I spent rest of the evening writing the next episode of the Fallout Florida. The PCs are to head towards Keys, or seek out an audience with the Brotherhood splinter faction. Knowing my players they might as well head out to kill one of two gang leaders whose gang have caused them trouble. So, there are many a lead I need to keep up, big fault of mine though.
Initial setup for PCs was that they were banished from AI-led Vault. The Head of Security had other plans, as he has grown disgruntled with the AI controlling all of overcrowded vault, his security detail being understaffed and underarmed for daily enforcement (as robots and AI giving 0 f**ks about drug problem and proliferation of weapons). He also would like to open the vault for trade with outside to line his pockets; this would require reset of vault's AI, but the circuits to do so were not delivered in time to vault. So PCs were set up and condemned to Death by Exposure, given discreetly info about the last known stop of the circuits, and pushed into the collapsed section of the vault. They clambered to the surface and saw vast ruins, overgrown with plants. Their only lead how to survive was HoS:s radio contact, who they met in a ruined hotel surrounded by an abandoned minefield. The contact was an ghoul ranger, who after an initial shock provided the PCs with some basic weaponry and supplies, as well as general info about life in the "green hell" and directions to the airfield that should have the circuits they seek.
PCs needed to circle a little to avoid heavy radiation areas. During the detour they had to cross Blood Axes territory, a raider gang that has holed into the area between three big players and belt of bomb hits. They meet and get into a fight, afterwards the whole process turns into a running battle where players manage few precious rests amidst gunfire and scavenging. In the end they have killed almost half of raiders who decide to cut their losses and regroup, as the players enter the irradiated airfield with the help of some hazmat suits and plenty of rad-away, courtesy of Blood Axes collection of loot.
Things do not go any easier there. There are plenty of mindless feral ghouls roaming about, and they are very happy to get food by the poolside. In the end, the PCs find out that they're too late, as another crew has just finished looting the storehouse, and swerve away, alerting all the ghouls in the area. PCs swiftly check the old manifests and indeed the crate with the circuits is among those taken by those with yellow van. They fight their way into the old sewers as their rad readings start to climb, and use the relative shelter of sewers to exit the hot spot, all the way expending precious ammo against hungry ferals.
They exit the sewers and search the trail of the van. Managing to find the trail they sneak among the overgrown ruins to avoid patrols of big, green brutes, as they're running low on ammo. Eventually they lose the tracks and get lost. They find a small settlement of Bonville, built among few old suburban buildings and walled with overturned buses and vans. Trading some of stuff they've accumulated to ammunition, they decide to take a small break there; meeting with local mercenaries and befriending some, gaining insight to area, and hearing about giant mutant that bothers the community. PCs also find out that the van is property of slaver gang on the rise, whose leader has some big ideas about future of the region. They head out to check the tip on the van's path, but run into the gigantic centaur- and manage to kill it, although they get pretty banged up in process. They retreat back to Bonville, and get a hero's reception- they get good amount of prize equipment and free lodgings.
After this they return to trail. They find the van shot to hell by heavy automatics, stuff looted. There's a trail of blood, though, and PCs follow it to a scared woman. His husband is wounded badly, and she asks the PCs to retrieve a doctor's bag from their little hidey-hole. The team's doctor manages to stabilize poor husband without it, though, and PCs interrogate (gently) the suspected slaver. Turns out that the driver and his crew are not affiliated with the slavers, but thought that they worked for someone else. He tells that their crew was betrayed by a bum who frequents to the waystation "nearby". He also tells that the ambush was by Brotherhood of Steel, and advises the PCs to forget about their prize; BoS never gives back the tech they take, but hoard it rarely using it even themselves. He gives the PCs directions to the Old Church, where the bum likely is currently.
At the church the PCs stumble into a small group of Clowns; a gang seemingly as bad as any although after they kill all but one they find out that the denizens of Old Church see Clowns less bad than Blood Axes. They extort money but rarely kill anyone outright; they were searching for the bum the PCs look for. The characters are pretty miffed by the rebuttal, understandably as they almost got shredded by a grenade. The good folks of Old Church gather their belongings and head south, but not before telling the PCs that the Hobo-Bill- as the bum was called- headed northeast. Not having much to do, PCs head that way too. Their tracker manages to catch someone's route in the floodmuds, although the radioactive drizzle threatens to de-track them. Not to mention their rad-aways are almost at end. Nevertheless they find a subway entrance amongst the ruins, and in there lies a recently opened doorway to a vault; there, a shotgun blast and loud curses alert them to someone having a little disagreement. The other party is a group of Clowns, whose leader alerts the PCs to mind their own business.
The most talky of the group manages to pry information from the leader; Hobo-Bill is actually a Brotherhood scout, and the Clowns' leader wants him dead or alive. The Clowns will not give in to group's demands and eventually, the death jester grows bored and orders his crew to attack. In ensuing firefight the player group defeats the clowns soundly, and manage to restock with the Clowns' gear. In the vault's primary cargo elevator, Hobo-Bill is wounded and desperate. The doc offers his help and talker manages to convince Bill that they don't mean any harm, just want to know some things. Bill reclutantly gives in and allows doc to treat him, and eventually gives PCs info about Brotherhood activities in the area. They are part of Outcasts, east coast splinter group, and led by someone called Protector Greymarch. She has the Clowns by the balls as her well-armed and power-armored crew has taken residence in the old Miami Airport, squarely at the west flank of Clown's territory and in the way to the old Interstate, that used to be their main income (by the way of "tolls" and merc/caravan guard jobs). He warns the PCs that Greymarch isn't too intrested in bargaining with outsiders, but she has been known to trade with those she deems trustworthy; although to get their hands on old world tech might need a bigger favor, i.e. solving the problem of the slavers who are all too keen on getting their hands on high tech gear. Bill also tells the curious vaulters that this vault has been long forgotten, as it is said to be haunted; many a brave scavenger has gone in but never come out. PCs offer Bill job as their guide, but he refuses, as he needs to return and report; he will out of gratitude leave PCs activity out of the report. After Bill limps into the tunnels PCs decide to rest and repair their worn stuff.
Their little peace is shattered by familiar screams from deeper vault; Feral ghouls. They brave up enough to enter the vault, thinking that the ferals have gotten drop on the previous explorers, leading to haunted fame for the vault. They decide to rest and then enter deeper vault; but their rest is disturbed by static bursts from the vault P.A. system. They go, tired but determined, and search the vault. It is far different, made for 200-300 people rather than their 2000-3000, and according to found recordings used to have populace of high IQ. They meet and kill ghouls, and manage to rescue a wastelander from the ghouls' meat locker, who joins the group for time being. They eventually realize that the vault's denizens have fought and died in there, retreating slowly into the upper floors welding and disabling doors shut as they retreated, and players have no way to enter lower levels. The ghouls have no such problems, using air shafts to climb upwards. The PCs deem the vault to be unconquerable, especially after they read the Overseers notes- and they gain a small glimpse upon the ultimate social experiment nature of the vaults. They retreat, exhausted and low on right ammo, and close the door behind them- the huge cogwheel blast door scatters rust and dust everywhere as it settles back to the place it held for century...
