Alright, Stan hasn't exercised his veto, so this thing is happening.

Choice 1: New Mexico
Advantage: I know the area, so it'd be pretty accurate.
Disadvantage: I know the area, so it'd largely be a radioactive crater.

Choice 2: Kansas City
Advantage: Water, farms, trade, life, green.
Disadvantage: I know jack all about Kansas City.

Choice 3: New Orleans
Advantage: Fishing, sailing, rivers, deltas.
Disadvantage: Everything interesting is underwater.

Based on 2 points for first choice, 1 point for second choice, and 0 points for third choice, the tallies so far:

Kansas City: 5
New Orleans: 2
New Mexico: 1.5

I've started compiling plans for a Kansas City-based game, but votes are still open. Also, feel free to discuss what you want out of the game, what you're planning on doing with your character, what themes you want to explore, what national landmarks you want to see destroyed in nuclear fire, and what colour you prefer your corn to be.

It would be easiest on FB if we had connections to each other, so that would be a good idea. We need to decide how we're going to play this baby Karma-wise. FB, do the Brotherhood from Fallout: Tactics run this place? City states? A Vault whose occupants were all SCA members and were given two GECKS?

Also, are we going to be based in a specific location, ie a city or county, or are we wandering ronin?

Some particulars -

On the Brotherhood: there is a prominent and powerful Brotherhood chapter in New Mexico (but probably not based where you think!). The Brotherhood has no presence in KC or NOLA.

On Vaults: New Mexico will feature Vault 66 (a long-boil "control" vault, designed to be the last control vault opened just in case all the other ones failed horribly), which has grown into a small outpost known as Sandia City.
KC has Vault 64: the experiment of Vault 64 is unknown, but was surely a failure. A nuclear strike near the vault broke its water main, and irradiated water from the Missouri River slowly crept in. Unlike Vault 12 in Bakersfield, Vault 64 was never intended to be a "ghoul vault" but, after decades of slow sickness and mutation from exposure to the irradiated water, it became one. The residents of Vault 64 (those that retain their faculties) have founded a city near their old vault, named after the pre-War town of Liberty.
NOLA has Vault 79: intended explore the viability of life undersea, Vault 79's entrance was built below sea-level in an area of land created by a levy in New Orleans. As predicted, the bombs destroyed the levy and Vault 79 was plunged under the waves. The residents of the Vault have learned to deal with this reality of their life, building a trading platform in the newly expanded Gulf and live largely within their ever-expanding underwater vault.

On major players:
New Mexico has ghouls, Brotherhood, and Sandia City dominating most area politics. Also, a cult of kooks in Roswell have built up around what is purported to be an alien crash site.
KC is largely dominated by (surprise!) Kansas City, with the ghoul-city of Liberty and the free-city of Independence both major factors. River trade is common - St. Louis still exists, joining Missouri to Mississippi, and KC is a major trade port for the farms of Kansas and the Missouri River Valley.
NOLA is mostly underwater, but is starting to grow based on trade with both Vault 79 and downriver traders on the Mississippi. It also serves as a hub for salvagers and adventurers looking for pre-War remnants in the drowned city.

On what you're going to do:
Largely up to you, though I think NOLA probably lends itself best to locals, KC to traders, caravaners or town leaders, and NM to adventurers, scientists, and explorers (but the plans I've drawn in my head should accommodate a lot of options.)

Yes, you can play as a ghoul, though there aren't many in NOLA.

I want to play a Tribal, though I've always been iffy on how people descended to "tribal" status in under two centuries. Heck, Arroyo was only founded eighty years before the beginning of Fallout 2, and by Vault Dwellers to boot! Did no one pass on any knowledge? This question also stands for Psi Stalkers.

A Tribal with Tag skills in Sneak and Melee, and Survival if it's available (or Outdoorsman if not, or Thrown Weapons I suppose.) With One Hander and Finesse (but only if Finesse is working like it does in FO 1/2 by adding +30 vs DR to every attack.)

I'll think of a name. I'm thinking of a very curious Tribal, youngish (early 20s max) who is intrigued by all the unnecessary stuff that townfolks need. I just reread Nation so that's probably where I'm coming from.

I'll probably make a character based off Boone from New Vegas since he's, well, bad ass.

So what's your vote, Stan? Where do you want to play?

This goes for anyone else that wants to play but hasn't voted. Or even people that have voted but want to change it based on the information outlined above (or even simple caprice).

Kansas City sounds like a place a retired NCR sniper would reside.

I don't care where we play, mang.

Sounds like KC is certain to win. In that case, so you can all get started on thinking where you're from and why you're there, the game will start in Independence, which is a free-city outside the limits of Kansas City (and not subject to the taxes levied by the KC council, which makes it a popular stop for farmers and traders with ample time but less funds). Ghouls are fairly integrated in the KC culture, so they're a fairly common sight even outside Liberty - few people want to buy food from ghoul farmers, but ghoul goods tend to be of above-average quality (because many ghouls have knowledge of repairing and building pre-War gear from before the War) and thus highly prized.

Independence is a fair-sized town (population of about 200), "walled" by wreckages and concrete slabs. It enjoys three taverns, multiple boarding houses, a large central market square, fresh water supplied by a well (that connects to the Missouri), and various single-owner and dual-partnership businesses of many sorts (from general supply to repair services to arms dealers and even household item manufacture). It is located just off the remains of US Route 24, about eight miles from the Missouri (far enough that it avoids trouble from KC shipping companies, close enough that smuggling down-river isn't onerous.)

Mark is a young man in the Manhattan tribe (named after the town that the tribe sprang up near.) The Manhattan tribe is descended from four or five families but over the decades has becoem one huge, tribal, society. Everyone is someones third something or great whatever. New blood comes often enough that nobody has more than the standard number of digits, though.

The Manhattan tribe does all it can to survive with as little reliance in the Things Left Behind as possible except as raw materials. A man can make a knife from a stone with little tallent and instruction, and if it breaks he can make another, but if the metal knife from before breaks, who will forge it anew?

Mark is young and has been cast out from the tribe until he becomes a man and can return. He does not know when this will happen, or how, but knows that he will know once it has happened. He has already killed, and he knows that killing does not make a man, and he knows about the thing that a man does with a woman, but is unsure if that is what makes a man or if one has to be a man first.

I know more or less the build I'm going to use, do you want me to build in FO1, 2, 3 or NV?

Simple version: SPECIAL stats and tag skills. 5+5. Nothing else needs to be provided. Skills available are New Vegas (which I think got it down to a simple and workable set.)

Complex version (for those less familiar with Fallout) to come in upcoming post.

I like the New Vegas skill list. I think it's probably the best one so far. Two guns skills is unneeded, ditto two doctorin' skills. Combining Throwing with Melee makes sense too, to me anyway.

Mark of the Manhattan Tribe

S: 7
P: 7
E: 6
C: 5
I: 4
A: 7
L: 4

Tagged Skills: Sneak, Survival, Melee
Traits: Finesse

Mark is a Boy (of perhaps fifteen years, maybe as many as seventeen) with dark hair and eyes, and a lithe build, more like a marathon runner's or soccer player's than a boxer's. He is very curious, but in a quiet way, and has a tendency to disappear if no one keeps an eye on him. He has a knife and a spear he made himself, balanced for thrusting instead of throwing, and three sharpened poles balanced by his cousin that will fly true. He has a pair of pants, with many pockets, which are the most important Thing From Before, and a belt so that he can use those pockets. He has a bag with a few of the bottle caps that those who still worship the Things From Before use for trade. He has a pair of glass eyes that he has reseated in a new leather band of his own making after the ones from before wore out.

Complex version:

SPECIAL is the system created for Fallout to define your character's traits. SPECIAL is the acronym for the traits: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Stats range from 1 to 10, with 5 being "average", though values from 4-6 would all be in the range of human norm. Anything above 6 or below 4 is going to be a noticeable, obvious trait of your character.

Strength is your character's muscle mass. How hard you can swing or hit, how much you can lift, and, to an extent, how much punishment you can take are all based on Strength.
Perception is your character's senses. How far you can see, how accurate your vision is, how easy it is for you to notice details are all based on Perception.
Endurance is your character's health. How resistant to radiation, poison, disease, fatigue, and injury are all based on Endurance.
Charisma is your character's presence. How people react to you, your looks, your force of personality, your animal magnetism and first impressions are all based on Charisma.
Intelligence is your character's smarts. How well-spoken you are, how intuitive and insightful you are, and how quickly you can learn are all based on Intelligence.
Agility is your character's control. How poised and balanced you are, how light on your feet you are, and how steady and precise your hand and aim are all based on Agility.
Luck affects everything a little bit. It's sort of ephemeral, but all things equal, the lucky fellow will always win. With an excess of luck, one can even make up for mediocrity. A lucky character has slightly better odds, all other things being equal, than an unlucky character.

All stats start at 5, and can be adjusted on a one-for-one basis. In addition, you have 5 additional points to allocate to stats as you wish.

Every character will pick three "Tag Skills". These are the skills you excel at, regardless of SPECIAL stats. This can raise you far above average, or put you on average in something you would otherwise lack. Luck has a minor effect on every skill.

A skill name is listed, followed in parenthesis (like this) by the stat that is primarily associated with it, and then a brief description of the skill:

Barter (Charisma). Skill at trading and haggling. High Barter means you can "drive a hard bargain".
Energy Weapons (Perception). Shooting things with lasers and plasma weaponry. Any weapon that doesn't use bullets or explosives.
Explosives (Perception). Using things that blow up. Grenades and grenade launchers, dynamite, mines, planted charges, missile and rocket launchers.
Guns (Agility). Shooting things with bullets. If it uses bullets as ammo, it's a gun.
Lockpick (Perception). Picking locks. Opening things others don't want opened.
Medicine (Intelligence). Patching people up. Proper use and handling of drugs.
Melee (Strength). Hitting things with sticks, pointy or not-pointy, with metal bits or without metal-bits.
Repair (Intelligence). Fixing things, especially mechanical things. Also cobbling things together or modifying existing technology.
Science (Intelligence). Computer hacking and general knowledge. Making drugs, recycling pre-War energy sources.
Sneak (Agility). Staying unseen. Stealth, legerdemain and prestidigitation.
Speech (Charisma). Convincing people. Swaying folks to your side with reason or (more usually) rhetoric. Also, how believable you are, whether lying or not.
Survival (Endurance). Living off the world. Finding good food to eat, good water to drink, safe places to sleep. Preparing those for others.
Unarmed (Endruance). Punching stuff, with or without gloves or other mechanical assistance.

Besides your stats and your tag skills, don't worry about anything else.

Traits:

If you want (completely optional), you can pick up to two traits for your character. Traits do all sorts of things. Many traits are mutually exclusive - it should be patently obvious when this is the case.

Available traits are as follows:

Ghoul. You are a Ghoul. +3 to Endurance, -3 to Charisma. Ghouls don't feel pain, are immune to most diseases and poisons, and are healed by radiation. However, ghouls don't feel anything else, either, and are shunned by many people. Ghouls are products of radiation, and do not die of old age; most come from irradiated vaults, having lived since pre-War, though younger ghouls do exist.
Four Eyes. You need glasses. -1 Perception without glasses, +1 Perception with glasses.
Finesse. You're more careful with your attacks. -2 Strength for the purposes of damage and weapon handling, but critical chance is doubled.
Heavy Handed. You hit hard and reckless, rarely scoring a telling blow. +2 Strength for purposes of damage and weapon handling, but half the critical chance.
Sex Appeal. You're sexy. Some people are more favourably inclined to you, but others tend to get jealous of the attention you get.
Small Frame. You're lithe and slimly built. +1 Agility, but -2 to Strength and Endurance for purposes of injuries.
Big Frame. You're solid. -1 Agility, but +2 to Strength and Endurance for purposes of injuries.
Night Person. You're mostly nocturnal. You gain bonuses to all actions while the sun is down, but penalties while the sun is up.
Sun Lover. You're definitely diurnal. You gain bonuses to all actions while the sun is up, but penalties while the sun is down.
One Hander. One of your hands just works right, while the other is always getting in the way. +2 when completing actions with one hand, but -4 for anything requiring both.
Good Natured. You just don't like to fight. Bonuses when using Speech, Barter, Medicine, Repair and Science, but penalties using Guns, Energy Weapons, Explosives, Melee, or Unarmed.
Chem Reliant. You like drugs. Their benefits last twice as long (drawbacks last the same amount of time), but you are twice as likely to become addicted.
Chem Resistance. Drugs are bad, mmkay? The benefits of drugs are halved (drawbacks last the same amount of time), but you as half as likely to become addicted.
Skilled. You're not as good as other people, but you make up for it with hard work. You only get 2 (instead of 5) extra points to allocate to SPECIAL, but may select four tag skills.
Gifted. You're better than other people, but never really applied yourself. You get 8 (instead of 5) extra points to allocate to SPECIAL, but may only select two tag skills.

(If you can think of something else, run it by me; I may allow it.)

Tim Wilshire, former NCR Sharpshooter, 1st Recon Sniper Battalion (yeah, that one), Courier

S-6
P-9
E-6
C-7
I-6
A-6
L-3

Tag: Guns, Speech
Traits: Sex Appeal, Gifted

Tim was one of the best sharpshooters out there, and damn good looking too. But that's as far as his luck goes. He doesn't talk much about his past. He only mentions that he was a sharpshooter for the NCR army. He looks 25-ish, and probably is. Now he just travels the wastes, delivering packages and killing things that want to get to the packages. When you're as lucky as Tim, bad things happen. But if you're as Tim, you can see it coming.