Thread 6313302

You live in Salmon, Idaho. Your small town has heard some disturbing rumors from the South that an army of mysterious robots has been killing and kidnapping people, and you've been chosen to go to Boise to investigate the truth and report back.

First, who are you?

Your name:
>Write-in
Your sex:
>Male
>Female
Your age:
>Write-in
Your SPECIAL (assign 40 points):
>Strength
>Perception
>Endurance
>Charisma
>Intelligence
>Agility
>Luck
Your Tag skills (choose 3):
>Small Guns
>Big Guns
>Energy Weapons
>Unarmed
>Melee
>Throwing
>Stealth
>Steal
>Traps
>Speech
>Barter
>Medicine
>Science
>Repair
>Lockpick
>Gambling
>Outdoorsman
Your background (affects starting gear and character interactions):
>Hunter
>Doctor's assistant
>Tradesman
>Trader
>Junkie
>Write-in
Your traits:
>Write-in
>None

>>6313302 (OP)
Your name:
>Jeb Twain
Your sex:
>Male
Your age:
>25
Your SPECIAL (assign 40 points):
>Strength: 3
>Perception: 7
>Endurance: 4
>Charisma: 3
>Intelligence: 6
>Agility: 7
>Luck: 10
Your Tag skills (choose 3):
>Small Guns
>Stealth
>Medicine

Your background (affects starting gear and character interactions):
>Junkie

Your traits:
>Bloody Mess

>>6313302 (OP)
Your name:
>Ted Kazador
Your sex:
>Male
Your age:
>31
Your SPECIAL (assign 40 points):
>Strength: 5
>Perception: 7
>Endurance: 6
>Charisma: 3
>Intelligence: 9
>Agility: 5
>Luck: 5
Your Tag skills (choose 3):
>Outdoorsman
>Science
>Traps

Your background (affects starting gear and character interactions):
>Engineer

Your traits:
>Jurry Rigging

Robots eh? Sounds industrial.

>>6313302 (OP)
>Name: Hink Maize
>Sex: Yes
>Age: Old enough... to party
SPECIAL:
>Strength: 5
>Perception: 5
>Endurance: 5
>Charisma: 2
>Intelligence: 5
>Agility: 9
>Luck: 9
TAG:
>Small Guns
>Speech
>Lockpick
BACKGROUND:
>Junkie
TRAITS:
>Jinxed

>>6313302 (OP)
Are we just creating a single investigator, or are we gathering together a small party?

>>6313368
This. Consequences will never be the same.

>>6313386
You're a lone traveller to start, but you may encounter new friends later.

Your name is Ted Kazador. You are your town's engineer, responsible for keeping the water pump, irrigation system, and electric lights working. People will often come to you to machine replacement parts for their guns and tools. You enjoy spending time in your shop tinkering with ancient computers as well. Repairs aren't a full-time job in a town this small, so you also occupy your time hunting deer and geckos in the woods.

Tag skills: Small guns, Science, Outdoorsman
Traits: Bloody Mess, Jinxed

SPECIAL
STR: 4
PER: 7
END: 5
CHA: 3
INT: 7
AGI: 7
LCK: 7

Gear:
10mm pistol, 48 JHP rounds, single-barrel shotgun, 20 shells, 3 stimpaks, sharp knife, leather jacket, Pip-boy, 200 caps.

There are two ways you can take to get to Boise. You could follow the Salmon river through the mountains, or take the road south and go around the mountains along the highway. The first path will be safer from raiders, but you will be more likely to run into dangerous wildlife. The second path will take you through some more populated towns, so you may learn more. You may also find a caravan to travel with.
>Go through the mountains
>Go around the mountains

>>6313984
>Go through the mountains
We don't have outdoorsman for nothing

You say your goodbyes in Salmon, gather your gear, and hit the road. The townsfolk put together plenty of food and water for you so you won't need to spend time hunting while you travel. You set out in the early morning and follow the old road to the southwest. As you enter the woods, the road becomes more overgrown and less intact. You find yourself relying on your Pip-boy's map program to navigate. When night falls, you make camp inside a rock formation.
You leave early the next morning and continue through the wilderness. This day is also uneventful and you encounter no man or animal. You make camp in the evening atop a cliff, with the ancient road zig-zagging down below. It's probably safe, but you avoid a fire anyway and go to sleep.
...
A rustling sound wakes you in the dark. In the dim moonlight, you can just make out a large silhouette rifling through one of your bags. The sound and shape are unmistakeable: a yao-guai. Either the mutated bear hasn't noticed you yet, or it's just more interested in the dried meat in your bag. Your guns and other bags are within your reach. You lay silently, thinking of what to do.
>Grab your shotgun and shoot it in the head
>Grab everything you can and climb down the cliff
>Stand up, make noise, and try to scare it off
>Stay quiet and hope it goes away

>>6314783
>Stand up, make noise, and try to scare it off

You quickly stand up and shout at the yao guai. You put your arms in the air to seem bigger and fire a few shots into the air with your pistol. The bear roars at you and stands on its hind legs. It drops forward again and approaches you, roaring inches from your face.
It doesn't seem very intimidated by you, so you turn around and dive down the slope towards the cliff. There is a tree growing out off the top of the cliff face, and you grab it as you roll off the edge. You climb the trunk further out and wait. The yao guai can't reach you here, and soon enough it turns its attention back to your rations. You dropped your pistol somewhere while escaping it, so you can't do anything but wait for it to go away. After ten or twenty minutes of tearing open your bag, it slowly wanders away. When you're sure it's gone, you carefully climb back up. It's a little lighter now and you can see better. It looks like all your food is gone, but you still have water. You find your pistol in the grass near the edge and pack up your things.
It's now light and you set off down the road. You know there's a little town of a few dozen inhabitants ahead called Stanley, you'll be able to buy some food there.
...
You reach Stanley and a man with a rifle stops you. You explain that you're a traveler from Salmon and you want to buy some supplies for your journey. One of the other townsfolk recognizes your face, and the man lets you pass. You enter the bar/general store, where you find the owner, Katrina. You remember from the last time you were here that she loves gossip and rumors. You tell her about your brush with death in the forest and ask for something to eat. She brings you out a meal of stew and bread and offers you a discount if you tell her the story. As you eat, you recount your ursine encounter with a bit of dramatic flair. The other two patrons in the bar listen too. When you're finished, you ask if they've heard the rumors of the robots kidnapping people. One patron says that the robots take people's brains to make into more robots. Katrina says she heard the robots look just like people, and they make copies of people to infiltrate towns. But everyone agrees they've been attacking the areas to the southeast. You tell Katrina that you need to buy some food for your journey as well. Boise is two days' walk from here.
>buy 2 days of food (-20 caps)
>buy 3 days of food (-30 caps)
>buy 4 days of food (-40 caps)
It's currently midday.
>Stay in Stanley for the night (-10 caps)
>Leave soon

>>6315210
The trek from Stanely to Boise lasts about 2 days according to Google Maps Vaultec or something. Still, I say we buy 3 days worth of food in case something delays Ted ans if not, maybe we could sell the extra food once we reach Boise.
>buy 3 days of food (-30 caps)

>>6315326
Sounds good. +1
>Leave now

Sorry for not keeping with the thread OP, the jannyjeets got me and I dutifully served out my jeetban. I'm back now, but who knows when the jeet menace will strike again?

Rod Steel
Male
37
Strength 10
Endurance 30
Unarmed, stealth, lockpick
Shoe Salesman
Always ready to deliver

You decide to leave town while you still have daylight and you buy some oat bars and dried meat from Katrina for the journey. This plus the meal leaves you with 160 caps. She warns you to keep an eye out for rats when you pass through the abandoned part of the town.
You spot a few rats and pig rats while walking among the crumbling pre-war buildings, but you keep your distance and they keep theirs. You make your way along the mountain road and find an old gas station as it's getting dark. You take shelter inside and sleep.
...
The next morning you set off again. The trek is uneventful and you come to the town of Bear Run in the evening. Inside the Bear Run Hotel a chubby man welcomes you and asks if you're here to stay the night. He tells you the price is 14 caps.
>Stay
>Haggle
>Do something else

>Haggle
"Industrial society was a mistake. Just one town over it's only 8 caps."

>>6316098
>Haggle

You try to haggle with the hotel owner and cite the lower price of the hotel in Stanley. The owner suggests that you go there if you prefer their prices. He rants some more about the various costs of running his business and about profit margins, and says if he lowered his prices he'd be losing money. You're about to relent and pay the 14 caps, but he interrupts you with a suggestion.
"Listen, if you can't afford it, how about you do a little job for me? I'll pay you good cash for it."
"Alright, let's hear it."
"There's one of those communists from out west in town. He's been standing on a crate in the main street preaching about how oh so evil the business owners are, how the workers are oppressed, how capitalism caused the great war, and other fucking nonsense. They sent him here to do it, to gather some support so they can take over the town. Plenty of people here hate him of course, but some of the poor are starting to listen. Do you know what it's like living under the commies? We've had people fleeing from them come here, none of their stories are good."
He starts to rant about taxation, wealth redistribution, and profit incentives, but you cut him off and ask what he actually wants you to do.
"You're from out of town. I want you to get rid of him. You can figure out how, but as long as you stop what he's doing and no one can trace it back to me."
"Let's get this straight, you want me to kill him?"
"Oh no, I want you to get rid of him. Well, killing him would work. Trust me, he deserves it. But I meant get him out of town. Scare him off maybe, or tell him some lie. Hell, you could just break his jaw so he can't speak."
He lowers his voice.
"But if you do decide on... killing him, now I wouldn't be against that, but he should disappear, understand me? No body lying in the street, no witnesses, no gunshots, no pools of blood in his room. He just skips town without paying his bill, and no one thinks about him again. If you make him into a martyr, I won't pay you. But get it done right, and 400 caps are yours."
>Agree
>Decline
>Ask for more
>Report him to the sheriff
>Threaten to report him to the sheriff if he doesn't pay you

>>6316416
"Oversocialized manchildren chasing power through pity, all wihle fueling the very machine they decry? Consider him vanished. 400 caps it is."
>Accept
>[First, however, I need to verify that he really is what the man claims he is.]

>>6316423
+1, but also:
>Haggle
If he can't at least offer up more caps, he should hand over a .22 or something that we could quietly do the job with. Also,
>Ask about Communists from out West

You agree to do it, but ask for 500 caps instead.
"Alright, alright." he says. "You can stay the night free too. But you only get the money once it's done."
"What else do you know about those communists?"
"You haven't heard of them? They control parts of Oregon and Washington. Once they take over a city, they put a wall up around it to keep people in. They draw people in by blaming the great war and all other evils on capitalism, and promising something different. All they have to do is promise though because once they take power no one can do shit about them. They send their people to towns all over like here to gain support. Anyway, enough talk. Get some sleep, you have a job to do tomorrow. The name's Jackson by the way."
...
The next morning you walk to the main street. You find the communist easily, a small crowd is gathered around him. Some are heckling him with insults, others listen silently to what he has to say. You listen for a while as he talks about Marxist theory. Jackson was telling the truth, he's definitely a communist. You use the time to think about your approach.
>Pose as a fellow communist and lure him out of town to kill him
>Pose as a fellow communist and convince him to leave to proselytize in another town
>Provoke him into a fight so you can break his jaw
>Intimidate him into leaving
>Find a wire to make a garotte, then tail him when it's dark
>Find out where he's staying and sneak in at night
>Reconsider
>Write in

Sending the reprobate to another town would merely serve to further spread its infantile ideology. The only language leftists understand is violence.
>A physical brawl
With 4 STR we are far from a weak soiboy, but a showdown in front of a crowd doesn't maximize our advantage.
>Social engineering
With 3 CHA we are not confident in our ability to engineer a scenario to clear the creature out of town or intimidate a dyed in the wool ideologue who gets heckled daily.
>A garotte
This is better, but, again, is an unnecessarily risky approach with far too many variables.

>Write-in
Poison would be the best approach here. The wild-eyed raving man is already half-crazed. A cocktail of deadly nightshade in his breakfast would cause delirium and even more insane ramblings the next day, discrediting his beliefs. If we're lucky, someone else might break his jaw first; otherwise, we will swoop in as a friend to help guide the raving lunatic out of town where our 10mm will take care of the rest. To that end, we will have to establish ourselves as a friendly face today.
+
>Pose as a fellow communist and poison him, then lure him out of town to kill him.

>>6317063
Interesting plan. We can start out as a curious comrade who's family worshipped the Manifesto over the years, & inquire further about the commies out West; whether or not they are connected to the Soviets or Chicoms, what strain of theory they follow, etc.

You consider poisoning him. You don't have any poison, but you could probably buy some rat poison at the trader without seeming suspicious. You also consider making poison yourself with nightshade, but it might take more than a day to find and process the flowers.
The communist finishes his speech and goes into the tavern not owned by Jackson. Looks like he's taking a break. You take your chance and follow him. He takes a table in the corner after ordering a beer and sandwich. You walk up and introduce yourself under a false name. You tell him that you were impressed by his speech, and it's nice to see someone standing up for the poor and oppressed. He thanks you and invites you to sit down. He tells you his name is Peter. You ask about where he comes from, and he tells you about the communists in Portland and Seattle. He says the revolution has been spreading, and it's only a matter of time before they free the workers of the world.
"It must be nice to live out there."
His smile slips for a moment.
"Well, we've had some trouble because of kulak sabotage. But we'll root them all out soon enough, then things will get better."
"Oh, I see."
"So are you part of the struggle?"
>Yes, I have some like-minded comrades who live out of town. You should visit us some time.
>No, but I'd like to be. Maybe we can talk about it over lunch tomorrow? Away from prying ears.
>Write in

>>6317568
>Yes, I have some like-minded comrades who live out of town. You should visit us some time.

I'm still telling my kids that this was the commie's speech in town the next day btw
https://files.catbox.moe/leajz2.mp4

>>6317597
Accurate

+1 to out of town comrades, we can lure him away as an unaware travelling companion/pack mule on our way to investigate the robit rumors.

You tell Peter that you have some friends who formed a small commune a few miles to the north, and they would definitely be interested in helping him spread the revolution. He seems excited and insists on meeting them. You suggest taking him there today and he agrees. He buys you some lunch and you ask about how the revolution started out west, and whether they're connected to China or the Soviets. He says no, as far as they can tell no one from other continents has traveled or communicated with the Americas since the war. While you're eating, he explains how Vault 38 in Oregon was initially populated by a large number of left-wing academics and activists who had dissented over the war and criticised the US government for imperialism and witholding resources from the rest of the world. Those ideas were passed on to subsequent generations, and when the vault opened they set up a university and hospital for the surrounding wastelanders. Communist ideas were taught freely at the university while right-wing ideas were not. Many people came to the university seeking education or medical help, and the number of communists grew. Eventually there were enough communists to create new communities and overthrow existing ones, and these communities consolidated their power to form a Communist Union. One of the Union's main goals is the liberation of new surrounding communities, and the first step is to find local allies, which is Peter's mission.
You soon set off together back along the road you took into Bear Run. As you walk, Peter asks how your friends found socialism. You tell him that some families in another town found and read books that had belonged to a pre-war professor, including Marxist literature. Most of your friends come from those families, you say.
A few miles along, the road is surrounded by the forest. You stop and tell Peter to follow you off the road. You walk through the trees for a few hundred yards and stop. You point at nothing up ahead and tell him to look closely. He steps forward, trying to see something through the trees.
>Shoot him in the back
>Something else

>>6318049
>Hit him in the head with the Minecraft Pickaxe, Trotsky-style
(or just use our gun)
>Loot
>Return to town for the payout

>>6318353
This

You don't normally use your knife on living creatures, but you decide not to risk someone hearing gunshots. You silently pull your knife and stand close behind him. You quickly grab his hair and stab the knife into his ear several times. He flails his arms but goes limp as the blade pierces his brain. Blood wells from the wound and soaks your hand. You search his corpse and take everything he has:
>Set of clothes (bloodstained)
>Pair of boots
>Beret
>9mm pistol
>18 9mm rounds
>168 caps
>Swiss Army Knife
>Copy of the Communist Manifesto
>2 pencils
>Sheets of paper
>Some written letters
You don't have a shovel so you can't bury him, but you drag the body between some bushes and cover it with some leaf litter. With everything packed in your bag, you set off back to town. There's a fresh bloodstain on your leather jacket, but given the dark color of the jacket and the various other stains and dirt on it, it should hopefully not stand out much.
You arrive back at the Bear Run Hotel and tell Jackson that the communist decided to leave town suddenly. Jackson goes outside, and after a few minutes of checking the regular spots, returns and shakes your hand. He takes you aside to pay you the 500 caps and quietly advises you not to sell any of his possessions in town. You decide to ask what he knows about the rumors of robots kidnapping people. He tells you that a woman arrived in town recently who survived one of the attacks, and she's staying in the hotel.

You have leveled up! You have 20 skill points to invest, in increments of +5. Tag skills (Small Guns, Science, Outdoorsman) will gain double points.
Current skill levels:
>Small Guns: 35
>Big Guns: 15
>Energy Weapons: 15
>Unarmed: 50
>Melee: 40
>Throwing: 30
>Medicine: 25
>Sneak: 25
>Lockpick: 25
>Steal: 20
>Traps: 25
>Science: 30
>Repair: 20
>Speech: 15
>Barter: 10
>Gambling: 35
>Outdoorsman: 25
Choose how to allocate your skill points.

>>6319079
All into science

>>6319079
>You have leveled up! You have 20 skill points to invest, in increments of +5. Tag skills (Small Guns, Science, Outdoorsman) will gain double points.
>Current skill levels:
>>Small Guns: 35
>>Big Guns: 15
>>Energy Weapons: 15
>>Unarmed: 50
>>Melee: 40
>>Throwing: 30
>>Medicine: 25
>>Sneak: 25
>>Lockpick: 25
>>Steal: 20
>>Traps: 25
>>Science: 30
>>Repair: 20
>>Speech: 15
>>Barter: 10
>>Gambling: 35
>>Outdoorsman: 25
>Choose how to allocate your skill points.
5 into small guns
10 into science
5 into traps

Read the letters, then burn them
Use the pencils and paper to take down notes in your own hand about important details from the letters
Burn the Communist Manifesto
Burn the Beret and clothes

>Hold onto the swiss army knife and pistol for a while and sell them at a later date

>828 caps
Buy something
With an air compressor and a source of power we could rig up a liquid oxygen still for making oxidizer for explosives.
There are plenty of pines in the area. We could maybe even start distilling turpentine and toluene for making TNT which is stable enough to sell to farmers with stumps to remove and local militias with communists to remove.

5 in Throwing, 5 in Science, 10 in Outdoorsman

Burn the Beret, Clothes, & Manifesto like the other anon said, but keep the letters for now, they could fetch a good price from anti-red militias if they have intel.

Maybe 5 in all our skills and 5 in traps?

>Outdoorsman 5 (->35)
>Small Arms 5 (->45)
>Science 5 (->40)
>Traps 5 (->30)

You gain +10 Small Guns, +20 Science, +10 Outdoorsman
>Small Guns: 45
>Big Guns: 15
>Energy Weapons: 15
>Unarmed: 50
>Melee: 40
>Throwing: 30
>Medicine: 25
>Sneak: 25
>Lockpick: 25
>Steal: 20
>Traps: 25
>Science: 50
>Repair: 20
>Speech: 15
>Barter: 10
>Gambling: 35
>Outdoorsman: 35

You decide to dispose of the communist's clothes when you're out of town. For now, you speak to the survivor of the robot attacks. You introduce yourself and tell her that you're investigating the attacks and would like to ask some questions. She agrees and tells you that her name is Kira and she's from Burley, southeast of here, where she was the doctor's assistant. The town was suddenly attacked by dozens of robots. She didn't see how it started, but she saw that people had started running or fighting. The robots were of an unfamiliar model, and were humanoid. They had a laser built into one arm and some kind of stun weapon built into the other. The robots had surrounded the town to stop people escaping, but some of the townsfolk managed to fight their way out, and she was with them. Kira and two others were separated from the rest and fled, but the other two were killed by bandits on the road west. She hasn't seen or heard of any other survivors since then.
>Ask her to join you
>Thank her for the information and go to bed

Traps, my beloved...
>>6319818
>Ask her if she wants to return
Our mission is to go to Boise, find information on the robots, and, presumably, return to share the information. We were not tasked with destroying the robots or liberating any towns.

>Ask her to join us
>Go to the market & see what we can spend our caps on

>>6313984
Hey OP, why don't our SPECIAL stats match what >>6313368 said? I get that Jury Rigging wasn't a thing but why did it change from
S: 5 -> S: 4
P: 7 -> P: 7
E: 6 -> E: 5
C: 3 -> C: 3
I : 9 -> I : 7
A: 5 -> A: 7
L : 5 -> L: 7
(40) -> (38)

>>6319928
I decided the numerical choices with multiple options are a compromise between the different responses, weighted towards the ones with more votes.

You offer to take Kira with you on your journey. She thinks for a moment and agrees, saying that there's nowhere else for her to go. Maybe this way, she'll get some revenge. You tell her to meet you here tomorrow morning ready to leave. You hurry to the market before it gets dark and shop around. A trader is selling a bolt-action hunting rifle for 500 caps, .308 rounds at 5 caps each, and some crude steel armor for 1000. Another is selling a pre-war robotics book for 200 caps. Another is selling stimpaks for 150 each. You have 828 caps, and you think you could get 250 for the 9mm pistol and ammo. The Swiss army knife might go for another 50. The pencils and paper together might get you 70.
>buy the rifle and 20 rounds (600)
>buy the book (200)
>buy a stimpak (150)
>sell something

>>6320282
>buy the book (200)
Know thy enemy.

>Book + Stimpack
Hopefully we can get some armor in the near future.

>>6320282
Rifle and stimmy the other guys are crazy

>>6320790
We're already carrying a shotgun, you want to carry a .308 too?

>>6321105
Well, I think this will quickly get out of hand when we are carrying a 'salt rifle, hunting rifle, shotgun, 10mm sidearm, 9mm fallback, and room clearing bullpup but fine. We have to get the book though, that's obviously an important relic. Put your drug addiction on hold and get the book and .308.

What kind of creatures should we be looking out for in irradiated Idaho? Wendigos? Meese? Canuckians?

>>6321478
The most dangerous animal of all is man, probably.

Thinking that you need a weapon for longer ranges, you buy the rifle and ammunition for 600 caps and the book for 200. You considered buying a stimpak, but decided to get the other things instead since you already have three.
An updated list of your inventory:
>Caps (28)
>Hunting rifle
>.308 rounds (20)
>Single shotgun
>Shotgun shells (20)
>10mm pistol
>10mm JHP rounds (45)
>9mm pistol
>9mm rounds (18)
>Sharp knife
>Swiss army knife
>Leather jacket (equipped)
>Peter's clothes
>Peter's boots
>Peter's beret
>Stimpaks (3)
>Travel rations (1 day)
>Water flasks
>Robotics book
>Communist manifesto
>Peter's letters
>Pencils (2)
>Sheets of paper (14)
>Pip-boy
You head back to the hotel and sleep for the night. In the morning you meet with Kira and prepare to leave for Boise. At the moment, she has no weapons. She tells you that she knows how to use a gun, but not very well. She doesn't have any other combat skills either.
>Lend her the shotgun
>Lend her the rifle
>Lend her the shotgun and 9mm pistol
>Lend her the rifle and 9mm pistol
>Give her no weapon, she'll be no use in a fight anyway
>Something else

>Lend the Shotgun & Shells
Less skill needed to hit something.

>>6321627
>Lend her the shotgun and 9mm pistol

>Lend her the shotgun
At least wait until we're out of town to start flashing the 9mm around, good lord.

After a brief demonstration on how to reload it, you give the shotgun to Kira. The trip to Boise will take less than the whole day, and you set out early so you will have time to investigate in the afternoon. Outside the town, a caravan is getting ready to leave. You ask their destination and they say they are headed to Boise as well.
>Safety in numbers, ask to travel with them.
>Best to keep a low profile, travel alone.

>>6322239
>Offer to join as guards for 100 caps, if not, go on our own.

test

Sweet, I can post again. +1 to the big brain idea.

>>6322252
Maybe that is cheap for them or their going rate is higher. I would ask what they would pay for an extra two guns on the trip there and probably not try to negotiate because our charisma is only three

>>6323039
No objections from me. It is only half a day though so I'm not expecting much, if anything.

You ask the caravan leader how much he'd pay for a couple more guards. He tells you that they're not looking for any extra guards, but you're welcome to travel with them if you're looking for protection. You politely decline and start walking ahead.
Some time into the trek, the road passes through a field. Some wrecked pre-war vehicles are strewn around. You perceive some movement in the distance ahead, and quickly motion to Kira to get down behind the nearest car. You take her binoculars and peek over the car to take a look. You see two men hiding behind a rusty car about 400 yards ahead, occasionally looking out in your direction. They don't have binoculars and it seems they haven't noticed you. There is an overturned truck on the other side of the road, which may be concealing more of them. You guess that the caravan is half an hour to an hour behind you.
>Head back to warn the caravan
>Wait around here to warn the caravan when they get near
>Take a wide detour to get past the men without being noticed
>Approach them diplomatically
>Attack

>Warn the Caravan
>Offer to Scout Ahead/Loop Around

You should advertise this qst in the /QTG/ to get more voters looking at it.

>>6323992
Good idea, thanks

>>6323200
+1 to this, just good folk

You leave while still undetected and walk until you find the caravan. You wave down the caravan leader and tell him about the raiders up ahead. He thanks you for the warning and brings some of the others over to discuss what to do. Based on your description, they expect the caravan's 20 fighters would outnumber them. The most popular option seems to be to attack the raiders first: going around at a safe distance would take a while and go over terrain hazardous for the brahmin and wagons. One of the leading guards proposes to use riflemen behind the cars on the road to keep the raiders pinned behind cover while others flank on both sides. The other caravanners concur. You offer to do some scouting first to confirm their numbers.
The caravan stops out of sight of the ambush spot, and you creep ahead with the caravan leader. You check through the binoculars and the raiders are still there. You suggest that when you're in the field on the right, you can fire a shot or two from range to draw them out of cover into the guards' line of fire, if the odds are good. The leader agrees and you get ready to go. The guards help to attach some sticks and leaves to your clothes to help camoflage you, and you crawl through the grass off the road. It takes some time, but eventually you get into a good position behind a rock to survey the enemy. You count two hiding behind the car and eight hiding behind the truck. About half of them have assault rifles and others have shotguns, hunting rifles, or pipe rifles. You check on the guards and they're in position behind the cars. You chamber a round in your hunting rifle and take aim. You fire a shot at the raiders and quickly duck behind the rock. You don't think you hit any of them at this range, but you can hear them shouting. You look out from behind the rock again and fire another shot, then duck again as bullets fly past you. The raiders had run towards you after the first shot, but run back to cover after taking fire from the guards. You hear some screams of pain, so you know at least one of them is hit.
>Stay behind the rock and wait for the guards to take them out
>Take potshots from here
>Try to crawl back to safety

>Crawl backwards, then flank them to create an obtuse L-shaped ambush angle
>Be careful not to get into the caravan's field of fire

I am voting 'present.' I wasn't paid to risk my life and this is off mission.

>>6324715
+1

You crawl back from the rock for a while and then turn left to head towards a wrecked car. Halfway towards the car, you look to the left and see a raider running towards you with his head ducked. You roll on your side and aim your rifle, but you miss as your aim is thrown off by a deep burning pain in your side. You look down and see you've been hit. You look back towards the raider but you can't see him. Pushing yourself up, you crawl quickly behind the car and slump against it.
You hear footsteps close by and rack the bolt of your rifle, but it jams. The raider appears from the other side of the car and aims his pipe rifle at you. Nothing happens. He frantically tries to release the hammer, but you pull out your 10mm pistol and put four rounds in him, and he drops to the ground dead.
Taking off your jacket, you inspect the wound on your left side. Luckily the bullet only grazed your abdomen, and it's not bleeding heavily. You use a stimpak to inject healing chemicals around the wound, then put a spare piece of cloth over it. You take off your belt and use it to apply pressure, then you wait. It seems like the battle is already over, and help quickly arrives. The guards fetch Kira, who disinfects and bandages the wound properly. The guards help you walk back to the caravan and you sit on one of the wagons. Apparently one guard was killed and another was wounded in the fight.
Once they've finished looting the corpses, the caravanners bring you your share. They offer you a choice.
>1000 caps
>400 caps, a rusty AK-47, and 43 7.62mm rounds

>>6325625
I'm fine with either one, let's get to Boise.

>>6325659..
>Bargain for slightly less caps & more 7.62 rds & mags, + some body armor stripped off of the bandits

>>6325659
Nice anon, can you do one for our guy?

>>6325660
>>6321627

Forgot caps

Books

>>6325673
Dope, thanks anon

>>6325625
>400 caps, a rusty AK-47, and 43 7.62mm rounds

You choose the rifle over the extra caps. You ask if they have any more ammo for it, but they tell you that's all they found.
Your updated inventory:
>Caps (428)
>Hunting rifle
>.308 rounds (17)
>Rusty AK-47
>7.62mm rounds (43)
>Single shotgun
>Shotgun shells (20)
>10mm pistol
>10mm JHP rounds (41)
>9mm pistol
>9mm rounds (18)
>Sharp knife
>Swiss army knife
>Leather jacket (equipped)
>Peter's clothes
>Peter's boots
>Peter's beret
>Stimpaks (2)
>Water flasks
>Robotics book
>Communist manifesto
>Peter's letters
>Pencils (2)
>Sheets of paper (14)
>Pip-boy
You rest on the wagon for the rest of the journey, and take the opportunity to do some reading. You go through Peter's letters, which consist of various orders and instructions related to subverting the local population. It includes details about potential targets for radicalisation in the area, such as striking workers or chem junkies. Apparently there is an ammunition factory in Boise, and the workers are paid low wages. The letter informs Peter that a 'comrade' has been dispatched undercover with the goal of unionizing them, and that this union leader can be trusted if encountered. The mayor might be interested in this.
You put the letters away and start reading the robotics book. One of the chapters lists various robot models as of 2074. None of them match the descriptions you've heard. An older model of the Robco Sentry Bot comes close, but it is still too big to match and has different weapons. The robots must be either a new design made after the war, or a secret prototype from before the war. Skimming through, you find a section about remote control systems. Rather than equipping a robot with expensive and bulky artificial intelligence hardware, more basic computers can be used if the robot is kept in contact with a more advanced controller computer, typically with encrypted radio frequency communications. This also allows a large number of robots to carry out coordinated tasks, which is of great military value. However, the communications can be susceptible to jamming. This sounds like it might be how the robots function, but until you get to autopsy one you can't be sure.
The caravan arrives in Boise in the evening and you rent a hotel room for the night. In the morning, you start looking around the town. Most of it still uses relatively intact pre-war buildings, as the city apparently was unimportant enough to be spared from the bombs. You decide it's time to get to work.
>Go to the mayor's office
>Go to the marketplace
>Go to the bar and ask around about the robots

>>6326440
>Go to the mayor's office
The letter gives as an in with the mayor and quite possibly some caps for the intel, plus who better to know about the robots than the mayor of the regional power center?

>MAYOR
Hopefully we can setup the union agent for an even bigger payday.

You ask for directions to the mayor's office, and you are told the town's leader titles himself the Archon. You make your way to the council building and tell the guard at the door that you have important information for the Archon. The guard brings you to the Archon's secretary to whom you explain that you found written evidence of a plot to subvert the Archon's authority. After a brief discussion behind closed doors, the secretary returns and tells you that you are invited to meet the Archon. You leave your weapons with the guards and are given a pat-down, then you enter the office alone.
The Archon is dressed in a white formal suit with a very long coat, and sports a bushy grey beard. He speaks somewhat eccentrically.
"Welcome, Mr Kazador. I am told that you have something for me."
You hand him the letter and explain vaguely how you found it. He takes some time to read the parts that you pointed out to him.
"Yes, yes. Hmm. Well, you've done a good job bringing this to me, but I already know that Simmons is a communist spy. We've had our eyes on him ever since he started causing trouble here. The problem is, he's quite popular, especially among the factory workers. If I just arrest him or throw him out, I'm now a tyrant in the eyes of the public. I label him a communist infiltrator, he has plausible deniability. I have him killed, he becomes a martyr and the workers riot. There's not much I can do."
"But now you have evidence, isn't that enough?"
"My boy, I already had evidence. This will add to the case against him, and I'm glad to have it. But it's just a piece of paper with writing on it. Anyone literate can forge a letter. Thank you for bringing it to me, but it's not the last piece of the puzzle. Oh, and I suppose you want to be paid for this. I'll have my secretary give you 300 caps. Did you come to town just to give this to me?"
"No, I'm here to investigate the robots that have attacked towns."
"Ah yes, a concerning matter. Our council is worried they may threaten Boise as well. We have a man investigating them too. He's in the field at the moment but I think he'll be back in town within the week. His name is Oswald Rankin, you should talk to him when he arrives. Until then you could ask around, we get plenty of travellers bringing stories. Try the hotels."
You thank him for the advice.
>Offer to record a holotape of Simmons admitting to being a communist agent
>Leave and start investigating

>>6326841
>Offer to record a holotape of Simmons admitting to being a communist agent
It's off mission but eliminating leftists is always acceptable mission drift.
I'm fine with staying on mission if that's what other anons want, tho.

>>6326858
I concur, let's followup against the reds & the robits.

"What if I get you a recording of this guy admitting he's a communist agent? I can go in posing as one of them, tell him I'm working with the agent in Bear Run. If you give me a holotape I can record it on my Pip Boy."
"We've tried that once before, he suspected something and pretended not to know what our guy was talking about. We thought they might have a code phrase they use to identify each other."
"Alright, maybe I don't know the code phrase because I'm a new local recruit."
"If you're sent to meet him, they'd tell you the code first... unless your guy up north was killed by capitalist swine before he could tell you."
"And I survive and flee to him for help."
"Yes, hm. This could work. But first you'll have to memorize all the information in those letters to sell the story. The names of the people in charge, what their strategies and goals are, as well as details of communist theory."
The Archon activates an intercom on his desk.
"Harold, send Mike in for me."
After a few minutes a bald man in metal armor enters.
"I'm here, boss."
"Mr Kazador, this is Mike, our captain of the guards. Mike, I believe we can trust Mr Kazador with our communist problem."
He explains the plan to Mike, who seems to agree with it.
"Mike will help you with the task from now on. Go with him to prepare, he'll get you the holotape and whatever else you need. Take the letters with you."
"Alright, follow me."
He takes you to a room where you both sit and study the letters. Mike tests you with questions about your story until you get all the details right. You also read through what you think are the important parts of the Communist Manifesto. You also test the audio quality of the Pip Boy's tape recorder. When Mike is satisfied with the preparations, he shows you a map of the town and tells you where you should go to find Simmons, and where his men will be waiting undercover in case something goes wrong. He reminds you to leave the council building through the back door so no one sees you here.

It's dark when you find him, in a small shack not far from the factory.
"Excuse me, are you Simmons, the union leader?"
"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?"
"You're a friend of Peter's, aren't you?"
"Peter? I'm not sure that I know a Peter."
"Peter in Bear Run?"
"Uh, I don't know him, sorry."
"Listen, he told me that you were on our side. I don't know where else to go for help."
"Did this Peter tell you to come to me?"
"No, he just told me you're one of us. I came here because he's been murdered. You'll have to send a message to Comrade Berkowitz in the Ministry."
He whispers angrily.
"Shut your mouth, you imbecile. Come with me."
He takes you to an alleyway behind a pre-war factory.
"Now we can talk. I don't know what that idiot was thinking telling an outsider this much. But you're here now. So tell me, who else have you told about any of this?"
"No one, I swear."
"What happened in Bear Run?"
"I met Peter there, and I was helping him to convince the workers to liberate themselves. But the capitalists sent men to kill us. Only I got away. He'd told me about you so I came here for help."
"He told you about me, he told you about Berkowitz, he told you about the Ministry, what else did he tell you?"
"He told me about our plans, how we're going to liberate the surrounding smaller towns first to cut off Boise from trade. Then we put pressure on them to surrender with the Red Army on the outside and the revolution on the inside. We have our people in the city in secret, waiting for the moment."
Simmons casually pulls a revolver on you.
"Don't run. He told too much to a stranger. But can you convince me that you can be trusted to keep your mouth shut? I might let you live if killing you is riskier."
>"Please comrade, I can be trusted. I'm loyal to the revolution. I want to help, and I won't tell anything to anyone, I promise."
>"Drop the gun, commie. We've got you surrounded."
>Fight

I'm seeing a common theme with Berkowitz & Simmons... True to the lore.

Fighting would lead to either the death and, supposedly, martyrdom of the commie, or else the death of me. And while that would give the Archon the ability to arrest him for murder, it's not exactly the outcome most advantageous for me.

Bluffing that we have him surrounded is the same as fighting with extra steps.

There's no choice, then, but to commit to the charade.
>"Please comrade, I can be trusted. I'm loyal to the revolution. I want to help, and I won't tell anything to anyone, I promise."

Out of curiosity, OP, are we able to send messages home over our Pip Boy?

>>6327724
The Pip Boy can't send radio signals, but we can write a letter and send it with the next caravan.

You promise him that you're loyal, and will never tell anyone what you know. He hesitates for a few moments and puts the gun away.
"Alright, I believe you. I'm sorry about the precautions comrade, but I can't be too careful. They've been watching me, they at least suspect something. I'll write to Berkowitz. In fact, why don't you make yourself useful and deliver it for me? It would be good for you to visit our little worker's utopia. I've got some other messages to send to him as well. You'll find him in the Ministry of External Security in Portland. Give me a few minutes and I'll get everything together."
You follow him to his shack and he writes a few pages in a cypher. He folds them up together with some more pages containing what look like maps and diagrams.
"Here, you don't want to be seen with me. Get yourself a hotel room and leave in the morning."
He hands you the letters as well as a handful of caps. You bid him goodbye and walk outside. Further down the street, Mike flags you down from behind a building. You show him the letters and tell him about what you recorded. He has you play back the tape, and he is satisfied. He speaks into his handheld radio, then after a minute you hear shouting as the guards arrest Simmons. He walks you back to the council building and pays you 800 caps for your service. Tired after a long day, you head back to the hotel and get to sleep quickly.
The morning comes and you grab a quick breakfast with Kira.
>Ask around about the robots
>Head to the marketplace
>Write in

>Ask around for robits AT the market
We also need to pass-on the commie intel to someone who can use it

>>6328148
>Market
Inventory Management
>>6328148

>Sell
-9mm
-9mm rounds x18
-Swiss army knife
-Peter's Boots
-Peter's Beret

>Burn
Peter's clothes
Communist Manifesto
Peter's Letters

>Buy
Spare 10mm mag
Spare AK mag (30 or 40 rounds)
Enough AK rounds to fill up the second mag
Gun oil and cleaning kit to maintain our AK

>Shop around for
Optics. A scope for the .308 and reflex sights for the AK and 10mm.
Power tools and tool belt and a serious multitool better than a swiss army knife.
Stimpack
Rations
Whetstone for our knife

Solid suggestions, I agree with everything here, although if the boots are better than ours & fit we should keep them, & I doubt we'll find any advanced optics as described. We still need solid body armor, so that should be priority #1, + a helm/helmet.

Also some paracord so we can make slings for our longarms. A shoulder sling for the Winchester and a three point for our AK.

And a firestarter and maybe a tactical vest and find out how much postage is back to Salmon to relay the information we have found on the robots and inform them that we are about to begin our trip back home, in case something happens to us or we get waylaid.
And a pretty pony.

You sell the 9mm pistol, Swiss army knife, and Peter's boots and hat for 412 caps. You shop around at the gun vendors and top up your ammo supply. You also buy a long-range scope for the hunting rifle, a reflex sight for the AK, some cord to make slings, a weapon maintenance kit, and a small whetstone. There's a merchant selling sets of steel armor for 2500 caps, but you can't afford it. You left the letters with Mike, but you find a hobo's fire barrel to throw the Communist Manifesto and Peter's clothes into.

Your inventory:
>Caps (1018)
>Hunting rifle (Scoped)
>.308 rounds (17)
>Rusty AK-47 (Reflex sight)
>7.62mm rounds (90)
>Single shotgun
>Shotgun shells (20)
>10mm pistol
>10mm JHP rounds (60)
>Sharp knife
>Leather jacket (equipped)
>Stimpaks (2)
>Water flasks
>Robotics book
>Pencils (2)
>Sheets of paper (14)
>Pip-boy

You check with the local caravan master who tells you a letter to Salmon would cost you 30 caps, but would take two to four weeks to arrive depending on how soon a caravan is leaving. Back at the hotel Kira checks your wound from the battle, and it's completely healed. Stimpaks work wonders, she remarks.
You spend the rest of the day asking around about the robots. Some folk have taken to calling them "the saucerheads" based on their description. You make notes of the dates and locations of the attacks and draw a map. As you talk, you gather more leads on who to talk to. Some of those you talk to are survivors, others know survivors, and others just hear rumors. You hope that once you get a clear overview of the attacks, you'll be able to find a clue.

You have leveled up! You have 20 skill points to invest, in increments of +5. Tag skills (Small Guns, Science, Outdoorsman) will gain double points.
Current skill levels:
>Small Guns: 45
>Big Guns: 15
>Energy Weapons: 15
>Unarmed: 50
>Melee: 40
>Throwing: 30
>Medicine: 25
>Sneak: 25
>Lockpick: 25
>Steal: 20
>Traps: 25
>Science: 50
>Repair: 20
>Speech: 15
>Barter: 10
>Gambling: 35
>Outdoorsman: 35
Choose how to allocate your skill points.

What are Kira's tagged skills?

>Small Guns
>Energy Weapons (we'll need them vs robits)
>Outdoorsman
>Speech
5 Each
I would go Sneak, but Outdoorsman should get us the drop on most enemies when travelling.
Also, let Kira hold on to the shotgun while we're on the road.

Small Guns
Outdoorsman
Traps
Speech (Since that is what we've been solving all our problems with -.-)

>>6328623
Based Innawoods Editor