Last post I wrote about how I would spruce up the world of Fallout 4 and focused on its gleaming capital along with the figures you would find at its central, beating heart. 

But the Boston ruins shouldn’t just be Diamond City. Since the major players of the story are focused specifically on its control, there should be an immediately tangible reason for players to understand what is at stake. While New Vegas went the route of having its titular location glamoured up, I would instead have the bulk of the area’s population concentrated in the greater Boston ruins. As such, I’d put four more major settlements in the bombed remains of the city. While I do care about some degree of realism, I think one of the fun elements of Fallout is having people form cities in weird places or recontextualizing old locations by repurposing them into habitats. 

So let’s start with Massol.

Massol

Massol takes its name, like many locations in Fallout, from a bastardization of a rather generic or familiar modern day place. In this case, this city is built on the Orange Line in the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, specifically at the Back Bay Station. This would be an underground city based around the old subway system. Naturally, when the air raid sirens blared and the bombs fell, people fled to where they thought they would find shelter. For many residents of Boston who didn’t have access to Vaults or fallout shelters, this ended up being the underground tunnels. However, the underground was never designed to be shelters. It was a catastrophe, as thousands upon thousands of citizens were killed in these murder holes. The detonations collapsed the tunnels on top of them. Ruptured water mains drowned others. There was no protection from radiation leading to many getting sick and dying from exposure.

However, despite the scale of the tragedy, some people managed to survive against the odds. Perhaps they were buried in the rubble but managed to dig themselves out. Or maybe through sheer luck, they managed to find themselves deep enough to avoid the worst of the hazards. Most turned into ghouls, mind you, but life is life. Instead of crawling to the hostile surface, these people dug further into the dark. They created a warren of tunnels through the old transit system. And these tunnels turned deadly as many of these ghouls slowly became feral.

But in the meantime, there was a congregation of survivors. They formed a fort against the crumbling walls and prowling monsters. With access to the city’s buried power cables and sewage, these survivors formed a rudimentary community underground. And with some ingenuity and cleverness, they even managed to get it thriving. For once the people of Massol made contact with others above ground, they found they offered a highly valuable service that no one else could – transportation free of the early radiation danger and the opportunists and monsters that now prowled the streets. Massol quickly learned that they could charge handsomely to get people and things through the tunnels. And for a people largely subsisting off radiated water and mutated roaches, this gave them much needed food and water that wouldn’t kill them. 

Furthermore, the service provided by Massol proved vital for the numerous settlements throughout the Boston ruins. It facilitated advanced trade negotiations. Nowhere near pre-war levels but excess resources produced at specialized sites could easily be converted into necessary goods otherwise dangerous to obtain. The success of a settlement, so long as they could secure access to the Massol lines, no longer required fresh water, tillable earth and fortified positions. 

Of course, the feral ghouls which periodically raided the pump cart transports (and mostly those not operated by Massol ghoul technicians) ended up being more of a publicity problem than a logistical one. Those that started to get comfortable with the Massol transit lines were worried that the ghoul operators would turn on them during work. In time, this worry turned to discrimination and ultimately ended in exile for the original survivors who established the settlement that saved so many lives.

Now, Massol is more discriminatory towards ghouls than anywhere else and they spread their distrust of the heavily irradiated wherever they go. But otherwise, as a people, they have proven hardy and ingenious. Though they operate simple outposts at station posts, its central hub is Back Bay where most of the settlement (and derailed train cars) have been repurposed into a bustling hub. 

And, technically, Massol is independent of the other cities in the Commonwealth. However, much like Flotsam Burg, they are heavily influenced by the Diamond City Brahmin and the Gardner family in particular. Massol and Gardner workers ensure the buried power lines of Diamond City are functional to power the generators of both cities. Massol further specializes in excavation, digging into ruins from the ground up while running lines, pipes and power beneath the earth to those above ground. However, despite their vital service, most look down on the people of Massol, viewing them barely above the ferals and ghouls which they chased out. 

In terms of gameplay and story, Massol would offer the player a means of fast travelling through the Boston core – assuming the player pays and stays on the city’s good side of course. It would start off limited to the Orange line, from the remote terminus near Franklin Reserve and the eastern port of Flotsam Burg. However, quests available to the player would be expanding the Massol lines, culminating in access all the way to Framingham in the north, Vault 88 in the south, Deadum and Quincy. These could involve clearing tunnels of ghouls or distant stations of raiders and monsters to allow the construction of new station posts. The guards for the Massol lines would start as Gunner mercenaries but as the player and the factions influence who controls which areas of Boston, faction guards could take their place. Other quest opportunities could be helping defend underground power generators that supply Massol and Diamond City or scavenging fusion cores from distant ruins and army bases to bolster the city’s stockpile.

As a note about quest ideas, these are just generic ones. They could be part of Bethesda’s persistant “radiant AI” quests which are basically just randomly generated mad libs. Or they could be the basis for a fully fleshed out, unique and multistep questline. The point is to demonstrate how location and design can also feed into gameplay to keep driving narrative and world design.

Flotsam Burg

Flotsam is perhaps Diamond City’s closest ally. Arising from the ruins of the Port of Boston, its centrepiece is the great vertibird carrier USS Conscription which smashed into the Port Authority from the tsunami caused by several warheads detonating into the ocean. The docks were decimated and over the years, untold amounts of rubbish and garbage had washed into the port. From this huge bay of refuse, residents built floating bridges and gangways between the largest wrecks. It first started to access vital salvage from these great, rusted corpses. But in time, and with some technological ingenuity, some were able to get boats operational in the bay. What started as desperate scavenging turned to a more rustic fishing community. Homes grew up on the gently bobbing metal islands.

Now, residents ply the waters outside of Boston, selling seafood (mutated and otherwise), harvest from the giant kelp forests, pick through the barrage of garbage and waste still washing up along their shores and terrifying locals with stories of sea monsters. Most dismiss these as tall tales to keep others from encroaching on their aquatic bounty. But in the end, only the most brave or foolish trek out to the Deep Dark. 

Their access to the ocean and distant communities, however, make them an excellent hub in commerce. Naturally, and likely to the surprise of many Diamond City residents, the Cabot family runs their trading headquarters from Flotsam Burg. They’ll go into a long argument about honouring the original genesis site of the company and honouring traditions but they largely set it up here to avoid the Peabody rent, though their primary outfitter is still located in Diamond City. The Cabots naturally exert a lot of influence in Flotsam Burg and, some argue, justifiably as their early financing helped to see the city rise above the muck and saltwater to be an actually respectable location instead of merely a shifting garbage heap as others may desire.

And while many might find the constantly bobbing ground of Flotsam a little stomach wrenching, the community is safely protected from raiders with Diamond City Security. For the settlement has provided, with the use of the Massol underground network, some unique opportunities. One such find is a semi-submerged Chinese nuclear submarine. And while certain parties are likely highly interested in the possible scavenge of such a high valued target, all the nuclear payload was discharged against the continent a hundred and fifty years ago. 

Gameplay wise, Flotsam Burg could give some quick travel options along the coast, whether it’s hitting up Salem or even heading out to the dlc of Far Harbour. A unique quest could be plundering the Chinese submarine, complete with the disappointment of learning its nuclear warheads are already gone (though there’s surely nuclear material in its engines still). Flotsam Burg would provide a unique environment for specialized enemies from mutated fish as well as give glimpses of the terrors from Blight Horror Country in the north. Quests could include salvaging operations for sunken ships and cargo.

Franklin Reserve

South of Diamond City and situated in the old grounds of the Franklin Park Zoo, the Franklin Reserve is a dangerous and often avoided community. Overseen by the Warden, the people of the Franklin Reserve live amongst the woodlands of the expanding Emerald Necklace. Once the city’s prided park system, connected by rivers and walkways, the green belt has since gone wild and expanded in the wake of the bombs and human depopulation. The animals, once a main attraction, have escaped into the sprawling lush to multiply and thrive. 

Some of them even mutated. 

The people of Franklin Reserve are largely descendants of the old staff, administrative force and animal hospital. Where once their predecessors devoted their lives to protecting the animals, however, the current residents of the Reserve have turned the parks into a sort of wildlife game hunting operation. The Warden is responsible for maintaining controllable levels of animals and plants while trying to prevent these mutated creatures from overrunning the rest of the greater Boston area. 

She’s had some limited success in this operation.

More than anything, the park ground and abundant flora and fauna make the Franklin Reserve a key contributor to Diamond City’s food supplies. Of the satellite settlements which feed the city, the Reserve is largely free from political meddling by the Brahmin. The Reserve had long survived the apocalypse on their own without the aid of the elite and when they allied with the other cities it was less out of necessity than any of the others. The reservists are, naturally, proud sovereignists and their expertise in navigating the swollen waterways riddled with crocodiles and terror birds rather ensures that few can challenge them deep in the otherworldly city jungle. 

But this isn’t to mean they don’t have their own problems.

A group of Treeminders have moved into one of the “jewels” and become a political nuisance. While reservists see the wilderness as open grounds for exploitation, the Treeminders have a completely different philosophy. Determined to stop logging, poaching and hunting of the natural life, they have frustrated the reservists expanding economic ambitions. Furthermore, the Treeminders display an equal level of skill in living amongst the plants and animals despite their refusal to kill the creatures. No greater point of contention is the conflict between the reservists and Treeminders over the fates of Dinai and Kamaia. Blocking waterways and trapping hunters, they have successfully stopped efforts to kill the two ghoulified lion brothers. Since being mutated by radiation, Dinai and Kamaia have since become as undying as any human ghoul and their unnaturally long lifespan lends them experience in stalking the fens of the reserve that makes them almost mystical. Needless to say, they are the area’s apex predator and are not concerned with ambushing a full Franklin Reserve patrol and wiping them out to the last member. 

Adding further to the reservists problems are the encroaching Pilgrims who naturally side with the Treeminders over the issue of the wildlife. The ghoul Pilgrims see the mutated creatures almost as kin and also take a position of preservation towards the irradiated crocodiles and mutated cassowary birds who are much larger, meaner and deadlier than they were to pre-war populations. However, unlike the Treeminders, the Pilgrims do not have the training or knowledge of the reservists radio frequency which irritates the cassowaries and keeps them from attacking, so their advance is currently stopped by the vicious wildlife.

Gameplay wise, the Reserve would offer players a varied environment, deadly enemies and opportunities for unique quests. Hunting the legendary lions would certainly be a great end game achievement. Diamond City merchants could have some unique quests where their supply of game meat is being disrupted or drying up, prompting players to head to the vine choked waterways to discover the culprits. Smuggling and poaching, either stopping or committing, could be a lucrative endeavour within the reserve. Of course, resolving the tension between the Treeminders and reservists would benefit greatly the Brahmin of Diamond City or any of the major factions looking to sway these potent rangers to their side.

Skyward Freepass

Also known as Skypass, this small community is built at the top of Boston’s highway overpass soaring over the old financial district. The bombs and general decay has crumbled much of the city’s extensive freeway system. Thus with a limited and treacherous ascent to Skypass, the settlement offered a uniquely defensible position for early survivors. With a great height advantage over dangers and easy access to rain and sunlight, Skypass became an ideal location to test low soil crop growth. As such, the Kennedy family provided the settlement with new seeds and such to test if they would also allow the family to build a satellite research center within their community. At the time, Skypass had little to offer the communities spreading around them and, seeing the wealth funnelling to Diamond City, recognized an opportunity to expand beyond a meagre outpost to a prosperous centre. 

Skypass is the only central ruins city that is not on the Massol line and thus their produce is harder to reach Diamond City residents. Transport is exposed to ghouls and raiders in the ruins. But those that make it through find a very successful agricultural settlement. Skypass is so bountiful with their modified crops that they toss their excess food (and compost) over the edge to attract natural animals that they can hunt from their lofty perch. A complex mechanical elevator offers an alternative entrance from the long slog up the crumbling freepass itself but both are heavily guarded by Skypass’ snipers that they have largely been left alone by the villains of the Boston ruins. 

The Skypass Research station has also provided additional benefits to the settlement through their top secret projects. Wind turbines give the people a comfortable supply of power free from the rare gas or nuclear fuelled generators of other settlements. The centre also has a radio station in contact with Diamond City that helps monitor the weather so the farmers can better improve their yields. Skypass welcomes the researchers with open arms as, given its secluded location, they spend most of their time in Skypass, hiring mercenaries for infrequent trips back to Diamond City to share results of their projects.

Skypass offers the player another unique and interesting location to explore and base from even if it would likely have less happening in it than other places. The Kennedys are also ripe for unique quest opportunities, whether it is exploring their secret science projects or their shady drug connections with the local raiders. More generic quests could involve an escort of traders or researchers from Skypass to Diamond City or even simple delivery and retrieval of vital supplies to the expansive farming community. More unique opportunities could be available given the people developed for the community. 

And that concludes the major settlements in Boston. From these, the game could offer small farms and homesteads that players could build up and develop which could be integrated with the rest of the area depending on how robust a trading and supply system the development team would be interested in creating. If it were just to keep the basic systems in place, then these would simply be building spaces for generic villages and farms like Abernathy Farm or The Slog.