War...war never changes
In the century following the great war, humanity was at it's highest. With this golden age, humanity was taking huge leaps into the future, but they did so blinded. In 2057, few people would have imagined that this paradise would end. Luckily, some saw it coming, and prepared for it. In 2059, a meeting was held between key members of the United State's western coast. These people included Giles Wolstencroft, acting as representative for Vault-Tec, Robert House, CEO of RobCo, and Ryan Faller, governor of the Northwest commonwealth. Others included city mayors, wealthy and influential people, smaller regional companies, and trusted U.S military and government members. These people saw that resources were starting to run out, and that war would likely happen soon. So, they started working together to preserve the west coast. By the time that war broke out between China and America in 2066, many of these people were hard at work. Mr. House was building a securitron army and anti-nuclear defenses in the Mojave, and Vault-Tec, Governor Faller, and the U.S Army were working on various projects in the N.W commonwealth.
Many of these projects were public, such as Vault cities, advances in construction and energy technology, and preservation devices. Other projects were known by only the government, like the building of the W.A.R.F bunker system and developments in computers. One of these projects was Project Cascadia, a series of bunkers, bases, and anti-missile defenses based in the Cascade mountains, stretching south through California and North into Canada. This project served two purposes. Defense of the rest of the United states against nuclear missiles coming from China, and a barricade against hostile invaders landing on the west coast. Unknown to the United States government however, Faller had repurposed the anti-nuclear system. Faller knew that if the system went after all nuclear missiles, some would get through. So instead, he reprogrammed the system to fire at any that were just heading for the N.W commonwealth. That way, the land would be left relatively unscorched and he would be able to rebuild a new nation out of the ashes.
As the war drew on, Faller was becoming more and more prepared for the nuclear fallout. Multiple projects were ready, the U.S government didn't know a thing about his intentions, and he was surrounded by loyal men. He thought that he would soon be on top. He was wrong.
On October 23, 2077, nuclear missiles were launched across the globe. While project Cascadia worked and kept missiles from passing over the Cascade mountains, it didn't do so well before them. Governor Faller was in Seattle at the time of the nuclear detonations, one of the few places in the N.W commonwealth that was hit by nuclear weapons.
The date is now March 3, 2292, and the pacific northwest is in chaos. War and conflict rage over much of idaho and eastern washington, as slavers and raiders prey on the innocent. Very little word from the lands west of the Cascade mountains reach people, but it shows a mix of war and prosperity. To the south is an aggresivly expanding nation based on the old-war ideals. Meanwhile, something is brewing across the Canadian border, as settlements fall off the map and travelers go missing. But we'll get to that latter. For now, our story shall start, in vault 24...