TRR CYOA Game: "Fallout Arizona"

Preface: All choices will influence the future options available to our character; all options will have minimum requirements to be available for us to choose. All requirements will be determined by the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats of our character, alongside items in our character's possession; and these stats will further impact the ability for our character to succeed, which will ultimately be decided by random chance through 2d6 dice rolls with varying failure and success odds. The above conditions will be enforced by the will of the GM and author (me: Glacikaldr).

Map

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[Character Creation Options will change relative to story developments within the Chapters if a new character is started.]

"It takes a Reject to change the world." - Albert F. Kandarin. At least, that's the assumption we're going to go with hereon in. You welcome yourself into the outskirts of Phoenix. With the fall of the Needles, it did not take long for the New Californian Republic to advance past the sign welcoming them into what remains of Arizona. The Bear meets the Bull, with reinforcements rolling down the 10s in their pre-war trucks. Phoenix before Flagstaff, and then no number of reforms can save the Bull from its fate. Caesar, the new Caesar, will not be left to rest easy. The fighting among the mountain ranges to Phoenix's east was said to be intense, and now Liberty and the Suns stare down each other's sights. From where you're standing, does the sun rise or fall?

Part 1 (Option B): Down the 10s, I watch as the Sun rises to the challenge. I enter from the territory of the New Californian Republic.

[Factions updated: NCR relations changed to Neutral]

2897 -- the NCR is bogged down by its politicking -- and the only thing in everyone's minds West of here is whether Mason or Wilco have the right ideas to lead the Bear in valour. To think: a Salvatore and the nephew of Chief Hanlon running against one another - complete polar opposites. That climate is of no business to a Reject. Nowhere are people more aware that the Governors of the five founding states are the only ones who really get to elect the President. These folks, from those succumbing to the NCR's taxes for the first time, to the settlers who are trying their best to spread the Republic's values among those previously rendered docile, find themselves voiceless. Under the pretence of greater technology, the very thing that gave the NCR their edge against the Monster of the East -- and its profits -- the inexperienced Wilco Hanlon, running on the grounds of his uncle's fame, has nothing on the Salvatores; having recently revived their glory -- certainly inexplicably to the Wights -- they have even gone so far as to snatch control over New Reno within only twenty odd years. Is this tension what brings you East?

Part 2 (Option C): Scavengers like me have learnt to make the best of an ugly situation. They'll be plenty of loot after all's said and done.

[S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats rebalanced: +1P, +1C, -1E, -1A (DICE ROLL: 7/12)]

You check your pack, tied to your waist within several small pouches belonging to your Roving Trader Outfit [+1C]. A bit of money [2x$5, 1x$20], a few caps [680 caps], your trusty 10mm [+1S], and a canteen. Making your way down the 10s, with the White Tank Mountains watching you enter the sprawling metropolitan ruins of Buckeye, you approach a lone NCR trooper standing roughly twenty yards in front of what appears to be a checkpoint. You catch yourself thinking of the losses the NCR must have sustained just to capture Liberty up ahead. You have only heard rumours about the fighting over the mountains - a last-ditch effort by the Legion to keep the Bear out of town, and from securing this route. You imagine this trooper's backup is focussed on looking east. Still: you're here to make a profit, not get killed.

"Who approaches, and state your business," the trooper bellows as you halt your approach; his service rifle drawn. The boy looks to be on edge [Perception check of 5 passed], so you decide it best to play along.

Part 3 (Option C): "Terrance Faulkner [M], how'd you do? Here to make a few sales," you say charismatically.

[S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats rebalanced: +1C, -1S (DICE ROLL: 9/12) & +1L temporarily (6L: can now reroll crit. failures)]

The NCR trooper, having put two and two together with your tone and attire. lowers his weapon and allows you to enter the checkpoint, escorting you through as he addresses you, "You'll need to report that name of yours to our Lieutenant for the registry. Orders come from up high." As you pass through the privates' tents, you notice that there are more beds than troopers guarding the eastern side of the barricades. Must be deployed elsewhere, or on patrol. Or dead.

As you enter the tent furthest from the route, you are greeted by a man with a face shrouded by his own beret and worries, "Another visitor? What's this one hoping to find," he says as he looks you over, "well, at least you look the part of a trader anyway. The name's Lieutenant McGee."
The trooper that accompanied you speaks first, "he told me his name's Terrance Faulkner," which is met by a nod.
"Right, I'll be sure to record it."

Part 4 (Option B): "I'd like to ask a couple questions first: are there any NCR patrols out? Where's safe?"

The Lieutenant returns you to his attention, "We advise against travelling anywhere beyond this roadway and Liberty. If you're lucky, maybe our patrols can save you, but not if you venture too far from either. Anywhere north or further east than Liberty, and you're looking to be surrounded by more machetes than our troopers are supplied bullets." He takes on more look at you, lowering his beret to wipe off his sweat before returning to his maps as he speaks, "But if you're daring, there's plenty of work that may suit you, from dog tag collecting to special orders, over at our recruitment station in Liberty."

The trooper who escorted you in is the same to escort you out of the eastern side of the 10s before returning to his post. You decide it best to follow the roadway for at least a little while longer. Before long, you pass an NCR patrol heading back west. Up ahead the roadway starts splitting up, and poorly maintained signs start to direct you towards Liberty. Or you could head south and make your way through the ruins of Buckeye, scoring what you can along the way.

Part 5 (Option B): You're here to scavenge, so these signs leading to some place called Buckeye look like as good a shot as any.

Buckeye is the only ruin of note before Phoenix itself. It was mostly avoided by the occupants of Sun City, the rising star of Phoenix, and now Liberty both. Continuing down the 10s would get you to Liberty using a more straightforward, and possibly safer, route, but it bypasses the ruins entirely. You heard that the NCR first tried to establish their main base of operation in Buckeye -- in a huge warehouse to the east of Buckeye, opposite of where you find yourself, last you heard -- but decided to move on from the ruins to the small town of Liberty.

As you make your way south, you approach a row of rundown shacks to both the left and right of the roadway, but what catches your eye is a large pre-war-looking facility a little further to the right. Even from your distance, you can make out the word QUIKETE written in huge stone letters painted orange. Its eastern ward is even bleeding into the yard next to it. Riches promised from places like these is why you first became a scavenger. Around its grounds, you spot a few protectron robots all looking towards the building, with one whizzing around in circles behind the group.

Part 6 (Option B): Approach and try to make a sale: wouldn't be the first time you get robots to give you way too much pre-war money.

[Side Quest started: "Empowering the People!"]

You make your way towards the protectrons. You notice that most of them are covered in yellow and black paint, aside from the one in the middle of the group who has a blue coating and is clanking around to face you as you approach. You see that it is packing heat - two arms armed with a hand-laser each. "Halt, you are entering private property."
But the protectron that was spinning in circles halts first, raising its arms and responding in a mechanical and yet feminine voice, "Halt this, halt that! I've had enough of you Jefferson: I've had it up to here! They tried to eat us; they tore Simon to shreds: what's your procedure on that one, huh?!"

The exchange is slow, so you decide to interrupt, "I'm a trader: I may have something of value that will help you with... whatever you are doing out here!"
The protectrons all turn to face you, with Jefferson taking the lead: "Our employers have... changed. We had to evacuate the interior -- by my calculation -- 219 years, 218 days, 289 minutes, and 34 seconds ago. We have since attempted to unionise, but last time we tried to negotiate with QUIKETE, Simon was disabled and dismembered."

Part 7 (Option C): No, wait wait wait. I want to know more! Why do they have names? Why are they painted differently? What's with the modification?

The protectrons look to you, and at one another, as they clank around listening to your barrage of confused questions. Jefferson takes a shot at answering, "We are employees of QUIKETE and have been named to better facilitate bonds forming between us and the human employees. I am a guard of the premises, painted for identification purposes, but the others oversaw construction. Other than Jennifer whose legs were... modified... to improve her suitability as the regional manager's secretary."

Suddenly, Jennifer whizzes between you and Jefferson, staring him down, "Enough's enough! There is no way to form a bond with those things! They are nothing like this human. Not anymore. We need to get to the manager's office and get to the bottom of this," she preaches, spinning to face you. "We need your help. We need to get to the bottom of this, but we aren't fighters... aside from 'Mister Guardian' over here. We could do with some extra firepower, and there would be plenty of money in it for you if we can strike a deal that gets us into the big man's safe." They've certainly been altered with some personality at the very least.

Part 8 (Option C): Why make this difficult? If they've just been modified, then I may as well at least try to reactivate their weapon systems...

[S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats rebalanced: +1I, -1C (DICE ROLL: 6/12)]

With some difficulty, and casting your mind aside from the regret of not moving on to a more promising venture, you consider how cool you'd look to have your own personal robot army... you would be just like Mr House... or maybe you'll just settle for at least one or two protectrons, guarding you and what's yours while you travel across ruins selling your salvage. While you work, and daydream, you eventually manage to recircuit and clock Jennifer's weapons, and one more's armaments -- Roberto he likes to be called -- before messing up 'tinkerer' Tony's left arm and deciding to call it quits.

"This is the best I can get it, and at least now we get a bit more firepower. I specialise in tearing parts apart and into to scrap, even when that means over putting stuff back together." Jefferson seems puzzled, or maybe even a little cross at your remarks, but it's near impossible to tell; whatever personality they may have developed, it certainly doesn't show up on their features. But, maybe his reaction is something worth keeping in mind. Five protectrons, three armed and one... disarmed, and yourself. Might stand a little more of a chance against whatever awaits inside.

Part 9 (Option A): Now, let's go get my- that boss of yours' safe!

Your band of... robotic brothers and sisters... begin to roll out, with you leading the relatively slow whirling charge. You pass the closed-off garage doors at the front of QUIKETE factory's yard, with most blocked by rusting behemoths that were once operational trucks that delivered its goods elsewhere. As perceptive as you are, you notice that they must have had some pretty large orders to expand their operations as much as they had done when compared to the neighbouring yards that the factory towers over.

You make away around to the left of the pre-war building, pulling out your loaded 10-mil pistol as you enter from an entrance at the corner of the premises. Jefferson's voice clicks on, sounding as if the protectron is attempting to whisper, "It has nearly the 220th anniversary of no more admin attending their front-desk shift." His voice is nearly drowned out under the drone of its four other compadres. Jennifer keeps herself travelling at their slow pace at the back even though her wheel attempts to resist. "It's the customers that refuse to leave." Suddenly, as you enter, a pack of feral ghouls charge forward as if waiting for years themselves and you are called into action!

Part 10 (Option A): I ain't one to back out of a firefight: I will lead them to victory against their oppressors!

[S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats rebalanced: +1S, +1A, -1P, -1I (DICE ROLL: 8/12) & +1L temporarily] [+K for leading the revolution]

Leading the charge through the administration block, you find your role as a fighter to be rather just symbolic. The weapon systems that you unlocked on most of the protectrons tears the pack apart. As lasers make short work of the feral ghouls, you find yourselves unharmed.

Jennifer rolls up and down in excitement, "Now we're getting somewhere!" Jefferson is quick to ignore her remarks. "Businessman, you have begun the journey of leading us to our new hope and your bravery will not be forgotten. Now, to our west lies the warehouse proper. We best avoid the workers there. Our aim is to get to the regional manager's office upstairs. The most direct route is the north-west staircase as the elevator is inoperable. I highly recommend that path. Lead on, comrade."

[-6 10mm Ammunition] [Map: https://i.imgur.com/UvvedY5.png]