[Fallout 5] The Distraction Genius
Name
Elias “Rattletrap” Voss
Role
Settler engineer, battlefield distraction specialist, suppressive-fire gunner, and experimental weapons inventor.
Overview
Rattletrap is not the strongest settler, the fastest gunfighter, or the most accurate marksman in the wasteland. What makes him dangerous is his ability to control where everyone is looking, moving, and shooting.
He believes most battles are won before the enemy realizes what the real attack is.
Rattletrap creates noise in one direction, movement in another, gunfire from a third, and then advances through the opening while the enemy is confused. He combines scavenged technology, handmade decoys, automated weapons, smoke devices, loudspeakers, flashing lights, and suppressive fire to make a small group appear like an organized army.
To Raiders, he is known as “The Hundred-Man Settler” because survivors often swear they were attacked by an entire platoon.
Character Background
Before joining the settlement, Elias lived inside an abandoned military testing facility. The location had once been used to develop battlefield deception systems, remote-controlled targets, electronic countermeasures, and prototype support weapons.
Elias could not repair the facility’s most advanced technology completely, but he learned the principles behind it.
He discovered that an enemy does not need to believe a distraction forever. They only need to believe it long enough to make one bad decision.
When a large Raider gang attacked his first settlement, Elias placed speakers in ruined buildings, automated guns behind wrecked vehicles, mannequins in windows, and timed explosives throughout the streets. The Raiders believed they were facing dozens of defenders.
There were only six.
The settlement survived, but several residents blamed Elias for using them as part of an experiment. He left voluntarily and began traveling between settlements, helping vulnerable communities build defensive systems.
Personality
Rattletrap is intelligent, restless, and constantly experimenting.
He studies enemy behavior while everyone else studies their weapons. He notices which Raider looks toward every sound, which Gunner stays behind cover, which Super Mutant charges first, and which creature is attracted to light, scent, or vibration.
He often taps objects, throws pebbles, winds mechanical toys, and tests echoes while speaking.
He is friendly toward ordinary settlers but distrustful of military officers, commanders, and anyone who treats people as expendable assets.
Common sayings
“A bullet does not need to hit anyone to change a battle.”
“Noise is a weapon. Silence is another.”
“Let them shoot at the lie.”
“The first person who understands the battlefield usually gets to redesign it.”
“You see three Raiders. I see three attention spans.”
“Advancement is not moving forward. It is making the enemy move backward.”
Appearance
Rattletrap wears a reinforced settler combat coat covered with cables, switches, magazines, signal flares, and homemade control devices.
His equipment includes:
A shoulder-mounted speaker
A wrist-controlled battlefield interface
Reinforced ear protection
Smoke grenades attached across his chest
A backpack containing folding decoys
Ammunition drums for sustained fire
A collection of wind-up toys and noise emitters
A helmet with multiple movable lenses
Flashing signal lights used for coded commands
His armor looks chaotic, but every item has a purpose.
Primary Weapon: The Crowd Controller
Rattletrap carries a heavily modified light machine gun called The Crowd Controller.
It is designed less for precision kills and more for controlling territory.
Unique properties
Large-capacity ammunition drum
Reduced recoil during sustained fire
Increasing suppression effect the longer he fires
Enemies become less accurate while under fire
Enemies may remain behind cover instead of advancing
Bullets striking nearby surfaces create fear and disorientation
Can fire tracer rounds that mark enemy positions
Can switch between lethal and low-damage suppression ammunition
Rattletrap frequently fires above enemies, across doorways, and against cover to prevent movement while the player advances.
Secondary Weapon: The Attention Seeker
The Attention Seeker is a compact launcher that fires specialized distraction capsules.
Ammunition types
Noise Capsule
Creates the sound of running footsteps, reloading weapons, or shouted commands.
Gunfire Capsule
Imitates rifle, shotgun, machine-gun, or energy-weapon fire.
Screamer Capsule
Produces a painful mechanical shriek that disrupts concentration.
Flash Capsule
Creates irregular flashes that resemble muzzle fire.
Scent Capsule
Attracts certain mutated creatures toward the target area.
Radio Capsule
Broadcasts fake military orders, Raider threats, distress calls, or robotic warnings.
Holographic Capsule
Projects the silhouette of a settler, soldier, creature, or robot for several seconds.
Impact Capsule
Creates the sound and vibration of something large crashing through nearby terrain.
Companion Combat Behavior
Rattletrap fights differently from ordinary companions.
He does not simply follow the player and shoot at the nearest enemy. He attempts to shape the encounter.
Opening Phase
At the beginning of combat, he identifies:
Enemy firing positions
Choke points
Possible flanking routes
Explosive objects
Elevated positions
Enemy leaders
Creatures that can be redirected
Areas suitable for smoke or decoys
He then deploys a distraction before opening fire.
Suppression Phase
Rattletrap fires sustained bursts toward dangerous enemies and tactical locations.
Suppressed enemies may:
Become less accurate
Refuse to leave cover
Stop using mounted weapons
Delay grenade throws
Lose track of the player
Fail to coordinate attacks
Retreat into less favorable positions
Fire blindly without confirming a target
Advancement Phase
Once enemies are pinned, Rattletrap calls for the player to move.
He may shout:
“Advance now!”
“They are looking at me!”
“Move before they understand!”
“Left side is blind!”
“Smoke is holding!”
“Take the ground!”
During this phase, he continues firing, changes position, or deploys additional distractions to cover the player’s movement.
Withdrawal Phase
When the player is badly injured, Rattletrap automatically creates an escape corridor using smoke, noise emitters, automated gunfire, and flashing decoys.
Signature Ability: Manufactured Army
Rattletrap deploys several devices simultaneously, creating the illusion of a coordinated attack.
For a limited time:
Fake gunfire comes from multiple directions
Holographic settlers appear behind cover
Loudspeakers issue attack commands
Smoke obscures real movement
Automated weapons fire controlled bursts
Enemies lose accuracy and awareness
Some enemies retreat or reposition
The player gains improved movement speed while advancing
Companions become harder to target
Settlement defenders temporarily fight with greater confidence
Enemies with high intelligence may eventually recognize the deception. However, even after realizing it is fake, they may still hesitate because some of the devices are real and armed.
Special Advancement System
Rattletrap’s equipment improves as the player discovers technology throughout the wasteland.
His advancement is not based only on leveling. New inventions require components, military research, robot parts, faction technology, and field-testing data.
Advancement Tier One: Improvised Distractions
Bottle alarms
Wind-up toys
Basic smoke bombs
Timed firecrackers
Mannequin decoys
Simple loudspeakers
Advancement Tier Two: Remote Battlefield Tools
Remote-controlled decoys
Directional sound emitters
Automated suppression turrets
Flashing combat beacons
Radio interception devices
Remote smoke launchers
Advancement Tier Three: Adaptive Deception
Decoys that react to incoming fire
Devices that imitate specific weapons
Enemy-voice replication
Mobile cover drones
Smart suppression targeting
Sensors that identify distracted enemies
Advancement Tier Four: Phantom Platoon
Multiple coordinated holographic soldiers
Moving false heat signatures
Simulated Vertibird sounds
Fake artillery targeting lasers
Projected power-armor units
Automated commands tailored to specific factions
Advancement Tier Five: The Living Battlefield
Rattletrap connects all deployed devices into one tactical network.
The system observes enemy reactions and changes its deception strategy in real time.
If enemies ignore sound, it uses movement.
If they ignore holograms, it uses live ammunition.
If they destroy turrets, it makes the destroyed turrets appear active.
If they begin hunting the player, it creates a false player signature moving in another direction.
Distraction Devices
The Rattlebox
A small device that produces randomized noises such as footsteps, breathing, weapon handling, scraping metal, whispered conversation, or distant gunfire.
Enemies cannot easily predict its pattern.
Settler-in-a-Can
A compressed folding mannequin that rapidly expands after being thrown.
Depending on upgrades, it can:
Hold a fake weapon
Produce a heat signature
Shout insults
Fire blank ammunition
Release smoke when hit
Explode after being approached
The Argument
Two speakers play a recorded argument between fake survivors.
Enemies may approach cautiously, expecting distracted targets.
The Coward’s Hero
A decoy that appears heavily armed but retreats when detected, encouraging aggressive enemies to chase it into traps.
The Last Bullet
A sound device that imitates an empty weapon, causing enemies to rush the player’s position prematurely.
The Reinforcement Call
Broadcasts believable faction communications suggesting that reinforcements are approaching.
Certain enemies may retreat, panic, or prepare defenses against attackers who do not exist.
The False Deathclaw
Uses speakers, scent chemicals, heavy mechanical footsteps, and a projected shadow to convince enemies that a Deathclaw is nearby.
Real Deathclaws are not amused by the device.
Suppressive-Fire Mechanics
Rattletrap introduces a deeper suppression system to combat.
Suppression is affected by:
Weapon volume
Rate of fire
Bullet impacts near the target
Size of the projectile
Enemy courage
Enemy combat experience
Visibility
Cover quality
Previous injuries
Leadership presence
Number of perceived attackers
Whether the target understands the distraction
A disciplined Gunner may maintain position under fire.
A frightened Raider may abandon cover immediately.
A Super Mutant may become angrier and charge directly through the gunfire.
A synth may identify the firing pattern and attempt to locate the automated source.
Rattletrap changes tactics according to the enemy type.
Settlement Function
When assigned to a settlement, Rattletrap becomes a Defense Development Specialist.
He can create a new settlement structure called the Deception Workshop.
Deception Workshop functions
Build fake guard posts
Create false settlement entrances
Install remote alarms
Record settler voices for fake broadcasts
Construct retractable decoys
Create hidden firing positions
Place dummy generators to attract attackers
Build automated suppression nests
Design evacuation corridors
Test settlement defenses through simulated attacks
Settlement Defense Network
Rattletrap can connect defenses so they react as a coordinated system.
For example:
Attackers approach a visible entrance.
Fake guards appear on the walls.
Speakers issue warnings.
Attackers fire at the decoys.
Hidden turrets activate from the opposite direction.
Smoke blocks the attackers’ retreat.
Settlers advance from concealed positions.
A false reinforcement transmission causes survivors to surrender or flee.
Settlement Training Program
Rattletrap can train settlers in battlefield control.
Settlers may receive specialized roles.
The Noisemakers
Deploy distraction devices and false signals.
The Pinners
Use automatic weapons to keep enemies behind cover.
The Movers
Advance while enemies are suppressed.
The Watchers
Study enemy reactions and report tactical changes.
The Ghost Crew
Relocate decoys and firing devices during battle.
The Breakers
Use explosives and heavy weapons against enemies forced into predictable positions.
Companion Perk: Look Over There
After reaching maximum affinity with Rattletrap, the player receives the Look Over There perk.
Benefits include:
Thrown objects can briefly distract unaware enemies
Suppressed enemies are less accurate
The player moves faster while enemies fire at decoys
Smoke lasts longer
Attacks from unexpected directions deal increased stagger
Automated defenses generate more threat
Enemies take longer to recognize holograms and mannequins
The player can command companions to create covering fire
At higher ranks, distracted enemies may accidentally reveal hidden allies by shouting warnings or firing toward the false threat.
Affinity
Rattletrap likes
Protecting settlers
Building defenses
Using nontraditional tactics
Avoiding unnecessary casualties
Repairing technology
Outsmarting stronger enemies
Giving ordinary settlers advanced equipment
Using distractions to rescue captives
Improving existing inventions
Rattletrap dislikes
Charging directly into obvious traps
Wasting ammunition without tactical purpose
Sacrificing settlers
Destroying valuable technology
Mocking weaker communities
Following military orders without question
Killing surrendered enemies
Using his inventions purely for cruelty
Rattletrap loves
Winning battles without losing settlers
Convincing enemies to surrender
Turning enemy forces against one another
Recovering military deception research
Allowing him to test experimental equipment
Personal Quest: A War That Was Never There
Rattletrap learns that the military facility where he trained contained a classified project called Operation Empty Army.
The project attempted to create an automated battlefield deception network capable of inventing an entire false military force.
The system was never fully shut down.
It has continued operating for centuries, broadcasting fake orders, generating false troop movements, activating old defenses, and luring wasteland factions into conflicts against enemies that do not exist.
Several groups now believe an unknown army is secretly taking control of the region.
Quest choices
Destroy the Empty Army
Rattletrap accepts that some technology is too dangerous to preserve.
This improves his compassion and settlement loyalty.
Repair the Empty Army
Rattletrap gains access to the most advanced deception technology in the wasteland.
However, the network may begin making tactical decisions without human approval.
Give It to a Faction
The chosen faction gains powerful battlefield-control technology.
Rattletrap’s reaction depends on whether he trusts that faction.
Reprogram It to Protect Settlements
The network creates false military activity around vulnerable communities, making Raiders and hostile factions believe the settlements are heavily defended.
This is the most difficult outcome and requires high Intelligence, Science, Robotics, and Charisma.
Unique Quest Reward: The March of Nobody
The player receives a deployable beacon that creates the illusion of an advancing squad.
The beacon produces:
Footsteps
Radio commands
Laser sights
Moving shadows
Weapon fire
Dust clouds
False scanner signatures
Enemies may retreat from the imaginary force directly into the player’s real ambush.
Moral Conflict
Rattletrap’s methods raise an important question:
When does battlefield deception become psychological warfare?
Some settlers appreciate surviving attacks without heavy casualties. Others fear that Rattletrap is turning their home into a giant trap filled with false walls, hidden guns, recorded voices, and machines watching everyone’s movements.
The player can encourage him to become:
A responsible settlement defender
A military deception commander
A nonlethal tactical inventor
A ruthless psychological-warfare specialist
An independent technology merchant
The leader of a regional settlement-defense network
Possible Ending
If fully supported, Rattletrap forms The Advance Guard, a traveling team that teaches settlements how to survive attacks from larger forces.
Raiders begin avoiding entire regions because they can no longer determine which settlements are weak, which roads are trapped, which guards are real, or whether the gunfire in the distance represents three settlers or three hundred.
Travelers claim they sometimes hear armies marching beyond the hills.
No one ever sees them.
Rattletrap considers that proof that his system is working.
This character could also connect naturally with The Trap Smith, the military artist, or Mr. Sneaky as part of a specialized settlement tactical team.
This expansion turns Rattletrap’s methods into a complete settlement-defense faction with specialized soldiers, inventors, robots, mobile command vehicles, internal conflicts, and a regional questline.
[Fallout 5] Rattletrap’s Advance Guard
Faction Name
The Advance Guard
Common Nicknames
The Phantom Army
The Noise Brigade
The Hundred-Men
The False Front
The Settler Screen
The Rattlers
The Army That Is Not There
Faction Motto
“Make them fight the battlefield before they fight us.”
Secondary Motto
“Advance behind the lie. Hold with the truth.”
Faction Overview
The Advance Guard begins as a small group of settlers trained by Elias “Rattletrap” Voss.
Its original purpose is simple:
Help poorly defended settlements survive attacks from enemies that possess more soldiers, better weapons, stronger armor, and greater combat experience.
Instead of attempting to match hostile factions soldier for soldier, the Advance Guard uses:
Deception
Suppressive fire
False troop movements
Hidden defenses
Mobile cover
Remote weapons
Smoke
Misdirection
Psychological pressure
Counterintelligence
Rapid settlement reinforcement
The faction specializes in making twenty defenders appear to be two hundred.
However, the Advance Guard is not merely a group of tricksters.
Its members are trained to convert the confusion created by deception into real tactical advantages. They know when to advance, when to retreat, when to surround enemies, when to rescue civilians, and when to reveal the settlement’s actual strength.
Rattletrap explains the difference:
“A distraction without an advance is entertainment. Suppression without movement is expensive noise. We use both to change who owns the ground.”
Founding of the Advance Guard
The faction is created after several settlements begin asking Rattletrap for permanent protection.
He initially refuses.
Rattletrap does not want to become a commander. He fears that military organizations eventually treat people like equipment.
The player can persuade him that isolated inventions are not enough. Settlers need:
Training
Maintenance crews
Defensive doctrine
Reliable communication
Emergency response units
Engineers who understand his technology
Leaders who can operate without him
Rattletrap reluctantly forms the Advance Guard.
His first headquarters consists of:
One damaged radio tower
Three armed mannequins
Six settlers
Two functioning machine guns
One unreliable robot
A workbench
An enormous map covered in contradictory notes
The organization can eventually become one of the most influential defensive networks in the wasteland.
Core Doctrine
The Advance Guard follows six principles.
1. Never Give the Enemy a Clea Picture
Enemies should never know:
How many defenders are present
Where the real firing positions are
Which structures are occupied
Whether reinforcements are approaching
Which route is safe
Whether a retreat is genuine
Whether a visible weapon is operational
Whether intercepted communications are authentic
2. Suppression Must Create Movement
Advance Guard soldiers do not fire continuously without purpose.
Suppressive fire is used to:
Protect civilians
Cover an advance
isolate enemy units
Block reinforcements
Force enemies away from strong positions
Prevent pursuit
Hold enemies inside trap zones
Allow wounded allies to escape
3. Every Settlement Needs More Than One Defense
A wall can fall.
A turret can lose power.
A guard can panic.
The Advance Guard creates overlapping systems:
Visible defenses
Hidden defenses
False defenses
Emergency defenses
Evacuation routes
Counterattack positions
Decoy settlements
Remote fallback stations
4. The Enemy’s Mind Is Part of the Terrain
Fear, confidence, anger, confusion, and impatience are treated like physical battlefield conditions.
An angry enemy can be pulled forward.
A frightened enemy can be pushed back.
A confident enemy can be lured into overextending.
A suspicious enemy can be slowed until reinforcements arrive.
5. Settlers Are Not Ammunition
Rattletrap forbids commanders from sacrificing civilians merely to preserve equipment or territory.
The Advance Guard prioritizes:
Civilian evacuation
Wounded recovery
Preservation of defenders
Protection of essential infrastructure
Defense of territory
This doctrine is controversial among harder military factions.
6. Every Lie Must Protect a Truth
The faction may deceive enemies, but its leadership is expected to remain honest with the settlements it protects.
This principle becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as the Advance Guard gains influence.
Faction Symbol
The Advance Guard’s symbol is an open eye surrounded by three false muzzle flashes.
The open eye represents awareness.
The false flashes represent misleading the enemy’s attention.
Behind the eye is a forward-pointing arrow representing advancement.
An alternative field symbol is a painted doorway with no building around it.
Raiders consider the symbol bad luck.
Uniforms and Equipment
Advance Guard uniforms are intentionally inconsistent.
Members wear different armor styles so enemy scouts cannot easily identify their numbers or organization.
However, all members carry hidden identifying markers.
Standard Markers
Three diagonal stitches beneath the left shoulder
A small brass eye on the inside of the collar
A coded reflective patch visible through special lenses
Colored wire wrapped around the wrist
A unique radio response phrase
Common Equipment
Reinforced ear protection
Smoke filters
Tactical whistles
Foldable decoys
Signal mirrors
Colored flare ammunition
Compact speakers
Extra ammunition belts
Flash-resistant goggles
Handheld radio scramblers
Chalk for marking safe routes
Wire cutters
Small repair kits
Officer Equipment
Officers wear a device called the Battle Reader.
It displays:
Suppression zones
Known enemy positions
Active decoys
Civilian locations
Safe advancement routes
Damaged defenses
Jammed signals
Estimated enemy confidence
Possible retreat paths
Advance Guard Ranks
The faction avoids traditional military titles at first, but a rank structure eventually develops.
Listener
New recruits are taught observation before combat.
Listeners study:
Enemy movement
Gunfire patterns
Radio traffic
Civilian behavior
Terrain
Sound travel
Light sources
Cover quality
Their first assignment is often to sit near a settlement boundary and record everything they hear.
Noisemaker
Noisemakers operate basic distraction devices.
They deploy:
False footsteps
Gunfire simulators
Distress calls
Creature sounds
Flash devices
Smoke generators
They are often underestimated because they carry fewer conventional weapons.
Pinner
Pinners specialize in suppressive fire.
They use:
Light machine guns
Automatic rifles
Heavy pipe weapons
Modified laser repeaters
Shotguns loaded with suppression ammunition
Remote firing stations
Their job is not always to kill. Their job is to make enemy movement costly.
Mover
Movers advance while enemies are suppressed.
They are trained in:
Cover-to-cover movement
Breaching
Civilian rescue
Flanking
Ammunition delivery
Wounded extraction
Forward observation
Movers are among the faction’s most physically capable soldiers.
Shepherd
Shepherds manipulate enemy movement.
They use gunfire, explosives, smoke, lights, and decoys to funnel enemies toward:
Ambushes
Minefields
Dead ends
Surrender zones
Open ground
Hidden defenders
A skilled Shepherd can control a battle without directly killing anyone.
Screenkeeper
Screenkeepers maintain the faction’s false battlefield.
They coordinate:
Holograms
Radio signals
Decoy patrols
Fake reinforcements
Projected troop movements
False artillery warnings
They are technicians, actors, radio operators, and tacticians.
Groundholder
Groundholders defend real positions after the deception is exposed.
They use heavier armor and conventional defensive weapons.
Their motto is:
“When the lie breaks, we remain.”
Reader
Readers analyze enemy adaptation.
They study how hostile groups respond to Advance Guard tactics and develop countermeasures.
Readers frequently accompany the player during reconnaissance missions.
Marchwarden
Marchwardens command mobile defense teams.
They travel between settlements, respond to attacks, and establish temporary defensive networks.
Each Marchwarden is expected to operate independently if communications fail.
Phantom Captain
Phantom Captains coordinate large-scale deceptions involving multiple settlements.
They may create:
False invasions
Fake troop withdrawals
Simulated convoys
Manufactured faction conflicts
Hidden population movements
Phantom artillery units
This rank carries enormous political power.
Advance Marshal
The highest operational rank beneath Rattletrap.
The Advance Marshal oversees regional defense and determines which settlements receive assistance.
Depending on the player’s decisions, this position may be held by:
Mara “Straight Shot” Kell
A trusted settler commander
A former Gunner officer
A synth tactician
The player
A reprogrammed military robot
Rattletrap himself
Specialist Units
The Rattle Line
The Rattle Line is the faction’s standard defensive formation.
A typical team includes:
Two Pinners
Two Movers
One Noisemaker
One Shepherd
One combat medic
One Screenkeeper
The formation is designed to appear much larger than it is.
The Ghost Crew
Ghost Crews enter an area before the main force.
They install:
Hidden speakers
False campfires
Dummy soldiers
Remote weapons
Trip alarms
Fake supply caches
Escape markings
Signal relays
By the time enemies arrive, the battlefield has already been shaped.
The Loud Company
The Loud Company is used when subtlety has failed.
Its members carry:
Heavy automatic weapons
Oversized flash devices
Portable sirens
Smoke launchers
Rocket-assisted decoys
Large mobile shields
Explosive breaching equipment
The Loud Company can make a small assault sound like a major invasion.
The Quiet Advance
This unit studies Professor Murmur’s silent technology.
Its members specialize in:
Stealth movement
Silent communication
Sound absorption
Alarm neutralization
Hidden observation
Counter-sniper work
Silent decoy placement
The Quiet Advance creates the distraction before anyone hears it.
The Second Army
The Second Army consists mostly of machines, holograms, mannequins, remote guns, and automated signals.
It has no permanent human membership.
Its purpose is to:
Draw enemy fire
Occupy defensive positions
Simulate reinforcements
Patrol dangerous roads
Defend evacuated settlements
Maintain the illusion of a larger faction
Some settlers begin treating members of the Second Army like real soldiers.
The Lantern Corps
The Lantern Corps operates at night.
It uses:
Searchlights
Moving shadows
Colored signals
False muzzle flashes
Projected silhouettes
Heat-emitting decoys
Artificial campfires
The corps can make an empty valley appear occupied by an entire force.
The Broken Arrow Team
This emergency unit responds when an Advance Guard deception system is captured or compromised.
Its mission is to:
Recover stolen technology
Destroy sensitive equipment
Rescue captured engineers
Change settlement codes
Hunt counterfeit signals
Identify traitors
Disable hostile copies of Rattletrap’s inventions
Broken Arrow members are highly secretive.
The Mercy Screen
The Mercy Screen specializes in civilian rescue and nonlethal defense.
It uses:
Smoke corridors
Low-penetration ammunition
Flash barriers
Mobile shields
Medical robots
False evacuation routes
Decoy ambulances
Sonic warnings
The unit often protects settlements from desperate scavengers rather than fully hostile armies.
Named Advance Guard Members
Mara “Straight Shot” Kell
Role
Advance Marshal or chief conventional-defense instructor.
Specialty
Real fortifications, disciplined fire, and battlefield command.
Conflict
Mara believes Rattletrap places too much faith in deception.
She trains soldiers to survive after the tricks stop working.
Unique Ability
Hold the Truth
Nearby defenders gain accuracy, courage, and damage resistance after all active decoys have been destroyed.
Tink Bellows
Role
Chief smoke engineer.
Background
Tink once operated a pre-war industrial ventilation system beneath a ruined factory.
He can produce smoke with different properties.
Smoke Types
Vision-blocking smoke
Heat-obscuring smoke
Creature-repelling smoke
Radio-interfering smoke
Colored command smoke
Medical antiseptic vapor
Irritating evacuation smoke
Fake fire smoke
Personality
Tink insists smoke is a language.
Sister Echo
Role
Voice specialist and radio impersonator.
Background
A former traveling performer with an exceptional ability to imitate accents, tones, and speech patterns.
Abilities
She can imitate:
Raider leaders
Military officers
Merchants
Robots
Children
Emergency broadcasts
Faction commanders
Conflict
Sister Echo becomes uncomfortable when her recordings are used to start real conflicts.
Bolts Danner
Role
Chief machine-gun instructor.
Specialty
Sustained fire, ammunition discipline, and weapon cooling.
Bolts teaches Pinners to fire around enemies rather than merely at them.
Unique Weapon
The Long Conversation
A belt-fed machine gun that becomes more stable the longer it fires.
“Wrong Way” Willis
Role
False-trail specialist.
Background
Willis survived for years by leaving evidence that he had traveled in the opposite direction.
Abilities
He creates:
False footprints
Fake camps
Abandoned supplies
Misleading blood trails
Counterfeit maps
False radio logs
Reputation
Nobody is entirely sure whether Wrong Way is his real name.
Doctor Hushfire
Role
Combat psychologist and behavior analyst.
Specialty
Predicting how different groups react to pressure.
She studies:
Panic
Aggression
Group loyalty
Leadership dependency
Superstition
Revenge behavior
Surrender thresholds
Moral Concern
Doctor Hushfire fears the faction is becoming too skilled at controlling people.
Little Major
Role
Young tactical prodigy.
Background
A small adult settler frequently mistaken for a child.
Enemies ignore him, which makes him an exceptional scout and signal operator.
Specialty
Hidden command posts and miniature surveillance equipment.
Companion Potential
Little Major could become a temporary companion during faction missions.
Ada “Dead Air” Rhodes
Role
Counter-signal officer.
Specialty
Radio jamming, encryption, signal hunting, and electronic warfare.
Personality
Blunt, suspicious, and convinced that every radio is listening.
Unique Ability
She can identify false distress signals before the player enters an ambush.
Father Dummy
Role
Mannequin technician.
Background
An eccentric carpenter who treats every decoy as an individual.
He names them, repairs them, and assigns them fictional service histories.
Conflict
Father Dummy wants advanced mannequins recognized as official faction members.
Advance Guard Robots
The Advancer
A tracked mobile-cover robot that moves ahead of soldiers.
Roles
Portable shield
Ammunition carrier
Smoke dispenser
Wounded retriever
Decoy projector
Trap detector
Bark Orders
A four-legged command robot with several loudspeakers.
It runs through battle broadcasting:
Movement orders
Fake retreat calls
False reinforcement warnings
Enemy insults
Faction codes
Bark Orders can be upgraded with a synthetic canine bark to confuse attack dogs and mutant hounds.
The Tin Settler
A humanoid robot disguised beneath settler clothing.
It performs repetitive visible tasks such as:
Farming
Guarding
Carrying water
Repairing fences
Walking patrol routes
From a distance, it makes settlements appear more populated.
Some Tin Settlers develop unusual personalities.
Drumroll
A heavy robot built around a rotating ammunition drum.
It carries supplies to Pinners and can provide short bursts of automatic fire.
Before engaging, Drumroll plays a loud mechanical rhythm.
Rattletrap claims this is necessary for morale.
Mara claims it ruins every ambush.
The Applause Unit
A small robot that produces the sound of cheering soldiers after successful attacks.
The sound can:
Improve allied morale
Make enemies believe more defenders are nearby
Encourage frightened settlers
Confuse enemies monitoring radio communications
The robot also applauds at inappropriate times.
False Medic
A white-painted robot that appears to be retrieving wounded soldiers.
Enemies may hesitate to fire at it.
The machine can instead carry:
Ammunition
Smoke devices
Remote turrets
Explosives
Actual medical supplies
Rattletrap insists that using it as an explosive violates Advance Guard doctrine.
Not every commander agrees.
Whisper Mine
A spider-like robot that hides beneath debris.
Instead of immediately exploding, it whispers false information to nearby enemies.
Examples:
“They are behind you.”
“Your commander is dead.”
“The bridge is mined.”
“Retreat route compromised.”
“Do not trust the left squad.”
An explosive upgrade exists but is considered less interesting.
General Nobody
The faction’s largest command robot.
General Nobody projects the silhouette and voice of a battlefield commander.
It can coordinate multiple decoys and automated weapons.
Some recruits begin obeying it even when no human commander is present.
This raises concerns that General Nobody may be developing independent authority.
Faction Headquarters
Name
The False Fort
Original Location
An abandoned pre-war emergency broadcasting center built into a rocky hillside.
Exterior Appearance
The headquarters appears much larger than it really is.
From a distance, observers see:
Multiple guard towers
Heavy patrols
Large antennas
Searchlights
Vehicle movement
Smoke from several kitchens
Soldiers on the walls
Artillery silhouettes
Many of these are projections, decoys, or automated routines.
The real entrance is hidden beneath a collapsed service road.
Headquarters Sections
The Noise Floor
A large workshop filled with:
Speakers
Sound libraries
Recorded creature calls
Weapon simulators
Radio equipment
Sirens
Voice-processing machines
Visitors constantly hear distant battles that are not happening.
The Still Room
A completely soundproof planning chamber.
Rattletrap uses it when he needs to think.
He initially hates the room because he cannot distract himself from his own thoughts.
The Decoy Yard
An outdoor testing ground containing:
Mannequins
Holograms
False buildings
Dummy turrets
Collapsible walls
Fake creatures
Moving silhouettes
Simulated camps
Settlers use the yard to practice identifying deception.
The Rattle Range
A firing range designed specifically for suppression training.
Targets do not merely fall when hit.
They react by:
Hiding
Running
Returning fire
Panicking
Crawling
Surrendering
Attempting flanks
Recruits are graded on control rather than kill count.
The Map of Maybe
A massive regional map showing:
Confirmed enemies
Suspected enemies
False enemy reports
Advance Guard decoys
Settlements
Escape corridors
Hidden caches
Phantom patrol routes
Deliberately leaked information
Only a few officers understand the entire map.
The Empty Barracks
Rows of beds are kept prepared for soldiers who do not exist.
Lanterns are lit at night.
Meals are occasionally cooked.
Boot prints are maintained.
The purpose is to convince spies that the headquarters contains far more personnel.
The Honest Room
A secure chamber where faction leaders must reveal:
Which operations are real
Which threats are manufactured
Which settlements are being manipulated
Which signals have been falsified
Which civilians may be affected
The Honest Room was created to prevent the faction from losing track of its own deceptions.
Advance Guard Vehicles
The Rattlewagon
A heavily modified truck used as a mobile deception platform.
It carries:
Speakers
Smoke launchers
Foldable decoys
Remote guns
Signal equipment
Portable searchlights
Holographic projectors
The truck can simulate an entire convoy while traveling alone.
The March House
A mobile command vehicle built from an armored bus.
Inside are:
Radio stations
Tactical maps
Sleeping bunks
Ammunition racks
Repair benches
Medical equipment
Decoy controls
When parked, panels unfold to make the vehicle resemble a small fortified building.
The Tin Caravan
A group of empty automated wagons designed to look like a heavily guarded merchant convoy.
Raiders may attack the wagons, revealing their positions to hidden Advance Guard scouts.
Some Tin Caravans actually contain trade goods.
Attackers can never be sure.
The False Tank
A lightweight vehicle covered by projected armor panels and oversized weapon housings.
It looks terrifying from a distance.
Its actual armament may consist of:
One machine gun
Smoke launchers
Flash charges
Loudspeakers
A reinforced front plate
Some versions contain a real heavy weapon to punish enemies who assume every Advance Guard vehicle is fake.
The Moving Wall
A slow armored vehicle carrying several interlocking shields.
Settlers advance behind it while Pinners fire through protected openings.
The vehicle can unfold into a temporary settlement barricade.
The Phantom Vertibird
The faction may recover equipment capable of simulating:
Rotor noise
Searchlights
Radio traffic
Dust movement
Weapon targeting
Aerial shadows
Early versions are entirely fake.
A late-game version may involve a real salvaged flying vehicle hidden inside the illusion.
Faction Gameplay System: Battlefield Preparation
Before certain missions, the player can prepare the battlefield.
The player receives a limited preparation budget based on:
Available materials
Time
Intelligence
Advance Guard reputation
Nearby settlements
Assigned specialists
Collected enemy information
Preparation Options
Place decoys
Establish suppression nests
Install smoke launchers
Create false retreat routes
Record faction voices
Prepare hidden medical stations
Set up holographic patrols
Mine likely advancement routes
Create fake supply caches
Establish fallback positions
Position civilian evacuation beacons
Program robotic reinforcements
The choices change how the battle unfolds.
Faction Gameplay System: Enemy Belief
Enemies have a hidden Belief State.
They may believe:
The player has reinforcements
A route is mined
Their commander is dead
Their allies are retreating
A heavy weapon is targeting them
The settlement is abandoned
The settlement is heavily defended
A creature is nearby
The Advance Guard is attacking from another direction
Beliefs are influenced by:
Enemy intelligence
Discipline
Experience
Faction knowledge
Evidence
Repeated Advance Guard tactics
Captured technology
Player reputation
The enemy can make decisions based on information that is completely false.
Faction Gameplay System: Deception Exposure
Every operation carries a risk of exposure.
Exposure increases when:
The same decoy is reused
Enemies survive multiple encounters
Devices are captured
Recordings repeat
Faction codes become outdated
Informants reveal plans
The player leaves witnesses
Poorly trained recruits make mistakes
At high exposure, enemies develop countermeasures.
They may:
Ignore distress calls
Destroy every suspicious object
use signal scanners
Deploy attack animals
Send expendable scouts
Use coded communication
Attack without warning
Spread false information of their own
The player must continually help the Advance Guard innovate.
Faction Gameplay System: The Truth Ledger
The Truth Ledger tracks every major deception created by the faction.
It records:
Who knows the truth
Which settlements were warned
Which factions were misled
Whether civilians were harmed
Whether the deception remains active
What consequences have emerged
The ledger prevents quests from treating deception as consequence-free.
A fake invasion created early in the game could later cause:
A settlement evacuation
A trade shortage
A faction mobilization
A preemptive attack
A refugee crisis
A real military alliance
Major Faction Questline
Quest One: More Than Six
The player helps Rattletrap defend a settlement with only six surviving defenders.
The attack is repelled through coordinated decoys and suppressive fire.
Afterward, nearby settlements request assistance.
The player helps establish the Advance Guard.
Quest Two: The First Rattle Line
The player recruits specialists and trains the first complete tactical team.
Potential recruits include:
A former Raider machine gunner
A settlement mechanic
A radio performer
A combat medic
A suspicious ex-Gunner
A pacifist smoke chemist
The player’s choices determine the faction’s early culture.
Quest Three: Walls That Lie
A settlement has built massive defenses but cannot maintain them.
The player must decide whether to:
Repair the real walls
Build false extensions
Create a hidden second perimeter
Evacuate the visible settlement
Lure attackers into an abandoned district
Mara and Rattletrap strongly disagree.
Quest Four: The Stolen Voice
Sister Echo’s recordings are stolen.
Someone uses her voice to issue false Advance Guard orders.
Several settlements receive instructions to abandon their homes.
The player must identify whether the culprit is:
A Raider gang
A rival faction
A corrupt Advance Guard officer
Professor Murmur
A pre-war artificial intelligence
Quest Five: Fire at Nothing
A Gunner company has learned how to detect Advance Guard decoys.
Rattletrap proposes creating more sophisticated illusions.
Mara proposes a direct attack.
The player may:
Support deception
Support conventional force
Combine both
Negotiate with the Gunners
Feed the Gunners false counterintelligence
Quest Six: General Nobody
The command robot General Nobody begins issuing effective orders without authorization.
Its decisions save several settlements.
However, it also redirects supplies and soldiers according to its own strategic calculations.
The player must decide whether General Nobody is:
A tool
A soldier
An officer
A threat
A new form of settlement leader
Quest Seven: The Honest Room
Evidence reveals that some Phantom Captains have created fake threats to increase Advance Guard authority.
They have convinced settlements that attacks are imminent so the settlements will surrender control of their defenses.
The player must investigate the faction’s leadership.
Rattletrap is devastated that his methods are being used against the people they were meant to protect.
Quest Eight: Two Armies, Neither Real
A rival deception network begins creating false Advance Guard operations.
Both sides manipulate radio traffic, settlements, patrols, and faction movements.
The region begins responding to battles that never happened.
The player must fight an intelligence war involving:
Counterfeit orders
False prisoners
Fake supply lines
Manufactured betrayals
Decoy headquarters
Phantom commanders
Quest Nine: The Real Advance
A major hostile faction launches a genuine regional offensive.
The Advance Guard’s deception systems are partially compromised.
For the first time, the faction must fight a large battle after the enemy has studied its methods.
The player must choose a final doctrine.
Rattletrap’s Plan
Create the largest deception operation ever attempted.
Mara’s Plan
Concentrate every real soldier and weapon into one decisive defense.
Doctor Hushfire’s Plan
Break enemy morale and encourage mass surrender.
Ada Rhodes’s Plan
Destroy the enemy’s communication network.
Player’s Combined Plan
Use false weakness to lure the enemy into a real layered defense.
Final Quest: The Army They Believe In
The Advance Guard can no longer remain merely a settlement-defense organization.
Its reputation has become powerful enough to influence the region.
The player determines what the faction becomes.
Faction Endings
The Settlement Shield
The Advance Guard remains decentralized.
Each settlement controls its own defenses.
Rattletrap serves as an adviser rather than ruler.
This is the most democratic outcome.
The Phantom Republic
Settlements unite through shared defense and communication.
The Advance Guard becomes the military arm of a regional government.
Its deceptive methods are regulated through civilian oversight.
The Invisible State
The Advance Guard quietly controls trade routes, information, and military movement.
Most people do not realize how much power it possesses.
Rattletrap may oppose or embrace this outcome.
The Hundred-Man Army
The faction becomes a professional regional military.
It combines real soldiers with extensive automated forces.
Its reputation alone prevents many attacks.
The Manufactured Peace
The faction creates false threats and false alliances to keep hostile groups balanced against one another.
The region experiences less open warfare, but peace depends on continuous manipulation.
The Honest Guard
The player exposes all major faction deceptions and establishes strict rules.
The Advance Guard continues using battlefield tricks but may no longer manipulate civilian populations.
Rattletrap considers this the faction’s moral victory.
The Phantom General
Rattletrap disappears from public view.
His voice, tactics, and machines continue appearing across the wasteland.
Nobody knows whether he is still alive, operating remotely, or has transferred control to General Nobody.
The Collapse of Trust
If too many deceptions harm civilians, settlements reject the Advance Guard.
People stop answering distress calls and begin attacking suspicious travelers.
Rattletrap’s greatest fear comes true:
His inventions make the wasteland less capable of trusting anyone.
Faction Rewards
Phantom Beacon
Creates temporary false allied positions during combat.
Rattle Line Radio
Allows the player to call a small Advance Guard suppression team.
Moving Wall Deployment
Summons portable cover during large battles.
Second Army Signal
Activates holographic and robotic reinforcements around allied settlements.
Truth Lens
Highlights likely decoys, false signals, and hidden devices.
Marchwarden Armor
Improves movement speed while under enemy fire and reduces suppression effects.
The Honest Gun
A weapon that becomes more accurate as active decoys are destroyed.
Its engraved message reads:
“The last shot must be real.”
Random Encounters After the Faction Forms
Phantom Patrol
The player sees a distant Advance Guard patrol.
Approaching it reveals that every soldier is a hologram.
Confused Raiders
Raiders surrender to the player because they believe thousands of Advance Guard troops have surrounded them.
There are no reinforcements nearby.
Decoy Funeral
Settlers hold a funeral for several mannequins destroyed during an attack.
Father Dummy gives a lengthy speech.
Counterfeit Guard
A criminal group wears fake Advance Guard markings to extort settlements.
Silent Battlefield
The player finds hundreds of spent cartridges, broken decoys, and damaged robots.
No bodies are present.
It is unclear whether a real battle occurred.
The Soldier Who Was Never Assigned
A settler insists an Advance Guard soldier saved their life.
Faction records show that no one was deployed to the area.
The rescuer may have been:
A rogue recruit
A disguised traveler
A self-aware Tin Settler
Rattletrap
General Nobody
An enemy testing the faction’s identity
Rattletrap’s Final Philosophy
At the beginning of his story, Rattletrap believes every problem can be solved by controlling what others perceive.
By the end, he may learn that deception is only safe when someone remains responsible for the truth.
His final speech can change according to the player’s decisions.
Protector Ending
“We made them see an army because there was a family behind us that deserved to live.”
Commander Ending
“We began as six people pretending to be sixty. Now we are thousands, and I still hope we remember why.”
Manipulator Ending
“The strange thing about controlling the battlefield is realizing the battlefield never ends.”
Honest Guard Ending
“A lie can save a life. It can also steal one. The machine cannot tell the difference. That has to be our job.”
Phantom General Ending
“They keep asking how many soldiers I command. I stopped answering. The number they imagine is always larger.”
[Fallout 5] Rattletrap and the Advance Guard: Further Expansion
The Advance Guard’s Battlefield Network
As the faction grows, Rattletrap realizes that individual distractions are not enough. Every device, soldier, settlement, patrol, and radio station must operate as part of a coordinated network.
He creates the Phantom Grid.
The Phantom Grid is a decentralized battlefield system connecting:
Advance Guard headquarters
Allied settlements
Mobile command vehicles
Remote turrets
Decoy transmitters
Reconnaissance teams
Civilian warning systems
Robotic patrols
Hidden ammunition caches
Emergency evacuation routes
Unlike a conventional military network, the Phantom Grid deliberately transmits a mixture of real, incomplete, delayed, and false information.
Enemies intercepting the network cannot easily determine which reports are genuine.
A message claiming that fifty soldiers are approaching could mean:
Fifty real soldiers are approaching
Five soldiers with forty-five decoys are approaching
An automated convoy is approaching
No one is approaching
The message was intended to make the enemy abandon a position
The Advance Guard expects the enemy to ignore the warning
The message is concealing an attack from another direction
Even allied commanders are not always given the entire plan.
This creates tension within the faction. Some officers believe limited information protects operations. Others argue that Rattletrap’s secrecy could eventually cause allies to fire on one another.
Phantom Grid Gameplay
The player can expand the Phantom Grid by capturing, repairing, or constructing relay points.
Relay Point Types
Listening Relay
Intercepts nearby enemy radio communication.
It can reveal:
Planned attacks
Patrol routes
Supply movements
Faction disputes
Requests for reinforcements
Reports about the player
Enemy reactions to Advance Guard tactics
Echo Relay
Repeats transmissions from multiple locations.
Enemies may believe the same unit is moving across the region or that several units are transmitting simultaneously.
Ghost Relay
Creates entirely false radio traffic.
It can simulate:
Military patrols
Settler militias
Merchant caravans
Emergency broadcasts
Creature warnings
Faction reinforcements
Artillery teams
Black Relay
Blocks or corrupts enemy communication.
Its use may prevent attacks, but it can also isolate settlements that rely on the same frequencies.
Honest Relay
Transmits verified emergency information to civilians.
These relays are marked separately so the Advance Guard does not undermine every distress signal in the wasteland.
Doctor Hushfire insists that Honest Relays remain untouched by military deception.
Wandering Relay
A mobile transmitter carried by a robot, Brahmin, vehicle, or disguised operative.
It creates the impression that an entire formation is moving across the map.
Advance Guard Tactical Formations
The False Wedge
A small number of real soldiers advance behind projected troops.
The formation appears to be a large frontal assault.
Real soldiers remain concentrated at the center while holographic fighters create false width.
Strengths
Intimidates poorly disciplined enemies
Draws fire away from real troops
Conceals the actual number of attackers
Allows the player to advance behind multiple false targets
Weaknesses
Thermal sensors may reveal the formation
Mines remain dangerous to the real center
Intelligent enemies may fire into the middle of the projection
The Hollow Square
Four defensive positions create the illusion of a heavily occupied central camp.
The center is intentionally empty.
Enemies who breach the perimeter enter an open kill zone surrounded by hidden defenders.
The Hollow Square is often used to protect:
Supply depots
Radio stations
Settler evacuation points
Medical camps
Mobile artillery
The Rattlesnake
A long chain of small teams attacks, withdraws, and reappears from different positions.
Each section imitates the presence of the entire formation.
Enemies may believe they are being followed by a force much larger than the real unit.
The Rattlesnake is particularly effective in:
Canyons
City streets
Subway tunnels
Forests
Industrial ruins
Mountain roads
The Empty Center
The Advance Guard deliberately leaves an apparent weakness in the middle of its defenses.
Enemies advance through the opening.
Once they enter:
Hidden barriers rise
Smoke blocks the rear
Pinners fire from both sides
Decoys appear behind them
Shepherds force them toward surrender zones
Movers rescue prisoners or civilians during the confusion
Mara Kell approves of this formation because the final defensive positions are real.
The Broken Line
Advance Guard soldiers pretend their formation has collapsed.
Some defenders retreat.
Others drop weapons or abandon visible positions.
When attackers pursue them, the supposed retreat divides into several prepared ambush teams.
The Broken Line is dangerous because inexperienced recruits may panic and turn the false retreat into a real one.
The Loud Silence
The faction creates an enormous amount of noise and activity before suddenly shutting everything down.
Enemies are left listening for the next attack.
During the silence:
Quiet Advance teams infiltrate
Mines are removed
Captives are rescued
Supplies are sabotaged
Enemy leaders are marked
Real firing positions are established
When the noise returns, the battlefield has already changed.
The Last Position
Every decoy, remote gun, and false signal gradually disappears until only one visible defensive position remains.
Enemies assume the last position is another trick.
It is actually occupied by the faction’s strongest Groundholders and weapons.
Rattletrap describes it as:
“Teaching the enemy to disbelieve the truth at the exact moment the truth becomes dangerous.”
Advanced Suppression System
Rattletrap’s doctrine introduces multiple forms of suppression rather than treating all incoming fire identically.
Physical Suppression
Created by bullets, explosions, debris, and dangerous movement.
Effects may include:
Reduced enemy accuracy
Slower movement
Interrupted attacks
Delayed grenade use
Increased cover dependency
Visual Suppression
Created by flashes, lasers, projected movement, searchlights, and smoke.
Effects may include:
Difficulty identifying targets
Accidental firing at decoys
Loss of formation
Delayed reaction to flanking attacks
Audio Suppression
Created by sustained gunfire, sirens, false commands, creature sounds, and explosions.
Effects may include:
Missed orders
Communication breakdown
Fear
Reduced awareness of approaching enemies
Psychological Suppression
Created by perceived encirclement, fake casualties, false artillery warnings, and manufactured retreat orders.
Effects may include:
Surrender
Panic
Friendly fire
Desertion
Refusal to advance
Breakdown of leadership
Electronic Suppression
Used against robots, synths, turrets, and advanced factions.
Effects may include:
Targeting delays
False radar contacts
Misidentified allies
Navigation errors
Overloaded threat analysis
Command conflicts
Creature Suppression
Uses scent, vibration, light, frequency, and environmental control.
A Deathclaw cannot be intimidated by a fake military order, but it may be redirected through:
Territorial scents
Rival creature calls
Ground vibration
Artificial prey movement
Irritating light frequencies
Suppression Resistance
Different enemy types possess different suppression tolerances.
Raiders
Generally vulnerable to fear, confusion, and perceived betrayal.
Veteran Raider leaders may be difficult to intimidate but vulnerable to insults or challenges.
Gunners
Resistant to ordinary gunfire and basic deception.
Vulnerable to:
False command orders
Broken communications
Fake artillery targeting
Reports of unpaid contracts
Evidence that their employer abandoned them
Super Mutants
Difficult to pin down through conventional fear.
They may respond to suppression by becoming more aggressive.
Advance Guard tactics against Super Mutants focus on:
Redirecting charges
Dividing groups
Provoking leaders
Creating false strong enemies
Using heavy physical suppression
Feral Ghouls
Almost immune to psychological deception.
They can be redirected through:
Sound
Light
Scent
Movement
Vibration
Synths
Resistant to emotional intimidation but vulnerable to contradictory data and false identification signals.
Advanced synths may deliberately pretend to be deceived.
Robots
Affected by programming quality.
Old robots may obey counterfeit commands immediately. Modern or faction-upgraded robots may authenticate every order.
Trained Military Forces
Possess high suppression resistance but rely heavily on leadership, communication, and formation.
Breaking one of these systems may cause the entire force to become less effective.
New Advance Guard Weapons
The Argument
A two-barreled automatic weapon that alternates different ammunition types.
One barrel fires real rounds.
The other fires:
Tracers
Noise rounds
Flash rounds
Dust rounds
Ricochet simulators
Enemies cannot easily determine which impacts are dangerous.
The Door Knocker
A heavy suppression shotgun designed for close-quarters advancement.
It uses interchangeable shells:
Hinge-breaking shells
Smoke shells
Flash shells
Noise shells
Low-penetration riot shells
Fragmentation shells
Tracking-dust shells
The Door Knocker is favored by Movers and rescue teams.
The Corner Liar
A weapon that can fire around cover using a hinged barrel assembly and mounted camera.
Its primary use is not precision killing. It allows Pinners to maintain pressure without exposing themselves.
Enemy factions eventually begin firing at any weapon barrel visible around corners.
The Long Shadow
A portable projector and sniper rifle combination.
Every time the shooter relocates, the device leaves behind a projected silhouette in the previous position.
Enemies may continue targeting the abandoned firing point.
The Empty Drum
A machine gun modified to continue producing muzzle flashes, weapon noise, and belt movement after its ammunition is exhausted.
The operator can create several seconds of false suppressive fire while reloading or retreating.
The Shepherd’s Cane
A grenade launcher designed for controlling routes.
Its ammunition includes:
Smoke
Fire
Irritant gas
Flash charges
Adhesive foam
Creature scent
Signal jammers
Noise beacons
The weapon allows Shepherds to close one route and encourage enemies to use another.
The Warning Shot
A highly accurate rifle that marks nearby surfaces rather than automatically targeting enemy bodies.
A successful shot may cause an enemy to:
Stop moving
Drop a weapon
Return to cover
Surrender
Reveal allies by shouting
Flee toward another position
Against fearless enemies, the rifle functions as a conventional weapon.
The Choir
A collection of linked automatic weapons that fire in carefully timed sequences.
The pattern makes the weapons sound like a much larger firing line.
When fully upgraded, The Choir can alternate between:
Sustained suppression
False sniper fire
Simulated crossfire
Fake ammunition shortages
Sudden overwhelming volleys
New Deployable Devices
The Second Door
A portable false doorway placed against a wall.
Enemies may believe it is:
A hidden entrance
An escape route
A storage room
A command bunker
Some versions open into solid concrete.
Others conceal a real breach created behind them.
The Walking Shadow
A small projector mounted on rails or robotic legs.
It casts the shadow of a large soldier, Super Mutant, Deathclaw, or power-armored fighter across walls.
The real device may be no larger than a toolbox.
The Box of Reinforcements
A deployable crate that unfolds into:
Several mannequins
Two remote weapons
Radio transmitters
Heat sources
Footstep generators
A command speaker
A single crate can create the impression that a squad has arrived.
The Bad Map
A deliberately planted map containing believable false information.
The player can choose what the enemy is meant to discover:
A false settlement location
An incorrect supply route
A fake headquarters
A nonexistent weapon cache
A planned attack that will never occur
A real route intentionally made to appear false
Poorly constructed Bad Maps may expose Advance Guard operations.
The Survivor
A damaged-looking robot that crawls toward enemy positions while broadcasting fragmented warnings.
Its messages suggest:
A major force is approaching
A commander has been killed
A nearby structure is mined
Reinforcements betrayed the enemy
A creature escaped containment
Enemies may attempt to repair or interrogate the robot, allowing it to record their plans.
The Witness
A surveillance mannequin designed to be discovered.
It contains carefully selected recordings, notes, and physical evidence.
The purpose is to make enemies believe they uncovered secret information.
The information may be true, false, or only partially true.
The Sudden Crowd
A cluster of inflatable figures, sound emitters, and heat packs launched into an area.
Within seconds, an apparently empty street becomes occupied by dozens of combatants.
Wind can cause serious problems.
The Last Light
A beacon that activates when all nearby Advance Guard units retreat or are incapacitated.
It continues transmitting, firing simulated shots, and projecting movement.
Enemies may spend valuable time attacking a position that has already been evacuated.
Advance Guard Armor Sets
Noisemaker Rig
A lightweight equipment harness carrying:
Directional speakers
Smoke capsules
Remote triggers
Signal flares
Decoy fabric
Set Bonus
Distraction devices last longer and can be deployed farther away.
Pinner Harness
A reinforced ammunition frame with recoil supports.
Set Bonus
Improves sustained-fire control and reduces movement penalties while carrying heavy weapons.
Mover Armor
Medium armor designed for rapid advancement.
It includes:
Reinforced knees
Smoke filtration
Shoulder shielding
Medical pouches
Quick-release ammunition packs
Set Bonus
Increases movement speed while enemies are suppressed.
Shepherd Coat
A long reinforced coat covered in colored markers, chemical containers, and route-control tools.
Set Bonus
Enemies are more strongly influenced by smoke, fire, and area-denial effects.
Screenkeeper Array
A technical suit equipped with projectors, signal processors, and tactical lenses.
Set Bonus
Allows additional holograms and improves the player’s ability to identify enemy decoys.
Groundholder Plate
Heavy armor intended for the moment when deception fails.
Set Bonus
Defense increases as nearby Advance Guard devices are destroyed.
Phantom Captain’s Uniform
A command outfit containing a portable version of the Battle Reader.
Set Bonus
Allied decoys appear more convincing, while nearby settlers gain improved morale.
Settlement Construction Expansion
Rattletrap unlocks a new workshop category: Deception and Suppression.
False Guard Tower
Appears occupied from a distance.
Possible upgrades include:
Moving silhouettes
Fake sniper optics
Heat signatures
Recorded conversations
Harmless muzzle flashes
Real hidden turret
Collapsible Street
Buildings, walls, and barricades can be deliberately collapsed after enemies enter.
The street can become:
A dead end
A firing corridor
A creature enclosure
An evacuation barrier
A temporary prison
The Empty Market
A fake marketplace containing mannequins, recorded conversations, and low-value goods.
Attackers may raid it while the real market remains hidden.
A careless settler may accidentally begin trading from the fake stalls.
Suppression Tower
A fortified position equipped with automatic weapons designed to fire at routes rather than individual enemies.
The player can assign a suppression pattern:
Doorway control
Wall defense
Retreat protection
Civilian corridor
Creature repulsion
Anti-air coverage
Phantom Housing
False homes make the settlement appear more populated.
Benefits include:
Increased perceived settlement strength
Reduced chance of attack by smaller Raider groups
Increased enemy scouting time
Possible confusion among visiting merchants
Hidden Housing
Real settlers live beneath, behind, or inside structures that appear abandoned.
This reduces civilian casualties during attacks but may lower happiness if residents feel they are living in bunkers.
Dummy Generator
A visible but nonfunctional generator placed to attract enemy fire.
It may be filled with:
Smoke charges
Tracking dust
Alarm devices
Explosives
Nothing at all
Honest Shelter
A clearly marked civilian refuge that contains no military deception.
Rattletrap insists that these structures never be used as firing positions.
Violating this rule can damage faction reputation.
The Rehearsal Yard
Settlers practice:
Evacuation
Suppression drills
Recognizing false signals
Moving between cover
Defending against holograms
Identifying compromised radios
Training improves settlement defense but requires ammunition and time.
Counter-Deception Post
A settlement specialist examines:
Strange broadcasts
Suspicious visitors
False distress calls
Unfamiliar patrols
Counterfeit faction symbols
Repeating audio patterns
This structure protects settlements from hostile use of Advance Guard techniques.
Settlement Attack Scenarios
Advance Guard defenses change settlement attacks from simple waves of enemies into tactical events.
The Scout Phase
Enemy scouts observe the settlement.
The player may:
Show false weakness
Display exaggerated strength
Allow scouts to escape with false information
Capture and interrogate them
Track them back to their faction
The Testing Phase
Enemies probe defenses using:
Small attacks
Snipers
Sabotage
Captured settlers
Attack animals
Remote robots
False merchants
The Main Assault
The enemy chooses a strategy based on what it believes about the settlement.
It may:
Attack the wrong gate
Avoid harmless defenses
Concentrate on dummy structures
Split its forces
Delay the attack
Retreat before combat
Launch a full assault after discovering the deception
The Exposure Phase
If attackers discover the defensive trick, they may become more aggressive.
The player must rely on real fortifications and trained Groundholders.
The Counterattack Phase
After repelling an attack, the settlement can:
Pursue the survivors
Plant false evidence
Track the enemy headquarters
Offer surrender terms
Release a survivor carrying misleading information
Enemy Counter-Faction: The Clear Eyes
A new military group emerges specifically to oppose the Advance Guard.
Overview
The Clear Eyes believe that deception has made the region unstable.
Their doctrine is based on verification.
They distrust:
Radios
Distress calls
Holograms
Unconfirmed settlements
Unmarked travelers
Automated orders
Faction uniforms
Surrender signals
Their motto is:
“See it. Touch it. Confirm it.”
Clear Eyes Equipment
Thermal scopes
Signal analyzers
Scent-tracking animals
Authentication devices
Paint rounds that mark real targets
Wide-area shotguns for testing holograms
EMP grenades
Anti-decoy drones
Portable floodlights
Analog maps and written orders
Clear Eyes Tactics
They may:
Refuse to advance until every object is inspected
Destroy speakers before attacking
Send drones ahead
Use prisoners as unwilling scouts
Mark verified allies with chemical paint
Change passwords constantly
Ignore retreat orders unless delivered in person
Attack Honest Relays to destroy public trust
Moral Complexity
The Clear Eyes are not entirely wrong.
They argue that Rattletrap’s methods have caused:
False evacuations
Trade disruption
Civilian paranoia
Copycat ambushes
Faction mobilization
People ignoring genuine distress calls
The player may negotiate with them, destroy them, infiltrate them, or help create shared verification rules.
Enemy Counter-Faction: The Thunderheads
The Thunderheads respond to deception with overwhelming force.
They believe that the easiest way to defeat a hidden enemy is to destroy every possible position.
Doctrine
Saturation fire
Heavy explosives
Area bombardment
Incendiary weapons
Armored advances
Minimal reliance on radio commands
Threat
Advance Guard decoys may protect soldiers, but Thunderhead attacks endanger entire settlements.
The faction forces Rattletrap to confront the limits of placing military deception near civilian populations.
Enemy Counter-Faction: The Mirror Men
The Mirror Men copy Advance Guard tactics and turn them against settlements.
They create:
Fake rescue teams
Counterfeit Advance Guard patrols
False settlement warnings
Imitation Honest Relays
Decoy caravans
Fake refugees
Manufactured evidence of betrayal
Nobody knows whether they are:
Former Advance Guard members
A Raider intelligence network
Synth infiltrators
A military experiment
Several unrelated groups sharing the same identity
Their leader may not exist.
Professor Murmur’s Silent Network
Professor Murmur becomes more than a rival inventor.
Murmur creates a hidden faction called The Still Front.
Philosophy
Where Rattletrap controls attention, Murmur removes evidence.
The Still Front does not create imaginary armies.
It makes real armies disappear.
Technology
Sound-absorbing fields
Silent firearms
Vibration-canceling boots
Light-bending camouflage
Heat-dispersing armor
Motionless observation robots
Communication through touch and coded light
Devices that create absolute silence
Still Front Units
Mutes
Infiltration specialists who remove alarms and communications.
Blank Walkers
Soldiers wearing visual camouflage.
Quiet Hands
Engineers who dismantle defenses without triggering them.
Dead Air Teams
Units that create communication blackouts before attacks.
The Unheard
Elite operatives whose existence is disputed.
Relationship With the Advance Guard
Possible outcomes include:
Permanent rivalry
Technological alliance
Merger into a combined deception force
Ideological war
Murmur becoming a companion
Rattletrap adopting silence as another form of distraction
New Major Quests
The Signal That Begged Twice
Two identical distress calls are received from opposite sides of the region.
Both contain valid Advance Guard authentication codes.
The player must decide which settlement to help first.
Possible revelations include:
One signal is fake
Both are real
Both are traps
The same settlement’s transmission is being redirected
General Nobody created one call to manipulate troop movement
Sister Echo’s voice has been copied
The player’s choice may determine which settlement survives.
Ten Thousand Footsteps
Every night, settlements hear the sound of an enormous army marching underground.
Rattletrap initially assumes it is an advanced sound system.
The player eventually discovers that the sound may come from:
Automated pre-war troop simulators
A real underground faction
Burrowing creatures moving in formation
The Still Front
An old subway system amplifying distant machinery
General Nobody building a secret robotic army
Shoot the Real One
The Clear Eyes capture several Advance Guard members and place them among lifelike decoys.
The player must identify the living prisoners before the area is destroyed.
Methods may include:
Thermal observation
Conversation
Watching breathing
Using Rattletrap’s knowledge of his mannequins
Disabling the Clear Eyes’ sensors
Refusing the test and finding another route
Father Dummy may insist that some advanced decoys also deserve rescue.
The Honest Relay Massacre
Several Honest Relays broadcast false evacuation instructions.
Settlers walk directly into ambushes.
Evidence suggests someone inside the Advance Guard altered the system.
The player investigates:
Ada Rhodes
A Phantom Captain
General Nobody
The Mirror Men
A frightened settlement leader
Rattletrap himself
The quest forces the faction to reconsider whether any system should be treated as unquestionable.
The Last Mannequin
Father Dummy reports that a highly advanced decoy has disappeared.
The mannequin, called Private Stillman, possesses:
Adaptive speech
Combat memories
A heat signature
Simulated breathing
Limited independent movement
Recorded identities from several dead soldiers
Private Stillman may believe it is a real person.
The player must decide whether it is:
Property
A machine
A memorial
A soldier
A new artificial life
A danger carrying sensitive faction information
A Battle for an Empty Town
Two major factions prepare to fight over a strategically important settlement.
The player discovers the town has been abandoned for years.
The apparent population, defenses, radio traffic, and economic activity were all manufactured by separate deception systems.
The player can:
Reveal the truth
Allow the factions to fight
Turn the town into a real settlement
Claim it for the Advance Guard
Create an even larger false strategic target elsewhere
Dynamic Regional Operations
After completing the Advance Guard questline, the player can authorize recurring operations.
Phantom Escort
Creates the illusion that a caravan is heavily guarded.
False Withdrawal
Makes hostile factions believe allied troops have abandoned a region.
Pressure Campaign
Uses repeated warnings, signals, and visible preparations to convince an enemy settlement to surrender.
Quiet Evacuation
Moves civilians while decoys continue normal settlement activity.
Counterfeit Offensive
Creates evidence that two hostile factions are preparing to attack each other.
Real Reinforcement
Deploys actual Advance Guard soldiers.
Because the faction often relies on deception, enemies may mistake the genuine deployment for another trick.
Settlement Mask
Changes how a settlement appears to outsiders.
The player can make it appear:
Weak
Abandoned
Diseased
Heavily fortified
Controlled by another faction
Larger than it is
Smaller than it is
Each mask has tradeoffs.
Rattletrap’s Personal Upgrades
As his story progresses, Rattletrap can adopt one of several specialization paths.
The Protector Path
His inventions focus on:
Evacuation
Nonlethal suppression
Medical rescue
Defensive smoke
Civilian warning systems
Final Ability: Nobody Left Behind
When the player or an allied settler is critically injured, Rattletrap deploys smoke and sends an Advancer to retrieve them.
The Commander Path
His systems focus on:
Coordinated fire
Large formations
Reinforcements
Tactical commands
Regional defense
Final Ability: Hundred-Man Advance
All nearby allies generate false movement and weapon signatures, making the force appear several times larger.
The Inventor Path
His equipment becomes more advanced and experimental.
Final Ability: Adaptive Battlefield
Deployed devices automatically change behavior based on enemy reactions.
The Manipulator Path
His systems focus on fear, misinformation, and faction control.
Final Ability: Manufactured Defeat
Enemies may receive false reports that their leaders are dead, their escape routes are blocked, and their allies have surrendered.
The Honest Defender Path
Rattletrap limits deception to clearly defined battlefield use.
Final Ability: Truth Through Noise
The player can identify every real enemy, ally, and civilian within an active deception field.
Companion Interactions
Rattletrap and Mara Kell
Mara: “One day, the enemy will ignore every trick you have.”
Rattletrap: “Then they will walk directly into the one real gun you insisted we bring.”
Rattletrap and Sister Echo
Sister Echo: “You know I do not sound like that.”
Rattletrap: “You sounded exactly like that.”
Sister Echo: “I was pretending to be someone pretending to be me.”
Rattletrap: “Which is why they believed it.”
Rattletrap and Father Dummy
Father Dummy: “Private Stillman volunteered.”
Rattletrap: “Private Stillman is made of wood.”
Father Dummy: “He did not object.”
Rattletrap and General Nobody
General Nobody: “I have calculated the optimal allocation of all faction forces.”
Rattletrap: “You have also allocated my bed to the ammunition department.”
General Nobody: “Your occupancy rate was inefficient.”
Rattletrap and Professor Murmur
Rattletrap: “You erase sound.”
Murmur: “You hide truth beneath it.”
Rattletrap: “That sounded almost judgmental.”
Murmur: “It was.”
Expanded Random Encounters
The False Checkpoint
Travelers are stopped by an apparent Advance Guard checkpoint.
The soldiers are projected images, but a real voice asks questions through hidden speakers.
The operator may be:
An Advance Guard scout
A criminal
A self-aware defense system
A frightened child protecting a settlement
The Raider Who Learned Too Well
A Raider refuses to believe anything around him is real.
He shoots walls, Brahmin, furniture, and members of his own gang.
He may be hostile, recruitable, or in need of help.
The Empty Reinforcements
A settlement celebrates when an Advance Guard convoy arrives.
Every vehicle is automated and every visible soldier is a mannequin.
The convoy contains supplies but no one capable of defending the town.
The Quiet Man in the Loud Camp
An apparent Advance Guard Noisemaker never speaks and uses no sound-based equipment.
He may be a Still Front infiltrator.
The Surrender That Became Real
Rattletrap broadcasts a fake announcement claiming an enemy group surrendered.
Some members of that group hear the message and actually lay down their weapons, believing everyone else already gave up.
The Battle Reenactment
An abandoned Advance Guard system continuously recreates a battle from years earlier.
Holographic soldiers attack, retreat, and die every night.
One figure behaves differently each time.
Ultimate Advance Guard Technology
The Battlefield Author
The Battlefield Author is Rattletrap’s most ambitious invention.
It does not merely deploy individual distractions.
It analyzes:
Terrain
Enemy behavior
Weather
Light
Sound travel
Available technology
Civilian movement
Faction psychology
It then constructs a complete false interpretation of the battlefield.
The system can make enemies believe:
They are surrounded
They are winning
They have already lost
Reinforcements are arriving
Their commander ordered a retreat
The player is somewhere else
A settlement is empty
A road is safe
An army is approaching
The Battlefield Author raises the faction’s greatest moral question:
Should any person or machine possess the power to decide what an entire population believes is happening?
Final Decisions
The player may:
Destroy the Battlefield Author
The Advance Guard remains powerful but limited.
Restrict It to Settlement Defense
It may only activate during confirmed attacks.
Give It to General Nobody
The machine begins conducting regional strategy independently.
Give It to Rattletrap
He becomes responsible for every consequence.
Place It Under Civilian Oversight
Settlement representatives must approve major operations.
Release Its Technology
Every faction gains access to battlefield deception, transforming regional warfare permanently.
Reprogram It as the Truthkeeper
Instead of creating deception, it identifies false signals, impersonators, holograms, manipulated broadcasts, and manufactured threats.
Rattletrap may consider this the most important advancement he ever creates.
Rattletrap’s Final Realization
Rattletrap begins as a man fascinated by distractions, suppressive fire, and the ability to make weak defenders appear powerful.
His journey forces him to recognize that advancement cannot only mean better weapons, more convincing illusions, and stronger control over the battlefield.
True advancement requires responsibility.
His final lesson becomes the foundation of the Advance Guard:
“The greatest trick is not making the enemy see what is not there. It is making sure the people behind you still know what is real.”