Wastes

> “It's called "The Wasteland" for a reason, but there are settlements, too, spread all around, the human race is stubborn like that.”
>
>

The **wasteland** (alternatively **wastes**) refers to the majority of the Eard's post-nuclear environment in the Ark universe.

## Background

During the Apocalypse War, it took two brief hours for the nuclear warheads that were fired to change the face of the planet and affect life for many centuries to come. After the atomic fire had ceased, the surface of the Eard was very different. Millions of buildings and cities were demolished or severely damaged, with only a few exceptions. Most of the plants that had once flourished died as the Eard was changed from a diverse landscape to a barren and hot desert, radiation becoming a serious threat to what little life remained. The reset button had been pressed for humanity.

Countries were turned into scorched wastelands filled with new dangers due to mutations in wildlife that altered many of the species. As the remnants of humanity began to spread once again, new violence was introduced in the form of differing factions. They began warring against each other in the new world, slowing the already difficult progress of the reclamation of humanity. Overall, the wasteland remains a different, radioactive landscape, where everyday life is a struggle.

## Layout

The Wasteland has significant diversity in terms of inhabitants and landscapes. In the northwest, the super mutant and nightkin-friendly settlement of Jacobstown overlooks the valley from the snow and pine-covered mountains. To the west, the Great Khans have settled in the vibrant cliffs of Red Rock Canyon. The independent settlements of Goodsprings and Primm sit amidst the encroaching New California Republic from Mojave Outpost and the Powder Gangers, a group of escaped convicts, from the NCR Correctional Facility and surrounding camps. The forces of Caesar's Legion are slowing seeping east across the Colorado River at all possible junctures, from their mainstay at The Fort, the newly captured town of Nelson, the destroyed settlement of Nipton, and Camp Searchlight, a former NCR stronghold sabotaged by means of radiation. Their forces gather strength each day, readying themselves for a second offensive against the NCR for control of the much-coveted Hoover Dam.

The central region hosts tall and imposing mountain peaks with accompanying valleys, one of which shelters the remainder of the area's Brotherhood of Steel chapter. A group of deranged super mutants and nightkin have taken residence on the foremost peak of Black Mountain. The independent settlement of Novac struggles with neighbours consisting of irradiated abominations, while businesses such as the Gun Runners, Crimson Caravan Company, and the 188 Trading Post traders attempt to keep commerce viable amidst the growing chaos.

Fringe groups in settlements circling the middle of the region, such as the Kings and Followers of the Apocalypse in Freeside, citizens of North Vegas Square and Westside, all actively exerting their independence while supporting and sheltering those who call the neighbourhoods home.

In the centre of it all, the glowing jewel of the desert, the New Vegas Strip's casinos light up the night sky, contently continuing business as usual by attracting those who wish to partake in the allure of riches. Yet similar to the surrounding powers that be, also quietly fortifying itself as a power against all those who may attempt to breach its walls is the secretive benefactor of the beautiful city itself.

## Inhabitants

Because only nine warheads hit the surrounding areas around the Mojave, rebuilding society has been less challenging than in other parts of the country. Many portions of the wasteland have remained untouched by humans since the Great War (such as Vault 22 and H&H Tools Factory), while others have been resettled (such as Freeside and Novac). The pre-War buildings and factories are more intact, allowing businesses such as the Gun Runners and Michael Angelo's workshop to continue to run and operate. Technology is more well preserved, thanks to the lack of nuclear fallout, and items such as the neon signs that dot the New Vegas Strip, the monorail within Camp McCarran, or the massive generators of the Hoover Dam, have been repaired to proper working order.

Everyday society is stable in some areas and not in others. While small-time traders and traveling merchants along Highway 95 and the Long 15 are able to operate, it is a fraction of what the larger and more organized traders and caravans are capable of. The larger entities have the advantages of manpower and firepower, and those that have managed to acquire pre-War technology, such as the Crimson Caravan Company, prove even more successful, some even recruited out of the region to serve with military organizations elsewhere in the pre-War United States.

Super mutants are less common here than other parts of the country, and most who are residing in the area have chosen to do so in their own community of Jacobstown or the more hostile Black Mountain. Composed of remnants of the former Unity, they are considerably more intelligent than their Vault 87 and Institute cousins, though nightkin ail from severe psychological damage.

Separating New Vegas from the rest of the Mojave exists a vast expanse of desert where many dangerous creatures such as deathclaws, feral ghouls and radscorpions thrive. This generally causes most travelers to traverse along NCR-controlled highways or hire mercenaries to escort them.

Casinos and gambling are popular among the locals in the area, making the New Vegas Strip a popular hub of activity for merchants, caravans, NCR troopers, opportunists and everyday people wanting to hit it big at the slots. The main casinos, The Tops, Gomorrah, and the Ultra-Luxe, are run by the three tribes that settled in New Vegas. Each has its own personal rules and customs, other than the universal rule against carrying weapons into their casinos, and are overseen by Mr. House and his Securitrons.

## Politics

Politics play a large role in the society of the Mojave. Politics in the region boils down to three major powers: the NCR, Caesar's Legion, and the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas. The NCR is finding its war with Caesar's Legion both increasingly unpopular back in California and expensive to fund. Caravans and merchants heading to and from the Mojave deal with exorbitant taxes and fees imposed on them by the NCR. Caesar's Legion is coming ever closer to finding out what happens when their absolute ruler, and god, finally passes away and is facing the question of what truly unified the Legion in the first place, Caesar's ideals or Caesar himself. The casinos on the Strip have their own agendas and Mr. House has his own mysterious plans for the Mojave and more specifically, the Strip.

The NCR's goal in the region is to annex the Strip as an NCR territory and completely settle the region as NCR land. Many NCR soldiers and former soldiers, such as Craig Boone, believe this is not possible until the NCR takes the fight to the Legion and takes out Caesar himself; only then will the NCR be an unchallenged power in the region and able to safely settle without danger of constant attack. This sentiment is brought on by the commanding officer in the region, General Lee Oliver, constantly ordering his forces to hold the line, despite objections from his subordinates such as Chief Hanlon, Colonel James Hsu and Major Dhatri. They feel that the position the general is putting them all in, holding the line against the Fiends, ordering Chief Hanlon to not pursue the Legion at the First Battle of Hoover Dam or ordering the NCR Rangers into a support role when they have more skill than the NCR's heavy troopers, are racking a higher body count than would actively pursuing an offensive campaign against these opposing entities, which each one feels the NCR is capable of doing.

The Legion's goal is to make the Strip its new capital, replacing Flagstaff to the southeast. It also desires complete control of Hoover Dam as it is a strategic position to defend a source of clean water. They are less interested in the power the plant provides as they reject advanced technology, believing it a crutch rather than a tool to be used. The Legion, despite a devastating defeat at the First Battle of Hoover Dam, has once again emerged from the east and actively attacks NCR outposts and camps from its base at Cottonwood Cove. Camp Forlorn Hope is an excellent example of how the Legion has regained strength, as they took the nearby city of Nelson and repeatedly assault the camp, lowering morale among the camp's inhabitants. Once the Legion takes a position, they seem to be able to hold it effectively, without much resistance. This is the opposite of the NCR, which is constantly losing footholds in positions in the eastern Mojave.

Meanwhile, Mr. House fortifies his position on the Strip, letting the conflict between the NCR and the Legion play out. He believes that the fewer soldiers of each organization who try to impede his progress at the next battle of Hoover Dam, the better. He patiently bides his time, waiting to exploit vulnerabilities generated by one faction attacking the other as a constant backdrop of distant explosions, artillery, and gunfire can be heard regularly throughout the region.