Re: [Fallout Equestria] Setting discussions

[CamoBadger]

Probably the same thing just ponified.
If we're going off of mythology, El Dogrado (El Dorado) is a city made of solid gold. (I think they were... Aztec? in human mythology). I'm not sure if this is what he was referencing, but that's the background I know on it.

Actually, wasn't the Native American mythology referring to a golden man, not a golden city? I'm not sure.

Anyway, though, El Dogrado was a city of great wealth, particularly in terms of valuable minerals and often-enchanted gems.

I'm not sure. It could be a golden man, but I've always thought it was a city. It might depend on the source you find though, could say different things.

[O. Hinds]

Probably the same thing just ponified.
If we're going off of mythology, El Dogrado (El Dorado) is a city made of solid gold. (I think they were... Aztec? in human mythology). I'm not sure if this is what he was referencing, but that's the background I know on it.

Actually, wasn't the Native American mythology referring to a golden man, not a golden city? I'm not sure.

Anyway, though, El Dogrado was a city of great wealth, particularly in terms of valuable minerals and often-enchanted gems.

I'm not sure. It could be a golden man, but I've always thought it was a city. It might depend on the source you find though, could say different things.

Nono, it was quickly corrupted into a golden city, but it was originally a golden man. IIRC.

[CamoBadger]

@O. Hinds:

but this I do have to laugh it. They might believe that, sure, but it's bleedingly obvious that that's not true. The Remnant is a child of the Pax Roamana, but it's also a child of Equestria; I mean, their de facto official language is Pony! The Remnant are not one of the old cultures, nor are they they sort of federation of groups that the Pax Roamana was. They are descended from a military force and from refugees taken under that force's umbrella, and they are to this day shaped both by that and by the formerly-enemy land that is their home. They are not necessarily bad (though at the moment… some of their goals, methods, and internal policies or lack thereof might be charitably called questionable), but they are something new, not a recreation of something old.

I actually never thought of them like that. I mean I know their language of choice is Equestrian simply because it's most common in their area and the zebras around in the Wasteland have been in Equestria and around ponies for 2 centuries, but I didn't really see it as a defining part of a new culture; more of an adaptation from what I've seen. Mostly I say this because they still keep with many older practices/beliefs from the old days; their tactics, their fear of startmetal and the stars in general, even an ancient prophesy about the Maiden. True, they are a military force first and foremost, but I think that at least in some areas they would change slightly as circumstances changed around them. In Hoofington their only purpose is to destroy the city and apparently kill BJ, but what about elsewhere? I know that I'm the only person to take them elsewhere really, but I have a hard time believing they would only go to one place, and forces that are separated far from the command may experience a situation and not really have any way to ask for guidance, being left to figure it out as they go.
This is where settling in and 'reculturing' comes into view, at least from my perspective. That old culture that has faded and almost died can crawl back out in a more stationary environment because suddenly it becomes relevant. Setting up a town and welcoming in civilians such as traders and their foals, which then presents the need for education (a good way to teach the young what you want and ensure future soldiers, no matter how cold that sounds, it happens). Steady trade and education can anchor families in one spot, and soon what may have once been a military post can grow into a quasi town. Soldiers still need to leave on missions, possibly for days, leaving the town mostly in control of the civilian population while they're gone. As such, leadership needs to be in place in case of an issue arising that may cause problems if it isn't quickly decided. And a form of leadership that many zebras have at least heard of for a civilian population is that of the Pax Roamana (depending on size of course. If your 'town' is small enough you can get away with a few representatives, but if you get over 30-50 individuals you move into the need for a cheiftain, or Praetor in this case).
And after that long line of 'what-ifs' we get to the point of a reviving cultural system. Not fully of course, and definitely not intentional, but that's my crazy ass mindset on where I got that idea.
This is probably the biggest line of idiocy I've ever said and please feel free to call me stupid for it (because I know I am), but yeah, there's my brain's crazy way of rationalizing how the Remnant is bringing back old zebra culture, but probably not on purpose.


Also, I'm glad my insanity is actually making a little bit of sense and shedding light on things.

@El Dorado: Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification! I learned today!

[O. Hinds]

@CamoBadger:
Yes, that's why it's their language, and that's the point. Remember Shujaa disliking Xanthe's grasp of Roaman Zebra so much that she requested to converse in Pony instead? That they're more familiar with Pony than with their de jure official and supposedly "native" language (even Vitiosus when speaking to Lancer and the assembled zebras chooses to use Pony!) is quite telling. Moreover, that all by itself is a tremendous insight into Remnant culture: we learn from it that these are people who do not match their definitions of themselves, an official line that isn't the truth, and this is unlikely to be limited to the language.

I still disagree with you that the Remnant is reviving Pax Roamana culture, even accidentally. They're forming a new culture inspired by some aspects of the Pax Roamana, but it's something new and distinct. I'm actually now really interested in how that might turn out, especially if the doctrine does change sufficiently to allow a reconciliation between them and the Miliozi.

[CamoBadger]

@O. Hinds:
That actually brings up another interesting point, at least to me. Some zebras, like Xanthe, seem to like speaking in their native tongue even after how long they've been separate (reasons for how they're still fluent being another discussion), while others are actually uncomfortable with it even within the Remnant. This may just be a personal preference thing, but at the same time I feel like it somewhat represents an overall splintered identity of the Remnant.

I'm probably insane...

I'll agree to disagree on the revival of culture thing then. That being said, I don't think it could ever be a complete revival, after so long and how much the zebra view of the world has changed that would be impossible. It would be new, but I'd imagine at least some zebras would like to see some of their old culture return, if only to have back something that brings them together (some would be very opposed to this however).
I'm officially done rambling now, sorry for continuing.

[O. Hinds]

@O. Hinds:
That actually brings up another interesting point, at least to me. Some zebras, like Xanthe, seem to like speaking in their native tongue even after how long they've been separate (reasons for how they're still fluent being another discussion), while others are actually uncomfortable with it even within the Remnant. This may just be a personal preference thing, but at the same time I feel like it somewhat represents an overall splintered identity of the Remnant.

I'm probably insane...

I'll agree to disagree on the revival of culture thing then. That being said, I don't think it could ever be a complete revival, after so long and how much the zebra view of the world has changed that would be impossible. It would be new, but I'd imagine at least some zebras would like to see some of their old culture return, if only to have back something that brings them together (some would be very opposed to this however).
I'm officially done rambling now, sorry for continuing.

...I'm really quite at a loss to explain statements such as "I'm probably insane..." and "I'm officially done rambling now, sorry for continuing" in relation to these posts. :) (Seriously, though, I really don't know why you're saying that.)

Oh, I agree; language can give quite an insight into culture, perhaps even to the extent of uncovering things about peoples' views that even they did not know.

...Yeah, looks like we might just need to do that. Might still learn something from discussing it, though. "I'd imagine at least some zebras would like to see some of their old culture return, if only to have back something that brings them together"... the thing is, they don't really know what the culture of the Pax Roamana was, not unless they find a ghoul to put in charge; what they have are stories of it. Neither can they wipe away their own culture. If they try and use those stories to rebuild the Pax Roamana on top of their current culture, they'll fail; they'll get elements of the PR, but they still won't get anything that would be mistaken for the PR ("the Reborn Roaman Peace was neither reborn, Roaman, nor particularly peaceful...", or something like that). Moreover, the zebras of the Remnant already have something bringing them together: the Remnant itself. And as for zebras outside the Remnant, it will take more than that to bring them in (maybe not if the Remnant had no competition, but, even ignoring my headcanon, it's been two hundred years; by now, there ought to be at least one other group that's arisen in Zebrica).

[CamoBadger]

Oh, I don't doubt that for a second. I haven't really thought much about what kind of groups there may be or their goals or any of that, but then again not much has really been shown on the Zebrica continent. The only story I know of that actually takes place there is New Roam, and I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
Really all I've thought on it is that there are at least a few Remnant pockets in Zebrica doing recruiting for soldiers. They aren't nearly as well known there and likely stay further to the north near the sea, most likely due to competition and not being willing to put the extra resources into spreading their influence there, at least not yet. They've already got enough problems in Equestria, and possibly causing another conflict in Zebrica doesn't seem like a very good move for them, so I'd imagine they're pretty careful with their actions there.

[O. Hinds]

I think that I've just come up with a flag for the Pax Roamana:

(apologies for the poor drawing)

While I'm at it, here's my current idea for the Alliance's emblem (still not sure about it, though):

[O. Hinds]

@CamoBadger:
"The only story I know of that actually takes place there is New Roam, and I haven't gotten around to reading it yet."
I've not read that either; my headcanon has it's own New Roam, but I've not detailed that too much yet.

"Really all I've thought on it is that there are at least a few Remnant pockets in Zebrica doing recruiting for soldiers. They aren't nearly as well known there and likely stay further to the north near the sea, most likely due to competition and not being willing to put the extra resources into spreading their influence there, at least not yet. They've already got enough problems in Equestria, and possibly causing another conflict in Zebrica doesn't seem like a very good move for them, so I'd imagine they're pretty careful with their actions there."
That sounds good! Though I've got the Northern zebras being more European-inspired.

[CamoBadger]

That could be pretty interesting actually, and is something I really never even thought of (seems to be a lot of that going around for me tonight...). Do you think that based on the human Roman empire being bordered to the north by the germanic tribes, or something completely different?

[O. Hinds]

@CamoBadger:
"That could be pretty interesting actually, and is something I really never even thought of (seems to be a lot of that going around for me tonight...)."
I'm glad that you think so, and indeed there does. :)

"Do you think that based on the human Roman empire being bordered to the north by the germanic tribes, or something completely different?"
I seem to recall that it was something like that; it was a while ago when I came up with this, though. Of course, the Northerners still weren't as tribe-based as the Centrals.

[CamoBadger]

By "not as tribal based", what do you mean? I'm guessing they were in the same kind of system, but much larger groups, like more of a cheifdom system than tribal?

[O. Hinds]

By "not as tribal based", what do you mean? I'm guessing they were in the same kind of system, but much larger groups, like more of a cheifdom system than tribal?

Hm... Maybe? The vast majority of Northern zebras lived in cities (not especially large ones, though; nothing on the scale of Manehattan, Roam, or the great Western metropoli), towns, or the supporting agricultural areas, though, and many of the states may have mostly discarded chiefdom/tribal identity.

Oh, I just realized that there's another reason why it makes sense for the Remnant to draw primarily from the Northern areas: their history. The Remnant claims to be following the last orders of the last Caesar and that the thing under Hoofington is merely sleeping, not dead, and that that city must be fought. The Northerners tended to be particularly loyal to the PR and to be a bit sensitive about Hoofington's now-unnamed predecessor (usually I just can't think of names, but here I've been thinking that the old Northern capital had its name stripped from it after the unpleasantness).

[O. Hinds]

I've been wondering if the Rose Banner could attract any Steel Rangers or GPE members (at first probably just as live-in allies but with assimilation as one of Rose Eye's goals). It would be tricky (given that Rose Eye's last interaction with the GPE involved exchanging fire with them and that Red Eye and the Steel Rangers weren't exactly best friends), but all three groups have a ponypower shortage and a dislike of LittlePip. Toss in a few speech checks by Rose Eye... thoughts?

The Remnant might be another potential ally, but we'll have to see what state it's in after PH (it's not much use as an ally if it's dead, and a Remnant hoping for good relations with the Alliance (which, while not directly against the Rose Banner, can't really be for them without upsetting the NCR) and/or NCR is obviously not going to join).

[Harmony Ltd.]

I've been wondering if the Rose Banner could attract any Steel Rangers or GPE members (at first probably just as live-in allies but with assimilation as one of Rose Eye's goals). It would be tricky (given that Rose Eye's last interaction with the GPE involved exchanging fire with them and that Red Eye and the Steel Rangers weren't exactly best friends), but all three groups have a ponypower shortage and a dislike of LittlePip. Toss in a few speech checks by Rose Eye... thoughts?

The Remnant might be another potential ally, but we'll have to see what state it's in after PH (it's not much use as an ally if it's dead, and a Remnant hoping for good relations with the Alliance (which, while not directly against the Rose Banner, can't really be for them without upsetting the NCR) and/or NCR is obviously not going to join).

Well, concerning the Enclave :

1/ The "Bitters" (name provisional until I find something better) wanted to get rid of the surface entirely, so I have difficulty seeing them entertaining an alliance with surfacers. On the other hand, after their defeat, some remnants of them could form alliances born out of conveniences with the "natives" in order to further their own goals. Though they would need to be desperate themselves, and even the less scrupulous people of the wasteland would have difficulties trusting them - everyone knows that their final goal is to pretty much cleanse the wasteland of any sentient life other than theirs.
Though this doesn't exclude blackmail one way or the other.

2/ The Volunteers are pretty much all "Littlepipites" by Rose Eye's definition, and I doubt they would want to have any kind of business with each other.

3/ Which leave the Isolationnists, the Enclave Remnants, who might frm a partnership with Rose Eye in a bid to "contain" the NCR's expansion. They could enter some form of lucrative trade with each other, the Enclave Remnants having the technologies, and Rose Eye having the "horsepower" and resources to build things.
So you could end up seeing the two in some form of "alliance". A group of organized raiders with a strong leadership, organized forces, resources, and armed with energy weapons - now that makes for a scary prospect for the NCR.


For the Steel Rangers, this would depend on a few factors, which I think could be summarized as follow :

What do the Rangers, who are the isolationists, technology-grabbing type, gain from forming an alliance with Rose Eye ?

One thing I can see is if somehow Rose Eye get her hands hooves on an arsenal of Pre-War weaponry and their ammunitions (by, say, building them with plans given by the Enclave Remnants), they might accept to do some missions for her. Might.

[Kippershy]

So, I'm finally awake enough to start.
And where to start?
Four ridges, I suppose.


Four Ridges is a large landmass sitting upon a plateau with four ridgelines protecting the landmass. The high altitude and natural land formations of the zone makes it very ideal for defense from outside ground forces and was the main reason that the magical radiation left the innards untouched.

It's located in the badlands to the south-east of Canterlot / Ponyville and all the mainland area, where all the mountain ranges reside.
The other reason the land is untouched by radiation is a large, very thick wall that surrounds the zone and acts as a defensive perimeter. I'll get onto that in a minute.




So yeah, the landmass of Four Ridges. Like I say, high altitude, surrounded by four ridges which give it the trademark name and make it such a safe haven, virtually untouched in terms of radiation, has a wall around it. How big is it though?
Well, It's damned big, that's for sure. It's as big as a real world town, easily. It holds somewhere around 1,700, I can't remember what I wrote exactly and I've sent the notes off to a friend of mine so I can't even check. hah.

Anyway, yeah, the landmass is huge. If I had to be specific, something like 8km^2 though seeing as I'm not great with geography, it could be larger and still be realistic.
Anyway lets continue. The landmass is huge, enough to hold somewhere around 1,700 ponies and still not be cramped, or even feeling full. There's lots of landmass that's completely unused. It's either fields that are in rotation for crops or simply land that's being held by the Stable for future prospects and thus not built upon.

There's one "large" lake and two smaller lakes, though none of these are as large as a real worlds version of a large lake, just a reasonable size and in proportion to the others, if that makes sense.

So yes, the scenery in Four Ridges is surprisingly idyllic, given that it's a post-apocalyptic world. I know that bends canon of the original, but it's my own creation and god damn it I wanted somewhere nice in the wasteland, even if it was something as unique and out there as this.


Now, onto the settlements of Four Ridges.
In Four Ridges, there's five main settlements. There is also little pocks of a house or two scattered randomly across the scenery on the outskirts of the major settlements, but they all come under the nearest settlements authority anyway.

Those five settlements are as follows. (In chronological order of which came first) Stable 58, Tank, Angel, Opal and then Gummy.
Each have a job which I will explain now.


Stable 58 is the self imposed central leadership of Four Ridges. Being the oldest group of the lot and the founder of all the civil townships (which turns out to be the right term, despite me thinking I just made it up...) means they have this right by sheer fact of "founders keepers" though they make sure to always play their hoof softly in domestic affairs unless there's a serious issue that needs their dire attention.

Who populated Stable 58?:

Stable 58 has a fairly large influence on the settlements directly around it for another reason, which also happens to be the initial/primary focus of Broken Bonds - the water talisman it contains.
The Stable holds a water talisman which you would expect, this means they are capable of producing clean water at rates that surpass usual need. However, with the rest of the region (Four Ridges) relying on their clean water for two reasons, capacity is pushed over what it should be.

Because of this, I will now explain Angel.


Angel is the regions biggest source of food.
The Stable is of course capable of producing food for itself, though their food production capacity is a lot lower than their water production, and so they cannot maintain the region. Instead, this task goes to Angel.
Angel sits on a particularly fertile part of Four Ridges. While the rest of the villages all have their little bits of fertile land, none of them are really capable of even their own populations. Angel counters this problem by making their sole purpose to be of food production.
They are the largest village with fields spanning as far as the eye can see and work year round to provide what they can.
Because of this, they even produce excess (even after feeding the other villages.) which is something I'll go further into in a moment.

However, Angel isn't capable of this feat alone. It's because of Stable 58 and their water talisman that Angel is capable of producing this much food. With clean, reliable water supplies which are transported via brahmin pulled water wagons. The excess food is then shipped to Opal.


Opal is the second smallest settlement, only bigger than Gummy. Opal's job is to be the merchant town of Four Ridges. They take anything that Angel or Gummy produce and don't require and work out ways to trade it either for caps or things that benefit any of the towns, especially Tank and Gummy.
They don't really have a job past this. They work on trading between the towns, keep things going smoothly and keep ponies happy. They also produce small crafts goods like necklaces, clothing and other little things to keep the morale of the ponies living in the region on positive side. It's nothing essential in itself, not like food, but morale is always essential in a different way so their job is still important.
They make ponies happy with little trinkets, basically. They also happen to be one of only two groups that ever leave the safety of Four Ridges on a regular basis - though I should state there is no law against leaving temporarily or even permanently, it's just that it's their job.

Along with Tank, Opal traders leave Four Ridges with carts of goods, sometimes even taking some of Angel's brahmin with them to carry further stock.
Primarily they trade with Fillydelphia, giving them food and a small amount of water in return for ammo, caps, guns, and raw materials as well as technology for Gummy. They also trade with other settlements, though Fillydelphia is the most notable.
(At this point I would like to add, yes, Kkat has said this is completely fine for me to include into my canon. While I couldn't possibly ever expect her to add it to her own headcanon, I like to tell myself that it could in theory work with the originals' canon given that it's non intrusive. FillyD needs food from somewhere, right?)

Which leads us onto the next place...


Tank.
Tank is the military centre of Four Ridges. Located at the one and only entrance to Four Ridges via the ground, it's also effectively controlling the only (viable) exit, also.
This puts them in a very powerful position, but also in a position of extreme responsibility. Their founding being the first of all the towns was no mistake, nor was it by chance that the location happened to be where it is.. Tank was organised by Stable 58 to be the beacon of security for the entire region from the very start.
Founded by a mixture of Stable pioneers willing to brave the outside and a few groups of pony settlements that had set up huts in the vicinity seeking shelter from the outer wastes, the development of Tank was a fairly easy one.
Firearms taken from the Stable gave Tank the initial defensive capabilities required to make any angry, unwilling to negotiate ponies either leave or die once the Stable worked on making Tank their own.
The infrastructure of Tank is pre-war. Most of the buildings were already standing and mostly in good shape, being ex-army and designed to last. The Tank pioneers quickly worked on securing the region by closing the great gate and fixing up the buildings with what little repairs were needed.

This is when they found a small locked armoury and quickly salvaged everything from inside. Using this, more ponies left the Stable and took residence in Tank, further bolstering their numbers and allowing them to completely sweep through Four Ridges, mapping out the area and convincing whatever (sparsely found) groups of ponies they came across to work alongside the Stable and be friendly. In return, these groups would gain easy access to clean food, water, education and of course, more ponies to interact with. Because ponies love being around other ponies.

Once the area was secured, the whole of Four Ridges deemed safe and mapped, Tank informed the Stable of the fertile grounds of Angel and made a point of how feeding all these extra ponies would become necessary to utilise that ground, and Angel was swiftly founded with a small number of Stable residents and all of the newly found ponies.

Tank patrols the walls that surround Four Ridges and makes sure any threats to their well-being are dealt with swiftly with appropriate force.
They also have a small number of 'police' in each town, enforcing Stable rules (which are basically no theft, no murders and no aggression, though a harmless punch up isn't worth more than a day or two in the Stable's security cells and a slap on the wrist, as it were.)

Tank also took it upon themselves to form the Tank Mercenary Group, an extension of their domestic tasks. The Tank Mercenary Group, often shortened to TMG, is about providing security detail to smaller settlements for a fair price. They accept jobs from escort and perimeter patrols and the occasional espionage to raider routing but will not attack settlements without conclusive proof that they are raider bases. Espionage is one of the things they will consider if it can be done without hostile actions if it's focusing on an unknown /not hostile settlement or with low chance of hostile actions required if the settlement is suspected of raider activity.

Their code also includes that they do not annex settlements though they may take a F.O.B if granted such a location by the locals upon their own free will without being coerced to do so. Tank Mercenary Group members do not wish to be known as a heartless group of mercenaries who don't care what their job does to the world around them or their reputation. Instead, they play the lawful neutral role and uphold decency for a price.

Their other job (which they are also paid for, by the Stable) is to protect Opal merchants as they go out on trading routes. Although Fillydelphia will of course provide security with their own guards once within range of the city, the merchants need protecting when leaving the safety of the mountains and travelling across greater Equestria.
This also becomes important when trading with lesser known settlements, some whom are likely to attack traders thinking they can get away with it or to simply stop raider attacks in general.


Lastly is Gummy.
Gummy has one simple job. Technology and education.
Gummy is populated by scientists, engineers and is the breeding ground for teachers, even if not always literally. Most non combat teachers will be trained in Gummy and then sent off to the other towns to spread their knowledge. Their primary passion however is technology, old world technology mostly so but also in new technologies.
They like to find technology they haven't come across before and study what it does, how it worked and if they can, how to reproduce it. They know that one day Equestria will be rebuilt, and hope that with advanced knowledge alongside experience in combat (Tank) that they can be an important part in the world when the time is ready.

Because of this fascination, they also happen to be engineers for the Stable and Tank's security systems (mainly for the great gate) though they do other things too. Also, this studying technology brings in caps in form of being able to repair other settlements technologies or outright selling them things they can afford but did not have access to before.


Still, I ought to wrap this up for this one, so lets recap and give you a timeline at the same time!




Stable 58 is where it all began.
Tank was the first town founded, which secured the region of Four Ridges for the Stable and eventually encouraged the Stable to found Angel, also.
Angel was founded with producing food in mind, which quickly proved to be capable of providing more food than necessary. This lead to the founding of Opal when prosperous ponies had a baby boom thanks to the plentiful resources and great security.
Opal was then founded after a realisation that these extra resources could be traded with outside settlements for new/exotic resources.
This led to the Tank Mercenary Group being founded because there was a need for protecting the traders who were leaving the security of Four Ridges, also encouraged by the plethora of weapons and armour coming in from outside sources.
At the same time, technology was being brought in, inducing the founding of Gummy who wanted to have an area of their own so they could truly experiment with this new technology without endangering others / having somewhere to store it all.



Stable 58 supplies water to Angel which provides food to the other towns. In return, Tank provides protection and Opal uses the excess resources to bring in outside resources while Gummy studies things and educates the others.
All the towns give the Stable a tithe for their leadership and due to the fact that without them, they wouldn't be.



That doesn't include EVERYTHING about Four Ridges, I could go into detailed account of their history or such, but I don't deem that necessary. You get the main chunk of it here and unless I'm asked more about it, I can't see many people caring anyway.
There's also a "small" something I've left untouched because of spoiler reasons.


If anyone is interested, I will also do a write up on Coltchester and then Coltshire, with Coltchester having the much, much longer story about it and it's a much more interesting tale. But because it's length, yeah, I actually will wait and see if anyone wants to know about it first.

[CamoBadger]

And this is the first time I ever realized that the 4 towns are named after the Mane6 pets... holy crap I'm an idiot.

Great information though, good stuff that I didn't know until now!

[Kippershy]

Haha, indeed they are. My reasoning was to make it something a little reference to MLP proper and I even put some thought into it:

Tank - well, he's a tortoise, he's tough and has the defensive shell. Also, Dashie was the leader of the MoA, the most aggressive of all the ministries.

Opal = Rarity has skill with trading, it was her job. Was a good connection in my mind.

Angel - Fluttershy cared for animals and probably loved plants by extension. Only made sense she'd appreciate a pacifist town that fed everyone.

Gummy - I know it in theory should have been Owlowiscious but that doesn't really run off the tongue and the way Pinkie breaks science rules makes me laugh, so that works best for that.

Same with Winona and Angel. Winona may have been a better choice in theory, but Angel sounds that much better.

[O. Hinds]

@Harmony Ltd.:
"1/ The "Bitters" (name provisional until I find something better) wanted to get rid of the surface entirely, so I have difficulty seeing them entertaining an alliance with surfacers. On the other hand, after their defeat, some remnants of them could form alliances born out of conveniences with the "natives" in order to further their own goals. Though they would need to be desperate themselves, and even the less scrupulous people of the wasteland would have difficulties trusting them - everyone knows that their final goal is to pretty much cleanse the wasteland of any sentient life other than theirs.
Though this doesn't exclude blackmail one way or the other."
Hm, good point.

"2/ The Volunteers are pretty much all "Littlepipites" by Rose Eye's definition, and I doubt they would want to have any kind of business with each other."
Aye. Rose Eye will happily accept former Littlepipites, but only if they publicly renounce her over the radio.

"3/ Which leave the Isolationnists, the Enclave Remnants, who might frm a partnership with Rose Eye in a bid to "contain" the NCR's expansion. They could enter some form of lucrative trade with each other, the Enclave Remnants having the technologies, and Rose Eye having the "horsepower" and resources to build things."
Well, the Rose Banner also needs as much ponypower as it can get, but yeah.

"So you could end up seeing the two in some form of "alliance". A group of organized raiders with a strong leadership, organized forces, resources, and armed with energy weapons - now that makes for a scary prospect for the NCR."
Aye. Energy weapons would be particularly attractive to the Rose Banner because they have a functioning reactor but limited resources with which to make ammunition.

"What do the Rangers, who are the isolationists, technology-grabbing type, gain from forming an alliance with Rose Eye ?"
Partly it's the fact that the Steel Rangers are obviously losing (though of course that wasn't enough for the Brotherhood of Steel). Partly it's mutual dislike of LittlePip (in the Rangers' case for causing the schism that significantly weakened the order). I also think that Rose Eye might be able to convince them to start building things again instead of just hoarding; it would be tricky, but we've seen (Steel Rain) that there are those who think that they shouldn't just sit on the stuff. Pass a few high speech checks to convince them that they should uphold the MWT by following in its footsteps rather than just sitting on its products… Even if that fails, though, there's still quite a bit of potential for an alliance of convenience, and the Rose Banner, even neglecting anything from the GPE remnants, is busy repairing a pre-apocalypse fortress.
Also, remember that the Rose Banner has a lot of ponies educated as foals in Fillydelphia; they've got some clever and informed technical ponies of their own.

[Ironmonger]

I accidentally found this mortar design and I think it would prove to be an interesting implementation for a setting.

Lance-grenade individuel Mle F1 (LGI Mle F1)

[Harmony Ltd.]

Good, I was looking into giving the NCR some amount of light indirect fire artillery support at the squad level, this'll fit right in.

[Ironmonger]

Frost and I did some talking, and came to the conclusion that Steel Ranger armor modified wide heavy lifting would be useful. Remove some of the armor so that it would be able to carry heavier loads (like ammo and stuff for HMG crews), and modify the armor to cover the weak spots with normal-grade armor.

[Harmony Ltd.]

So get rid of all the fancy magic talisman and try to mass (re)produce only the exo-skeleton part of the armor ? That's a thought. You could put plates of armored barding instead of the fancier stuff vanilla Ranger armor has to ensure a minimum of protection.

And you would issue it to the support weapon fire teams.

Though you could run into a metaphorical wall if Ranger armors do not in fact have an exo-skeleton, and just enchanted to be able to follow their wearer's movement.

[Ironmonger]

It's never been explicitly stated what exactly is inside of Steel Ranger armor, so I think we have free reign. Though, I could see some variants of the armor that have been modified to be 'cheaper' (read:cutting corners) at the expense of quality. It's not too far fetched, after all there are real cases of militaries being fucked over by corporations.

The medical system and EFS in the armor could be reverse engineered for sniper teams, no doubt that having meds and a radar of sorts would come in handy.

[Harmony Ltd.]

At the time of the story, soldiers of the rank of corporal or higher would be equipped with a reverse engineered EFS & broadcaster, and some kind of GPS / automap. Though what the corporal and sergeant get is a very crude version of the stuff, prone to malfunctioning.

Only lieutenants and above get the real-stuff, newly manufactured pipbucks, with a simplified design.

Though none of those have a "bullet time" spell. At best they have some kind of reticle to help when firing "from the hip", or for weapons following a ballistic trajectory like mortars.

[CamoBadger]

It's never been explicitly stated what exactly is inside of Steel Ranger armor, so I think we have free reign. Though, I could see some variants of the armor that have been modified to be 'cheaper' (read:cutting corners) at the expense of quality. It's not too far fetched, after all there are real cases of militaries being fucked over by corporations.

The medical system and EFS in the armor could be reverse engineered for sniper teams, no doubt that having meds and a radar of sorts would come in handy.

For the most part I think you're right, but there have been a few examples given of the tech inside the armor. We know they have at least some kind of EFS with advanced targeting and firing mechanics, and a highly advanced medical system; one which tracks vitals, as well as storing and distributing many different drugs and potions automatically through the entire body.
I do agree that other armors would be less or more advanced based on the job being done though. For example, versions without the excessive armor for teams that need to move quicker and that one awesome set of armor for a medic with a very inspirational voice aid.

And I think you used the wrong term with 'reverse engineered'. Generally that applies to taking advanced tech from the enemy and taking it apart to figure out how to duplicate it. I think you're looking for 'modified' or possibly 'removed' if you're saying they wouldn't need the armor and EFS.

And lol @ "there are real cases of militaries being fucked over by corporations". It's technically true, but it's more of a universal fact for all militaries to be constantly fucked because "lowest bidder".

[Harmony Ltd.]

And what's funny about "lowest-bidder" is that in the end you still end up paying the price of a Bugatti Veyron for what is essentially just an armored truck with a gun on top.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Véhicule_de_l'Avant_Blindé

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugatti_Veyron

[CamoBadger]

You dare mock the Bradley?! I'll DESTROY YOU!

Not really, but it is still an amazing vehicle. Much more than an 'armored truck with a gun on top'. Not the best we could have, but still an impressive piece of hardware.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Replaced the link with a much more appropriate illustration (the French VAB).

But still, for what it does, the Bradley cost per unit almost as much as an Abrams.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Correction :

The bradley cost 3.5 million dollar a unit while an abrams cost 5.3 million or something like that.

Still, put that price into perspective with the fact it's the price for just one vehicle.

This gives an indication as of what "lowest bidder" entail for the military (hint : they are still getting ripped off)

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