Denver (Van Buren)

Dog City or Dog Town is what is left of Denver, Colorado after the Great War. It was taken over by Caesar's Legion after they assimilated the Hangdogs tribe. There is no real civilization present, just a series of salvager camps set up high in the skyscraper ruins, away from the endless pack of feral dogs which roam the streets below.

Overview
Denver is a location rich in resources that are difficult to obtain. With widespread looting, claims have been made on parts of the dangerously unstable city, with vicious dogs prowling the streets.

The salvagers are a group of around twenty New California Republic former prisoners on a special work release program, salvaging items for the NCR in exchange for their eventual freedom. The dogs inhabiting the city are the now-feral descendants of local pets and specially-bred police dogs. Rats, giant cockroaches, mutant bats, and climbing lizards are common hazards. The salvagers were driven out of their original camp by these dogs and struggled to get by in their new, temporary camp. Tensions have peaked from the constant dog threat, lack of communication from the NCR, and the limited diversity of food that they are forced to eat. In addition, a rival group of salvagers and a mysterious group of military men occupy the city. The salvagers live in the partially-constructed buildings of Denver, several stories up from the reach of the dogs.

Before the War
In the middle of a building boom shortly before the war, many new jobs were opening up in the city. Most of the construction was housing for the growing population. When the war with China started, trade diminished and construction ground to a halt. Consequently, union riots and strikes occurred from the lack of work available and the federal government's inaction to the resolution of the crisis.

While Mexico and the Great Midwest Commonwealth began to suffer from food shortages, Denver was hit especially hard because of its high population. Food rationing began and massive riots occurred. Buildings were set ablaze and the National Guard was called in to contain the rioting using InstaPens (aka "bullpens"). Some deliberately attacked police and National Guard troops so they would be imprisoned and fed. National Guard personnel who refused to contain the riots were also imprisoned.

In 2077, Chinese Hei Gui agents obtained samples of the New Plague during an assault on the Hoover Dam testing labs. While attempting to escape Denver, the agents were killed, releasing an outbreak of the deadly plague. Rioters burnt down large parts of the city in fear of contamination. Many panicked and fled the city by car, clogging the freeways when they ran out of gas and trapping everyone behind them. (Though this is debatable considering the restriction of use of fossil fuels and the war with China over the last of the oil. It is however possible that there were still a few people who were willing to pay large amounts for little fuel rather than the $200,000 needed to buy a nuclear generated vehicle.) Their efforts proved futile when the Great War broke out, killing almost the entirety of the population.

After the War
Post-War, civilization in Denver has collapsed and huge packs of wild dogs have taken over the city. Small groups of scavengers have tried to loot some of the buildings, but there has never a coordinated effort until 2251.

In 2251, a group of work-release NCR prisoners from Porter's gang arrived to salvage items to buy off the rest of their sentences. They were to scavenge as many building supplies as possible, establish a track outpost, and pave the way for the NCR occupation.

In 2253, glowing ghouls started arriving from Boulder. Some slavers from Caesar's Legion are waiting out the Midwest's radioactive duststorms keeping them from getting home, and a rival gang of salvagers have moved in and started raiding claims from the NCR salvagers.

Economy
The salvagers have a great deal of supplies to trade. However, they desperately require some variety in their food and medical assistance. Scavengers also believe that there is gold to be found in the area.

Relationships with other communities
The salvagers were treated poorly by the administration while in prison, and therefore didn't hold a strong opinion of the NCR. They don't care one way or the other about the tribals, though the Hangdogs and the salvagers would've mutually benefited from trade. The salvagers were willing to make deals with the Brotherhood of Steel as long as the Brotherhood didn't try to claim any tech for themselves. Used to working, they would've also likely gotten along with the people of New Canaan, provided they were treated well.

Others

 * Daniel
 * Dogbody
 * El Diablo
 * Job

Appearances
Dog Town did not appear in any of the published games, but was to appear in the canceled Fallout 3 project by Black Isle Studios codenamed Van Buren. Denver was mentioned by Antony and The King in Fallout: New Vegas as being overrun by dogs and home to cyber-dogs. Also (in the ending fight against Legate Lanius in New Vegas) if you have a 90 or higher barter skill the Legate will talk about how he led the Legion to claim Denver but lost many men due to the harsh city and dwindling supply lines. Also, Ulysses claims he has been there.

Behind the scenes

 * The Denver design document was written by Sean K. Reynolds. The entire document (1.0 version from 7/24/2003) leaked and was released by No Mutants Allowed in June 2005.
 * Dogtown could be a reference to the album Diamond Dogs, composed in 1974 by the artist David Bowie, where the singer describes a post-apocalyptic world full of mutated feral beasts and toxic clouds. The art design of Denver is similar to the landscape in the album booklet.