The NCR-Raiders War is an ongoing conflict between the military forces of the New California Republic from New California and the wasteland's various raider tribes, focused around the West Coast of the former United States of America, appearing in multiple entries of the Fallout series.
Background[]
Shady Sands[]
Since the founding of the original town of Shady Sands by refugees from Vault 15 in 2098, its people had to face constant threats from not only the wild fauna inhabiting the wasteland like radscorpions but also threats from other groups, these being the tribes of raiders infesting the outer reaches of the surrounding landscape. At the time, the three greatest tribes were the Khans, the Vipers, and the Jackals.
Jackals[]
Descended from the refugees who left Vault 15 in 2097, the Jackals had no greater ambition than one thing: survival. Despite their reliance on group tactics to overwhelm their enemies, they never picked on bigger targets unless they believed they could achieve victory. By the 2160s, however, the tribe had been forced to flee to the fringes after their neighboring rivals, the Khans fought against them and won around three decades prior.[Non-game 1][1]
By 2281, the tribe was functionally eradicated, reduced to disparate, insubstantial groups of petty bandits and highwaymen scattered around the southern reaches of the Mojave Wasteland.[2]
Vipers[]
Similarly descended from the refugees who left Vault 15 in 2097, the 200-strong group separated from the others, led by Jonathan Faust, the tribe's founder, and traveled the desert until they came to an oasis surrounding a large pit. After Faust accidentally fell into the pit, which was full of pit vipers, the group fragmented further, some wandering off into the wasteland while others hunkered down near the pit, confused on whether to stay, try to join with the other groups from the Vault, or even return there.[Non-game 2] Faust eventually resurfaced, steeped in dark beliefs of the "True Way" that required sacrificing the "unworthy" to the pit's denizens, and started with those among his group that disagreed with him in following the Winding Way of the Great Snake.[Non-game 3]
The Vipers continued to prey on unwary wastelanders around New California for years until 2125, when they attempted a large-scale raid on the Hub, still in its formative years. Though it was a young settlement, the inhabitants led by Angus successfully repelled the Vipers' attack and forced the tribe to retreat further away to the north and east where they roamed the wastes for many more years, occasionally attacking caravans and smaller settlements when the opportunity arose.
The Vipers' crucial mistake came years later when, now led by High Priest Asp after Jonathan grew too old to lead, their aggressive slave raids and banditry garnered the attention of the Brotherhood of Steel, then led by Maxson II, father of John Maxson. Believing them to be mere savage fodder instead of a zealous desert cult, Maxson took a squad of trainees in power armor to put them down, only to end up being nicked by a poisoned arrow fired by the Vipers when he dropped his guard and removed his helmet. The death of their leader infuriated the Brotherhood, who retaliated in force on the order of Head Paladin Rhombus and decimated the Vipers, driving the few survivors into the mountains with most fleeing California entirely by 2162.[Non-game 4]
Although the Vipers ferociously clung to existence, they never again rose to the prominence they once had. Any warbands that tried to return west were driven off, often serving as target practice for talented Army officers.[1] By 2281, routinely brutalized by the NCR, they returned to being opportunistic, petty raiders who forgot their heritage, skulking in the mountains of the Mojave and ambushing merchant caravans to replenish their supplies.[2]
Khans[]
Another of the four groups to emerge from Vault 15 in 2098, the Khans were the only ones to maintain any substantial presence in New California, lasting longer than their rivals and former Vault neighbors, the Vipers and Jackals. The Khans specifically adopted the warrior lifestyle, taking to raiding settlements for loot and enslaving the survivors. Only four years after leaving the Vault, the Khans went up against the Jackals and soundly defeated them, pushing the group almost entirely out of California and crippling their strength for years to come. [Non-game 1]
Originally founded by a man known only as the Death-Hand around 2141, at some point before 2161, he was murdered and usurped by his son Garl Death-Hand who ruled the Khans with an iron fist.[3] Garl held lofty ambitions of the Khans ruling the wastelands all around, but they signed their own death warrant when, sometime around 2161, they made the mistake of kidnapping Tandi, daughter of Shady Sands' then-leader Aradesh. Fearing for his daughter's life, Aradesh asked for the help of the Vault Dweller. The man from Vault 13 later entered the Khans' settlement and slaughtered the tribe to rescue Tandi, with the peace resulting afterwards contributing to their eventual founding of the New California Republic itself[4] However, the extermination was not complete. Darion, son of Garl Death-Hand, escaped the Vault Dweller's wrath. The lone survivor would go on to slowly reform the Khans, suffering from survivor's guilt and planning his revenge against Tandi, leading to the rise of the New Khans.[Non-game 5]
New California Republic[]
With the passage of time, the lonely town of Shady Sands grew into the heart of a powerful nation: the New California Republic. However, despite their upward development and expanding the borders of their territories across the former West Coast, untamed and fiercely independent groups in the wasteland continued to hound them: the New Khans, the Great Khans, and the Fiends.
New Khans[]
Born from the ashes of the Shady Sanders' original enemies, the New Khans, following their predecessors' destruction at the hands of the Vault Dweller,[5] were led by the sole remaining Khan by blood, Darion, son of Garl Death-Hand,[Non-game 6] who swore revenge on those who had wronged the Khans.[6]
In his paranoid obsessive mission to destroy the fledgling NCR and its leader Tandi, Darion led his New Khans, composed largely of mercenaries that were Khans in name only, to take over the remains of Vault 15 sometime before 2241, as well as accruing a large number of unaffiliated vagrants to act as humans shields against NCR opposition with the promise that he would bring the ancient fallout shelter back to full functionality; a lofty, but empty promise as the New Khans never managed to restore the Vault during their occupation.[7] Through deceptive tactics such as frequently raiding Republic caravans to impress the image of a functioning stronghold,[8] and even managing to have a spy within the Congressional body of the NCR itself,[9] Darion's campaign of vengeance was in full swing.
However, like the Khans before them, the New Khans' greatest threat came in the form of a wandering hero, and in the greatest of ironies, it was the Chosen One, grandchild of the Vault Dweller who slaughtered the Khans before them, that sealed their fate. Hired by President Tandi to retrieve valuable technological components from within the Vault, the Chosen One managed to broker peace between the vagrant masses and the Republic, and when given the option, slew Darion and his New Khans, ending the dream of a wasteland under the Khans' banner for good.[10]
Great Khans[]
Despite the death of Darion ending the bloodline that started decades prior in Vault 15, the name of the Khans did not die with him, for although his war band of mercenaries led the New Khans, they were not its only members. For decades after the fall of the New Khans, the rest were scattered and aimless, living only for survival, but their renowned robustness, both in body and spirit, led to them gradually coalescing back into a single unified group. No longer small raiding bands, this time, the newly-renamed "Great" Khans became a unified tribe once more under the leadership of Papa Khan, who led an exodus into the Mojave Wasteland, abandoning New California in 2267.[11][12] A period of interaction with the Followers of the Apocalypse already present in the Mojave led the Great Khans to becoming educated in chemistry, reading, and writing; the Followers hoped the nomadic tribe would use their knowledge to better themselves and the wasteland they inhabited, but the Great Khans instead turned their lessons into a profitable drug running racket[13][14] that eventually developed connections to other groups in the Mojave, most notably the hyperviolent raiders known as the Fiends who themselves became actively involved enemies of the NCR.[15]
After a time living in the ruined city of Las Vegas fighting with other disparate groups of scavengers and raiders until the re-emergence of Robert House in 2274 and the founding of the Three Families that led to the creation of New Vegas and the subsequent eviction of all unaffiliated groups, followed by a brief spell in North Vegas, the Great Khans eventually were pushed out far east of the city limits where they settled at their new home of Bitter Springs.[12][16] When the NCR's eastward expansion finally crossed over the Sierra Nevadas, the Great Khans saw fit to continue the "tradition" of raiding Republic caravans, towns, and camps, unwilling to believe they were any stronger than in the days of the New Khans.[17] But circumstances changed in 2278, around a year after the NCR's victories against both the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel during Operation: Sunburst and Caesar's Legion at the First Battle of Hoover Dam. After Great Khan raids resulted in the deaths of four NCR troopers,[Non-game 7] a call to action was made and the Republic sent into Army forces backed by First Recon sharpshooters to deal a crippling blow to the Great Khans at Bitter Springs. The attack on the settlement led to the deaths of many civilian members of the Great Khans, and it became known as the Bitter Springs Massacre, deepening the animosity between both groups for years after.[18][19]
Those Great Khans who survived Bitter Springs were permitted by NCR military authorities to resettle at Red Rock Canyon without interference.[20] Easy access to narcotics has also led to many Great Khans becoming addicts, trying to cope with the trauma of Bitter Springs through alcohol and hard drugs. Red Rock Canyon, already desolate before their arrival, became little more than a drug den filled with the stench of alcohol and drug fumes, where it could be said even the flies buzzing around are hopped up on one drug or another. The steady stream of narcotics turned dozens of villages out west into junkie dens, on top of the chaos caused by the Khans' best customers, the Fiends.[21][22] Such an existence was understandably intolerable to many, most importantly Papa Khan himself, who longed to see his tribe's legacy of greatness restored before the end. This desperation was exploited by Caesar upon the Legion's return to the Mojave. He sent a frumentarius, Karl to act as ambassador to the Khans under the guise of seeking great warriors to aid his own[23] in exchange for promises of land, wealth, and revenge against the NCR.[24] Papa Khan's hatred of the NCR led him to agree to the alliance almost instantly,[25] declaring that the Khans would march to assist Caesar when the time came.[26] Karl made many appeasements to Papa Khan's advisers, giving promises of holding positions of power within the Legion.[27][28] while in truth, the Legion never intended to keep any of their promises made, considering the Khans merely another tribe to conquer and assimilate into their ranks as they had done to the tribes of Arizona in the past. Papa Khan remained oblivious to this, knowing of no alternative way to move his people forward; they are dying out and every day brings their enemies closer to launching a strike against them. The dream of becoming Caesar's elite cohorts as a vehicle towards the destruction of the NCR proves too tempting, making the Khans blind to the reality of what joining the Legion really entails.
Fiends[]
Though the Fiends' origins are unknown, Motor-Runner has been their leader for at least many years prior to 2281. By the early 2280s, the hyperviolent chem-fueled tribe of savage raiders had taken over much of the southwestern ruins of Vegas, with the epicenter of their plaguing presence concentrated in Vault 3 after they had massacred the previous inhabiting population of Vault dwellers.[Non-game 8]
Despite being considered a clear threat due to their unpredictability and chem addiction/insanity, to the point of having high-value bounties put on their leaders' heads, the NCR was unable to take direct action against the Fiends due to the restriction of issued orders from Republic top brass to hold the line around their military headquarters in Camp McCarran, along with the security of the Vault providing a fallback point to the Fiends if they were to retaliate.[29]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Courier: "Colonel Moore's "way"?"
Hanlon: "The colonel is an effective commander - one of the best - but she sharpened her claws on the Vipers and the old Jackals. Did four tours against the Brotherhood, too. She used to be ranger until an injury took her out of action. Happens to a lot of us, unfortunately. She's better at making graves than making friends. Bring in Moore and the earth will be razed. Fields will be salted."
(Hanlon's dialogue) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fallout: New Vegas loading screens: "Brutalized by the NCR, the once-legendary Vipers and Jackals gangs have become little more than opportunistic, petty raiders."
- ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{118}{}{I should have killed you when you were a child.}"
Garl Death-Hand: "{119}{}{You should have. Now it's too late. I am Garl Death-Hand. I rule the Khans. You should be dead in your grave, and you will be again!}"
(Garl Death-Hand's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout ending: "In Shady Sands, Tandi helps her father Aradesh bring a new community and new life out of the broken remains of the world. They are responsible for the New California Republic, whose ideals spread across the land."
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{132}{}{What can you tell me about Darion?}"
Doc Jones: "{148}{}{Darion is a mental case, plain and simple. He's got more spooks in his head than his dog has fleas. As far as I can figure it, he was a member of another gang called the Khans. They kidnapped this girl, Tandi, and held her for ransom. Her father didn't take kindly to that, and hired some merc to get her back. Darion was the only one to come out alive.}"
(Bcjones.msg) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{132}{}{What can you tell me about Darion?}"
Jones:"{168}{}{Now he's paranoid. He believes that Tandi is out to get him. He's obsessed with revenge, and he wants Tandi dead. He's riddled with guilt 'cause he hid and lived, rather than dying with his gang... and the list goes on and on.}"
(Bcjones.msg) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{149}{}{Tell me about the Vault.}"
Rebecca: "{209}{}{You know, it's kind of funny that they managed to get something that complex fixed, but not the lights. The damn place is lit by torches. Anyway, Darion doesn't want anyone to know what's going on with the Vault. He's afraid that someone will take it all away from us if they find out. So, we're told to drive off anyone who shows up here -- especially the NCR.}"
(Bcrebecc.msg) - ↑ The Chosen One:{117}{}{I'd like to know who you are and what is going on here.}"
Chrissy: "{120}{}{In a nutshell, my name is Chrissy and I'm from the Squat. I was out exploring last week when I found that entrance out there. I thought it might be an abandoned mine or something, so I decided to check it out. Well, it's not a mine; it's a secret entrance into Vault 15. The Vault is being used as a base for a band of raiders called the Khans. They caught me snooping around and their leader, Darion, had me locked up in here.}"
"{135}{}{The people of the Squat are protecting these guys by helping them keep the Vault a secret, but they don't know what's really going on here. Darion told us that the Vault was being repaired so we could have a safe place to live with lots of food and water, but it's all a lie. I've been in there and looked around. The Vault is dead, and the food and water machines don't work. Our food and water's been coming from the spoils of raids against caravans.}"
"{136}{}{Look, I've got to go home and warn everyone about what's really going on here. We can't help these monsters. Will you take me home?}"
(Bccrissy.msg) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{261}{}{I'm afraid you have another problem. If you'll look at this holodisk you'll see that you have a spy in the NCR.}"
Tandi: "{264}{tand35}{Damn, the only person who knew all this was Feargus! I'm not suggesting anything, but maybe Gunther should know about this.}"
(Shtandi.msg) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{139}{}{Would you consider making a deal with NCR?}"
Zeke: "{140}{}{That all depends. What did you have in mind?}"
The Chosen One: "{142}{}{Join NCR, let them annex your territory, and give them access to the Vault. In return, they can teach you all the skills you need to survive on your own and offer you their protection.}"
Zeke: "{143}{}{Not bad... I like it. You've got yourself a deal if you can get NCR to agree to it as well. But... Look, someone has to take care of Darion and his cronies. It should be done now before they realize what has happened and have time to prepare for an attack. Why not get this over with and take Darion out now? You'll have the element of surprise on your side.}"
(Bczeke.msg) - ↑ The Courier: "Tell me about Papa Khan."
Regis: "Papa is one of the best leaders the Khans have ever had. He's kept us together through all of our hardships, ever since we left California. Bitter Springs changed him, though. He started to really hate the NCR after the Massacre, and sometimes I worry that's poisoned his mind."
(Regis' dialogue) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Courier: "Maybe you could give me the short version."
Papa Khan: "In a hurry, are you? Very well then: The Great Khans came east out of the NCR 14 years ago. We ruled the Wastes, then, and called no man master. But we underestimated the Families of the Strip, and they drove us back to Bitter Springs, where we remained until the NCR arrived and drove us here."
(Papa Khan's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "I'm looking for something that could inspire the Great Khans. Know of anything like that?"
Julie Farkas: "The Great Khans? Oh, you mean those raiders that used to clash with the Vegas tribes? Yes, some years back we taught them reading, writing, basic science - we hoped they would use it to make medical supplies, but they turned to drugs. I was never much involved in the cultural side of that project, but Ezekiel was."
(Julie Farkas' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "How'd you get into this business?"
Jack: "Guess I just had a natural talent for it. When I was a kid, these cats called the Followers of the Apocalypse came to our camp. They knew all kinds of kooky scientastical stuff, so I ate up all the chemistry they could teach. Diane had the head for business, so we teamed up."
(Jack's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What can you tell me about the Great Khans?"
Dhatri: "We know they supply the Fiends with illegal chems, but they never stick around in NCR territory for long. They know the land, and move quick. There's talk from time to time about taking out their base at Red Rock Canyon, but nothing ever comes of it. The Great Khans are tough fighters. If we ever did go up against them on their home turf, we'd win, but casualties would be high."
(Dhatri's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "How did the Three Families defeat you?"
Papa Khan: "They allied with Mr. House, the self-proclaimed master of New Vegas. He supported them with the resources of New Vegas: weapons, technology, caps. They were better equipped, and we could not stand against them."
(Papa Khan's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What happened at Bitter Springs?"
Papa Khan: "When the NCR came to the Mojave, we thought they would be easy pickings. We raided their caravans, their towns, their camps - they couldn't stop us. At least, that's what we thought. They tracked us to Bitter Springs and surrounded us. When our children, our sick and old, fled through a nearby pass, the NCR gunned them down."
(Papa Khan's dialogue) - ↑ Boone: " Canyon 37. That's what the NCR calls the pass down there. It was the Khans' only escape, so we set up here to guard it while the main force attacked from the front. Standing orders were to shoot on sight."
(Craig Boone's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "It was a Great Khan named Oscar Velasco. His family was killed by the NCR, and he wanted revenge."
Gilles: "Ah. I should have expected as much. There's still a lot of bad blood between the Khans and the NCR, ever since the incident here."
The Courier: "What incident?"
Gilles: "About three years ago, this canyon was the main encampment for the Great Khans. NCR's 1st Recon tracked them here after a raid and made an attack. There was a communication mix-up that resulted in some noncombatants being killed. It was a tragic mistake, but we've done all we can to make amends."
(Gilles' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Like what? It looks to me like the NCR ran the Khans out of Bitter Springs altogether."
Gilles: "We provided medical aid to the wounded - all the wounded - and permitted the Khans to resettle at Red Rock Canyon."
(Gilles' dialogue) - ↑ Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "These boys and girls can really down the bottles."
"Whiskey and liquor don't last long around here, by the sight of it."
"Wonder if any of these folks would be up for shots of courage - and a wager."
"Be *really* careful what you say here."
"Should have heard stories of the Khans years ago - they were one tough bunch, now..."
"Khans lost their strength after Bitter Springs, came here to lick their wounds."
"Let's not split up here, all right?"
"Don't take any chems here - hell knows what they're laced with."
"Won't trade with Khans - they've poisoned most of the villages west of Vegas with chems."
"Fiends would suffer withdrawal and die without the Khans."
"Place would be beautiful... without the chem addicts and dealers."
"Even the flies here are chemed."
"God, you can smell the Brahmin shit from the jet all over this place."
(Rose of Sharon Cassidy's dialogue) VCassLocationRedRock - ↑ The Courier: "Who do you sell to?"
Diane: "We make regular shipments to a lot of settlements around the Mojave - a lot of our business comes from the Fiends lately. Personally, I think they're kind of creepy, but Papa likes the fact that they get hopped up on Psycho and harass NCR patrols."
(Diane's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What does the Legion want with the Great Khans?"
Karl: "Though they have been cruelly oppressed by the NCR, the Khans remain great warriors. The Legion is honored to have such allies in battle."
(Karl's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What's your role in Caesar's Legion?"
Karl: "I am one of the frumentarii: it is my duty to scout the Wastes in Caesar's name and make contact with any tribes that might serve a useful purpose. You might say I'm somewhere between a scout and an ambassador. I'm assigned here as part of the alliance between the Legion and the Great Khans."
(Karl's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Caesar is only using you, he doesn't actually care about the Great Khans."
Papa Khan: "Doesn't he? Caesar's representative tells a different tale. The glory of the Great Khans will be restored, and once the NCR is pushed back to California, all the land from here to the Colorado will be ours. I won't hear any more talk against Caesar or his alliance. The Great Khans will answer Caesar's call to war, and the NCR will pay for their crimes."
The Courier: "Do you really think Caesar is going to restore your tribe to glory? You'll be made slaves."
Papa Khan: "Hah! The Great Khans will not be slaves. Caesar himself has promised us the land from here to the Colorado and the freedom to raid as we see fit. I won't hear any more talk against Caesar or his alliance. The Great Khans will answer Caesar's call to war, and the NCR will pay for their crimes."
(Papa Khan's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Who are you?"
Karl: "My name is Karl. Glorious Caesar has sent me as an emissary to the Great Khans as a token of our alliance."
The Courier: "What alliance?"
Karl: "In exchange for great Caesar's promise of all the lands west of New Vegas, the Khans have agreed to fight alongside the Legion when the time comes."
(Karl's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What about Melissa?"
Regis: "Ah, Melissa. She's a bit of a dreamer. Last time she was in camp, Karl filled her head with stories of serving the Legion as a speculatore. Personally, I've never seen a woman in Legionaire's armor, so I have my doubts."
(Regis' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Regis says I should talk to you about speaking against the Great Khans' alliance with Caesar."
Melissa Lewis: "You can ask, but why would I do that? Karl's told me all about life in the Legion! He says I've got all the makings of a speculatore."
The Courier: "Did he also tell you women aren't permitted to serve in the Legion?"
Melissa Lewis: "What? No, he... what do you mean, aren't allowed to serve? Why would he lie about that?"
The Courier: "If the Great Khans join the Legion, you'll be sold as a slave. An officer's wife, if you're lucky."
Melissa Lewis: "That lying little weasel! I almost fell for it, too! All right, you've got a deal. You can tell Papa I won't support an alliance."
(Melissa Lewis' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Are there more dangerous posts?"
Ortega: "Oh, you'd better believe it. I feel sorry for the troops who are charged with keeping the Fiends from overrunning everything. The Fiends are scary because they're unpredictable. One day, they'll be taking potshots at you and then running off before you can shoot back. And the next day, they'll come rushing at you pumped full of drugs and not stopping until you or they are dead."
The Courier: "If the Fiends are so dangerous, why hasn't the NCR wiped them out?"
Ortega: "Current orders are to hold the line and nothing more. That's all we seem to do these days - hold the line. I guess it's a tricky situation since there's a vault in Fiend territory. If the NCR went after them, they'd just hole up."
(Ortega's dialogue)
Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fallout Bible 6 - Raiders in general: "The Jackals: The first clan, the Jackals, is your typical group of crazies. They have no morals except one: survival. They use group tactics to overmatch their enemies. They are craven cowards, though, and will not attack unless they know they can win. They band together in their hideaway and fight over the spoils."
[...]
"All of these raider groups officially exist in the Fallout universe, though only the Khans are in southern California at the start of Fallout 1. The handful of Vipers that survived Rhombus' campaign of extermination in 2155 fled North and East, following the same path the Jackals took after they had their asses handed to them by the Khans thirty years before." - ↑ Fallout Bible 6 - The Vipers: "64 years ago, a man named Jonathan Faust led his group of about 200 people from the overcrowded Vault into the wastes of the outside. It was there that his small band came to a small oasis in the middle of the desert. In the middle of this oasis was a large pit, almost like a crater. While resting and setting up camp, Faust decided to look into the pit. Darkness greeted him.
When a member of the band called out to him, Faust turned, startled, and slipped into the Pit. He slid down twenty feet and then fell another 20 and broke his leg in the process. As he lay there dazed, a half dozen gigantic Pit Vipers slithered toward him. Not knowing what these things were, Faust was terrified. The group above heard one loud scream and then nothing. Three others went to look for him, but never came out.
The small band, leaderless and stuck in the desert with no food and water, decided to stay at the oasis, at least for a little while. They covered the pit with a tarp and nailed spikes around it to keep whatever horror lived there encased there. They then set up their camp as far from the Pit as possible. Whatever was down in the Pit never bothered them. Days passed. The more influential of the group argued about what they were to do. There was talk of joining up with others from the Vault. There was talk about going back to the Vault." - ↑ Fallout Bible 6: "During these four days, almost ¼ of the group was either dying or already dead. Those who survived the radiation poisoning were too weak to travel, while those who survived either left or stayed and helped defend the little settlement against the desert creatures.
Finally, after a week, the remaining members of the group decided to move on. They started to pack their belongings when an almost spectral figure emerged from the shadows. It was Faust, except this was not the strong leader they remembered. He was wan, pale, and emaciated, and there was a feverish gleam in his eyes. He told them that when he was down in the pit, a god visited him and told him the True Way. They would make sacrifices to the Gods of the Pit, and wealth and happiness would be theirs.
Of course, everyone was skeptical. Some were even violently rebellious, saying that Faust was crazy. After Faust patiently listened to them, he then whistled, and from behind him, came two very large Pit Vipers. Without warning, they struck. They attacked everyone in the group, including Faust, but he just laughed as they bit his flesh.
As the sun rose the next day, the two snakes lay dead by Faust's hands. Half of his people were dead, the other half were on the brink of death as the Pit Venom started to sink into their systems. By that afternoon most would be dead, but the forty or so survivors of the venom were half crazy with the aftereffects of the venom. Faust, himself immune to the venom, helped the remaining few through this time, which has come to be known as the Great Awakening. He whispered things to them, told them how the Great Snake has spared their lives, so that they would fight for His mighty cause.
And thus the Viper clan was born. They decided to make the Pit their Shrine, and to go out into the wastes and take what they needed from those blasphemers that did not follow the Winding Way of the Great Snake." - ↑ Fallout Bible 6, The Vipers: [...] "The Vipers left Southern California after two incidents:
1. Defeat at the Hub in 2125: Their failed attempt to raid the Hub during the Hub's formative years, stopped almost solely by Angus, the founder of the Hub. Angus' defense caused the Vipers to retreat north, and they roamed the wastes for many, many years, occasionally attacking caravans and small settlements. Around the early 2150s, however, the Vipers had grown to their former strength from captured slaves and caravan drivers and had begun to establish a power base in the badlands to the North of the Hub (and south of the Lost Hills Bunker). Driven by a religious frenzy (and the need to provide for their much larger numbers of soldiers and disciples), they began raiding more frequently than before, attracting the attention of the Brotherhood of Steel. The Brotherhood sent out a few squads of scouts to track the raiders down - it was more of a training exercise conducted by John Maxson's father, as the Brotherhood was convinced that small detachment of troops in Power Armor would be sufficient to deal with a group of raiders, no matter how large.
2. Near Extermination by the Brotherhood of Steel in 2155: One Brotherhood squad found the Vipers, and during the firefight, John Maxson's father (who was leading the squad) was killed with a poisoned arrow. The response from the Brotherhood was immediate. The Paladins, now led by Rhombus, began a full scale campaign against the Vipers, tracking them down and wiping out almost all of their members within the span of a month. A handful of Vipers were able to flee north and east into the mountain range, but they were never heard from again. During the campaign, the Brotherhood sent a few scouts and emissaries to the Hub to track down Vipers members, and from these beginnings, the Hub and the Brotherhood began full trade relations (caravans had delivered to the Brotherhood before, but not long after the destruction of the Vipers, caravan trains ran directly from the Hub to the Brotherhood on a regular basis). So some good did come out of the Vipers' presence in the wastes, for what it's worth. [...]" - ↑ Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets p.201-202: "10. Doc Jones. The good doctor here in the medical bay (see Figure 10.9) is a prisoner of the gang. From him, you can find out that this gang of Raiders is none other than the descendants of the Khans, the Raiders who kidnapped Tandi in Fallout 1. Darion, the leader of the reborn Khans, is the son of Garl and would like to destroy Tandi for the havoc she, and your ancestor the Vault Dweller, visited upon his father's band of Raiders. After you learn of that from the doc, he'll heal you if you need it, as long as you haven't hurt any of the squatters (#1)."
- ↑ Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets pp.201-202: "10. Doc Jones. The good doctor here in the medical bay (see Figure 10.9) is a prisoner of the gang. From him, you can find out that this gang of Raiders is none other than the descendants of the Khans, the Raiders who kidnapped Tandi in Fallout 1. Darion, the leader of the reborn Khans, is the son of Garl and would like to destroy Tandi for the havoc she, and your ancestor the Vault Dweller, visited upon his father's band of Raiders. After you learn of that from the doc, he'll heal you if you need it, as long as you haven't hurt any of the squatters (#1)."
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.458: "2278 Following the abduction and killing of four soldiers, NCR troops assault the Great Khans' settlement at Red Rock Canyon and massacre several dozen men, women, and children. This event goes unreported in NCR press."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide; Behind the Bright Lights & Big City) Note: The Guide states that Red Rock Canyon, rather than Bitter Springs, was attacked by the NCR. - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.44: "Raider: Fiends": "Vault 3 was once an ordinary, happy vault. Unfortunately, it—and the entire southwestern part of the New Vegas conurbation—has been taken over by a large force of Raiders calling themselves the Fiends. They are unexceptional in every way, but there are a slew of them. The vault itself is wide-open, practically being a feral den for the Fiends and their huge packs of dogs. Whether it is murder, rape, or shooting innocents for sport, the Fiends are more than happy to bring their anarchy to this area, which has become a source of growing concern for the NCR. The Fiends are erratic and dangerous; their mental stability isn't helped by the fact that they are almost constantly high on chems, most of which are provided by the Great Khans."