Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods is a location in Wasteland 3.

Background
The Garden of the Gods was originally known as Red Rock Corral and its strange rock formations were created during a geological upheaval millions of years ago. Nowadays, however, it's more than just a pretty sight.

It's the pride and joy of the Ward family of the Hundred Families, the Garden provides Colorado Springs with agriculture, using their proprietary technology to maintain the crops, water and heat them. Thus the name. Unfortunately, it's also the place where a band of Dorseys retreated to after their rout at Colorado Springs. The backbone of the Garden are the the PALs or Photon Amplification Lenses. They harness and focus the ambient light by polarizing the waves and creating constructive interference. Through this process, they maintain a stable temperature for the plants. They can be adjusted to help power the solar collectors, or even thaw frozen components. The PALs were created from pre-War solar panels: Combined with a microcircuitry board and a new laser-spectrography process, they were able to generate power even in the overcast weather of the polar vortex.

In fact, their inventor, Bellamy Ward, once coupled a PAL with a Dynamic Cross-Photon Matrix. He was trying to cook some bison steaks, but it incinerated the whole firepit and melted the entire grill. Goes to show what can happen if you put a decimal in the wrong place.

Points of interest

 * The Garden is a linear area, essentially a dungeon. After the first encounter with the Dorseys trying to shoot Bellamy Ward (better kill them fast) is a long passageway (mined) that has a storage closet to the side. It can be accessed with Mechanics 2, and yields quite a bit of useful loot.
 * You can use the computer there by placing a character on the pressure plate. The computer features Bellamy's video games, which you can hack with Nerd Stuff 3.
 * The final confrontation is at the end of the Garden (mind the mines on the way), but is a little less straightforward. You can take a detour behind the cultivation tower to collect a creepy doll, fight three waste wolves, and emerge into an excellent overwatch position over the Dorsey camp. The PAL console there allows for replacing the lens with the Photon Matrix, increasing the power output to max and frying a group of Dorseys before the attack starts, which gives an excellent combat advantage. It will fire at the beginning of each turn, so watch your placement. Once he's gone, you can confront the desolation he and his have left in their wake.

Characters

 * Bellamy Ward
 * The Beast Master

Notable loot

 * Collectibles
 * Bellamy Test No. 110: In the locked cage.
 * Kumite: A History (Wasteland 3): In the same.
 * Frozen Ferret Launcher: Same.
 * Keen Karen: Hidden near the final cultivation tower, side path near the last Dorsey confrontation.
 * Wolf skull ornament: Dropped by The Beast Master.