Van Buren/Factions

A list of factions planned for Van Buren.

215 Rail Line Powder Gang
The gang will attack one week after the player character arrives in New Canaan. This is a big concern for many of the people in the community of New Canaan, and they are seriously worried about what is going to happen when the group arrives.

3-Some Caravan
The Giordano triplets are tight-knit brothers who are virtually inseparable. Originally from NCR proper, they served a small stint in the prison there for petty theft. After serving one year, they decided to use what money they had leftover and opened a caravan company, the 3-Some Caravan Company. The business did not take off all that well since word got around they were former inmates, but there was enough business to keep afloat.

5th Engineering Company
Formally a part of the New California Republic Army. They were tasked with hunting down Powder Gangers who attacked NCR officials in between Burham Springs and Hoover Dam.

Baggers
A team of NCR military soldiers and escorts whom are locked out of the Boulder Dome. Originally the military escort team for Goddard. President Tandi was responsible for gathering the group of men assigned to protect him.

Blackfoot
The Blackfoot tribe was founded by a former military group, led by a Captain John Bloch, which was left stranded after its HQ and transport vehicles were destroyed in the war.

Boulder Scientists
Presper and a small team of soldiers investigate Boulder Dome. They found it in need of repair but containing excellent labs and a fully-functioning ZAX unit. Over the next few years, Presper invited or more or less sent scientists and students to the Boulder Dome, where he explained his idea to remake civilization. Those who refuse are put in cold sleep, using technology the original dome scientists developed to aid space travel.

Ciphers
In the weeks following the Great War, a group of scientists and soldiers left the atomic laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, and wandered north with a band of other survivors, looking for a place of relative safety. They assumed that they were the only "civilized" people left, since everyone else they encountered attacked them, trying to take their food, water, and clothes. When they discovered one of the ancient pueblos at Mesa Verde, they decided to set up camp there.

Circle of Steel
A splinter faction of the Brotherhood of Steel who uses Stealth Boys to further their mission after use of the devices were prohibited. The goal of the Circle is to recover lost technology and rebuild the glory of the Brotherhood at any cost.

Daughters of Hecate
The Daughters of Hecate are slavers who control the Hounds of Hecate. Led by Hecate, the masked Daughters of Hecate collect tribute from almost all other tribes in the regions they control. Failure to obey the mandates of Hecate often results in crop failure, poor hunting, disease, and barren wombs.

Greenway Hydroponics
A pre-War company founded by Derek Greenway following his departure from Poseidon Energy. The company focused on pacifist applications for technology, making a lot of money through their state-of-the-art inventions in farming. When the EPA put up the Nursery Project for bid, Greenway Hydroponics was the choice.

Hangdogs
The Hangdogs were a tribe formerly living outside of Denver. They had a mixed reputation across the wasteland. Neither known for being particularly brutal or kind, the Hangdogs mostly keep to themselves, living in northeastern Colorado near Denver – or, as the NCR calls it, "Dog Town."

The Hangdogs run with packs of dogs that have been taken from the hordes that reportedly infest Denver. The tribe considers coyotes to be bastard offshoots of true dogs. They worshiped dogs and saw them as their spirit animals. Outside of their dog-focused culture, the Hangdogs act as slavers and scavengers and are often in league with Hecate.

Iron Rivers
The Iron Rivers are a group of nomadic tribals. The tribe traveled from the West for many years to reach the Great Circle. They followed the path of the "Great Roaring Machine", a pre-War train, because they believe it to be a sign of the Old World's return. Once part of a larger tribe in the West, they have long since split. The Iron Rivers are religious, believing in many tales such as the "Chain Walkers" and "Mad King Scorpion." The tribe has recently become a target for Caesar's Legion as potential slaves. The Prisoner can help rejoin the Iron Rivers with their old tribe to gain bonus XP.

Mormons
Mormons are members of their namesake Mormon Church, inhabiting New Canaan. They ally themselves either with Jeremiah or Bishop Mordecai. Their demographics are varied. Mormons are generally found around New Canaan town or in their homes. In the evenings Jeremiah and several brave Mormons journey out to have supper with the refugees on the exterior, and on Sundays Jeremiah holds a service at the church that most of the Mormons attend.

Rusty Hooks


The Rusty Hooks are a raider faction. They own the Bloomfield Space Center, and are led by Kyle the Hook. They are trying to fix the Hermes-XIII spaceship to get into B.O.M.B.-001. They will attack the Prisoner on sight if they attempt to enter the space center.

Salvagers
A group of former prisoners from the New California Republic on a special work release program in Denver, salvaging things of value for the NCR in exchange for their eventual freedom.

Scaven-pickers
At the Reservation Trading Post, the player may encounter the "Scaven-pickers." Led by Klik, prolonged usage of Rad-X and Rad-Away have caused them mental damage. They wear outfits that are a mishmash of rubber, leather, metal, and in some parts, aged human skin. They often speak in what seems to be gibberish, but get out just enough recognizable words for the sellers at the Trading Post to understand. They are quick to fight if they feel threatened, and will follow a player if they see something they like on their person.

Scorpion's Bite
Scorpion's Bite is a Raider clan who are currently stationed in the Forbidden Lands near the Twin Mothers Village. They are called "Scorpion's Bite" because they use Radscorpion Poison Dart guns. The leader is Burk. They are thinking about invading the Twin Mothers Village. There is also a snitch in the clan, called Trisha, who is working for the Caesar's Legion to recover some stolen Caesar's Legion holodisks.

Truckers
The Truckers are a group of people living at the Boulder Dome. The truckers consist of Eddie, Helen, and Helen's six children: Ribera, Tanner, Tyler, Jack, Joshua, and Billie. The Prisoner could help Helen's kids with their illnesses, and steal or destroy Eddie's truck.

Twin Mothers
The Twin Mothers were a tribe after the Great War, led by Diana. A transcript from the design document describes the concept for the tribe, seen below. The Twin Mothers area was designed by John Deiley.

Behind the scenes

 * Commenting on the differences between the Fallout: New Vegas Powder Gangers and the 215 Rail Line Powder Gang in Van Buren, Joshua Sawyer stated that the Van Buren faction had much more developed characters and were to play a larger role, while in Fallout: New Vegas, their focus in the game was greatly diminished.
 * Chris Avellone stated that the Ciphers are "concealed in the hills, in NCR territory but not controlled by NCR, who dismisses them as tribals." He explained the plan for their faction, a group that "spends their days memorizing schematics of the Pre-War, which outsiders can't figure out (except Elijah)."