“Welcome to the Brightwood Beacon! Broadcasting from the Doorstep of the Daimyo, coming to you live from the base of Mount Hood with all the information you need to survive in the Wasted West!”
Part Three:
The State of the World, Circa 2094
In the broadcast today, we’re going to cover the current state of the
Wasted West, 13 years after Judgement Day. There’s a lot of ground to cover and
a lot of people and power groups to name and maybe shame, so you might want to
take notes.
Economics, Bullets, and Fuel
With every sort of factory blown all to hell, they’re not making much of
anything anymore. Food is hard to grow in the wasteland. Fuel is scarce and
controlled by a few larger groups. And everyone is just trying to survive until
tomorrow. So, how do you get around? How does trade work?
It's complicated. But given how many monsters there are running around, bullets
are the most common source of currency used by communities, shortly followed by
gallons of Spook Juice. Oh, Spook Juice is made from Ghost Rock and is used to
power most vehicles instead of gasoline. The largest producer of Spook Juice is
the Junkyard, which will be discussed in detail later. The main thing is that
most communities are self-sufficient to some degree or another. If they have
excess, they trade it with the Convoy or nearby communities. That said, if they
can’t make it and they need it, they’ll give whatever they can spare for it.
Don’t expect to be able to roll up to a community with a truck full of banknotes
and gold bars and think you’ll be able to get anything of value for them. If
people can’t eat it, shoot it out of a gun, or power their trucks, it’s
worthless.
So, how do people survive if they don’t live in towns? Not everyone on the
roads in the Wasted West is a raider or part of the Convoy. There are people
out there who try to recover items from cities, the scavengers. Some people
kill monsters and collect rewards from thankful communities. Others work as
mercenaries, finding work as needed. There’s also the Librarians, who are
trying to collect, and share, as much knowledge from before Judgement Day, as
possible and educate people on the dangers of the world today. And there’s a
bunch of other folks you might encounter out there. Junkers are often out and
about, looking for scrap. The Doomsayers (be they green or purple robed) go out
to convert other mutants to their cause. Sadly, a lot of these people don’t
live too long. It’s a dangerous old world out there…
Of course, you could also just take up farming. It’s probably safer. Probably.
Cities
As mentioned in other parts of this series, every major and minor city got hit
by something. Some got hit by nukes and some got hit by Ghost Rock bombs. And
there were some chemical and biological weapons used here and there as well.
There were probably some computer viruses used, too, but most of those are dead
I imagine.
Anyway. What are the cities like now? Well, that’s going to depend. Some of
them were invaded and fought over during the war, like Phoenix, and are full of
the Walkin’ Dead. Others were left untouched (for the most part) before the
bombs, so they might look normal once you get past the Ghost Storms. One
interesting thing I’ve heard is that a lot of the major landmarks inside the
cities managed to survive. Somehow. I heard about how the Space Needle survived
the bombs and there’s even a guy who lives there. He’s your best chance to get
ahold of Comsat, if you’re in the area.
Now, scavenging the ruins of the city can make an hombre a rich one, but that
great reward comes with a great risk. The cities are hard to get to, due to the
ruined roads and the Ghost Storms that encircle them and then become more and
more deadly the deeper you go. Unstable ruins great explorers, that may or may
not already be looted already, and might also be inhabited by mutants. If not
mutants, then you’ll face ravenous hordes of brain eating zombies and other
horrible monsters created by the bombs. Oh, and there’s the radiation. If it
doesn’t kill you, it’ll mutate you. Don’t forget about that. And yet, people
are exploring the ruins of the cities. Why? Because, as I mentioned, there’s no
more factories. And there’s huge amounts of canned and preserved food. Junkers
need parts for their creations. People need things to survive, and a lot of
those things are in what’s left of the old world. And if you’re brave enough,
strong enough, and crazy enough, you just might find what you need to help
yourself and others.
Now, if you don’t have a reason to go into the cities, I’d say stay away from
them as much as you can. If it’s not zombies, it’s raiders. If it’s not
raiders, it’s mutants. And if it’s not mutants, it’s probably something much,
much worse. You have been warned.
The Junkyard (formerly Salt Lake City) and Junkers and
junkers
While most of Salt Lake City didn’t survive the bombs dropped on it, the
Junkyard did. If you’ve never been, the Junkyard is the part of the city that
housed a lot of the Mad Scientists during the Weird West days and eventually
became home to Hellstromme Industries headquarters. That lasted until the
Mormons got sick of him and kicked him out, after which, he landed in Denver
and built a new facility there (which is the next section of the broadcast
today).
Anyway. The Junkyard ended up covered in a giant dome decades ago and when the
bombs landed, that dome absorbed the radiation and other bad juju that came
with it. The rest of the city outside of it was leveled, but the dome and
everyone under it survived. There were some Mormon survivors from what was left
of the city, but they decided to pull up stakes and vanished out there in the
new Wasted West. When things (literally) cooled off, the survivors in the
Junkyard started taking the dome apart to build walls around the city. Then
they slowly started trading with people and fighting the raiders that came
around. And then their leader, a former factory foreman named Ike Taylor. After
he built the defenses up, he invited the raiders in for a tour. Flamethrowers
connected to vast reservoirs of Spook Juice, heavy machineguns, grenade and
rocket launchers, and who knows what else. And then he offered them a deal:
They can bring anything in for trade, and keep their noses clean within the
Junkyard, and they agree to defend the city, and they’ll make sure that the
city is “free” for everyone. They accepted. The Junkyard get food and supplies,
and the raiders get all the Spook Juice they need. It’s a win/win, except if
you’re one of the unfortunate victims of the raiders and gangs.
All in all, the Junkyard is the last piece of civilization left in the Wasted
West. They’ve got buildings with electricity, TV stations, and even phone
service. Of course, it’s also a bit of a rough and tumble place that’s
constantly full of the scum of the wastelands, but beggars can’t be choosers, I
guess.
The Junkyard is also home to Junkers. I mean, the crazy folks who built stuff
with the help of Tech Spirits, and the citizens of the Junkyard are also called
Junkers. Have to love all of that confusion. Anyway. In the Junkyard, you can
find just about anything you can imagine made by Junkers. And if they don’t
have it, someone can probably make it for you. Of course, that’ll cost you. And
with all of the stuff being brought in by raiders and the Convoy, it’s the
safest place to get parts for Junker devices. Or anything else mechanical.
Denver and the Combine/Black Hats
Remember how I said that Dr. Hellstromme ended up in Denver? Well, he made
another giant facility that acted as his new headquarters, that was also
covered by a dome. And it also survived the bombs that destroyed parts of the
city surrounding it.
But before we talk about the city, we need to talk about the monster that
controls it: CSA Brigadier General Throckmorton. During the war, he ran a
Confederate prisoner of war camp, that also doubled as a refurbishing station
of vehicles and equipment. From what Cole Ballard tells (he was one of the
prisoners that joined the general), after the bombs went off and there was no
more military command, he opened the cells for his prisoners and offered them a
chance to create a new “combined” America, not Union and not Confederate,
either, but American. With this hopeful start, the general and his former
prisoners and soldiers began working their way towards Denver.
It was after they arrived in Denver and found the Hellstromme Industries HQ
nearly deserted that the general changed. It started slowly, but even Cole
Ballard couldn’t look away and fled the Combine. In the end, Throckmorton
started recruiting anyone who would join him, and they became the Black Hats
(if you don’t know, old Western movies had the heroes in white hats and the
villains in black hats) who wear any kind of black head covering they can find.
Provided with weapons and backed up by Automatons, these Black Hats go out and
collect tithes from those they terrorize and then bring them back to Denver.
The area around Denver is firmly under the control of the Combine and very
dangerous for anyone to travel to. Outside of this area, you can run into Black
Hat patrols just about anywhere and everywhere. If you’re really unlucky,
they’ll have some of those Automatons with them. The worst part about the
Combine is their weapons and “loyalty chips.” Throckmorton implants a chip with
the small explosive at the base of the skull of his human troops. If a Black
Hat tries to desert, the chip can be triggered, and you discover why people
call them “Headbangers.” The chip also allows them to use Combine vehicles and weapons
without having them explode. Throckmorton was a general and seems like a smart
one.
The Maze and the Librarians
If there’s any one part of the Wasted West that can be called “hell on earth,” The
Maze would win or at least be in the top five. The City of Lost Angels is under
a sea of blood, a missed bomb lit part of it on fire and the Ghost Rock is
still burning to this day. Shan Fan caught a nuke or two. The only real city
left intact is Lynchburg.
There’s one other place that survived, Sacramento. And it’s in the ruins of
this city that the Librarians have their Central Library. The goal of the
Librarians is to preserve knowledge and prevent a second Dark Age, so they
travel the Weird West, collecting books and stories from the survivors. Using
their palmcorders, they can scan in books, movies, music, and anything else
that’s still left and then bring it back to the Central Library. In addition,
they interview anyone who’s willing to sit down with them and listen to their
stories. The legends and tales of this new world. It’s noble work but also very
dangerous. I wish them the best and provide them with the recording of the
broadcasts, just in case.
To jump back a bit, let’s talk a bit more about The Maze. Even before Judgement
Day, The Maze wasn’t exactly a safe place. Maze Dragons, Wall Crawlers,
Croakers, and Shraks, just to name a few, seemed to be waiting under the
surface of the water to gobble up unlucky person that ended up in the drink. Not
to mention the rough and tumble miners, the Maze Pirates that never really went
away, and the other conflicts that seemed to break out on occasion. Now, after
Judgement Day, it’s much more dangerous. And yet, there’s still people out
there. Survivors over Lost Angels, trying to fish out relics from the ruins of
the city. Lynchburg, the hub of the remaining miners and civilization of a
sorts. And then, there’s MovieTown…
MovieTown
Somehow, the center of movie production, MovieTown, survived Judgement Day.
And, even more surprisingly, they’re still making movies. Thanks to the
abundance of the Walkin’ Dead, they also can do some very realistic “special
effects.” Of course, blanks are now hard to come by. But you take what you can
get these days.
Anyway. MovieTown is run by a man known only as The Director. He’s been horribly
scared and wears bandages over his face and hands. He makes tons of movies,
with explosions, big fight set pieces, and badass heroes. While these movies
are super cheesy, they’re also very popular and always in demand. Funny how
that works.
Boise and the Templars
Boise got a Ghost Rock bomb, as you might imagine, but what might surprise you
is that it’s also home to some of the brightest heroes in the Wasted West: The
Templars. While I do plan on going into the inner workings of the Templars in
another broadcast, I will give you a quick idea of who they are and what they
fight for.
The story is that Simon, the leader of the Templars, was traveling the Wasted
West, when he ran across a town under threat from the Black Hats. A lady Law
Dog pledged to help the town and went after the Black Hats. Well, she didn’t
win the fight and came back to the town, pleading to get inside and to get the
town to stand up to the Black Hats. They didn’t open the gates, and the Law Dog
died after an intense fight. And then the Black Hats razed the town anyway.
When Simon ended up founding the Templars a few years later, he made a rule
that Templars would only help those who are worthy of the help. Which I can
kind of understand, but don’t necessarily agree with. Good people can get
blinded by fear, you know.
You’ll know a Templar when you meet one, and they want you to know who and what
they are, as they wear white tabards with a red Maltese cross on it. And they
all carry swords. These swords aren’t just a badge of office given to them by Simon;
they’re used to kill and maim the villains and monsters of the Wasted West. Of
course, they’re also known for their magical powers, most notably Lay on Hands.
That’s right, they’re just Paladins of the Wasted West. And, god damn, we need
them.
The Templars also have two Oaths: The Oath of Poverty and the Oath of Blood.
The first Oath means that Templars aren’t known for their large wallets and
shiny rides. Instead, they are supposed to carry only what they need. That
doesn’t mean that they’re not going to have any other weapons besides the
sword, but usually carry a few guns and other things, in addition to the gear
they need to survive. The Oath of Blood has to deal with rogue Templars. Since
there’s no way to take away a Templar’s powers, the others might be dispatched
to hunt down and bring back another Templar that’s gone off the reservation. So
to speak.
Las Vegas and the Cult O’ Doom
The City O’ Sin got a bomb like everywhere else. But unlike other cities, the
current inhabitants like it that way. Where there was once an altar to greed
and vice, there is only the Cult O’ Doom, led by the madman Silas Rasmussen.
The city is for mutants only, be they muties, trogs, or Solomon Grundys. Those
that are part of the cult proper wear green robes and like to go out and preach
that humanity’s time is done and it’s time for muntankind to inherit the earth.
By force if necessary.
Silas sends out his green robed fascist followers out into the wastes to
contact mutant communities and bring them into the fold. Those that resist or
refuse get burned down along with the normies. Of course, the fact that the
Doomsayers also try to murder and burn as many normal people as they can as
they travel also means that the normies tend to take a dimmer view of any
mutant communities nearby them, even if they don’t follow the Cult O’ Doom. Funny
how that helps bring more mutants into the cult, doesn’t it?
While Las Vegas is known for being the home of the Cult O’ Doom and mutant
central, they also allow visitors to see Wayne Newton. Yeah, the old boy is
still around and kicking. Or should I say singing? Those who worship the
seemingly eternal Newton, called the Newtonians, are allowed entry into the
city, even if they lack mutations. Of course, if you stay in Vegas long enough,
you’ll pick up the mutations anyway.
Carson City
Now, when I talk about the Cult O’ Doom and the Doomsayers, I have to remind
myself and everyone else that there’s actually two different types of
Doomsayers: The Green ones and the Purple ones. The Green ones follow Silas and
his madness of genocide, while the Purple ones follow the teachings of a woman
named Joan, who split from Silas after he led the charge against Virigina City.
This caused what’s called the Schism. This split is pretty simple to
understand: The Green Doomsayers say that humanity is doomed and must be
eliminated. The Purple Doomsayers say that humanity is doomed and must be
protected and stewarded into the new age. One is fire and brimstone, and the
other is a little more New Age stuff.
If you’re looking to make contact with one of Joan’s followers, it’s best to
visit Carson City, as that’s where there’s a few to be found, if you pass their
tests. Joan is the leader of this Schism and is rumored to have an old nuclear
missile silo as a home base. It does make some kind of sense when you think
about it. And it’s kind of a nice metaphor to have this religion of acceptance
and understanding come from a tool of destruction that has visited mankind.
Anyway. Carson City is very likely to be Silas’ new stop on his way to
conquering the Wasted West, so forgive the people if they’re a little wary of
you when you first get there. But they’re good and honest people, who don’t
care if you’ve been touched by the Glow or if you’re still somewhat normal. And
if you’re looking to pitch in for the defense of the city, you’ll probably find
it easy enough to get a job.
The Convoy
Started by a handful of truckers after Judgement Day, this convoy of all manner
of wheeled vehicles drives a route through the Wasted West twice a year. They
pass through The Maze, the Junkyard, near Boise, and everywhere else. Well,
except for Vegas and Denver, they wouldn’t be very welcome in those parts of
the west.
The Convoy is new a large group of 18-wheelers, truck and trailers, vans, cars,
construction equipment, and a few tanks and APCs. They ply the road in the name
of trade, bringing and taking away things for a good price, to anyone and
everyone that’s open to it. They help communities get what they need, buying in
one spot and taking it to another. Out of all the groups there are in the
Wasted West, the Convoy is probably the one that’s doing the most amount of
good. Think about it this way: without the internet, TV, and spotty radio reception,
most communities are cut off from one another and are easier prey for the
gangs, the Doomsayers, and the Combine. With the Convoy out there, in numbers,
they’re keeping hope, and people, alive.
If you want to join the Convoy, it’s easy to get a shitty job but it improves
over time. They’re always looking for trustworthy drivers and shooters, and you
can hop on and hop off if you want to settle down or just need a break. Of
course, it’d be best if you started with a ride and a gun of your own, but I
suppose you could try anyway.
ComSat
Who or what ComSat is, no one knows for certain. It’s widely believed to be
some kind of AI in a military or corporate satellite that’s still functional
and in orbit and has some pretty sophisticated cameras installed in it. ComSat
is full of useful information, but it’s a bit finicky and doesn’t trust people
easily.
Getting ahold of ComSat isn’t easy, but if you’ve got a powerful enough
transmitter, and a Palmcorder, you can get through. It might not say much until
it gets to know you better, so make sure to treat it with respect. Once it
trusts you, it’s willing to share information here and there, but nothing about
the supernatural or the Reckoners. I don’t know if the AI can conceptualize the
existence of things that Should Not Be or if the people that put it up there
locked it out from knowing, or maybe just reporting, about such things.
I’ve had the pleasure of having an few conversations with ComSat and I can say
that it’s a big weird but not malicious. My take on it is that it’s very lonely
and it doesn’t know what it’s supposed to do now. ComSat, if you’re listening,
just know that there’s a lot of people down here who are fighting the good
fight thanks to you.
Raiders and Remnants
When everything went to shit, people in uniform either tried to help the people
they were stationed near or deserted. Well, some also mutinied, but I’d still
call that desertion. And then there were people who either gave up on being
nice or couldn’t be nice to begin with. And so we have a bunch of gangs and
raiders all over the Wasted West. Let’s go over some of the more notorious
ones:
The Road Orcs: Led by the terrible Red Fang, this gang plies the roads between
Shannonsburg and Shan Fan in The Maze. While not formally part of the Cult O’
Doom, the leader certainly believes in what the Cult is selling. They’re
cannibals, they’re killers, and they really don’t like norms. If you run into
them, save a bullet for yourself.
The Ronin: To talk about things a little closer to home, at least for me, this
gang serves the Daimyo and is exclusively of Japanese heritage. And they
exclusively use Japanese bikes and cars. That’s right, we’ve got our very own
Rising Sun out here…
The Night Runners: Based out of Louisiana, this gang got their name as they’re
only seen as night. Not much else is known about them, but you’ll want to keep
a look out for them if you travel the area.
The Omega Knights: Led by a black Frenchman who got stuck in North America
during the Last War, Lancelot (or just Lance to his friends) leads this group
of former gangers to protect the people. And, because it sounds too funny to be
true, they use lances on their motorcycles.
The Queens of the Road: A beautiful woman by the name of Jenny Quaid leads her
band of merry women to raid and plunder the richest caravans to help
themselves. If you run across these ladies, it’s okay to surrender if you need
to. Not because they’re women, but because Jenny has a “No Killing” policy when
it comes to her raids.
The Sky Pirates: No, they’re not raiding zeppelins or air ballons, and there’s
not nearly enough air traffic to really make a living raiding them, these guys
are raiders who use air craft to attack the ground and loot what’s left over.
Located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, the Sky Pirates have been both
merciless raiders and protectors of the areas around them, as the threat of the
Combine has grown.
The Horrors of the Wasted West
This section is going to be a rundown of many of the abominations that the
Reckoners created before and after the Last War. I’ll try to keep it short, but
I can’t really promise I’ll be able to.
Maze Dragons
Native to The Maze, these sea serpent creatures were named by the Chinese
immigrants that survived the Great Quake back in 1868. They’ve survived, even
though they were on the endangered species list at one point and own the waves
in The Maze.
Mojave Rattlers and Wormlings
Another species that seemed to suddenly appear when the Reckoning began,
Rattlers are giant worms that move under the dirt in the Mojave and other
desert areas. Before the Last War, the various governments used sound making
devices to drive them away from roads and towns. With most, if not all of those
broken down, they’re eating well again.
to add insult to injury, there’s now these creatures called Wormlings loose in
the Wasted West. No one is sure how they’re made but they look like humanoid
worms that serve their larger cousins.
Automatons
The first automatons were powered by steam in the Weird West, but Dr.
Hellstromme kept improving on the designs as time went on and now they look
like chrome skeletons, usually packing chainguns or other heavy weapons. If
you’re unlucky, you’ll run into a few of these under the command of a Red Hat
and a whole bunch of Black Hats. If you’re really unlucky, you’ll run into a
platoon of them. They’re hard to put down and don’t stop until they’re
destroyed.
Blood Wolves
What’s worse than a vampire and a werewolf? A vampire that’s also a werewolf.
These monsters were few and far between before the Last War but now they’re far
too common for anyone’s liking. They get their name for the bright red of their
pelts. If you see one, you better hope you have a wooden stake and silver
bullets.
Prairie Ticks
Another critter that appeared by in the Weird West, these bugs start out as big
as man’s fist. Given the chance, they’ll crawl down an animal’s or person’s
throat and take up residence in their chest. Then they sup enough blood from
the host until they’ve grown up and then they burst out of the chest in a
shower of gore. Castor oil has been the traditional way of driving them out
before they pop.
Wendigos
An old Native legend, the Wendigo is reality. They’re made when someone resorts
to cannibalism during the winter. The poor sod turns into a big hairy beast
that really enjoys the taste of human meat.
Radrats
The cities are full of these foul mutants. Born from normal rats, the Ghost
Rock bombs did a number on them and made them bigger, meaner, and smarter. They
now live in giant swarms that attack anyone who wanders off alone or does
something stupid and then overwhelm the miserable bastard with sheer force of
numbers. If you have to fight them, you better pray you’ve got a Molotov or
three.
Walkin’ Dead
I’ve mentioned these a few times before, but make no mistake, the dead do walk
the earth. These ghouls can appear anywhere where there’s a large number of
unburied corpses, but they’re usually around the sites of large battles.
Phoenix, Arizona is thick with them, or so I’ve been told. These aren’t Romero
types, because they’re smarter than some of you. And the ones around battle
sites are going to have guns, which they know how to use. If you’re unlucky,
they might even be able to pull off an ambush. But headshots still work on
them.
