Ragemage
Wept for Zion
I've mulled over Bethesda's choice of putting the Church of Atom in Far Harbor, which is in Maine, and I wanted to go over a few points as to why I think this is a terrible, terrible idea and maybe what they can do to redeem it.
THE PROBLEMS:
1. First of all, the Church of Atom still existing in FO4 completely invalidates one of the biggest player choices from FO3. "The Power of Atom", probably one of the most memorable (and to some, most stupid) quest in Fallout 3, allows you to essentially nuke their main HQ. It'd be the equivalent of someone setting off a dirty bomb in the Vatican City. It would pretty much fracture the religion in half, causing it to split up into splinter groups (think the Protestant Reformation as a real world example), and so forth. Yet none of that happens apparently, since in FO4 the Church of Atom is alive and well despite the player having the choice to wipe out their entire congregation. As a matter of fact, the Church of Atom DOES have a splinter group, the Holy Light Monastery, but you're able to completely wipe them out too. It just makes no sense for them to spread as far as Boston if their main HQ was destroyed so early into the religion's foundation. What this means is, canonically, Megaton was never destroyed, essentially railroading one of the biggest karma choices in the game.
2. The Church of Atom barely has a foothold in Boston. They only really show up in 3 locations in the game, and in 2 of those locations they're hostile by default for no reason. Makes you wonder how they get new members when they attack everyone on sight? Regardless, the only location where they aren't hostile towards you is in the middle of a fucking nuclear crater (that's another rant for another time) and they're somehow magically protected from radiation despite the geiger counter spiking up to like 10 rads a second out there. But that's it, that one secret "chapel" is their only nonhostile location in the ENTIRE game. If that's literally their only plot of land in Boston where they can cultivate their religion, then how the fuck do they have, apparently, a church big enough in Maine to constitute them being a faction major enough to be mentioned in advertising?!
HOW TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS:
1. Don't have the Church of Atom in Maine be just one big group. Rather, have them be a bunch of split up groups, like the Holy Light Monastery but multiplied. Perhaps a group of nonhostile Church of Atom guys actually did make it to Maine, and started spreading their gospel, but because of how strange their belief system is people interpreted it wrong, leading to lots of splinter groups and factions all vying for the title of being Atom's true church. I don't know, just something to make it so it isn't just one big uniform church because that doesn't make any sense given how small their presence is in Boston alone.
2. Perhaps, make it so in Maine there's an armament of nuclear warheads in an abandoned military base. These travelling missionaries come across this building and make it into their new headquarters after leaving Megaton. At the very least this would explain why there's no Church of Atom members in Boston hardly, it's because they all ventured north to see the new HQ of the Church. I think some big nuclear armament would be a great reason for them to stop and set up a "holy site". Hell, go all out with it, have them declare this spot the birthplace of Atom or some shit and make it into a pilgrimmage destination.
3. Allow players to join the Church of Atom if they wish it, explain more of the Church's tenets, their belief system, and so forth. Really the only way to learn more in depth about the church even in Fallout 3 is to read Professor Cromwell's computer in his office. Hell, go all out, do something like the Temple in Morrowind! Make it so in order to join the Church of Atom the player must go on a pilgrimmage. Perhaps there are 3-7 sites where nukes were dropped in Maine, and in order to become a member you must bathe in the radiation of these sites. Once you have enough radiation in you and have spent enough time at the sites, they welcome you as one of their own, maybe open up a Barber there so you can get your head shaved, and you get your own set of robes. Something like that. Oh yeah, and probably just as important, make it so once you're a member, the hostile Church of Atom members back in Boston become nonhostile once you become a member.
THE PROBLEMS:
1. First of all, the Church of Atom still existing in FO4 completely invalidates one of the biggest player choices from FO3. "The Power of Atom", probably one of the most memorable (and to some, most stupid) quest in Fallout 3, allows you to essentially nuke their main HQ. It'd be the equivalent of someone setting off a dirty bomb in the Vatican City. It would pretty much fracture the religion in half, causing it to split up into splinter groups (think the Protestant Reformation as a real world example), and so forth. Yet none of that happens apparently, since in FO4 the Church of Atom is alive and well despite the player having the choice to wipe out their entire congregation. As a matter of fact, the Church of Atom DOES have a splinter group, the Holy Light Monastery, but you're able to completely wipe them out too. It just makes no sense for them to spread as far as Boston if their main HQ was destroyed so early into the religion's foundation. What this means is, canonically, Megaton was never destroyed, essentially railroading one of the biggest karma choices in the game.
2. The Church of Atom barely has a foothold in Boston. They only really show up in 3 locations in the game, and in 2 of those locations they're hostile by default for no reason. Makes you wonder how they get new members when they attack everyone on sight? Regardless, the only location where they aren't hostile towards you is in the middle of a fucking nuclear crater (that's another rant for another time) and they're somehow magically protected from radiation despite the geiger counter spiking up to like 10 rads a second out there. But that's it, that one secret "chapel" is their only nonhostile location in the ENTIRE game. If that's literally their only plot of land in Boston where they can cultivate their religion, then how the fuck do they have, apparently, a church big enough in Maine to constitute them being a faction major enough to be mentioned in advertising?!
HOW TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS:
1. Don't have the Church of Atom in Maine be just one big group. Rather, have them be a bunch of split up groups, like the Holy Light Monastery but multiplied. Perhaps a group of nonhostile Church of Atom guys actually did make it to Maine, and started spreading their gospel, but because of how strange their belief system is people interpreted it wrong, leading to lots of splinter groups and factions all vying for the title of being Atom's true church. I don't know, just something to make it so it isn't just one big uniform church because that doesn't make any sense given how small their presence is in Boston alone.
2. Perhaps, make it so in Maine there's an armament of nuclear warheads in an abandoned military base. These travelling missionaries come across this building and make it into their new headquarters after leaving Megaton. At the very least this would explain why there's no Church of Atom members in Boston hardly, it's because they all ventured north to see the new HQ of the Church. I think some big nuclear armament would be a great reason for them to stop and set up a "holy site". Hell, go all out with it, have them declare this spot the birthplace of Atom or some shit and make it into a pilgrimmage destination.
3. Allow players to join the Church of Atom if they wish it, explain more of the Church's tenets, their belief system, and so forth. Really the only way to learn more in depth about the church even in Fallout 3 is to read Professor Cromwell's computer in his office. Hell, go all out, do something like the Temple in Morrowind! Make it so in order to join the Church of Atom the player must go on a pilgrimmage. Perhaps there are 3-7 sites where nukes were dropped in Maine, and in order to become a member you must bathe in the radiation of these sites. Once you have enough radiation in you and have spent enough time at the sites, they welcome you as one of their own, maybe open up a Barber there so you can get your head shaved, and you get your own set of robes. Something like that. Oh yeah, and probably just as important, make it so once you're a member, the hostile Church of Atom members back in Boston become nonhostile once you become a member.
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