Wasteland Survival Guide: Eastern Commonwealth Version [Order of the Red Cross]

".... Out of the bright lights and feuding streets of 'Electric City', the lands begins to rise in elevation towards Poc'nos Mountains. Sparsely populated when the bombs fell, the area avoided much of the nuclear fire that wracked the rest of the state. Thick, warped trees form a forest that has withstood all the depredations imaginable in the wasteland- bark resistant to fire and blade alike.

This is a territory for the Order of the Red Cross. Descended from from the Vault-Dwellers made up of doctors, patients, and immediate family who managed to escape into their emergency shelters beneath the regional Medical Center. Over time the many manuscripts and medical texts saved countless lives. Soon enough these old books became akin to Holy texts, and children were taught from a young age to revere them. Religion met science, and the descendents of doctors slowly became the Holy Order of the Red Cross. The texts were merely the first of their kind- the Order actively seeking out more medical knowledge (from lost records to fascinatingly effective home cures). This hunger for knowledge was what compelled the First Apostle Margaret Cromwell to open the vault nearly one hundred and fifty years after the bombs dropped.

Over time, the Order has spread to lay claim to almost the entire Poc'nos. Now a powerful faction, the Order has had time to crystallize its own internal hierarchy into a series of distinct branches. The Apostles are the heads of the Order, acting as both the religious and bureaucratic heads of the organization. The Inheritors are the non-combat, highly skilled members of the Order. Embracing the white robes and coats of their forebears, these are doctors and researchers that one would expect in such an organization. It is through the work of the Inheritors that the Red Cross's territory happens to be one of the healthiest and cleanest in the known world. Of course the good works would be all undone if not for the Purifiers.

The Purifiers pull their tenants from old CDC and governmental texts. Clad in red, these crusaders fiercely enforce 'Quarantine'. Any wastelander found off the designated check-pointed safe path are potential hazard risks and must be dealt with swiftly to avoid unknown illnesses sweeping through the purification zone. Hard men and women, they are known for their use of gas and fire to subdue and drive off any potential enemies. The Purifiers also have jurisdiction over exploration, sending out small patrols and bands (occasionally with Inheritors or press-ganged laymen) to hunt out new sources of information, technology, and medical supplies.

The Purifiers do not give warnings. If I were you? I'd steer clear of the Poc'nos unless you absolutely need medical attention and if so, stay on the path. Do what they want, follow the rules, or get thrown on a pyre. "

- Frank Wu, Electric City Administrator.