Camp Forlorn Hope

Camp Forlorn Hope is the New California Republic's primary forward camp in the eastern Mojave Wasteland.

Background
After NCR captured Hoover Dam, it took them a while to fully reinforce the river to the south. The first camp that was established was Camp Forlorn Hope; an improvised mess of tin shacks, salvaged rubble from Boulder City, tents, and lots of sandbags, it is the most pathetic-looking of all NCR’s camps, but the one that sees the most action. It only exists at all because of the natural spring there (in fact the camp is named for the spring). Recently, Caesar’s Legion captured NCR’s logistical/planning forces in the small, ruined town of Nelson, a disaster that has disrupted Forlorn’s attempts to patrol the western coast of the river.

Layout
Camp Forlorn Hope has tents, shacks, and abandoned truck hulls scattered throughout. It is divided by a freshwater creek running through the middle. The camp is near destitute, and generally lacks items for looting, beyond personal possessions including Forlorn Hope letters written by soldiers that can be found all over the camp, or a few more critical supplies found generally under lock and key.

Entering from the North, one of the first places of note would be the medical center. Dr. Richards is usually located here. On the path to the right is a shack, that houses NCR troops and across is the jail, with a lone NCR trooper and a jail cell. Further south is the barracks where Private Stone usually hangs out. Just south of the barracks across the creek is the mess hall. Down the path to the right of the mess hall is a campfire at the end of a long row of tents. To the north of the campfire is the Quartermaster's tent, with a Camp Forlorn Hope storage shed (with a Very Hard Lock) across from it. North of that across the bridge is the command center. Major Polatli is here along with Tech Sergeant Reyes.

Notable loot

 * Big Book of Science on a table in the Southeast corner of the Command Center (must be stolen).
 * There is a Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap on the table directly in front of you when you enter the mess hall.

Appearances
Camp Forlorn Hope appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * A "forlorn hope" is a body of troops chosen to take the leading part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position or as defending a hazardous position, where the risk of casualties is high. The term comes from the Dutch verloren hoop, literally "lost hope," and adapted as "lost troop."
 * The Forlorn Hope Camp was derived from a real life location just below the western summit of the Sierra Mountains, about 100 miles east of San Francisco. On the 15th of December 1846, that 14 members of the Donner Party (an emigrant party that had trekked across America to find a new life in California) set out to find help and relief for their fellow 64 emigrants who were snowed in on the Eastern face of the mountains with little food. After two weeks with no idea of which direction led to civilization, that the first members of the party died. On December 28th 1846, the surviving men women and children decided the only way to ensure survival was to eat their dead comrades. After a month of being confined to the 24 feet of snow atop The Sierra Mountains, the eventual 7 survivors of the 'Forlorn Hope' party were discovered by local Indians, who took them to local Americans for safety. The remaining members of the Donner Party on the other side of the Sierra Mountains would eventually be discovered by 3 following rescue attempts, but only after resorting to cannibalism themselves. 44 of the 97 members of the Donner Party would be rescued by April of 1847, after 6 months of no real food and nearly 3 years after leaving home.
 * There is an actual location in the Mojave Desert called Forlorn Hope Spring, located south of Boulder City and north of Nelson.

Bugs

 * The first time traveling to Camp Forlorn Hope, if approaching from the south, sometimes a Legion patrol will spawn inside the base, resulting in a battle between the NCR and Legion - if the Legion patrol kills any quest non-player characters during the battle, this result in failed missions. Reloading and approaching from a different direction (north or west) seems to prevent the Legion troops from spawning inside the base.
 * After accepting any mission at the Camp Forlorn Hope whenever you're outside everything appears in a violet haze very similar to that of Camp Searchlight's green haze.
 * Members of the 1st Recon, after arriving at Camp Forlorn Hope, may continue to speak as if they were still at Camp McCarran fighting Fiends.
 * Soldiers killed here may (re)spawn with more than one dog tag.
 * After examining Dr Richards patient closest to the door of the medical center, a Powder Ganger and two Great Khan soldiers may enter the tent, attacking Dr Richards and the player depending on reputation. They stay in the tent and no more can be seen elsewhere in the camp.
 * The rangers that spawn in the east-facing and south-facing sniper nests will occasionally not be armed.
 * Sometimes, when you fast travel, everyone at the camp will become hostile.
 * Just west of the camp where the Courier must find the supplies during the quest Restoring Hope, the same Nightkin from the one in Novac might spawn in a rock.