66 million years ago the world was thrust into an age

of fire; throwing the dinosaurs off their throne and

passing ownership to the mammals. These warm blooded
creatures spread across the planet adapting to the
rapidly changing planet. The flames died and gave way
to a dark cold world that was the perfect field to
sew the seeds of humanity. They braved the ice and
beasts coming out the other side as the new rulers of
the world. Making discoveries like tools, fire,
domestication, but for every discovery made for
advancement, another was made for conflict. Tools
became weapons, fire was used to destroy other tribes
rather than warm their families, and dogs were used
to track and kill their fellow man.

This pattern continued with every single discovery

humankind made throughout the ages. No matter how
many advancements were made for the betterment of
the species, The evil in man’s heart would rise to the
top and suppress their evolution into a plateau.
Flattening out in more effecient use of resources
and peaking in military applications. Nobody Believed
in October of 2077 that in the next couple of days
their leaders would order the launch of hundreds of
thousands of nuclear missiles; ending life as they
knew it. It was only human aggression that could send
themselves into a new age of fire, but what is the heir
to their throne? What will take the mantle of the new
irradiated earth and run amuck? It’s impossible to know
but as we look down the big, dark, road ahead we must
remember on thing:

War, War never changes...

 The defining feature of The Big Dark is what makes it different from the traditional
fallout experience; the environment. The Big Dark is a place of extremes where the line
between safety and danger is clear cut, where hope and despair are literal steps away from
each other. Most anything below the 1,000 ft line on a map is covered in dense radioactive
fog and snow from a century old storm. Below this line the only way to survive is a heavy
coat and a tight fitting gas mask. The denizens of these valleys are either insane, or
mutated monstrosities looking for a new meal. Above the line however is a bright place of
hope and renewal, Hill tops where humanity continues to thrive. The High ground is where
you will find your more traditional Fallout creatures like Bloat Flys, Deathclaws, and
Rad Scorpions. But Below the clouds is a whole new ecosystem full of Sawtails, Man-Bats,
and Centibears (yes thats what it sounds like) and you should always have your gun or
blade prepared to deal with them. This setting is unforgiving, it is relentless, and it
is deadly. Do not let this discourage you however, because in rough and tumble places like
this there is always someone looking to lend a hand. Just be careful when you walk in a
Super Duper Mart for a Nuka Cola; there might be someone or something that wants it a bit
more.

Have fun, and thanks for playing,

DM_T-CART
 Before the great war West Virginia was stuck in a constant spiral of nostalgia fueled
bad decisions. Old folks yearned for the “golden years” in which coal was king, and a man
was only worth how many tons he could pull out of a mine before the end of the day. They
would constantly vote to cut regulations on the mining companies as fusion power stormed
across America. They finally got what they were asking for in the heat of the resource wars
when european countries were looking for every source of energy they could get their hands
on. Then in the middle of the coal boom the monolithic energy company Homespun Tradition in
conjunction with Robco completely automated all the mines with specialized Protectrons and
Mr. Handy’s that could move coal at ten times the speed of a worker. This lead to mass
layoffs somewhere in the millions; causing many miners to turn to less “honest” types of
work or riot in the streets.

Early in the morning on October 27, 2077, as a workers union set up to protest the
acts of Homespun Tradition fire rained from the sky and buried West Virginia and the rest
of the U.S. in nuclear ash. While WV was hit with relatively few nukes, the aftermath hit
the area hard. The ash and debris thrown into the atmosphere blocked out the sun for months
causing a localized nuclear winter. These thick atomic clouds slowy settled in the valleys
of old West Virginia, but never went away. Instead these clouds create a sunless realm
below the mountain tops where the snow never melted, and the strong radiation just
circulates underneath.

As the vaults opened and other survivors began settling in the higher altitudes they
came to call those parts of the state “The Big Dark”. The inablity to make extended treks
into The Big Dark caused communities to grow and develop in almost complete isolation from
eachother. This led to many unique settlements forming, and developing unique approaches
to survive in the wasteland.

While Mankind begins to rise again on the heights, the dark cold valleys are a petri
dish of unique mutated horrors specifically adapted to surviving in the icy wastes. While
Deathclaws and giant insects rule other areas, mammals still reign supreme in The Big Dark
going back to their Ice Age roots many of these creatures have grown in size and developed
vicious and grotesque features that can only be the result of such a horrific environment.
The animalistic creatures like Man-Bats, Crawpunks, and Sawtails spend their days hunting
eachother with their newfound abilities, leaving the intelligent ghouls and super Mutants
to their own devices. Eventually a new mind would rise and see these mutations as what they
were. The next step of evolution...
Major Cities:

Gold Dome.
Location: WV Capitol Building
Population: Humans and Ghouls
Alignment: Neutral Good
Wealth: Lower Middle
Government: Democracy
Police: yes
Crime: medium
Unique trait: The Capitol dome reflects the sun, warming and
removing the fog from the immediate area. Citizens basically
worship the sun and adorn every surface they can with shiny
materials. Town is built entirely within and onto the
Capitol Building giving high defensive and making it very
interconnected.

Chem Heights.
Location: John Amos Power Plant
Population: Humans and Ghouls
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Wealth: Low/High
Government: Plutocracy
Police: no
Crime: high
Unique trait: Built inside and around the last standing smoke
stack of the John Amos Power plant; the Chem Heights is a
complicated series of structures connected by jury rigged
elevators. The cities name should make it obvious that this
is the single largest distributor of chems in The Big Dark.
The ghoul workers live and work in factories below the cloud
line in poverty, while the rich stay at the top and take all
the caps.

Ninety-Three
Location: Logan County
Population: Humans, Ghouls, Some Super Mutants
Alignment: Lawful Good
Wealth: Upper Middle
Government: Socialist
Police: Yes
Crime: low
Unique trait: Built by the descendants of Vault 93 this is a
large and friendly farming community that welcomes all that
can help. One of very few human settlements to allow Mutants.
If you contribute you’re taken care of.
TelMo
Location: Morgantown
Population: Humans, Ghouls, Some Super Mutants
Alignment: Neutral Good
Wealth: Upper Middle
Government: Democracy
Police: yes
Crime: medium
Unique trait: Built around High Street in the old Morgantown
Telmo is the biggest trading city in The Big Dark area, and
the location of the Southern Minutemen’s Headquarters.
Citizens wear jerseys and other garb from the ruined college,
and randomly shout out sayings that they claim their
ancestors did at gladitorial events.

Big Horn
Location: Huntington
Population: Humans
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Wealth: Low
Government: Theocracy
Police: yes
Crime: high
Unique trait: Located in the area with the highest
concentration of raider camps in The Big Dark, Big Horn is
what happens when a cult gets way too big. The citizens
worship a buffalo headed god as their defender from the evils
around them. Guards wear horned helmets and use exclusively
melee weapons; calling themselves Minotaurs. Citizens consist
mostly of converted raiders trying to kick their chem habit.

Nerao
Location: Pocahontas County
Population: Humans, Ghouls, Some Super Mutants
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Wealth: High
Government: Theocracy
Police: Yes
Crime: low
Unique trait: Located in the National Radio Quiet Zone Nerao
is home to the listeners, and fiercely defend those beliefs.
There is no single city of Nerao but rather a number of
communities built around the radio telescope. It is home to
a large portion of people who are good tinkerers that use
gadgets and robots to do their work while they meditate in
the dish. Their houses are made from large concrete tubes
that are wrapped in aluminum foil and then buried under a
pile of mud and snow.
 Despite the harsh conditions The Big Dark is still home to many organized forces.
Some of these Factions are fighting for control of the region while others are after
more personal goals. No matter their motivations each of these factions are a far more
capable and organized fighting force than any single cities police force. The following
pages contain all the must know info on each one of these groups, and you should use
this section to help define what your character finds important. At some point the
members of your party may have to take a side so you may want to be as eductaed as
possible on the choices. The Factions are as follows:

Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts

Enclave Remnant

Evolutionists

Knights of Nuka

Listeners

Minutemen
 These are not the Outcasts from Home base: Memorial Tunnel
the Capitol Wasteland. After Elder Maxson
took control of the Eastern Brotherhood Leader: Elder Black
of Steel the orignal Outcasts rejoined
their ranks. However some members did Slogan: Ad Victoriam!
not like the radical zealotry that the
new Elder had for his view of the Goals:
Brotherhood’s cause. So a small group
of Knights and Scribes collected one To collect advanced technolgy and avoid
night and loaded up the original it’s potential abuse.
Outcast armor with as many supplies
as they could and headed out into the Help non-hostile wastelanders get access
wastes taking on the mantle of the to clean water and food.
disgraced knights.The Brotherhood sent
party after party searching after these Gather Information on Pre-War military
degenerates and their stolen technology, projects.
driving them to hide in the clouds of
The Big Dark. Member traits: Due to the low numbers
of soldiers Brotherhood Outcasts
The New Outcasts have a focus on Operate in teams of two. These teams
the collection of technology, but with consist of one Knight and one Scribe.
a large interest in the improvement of
the wasteland. They gain new members Ranks: Squire
by raising local children into the Initiate Scribe Initiate
brotherhood, giving many a stable source Apirant Scribe
of inspiration, and helping their families Knight Senior Scribe
get acces to clean water and food. Paladin Proctor
Elder
 The Enclave Remnant consists of
members that are the descendants of High
ranking members within the enclave that
took refuge in a secret vault beneath the
Greenbriar Hotel. They continued to
follow through with the mission of their
ancestors and hope to eventually
re-establish the United States Government.
They are highly secretive, and
use a number of defenses to keep travelers
out from their proximity. They are slowly
and steadily building defenses and making
advancements on research started by their
ancestors. Recently some wastelander have
even reported seeing Vertibirds flying just
above the clouds of The Big Dark.
Home base: Greenbriar Hotel
Leader: General Mccam
Slogan: Rebuilding America’s Future Today!
Goals:
To resurrect the U.S. Government and
Military.
Continue pre-war military research
Member traits: Members all wear identical
black uniforms and many have the same
last name.
Ranks: Standard military ranks
 The true children of the wasteland, Home base: TNT Plant
the Evolutionists are a cabal of Ghouls,
Super Mutants, and Monsters that believe Leader: Isaac Scott
their mutations are proof that they are
the true inheritors of the earth. Slogan: Take the next step.

The Evolutionists were formed when Goals:

their founder Isaac Scott, an incredibly
smart and talented bot, was exploring To remove humanity through forced
through an ancient bunker for parts and Evolution
came across a research lab full of FEV
and notes on it’s purpose. After mutating To organize and educate super mutants,
himself, he found the rapid changes to his ghouls, and potentially monsters
body made him better suited to live in the
wasteland, and came to the realization To improve upon pre-war technology
that humans were no longer meant to rule
the earth. He slowly began infecting his Member traits: Evolutionists wear standard
family and the settlements water supply wasteland garb, but soldiers usually
with the FEV. He spent most of his time in wear the Evolutionist experimental armor
the lab, modifying the virus and began to or Power armor.
gain followers from the town.
Ranks: Revolutionary Assisstant
With their support he began spread Minor Researcher
his message to supermutants and ghouls Major
that were shunned from human society due Commander
to their looks. He slowly began converting Strategist
human settlements through forced evolution
and set up schools for the super mutants
that came from them.

Now they have become more aggressive

with their tactics and small sects of
extremists are terrorizing many settlements.
 Wandering the wastes there are few
things that will make you think you’ve
taken a few too many rads than seeing
a Knight wearing armor made from caps.
These are the Knights of Nuka, Usually
selling finely crafted weapons to fuel
their expeditions to collect rare Sodas.
They sell these guns out of an old Nuka
Cola truck modified with sentry bot legs
instead of wheels to help with rough terrain.
In this “steed” they travel from settlement
to settlement trading their wares.
The KoN work out of a ruined bottling
plant and an ammunitions factory next door.
They use the machines and equipment to make
some of the best guns available in The Big
Dark. They have no interest in caps as
currency and instead trade their weapons
for unopened soda. They usually drink
standard Nuka Cola, but other drinks are
added to a giant stockpile in their base.
Home base: Boom Town
Leader: Round Council
Slogan: For the Love of Soda!
Goals:
To collect and preserve as many different
kinds of soda as possible.
To find the Fabled Hank’s Rootbeer hidden
in The Big Dark
To build the best weapons possible for the
people of the wastes
Member traits: Knights of Nuka are easily
distinguished by their welded plate armor
and their mail made from caps.
The Quantum Cavaliers wear modified t-51
power armor powered by quantum.

Their ultimate goal is to find a Ranks: Bottler

legendary soda that is renowned as being Cherry
transcendent in it’s flavor; Hank’s Root Knight of Nuka
Beer. Rumor has it that somewhere in The Quantum Cavalier
Big Dark there is a massive stockpile of Councilman
the stuff, and these over zealous soda
fans want it.
 The Listeners are a group of people Home base: Nerao
who’s ears are naturally tuned to hear
frequencies and volumes beyond the scope Leader: The Interpreter
of normal human hearing and the constant
exposure to radiation and traces of FEV Slogan: Listen Close
have only enhanced this ability.
Goals:
Their ability to pick up on the
slightest electrical signal makes many To commune with and learn the secrets of
of them pursue the tinkering and the stars
modification of pre-war technology, and
Listener communities are often packed To eventually find a message from god
with robots. speaking through the stars

The listeners live in and around Member traits: Listeners dress in

the National Radio Astronomy Observatory souveneir space garb from the NRAO
in Pocahontas County. At the heart of this gift shop and adorn themselves with
compound is a massive radio telescope scrapped electronics. When not on
pointed at the stars and left relatively the dish they usually carry energy
undamaged by the great war. Once per day weapons
Listeners climb up to the dish of the
telescope and listen to the incoming Ranks: Follower
radio waves from the stars. At the end of Interpreter
this meditation their leader, The
Interpreter, gives a sermon based on what
the stars “said”. Different people assume
the role of the Interpreter based on their
birthdate and the position of the moon, but
the Interpreter is treated like a single
enitity.
 S

After destroying the Institute and Home base: TelMo

uniting the commonwealth with an
overarching militia. The Minutemen set Leader: General Kennedy
their sights on the rest of the wasteland.
They traveled North to help the people of Slogan: Protect the people at a minute's
Far Harbor, and even cleared a place notice.
called Nuka World from a trio of raider
gangs. Recently they have been moving Goals:
South setting up and helping at any
settlements along the way. Focusing on To help people of the wasteland feed,
teaching farmers how to improve their and protect themselves.
yield and how to defend themselve from
the different monsters in the wastes. To organize and educate local militias

As they grew in size, the Minutmen To make the wasteland safer to travel
became too much for one General to handle. and live in.
Thus, they Divided into MM Coast, MM North,
and MM South. When setting the boundaries Member traits: Members of the Minutemen
each new divisionwas given a new general are mostly volunteers, coming from the
and declared a new capital. General Kennedy farms and towns of the Commonwealth.
took over the south snd led the Minutemen They give up their more peaceful lives of
into The Big Dark. farming in favor of traveling around the
region to "protect the people at a
Since then they have been setting up minute's notice."
guard stations and opening up trade routes
between the previously isolated cities in Ranks: Trooper
The Big Dark. Additionally using modified Heavy
fog condensers they have cleared the old Power
I-79 of the clouds so that anybody can Captain Ranger
travel directly through the state without Colonel
a gas mask. General
 The large factions are not the only groups with turf in The Big Dark. There are
many small organizations and tribes hidden away in the corners of the Wasteland. Here
are examples of the more unique ones:

Clown Town: Group of Super Mutants that have overtaken the ruins of Camden Park they
wear clown make up and their armor is made from the scraps of the rides.

Raider Gangs:

Fire Ants: Raiders in love with fire and burning things in general. They make a
ritual of strapping lit fireworks to themselves, thus they are usually covered in burn
scars. They control large portions of the Charleston area.

Henrys: Raiders that worship and wish to be as strong as John Henry. They hate robots
and power armor with a passion and will attack them on sight. Their Rivals are the
Nuts n Bolts, and they are constantly fighting for control of the Beckley area.

Nuts n Bolts: Raiders that collect and modify power armor and robots. They take refuge
in old Mines and like toying with the Henrys gang.

Troglobikes: Raiders wearing leather armor and lizard themed helmets; they ride through
the hollows on lawnmower engine powered bikes with spiked metal tails hanging off the
back. They claim to be the apex predator and travel through the woods hunting down
monsters as a pack and eating them raw at the spot. They have a fort set up in Matewan.

Papa Bear Brigade: Lead by the ferocious, Ripper wielding, Papa Bear, this group is known
to kidnap children and raise them as raiders. The soldiers wear masks made from stitched
together teddy bear parts, domesticate Centibears, and fill the forests of the east with
traps.

Fly Boys: These raiders utilize jet packs to bounce between rooftops and drop grenades on
their enemys below. This group uses the same equipment they use to fill their jet packs
to make the chem Silver. They are the most powerful raider group in the Huntington area
and are at constant war with Big Horn.
Settlements:

Pert: Medium settlement on the outskirts of Telmo. Known to attract creative types
these people live communally in old dormatory buildings.

Tommy Town: Hidden away behind the hills this small town is a tight knit group of
farmers that has the best Mut Fruit and longest life expectancy in the wastes.

Boom Town: Medium settlement built around the Knights of Nuka’s factory. Home to
many of it’s members and those wishing to cash in on the soda craze.

Newville: A settlement consisting of two families living on the opposite sides of

the ruined New River Gorge Bridge. They are only connected by a rickety rope bridge
their ancestors put between the two sides, and have been fighting over the same
subject for generations. Nobody remembers what it was about; they just know the
other wronged them. Despite this they trade water and food once a month using
a Mr. Handy and Mrs. Nanny to negotiate.

Shaknee: Taking over the old Lewisburg area this tribe claims to be going back to
their Native American roots, but have seemed to miss the mark. They dress and act
like hippies while using horribly offensive accents. Many have sought out to
educate them only to be viciously attacked for questioning their heritage.

Tutelo: Tribe that formerly controlled Lewisburg, but were forced out by the
Shaknee and eventually resettled in the ruins of Shepardstown. They too wish to
walk the paths of their Native American ancestors, but gain their inspiration
from non-fiction books found upon the rubble in libraries. They take this path
out of respect for nature rather than a reason to party.
 Not every organization is for everybody and some factions have a pure hatred for some
of the races. The relationship between each race and faction are as follows:

Humans: Humans can be found fighting each other in most of the The Big Dark’s
factions. Those seeking community and life beyond survival tend to venture to
the large Cities like Telmo, Gold Dome, or other settlements protected by the
Southern Minutemen. If they are looking for a more lawful group with a strong
set of goals they could join the Knights of Nuka or the Brotherhood Outcasts
on their respective crusades. A chaotic leaning character will probably find
more of a home at the Chem Heights or with the less hostile Raider groups.
The Enclave Remnant or listeners won’t accept new members but may be willing
to employ most Wastelanders. Most Raider Groups, Super Mutants,and Evolutionists
will attack on sight.

Ghouls: The Ever-looming Radioactive storm of the big dark has produced many
more ghouls than other parts of the wasteland making most of the Minutemen
settlers and the listeners accept them as long as they assimilate into the
culture. Most Raider groups freely recruit Ghouls and The Chem Heights actively
seek them out for employment and residency. Some Ghouls though, see their
changes as proof of superiority and join the Evolutionists and become radicals.
Most Raider Groups, Super Mutants, The Brotherhood Outcasts, and The Enclave
Remnant will attack on sight.

Synths: If a Synth remains a secret they fit into society just as any human
would. However should their identity be revealed word will spread and some
citizens will no longer accept them, the Brotherhood Outcasts will warn
them to stay away, while the Enclave Remnant will attack on sight.

Super Mutants: If not with a Human party member every faction but other Super
Mutants will attack on sight, and the Enclave and Brotherhood Outcasts will
shoot regardless. However, the Evolutionists welcome Super Mutants with open
arms and is the Main faction for Super Mutants in The Big Dark. However some
settlements are open to friendly Mutants as long as they put in the work like
anybody else.
 TelMo

I-79

Big Horn
I-79
Chem Heights
I-79

Gold Dome NeRAO

Ninety-Three

= Under MinuteMen control

Radio Stations: These are the two main radio stations players will find on their Pip-Boys.
The playlists can be found by going to youtube and looking up the stations name. You should
find a playlist by a user named AN EFFIN TIGER.

WCLG 1300 FM Megaton Tunes:

Genre:Oldies, traditional Fallout faire
DJ: R04-DJ9 Disc Jockey Protectron
Location: Unknown, signal is picked up all over the state from different sources.

WBYG 99.5 FM Run-Off Radio:

Genre: Classic country, blues, folk, and bluegrass.
DJ: Unknown
Location: Somewhere in the Point Pleasant area

Pre-War Mega Companies: Like any other area in the Fallout lore pre-war WV was plagued by
a select few mega companies that had a Monopoly area. Traditional fallout companies have
their presence as well but places like Red Rocket don’t appear until a couple miles outside
the TelMo area. The unique companies are as follows:

Biscuit Boys: Massive chains of breakfast fast food restauraunts known for their incredibly
greasy and addictive food. Coincidentally as the bombs dropped they were on trial for
adding addictive chems to the biscuit dough.

Scouts of America: National group of youth considered to be among the best in the country.
Many decades ago they switched their focus from outdoor recreation to even stronger
nationalism and post invasion survival. Teaching children the workings of assault weapons
and how to properly interrogate a communist Chinese soldier.

Homespun Tradition: Massive Coal company with ties to Poseidon Energy. They had their hand
in almost every part of the states politics and used propaganda to get young people to
believe in the “American Way” of throwing your life away working in a mine. They caused the
state to go into a financial crisis by completely automating their work force and leaving
millions out of a job.