Hello,
I’ve finally started my campaign with Fallout 2D20, set (of course) in the Commonwealth. However, I’d like to know if there is an official position about the Sole Survivor and his/her quest and actios in a Commonwealth campaign, or any of you fellow players have integrated the videogame with your campagin, and if yes, how.
Basically: what happens with the Sole Survivor? When and how the Prydwen will reach Boston? How do you reconcile the presence of new heroes in the “home turf” of the Sole Survivor?
thanks!
I didn’t set either of my games in the Commonwealth (after all, 1/2 the fun of Fallout is seeing new parts of the world) but if I were, then I would largely disregard the plot of the game. Licensed games can often fumble when they incorporate too much. A Conan game with Conan everywhere takes away from the PCs. A Star Trek game where the PCs are constantly hearing about the Enterprise or the Defiant or DS9 rapidly puts the PCs in second place. That’s something to avoid at all costs. The PCs are the stars of the story. So use the setting, use the locations, use some of the NPCs but don’t worry about the Sole Survivor as they should be inconsequential to your story.
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I know this is kind of an old post, but I intend to have an encounter with the Sole Survivor as a Wild Wasteland event at some point whenever they find themselves up in the Sanctuary neighborhood. Have a guy in a blue Vault suit run up to my group and ask them in a panicky voice if anyone has seen his son Shaun. When he runs away, have a German Shepherd go bounding after him.
I’ve even thought of other interesting/amusing ways of incorporating “cameos” from the Sole Survivor over time. I have two other very green Vault Dwellers in my group from different vaults, so after that I’ll start dropping newscasts from DCR about things that have been achieved in the Commonwealth attributed to the “Vault Dweller from 111,” except make them clearly highlights from their past sessions of quests they have accomplished.
Have NPCs start calling the PCs “Nate” and “Nora” once in a while.
On down a ways, I’ll start to bill the SS in the background as a totally, incompetent goof who frequently gets lost, screws stuff up. People describe him with wildly different faces and genders… But he is also clearly is the luckiest jerk in the world and is somehow managing to get credit for the PCs work, simply because people are mistaking them as all the same guy.
I’ll do this for a while, until I might eventually have Sole Survivor seek out the PCs and tell them he wants out of the whole Minuteman thing, damn Colonial cosplay weirdos, and try to hand over the mantel of General to them. Just see what they do. Maybe they’ll kill him, maybe they’ll tell him, “Suck it up, Buttercup,” maybe they’ll take him up on his offer, or join him (and the Minutemen)… Who knows? We’ll see where it goes from there.
Mostly, I want to play it for laughs and I don’t want to lay it on too thick. But an Easter Eggs once a session would be fun. I adore the Sole Survivor from the video game, but I also love the idea that he or she is actually several people achieving all these good deeds under the guise of one person…and the actual person from the game falls a bit short as advertised.
Just some ideas. 
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The easy solution is to set your campaign (years) prior to the Sole Survivor waking up.
Next would be to set the campaign years after the SS achieved his goal. Which faction he supports is your main consideration. The SS becomes a mid-high level NPC.
If set at the same time as FO4 then decide where in the main quest the SS is. This sets the base conditions and changes over time.
Example starting conditions:
The Sole Survivor has taken over as leader of the minutemen and cleared the Castle. They are neutral with the BoS, friendly with Railroad, Hostile to Institute. Quincy is still under Gunner control. Preston is running things from the Castle. Codsworth, Dogmeat and Cait have joined the SS in Sanctuary as have the rest of the Quincy survivors. Piper is a loyal follower but remains in Diamond City. MacCready and Paladin Danse are on good terms with him but not followers. Few if any new settlements have been founded. The SS has not collected every available suit of power armor in the Commonwealth.
Integration:
The players may be asked to support the Minutemen, the Railroad or help set up a new settlement.
Piper passes some juicy tips to the players. If they play things right it can get them more work, and also further the Sole Survivors goals.
The players want to contact the BoS but direct means are driven off. The players hear the SS knows somebody in the BoS and that MacCready is friends with the SS. In return for some favors the players are put in contact with the SS and after more favors with Danse.
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