The Dawn War Project

[ModelV]

Hello Nexus! I would like to introduce you to a project I have been working on for some time: The Dawn War. It itself is an attempt to expand upon the great franchise that is Fallout without the limitations imposed by the original development teams such as engine mechanics, and all those crazy things associated with having a producer. Basically all the limitations games have to their story. Here are some key points on it followed by a Q&A.

 

Driven story arcs: The Dawn War runs off "Story Arcs" each probably containing enough material to be put into a book at this point. While they are driven they are just as flexible as any RPG in what your character is capable of doing. The story arcs are mostly taken from Fallout story arcs and extensively rewritten and expanded upon.

 

Filling in where the Dev's left us wanting with the DLCs: As you know many of the DLC story arcs were met with a lot of controversy. One of the goals of Dawn War is to expand and fix these while also leaving what at least most people thought were good parts such as the incredible character depth in Dead Money.

 

New take on mutations: I always loved what Fallout did concerning their variety of mutants but I always felt they could have added just a bit more depth. We still have everyone's favorite mutants such as Super Mutants and Ghouls but we have added additional mutations to humans. Instead of just being Wastelander or Prime normal as the criteria of your level of mutation there are many variations and classes to what would normally just be considered "human". One of the big ones is Yokai a savage race of highly mutated humans which also serves to solve some controversy around exactly how FEV works and behaves.

 

Fallouty and friendly RPG system: Our RPG is largely based off of Fallout's SPECIAL system however it has been broken down and simplified into just Traits, Skills, and Perks in order for it to be easier to use and even viable for the Dawn War as the SPECIAL system is only suited to computer games and some PNPs. We call it the Trait System which has 16 skills and over 40 Traits. There is no XP as Perks are handled by either gaining them through quests or mastering a Skill. Skill progression works like in Skyrim the more you use them the better they become it is a soft skill system though.

 

Q&A:

 

Q: So...what exactly is this?

A: Its a Roleplay Jim. A very artistic one but still just a roleplay

 

Q: Where does this roleplay take place?

A: On my own basically private forum. The Dawn War could not be put on any RPG forum I have encountered if you take a look at it youll see why: http://w11.zetaboards.com/MrLynchs_RPG_Source/forum/3374408/ And no there is nothing else on that site besides The Dawn War.

 

Q: Eh I meant where in the Fallout world.

A: It takes place in the American southwest from California to Colorado It also takes place during the events of Fallout: New Vegas

 

Q: So how are you exactly?

A: An amateur modder who realized his skills werent enough to add to the story of New Vegas. Ive released a few mods and have been with Nexus for quite some time Im not some random new guy spamming the forum.

 

Q: Is your name really James Seth Lynch?

A: No.

 

Q: What is the RPG rated?

A: Whatever rating Fallout 2 got.

 

Q: Wait a minute this is advertisement! DELETE DELETE DELETE DELE-*mute*

A: There is no product. I gain nothing off the ads on the site nor do I even handle ads in anyway thats all handled by the service provider. In short this is not breaking any advertisement rules since it just isnt an ad. If I could put the RPG on this site I would since it would save me a lot of headache but it just isnt compatible.

 

Q: How do you manage an RPG on such a huge map?

A: Its easier then youd think. Most of the map will probably remained unexplored but I leave it this big for freedom to the players however places that appeared in Fallout games will obviously have more content such as New Vegas and Zion Valley.

 

Q: So where is The Courier?

A: Dead, Deleted, Easter Egged. The Courier doesnt exist in the Dawn War. The players replace him.

 

Q: Wait...how can you have The Lonesome Road without the courier? Like the entire story is about him.

A: All DLCs have been extensively rewritten Lonesome Road was especially rewritten. In fact the only similarity to the DW Lonesome Road is the location, enemies, and Ulysses. The entire story of what was there and what happened has been changed.

 

Q: Okay well what about the Platinum Chip?

A: I never said a courier wasnt hired to move it.

 

Q: Hey I looked at your forum and say that you yourself have a character. Thats crazy. Everyone knows that the GM having a character is a bad idea.

A: My Character's name is D'ne Saeed. Saeed is an arabic work for "One who progresses and makes others progress." He is a story progression/leverage tool and acts as a partial solution to the giant story vacuum left in Lonesome Road by ripping out the Courier. Also every RPG on this site ive seen had the GM having a character so...

 

Q: Wait so basically your own character is the main character for lonesome road? GM ABUSE GM ABUSE GM ABU-*mute*

A: He is a partial solution to the story vacuum. He adds additional context to the story only and Im working on weakening his story importance there which would be much easier should a certain player walk the same roads the Courier walked hint hint wink wink nudge nudge.

 

Q: Okay well what about the threat of other types of GM abuse by you?

A: That is covered by my Lt. Moderator Neria Derycke whose job is to blackmail, harass, and make my life a living hell whenever Saeed gets overplayed. You have nothing to worry about.

 

Q: Why did you remove special and replace it with this soft skill system?

A: Again SPECIAL is only viable for PNP and computer RPGs which this isnt. I ran an RPG using the SPECIAL system and it failed hard because of its limitations and requirements.

 

Q: I took another look at the RPG and noticed a lot of stuff was incomplete.

A: I am only 1 guy(There is secretly no "we") There are only so many hours I can put into the Lore, Weapons, Items, Areas, and Character pages without having a psychotic break down and murdering everyone in my neighborhood.

 

Q: So why did you call them Yokai? Thats from Japanese folklore.

A: Yokai in Dawn War are the highest level of mutation one can achieve while still being considered "human". They often have animalistic mutations caused by transfer of DNA from previous host through the West Tek FEV strand. Yokai was chosen because of how fitting it was and I needed something that had the same weight as Ghoul. Plus if you look at the backstory of a certain Yokai faction it will all make sense how they got a Japanese name.

 

Q: You also misspelled Youkai

A: I know that. Ever heard of Slang?

 

Q: So what is considered Canon in this RPG?

A: Fallout 1 and 2 are Canon. New Vegas is and isnt canon since this is rewritten New Vegas. Fallout 3 and Tactics are partially canon. Fallout 3 the motivations behind the brotherhood chapter going there and their actions are different, the enclaves motives and goals are also difference and the sheer amount of manpower both these factions have is down to a realistic level going off Fallout 2 and NV canon. Chicago BoS chapter is a major faction in Dawn War but how they reached Chicago is different and the entire Calculator Zero is out the window since it conflicts with the Enclave and Vault story arc from Fallout 2.

 

Q: But but but! Fallout 3 was my favorite how can it NOT be canon?

A: Because it doesnt fit with Fallout 1 and 2 canon I could argue this all day. 95% chance we wont even have anything to do with the east coast so dont worry about it.

 

Q: A lot has happened in this RPG. Can you give me a rundown of events gone by?

A: Vaults 9 opened up in northern Arizona. The inhabitants met 2 wastelanders who they commissioned to move them to a safe location to build a settlement. This location was Zion Valley. Many others joined and died on the journey and we have just reached Zion as of this post now.

 

Q: How many of these story arcs are there?

A: Currently its just Honest Hearts, Dead Money, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road, and the Battle for Hoover Dam which will progress in that order. Others may be added in the future if this proves to not be enough.

 

Q: I made a HUGE story mod/fanfic for New Vegas/Fallout 3 can you add it as a story arc?

A: That would ultimately depend on the story's quality, canon viability, and story flexibility. In short show it to me and ill tell you.

 

 

Q: What is the writing skill requirement for this RPG?

A: As long as I can understand you and you dont use giant walls of text or run on sentences I will let you pass. If you think I should keep people to a higher writing standard I am not an elitist and everyone I currently have is far above the minimum.

 

 

Q: Why do you make me sound like a raving madman?

A: So this Q&A will not be hopelessly boring

 

Q: I have a question or concern not on the Q&A

A: Post it.

 

Q: Why should we care?

A: Why have you read this far?

 

Q: Can you give us some trailer/teaser/peak at your project?

A: Yes here is the Honest Hearts Teaser and yes every Story arc will have a Teaser.

 

Scroll slowly for maximum effect.

 

Honest Hearts Theme

 

Rain. Pouring rain. As the water that fills the soil and nourishes the plants falls it fills the land with a deep fog. Deer claimer together under the shelter of the tree tops and rocky outcroppings. Each drop sends a ripple through the lakes and ponds distorting the crisp reflections of the landscape. The pour turns to a drizzle before it finally stops falling all together. The fog settles away and a rainbow appears over the great mountain peaks.

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The deer scurry out from under the cover of trees to forage, nibbling on the flowers gorging from the fresh rainfall. A rustling is heard and they flee deep into the forest. Near the tops of the great peaks a family bighorners have their breakfast of yucca plants. The young one grows thirsty and calls to its mother. The beast jumps from the mountain top gracefully landing on a lower plateau of rocks only a few feet down. The rest follow her hopping down the mountain side with a loud crash each time from their great weight. The youngling makes his way to a small lake at the foot of the mountain and fills his belly with water. Across the water another animal drinks but with teeth and claws. The scene flashes to night with the beast's mouth full of flesh. It chomps and swallows down the raggedy red mass then rips at the corpse at its feet with his muscular jaws pulling up a human arm.

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It flashes back to that morning. The lake flows into a river glistening from the morning sun and full of salmon. They swim along in a school together nipping at smaller fish, bugs floating on the water, and bits of red flowing and flooding their color into the stream. A man stands at the river dressed in tribal clothe. A Giant Cazador twice the size of the man buzzes out of the forest at the man. He draws his spear but its strikes him in the arm half paralyzing it and filling it with deep pain, then another in the gut burning his organs with poison and final blow to the head cracking open his skull. He falls into the river and bits of brain flow down stream as it feeds on his corpse. As the salmon continue down stream they reach a cave that it flows into, the place of their birth and soon the birth of their offspring.

 

Deeper within the cave is full of red fungus along the walls an ceiling covering every inch and illuminating the cave with their glow. A group of figures green with lichen and rotting flesh squat in a corner feasting on a corpse. One of them, jawless with green tendrils reaching from the opening screams at you. Outside the forest is teaming with flora. From towering pine trees, to yucca plants, to Joshua trees, to xander plants, to cacti, to the smallest broc flower. The scene flashes to night, a large jawed plant attacks a man. He fires his gun at it before it bites down onto the offending arm. Flashing back to the day, the mountains are almost a temple with the sun as the jewel atop the gigantic rock formations.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2654/5813346679_3e57c339f7.jpg

 

A camp sits at the bottom of the rock formation, its inhabitants long since gone. A an avalanch of rock tumbles down the mountain you are scaling dropping your partner and crushing him. One of the rocks knocks the rope keeping you up lose and you fall far to the ground. You cant feel your legs, your arm is bleeding, you look up and see the rock heading straight for you. You flash back to Zion. Its beauty. Your view rolls across the landscape. Wild, untamed, untouched by what ravaged the rest of the world. You hear a sound in the distance. Its far and difficult to distinguish. As you stare at the great rivers stretching across the landscape you hear it again clearer. The sound of gunfire. It continues again and again getting clearer and louder each time. Sunset paints the canyon with deep yellows and reds. The clear grasses give way to grayed and blacked soil as the last thread of sunlight drips under the horizon. Trenches rip through the hills filled with men fighting each other. Gunfire and explosions fill your ears as they die. The wrecked of an airplane wing drifts into view just before everything goes black.

 

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"Zion may not be lost to us, after all..."