Races

Baseline Humans

Baseline Humans are people without mutations or body upgrades. They make up most of New Vance City’s population. They use simple tools and worn weapons, often scavenged or earned through labor. In fights, they are weaker than mutated or augmented groups, but they are easier to keep alive and moving.

Baselines live everywhere. In the Citadel, they work as clerks, cleaners, technicians, and low-level guards. In the Solar Sprawl, they clean panels and repair frames in heat and dust. In the Waterworks, they haul filters and fix pipes. On the Perimeter, they fill most Watch posts, carrying old rifles and basic armor.

Factions depend on Baselines to keep the city running. When too many die or leave, work stops and defenses fail. Because of this, factions give them food, shelter, and medicine, but rarely more. Many Baselines accept strict rules to get steady meals. Others turn to smuggling or illegal work to gain more freedom.

Glowers

Glowers are people damaged by radiation and industrial fallout. Their skin glows in patches or along visible veins. This glow makes them easy to spot, especially at night, and hard to hide.

Most Glowers come from areas near reactors, bomb sites, or ruined factories. Many live with constant pain, nerve damage, or warped senses. Some hear sounds that are not there or see colors that do not exist. Their behavior can seem erratic, which causes others to distrust them, even when they are not violent.

Some factions use Glowers for dangerous jobs. Solar Guardians bring them into contaminated zones. Hydro Hegemony sends them into risky tunnels. In the Citadel, Glowers face frequent checks, forced moves, and limited access. In poorer districts, they band together, share medicine, and warn each other about places that make their symptoms worse.

Augmented

The Augmented have machines or engineered organs built into their bodies. Before the Collapse, these upgrades were expensive and controlled. Now they are installed in dirty clinics using stolen or damaged parts. Some work well. Others cause pain, failure, or slow death.

Common upgrades include stronger muscles, reinforced bones, faster reflexes, and enhanced vision. Some Augmented can see heat, operate in darkness, or connect directly to machines. Many upgrades need drugs, power, or regular repairs. Without support, implants can fail suddenly and cause seizures, aggression, or blackout episodes.

Factions see the Augmented as useful but dangerous. The Citadel tightly monitors its Augmented guards. Solar Guardians prefer suits but still rely on trusted Augmented scouts. The Shadow Syndicate uses illegal and unstable upgrades if they give an advantage. Many people fear the Augmented and see them as unstable or inhuman, which causes tension in mixed groups.

Repurposed Service Bots

Service Bots were once cleaners, haulers, welders, and factory machines. When the Collapse happened, many shut down or kept repeating tasks in empty buildings. Over time, scavengers and factions restarted them and gave them new jobs.

Some Bots still look close to their original designs, with faded logos and worn frames. Others are rebuilt with armor plates, weapon mounts, or cargo racks. Gear Rats strip them for parts or rebuild them as heavy machines. Hydro Hegemony uses them in pipes and pump stations. The Citadel uses them for logistics and maintenance. The Shadow Syndicate uses hacked Bots to move goods through tunnels.

Some Bots follow simple routines. Others adapt over time. They may avoid certain areas, respond to familiar voices, or change behavior after damage. Officially, factions treat them as tools. In practice, many people grow attached to specific Bots that have helped them survive.

Automatons

Automatons are combat machines built for war and security. They are armored, armed, and built to kill. Before the Collapse, they guarded corporate sites and military zones. When command networks failed, some shut down. Others kept following orders that no longer made sense.

Today, there are two types. Controlled Automatons are captured and reprogrammed by factions like the Citadel and Solar Guardians. They patrol borders and respond to threats. Feral Automatons roam outside secure areas. Their systems are damaged or warped by interference. They may attack anything, fixate on old targets, or act without clear reason.

Automatons are easy to recognize by their heavy armor and weapon mounts. Even unarmed units are deadly up close. Factions that control them gain strong military power, but capturing and reprogramming them often gets people killed. Whether long-running Automatons develop awareness is unknown. What is known is that they remain a major threat wherever they roam free.