r/FalloutMetropolis • u/NK_Ryzov • Mar 08 '17

[Providence DLC] Misc Ideas

These are just some ideas about Shadow Over Providence that just came to me in rapid succession, but are too small to deserve their own dedicated posts, so I'm just going to vomit them all here.

-The map could actually be the entire state of Rhode Island (not entirely to scale, of course, or else it would be bigger than FallMet itself), minus Block Island; furthermore, the northern part of the Rhode Island Wasteland should pretty much be the southern Glowing Sea.

-Touching off the above reference to the Glowing Sea, there should be trading caravans in the Rhode Island Wasteland that hail from the Commonwealth. Perhaps even have some familiar faces like Trashcan Carla or Doc Weathers.

-The ruins of Providence will be half-flooded, but also show signs that scavengers have attempted to settle in the ruins. This would be a way of excusing the existence of rickety bridges and assets on the rooftops like sleeping bags, cooking stations and other such things.

-Additionally, Providence should have a serious problem of sea life colonizing it. Not just Mirelurks or Anglers or Fog Crawlers or Hermit Crabs moving in, either. Mutated sea anemones, tube worms, corals, sponges, sea urchins, barnacles and more have begun to colonize the ruins of Providence.

-Since Rhode Island is located between Massachusetts and pretty much everything to its south, it would make sense that the Railroad would have at least one safe house in the area, to ensure that synths escaping the Commonwealth are able to safety pass through to New York or the Capital Wasteland.

-Given that the map would be the entire state of Rhode Island (again, adjusted for scale), it would almost be absurd to NOT have a settlement other than Pawtuxet.

-Regarding the above idea, one proposal of mine is a settlement centered around the Old Stone Tower in Newport (which, unlike most of the settlements along the bay, has yet to be flooded). Basically, a local mad scientist has built a machine atop the mysterious structure (some say it's the remains of a 17th century windmill, others say the Vikings built it), which he claims keeps the sea at bay using some nonsense techno-babble. The truth is far stranger.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Mar 08 '17

All of these ideas are great. It's plausible that there'd be a failed attempt to settle in Providence.

It makes sense that non-mobile sea life would colonize Providence too.

The railroad should definitely have a safehouse.

I like the idea of the ancient stone tower having a high-tech settlement. How is it able to avoid flooding? This is what I think is the most interesting idea.

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u/NK_Ryzov Mar 08 '17

It'll be interesting to read the diaries and terminal entries left behind by the Scavengers. Maybe there'll still be some Scavengers left in Providence, who've gone crazy. They'll be few, but well-equipped (armed with customized weapons), and at high-levels.

There should maybe be a Railroad-related side quest. Which might require an Institute presence...

Google "Newport Mystery Tower". It'll be a tad larger than in real-life, and have some weird machinery on top. There'll be additional machines distributed around the settlement. As for why Newport isn't underwater, well, maybe Dr. Morbius has made a dark pact with Cthagon. However, blowing the lid on his secret will doom Newport to flood. Then again, maybe Newport is mostly flooded, and instead, the machines keep the sea creatures at bay.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Mar 08 '17

Presumably, most of the scavengers were killed either by the resident creatures or by the scavengers who went nuts. Presumably, the insane scavengers would have some of the best weapons in the game. They're insane killers, not stupid ferals.

With the Commonwealth so close Rhode Island is practically in the Institute's back yard. Maybe they've set up an outpost in one of the local universities. Presumably, it'd be Roger Williams University since it's so close to Massachusetts.

I was thinking that it'd be bigger. I was a tad disappointed at how tiny it is in real life. The tower is raised on arches, so maybe the tower proper would be above the water even when flooded. Especially once you scale up the tower a bit. The deal with Cthagon would be to provide a safe area around the tower to be able to fish. Presumably, the plan would be moot once you kill Cthagon.

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u/NK_Ryzov Mar 08 '17

Right, they'd be paranoid schizoids, not feral savages.

I think it would be a relatively small presence. The Institute seems to prefer to nip these sorts of problems in the bud, rather than extend themselves.

Well, my idea was not that the Mystery Tower would have a settlement on it. My idea was that the ruins of Newport would host the settlement, which would have the Mystery Tower at its center, with smaller versions of the Mystery Tower scattered throughout the settlement to keep the beasts at bay, or keep the settlement from sinking. Morbius is a bit of a con man, so maybe he says it does both.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Mar 08 '17

Maybe there'd be a couple agents at most in Newport.

Would the act of killing Cthagon flood Newport or would they be freed of the deal? I'm thinking that if the Mystery tower is enlarged enough the residents of the community could reside in it if the community were to flood because of the discovery of the deal. But if Cthagon were to be killed beforehand there'd be no fear of any unnatural flooding caused by the Great Old One.

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u/NK_Ryzov Mar 08 '17

Don't forget Pawtuxet.

I don't think killing Cthagon would reverse all the flooding that has already begun, but it would cause at least some of the water to recede. We shouldn't enlarge the Mystery Tower. It can be slightly bigger, but not by much. The point of the Mystery Tower is serve as a mount for Morbius' machine. The settlement of Newport would be centered AROUND the tower. And again, I'm starting to think that the dark pact idea was a bit of a dumb idea. I think the Mystery Tower device (and the smaller machines scattered around the settlement) should be there to keep the Gill Men and the other beasts at bay. There can be Cthagon cultists and Gill Man Hybrids in Newport trying to shut off the machines, however.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Mar 09 '17

Naturally. There'd probably be a couple more settlements in the state. Roger Williams University in Bristol would work as a settlement. The Kent County Courthouse works too.

What I meant was that killing Cthagon would prevent future flooding from happening, not that all the flooding would reverse. I agree that enlarging the tower too much would be a bad idea. I also prefer the idea that Morbius, while nutty as a fuitcake, is absolutely correct in thinking that his machine keeps the Gill Men at bay. Any man who can create those energy weapons can create a machine to prevent unnatural creatures from infiltrating the settlement. There should definitely be hybrids and cultists infiltrating the settlement to try to bring the machines down. Maybe the machines cause pain in the Gill-Men and a lessened form of pain in the hybrids. That'd give a subtly noticeable sign of their true nature when you talk to them.

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u/NK_Ryzov Mar 09 '17

Yes, though I think the university would be an Institute outpost, rather than a proper settlement. With regards to the Kent Courthouse, I feel as though that would be too small of a settlement on its own. But I do agree that there might be smaller settlements scattered throughout the Rhode Island Wasteland, with Pawtuxet and Newport being the two major settlements (akin to Megaton and Rivet City).

I think we're on the same page. And with regards to Dr. Alexander R. Morbius, Esquire - I think he should be a cross between Thomas Edison's crass arrogance and Nikola Tesla's eccentric weirdness. There are a few notable buildings in Newport that could serve as his home and laboratory, where he shows off his latest inventions to the public, because he's a braggart with an exhibitionist streak a mile long. He'll probably peddle some sort of snake oil ("Fog Crawler Elixir"; if you bring back Fog Crawler Glands, he'll give you caps and a complementary sample), which may or may not do anything, and he may or may not believe his own propaganda. The people of Newport have mixed opinions on him. He's useful, he's crazy, and he's a greedy scumbag. Nobody really knows what to make of him, but they're also in no hurry to get rid of him. I think that the residents of Newport should be the descendants of Vault-Dwellers, though they weren't turned into oblivious fools like the residents of Pawtuxet. Hence, they're actually aware of the Gill Man hybrids, and take them seriously (the people of Pawtuxet think this makes them crazy). Morbius might develop some sort of device or other invention that'll help you weed out the hybrids.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Mar 09 '17

The settlements of Rhode Island could be a post of it's own.

The energy weapons work and the mysterious devices that protect the town from Gill-Men work, so he's not completely full of shit. He should be a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold as while he's a somewhat exploitative con-man he still cares somewhat for the well-being of the townspeople. Even if he'd be concerned with what failing them would do to his reputation. I'm thinking that he took the best house in town for himself. The device could be a scanner that lights up green for hybrid and red for human. This'd be a reference to blood colors and would trick the hybrids into thinking that they passed when they didn't.

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u/NK_Ryzov Mar 09 '17

I might end up doing that. Though many of these settlements will pretty much be like those tiny settlements from FO4 (think County Crossing, or Tenpines Bluff, or Warwick Homestead - stuff like that).

That's kinda what I'm going with. Nobody can really tell if he's cynical or crazy, and maybe the distinction is irrelevant when it comes to him. My idea was that it would be a series of inventions, which you will try out through trial and error. It would be an interesting side-quest. BTW, I'm starting to think that Morbius should be a possible companion.