Supplying Demands

Supplying Demands is a main quest

Background
The Brotherhood has identified the source of the Hellstorm missile launchers in Appalachia, or at least another group of wastelanders who make use of them, Foundation. Paladin Rahmani wants to kill two birds with one stone, by reclaiming the missile launchers and establishing trade relations with the Settlers.

Walkthrough
Paladin Rahmani briefs the initiate on their assignment. The goal is to make contact with Gloria Chance, the manager of Foundation's supply room, then verify the presence of Hellstorm missile launchers and recover them, while also negotiating a trade deal: Food and water in return for what the Brotherhood's Expeditionary Force can offer. If questioned further after receiving the orders, she will explain that forming close bonds with like-minded people is necessary for the Brotherhood's standing, as is the recovery of the Hellstorms, due to the firepower they represent and their close association with the Brotherhood, due to the crest placed on them.

Before departing, the player can also approach Knight Shin for more information. He will explain that the priority is getting the Hellstorms back. If the trade deal is mentioned, he will be disappointed, but remind the player of the Chain that Binds. More importantly, the player can use Perception 5+ to ask for his opinion and Shin will finally relent and explain that he believes the absolute priority is recovering the launchers and that the Brotherhood should focus on self-suffiency, rather than trade deals.

Gloria is located at the Foundation supply room, at the southeastern edge of the settlement. When talked to, she will assume the player is about the Blamco Mac & Cheese shipment. The player can lie and say that they are there for a pre-payment to the tune of 2 500 caps, or correct her. Either way, the conversation can go in a variety of directions, depending on the attitude: Either Rahmani's recommended, diplomatic stance, or Shin's preferred hardline demands. Naturally, the settlers will appreciate being diplomatic.

Gloria and her husband, Tad Chance, will explain that they have recently purchased several Brotherhood weapons with the faction's insignia on them and that the settler guards have taken them to the East Mountain lookout tower for testing and exercises. That's the next stop. Gloria will ask that the player keep in mind that these weapons are Foundation property and cost them quite a bit, though that has no bearing on the immediate goal.

The tower will be short on living settlers, but rich in their pieces. A large crater just south of it is filled with pieces of unfortunate guards, with a luckily intact body and Brotherhood shipping crate next to it. A holotape called Weapon demonstration tells the whole story of the incident: Mike Tiller did not understand the concept of trigger discipline and fired a missile into the group of settlers gathered around to record instructions for the launchers at Ward's request.

Mike is nowhere to be found. To locate him, the player has to use his terminal at the base of the tower. To unlock the "seecrut" section, the password holotape from Mike's bag leaning against the cinder blocks near the terminal is required. The third entry will point to the nearby Kerwood Mine. Mike will be found inside the miner staging area, behind a barred door, and will be of little help. The player has to navigate the mine and reach him, through the rear chamber. The door to the back tunnel is locked and requires a key, found in a blue filing cabinet at the bottom of the main elevator shaft.

The weapons are found together with Mike. It's possible to just shoot him where he stands, but talking to him allows the player to confirm that his clumsiness in handling a military-grade weapon has caused the deaths of all the guards at the lookout tower. If spared, he will ask to be allowed to take the weapons to Foundation and return them to Gloria and Tad, who are the only people he trusts. The player can use Strength 8+ to intimidate him, Perception 10+ to persuade him that he'll just blow himself up on the way, or lie with Charisma 5+ that he'll be considered a murderer and should flee. Or just shoot him.

Either way, Gloria is the last step in the quest. Tad will insist that the weapons be returned to the Foundation, while his wife will be a lotmore reasonable. The player can, of course, either give Foundation the weapons back or exchange them for Brotherhood protection. If the player confiscates the weapons, they can offer payment - 1 000 or 2 500 caps - to cover the difference and ensure food shipments to Fort Atlas.

Alternatives include:
 * Using Strength (2+ if Mike was killed, 4+ if the weapon cache was taken or 6+ if Mike brought it back) to strongly suggest that they both hand over the weapon and contribute food to the Brotherhood.
 * Using Perception 8+ to point out that the lack of discipline is a problem, not weapons, and provide training in exchange for the Hellstorms, surplus food, and intel on unusual weapons,
 * Intelligence 8+ to establish that the weapons are simply too dangerous for the Foundation to have around.

Once the decision is made, all that remains is returning to Paladin Rahmani. She'll be found discussing the strategic situation with Knight Shin and their reactions depend on the outcome:


 * If the player did not confiscate the weapons, both Shin and Rahmani will be absolutely furious.
 * If the weapons were confiscated, Shin will be jubilant and Rahmani satisfied.
 * If the player demanded supplies from Foundation, Rahmani will be furious and issue no reward for the mission.
 * If the player promised training in return for the weapons, food, and intel, Shin will be happy to oblige, considering Foundation as a proxy against Crater. Rahmani will be wary of the idea of militarizing Foundation and escalating conflicts in Appalachia.
 * If the player offered Brotherhood protection in exchange for the weapons, Shin will be extremely disappointed at making the order into a philanthropic organization, but Rahmani will actually appreciate the chance to demonstrate its benevolence to the locals.
 * If the player did not secure a trade deal, Rahmani will be gravely disappointed, but Shin will appreciate it, as it forces the Brotherhood to rely on itself and avoids entangling it in local conflicts.

Either way, the quest completes and the initiate is sent for Scribe Valdez.

Behind the scenes

 * Quest designer Carl McKevitt was a contributor to the design of Supplying Demands. The quests contains some humorous comments in the game's files for the quest stage flags, examples of which can be found in the following reference.
 * The quest's name is a play-on-words of the phrase "supply and demand," which refers to the economical relationship between the amount of product available and the amount of product that consumers want.
 * When negotiating at the end of the quest, the Perception check was supposed to have 8+ and 12+ options, similar to the Strength check and depending on who brought the weapon cache back to Foundation. Due to both options having the same condition (the player taking the weapon cache), only the 8+ is enabled.