentioned this device to anyone, he would make sure Sid was tied up and thrown into a den of hag snakes. Kyle then made it known to Bear that he would always be in control of him as long as that device was nestled safely next to Bear's heart. Should Bear decide to break out on his own, he would become scorpion food. As long as Bear remained loyal, he would be treated as a second in command, especially since he showed such great physical and combat prowess. Bear, not being a stupid man, agreed to Kyle's terms in the secret hope that one day he could regain control of his own life and squash Kyle. That thought is Bear's driving force and which allows him to wake up each morning with hope.

Bear is a huge, standing over 7'6" and weighing in at a muscular 440 lbs. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, and large guns - though he rarely uses guns. In fact, he's so good at beating things up, that legend has it that Bear once beat the shit out of two super mutants with nothing more than his bare fists. However, despite Bear's physical and combat prowess, he is also very smart and well spoken. He conveys his thoughts intelligently and does not seek to belittle anyone who does not have the extra brain power that he so obviously has. He is fairly easy to reason with and will happily help the player, should the player figure out Kyle's weird control over Bear. If the player is able to free Bear from his predicament, Bear will be very grateful and perhaps become a CNPC. In addition, Bear actually knows all about Bloomfield and what the Hermes-13 was designed for and where it is programmed to go. He keeps this information secret because he does not think anyone in the Rusty Hooks is intelligent or responsible enough to know. He knows this information because he is one of the surviving super mutants from the Master's army. He is well versed in NCR's undertakings, as well as the BOS and Enclave, and is a good source of information, once the PC earns Bear's trust.

Bear's Personality Outline

 * Kyle's body guard.
 * Super Mutant


 * Huge – 7' 6" 440 lbs.
 * Over the top, homemade wasteland armor – droppable.
 * Actually very smart and philosophical.
 * Unique melee weapon – iron bear claw glove – also droppable.
 * Hanging around these losers because Kyle has some mysterious hold on him.
 * Very knowledgeable about NCR, BOS, and the Enclave.


 * Scripting stuff goes here


 * Scripting to keep in mind:
 * If Bear and troop become enemy to player, Bear gives a +5% combat bonus to his buddies. This bonus disappears after he dies.

Jillian McKinley (Female, Human)



 * Importance - Intermediate
 * Level - 11


 * STATS
 * ST - 05
 * PE - 07
 * EN - 05
 * CH - 07
 * IN - 08
 * AG - 07
 * LK – 05


 * Traits – TBD


 * Perks – Gifted,


 * Tag Skills – Firearms (110%), Mechanics (120%), Science (110%)

Jillian McKinley is one of the vital escaped prisoners. Like many of her escapee comrades, she carries one of the New Plague mutations – a piece in a large and lethal puzzle that the player needs, and the same virus that inhabits player's own body.

Jillian is a striking woman in her late thirties, despite her unkempt, "wasteland" look when the player finds her. Her looks are only exceeded by her intelligence and skill with mechanics and science (it's rumored that her family came from an actual vault, which explains her high mechanical and science knowledge, but she never talks about her family – possible PC dialogue quest). It is because of this intelligence, and her enviable skill with all things mechanical, that her life was spared the ghoul procreation process; a process that is usually fatal to humans. The ghouls found her ability with tools and cognitive thinking both refreshing and useful, almost to the point of making her an "honorary" ghoul. So, the ghouls charged her with gun smithing under the direct supervision of Hank, the ghoul gun and ammo smith. Jillian made no protest since the alternative was probably a grotesque and horrifying death.

Jillian was abducted by a retrieval robot not long after the Rusty Hooks found Bloomfield. Like many of her fellow prisoners, she headed out in a direction she was somewhat familiar. Day and night she braved the wastelands, evading creatures of nightmarish size and grotesqueness. She thought she might actually make it to her home, Bloomfield. However, a few days before she reached her beloved home, Jillian was captured by a ghoul patrol and taken to The Reservation as a slave and potential procreation catalyst. Luckily for her, the ghouls discovered her high intelligence and skills in mechanics, and decided to make her a slave.

The player will find Jillian sweating away in a radiation suit in the little trade area on the surface of The Reservation. It will be made clear that the player may not speak to any slaves. However, the player may inquire about purchasing Jillian from Hank, though it will take a very charismatic person with a high speech skill to even get Hank interested in selling Jillian (Hank is far too fond of Jillian, and even shows a bit of affection towards her, mostly because of her skill, which he admires and respects). Other options of acquiring Jillian is proving to the ghouls that the player can be trusted by freeing Harold from his capture and returning him to The Reservation, by foiling a trade scam that a human trader is conducting on the ghouls, by talking the guards into taking the player to meet Willem by saying that the player knows about a hi-tech launch platform that is fairly functional, or by blowing the shit out of the ghouls, though the last option would be very tough due to the sheer number of ghouls and their formidable equipment.

As far as Sid is concerned with Jillian, she couldn't return sooner. He will be ecstatic if the player brings Jillian back to Bloomfield so he can return to his life of background obscurity.

Jillian's Personality Outline

 * Headstrong, independent.
 * Exceptionally smart.
 * Excellent mechanic and science skills
 * Will steal and kill to help herself and the ones she cares about.
 * Carries New Plague and one of the prisoners who needs to be returned.


 * Scripting stuff goes here

Bear



 * Level - 8


 * STATS
 * ST - 08
 * PE - 06
 * EN - 08
 * CH - 04
 * IN - 07
 * AG - 07
 * LK – 05


 * Traits – Gifted, Bruiser


 * Perks – Action Boy, More Criticals


 * Tag Skills – Unarmed, Melee, Firearms

Some within the ranks of the Rusty Hooks would say Bear is the true leader of the pack. Bear is the uncompromising tactician when it comes to violent caravan raids, the diplomatic liaison when it comes to settling disputes within the gang, and the enforcer of the law within the Rusty Hooks. This is all the more extraordinary considering Bear is a super mutant. Some would even say that the only reason Kyle gets any respect at all is because Bear seems uniquely loyal to him. In fact, Bear's loyalty seems to boarder on the submissive, like a regularly disciplined dog.

Bear has been with the Rusty Hooks since almost its inception. About a month or so after Kyle the Hook "established" the Rusty Hooks, Bear was found leading a caravan through the wastes. When Kyle and his band attacked the caravan, Bear single-handedly killed six Rusty Hooks with his unusual iron bear claw weapon, before taking several bullets to the chest which rendered him unconscious and nearly dead. When Bear awoke and was pretty much back to normal (seems the bullet wounds were not as fatal as everyone thought thanks to that super mutant hide), he was mysteriously loyal to Kyle; so much so that Bear beat the living shit out of a few "possible" dissenters as a message to anyone who might even think of betraying Kyle. Since that time, Bear has been very close to Kyle the Hook, as well as offering advice to Kyle, which kept Kyle in power.

The big "mystery" as to why Bear is so loyal to Kyle is that Kyle, despite all his dumbness, is actually quite the expert at demolitions – almost idiot savant-like. Kyle instantly saw the potential of having a fierce super mutant like Bear under his command, so he created the heart bomb. Bud, the Rusty Hooks' resident medic, inserted the heart bomb via one of Bear's bullet wounds for Kyle, persuaded by a .44 pointed at his skull. After placing the bomb and stitching Bear up, Kyle killed Bud so his little secret would never get out. Kyle then made it known to Bear that he would always be in control of him as long as that device was nestled safely next to Bear's heart. Should Bear decide to break out on his own, he would become scorpion food. As long as Bear remained loyal, he would be treated as a second in command, especially since he showed such great physical and combat prowess. Bear, not being a stupid man, agreed to Kyle's terms in the secret hope that one day he could regain control of his own life and squash Kyle. That thought is Bear's driving force and which allows him to wake up each morning with hope.

Bear is a huge, standing over 7'6" and weighing in at a muscular 440 lbs. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, and large guns - though he rarely uses guns. In fact, he's so good at beating things up, that legend has it that Bear once beat the shit out of two super mutants with nothing more than his bare fists. However, despite Bear's physical and combat prowess, he is also very smart and well spoken. He conveys his thoughts intelligently and does not seek to belittle anyone who does not have the extra brain power that he so obviously has. He is fairly easy to reason with and will happily help the player, should the player figure out Kyle's weird control over Bear. If the player is able to free Bear from his predicament, Bear will be very grateful and perhaps become a CNPC. In addition, Bear actually knows all about Bloomfield and what the Hermes-13 was designed for and where it is programmed to go. He keeps this information secret because he does not think anyone in the Rusty Hooks is intelligent or responsible enough to know. He knows this information because he is one of the surviving super mutants from the Master's army. He is well versed in NCR's undertakings, as well as the BOS and Enclave, and is a good source of information, once the PC earns Bear's trust.

If the player is able to free Bear from his predicament, Bear will be very grateful and perhaps become a CNPC.

Bear will become a companion if:

 * Player figures out Kyle's mysterious hold in Bear and disables the C4 implant.
 * The device may be removed if the player has a high medic and science skill, and a good quality doctor's bag.


 * Player is able to get the trust and support of the Rusty Hooks and becomes their leader.
 * By fixing everything Kyle wants fixed, by defeating the turrets, and showing better leadership skills by exposing Kyle's elevated stupidity.
 * By openly challenging Kyle to combat for the leadership of the Rusty Hooks. Kyle will choose Bear as his champion. If player can beat Bear into submission via unarmed or melee combat (player's choice), Kyle would be forced to let player become leader – it is their way!
 * Same as above, but the player can work out a deal with Bear in which Bear takes a fall. Player will have to fight pretty effectively (Deception) in order to fool Kyle into thinking fight is real. If player succeeds, player gets the Rusty Hooks and can free Bear b demanding control of the radio detonator.


 * Player figures out a way to get radio control device that detonated Bear's heart bomb. Bear will become player's slave.
 * Fun note: heart bomb may explode if it comes in contact with electricity, like from a pulse rifle shot and hitting Bear in the chest. Result – pretty big BOOM!


 * Scripting stuff goes here

Rusty Hooks - #~22, Lvl: 6-8


The Rusty Hooks are pretty typical when it comes to raider types. They are all human and are pretty evenly distributed between male and female. All of them are proficient in small guns, rifles, and melee weapons. They will not respawn. They will attack with their best available weapon if the PC attacks them or triggers something to piss them off.

NCR Guards - #~4, Lvl: 15-20


These are the NCR soldiers who accompanied Dr. Presper and helped launch the Doc and his men to B.O.M.B.-001. The hover around the launch pad making sure no one messes with the space rocket, the turrets, and the security robots. Over a small amount of time, they established an "understanding" of sorts with the Rusty Hooks. The NCR would let them live at the base in peace and the Rusty Hooks would not bother the NCR guards. In addition, the Rusty Hooks would try to prevent anyone from accessing the facilities and the NCR guards would help the Rusty Hooks if anyone tried to overtake them.

The NCR Guards are armed with high powered rifles, grenades, and combat armor.

Security Robots - #~6, Lvl: 8


These security robots are bad news. They are treaded beasts with a tall, thick torso and two gattling laser arms. Two of the robots are dormant in the Operations and Communications map. They will become active and attack once the PC gets within visual of them. The remaining four robots are patrolling the Launch Pad map and will shoot at anything that moves. These robots do not respawn.

Laser Turrets - #~5, Lvl: 8
These laser turrets are along the fenced off area around the Launch Pad. They will fire at anything that moves, besides the security robots.

Hag Snakes - #~5, Lvl: 1-3 (For Random Encounters)
Radioactively evolved from the hag fish, these nasty critters grow to seven feet, have slimy, purple & green leathery skin, small, red eyes, and a large, round mouth filled with serrated teeth ideal for burrowing into flesh. They will strike its victim much like a rattle snake strikes, but the hag snake will try to latch and hold onto its prey. If its attack is a critical success, it will lay an egg in its victim after it has feasted for a couple of rounds. The egg will gestate for two months before hatching, in which case the young hag snake will dine on its host from within until the host is dead (this could take an additional week).

A decent medic skill, along with a doctor's bag, will get rid of the egg. The player will know something is amiss because his EN (Endurance) is lowered by one while the hag snake egg is still impregnating its host. If the hag snack egg hatches, the player's EN will go down by three. However, a PC with an egg implanted in his body can walk freely among hag snakes without worrying about being attacked.

S.O.R. -1000 Gamma (For One-Time Random Encounter)
This little fellow recently escaped from the B.O.M.B.-001. He crash landed on the Earth via an escape pod. Thanks to the impact, he's feeling a bit discombobulated. He looks pretty much like a typical brain bot, but instead of two arms, he's got four; two for maintenance work and two for laser guns (not holding laser pistols, but his additional arms are actually laser guns). He gets around on two tractor treads, similar to the larger security bots.

Hag Snakes Minor Encounter
A small nest (~ 4 – 6) of hag snakes are mucking around a nearly dried up stream. They will seek to attack the player at first sight, unless the player is already impregnated with a hag snake egg, in which case they will ignore the player.

Hag Snakes Major Encounter
This has a larger body of water coming from a cave. A few hag snakes are meandering around the cave opening. If the player ventures into the cave, he will find a small nest of hag snakes with incapacitated hosts lying about. Some of the host are still alive, but in some sort of coma, while others are hollowed out husks. There are about a dozen hag snakes going about in the cave, with one really big one (about 14 feet) nestled at the far end. There seems to be more bodies around this hag snake than the others. Happy hunting!

Rusty Hooks Patrol
A few of the Rusty Hooks are out on patrol in the area. When they come across the PC they will say that it is advisable that he/she clear out and find somewhere else to snoop around. The PC can try his speech skill on the speaker to try and find out about the area, tell them he has some good loot to trade (depending on the speech skill will decide if the Rusty Hooks will try and mug the PC), or shoot them in the face. Basic raider encounter, in other words. Fighting these guys will lower the PC's karma with the Rusty Hooks by a point or two.

Rusty Hooks Showdown
Here the player will drop in on a firefight between the Rusty Hooks and a rival band of raiders. If the player helps the Rusty Hooks defeat the invading raiders, the player's reputation with the Rusty Hooks is raised by one point. If the player fights the Rusty Hooks, the player's reputation with the Rusty Hooks goes down by one point. If the player just sits and watches the show, his reputation is unaffected.

Rusty Hooks and Hag Snakes
Here the player will drop in on a firefight between the Rusty Hooks and some hag snakes. If the player helps the Rusty Hooks defeat the hag snakes, the player's karma with the Rusty Hooks is raised by one point. If the player fights the Rusty Hooks, the player's karma with the Rusty Hooks goes down by one point. If the player just sits and watches the show, his karma is unaffected.

B.O.M.B.-001 EPB (Escape Pod Beta)
This encounter will drop the player into a small desert field with an escape pod from the B.O.M.B.-001. It looks as if the escape pod had a rough landing because of the impact slide and crater. There is a lot of debris from the pod lying around, but the pod is still pretty much intact, and the markings B.O.M.B.-001-EPB is still clearly written on its side. A bit more investigation will reveal robot treads around the area, but there is no robot to be found. All onboard electronics are not functioning, but there are a few medical supplies still onboard and waiting for the player to happily take.

S.O.R. -1000 Gamma
This is the former occupant from the Escape Pod Beta encounter. This robot is a S.O.R.-1000 security and operations robot from the B.O.M.B.-001. When the player arrives in this run down rocky area, the S.O.R.-1000 Gamma (its designation) is treading along erratically, making beeps and whirr sounds. Every once in a while, it will blurt out, "No one is left, need new program parameters." If the player approaches the little robot, it will wig out and attack, saying, "Intruder alert! Sterilize intruders!" Killing this little fellow and searching him will garner a holo-disk giving a bit of information about the B.O.M.B.-001 and its function.