fallout

Arizona was a state of the pre-War United States of America.

Background

Arizona was part of the land acquired by the United States from Mexico in the 19th century, later achieving statehood.[1] The construction of Hoover Dam, spanning the Colorado River, included a portion called the Arizona Spillway that opened out into the state on the eastern shore of the river.[2] By the late 21st century, there was at least one military base within the state, Yuma, where materiel such as howitzers were present.[3] Around July 2072, the city of Flagstaff in Arizona was the first site in a series of carjackings committed by "Shanghai Sally," an alleged Chinese spy on the run from law enforcement.[4]

Early post-War

For many years after the Great War, Arizona was a hive of lawlessness and unchecked violence, described as being so heavily infested with raiders that trade between fortified settlements was virtually impossible.[5] Many tribes in the area (some no different from petty gangs) also took to raiding, freely entering the few organized towns such as Two-Sun (formerly the city of Tucson) and robbing or killing as they pleased.[6][7]

Caesar's Legion

Legion frontier justice put a swift end to Arizona's raider problems

Legion frontier justice put a swift end to Arizona's raider problems

Arizona's fate, along with much of the Southwest, changed drastically around 2248 with the rise of a marauding army known as Caesar's Legion.[Non-game 1] Founded as a coalition of tribes residing in the Grand Canyon, the Legion was led by a former Follower of the Apocalypse named Edward Sallow and a New Canaanite missionary named Joshua Graham. Molding the tribes according to his Follower-educated knowledge of the ancient Roman Empire, Sallow renamed himself "Caesar," with Graham as the "Malpais Legate," with the two leading their army to conquer the tribes of Arizona.[8][9] In 2255, the Legion claimed Flagstaff as the capital of their empire. By 2275, they had conquered the northern half of Arizona.[Non-game 1]

The early days of Caesar's campaign were marked by the Legion's alliance with one powerful tribe, the Twisted Hairs, acting as their scouts against neighboring tribes. At a meeting in Dry Wells, the frumentarii Vulpes Inculta rewarded the Twisted Hairs for their help by betraying them and conquering their tribe for the Legion; those who did not submit were cruxified along the roads of Interstate 40 as a warning to would-be conquests of the Legion.[10] Another tribe were the warriors known as the Hidebarks, who resisted like many others; once the Legion arrived at their main settlement, the chieftain tried to surrender, causing one of the tribe's strongest warriors to kill him in turn for his weakness. After slaughtering most of his own tribe, the warrior was defeated and given medical help by Legion healers; in a meeting with Caesar himself, the Son of Mars offered the warrior a mask to cover his scarred face and a new name to bear for his lord, Lanius. The Legion's new member agreed and requested he be allowed to exterminate the remaining male members of his tribe; Caesar agreed on the condition that only the adult men die.[11](Note) Their expansion was also contested by smaller regional groups including the Desert Rangers, whose integration into the Rangers of the New California Republic via signing the Ranger Unification Treaty hinged on the larger organization dedicating themselves to opposing the Legion in Arizona.[12]

The , memorializing the joining of the and to oppose Legion expansion from Arizona

The Unification Monument, memorializing the joining of the Desert Rangers and NCR Rangers to oppose Legion expansion from Arizona

By 2281, Caesar himself claims that his Legion has complete control of Arizona, a notion shared by other wastelanders.[7][13][14] Their strict policy of frontier justice leads to Legion patrols directly staging attacks against any and all groups of bandits and raiders, orchestrating a complete reversal of the anarchic state of its early post-War years. Many caravan traders, even ones under the NCR, attest to trade routes through Arizona and New Mexico being able to operate largely risk-free compared to other surrounding areas like Utah, where the Legion's presence is still weak.[15][16][17][Non-game 2]

During the Legion's military buildup leading up to the Second Battle of Hoover Dam in 2281, veteran legionaries who had remained behind in Arizona to safeguard their empire's capital were ordered by Caesar to make the journey to the Mojave for the war against the New California Republic.[18][19] According to NCR Ranger intelligence, these veterans included the Red Okie Centuria and the former members of the Painted Rock tribe, renowned for their experience and robustness.[20]

Locations

Notes

Appearances

A portion of Arizona appears in the Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas, and the state is mentioned in its add-ons Honest Hearts and Lonesome Road.

References

  1. ↑ Museum of History kiosk
  2. ↑ Hoover Dam map render
  3. ↑ The Courier: "Where did you get the gun, anyway?"
    Lucius: "The trader, Dale Barton, salvaged it from a military base in Arizona. Yuma, I believe."
    (Lucius' dialogue)
  4. ↑ Shanghai Sally: Chapter Closed
  5. ↑ The Courier: "How do you feel about Caesar's Legion?"
    Raul Tejada: "I don't really have a problem with them. People around here tend to see them as invading marauders planning to burn and pillage the countryside. But I've been to Arizona, boss. Before the Legion, it was a nasty place, so thick with raiders you couldn't trade with a town two miles up the road. Caesar's laws aren't nice, and their actions aren't always pretty. But then, neither am I, but you keep me around."
    (Raul Tejada's dialogue)
  6. ↑ The Courier: "So what did you do?"
    Raul Tejada: "I left Mexico City behind. I made my way out to the Gulf Coast, eventually I found an old Petro-Chico refinery nobody had claimed. I stayed there for a little while, and I thought a lot about my life. I thought about the guns I'd lived by and what they'd gotten me. I decided my guns hadn't gotten me anything, and it was time to give it up. I took off that old vaquero outfit, and put on a Petro-Chico jumpsuit. The name tag said 'Miguel,' so I started using the name myself. Eventually I made it to Arizona... but that's another story, boss."
    (Raul Tejada's dialogue)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Courier: "What happened with her?"
    Raul Tejada: "This was a long time ago. Before Caesar's Legion pacified Arizona and brought the raider tribes to heel. A tribe came into Tuscon one day - more a gang, really. Dirty Dave and his six brothers. They were looking for bullets, and I sold some to them. I figured if I did that, they'd leave town before they tore it up too much."
    (Raul Tejada's dialogue)
  8. ↑ The Courier: "Were you always with the New Canaanites?"
    Joshua Graham: "I was born in Ogden, what people came to call New Canaan. Things were more peaceful when I was growing up. When I was a young man, I went out into the world to do missionary work as all New Canaanites do. I traveled along the Long 15 and followed 89 south into Arizona. Along the way, I met two men from a group called the Followers of the Apocalypse. Edward Sallow and Bill Calhoun. They came to teach the tribes. Calhoun was a good man. Edward was the one who got us into trouble down the road."
    (Joshua Graham's dialogue)
  9. ↑ The Courier: "Caesar is dead. I saw to it personally. I thought you should know."
    Joshua Graham: "I have to admit, it's hard to believe. That even after all he did to me, all he tried to do to find and erase me from this world, he went first. No doubt this will be good for the Mojave. I can only hope Arizona and the tribes don't suffer as the Legion falls apart around them."
    (Joshua Graham's dialogue)
  10. ↑ Legion slave ledger
  11. ↑ The Courier: "I've heard rumors of your legate, Lanius. What's his story?"
    Caesar: "Lanius is the greatest of my battlefield commanders. Some might call him a great man, but I'm not sure he qualifies. Once, he was the greatest warrior of the Hidebarks, a tribe of the Arizona. Maniacal in battle. Sometimes he'd ambush Legion patrols by himself. When, after several months we found and surrounded the Hidebarks' camp, their Chieftain raised a banner of surrender. The warrior who was not yet Lanius went insane with rage. He struck down his Chieftain and attacked his own tribe."
    The Courier: "What happened when Lanius attacked his own tribe?"
    Caesar: "He killed fifteen before they brought him down. He didn't die, obviously. I had him tended to. He was maimed, most of face torn off. It was days before he regained consciousness. When he did, I went to his bedside and showed him the helmet I'd had forged to cover his face. I said he could have it if he'd fight for me. He accepted... on condition that he be allowed to kill the surviving males of his tribe. I said, make it the adult males and you have a deal."
    (Caesar's dialogue)
  12. ↑ The Courier: "Why are the rangers here?"
    Hanlon: "There's a lot of answers to that question, but it started with the Ranger Unification Treaty. We weren't always the only show in town. Nevada had its own posse, the Desert Rangers. They fought Caesar even farther east, out in Arizona. Didn't go well for them. Years back, we met with the Desert Rangers at Mojave Outpost and agreed to help them against Caesar if they would join the NCR."
    (Hanlon's dialogue)
  13. ↑ The Courier: "And since forming the Legion, all you've done is conquer other tribes?"
    Caesar: "That's right. Decades of warfare, absorbing lesser tribes, gathering power. Forging the dross into a vast, razor-sharp scythe. My Legion's expansion has never ceased. Much of the Utah and Colorado, and all of Arizona and New Mexico, are mine. We have cities of our own, but nothing compared to Vegas. Finally, my Legion will have its Rome."
    (Caesar's dialogue)
  14. ↑ Fallout: New Vegas endings: "Merciless in their assault on the NCR, the Remnants struck fear into the hearts of even the centurions at Hoover Dam. Caesar's heirs aggressively pursued the Remnants into Arizona, losing hundreds of legionaries in the process and gaining nothing in return."
  15. ↑ The Courier: "I haven't been through Utah recently - what's the situation like?"
    Jed Masterson: "Well, it ain't good, I'll tell you that. It's not like the Mojave or the NCR - hell, even Arizona under Caesar is safer. You got raiders all over the damn place, tribes of degenerates that'll eat you as soon as look at you, regional warlords... the works. Not too many decent places to stop and trade. New Canaan's one of the only ones left I know about."
    (Jed Masterson's dialogue)
  16. ↑ The Courier: "Is it dangerous to trade with the Legion?"
    Dale Barton: "Not at all - they're my best customers. As long as you don't try to sell 'em chems or alcohol, they treat you fair. Hell, I don't even need to travel with guards most of the time in Legion territory. All the bandits are dead or run off."
    The Courier: "Do you ever trade with the NCR?"
    Dale Barton: "Between having to hire protection and getting slapped with taxes, it's more profitable to stick to Arizona and New Mexico. But, I do cross the river from time to time when an opportunity comes along."
    (Dale Barton's dialogue)
  17. ↑ The Courier: "Do they deal with any caravans at all?"
    Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "There's some caravans that deal with the Legion, yes. And as much as it pains me to say it, any caravan marked by the Legion is safe as houses. They guard their roads, their supply lines - even Fiends would hesitate before going after any trader dealing with Legion."
    The Courier: "You sound frustrated."
    Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "I am. If NCR took the same stand and committed patrols to the roads, then I think that'd solve a lot of their problems right there. But they don't. Caravans get butchered in the Mojave all the time, like mine. And so fucking close to Vegas, you could see it from the wall."
    The Courier: "There must be good parts to the Republic."
    Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "NCR tries. It's just that trying doesn't mean a whole lot when you're paying your respects to the dead. And Legion, from what I've heard, they don't do the "stop tolls" on the roads or in the outposts like some NCR quartermasters do. You're lucky if you turn a profit sometimes if some new officer gets assigned a route, the fees just get worse."
    The Courier: "Any other differences between Legion and NCR?"
    Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Much as I hate the Legion, caravan life would be a hell of a lot easier if they ran the roads. Well, as long as those companies were run by men. And that's the biggest issue I see. And it's a shame, but I think there's people on the NCR side who feel more strongly than I do."
    (Rose of Sharon Cassidy's dialogue)
  18. ↑ Karl: "Caesar's veterans will arrive from Arizona soon, and there will be no stopping our victory."
    (Karl's dialogue)
  19. ↑ Legion officer: "Soon the Legion's veterans will arrive from Arizona. Each has killed many times his number."
    (Legionaries' dialogue)
  20. ↑ The Courier: "What's the Legion been up to?"
    Hanlon: "Word is that the Legion's old timers have shown up, Caesar's veterans from the Red Okie Centuria and what was the Painted Rock tribe. They're the best of the best and the baddest of the bad. Short of a centurion or praetorian, they don't come any tougher. You come across a pack of them, weigh your options carefully."
    (Hanlon's dialogue)
  21. ↑ The Courier: "Do they speak... our language?"
    Joshua Graham: "Most don't. It's been hundreds of years since the war. They've developed their own languages. Take the Dead Horses. We think they were originally refugees from a place called "Res," east of the Grand Canyon. They speak a combination of Res and a language spoken by travelers who were visiting Res when the bombs fell. Over time, the two languages blended. I was a translator years ago, but it's hard to keep up with all of the tribal variations."
    (Joshua Graham's dialogue)

Non-game

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 461: "Important Dates
    "2248-2274 Caesar conquers the tribes of southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, the western edge of New Mexico, and the northern half of Arizona. By 2250 he has declared himself the Son of Mars. By 2255, he has established a capital of sorts amid the ruins of Flagstaff."
    (Behind the Bright Lights & Big City)
  2. ↑ Question: "Could you clarify about the Legion in Utah? Jed mentions that Utah is chaotic wit warlords and tribes and "not like Arizona under Ceasar". However both Dead Sea "plucked from the shores of the great salt lake" and Vulpes are from Utah. How is this so? ty."
    Joshua Sawyer: "If Dead Sea were a tribal plucked from the shores of the Great Salt Lake and raised by the Legion, what would that make his parents? I'm not sure about Vulpes' origin. The Legion does not have a strong presence in Utah, though they do have contact with the tribes."
    (Formspring reply from June 30, 2012)
  3. ↑ Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream (reference starts at 5:05:37)
    Joshua Sawyer: "'Where did the Legion find all the football equipment?' From the University of Arizona. I don't know if that's actually explicitly stated anywhere, but yes, they got it from... uh... they got it from the University of Arizona."