@Fisheye So here's my NS (finally); first draft if you would since I feel like some things might need to be changed and such.
The Vesyanians claim Lousiana and a large chunk of the bayou area as their own. Its swampy lands transformed into something more dangerous, more primordial and how it was in the old world, at least the areas which the Vesyanians call home. Its often hot and humid, fog and mist rolling through the land in waves. Once ferocious animals are now even more predatory than before due to mutations and the trees which haven't rotted away have grown to truly gigantic and absurd proportions, making excellent homes for those seeking shelter from the ground below and do not have the fortune of having ruins to build upon.
The history of the Vesyanian Tribe can be traced back to one of the more sexually deprived experiments preformed by Vault-Tec. When the first people Vault 24 where brought into the Vault, they were told to dispose of an burn their clothing out of fear of radiological contamination and that they would be given jumpsuits soon after. However, there were no additional clothing provided to the inhabitants and upon exploring the vault proper, they discovered it had been filled with explicit adult materials and there was a surprising lack of conventional entertainment options. Needless to say, this came as quite a shock to the now nude inhabitants, coming as quite the culture shock and they nearly lynched the first Overseer because of it.
However, as time past, each generation got more and more comfortable with nudity and sexuality, having lost the prudishness and prim and proper mannerisms of their pre-war ancestors. In addition to this new life style, body art became increasingly common as a way of standing out and displaying one’s individual nature as display that through clothing was never an option.
When the Vault doors opened, the inhabitants set out into a brave new world, discovering that they had picked up a rather interesting trait: extremely well adapted homeostasis and fast metabolism. Wether due to their lifestyle, a minor actor failure that caused a minor mutation or something else is unknown, but the new settlers were able to live comfortably in a wide range of climates without feeling overly hot or overly cold.
More generations pasted and while many died during the first years of settlement and migration, those who survive became stronger and smarter, especially when dealing with other tribes and factions. Never one to be overly militant, the tribals realized that in a wasteland full of deformed people, the sight of a beautiful woman dancing around naked or a bare chested male who looked like something out of a prewar sports magazine was extremely appealing to others. In their own, new native tongue they called themselves the Vesyanians or “Children of Vesyan”, their goddess of the sun, beauty and passion who lead their pantheon. Taking this advantage, the tribals would often simply seduce most threats that came to them and taking advantage of their own virility to tire them out before either attempting to assimilate them or killing them while they were too tired to react.
This method was soon expanded to politics as it became a common practice to have a group of daughters and sons be sent off and seducing anyone of importance within a tribe and taking control through marriage. With the natural fertility of the Vesyanian Tribals, the number of people with Vesyanian blood in them often outnumbered those who didn’t and with such influence and charm, the Vesyanian culture become the dominate one. One by one, tribes would allured by the nude men and women with beauty and charm beyond anything they had ever seen and were absorbed into the greater Vesyanian Tribal Confederation, any technology and knowledge they once had now being assimilated into that of the Confederation.
However, as time past, each generation got more and more comfortable with nudity and sexuality, having lost the prudishness and prim and proper mannerisms of their pre-war ancestors. In addition to this new life style, body art became increasingly common as a way of standing out and displaying one’s individual nature as display that through clothing was never an option.
When the Vault doors opened, the inhabitants set out into a brave new world, discovering that they had picked up a rather interesting trait: extremely well adapted homeostasis and fast metabolism. Wether due to their lifestyle, a minor actor failure that caused a minor mutation or something else is unknown, but the new settlers were able to live comfortably in a wide range of climates without feeling overly hot or overly cold.
More generations pasted and while many died during the first years of settlement and migration, those who survive became stronger and smarter, especially when dealing with other tribes and factions. Never one to be overly militant, the tribals realized that in a wasteland full of deformed people, the sight of a beautiful woman dancing around naked or a bare chested male who looked like something out of a prewar sports magazine was extremely appealing to others. In their own, new native tongue they called themselves the Vesyanians or “Children of Vesyan”, their goddess of the sun, beauty and passion who lead their pantheon. Taking this advantage, the tribals would often simply seduce most threats that came to them and taking advantage of their own virility to tire them out before either attempting to assimilate them or killing them while they were too tired to react.
This method was soon expanded to politics as it became a common practice to have a group of daughters and sons be sent off and seducing anyone of importance within a tribe and taking control through marriage. With the natural fertility of the Vesyanian Tribals, the number of people with Vesyanian blood in them often outnumbered those who didn’t and with such influence and charm, the Vesyanian culture become the dominate one. One by one, tribes would allured by the nude men and women with beauty and charm beyond anything they had ever seen and were absorbed into the greater Vesyanian Tribal Confederation, any technology and knowledge they once had now being assimilated into that of the Confederation.
The Vesyanians are built upon misunderstanding of old world things and of the most prevalent is the concept of “Gravure” which too the tribals means “model” in the way of “role model”. People are told to look for both inner and outer beauty, to sharpen their wits while also accentuating their appearances. This concept is split between men and women as “Stallion” and “Bombshell” respectively; while Studs are supposed to be the strong warriors baring chest with large muscles, Bombshells are supposed to be the calm collected brains with delicate and modest forms and manners. Of course the “delicate and modest” is based upon the standards of the Vesyanians and are not and should not be confused with the same word used by many others in whats almost a completely different definition by compression. The women of the Vesyanians also seem to have some natural affinity with explosives to some degree leading to some postituatling if the old world meaning of “Bombshell Girl” was based upon the idea of beautiful women with an in-depth knowledge of bombs. Similar, its is thought that the word “Stallion” was to meant to mark men who had the strength and stamina of the wild horses. In both sense, Bombshell and Stallion are highly esteemed compliments to the Vesyanians as well as several other words which other factions would consider insults.
There is little definition of “private property” to the Vesyanians. While people can “mark” things as something they prefer to use, it is still not under their ownership. Everything is in essence, owned by everyone although people will generally respect if someone lays claim to a weapon they prefer to use or a bed they like to sleep on the most. Even love is considered to be a very open thing with partners often sleeping around with others with no ill consequence from their partners. One could go as far as to say that it is expected for people to have such “unbound” relationships. The only true formality is that if someone wishes to have a baby, they must declare that they are “marrying” their partner meaning that they must have a child with that person. The “marriage” is subsequently terminated upon the child’s birth allowing for another “marriage” to take place.
Slavery is a common procedure in the Confederation but it is treated differently. Anyone can become a slave to anyone else, often done to pay debts or to help get by during tough times. While they are effectively property of whoever now owns them, they cannot be bought and sold without their own consent and masters are expected to take good care of their property as a gesture of both kindness and knowing that they will work better if treated and maintained well. It is like a gun, if you take good care of it, it’ll serve you well. Any child born to a slave is not a slave themselves, but will have to stay with their mother or father. Even those who are captured and enslaved are treated the same as those Vesyanians who enslave themselves voluntarily except that those who are captured have no fixed terms they must serve before they can be set free; only through winning their master’s favor or buying their own freedom can they become free themselves.
Mutants are treated very much on a “out of sight, out of mind” thinking where the Vesyans do not particularly enjoy dealing with them, but are willing to cooperate with them but will not show the same level of “intimacy” which they would show to humans. Mutants tend to banished from Confederation lands but will not be attacked provided they do not provoke the natives.
There is little definition of “private property” to the Vesyanians. While people can “mark” things as something they prefer to use, it is still not under their ownership. Everything is in essence, owned by everyone although people will generally respect if someone lays claim to a weapon they prefer to use or a bed they like to sleep on the most. Even love is considered to be a very open thing with partners often sleeping around with others with no ill consequence from their partners. One could go as far as to say that it is expected for people to have such “unbound” relationships. The only true formality is that if someone wishes to have a baby, they must declare that they are “marrying” their partner meaning that they must have a child with that person. The “marriage” is subsequently terminated upon the child’s birth allowing for another “marriage” to take place.
Slavery is a common procedure in the Confederation but it is treated differently. Anyone can become a slave to anyone else, often done to pay debts or to help get by during tough times. While they are effectively property of whoever now owns them, they cannot be bought and sold without their own consent and masters are expected to take good care of their property as a gesture of both kindness and knowing that they will work better if treated and maintained well. It is like a gun, if you take good care of it, it’ll serve you well. Any child born to a slave is not a slave themselves, but will have to stay with their mother or father. Even those who are captured and enslaved are treated the same as those Vesyanians who enslave themselves voluntarily except that those who are captured have no fixed terms they must serve before they can be set free; only through winning their master’s favor or buying their own freedom can they become free themselves.
Mutants are treated very much on a “out of sight, out of mind” thinking where the Vesyans do not particularly enjoy dealing with them, but are willing to cooperate with them but will not show the same level of “intimacy” which they would show to humans. Mutants tend to banished from Confederation lands but will not be attacked provided they do not provoke the natives.
The primary deity of the Vesyanian pantheon is the namesake goddess of the sun, beauty, passion and lust, Vesyan. The worship of her involves prayers, shrines and religious parties and orgies as it is believed her “blessings” must be shared around. Despite this, Vesyan does have a much more serious role of fighting a battle against the darkness which threatens to consume the world in void fire. Her lover, the god of the moon, hunting, energy and strength, Balkith, gave himself up to the darkness and formed the moon so that light may shine upon the world even in the darkest of nights but his battle is far more difficult and sometimes he is beaten back, only to fight back with righteous strength, explaining the moon cycles.
Other notable gods include:
Scarlet Shamans are typically the ones in charge of communicating with the gods and while open to both genders, women far outnumber men. They spend their time deducing the messages of the gods in various forms such as animal bone readings, animal sacrifices, smoke readings and a type of vision quest known only as “the Vaping”. Other holy duties include watching over marriage ceremonies where they gather a crowd to watch the as the proof of impregnation is made public so neither partner can deny the bond. Being closest to the gods, they are also typically the ones who are seen as the paragons of morality and a sort of standards for everyone else in Vesyanian society to live up too although this is Vesyanian standards.
Other notable gods include:
- Aysha, the Goddess of Fertility and Health. She is whom people pray to when they seek to bear children and is believed that she is the one who dictates when women are fertile and capable of bearing children and giving breast milk; commonly portrayed as a pregnant woman with motherly figure with large breasts that produce panacea capable of healing any wound or sickness. Aysha has actually given birth to more deities than Vesyan herself.
- Kagorlis, the God of Laughter, Children and Trickery. He is depicted as a clown-like person with a beaked mask and wide eyes with two different aspects. On one hand he is the one seen responsible for plots involving some level of deception and cruel tricks but on the other hand is the guardian of children and seneschal of parties. People pray to him to protect their children and have them grow up happy and also that their celebration proves a success. Every festival is first started with a ceremonial act to Kargorlis in the hopes he will make it a resounding success.
- Inynd, the God of the Death, Spirits and Darkness. Inynd is an interesting case as he was born when the darkness forced itself onto Aysha and impregnated her with Inynd. Throughout his divine life, Inynd has sought to conquer the innate demons within himself with the famous story “Journey to the Sky” detailing his journey from a demon king to a servant of Vesyan. He watches over the living and escorts them into the afterlife, deciding who goes where with the help of his own servants, the Soulmaidens who select who is worthy to go where.
- Morathai, the Goddess of Murder, Rape and Blood. The Bloody Handed God is by far the darkest deity in the pantheon, her subjects are not pleasant ones. Despite this, the Vesyanians still respect her greatly as despite her hate and rage, her fury and strength is unmatched apart from Balkith and Vesyan and is at the forefront of the battle against the darkness. Warriors will often pray to her before a battle as she alone can grant them strength for pray to Balkith is not possible as he is too busy being the beacon of light in the night.
- Lolithia, the Goddess of Nature, Weather and Harvest. The Lady of the Sky to which all farmers look to for her blessing in the form of rain. It is said that on occasion there are times when she will let down her own juices onto the earth and bless the harvest to be extremely bountiful but she must use it in moderation otherwise she may accidentally flood the land. Animals are also under her protection and indeed serve her after she took on the rare white lion known as Athzland, the King of the Beasts as her husband.
- Gwendolyn, God of Change, Justice, Time and Fate. Despite being a male, Gwendolyn is always portrayed as extremely feminine looking to the point that many outsiders think of him as a young Goddess. While it is true he lacks masculine features, he plays and extremely important role due to a curse place upon him. Gwendolyn is blind, not by choice, but because he accepted a cursed mask originally meant to target Vesyan herself. The inside of the mask was a gateway straight into the void and upon donning it, he lost the ability to see normally but through perseverance has managed to see into the souls of men and through time itself, able to predict the many futures and his blindness ensuring that he has no bias in any court decision. Because of his sacrifice, Vesyan rewards Gwendolyn handsomely in more ways than one, almost making up for how many times he’s in the literal butt end of Kargorlis’s pranks and antics.
Scarlet Shamans are typically the ones in charge of communicating with the gods and while open to both genders, women far outnumber men. They spend their time deducing the messages of the gods in various forms such as animal bone readings, animal sacrifices, smoke readings and a type of vision quest known only as “the Vaping”. Other holy duties include watching over marriage ceremonies where they gather a crowd to watch the as the proof of impregnation is made public so neither partner can deny the bond. Being closest to the gods, they are also typically the ones who are seen as the paragons of morality and a sort of standards for everyone else in Vesyanian society to live up too although this is Vesyanian standards.
To the Vesyanians, anyone carrying a weapon is considered a soldier which essentially means everyone in Vesyanian society is a soldier. However, those who are trained and considered professional, competent soldiers is far less as war is seen with an air of distaste. Like their normal clothing, Vesyanian “armor” is extremely light and doesn’t give much protection and a lot to see and is very much a style of substance for of thing. Greaves, gauntlets, trinkets, dog collars, stockings, shibari style rope webbing, hot wax seals put directly on the body, jewelry of animal bones and fangs, lower facemarks and brightly colored feathers all making an appearance in the “armors” of the Vesyanians. While this makes them fragile, it does make them extremely nimble and hard to hit in melee as they will never be encumbered by armor.
In terms of weapons, the children of Vesyan are tribals though and through, relying on brush axes, whips, war clubs and blades, claw weapons, spears, machetes and sledge hammers in melee. At ranged, they have perfected the use of bows, creating many exotic looking variants which when combined with their equally exotic arrows, give the Vesyanians a fighting chance in their hit and run attacks even against armor. However, with a combination of looting, trading and exploring, they have come across a small cache of rare weapons. More elite troops can be found sporting bolt action and lever action rifles as well as double barrel and pump shotguns with pistols and revolvers being more common. Reserved for the best are the taser lances and the chainsaw. Supporting weapons comes in the form of molotov cocktails, improvised nail bombs, catapults and ballistics of various sizes and even Immolators mounted on wheels and used as fire-based artillery pieces and crank operated automatic rifles and machine guns.
Lightning raids and hit and run attacks are the primary tactics of the Confederation as they are well aware that against the more advanced factions, they have little chance of victory in a straight up fight. Against other tribals they may try more direct methods however. Fear and distraction are also favorite tactics as distantly giggling from all directions in a dark forest or a beauty who is always just out of reach can prove dangerous for a unwary mind.
The warriors of the Vesyanians are simply called “Braves”, nine of them lead by a “Sub-Champion” forms the basic 10-man “Pack” unit of the military. Three of these packs are called “Gatherings” and are lead by a Champion. Three Gatherings form a “Herd” lead by a Dominate or a Dominatrix and their “Alpha Pack” bringing the number up to 100 men. Above that are the 210-men side War Herds lead by Master Dominates/Dominatrixes. Above that is the largest grouping a single tribe can hope to support and even then its a combination of the efforts of multiple tribes, the Horde. 440 soldiers led by the tribal chieftain themselves with the addition of their handpicked honor guard.
The most unique part of the military though, is the Zombie; the Zarnagad in the native tongue. These zombies are made from those who are either captured in battle or ensnared in lust. Through a combination of a plant known as the Zarnagand Plant and hypnosis, the Vesyanian shamans can enslave someone mentally after bringing them to the brink of death. These zombies are not the smartest of creatures but they know enough to get their job done which is to scare the shit out of enemies. While a few well place bullets will be able to take down a zombie in most cases, its the moral damage and fear they cause which makes them so invaluable. Nothing scares a soldier quite like seeing the decaying corpse of his allies flailing towards him and screaming at the top of their rotted lungs. Especially skilled shamans have even managed to preform this zombie mind-shackling on larger creatures such as super mutants which are often used as favored mounts and bodyguards of tribal chieftains; the King of the Vesyanians also tends to ride upon a zombie deathclaw and while no where near as deadly as a normal one, it is still not something most people want to see.
In terms of weapons, the children of Vesyan are tribals though and through, relying on brush axes, whips, war clubs and blades, claw weapons, spears, machetes and sledge hammers in melee. At ranged, they have perfected the use of bows, creating many exotic looking variants which when combined with their equally exotic arrows, give the Vesyanians a fighting chance in their hit and run attacks even against armor. However, with a combination of looting, trading and exploring, they have come across a small cache of rare weapons. More elite troops can be found sporting bolt action and lever action rifles as well as double barrel and pump shotguns with pistols and revolvers being more common. Reserved for the best are the taser lances and the chainsaw. Supporting weapons comes in the form of molotov cocktails, improvised nail bombs, catapults and ballistics of various sizes and even Immolators mounted on wheels and used as fire-based artillery pieces and crank operated automatic rifles and machine guns.
Lightning raids and hit and run attacks are the primary tactics of the Confederation as they are well aware that against the more advanced factions, they have little chance of victory in a straight up fight. Against other tribals they may try more direct methods however. Fear and distraction are also favorite tactics as distantly giggling from all directions in a dark forest or a beauty who is always just out of reach can prove dangerous for a unwary mind.
The warriors of the Vesyanians are simply called “Braves”, nine of them lead by a “Sub-Champion” forms the basic 10-man “Pack” unit of the military. Three of these packs are called “Gatherings” and are lead by a Champion. Three Gatherings form a “Herd” lead by a Dominate or a Dominatrix and their “Alpha Pack” bringing the number up to 100 men. Above that are the 210-men side War Herds lead by Master Dominates/Dominatrixes. Above that is the largest grouping a single tribe can hope to support and even then its a combination of the efforts of multiple tribes, the Horde. 440 soldiers led by the tribal chieftain themselves with the addition of their handpicked honor guard.
The most unique part of the military though, is the Zombie; the Zarnagad in the native tongue. These zombies are made from those who are either captured in battle or ensnared in lust. Through a combination of a plant known as the Zarnagand Plant and hypnosis, the Vesyanian shamans can enslave someone mentally after bringing them to the brink of death. These zombies are not the smartest of creatures but they know enough to get their job done which is to scare the shit out of enemies. While a few well place bullets will be able to take down a zombie in most cases, its the moral damage and fear they cause which makes them so invaluable. Nothing scares a soldier quite like seeing the decaying corpse of his allies flailing towards him and screaming at the top of their rotted lungs. Especially skilled shamans have even managed to preform this zombie mind-shackling on larger creatures such as super mutants which are often used as favored mounts and bodyguards of tribal chieftains; the King of the Vesyanians also tends to ride upon a zombie deathclaw and while no where near as deadly as a normal one, it is still not something most people want to see.
It should come as no surprise that the biggest industry within the Confederation is tourism, namely sex tourism. With such a plethora of exotic persons who can guarantee both a good time and being completely clean, just the name alone will inspire thoughts of debautchery which some can barely imagine. The incredible immune systems of the Vesyanians ensures that they will not catch any STD which their customer may have. More than a few people who have come to the lands of the Vesyanian have ended up staying there and assimilating into the tribes for obvious reasons.
Beyond services, there is a large trinket economy which Vesyanian craftsmen pride themselves on. One can find finely carved walking sticks and charms made of stone, wood, shells, old world scrap, bone, and plants all for sale to tourists (sometimes at a rather high cost). Weaving as also produced some fine textiles, carpets and robes from local plants and animals, the last of are almost always sold to tourists instead of being worn domestically.
Trade does exist between the various settlements and tribes and while sufficient for day to day living and military upkeep, the bulk of the caps made is by the tourism. The seediness of the confederation however does attract smugglers who use the tribes and settlements to hide out from their respective authorities. The Vesyanians have found a way to effectively “tax” these less then moral people, forcing them to pay the tribe tribute or be either killed or thrown out and handed to those who want them dead.
Beyond services, there is a large trinket economy which Vesyanian craftsmen pride themselves on. One can find finely carved walking sticks and charms made of stone, wood, shells, old world scrap, bone, and plants all for sale to tourists (sometimes at a rather high cost). Weaving as also produced some fine textiles, carpets and robes from local plants and animals, the last of are almost always sold to tourists instead of being worn domestically.
Trade does exist between the various settlements and tribes and while sufficient for day to day living and military upkeep, the bulk of the caps made is by the tourism. The seediness of the confederation however does attract smugglers who use the tribes and settlements to hide out from their respective authorities. The Vesyanians have found a way to effectively “tax” these less then moral people, forcing them to pay the tribe tribute or be either killed or thrown out and handed to those who want them dead.
Pop: About 200,000
The Confederation is ruled at the top by a King and Queen, also known as the Sapa Vesyan and the Saka Vesyan meaning “Son/Daughter of Vesyan” respectively. Belief has it that they receive the strongest blessing of Vesyan to the point of being her incarnates on earth. It is a hereditary position with a royal bloodline and there is indeed the habit of keeping the royal blood “pure” but Vesyanian blood is remarkably resistant to the effects of inbreeding. Of course there’s also the fact that there tends to be many bastards running about so those legitimately born are marked as such; the less official children still do tend to find respectable jobs within the government though.
Under the Sapa and Saka is the Sagamore Council, acting as the bureaucracy and advisors to the king and queen. They are made up of the various tribal chieftains, settlement governors and other major positions in the realm. They do not live at the capital city most of the time and will only convene at certain times of the year much akin to the old US congress as they still need to be able to run their organizations and peoples although they always appoint regents while the council is in session.
Notable Personas:
The Confederation is ruled at the top by a King and Queen, also known as the Sapa Vesyan and the Saka Vesyan meaning “Son/Daughter of Vesyan” respectively. Belief has it that they receive the strongest blessing of Vesyan to the point of being her incarnates on earth. It is a hereditary position with a royal bloodline and there is indeed the habit of keeping the royal blood “pure” but Vesyanian blood is remarkably resistant to the effects of inbreeding. Of course there’s also the fact that there tends to be many bastards running about so those legitimately born are marked as such; the less official children still do tend to find respectable jobs within the government though.
Under the Sapa and Saka is the Sagamore Council, acting as the bureaucracy and advisors to the king and queen. They are made up of the various tribal chieftains, settlement governors and other major positions in the realm. They do not live at the capital city most of the time and will only convene at certain times of the year much akin to the old US congress as they still need to be able to run their organizations and peoples although they always appoint regents while the council is in session.
Notable Personas:
- Sapa Vesyan Teclitz
- Saka Vesyan Jegyngo
- Scarlet Sha-Madam Ekyrina, Head of the Scarlet Shamans
- Warmaster Galros
- Grandmaster Sarothus of the Firelock Knights
The Vesyanian Confederation are at a crossroads as no longer are they just tribals squatting in ruins, but have managed to form a porto-empire. They have built their own magnificent works, control a large swathe of land and many different peoples. They are no longer stuck to just using cottage industry and primitive tools but have access to more sophisticated machinery and old world knowledge. Despite this, they still haven’t fully industrialized and modernized into a power like the NCR or the Legion as their central government isn’t quite as developed as those two.
Having outgrown the label of “just tribals”, the Vesyanians have managed to get their hands on, but not master, the art of industry. Old world tooling and techniques have made their way into everyday life as a rudimentary radio system has been set up between settlements and tribes. Water powered hammers and mills have been around for a long time, now bolstered by better agricultural techniques and improved salvaging practices. Powder making has been improved to the point that bullets and shells are no longer as rare as they once were and gunsmithing has reached a point where they can be used more regularly but are restricted to revolvers, bolt action and single shot weapons. Electricity coverage is spotty with some places relying solely on candle and firelight while others boast flash signs and christmas lights.
Having outgrown the label of “just tribals”, the Vesyanians have managed to get their hands on, but not master, the art of industry. Old world tooling and techniques have made their way into everyday life as a rudimentary radio system has been set up between settlements and tribes. Water powered hammers and mills have been around for a long time, now bolstered by better agricultural techniques and improved salvaging practices. Powder making has been improved to the point that bullets and shells are no longer as rare as they once were and gunsmithing has reached a point where they can be used more regularly but are restricted to revolvers, bolt action and single shot weapons. Electricity coverage is spotty with some places relying solely on candle and firelight while others boast flash signs and christmas lights.