FACTIONS

Exiled NCR Forces

The NCR in the Frontier are mostly comprised of veterans and conscripted soldiers from the NCR-Brotherhood War.

That war lasted for decades and each victory for the NCR came at a very high cost. At the start of the war, the NCR was crushed in nearly every battle.The Brotherhood of Steel had access to far superior technology, as well as being more rigorously trained and disciplined. Though they were severely outnumbered by the NCR, the Brotherhood was determined to win the war. Soon the NCR had to stray from conventional battle tactics and adopted a new strategy… attrition.

Unable to attain a decisive victory in direct warfare, the NCR generals were hoping the Brotherhood would be unable to sustain a prolonged conflict. Wave after wave of NCR troopers were continually expended to break the Brotherhood’s back.
However, setback after setback caused the overall morale to plummet and led to many deserters among the NCR forces. Due to the high casualties accosted each victory, each hard-fought battle seemed like a loss no matter the outcome. Determined to prevent a complete breakdown of the army, the NCR brass promised every conscript who were forced to fight a voluntary discharge.

With renewed focus and energy, the NCR opened up a new front in the Mojave. After many battles, despite the NCR sustaining heavy casualties for each victory, the Brotherhood was finally cornered at Helios One. The Brotherhood made one last valiant stand but was finally defeated.
With the Mojave Chapter defeated, the Mojave was finally under NCR control. The conscripts were finally free of fighting, and could return home.

After several months of supervising Helios One, General Blackthorne, the commander of the conscripted forces, arrived at Camp Mccarran to receive his men’s discharge papers. Expecting  his men’s repose, he was instead ordered by General Lee Oliver to defend Hoover Dam from the impending Legion assault. Knowing that, once again, his men would become mere cannon fodder for the NCR war machine, General Blackthorne made the decision to abandon the NCR and flee into the Frontier.

Over the next few years, Blackthorne and his men continued to focus on improving their position, and observed the unfolding events of the Mojave. Their ultimate goal was to return to the NCR to overthrow President Kimball and his warmongering staff, and stop the endless cycle of war.

The Crusaders

The Crusaders were formed by a BoS paladin, Tasha Weaver, who was left for dead at Helios One.

She and several other Brotherhood refugees met up at New Canaan to live out a peaceful existence. The destruction of New Canaan was the crucible in which the Crusaders were born. Returning from a missionary trip, Weaver beheld the destruction of all she came to love. Possess with fury, Weaver repaired and repainted her power armor. Gritted her teeth she added a new symbol to her armor: a blood red symbol that merged the Crusader Cross with the BoS insignia.

Standing back she believed God had a new mission for her: To reclaim the Holy Lands, to rebuild the old cities like had been done with New Canaan and New Jerusalem. The BoS was correct in their collection of old world technology, but wrong in their worship. The tech should be used to reclaim the cities from the wasteland trash and establish new Mormon cities like New Canaan. Brotherhood and Mormonism philosophies battled in her mind congealing into a strange new religion.

Driven by her charisma and indignation, Weaver and her fellow missionaries formed the Crusaders and declared a Holy War against what she perceived the enemies of rebuilding humanity, the Enemies of God or the Unworthy as she called them. Setting out to reclaim the Holy Lands, she makes a detour with some of her knights to give Blackthorne some much owed payback. A man she viewed as evil incarnate.

The Northern Legion

Lead by Legate Marcus Valerious, the Northern Legion started as a small expeditionary force sent to conquer the areas north of the NCR to prepare for a full invasion of California. They expected to face weak tribals and encountered Blackthorne’s exiles instead.

Taking advantage of the Exiles failures and atrocities, Valerious absorbed the long suffering Snowblind and Bleeder tribes into his Legion, growing it into a fighting force larger, if not stronger, then Lanius’.

Valerious hopes to use his success in the Frontier to prove himself to Caesar and eventually be seen as an equal to Lanius.