The Tunbridge Protectorate

Tunbridge and its militia are the weakest of the three factions, but their control is the most far reaching as they were the premier power in Kentex long before the rise of the Church and the appearance of Parliament.
The only thing keeping Tunbridge from falling under control of one of the other two groups is that they’re too busy fighting each other to care about an ill equipped, rag-tag army….yet.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re the noble underdogs of F:FB. You don’t gain power by playing nice.

Narrative First

Just realised that with the way that I’m putting the game together; I’ll have to put all narrative branches in place first and then assemble the combat/encounter elements.
(Which is fine by me. Telling the story is the fun part!)
It’s only key characters that have to be placed. Spot NPCs who exist only to flesh out the world can be added later.

As I mentioned earlier, combat will be very basic in comparison to that of Authentic Fallout. There are only a handful of stats and victory depends on your equipment status combined with a little luck.
You’ll have the option to flee most battles at the cost of HP, but that cost goes up over the course of each combat round, making it a gamble to see if you’ll prevail. Also, if you flee, you’ll leave the “dungeon” entirely and in F:FB, dungeons are repopulated.

Skywatch

Skywatch was London’s primary defence against incoming missiles. Though it could in no way prevent the detonation of a payload, it instead took out the inbound projectile’s propulsion, by way of immensely powerful lasers, as it crested the horizon, causing it to fall far short of its target.
Because of sabotage, it was operating at only 60% efficiency when the Great War ignited, and its subsequent failure was inevitable. Whether the system would have been able to cope with the high number of weapons being fired off in 2077 and successfully protected the British Capital will never be known.

Skywatch’s design is inspired, not by the Millennium Dome that currently sits on the bank of the Thames, but the “Dome of Discovery” from the 1951 Festival of Britain.

Timeline

(Subject to minor changes)

(EFH – Existing Fallout History)

1940
(August) Construction of bunker-network begins beneath London. Because of their depth, they are dubbed “The Hardwigg Network” after a character from “Journey to the centre of the Earth”.

1951
(November) Over fears of Soviet ambition and the rise of nuclear threats, Winston Churchill authorises ongoing expansion of The Hardwigg Network. It continues over the course of the next century and becomes an integral part of all plans relating to the survival of government and British culture in the event of atomic war.

2060
(June) (EFH) War in Middle East ends as the oil fields run dry.
(October) Russia ceases sale of gas to Europe.
(November) The Super-tanker, Titan Merridian, leaves the Persian Gulf with the last major shipment of oil from the region.
(November) Balkans descend into civil/ethnic warfare. Genocide and anarchy follows.
(November) Italian economy collapses. Government collapse follows under civil unrest.
(November) Spain seizes control of Gibraltar, and with it; control of the Straight. Piracy in the region escalates.
(November) The boarders between Germany and France are hastily fortified in anticipation of imminent conflict.
(November) Central EC states collapse as power fails and shipment of food becomes impossible through fuel shortages. Refugees from these nations head west into France and Germany. Humanitarian crisis ensues.
(November) Britain effectively closes the English Channel when it activates the atomic minefields around its coastline.
(December) The Titan Merridian is hijacked off the coast of Africa. Remaining EC governments accuse on another of its theft.
(December) (EFH) The European Commonwealth collapses.

2061
(February) The Titan Merridian is spotted in Atlantic by a French submarine. This submarine is destroyed by an unidentified vessel.
(April) The Titan Merridian is seen entering British territorial waters. France and Germany accuse Britain of piracy, which Britain vehemently denies, even when confronted with satellite photos of the ship entering a British port.
(May) A German/French military coalition begins long-range bombardment of Britain. Britain returns fire. The continued exchange is dubbed “The Thrift War”, with neither side willing to spend precious resources on a grand offensive

2065
(January) Heavy British bombardment on French/German civilian centres.
(March) The German/French coalition begin an invasion of Britain. After enormous casualties inflicted by the island’s defences, they make a beach-head at Hastings. An extended trench war in the area follows.

2067
(September) British Home Secretary, Nathan Maxwell, proposes use of tactical nuclear weapons to break the stalemate on the South coast. It is tentatively approved and the area is bombed. National protests follow and plans for further use of such weapons are shelved.

2068
(January) The German/French coalition deem the Hastings beach-head untenable and retreat.
(February) French government collapses under civil unrest.
(April) Germany splits into 3 warring regions.

2069
(March) Major energy shortages in Britain. Only key cities receive power as the national grid begins to shut down.
(May) In an effort to divert public attention from the ongoing energy crisis, Britain invades and seizes control of northern French coastal regions with the aim of capturing remaining resources.
(July) British pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithe, begins a collaborative effort with U.S. Biomedical research company, West-Tek in the development of a stabilizing agent for potential countermeasure to New Plauge.

2071
(April 4th) “The 4th Day Alliance” is established in former French city of Strasbourg. It is a brutal collective of military leaders from the fallen European Commonwealth. They begin massing weapons with the intention of restoring “justice and order” to Europe, starting with the destruction of Britain.

2072
(May) The “War in the Air” over France between British and 4th day aircraft begins.
(July) French coast is lost to 4th Day forces as Britain retreats back across the channel.
(August) First major bombardment of London from 4th Day missiles is thwarted by the city’s Skywatch defence system.
(August) Sky over Southern England is “burnt” by 4th Day superweapon. Resulting ozone hole, while temporary, does major damage to flora and faua.

2073
(February) GlaxoSmithe begins independent development of the 40 series; biological compounds based on earlier joint endeavours with West-Tek.
(April) GlaxoSmithe deems Compound 47 weapon-ready.
(April) C47 payloads dropped on 4th Day positions in Northern France. Exact effects are not recorded, but 4th Day retreat east almost immediately and are not heard from again.

2074
(EFH) International Oil Talks. Britain, Finland, Sweden and Norway are the only nations from Europe capable of attending.

2076
(June) (EFH) West Tek research falls under direct supervision from US Military. Collaboration with GlaxoSmithe ends.
(July) The unpopular abolishment of the Monarchy in Britain. The Prime Minister announces to formation of the “United Republic of Great Britain” and makes his infamous “New Empire” speech, which world leaders condemn as “Ill timed” or “Warmongering”.
(November) Skywatch is sabotaged. Efforts to repair it are hampered by the worsening energy crisis, general lack of materials and civil unrest.

2077
(October 23rd) (EFH) The Great War. Britain is destroyed. Skywatch fails and London is obliterated.

Test Card

Butler-Bot

There is a RobCo presence in F:FB. Computers run on one of their older operating system to those seen throughout the wastelands of America (as the end approached, the U.S. government most likely introduced some sort of legislation to prevent proliferation of higher end technologies beyond their boarders) and there are one or two Mr Handys floating around, but the majority of robots purchased for use on the British isles were constructed by a native corporation: Barnabus Automation.
Their most popular product was the cheaply constructed BV-10, a Butler/Valet model.
It cost a third of what a Mr Handy went for, but had issues with stairs…….and lesser inclines…..and doors…...dust…..water…..certain radio frequencies, fur from pets, fridge magnets, the colour yellow, cold weather, fog, hot weather, children and Tuesdays.
Because of the tempting price, however, one English household in three had a Butler by the end of 2060. Sales declined after that as Britain slid into conflict with the rest of the European Commonwealth.

Art Style

The authentic Fallout games carried a very 1950s, Retro-Future aesthetic, which is a splendid reflection of American optimism and, in my opinion; that nation’s defining era.
Fair Blighty, however, is set in England, and the English are a lot more cynical. Having been virtually ruined over the course of 2 world wars and countless economic crisis, the whole “make do and keep soldiering on” mentality of the population makes for a focus more on functionality than flamboyance. Present something obviously wasteful or perceivably pointless to people here and they’ll mock your absurdity.

A different people means a different approach to technology and construction. This has compelled me to do a bit of a mental reset when looking for the key source of inspiration of F:FB’s overall appearance. Rather than 1950s sci-fi, which was all bells and whistles, I’m instead looking at the 1960s and Gerry Anderson for a more industrial vibe to mix in with themes more stereotypically British.
We’re thinking more “Thunderbirds” than “Forbidden Planet” here.