Forum:Events Post Fallout 3 - 2278 to 2281

This is an area in which there should be some discussion and perhaps it might be worth sending in questions to the various FO writers etc to ask them on what they see as what happened upto the start of FO:NV.

Here is how I see it:

We know that sometime in early 2278 the Lone Wanderer [LW] starts up the water purifier and saves the Capital Wasteland. We know that the LW survives the event as he then goes onto deal with the Enclave at Adams Airforce Base. Now although there are good and evil endings, I’m going with the good karma outcomes, in that the LW acts like a hero and is just all round awesome and not a complete evil asshat.

So after Broken Steel finishes, the BoS in the Capital Wasteland have control of the purifier, can loot what’s left at Adam’s AFB, which I’m assuming would still be quite a bit of Enclave equipment. In addition, they’d have access to all the locations which the LW has visited as they can be down loaded from the LW’s Pipboy. This means they can get into Vault 112 and use the VR simulators there for training purposes. This would be an enormous benefit to their raw recruits survival chances. There is also the possibility that the Outcast BoS might be talked around by the LW [high enough speech check] into coming back onboard with the winning team. A massive carrot to dangle for Protector Casdin would be access to Enclave salvage but even juicier would be if the Lone Wanderer divulged that he had access to Mothership Zeta and the Alien tech up in orbit. I’d bet that such a prize like that would be enough of a bargaining chip to get Casdin to swallow his pride and agree to come back into the Capital Waste land BoS [CWBoS]. Also the CWBoS now have Vertibirds, making them the most powerful force in the waste land. We know they have at least one and that dotted around the Capital wasteland, there are a number of Vertibirds on the ground which could easily be captured and used by the CWBoS. The CWBoS would be able to roam over the wastes raining death from above with total impunity. Plus they’d have a huge supply of Enclave weapons and power armor in which to bolster their forces with.

Then there is Vault 101. If the LW manages to peacefully resolve the situation there and convince the occupants to open up, there is a fully functional Vault waiting to be used. Vault 112 is also in pristine condition and I would assume it would become a major outpost of the CWBoS. The other vaults could either be repaired or salvaged for any useful machinery and tech.

The various settlements etc of the CW, such as Megaton, Rivet City, Tenpenny Towers, Big Town, Little Lamplight and Oasis would probably coalesce into a commonwealth with the CWBoS in charge. I would suspect that Talon Company would be destroyed and their base would be occupied. Reilly’s Rangers would form the nucleus of a new army that doesn’t wear power armor, especially since power armor is reasonably uncommon and needs special training to use.

The super mutants would be dealt with by setting off a few mini nukes in Vault 87, destroying the place once and for all after it’s been thoroughly looted for any usable technology. That would also mean Little Lamplight would have to be evacuated/abandoned and I know those snotty little brats would resist but they’d have no choice.

The next step would be to secure The Pitt. This would not be very difficult to achieve. A couple of Vertibirds full of CWBoS troops plus some extra rangers would be enough to occupy the place and make sure it doesn’t fall into rack & ruin. Since the LW dealt with the place [assuming he kills Ashur] Wernher owes him pretty much everything and the reality is that Wernher would have no choice but to accept The Pitt’s annexation by the CWBoS.

A small contingent of CWBoS forces would be sent to Point Lookout to secure the area as well. There would be plenty of technology and equipment to salvage there plus having access to the sea would be the next step in building the power base of the Capital Wasteland.

The only potential rival I see is the Commonwealth to the North, with the shadowy Institute running things up there. It’s obvious they’ve managed to make some enormous technological advances as evidenced by their ability to build Replicants [androids] such as Harkness. They’ve also made advancements in Plasma weapons and who knows what else? My guess is that the Commonwealth is not a benign society and will be disturbed by the rise of the CWBoS.

I see the CWBoS as being the East Coast equivalent of the NCR. Elder Lyons and Hannibal Hamlin would be the two leaders of the new republic. No one else has the charisma or political/military clout to be the new leaders of the Capital Wasteland. I do not see the LW being a leader though, more of the go to guy if there are problems to deal with.

So over the period of 4 or so years, the Capital Wasteland would transform itself from a fractured bunch of struggling communities to a united viable society with real military power and the ability to enforce its will over a large region.

The epilogue to this would be that in 2282, 3Dog moves GNR to Mothership Zeta and broadcasts from orbit now and can truly say, “I am the master of all I survey!” GNR signal would start to be broadcast across the North American continent, slowly being picked up by the disparate communities across the land. Captain Taipan 22:36, December 21, 2010 (UTC) [I forgot to sign, apologies]

Alternatively, given as how the people of the Capital Wasteland failed to form anything resembling a real civilization in 200 years and the BoS' success in the area is entirely dependent upon the goodwill of one person, they'll find some way to fuck it all up. Also, whoever started this forum should sign their posts.--OvaltinePatrol 18:15, December 21, 2010 (UTC)

Ahh, here is a person who finds clouds in every silver lining. -.-

The reason I see it that wider civil society failed to form in the CW was that there wasn't any power strong enough, militarily, to assert their dominance over the waste land. The NCR acheived it for a few reasons: firstly it had the backing and self interested alturism of not one but 2 incredible individuals who aided in the fight against chaos and essentiallially malign forces [The masters army & the Enclave]. Secondly although the BoS in the core region weren't interested in empire building, the fact that they were a potent military force that did come out and fight the masters army and help drive off the rest of the muties and as well, plus they got involved with fininshing off the Enclave, gave the NCR the necessary edge and stability it needed to secure the core region and thus grow as a society. Now back on the East coast, Owen Lyons has had an epiphany and realised that the best chance of his chapters survival and also by extention, humanity in general, was to get involved in local issues and take in outsiders [tribals etc] in as recruits to rePlenish their dwindling numbers of soldiers. With the aid of yet another exceptional individual, the Lone Wanderer in the case, the CWBoS have the best chance of establishing a viable society over the region of the capital waste land.

Yes there will be fuck ups along the way, that's a given, but I believe that they would succeed rather than fuck up as you so quaintly put it. In fact, this is the pattern that has seen societies rise and establish themselves since time immemorium OvaltinePatrol. If we follow your jaundiced world view, things like civilisation as we know it, would never have occured and we'd still be stuck in what Thomas Hobbes described as a "state of nature" [anarchy] where life is nasty brutish & short. Basically people want security. People want to wake up and know that they will have a day where they won't be afraid. It's pure self interest and therefore, despite the potential for mistakes, history clearly shows that the CWBoS have a very good chance of making a go of establishing a working society. Captain Taipan 22:36, December 21, 2010 (UTC)

Jesus Christ, Captain, I actually totally agree with you. So, you know what, what you just said is totally realistic and plausible. So, yeah, good work, that's my opinion. Let's hope Beth uses this in the next game, and we'll both be happy about that. 67SunsetStrip 23:32, December 21, 2010 (UTC)

Thanks 67SunsetStrip, I appreciate the feedback. Despite OvaltinePatrols pessimistic viewpoint, after the events of FO3 & Broken Steel the Brotherhood, led by Owen Lyons, are in the best possible position to really establish a working society. Their only potential rival in the region are the Outcasts and although Casdin told Owen Lyons to go f**k himself because he'd gone "native, the two factions are not hostile to each other at all. That might change but I doubt it. Casdin is a smart guy and he may be persuaded to stop being an asshat simply because Owen's Brotherhood now have all the really neat toys like Vertibirds, loot from Adams AFB and access to Vault 112. Their only real barginning chip is the VR Operation Anchorage program that's in their little bunker. That's all they've got. So they have two choices, either remain as Outcasts and thus eventually get whittled away via attritional losses from their patrols in the Wasteland [the amount of times I came across dead Outcasts was amazing] or, swallow their pride and be the "prodigal son" and come back into Owens' Brotherhood. If they tried to fight Owens chapter, tried to seize their tech and such, they'd loose and become little piles of ash and goo in short order as Owens guys now have a whole heap of really good and newish weapons courtesy of the LW's defeat of the Enclave at Adams AFB. The CWBoS now have the necessary breathing space to settle things down in the Capital Wasteland as the main threats like the Enclave, Super Mutants and Talon Company have been dispatched with extreme prejudice. The water caravans are being escorted by CWBoS troopers and those guys pack real firepower making raider attacks on these caravans pretty much suicide runs. Even without adding in the Alien tech angle from Mothership Zeta, the CWBoS pretty much rule the region after Broken Steel and it is logical to make the assumption that the other communities would want CWBoS protection. Once stability and peace occur then civil society can resume and prosperity begins once more. So yeah, I hope that the designers/writers at Bethesda and Obsidian consider these ideas when thinking about FO4. Captain Taipan 00:27, December 22, 2010 (UTC)