Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a major location in Wasteland.

Background
Vegas is the city of Las Vegas. No one is quite sure how the Soviet missiles managed to miss the city, but most folks figure it was because the “house” was betting against a missile landing – and no one wins against the house. There was an international rumor about some Russian general’s markers being torn up after the attack, but that has yet to be confirmed.

2087
Undaunted by its brush with perdition, Vegas is still open for business and does very well for itself. The city is large enough to avoid conquest, and many elements of the desert rabble have even found gainful employment as enforcers or casino employees. Despite the relative success of the city, however, horrors descending from the north are taking up residence in the city sewers, with another group of robots spearheading the invasion into the city proper. The jewel of the Desert became a battlezone in 2087, as the inhabitants put up a desperate fight to keep their city - and save their own lives. A splinter group of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud broke away from the main cult, fleeing eastwards into the Canyon of Titan, where they set up residence in an abandoned missile base.

One of the strangest elements of the invasion was the clear split between a purely mechanical surface force and the dangers lurking beneath the city, in its vast the sewers. In 2087, General Vargas (then Ranger Vargas) and his fellow rangers entered the sewers under Las Vegas, gaining access by following Faran Brygo's instructions to go through the Temple of the Servants of the Mushroom Clouds, using a sonic key to open the door to the sewers. It was reasonable to expect to find the place abandoned. Instead, the Rangers encountered heavy resistance from several forms of robots. More striking than the sheer amount of synthetics was their unique, often puzzling nature. Semi-intelligent cyborgs wielding firearms were the most normal, but others were much stranger and included Clawman and Clawer close combat cyborgs, Centrons (centaurs), Cyclons (metallic wolves), Tronnosaurus (metallic reptiles), Boa Tronstrictors (giant, cybernetic snakes), Tronodiles (mechanical crocodiles), Tazels (scorpions), Cybertrikes, and Hexborgs.

This led to the emergence of the biggest mystery of the Vegas Sewers: Why these cyborgs all seemed to be unique to that location. They clearly, unmistakably, originated in Base Cochise, but most differed from the more heavy-duty cyborgs that were found in other places, such as the Slicerdicer, the Scorpitron, the Threshing Crawler, Steel Reaver, or Silver Strangler. In general, the Sewer Cyborgs were less capable in combat and/or less functional overall, utilized organic materials in their construction, and emulated extant lifeforms such as humans, crocodiles, and boa constrictors, even though many of those lifeforms are not native to the desert region and have not been seen since the War. A report penned in 2099 for the Rangers presented several theories, including that of the cyborgs being an invasion force (Terran or Martian), a buffer force against Rangers or Finster, or simply remains of Cochise's early experimentation dumped onto the frontlines. Another two theories speculated that the accumulation of cyborgs in the sewers was a function of faulty programming, whether improper commands being issued or poor pathfinding.

2102
The destruction of Base Cochise brought back peace and quiet, allowing it to prosper. However, the city wasn't fortunate enough to avoid being hit by radioactive clouds. By 2102, it was cut off from Arizona by an impenetrable wall of radiation, leading everyone to assume it perished. However, it seems that the house won again, as radio transmissions indicated it still alive and well.

However, it was an illusion. When Matthias returned to reclaim the Citadel, his robotic armies launched attacks on other communities, including Las Vegas. Separated by the radiation wall, the city's defenders under Faran Brygo attempted a valiant defense, but without an external aid like fifteen years earlier, it was doomed to failure. The city was wiped out and Faran Brygo left the ruined Sin City like Lot abandoning Sodom, reestablishing himself and his syndicate in Colorado's own Little Vegas, a homage to what the original city had stood for, compiled in a far smaller building.

Overview
Las Vegas is a large city that the player will explore approximately mid-game (after Needles) as it requires rifle-level firepower. It is filled with abandoned buildings (very few of which contain stashes of loot) and nasty robots, including the infamous Scorpitron. It is in Las Vegas that the player finally encounters Faran Brygo, a plot element obviously derived from author Brian Fargo's name.

In the golf course is a stash of RPG-7s that can be retrieved by using a Shovel. This stash also contains a Sonic Key.

Locations

 * Temple of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud
 * Sewers
 * Fat Freddy's
 * Spade's Casino
 * Sniper Hideout
 * Vegas Jail

Vegas Library
Building on the southeast corner of the map. Teaches the following skills:


 * Brawling
 * Climb
 * Clip Pistol
 * Knife Fight
 * Pugilism
 * Rifle
 * Swim
 * Knife Throw
 * Perception
 * Assault Rifle
 * AT Weapon
 * SMG
 * Acrobat
 * Gamble
 * Picklock
 * Silent Move
 * Confidence
 * Sleight of Hand
 * Demolitions
 * Forgery
 * Alarm Disarm
 * Bureaucracy
 * Bomb Disarm
 * Medic
 * Safecrack
 * Cryptology
 * Metallurgy
 * Electronics
 * Toaster Repair
 * Doctor
 * Energy Weapon