[b]Powering on... Booting VaultTec Systems... Loading Assets... Loading Data Packages... Loading Computer Systems... Current Date: May 1st, 2290... Location: Vault 24, Colorado, United States... Hello Mr. Lancaster... Load Denver Module?... [/b] "Yes." [b]Loading Denver Module 1A... Booting Education Systems... Load Complete... Uploading Module... Upload Complete... A rich city known for its industry, Denver was a place of prominence in the United States. Its factories supported the development of Boulder, a city on its outskirts, and a major center of scientific research, developing technologies in medicine, energy, robotics, and even power armor. However, the prominence of Denver was marred by incidents, such as a disastrous leakage from the nearby Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which created a poisonous cloud that hit Denver, resulting in a high number of casualties. Although the military apologized and invested money into the creation of the Boulder Dome as compensation, the damage was done to the populace. The incident heralded the city's dark future. For a time, everything seemed in order and the city entered a building boom shortly before the war, as many new jobs were opening there the city was swollen to bursting. Most of the construction was housing for these immigrants. But when the war with China did start in 2066, resource rationing occurred and suddenly the construction workers didn't have anything to build with and weren't getting paid. Union riots and strikes occurred because the city couldn't pay and the federal government wouldn't step in to help. When Mexico and the Great Midwest Commonwealth started to suffer food shortages, Denver was hit hard because of its high population. Food rationing began. Food riots started because of the rationing, and some buildings were set on fire. The National Guard was called in to contain the rioting, using InstaPens, or "bullpens" as they were locally known, to contain and imprison rioters. Some people deliberately attacked police and National Guard troops so they would be imprisoned and fed. Rioters, National Guard personnel who disobeyed orders, and other military folk who refused to help contain the riots were sent west and east. Then, an outbreak of the New Plague hit the city. Rioters burned down large parts of the city in their fear of contamination and anger at their treatment. Many panicked and fled the city by car, clogging the freeways when they ran out of gas and trapping everyone behind them. [/b] "Load the last unit." [b]Loading Module Prelude v1... Education Systems Booted... Load Complete... Uploading Module... Upload Complete... The geopolitical situation that led to the outbreak of the long-feared global nuclear war was prompted primarily by the onset of a worldwide energy crisis when the supplies of fossil-fuels, particularly petroleum, finally began to run out by the year 2050. The result of this energy crisis was an increasing scramble by all of the advanced, industrialized nations to secure the few remaining supplies of untapped petroleum around the world. Ultimately, a series of military conflicts driven by this hunger for natural resources consumed the planet. The European Commonwealth had reacted to the rapid raising of oil prices to unacceptably high levels by the Middle East's oil-rich states in 2052 by unleashing military action in that region of the world. This intervention ultimately resulted in the destruction of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in December 2053 by a terrorist nuclear device and a limited nuclear exchange between the conflict's participants in 2054, the world's first since 1945. As the United Nations tried with little success to keep the peace, many of that organization's member-states pulled out, and within two months of the outbreak of what was soon called the Resource Wars in 2052, the United Nations was disbanded. Next, following the breakdown of trade talks and the unilateral American exploitation of the world's last newly discovered reserves of crude oil, the Chinese invaded Alaska in 2066 in pursuit of that American state's remaining oil reserves. The United States ultimately annexed Canada in 2076 to ensure Canadian support for its defense of the Alaskan front even as the American federal government acted aggressively against its own citizens to contain wartime rioting, anti-war civil disobedience and military desertion. The United States retaliated against the Chinese by launching its own costly invasion of the Chinese mainland in 2074 to reduce Chinese pressure on the Alaskan front. Despite initial costly setbacks, this strategy proved successful and American forces liberated the Alaskan city of Anchorage and forced the Chinese People's Liberation Army to retreat entirely from American soil in January 2077. This victory was largely won due to the more advanced military technology developed by the United States during the conflict, especially the deployment of Powered Infantry Armor. Many smaller nations went bankrupt in the ensuing conflict as their economies collapsed due to the increasing shortage of fossil-fuels. The Resource Wars ended with the Great War in 2077. [/b] The lights in the room slowly flicker on. Sitting in the middle of the room is a large projection machine, it is connected to the terminal next to it. The last lesson is still being projected onto the wall at the front of the room. Also at the front of the room is a tall African American man, glasses and short hair. He is eyeing the people in the room. It is a classroom. The people are students. This man is the Professor. Professor Marvin Lancaster. These students and Mr. Lancaster hold a special bond. They have been together for 12 years. The traditional high school system was still held in place. After the lights come on and all of the students begin to pay attention, Mr. Lancaster speaks. "And that leads us up to the Great War. There is no VaultTec lesson for the Great War considering the whole world stopped after the events of that day. But let me tell you about it, a short version. On October 23rd 2077, a barrage of nuclear warheads were launched all across the world. The atomic holocaust that followed is the reason why all of you are here today, in this Vault. Now it has been almost 50 years since Vault 24 opened for that week. I was alive then and got to see it first hand. Other than the reports from the Refs, we have no knowledge of the outside world. Now the Refs talk about all kinds of horrors, but then again they were all delusional. Sorry, I did not mean to offend any of you who may be the offspring of a Ref. Anyways students. It has been a long ride. Twelve years with me. Now it is time for you to move on with the rest of your lives. Your work results will be waiting for you in your homes. Good luck with your futures." And with that, school is over. Now it is time for the real world for these students. Hard work and dedication to the Vault. Forever. [b]Summary[/b] So here is the summary. It's 2290. We're in Colorado, specifically in Vault 24. The characters will be starting off at the end. The end of their stint with school that is. Things are going well in Vault 24, or at least, that is how it seems. This Roleplay will start off in Vault 24, stay there for a short period, and then the story will progress into the outside world. Into the ruins of Colorado. Refs. You probably noticed that word at the end of the introduction. Well in this story, Refs is short for Refugees. In Vault 24 there is a sort of caste system. There are the two Overseers. Then there are the Vault Citizens. And finally there are the Refugees (Refs). The Refs came from the outside wastes when Vault 24 opened their doors 50 years prior to this taking place. Characters in this Roleplay CAN be related to the Refs, but that would also make them a Ref. [b]Character sheet[/b] Name: Age: (17, 18, or 19) Gender: Caste Ranking: (Either Vault Citizen or Ref) Physical Description/Appearance: (Two paragraphs at the least. Photos are accepted.) Biography: Work Test Results: (The job your character got and will be performing for the rest of their lovely life in the Vault) Other: [hider=Map of the Colorado Wasteland, and location descriptions] [img]http://s8.postimg.org/663isk06d/colorado_map.jpg [/img] [b]Denver[/b] Denver was abandoned by civilized folk, mainly because of lingering radiation and huge packs of wild dogs that had taken over the large city. These packs would swarm their prey and rip them to pieces. These dogs were fearless, continuing the fight no matter how many of their own they lost. Centuries of natural selection resulted in Denver hounds becoming incredibly potent killers. A tribe of people learned how to live with the dogs, treating the feral hounds as spirit animals, companions in the post-nuclear world. Between 2277 and 2281, the Caesar's Legion came. The Hangdogs, the tribe that tamed the wild dogs, were assimilated and their culture wiped out, while Denver became a Legion territory. The cost was steep, however, as the Legion lost many men to the savage canines. In 2287, the Hangdogs and their feral pets clashed with the Legion once again. This time the results were different and much more brutal. Both sides suffered innumerable casualties. This resulted in the Hangdogs retreated from the city and the Legion also leaving the city. The number of feral dogs in the city has since declined, making it safer for smaller settlements to have been set up. [b]Colorado Springs[/b] Colorado Springs was one of the Colorado sites responsible for extensive FEV testing. It was also one of the sites of Nuclear testing. When the Great War happened, one warhead was designated for Colorado Springs. The warhead hit about a mile out of the town epicenter, but still, the blast radius and radiation radius was enough to wipe out all who were living in Colorado Springs. Tens of thousands of people, gone. With the packs of feral dogs living in downtown Denver, many survivors from the area had made their way to Colorado Springs. That was a mistake. Within a fifty year window after the Great War, the FEV virus had managed to escape from the lab it was in, infect the nearby wildlife and survivors, and then mutate. Colorado Springs was a hotbed of mutants of all kinds for the first hundred or so years after the Great War. And then came Caesar's Legion. On their way to Denver, the Legion made a stop at Colorado Springs. They came face to face with the greatest horrors of the FEV virus and the Battles of Colorado Springs ensued. After six months, the Legion had successfully diminished the mutant population of Colorado Springs and forced what was left into the depths of the Wastes. After the Legion left Colorado Springs, the mutants returned, but not in force. There are now sparse hot zones in Colorado Springs which are home to mutants, but those areas are underground or on the outskirts of the city. In inner city scavengers and traders set up shop. Now, Colorado Springs is mostly known as a trading hub with a dangerous underbelly. The inner city has a sentry wall and outposts along it to keep raiders and mutants out. [b]Pueblo[/b] After the Great War, Pueblo became the hot scene for survivors. Word had gotten to them that the survivors who went to Colorado Springs had become mutated monstrosities and that those who went to Denver were torn apart by dogs. So Pueblo seemed like the best option for those in the area. It was a safe option. Three small settlements were set up in and around Pueblo in the beginning. These settlements protected each other and traded goods with each other. Then, after many successful years of this, they merged into one big town. Pueblo attracted all kinds of people. Traders, ex-Raiders, Mercenaries, Scavengers, and survivors. When the Legion came knocking on Colorado's doors, they overlooked Pueblo. Word had reached the city that the Legion was on it's way and that they meant business. So for the months leading up to the Legion arriving in Colorado, Pueblo began stocking it's arms. By the time the Legion entered Colorado, they had heard of the army that Pueblo had created and that they would fight to the death. The Legion passed by Pueblo without incident. Now Pueblo has lost some of it's population to Colorado Springs, but it is still abuzz with activity. Pueblo is a safe city to live in. Relatively safe. [b]Fort Collins[/b] Fort Collins was a military base Pre-War and actually housed it's own fallout shelter. When the Great War happened and the first warheads struck the United States, Fort Collins shut it's doors. All activity in the Fort disappeared into the shelter. There are giant walls and security fences that surround the facility, they have not been penetrated yet by any scavengers or raiders. There is a lot of superstition that surrounds Fort Collins. It is known as a ghost town. No one has received word of survivors leaving the fallout shelter in the Fort, so most assume that they are dead or are ghouls. [b]Fort Morgan[/b] Fort Morgan, much like Fort Collins, had a fallout shelter and the soldiers used it. After the warheads hit and the dust settled, the soldiers and civilians in the shelter left to try and find other survivors. They ran into mutants and heavy levels of radiation, so they quickly made their way back into their shelter. Acting much like a Vault, the shelter protected it's denizens from the outside world and safely locked them inside. Thinking that they were the only survivors, the people inside of Fort Morgan began to reproduce to try and restart the world population. Their population swelled and they were forced to leave the shelter after 120 years. When the survivors of Fort Morgan left their shelter, they were welcomed into a slightly less hostile world. That being said, they listened to their forefathers about the dangers of the Wastes and decided to instead, fortify the rest of the Fort. Fort Morgan is now known as a very secretive community, as well as an arms powerhouse. They have the means to defend themselves. [b]Trinidad[/b] The town of Trinidad became an interesting one shortly after the Great War. Survivors from the northern parts of Colorado had made their way down to Trinidad to avoid the mutants in the north. Eventually Trinidad, which was hit by no nuclear warheads, became a safe haven for many. It became a trading hub and home to many caravaners. The leader of the city, The Mayor, helped erect a small wall around parts of the town to keep out riff-raff. Things were going good. Things took a turn for the worse when the Legion arrived. They came from the South and ran right through Trinidad. Those who resisted were either hanged or put to the cross. Trinidad, for many years, had hanged people and crucified people on it's outskirts. The once peaceful people of the town were now slaves to the Legion. Then another bad guy appeared to save the day. A band of raiders, a rather large band of raider clans, arrived from the west and waged an all out war against the Legion for Trinidad. After years of bloodshed, the Legion finally accepted defeat and retreated to the north. Trinidad was liberated, for the most part. The slaves were set free, all of them. The raider clans however, took over Trinidad and turned it into the mecca for sin. Whorehouses, bars, casinos, drug dens, all kinds of scum arrived in numbers to live in Trinidad. Some of the free slaves stayed to partake, some left. The war took a huge toll on the number of raiders. Trinidad does not have a huge permanent population, but it does have a revolving door of satisfied customers. [b]Grand Junction[/b] After the Great War, Grand Junction was abandoned by all. For almost 150 years, it was empty of all human life. That being said, Ghouls took over the city. At first it was just sparse packs of feral ghouls. They came in from the east, crossing around the mountains to reach Grand Junction. They took up home for awhile in Grand Junction and Scavengers noted it as a place to avoid due to the number of ghouls roaming around. Eventually however, non-feral Ghouls sought refuge in Grand Junction. They eliminated the feral ghoul population and forced the stragglers out into the Wastes. Now Grand Junction is home to a large concentration of Ghouls. [b]Heaven's Peak[/b] To be discovered by the Vault Dwellers. [/hider] [hider=Vault 24] [hider=Crappy image of Vault 24] [img]http://s4.postimg.org/4kj1h33bh/Untitled1.png[/img] [/hider] Every room in the vault is actually many rooms and hallways. All of the living areas have approximately 20 homes in them and various hallways connecting them. The atriums have many rooms and hallways. The Vault is essentially very very big. One of the biggest Vaults that were made. Every single room on that map has multiple levels to it, at least four. [/hider]