Fallout: Year 2290

War, war never changes....   The Romans waged war to gather slaves for wealth. The Spaniards waged war to fill their coffers with gold. The Germans, beaten by the Allied Powers, found a savior and their downfall in the guise of Hitler. In the 2070's, war was on the horizon, and the drums beat louder and louder until it reached its inevitable conclusion.   War, war never changes...   On October 23, 2077, the drums of war flared only for two hours, and reduced the world to cinders and ash. And, after the burning of the world, humanity managed to survive. Whether it was within the safety of the vast underground Vaults located across America, or it was something makeshift, humanity survived.   In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, humanity endured the aftermath of the Great War. Civilization took roost within Diamond City, and the Commonwealth attempted to reform, but those dreams were dashed when an organization named The Institute crushed the provisional government, and began to snatch targets from everywhere to fulfil its motto of "Mankind, Redefined."   There were some who stood against the Institute; the Railroad, an organization made to free runaway synthetic humanoids. The Commonwealth Minutemen, who were almost destroyed by the Raider gangs and the mercenaries known as the Gunners. And, arriving in secret, then telegraphing their arrival, the Brotherhood of Steel entered the conflict for the Commonwealth, to extinguish the perversions of science that dwelled within it...   In one of the vaults, rested a couple and their newly born child in a state of suspended animation. Institute agents infiltrated the Vault, and absconded with the child, and murdered the father, leaving the slightly unfrozen mother to see it with her own two eyes. In 2287, the woman, Nora, exited the Vault and began to make her way across the Commonwealth, making friends and allies, until finally, she entered the Institute, and was confronted with the identity of the leader.   The sole survivor of Vault 111, took the grief and the pain she endured, and made a deal with the devil, and joined the Institute. Without her involvement, the Minutemen could not take back their original home base and were left without a homegrown army to defend the settlements within the Commonwealth. Without Nora, the Railroad was discovered and scattered to the four cardinal directions, the Switchboard and PAM taken by the special forces of the Institute, the Coursers. Without this sole survivor, the Brotherhood were not able to establish a foothold within Boston, and their two biggest pieces, the Prydwin and the gigantic robot known as Liberty Prime, were destroyed, leaving their forces stranded in the Commonwealth.   The Institute intends to take hold over the Commonwealth, with its army of synths, its Coursers, and anyone else that would stand in their way to make a new version of Mankind their way. If there was a way to change things, this is the time to do so.   Life in the Commonwealth is about to change...