The Survivalists (also known as the Old Guard) are the oldest of the 8 member tribes of the Raider Alliance, originating from survivors of the Great War who hid in the Athens-Tec Mine in the San Bernardino Mountains.
History[]
Prior to the Great War, Athens-Tec Mine was a private mining corporation in California, mining uranium and gold from the San Bernardino Mountains. Athens-Tec so dominated the local economy that it bought up all properties in the Cajon Pass to house its workers, among whom included right-wing militiamen and doomsday "preppers" as well as several undocumented Mexican immigrant families. When the War hit, these groups put aside whatever animosity they held and hid in the deeper reaches of the mine, surviving the obliteration of the surface and founding a tenuous society based out of the mines.
Over the decades, the survivalist mentality of the Athens-Tec dwellers melted into the other ideologies, resulting in the Survivalists becoming a highly militarized, insular, and xenophobic society who saw all outsiders as resources or threats. Armed with massive stashes of Pre-War armaments and military training, they would quickly dominate the various raider groups, tribes and settlements of the Pass, forming a totalitarian society based on slave labor to operate the Athens-Tec Mine. Despite being wildly outnumbered by rising societies such as the New California Republic, their entrenched position, military strength, and valuable resources ensured the Survivalists remained independent even as the NCR came to completely surround them. Aiding in their independence would be the New Reno Mob families - namely the Bishops - who traded with the Survivalists for their gold and uranium and saw the Pass as a valuable legal black hole for their operations. Their control over much of the NCR, including the NCR Congress, ensured that no action would be taken against the Survivalists despite their transgressions.
Society[]
The Athens-Tec Survivalist Raiders are one of the most well armed and equipped factions in the entire Core Region, able to match the New California Republic in terms of arms and armor and overwhelm more advanced groups such as the Enclave through tactics and numbers.
Unlike the tribal and raider subjects/slaves that make up the other tribes of the Alliance, the Survivalists fully embrace the weaponry and tactics of their paramilitary ancestors, utilizing an organized command structure loosely based on the pre-War United States Armed Forces and commonly utilizing high-grade firearms and explosives. They prefer paramilitary clothing and salvaged pre-War combat armor and (extremely rarely) power armor. The Survivalists fully utilize complex tactics, defending their territory with entrenched positions and bunkers within line-of-sight of one another and more simple forms of communication, while supporting both their offensive and defensive operations with mortar and artillery barrages. Much like the NCR, they utilize a small number of restored pre-war vehicles, and, following their betrayal and destruction of Enclave Squad Leonidas, the small fleet of Vertibirds the Enclave possessed as air support.
The Survivalists support their forces with a relatively complex slave-based infrastructure, mining and selling uranium and gold mined in Athens-Tec to less savory elements within New California. They have managed to restore much of Athens-Tec to working order, and possess a rudimentary power grid as well as fresh water pumped from Big Bear Lake. Their food is provided by slave laborers growing food and other crops.
Notable members[]
- Player Character (Optional)
- Juan Maxson-Elsdragon
- Eliza Elsdragon
- Wilson Wilco
- "Captain" Eli Jackson
- Beuford Duffney
- Old Guard merchant
- Survivalist Raider merchant
- Richard Camper (Formerly)
- Casio Aralias (Slave)