fallout FIVE

In 2281, 204 years after the Great War and as a war between the NCR and the Legion in the West wages on, Louisiana's Newer Orleans strives to maintain civility among general unrest and repeated pirate raids.

After the Great War in 2077, there would be significant strain on the relationships between the survivors for the next several years. The remaining military and government officials of Louisiana would establish a relationship with the government and military of Mississippi, maintaining general power and stability of the major cities in each state by dispersing their military stations strategically. Though this effort was generally effective, both state governments and military were significantly weakened, allowing for many cities and territories of each state to erupt into chaos. One of many factions that combated the military efforts of Louisiana and Mississippi was one of many religious sects in Louisiana, an organized group of survivors calling themselves the Southern Angelican Freedom Entity (SAFE.) While the remaining Louisiana government sought mainly to maintain peace, SAFE felt this obstructed and sidelined personal freedom, as well as endangering many individual churches and religious areas of Louisiana by not protecting and advocating for their safety. Though SAFE initially had little impact, especially given that they restricted themselves to purely peaceful protest, they would garner support and gain numbers by recruiting smaller churches from all over Louisiana.
Given that Baton Rouge was the capital of Louisiana, it would be one of the most prioritized cities to protect; as such, churches of Baton Rouge aligned themselves with the Louisiana government and publicly resented SAFE, citing that they were doing nothing to protect themselves and were really only impeding the Louisiana government's effort to maintain peace in Louisiana.
As SAFE acquired more members, a smaller organization would arise, one that never publicly affiliated themselves with SAFE but was knowingly originated from its members; a group of self-proclaimed freedom fighters from Hammond, Louisiana, dispersed themselves among central Louisiana and organized repeated attacks on the Louisiana government, as well as stations of both Louisiana and Mississippi military. Though less experienced and with less resources than either the Louisiana or Mississippi military, their targeted and unexpected attacks succeeded in weakening both. Their most successful, and last significant, attack, would be in 2094, where they successfully attacked and occupied two military stations on the Louisiana side of the LA-MS border, preventing Mississippi from further supplying the Louisiana government with troops and aid.
Since no alternate means of government had been introduced and the Louisiana government, though weakened, was still in power, many people defaulted to the pre-war standard of electoral democracy. Johannes Shreve ran for governor against Lily Anne Dupont. Though both were religious and ran on this, Johannes cited his support from both SAFE and the Hammond freedom fighters to gain votes, though the actual validity of this claim is debatable as SAFE's most powerful members would suspiciously step down to be replaced in the months leading up to the election. Shreve would win the election, and Dupont would seek similar influence in Mississippi instead, citing the apparent corruption and willful endangerment in her private writings.
In 2096, Shreve would have dedicated a great deal of existing government funding and labor into the mining industry, mining for salt particularly. Due to Shreve's negligence of safety policies, one salt mine in New Iberia collapsed. This resulted in a massive uproar from remaining Louisiana citizens, pressuring Shreve out of office. This final split of the Louisiana government would result in consistent unrest in Louisiana, where multiple different factions rotated in and out of power in different areas.
In 2186, the Newer Orleans Remnant Survivors Party (NORSP, or RSP) would emerge. RSP would become a predominant force in Louisiana, marketing themselves on a return to government that would bring peace back to greater Louisiana. They were also, once again, backed largely by the Mississippi government and military, which had maintained much more regular peace than Louisiana had. Given Shreve's history, they would put significant value in strengthening Louisiana economy, and would establish the Iron Union. The Iron Union sought to create jobs and boost economy in areas of Louisiana that RSP had claimed. New Iberia would, protected by the growing RSP military, become a relatively bustling industrial city. The Iron Union would build a statue at the site of the original New Iberia salt mine that collapsed, signifying the strength of the Iron Union and the intent to never allow for a tragedy of that caliber to happen again. The statue showed a miner kneeling and holding his hands together in a specific way above his head; the Iron Union's motto was "We, The Heart."
As well as expanding the industrial workforce, the RSP would put significant amounts of money and manpower into chemical research; one research facility was in Belle Rose. Though these endeavors would not be secret, their specifics would be kept largely under wraps, and the RSP would station significant military personnel at and around the chemical research facilities both in and outside of New Iberia and Belle Rose. RSP would begin to lose power in the 2270's, as population and crime increased too much for the RSP and Mississippi military to contain. In 2275, the Grand Bayou research facility in Belle Rose would explode, leading to a rapid degradation of RSP's power and the eventual abandonment of the New Iberia industrial district.
Even after the fall of the RSP, the Iron Union would remain in some form; even as the industrial district has fallen, the Iron Union now stands as an independent faction that seeks to return power to the workers and the common people of Louisiana, opposing the government and the elite. The Iron Union is run primarily by Randy Roadkill and Cheery Vale. They see themselves as a powerful group who will lead Louisiana into a new and independent future, able to defend and manage themselves. While Cheery focuses on inner state issues, Randy seeks to push Mississippi out of Louisiana, and even to claim Mississippi land along the Mississippi river for Louisiana's own.

Since RSP's fall, Mississippi has sought to extend control into Louisiana. Most notably they have stationed themselves in Slidell; ultimately, they feel it would be beneficial to Mississippi if they could recruit Louisiana's numbers to their cause, not only expanding trade Westward but also gaining control of Louisiana's highly valuable now abandoned mines.

The protagonist washes up on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain near Slidell. Since the war, Slidell has been converted to a poverty-stricken trading outpost, occupied by military sent West from Columbia. (The station is now in Columbia, though its original location was in Biloxi, Mississippi; it was abandoned as illegal activity on the coast increased, and as the water level rose.) The purpose of the military outposts is to protect Slidell's traders from pirate raiders from the Southeast and land raiders from the Northwest.
Keynes, a down-on-his-luck hobbyist boater forced to retire from the Mississippi navy after losing his leg in battle, says he'd offer you a ride across Lake Pontchartrain, but he's got better things to worry about. You'll have to head there yourself. (You can also head North to Picayune, if you want. It's a popular place to stay for newcomers.) He notes that Newer Orleans is just as dangerous as Slidell, if not more, since they lack the military protection from the Mississippi occupation. He also notes that Newer Orleans is currently facing a lot of political unrest, as one family is trying to establish and maintain democratic government (which has been attempted and failed many times previously, so much so that Keynes doesn't remember a Newer Orleans with stable government since he was stationed at Slidell.) He mentions that he knows Hendrick, the mayor of Newer Orleans, and considers him to be naïve and ignorant, but regards him kindly. He also mentions that Slidell has a hotel, the Parish, occupying what used to be the Tammany Parish Detention Center.
The Mississippi government grows more resentful of their presence in Louisiana as time goes on; Louisiana is more prone to flooding due to the lower elevation and overall rising sea levels, meaning that Mississippi has to allocate funds to protecting and repairing areas of Louisiana, as well as relocating Louisiana residents.

In Newer Orleans, the Dupont family is currently holding down the city hall. Though there is no official military occupation in Newer Orleans, a few armed followers of the Dupont's have followed them down from their original home of Baton Rouge. Hendrick Dupont, the head of the Dupont family and self-supposed mayor of Newer Orleans, is retired armed forces personnel who was honorably discharged on a favor from his position at the post at Baton Rouge. He decided to leave on his own accord, seeing not only that he had sufficient military experience, but also that he sought to enforce democracy in a Newer Orleans (and greater Louisiana) that grew increasingly polarized and saturated with crime. Since moving down to Newer Orleans with his family and his associates that help to protect and maintain the city hall, he has struggled to maintain power. Historically, any faction that tried to gain control in Newer Orleans would fail, unable to protect themselves or the town from crime and unable to sway Newer Orleans civilians into abiding by their government structure.
Mayor Dupont's daughter, Billy Dupont, is a young woman who tries not to spend too much time around city hall. Though she's not ashamed of her family, she thinks her father lacks tact, and thinks his endeavor is doomed to fail, despite how much she'd like to see peace restored in Newer Orleans. Billy, like her father, is somewhat naïve with a penchant for adventure. She was somewhat isolated in childhood, many not fearing the world as much as she should, and is seemingly very intelligent and eager to learn. Billy will confide in the player that, while she wants to support her father, she ultimately thinks there are better ways to help the people of post-war Louisiana and wants to move West to join the Followers of the Apocalypse. She's book smart, but lacks proper medical training. 

Tony Rose, a vault dweller having escaped from Vault 84 (a vault located near Houma,) is found running a scheme on Slidell locals selling invaluable scraps looted from Vault 84. The player has three options; return Tony to Vault 84, turn him in to Slidell military police, or go along with his scheme in exchange for a favor (joining your team.) If Tony is turned in to Slidell police, he'll be held, unable to meet bail. The player can pay his bail at any time, at which point he will begrudgingly join their crusade, and could be baited into giving them information by barter check. If returned to Vault 84, he'll be held in a Vault 84 cell for a myriad of crimes.
Vault 84, having only been open for the past two decades or so, is a run-down but ultimately functioning vault now permanently open and exposed to the wasteland outside. Vault 84 was a social experiment vault, playing on an arbitrary grouping of people and instilling paranoia between groups. The three groups would eventually turn on each other; the third group, the Jackson family, would eventually be killed by the other two groups once the vault was opened. The other two groups, the Rose family and the Richardson family, would eventually develop into what were essentially rivaling crime families. Though they consider themselves to be families, none of the original vault members were related in any way; as deaths have increased in the feud, birth rates have declined. The Rose family more eagerly left the vault, though they mainly reside in the West wing of Vault 84. The Richardson family, more reclusive, resides in the East wing of Vault 84 and prefers to maintain power and defense there. Tony, generally isolated from the rest of the family, sought to get over locals with petty crimes. If the player returns Tony to Vault 84, he'll be rejected by the Rose family and held in a vault cell by the Richardson family.
When interacting with Tony, he'll yell at and berate the player, telling them he warned them this would happen. He'll generally refuse to speak to them and sulk in his cell instead, but will give them a rundown on the family history if they ask under the pretense that they'll help him escape. The Rose family can be convinced to wage war on the Richardson family for Tony's freedom, at which point the player will help Tony escape; the Richardson family can be convinced to let Tony go, in exchange for incriminating insider information from the Rose family; or, the two families can be united by helping them to put their differences aside by exposing to them to the forbidden love of two teenagers among the families. In the celebration, Tony can escape.

West, in the outskirts of Lafayette, the player will meet a small group of passive tribals with a temporary station outside town. Roman, a tribal farmer, explains that they're a group of largely unrelated tribals who only recently escaped from Caesar's Legion after a NCR raid on the Legion encampment where they were held. Though most of them are unrelated, they were mostly taken from states like Arizona and Utah, though some were captured higher North. Most of them are adult women and men; while the younger men were being prepared to join Caesar's army, they had escaped soon enough to still retain their previous values and had not yet been brainwashed by Caesar's Legion. Though some many of them were only recently captured by the Legion, some were there much longer, and now seek to unlearn their Legion teachings and return back to their initial tribal values that they've since long forgotten. Norton, a former and returned tribal, had previously been a member of Caesar's Army for the better part of two decades. Though he stood with The Legion for that time, the reality of the situation dawned on him in his later months as a part of Caesar's Army, at which point he would see the NCR raid as a convenient point to lead the enslaved and captured tribals out East into Louisiana. Now, like many of his current faction, he seeks to honor his tribal past and make up for his history as a member of Caesar's Army. Roman, the young tribal farmer, is a quiet and level-headed young man, only recently captured by the Legion. Though young, he's wise beyond his years, and seeks to learn from the mistakes of those like Norton; he doesn't care much for organized government, and seeks instead only to maintain a civil and peaceful territory for his people where they can exist uninhibited by outside factions. However, he understands the difficulty of this task, and will join the player on their quest in order to see the world and understand how to better help his people.

Tommy Miles is a ghoul living in Newer Orleans and an impressive graduate from Vault-Tec University. In Newer Orleans, he mostly performs as a solo pianist, with a penchant for jazz and comedy. Generally lighthearted, easygoing, and somewhat dramatic and sarcastic, he tries to maintain this attitude despite the circumstances. Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, he skipped through many of his pre-highschool years and after graduating highschool was granted a scholarship from Vault-Tec University on account of his impressive academic skill and would become a college freshman at the age of 15 in 2034. At Vault-Tec University he would major in and gain a bachelors and masters degree in data analytics. Afterwards, he would remain in West Virginia and become an employee of Vault-Tec from 2041-2055. During this time he was an important asset in the development of ZAX 1.0, though detested Vault-Tec's decision to put it into the hands of the DOE, not trusting the government with the functions of ZAX 1.0. He would begin his process of leaving Vault-Tec and moved back to Louisiana, residing in New Orleans where he would teach math at the International High School. During this time he would also pursue his lifelong career in music, honing his skill as a pianist. He would meet his wife sometime later and would marry her in 2075, at which point they would both start planning their retirement together before the Great War Started. It was only happenstance that Miles survived, beginning the ghoulification process at 57, while his wife would pass.

Within the French Quarter of Newer Orleans is a manor nestled somewhat out of the way; inside is a collection of highly affluent citizens of Newer Orleans, who reunite annually to hold an organized murder mystery roleplay, in which the deceased sets up the mystery and the killer. Though they all know each other, for the novelty, they take on code names. Though all the players are unaware, the deceased is not just pretending but has actually been killed in a sloppy revenge over an inheritance dispute. It's up to the player character whether or not they play along, at which point they're given the option to kill the culprit, which is mandated by the roleplay.
One of the players is 'Miss Sapphire', a French young woman who smokes with a cigarette holder and styles herself in a vaguely flapper-esque attire. Haughty and ditsy, she's unwarranted self-assured and spoiled, and not particularly friendly. As is demanded by her code name, she wears blue, and has a penchant for showy jewelry.
'Mister Mauve', though dressed humbly, is a highly affluent Louisiana business-man, having made significant profit off of his company's large stake in the Newer Orleans property market. His most notably features are thin, round glasses and a large mustache; as well, he wears a bolo tie and fashions himself in a mauve country suit. Though in casual conversation he's modest and friendly, he has very little concern for others and finds it easy to turn the other cheek.
Forgoing anonymity, 'Your Honor Yellow' is a notable Louisiana judge, known for much more than her fairness. She's smug and self-assured, likely within reason, and, in personality, is more comparable to a lawyer than a judge. She dons darker colors, foregoing strictly formal wear for a dress shirt, vest, and tie, with matching slacks and a very expensive watch.
'Lord Leather' is technically heir to a well-known pre-war insurance company. Though it's been many decades, the name remains well-known; just before the Great War began, the then CEO was able to run away with all of the money invested into the company without a trace in the ensuing chaos. Though money meant little in the post-war wasteland, it was enough in the final moments of the pre-war world to guarantee him safety and affluence within the vaults -- after escaping, he would immediately work to ensure property ownership over as much of Louisiana's wasteland as he could. Though he was rivaled often, his lineage's power has remained strong through similar malicious efforts; Lord Leather, for example, currently has an under the table deal with Mister Mauve to ensure ownership of large plots of desirable land with a much lower tax than usual. Overall, Lord Leather is similarly pompous and spoiled, though is not nearly as charismatic or charming as any of his associates and keeps to himself, with a gaunt face and dark, greasy hair. In secret, he's an insane pervert.

In Belle Rose, Louisiana, resides the Grand Bayou Chemical Waste Management Facility. After the Great War, the facility was mostly abandoned, leaving behind any random assortment of scientific equipment and chemicals that hadn't been taken by fleeing survivors or raided by travelling raiders. In 2264, the now obsolete Newer Orleans Remnant Survivors Party would mandate that a smaller subsect of their organization, a scientific research team, would occupy the Grand Bayou Facility and do research into undoing the effects of the FEV. (Though this would not repair affected DNA, they sought to render FEV obsolete so that it did not continuously combat non-FEV programmed genetic mutation as the first step in the NORSP's Humane Recovery Act.) Though this effort itself would be public, and was a significant pride for NORSP in their effort to maintain democracy in Newer Orleans, in secret, the research team would be supplied with unwilling and uninformed inmates from the then still functioning Tammany Parish Detention Center. Inmates would be kept in similar conditions to Tammany Parish, and would be forced to undergo experimentation. First, inmates were exposed to low doses of FEV, enough to ensure they would not undergo the documented process of super-mutation, but enough to introduce FEV into their system and undergo more minor DNA mutations. After this, experimentation would begin, where different strains of FEV were regularly manufactured and reverse-engineered before being tested on inmates to document their effectivity. Some of these treatments did absolutely nothing, some only manifested as different strains of FEV with different effects, and some had great negative impact on inmates, killing them or resulting in symptoms such as organ failure and severe brain damage.
In 2275, the Tammany Parish Detention Center would fall due to increasing unrest and chaos in the area. To maintain some degree of peace, the NORSP would funnel all remaining inmates to the research team at the Grand Bayou Facility. Due to such an unprecedented influx of inmates, as well as increased instability within NORSP resulting in less funding, safety precautions and living conditions for inmates would both decrease significantly. One inmate received by the research team would be 'Grunt,' who would only be administered one small dose of FEV before a catastrophic explosion from deep in the facility would kill or infect many of the researchers and allow multiple varieties of FEV to seep into areas of the facility. Grunt, still locked in his cell at the time, would be unable to get out as he would be exposed to significant amounts of FEV over the next 5 years.
It is unknown to what extent Grunt was affected mentally, as he is mostly mute and communicates only with limited nonverbal vocal expression. Physically, however, he resembles most supermutants. His physicality seems to have effected him, as he moves slower than most super mutants and seems to process things mentally much more slowly, though not necessarily implying he's unintelligent. He seems to be less inclined towards violence, perhaps because he's never been influenced in this way, and is largely passive and keeps to himself.
Grunt resides permanently within the Grand Bayou Facility (and outside it) with his new 'friends,' a passive group of researchers that had arrived there in 2280, when they found and released Grunt from his cell. Daisy Kerry was once a field nurse for the military stationed temporarily in Slidell and retired in 2273 as she saw the growing unrest in Newer Orleans and greater Louisiana as well as the eventual fall in power of the 'RSP. She would meet Robbie Villeneuve in 2276; Robbie was previously a waste management employee at the Grand Bayou Chemical Waste Management Facility, though quit just before the catastrophic event in 2275. Both critical of the RSP, they would return to the Grand Bayou Facility to investigate the 'suspicious' circumstances of the explosion. On their way there, they would pick up Lewis Goose, a young field researcher travelling with a girl he called 'Geraldine,' a young woman of deathly ill appearance who's body was mostly bandaged. She used a wheelchair to get around, has visible chemical burns on her exposed skin, multiple missing fingers, a shaved head, and is always wearing a gas mask. She has multiple ports on her body attached to tubes that connect to bags attached to her wheelchair, which function to drain her wounds. Like Grunt, she's seemingly mute, and is attached to Lewis and Grunt specifically. Though she doesn't communicate verbally at all and has very limited movement,  her mental condition is not largely impaired, as she is able to construct complex sentences using text-to-speech after the player discovers voice recordings from the late head of the research team at the Grand Bayou Facility.