Fallout: Urals

[R-Zero]

Hello! First time posting here.
Lately I've been brainstorming an idea of a Russian setting in Fallout universe a bit, and have decided I might as well show some of this to a good Fallout community.
Writeup link
Map link
Image Gallery
It's not much for now but I plan to gradually update and expand these.

>But why?
Just for fun. I don't plan to make some kind of mod or even a PnP game setting, it's just an interesting thing to imagine.

>fAllOuTs oUtSIdE amErIKa dOnT woRK
Ok.

>Why Urals? Why not Moscow?
It's not like Fallouts 1 and 2 took place in Washington (or on East Coast at all) either, so I decided that choosing a place somewhat distant from the central areas would correspond to the original Fallouts better. Ural mountains are still a MAJOR industrial region of USSR/Russia, the supposed location of the infamous Death Hand system, Soviet nuclear program development centers and many of its associated Atomgrads, the place where the first Soviet radiation catastrophe happened, the region with beautiful, diverse landscape and nature.
Not to mention that the whole Central Region of Russia would have been blown to absolute smithereens.

I'll be thankful if you guys take a look and share your thoughts.

 

[raynor009]

landscape might be great but its not something I'd see in a 2D game. maybe unity?

 

[R-Zero]

landscape might be great but its not something I'd see in a 2D game. maybe unity?

Honestly I don't even want to think about a videogame implementation, too much work for whoever would want to pull it off. A PnP Fallout setting would be much more feasible.

 

[raynor009]

oh, I missed that little detail. my bad.

 

[Hardboiled Android]

As someone generally opposed to the notion of Fallout outside of America - I really like this, a lot of cool ideas, and the location is really well picked. I look forward to hearing more about the setting as you build on it, your foundations are great. Though I do have two problems with some of the concepts -

1, tokamaks. I understand the temptation to include them since they are a genuinely Soviet futuretech invention, but I'd advise against it. The presence of fusion in America in Fallout already stretches the lore enough, but it just works due to America's hyperisolationism and since its the most powerful country in the world, but having fusion power present in another country feels odd. I'd advise you to stick to fossil fuels for Russia, and maybe miniaturized fission/beta cells. If you must keep tokamaks, have them as a post war innovation.

2, Mars. This plotline just feels like hats on hats, and is a clear copy of the Enclave plotline of colonizing another planet. I'd say just cut this entirely, it feels silly and doesn't really add anything.

Could I suggest a few concepts for "mutants" appropriate to the setting?

 

[R-Zero]

Sorry for extremely late reply. Life be busy.

As someone generally opposed to the notion of Fallout outside of America - I really like this, a lot of cool ideas, and the location is really well picked. I look forward to hearing more about the setting as you build on it, your foundations are great.

Thanks!

The presence of fusion in America in Fallout already stretches the lore enough... If you must keep tokamaks, have them as a post war innovation.

Can you elaborate on that, in what way does it stretch lore? It would work for me either way, just interested in the rationale.

Mars. This plotline just feels like hats on hats, and is a clear copy of the Enclave plotline of colonizing another planet.

I understand why one'd feel that way. I'm not married to the idea, but I couldn't think of anything better to mirror the original Fallout's "vault" system - obviously just copying commercial vaults wouldn't work given the setting (and would be even more of a cheap copy), and if I used metro systems for the same purpose it would be too much like the Metro 2033 series. Dreams of colonizing space were a really big thing in USSR back in the times too, so it'd at least be thematically fitting.

Could I suggest a few concepts for "mutants" appropriate to the setting?

Sure, I haven't really thought much about what kind of critters the setting would have. Bears are a must of course, two-headed ones would be way too referencey but maybe something like a bald bear variety would work. Other than that, some sort of mutated camel. I'd like to have some ghoul-likes too, but Soviet ones would be cosmonaut ghouls from the orbital stations created by prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation, pulp sci-fi style.

 

[R-Zero]

Added an Image Gallery with some inspirational photos and concept art of Soviet era futuristic machines, weapons etc. Feel free to suggest more goodness.

 

[Post-War Tribal]

A potential cryptid reference could be the Mink, aka the Russian yeti.

Could be a boss type mutant encounter.

 

[R-Zero]

Made a F1/2 - FNV styled map of the region:

One of the cool ideas for the setting I had was making it that in this continuity the Soviets have succeeded in their Northern Rivers Reversal project, creating a giant water reservoir in the middle of Western Siberia. After the War the system would have fallen into total disrepair, with that reservoir quickly receding back, creating a landscape not dissimilar to IRL's modern Aral Sea, with its abandoned beached ships:

Spoiler: Image

Spoiler: Image

Moreover, since there's actually a lot of oil underneath that reservoir, Soviets would have started to exploit those down the like with oil rigs and the like, which could have let to all kinds of pre-war ecological disasters. In my mind I also have an image of one of those floating oil rigs getting beached in vicinity of Tyumen:

Spoiler: Image

 

[R-Zero]

Info on some of the kinds of people you would meet in Ural Wasteland.

Motormen (Машинисты)
A group of wasteland dwellers who dedicate themselves to repair and maintenance of its railroads. Lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle, traveling around in their restored and improvised railcars, making do by scavenging for prewar tech and trading with settlements.
The regular roads and highways in the Wasteland are in absolute state of disrepair and the asphalt cover is even harvested for fuel in places, so it's the railroads instead that act as the settlements' lifelines.

Monks (Монахи)

Spoiler: Image

A religious group tracing its origins to Russian Orthodox Church, as well as many Old Believer communities. Operates several remote monasteries that were among the few places people took refuge during the Great War. There's also a good number of hermit monks living all over Ural mountains, as well as those working as missionaries in various settlements. The Monks also operate some orphanages and poorhouses.
They are protected by a military group somewhat resembling a knightly order, presumably descended from pre-War army men.

Lawmen (Законники)
Despite what the name might suggest, are actually descendants of pre-War prisoners who survived in remote labor camps. First operating as roving bandits, they eventually have established several small settlements, still keeping alive the original prisoners strange traditions and codes of conduit. Cheeki Breeki.

Cultists (Культисты)

Spoiler: Image

An organization of people enamored with various occult theories of the past, settling near ancient ruins or archaeological sites such as Arkaim. Maintain contacts with southern steppe/desert peoples, are rumored to be agents of an enigmatic New Shambala kingdom somewhere in East Siberia. Have accumulated extensive knowledge of the Psyker phenomena, which they use to their ends. At odds with the Monks.

There are also plenty of unaligned groups of people, tracing their origins either to people surviving in either remote villages, closed government cities or various bomb shelters.