The Desert Rangers (Team Alpha and Recruits, Team Echo and Recruits, Team November and Recruits) - Major Antagonists
The Patriarch and the Buchanan Family - Other Recurring Characters
—— Factions and Settlements ——
Arizona and Nevada - California
Colorado (Colorado Springs, The Plains Gangs, Other Factions and Characters in Colorado)
This is a character sheet for the major factions and other inhabitants of California as they appear in Wasteland and Wasteland 2.
Rodia
Known across the wetlands as "The Jewel of Los Angeles," Rodia is a prospering settlement southwest of Santa Fe Springs. Boasting landmarks such as their Meteor Crater Farms and twin radio towers, as well as amenities such as a bank, a doctor, and a bar/casino/strip-club, the town is rightfully considered one of the nicest places to live in the LA wetlands, alongside Hollywood and Angel Oracle.
Unfortunately, this kind of prosperity is bound to attract predators — in this case, a gang known as the Leather Jerks. The Jerks had a small presence in Arizona during the Robot War 15 years ago, though they were significantly less of a threat than the Red Skorpions, robots, and mutants. How and why they relocated to Los Angeles is a mystery, but it's clear that they've stepped up their game.
Posing as a group of security contractors, the Jerks made an offer of protection to the Mayor in exchange for authority in legal matters. The Mayor agreed, but never expected them to be such... well, Jerks. They quickly enslaved the population, locked the Mayor in a hanging cage, and forced the local farmers to start growing Agave almost exclusively, all so they could distill it into alcohol and profit from the town. Now the townspeople are left cut off from the outside world, slowly starving, and dying of a mysterious plague.
The Leather Jerks
Steven Dengler and O'Biggun
The leaders of the Leather Jerks. Dengler (left) was pressed into the gang as a child when he was captured in the mountains, but quickly turned the situation around using his cunning and guile. His first move was to befriend O'Biggun (right), who, as his name suggests, became the muscle of his operation, and eventually rose to become the leader of the Jerks.
Dengler was the one who masterminded the plan to take over Rodia, and while it's undoubtedly killing the town, the Agave business he set up has become quite a profitable enterprise. If the player so chooses, they can accept work from him, helping to secure his stranglehold on Rodia.
- Brains and Brawn: Dengler is a Smug Snake who carefully manipulates others to his advantage. He surrounds himself with the biggest, dumbest Jerks he can find, with O'Biggun being the strongest and stupidest of all.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Dengler claims to be O'Biggun's "lieutenant", though one look at the two will tell you that's not the case.
- Dumb Muscle: O'Biggun can barely speak coherently at all, and all he seems to do is yell and eat meat.
- Faux Affably Evil: Dengler always has a calm, level voice... even when he's threatening to make people slaves and execute their loved ones.
- Reused Character Design: O'Biggun shares a character design with Pitbull, of the Red Skorpions.
- Those Two Guys: The dual leaders of the Leather Jerks, these two are never seen apart.
Other Citizens
Mayor Sam Van Graas
- Voiced by: Gary Reed
The Mayor of Rodia, Sam wasn't exactly popular before the Jerks came in, but now that the town's been enslaved, people are longing for his leadership. He tried to force the Jerks out of town early on in their occupation, but was beaten up and locked in a cage, suspended from Rodia's famed towers for all to see.
If Team Echo drives out the Jerks, he must be freed from his cage in order to put the town back on track, after which he will task the Team with informing Angel Oracle of the leadership change.
- The Atoner: Part of his desire to restore Rodia comes from his feelings of guilt over letting the Jerks into town. One conversation blurb from him reveals that he's been personally attending the funerals for every single person who died because of the Jerks.
- Horrible Judge of Character: What most townfolk dislike about him is this trait. He may be good at running the town, but he's terrible at trusting outsiders. Like asking for help from a gang of hooligans with the word "Jerks" on their name.
- Nice Guy: If he's freed, he reveals himself to be this, taking great care to restore Rodia to its former glory.
- The Pollyanna: The game's text notes that even in his cage, starved and baked by the sun, he's still doing his best to put on a smile.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: If he's reinstated as Mayor, Rodia becomes a prosperous trading post once more, attracting visitors and settlers from across the wetlands.
- Self-Made Orphan: Unbeknownst to him, his own son Chris wants him out of the picture and ask you to do the deed.
- Ultimate Authority Mayor: His ending slide if returned to power reveals him to be this.
Dr. Robert Horchata
Rodia's famed sawbones, Doc Horchata is a former member of the Mannerites who was cast out of Angel Oracle for excessive swearing. He has since dedicated himself to providing top-notch medical care to those in need, and has come to care deeply about the town that he's made his home, and would do anything to help them.
He tasks Team Echo with helping him find a cure for the parasitic plague that's been running rampant throughout Rodia since the Jerks' arrival.
- Defector from Decadence: He was once a Mannerite, but his foul mouth earned him no end of scorn from his fellows, and he eventually fled to escape execution.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His bedside manner could use a lot of work. However he cares for his patients and is doing everything possible to save them.
- Reused Character Design: He shares a portrait with Dr. Larsen at AG Center.
- The Rival: To the Mannerites' doctor, who used to be his partner.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: The main reason he was shunned by his fellow Mannerites. Dude swears like a sailor.
Angel Oracle
If Rodia is "The Jewel of Los Angeles," then Angel Oracle is almost definitely the crown. Sited upon the ruins of the Los ANGELes MemORiAl CoLossEum, northwest of Rodia, the Oracle was founded decades ago by the first Mister Manners, and now boasts its own water supply, solar power, and a literal football field of farmland.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Los Angeles, the Oracle is divided between two ideologically opposed groups, the Mannerites and the Robbinsons. The two organizations were originally one group of scavengers, but split after their leaders found inspiration in two radically different books - one using a guidebook called "The Book of Nauseatingly Correct Manners," while the other followed a self-help book called "Maximum Power!"
With one side believing in politeness above all else and the other believing that it's cool to be cruel, the two naturally had a falling out. While their relations remain nominally cordial, and membership to either group is not mutually exclusive, the two are locked in something of a cold war for control of the Oracle, each doing their best to politically outmaneuver the other.
- Ruins of the Modern Age: Built in the ruins of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with the letters over the entrance rearranged to spell its current name.
The Mannerites
Mister Manners
The nauseatingly polite leader of Angel Oracle, and by extension, the Mannerites. Mister Manners is the son of the Angel Oracle's founder, and strives to bring civilization to the wetlands through kindness and proper manners. Unfortunately, his organization's altruism is tainted by a bizarre moral code that hands out the death sentence to any members who break etiquette too often.
On top of this, while they do accept calls for help (if the caller is polite, that is), their twisted obsession with manners and politeness means that they'll occasionally punish the wrong person, assuming that anyone who violates etiquette must be morally wrong. Sadly, much of this is the result of nearly a generation of them cannibalizing their dead out of a misguided devotion to the community, causing the slow decay of their higher brain functions.
The Mannerites began spreading Mr. Manners' message of nausating politeness to the east sometime after the fall of the New Citadel. In Wasteland 3, Mannerite is one of the possible background options, granting a +1 bonus to the Ranger's Kiss Ass skill.
- Alliterative Name: Mister Manners.
- Beneath the Mask: His annoyingly polite manners tend to hide his other traits, especially the negative ones. He can utilize underhanded tactics as Tori Robbinson and lust after a woman to the point he would make a Kangaroo Court for her husband to keep her for himself. In fact, the said woman happened to be an agent for Tori Robbinson, who wish to exploit his flaws to discredit him as a leader and take control of Angel Oracle. Though he did regret about his decision, once the Rangers exposed Tori's plot to him.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He makes it abundantly clear in his first broadcast that just because he and and his people are nice and polite, they are not meek, and know fully well how to defend themselves.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: When the Mannerites say they value manners above all else, they mean it. They're just as liable to punish the victim of a crime as they are the culprit, all depending on who they believe was being more polite.
- Comically Missing the Point: A number of their radio call-ins involve this, combined with a hefty dose of Gallows Humor. Man's wife went out to investigate some shady figures, then started screaming and disappeared? How dare she not inform her husband of how long she would be out! They will arrive shortly to administer punishment.
- Expy: He looks almost suspiciously similar to Colonel Sanders. In addition, his organization bears a startling resemblance to the White Glove Society, right down to the cannibalism.
- Eyepatch of Power: The only part of his ensemble that isn't 100% prim-and-proper.
- I'm a Humanitarian: His organization feels that it is only proper to eat the dead, feeling that it allows them to continue helping each other after death. This is causing them to slowly lose their minds, and convincing him to switch to beef is a major part of setting them on the right track.
- Insane Troll Logic: Quite a few of his decisions run on this, with his obsession with politeness coming before common sense and logical reasoning. This is because of the Mannerites' cannibalism damaging their brains.
- Legacy Character: The title of "Mister/Missus Manners" is passed down from leader to leader in the Mannerites - he's just the most recent.
- Overly Polite Pals: Every single Mannerite exhibits this trope, but Mister Manners especially.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: The Mannerites are masters of this. After all, being polite doesn't necessarily mean being nice.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite his insistence on politeness to the extreme, he and his group come across as genuinely benign people that they've become the most influential group in Angel Oracle, if not the Los Angeles wasteland, which brought the attention to the traders seeking a fair deal. Of course, their lack of selfish ruthlessness of Robbinson, along with abandoning ritual cannibalism from insistence of the Rangers, do help improve their image.
- Trademark Favorite Food: He certainly does love his toast.
The Robbinsons
Tori Robbinson
- Voiced by: Robin Knight
Leader of the Robbinsons, a band of wastelanders who value personal ambition above all else. While she doesn't hold an official position, due to the Robbinsons' philosophy discouraging a proper hierarchy, she is their most influential member, and as such has taken the name "Robbinson." Her group believes that Maximum Power should be obtained at all costs, and that each individual is within their rights to seize as much control as possible whenever they can.
The Robbinsons are generally the underdogs in the Oracle's cold war, either because they're too self-obsessed to work together towards any sort of goal or because they're content with their lot in life, feeling that they've already maximized their potential. Tori, however, is a different story, desiring to seize control of the Oracle for herself. To this end, she has framed a Mannerite for a breach of etiquette that he did not commit, hoping that his wrongful execution will allow her to depose Mister Manners.
- Ambition Is Evil: Her organization believes in the opposite, though it's debatable how true that is. For her, at least, it's definitely evil.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Once she's confronted about the conspiracy, she drops her Mask of Sanity and launches into a long-winded, buzzword-filled rant about "self-actualization" and "maximizing potential."
- Legacy Character: The last name "Robbinson" is always used by the most powerful member of the Robbinsons gang - Tori's just the most recent.
- Mask of Sanity: She presents herself as an average, normal person, and does a pretty good job of it. Underneath that mask, though, lies a violently insane manipulator who has taken her gang's teachings far too seriously.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Everything about her and her organization is a blatant reference to infamous self-help author Tony Robbins.
- The Social Darwinist: As with many of the Robbinsons, she believes that only the strongest and smartest should be allowed to succeed in life, and is thus opposed to the overly-kind Mannerites.
God's Militia
The Salvation Church was founded in 2027 by a man called Luke Samson (better known as the Red Messiah among the faithful). Believing that the world was stuck in the midst of a thousand year tribulation, Samson set to rally people to his faith. Though brutal, he has gained a sizable following and managed to secure a territory for his church. Dubbed the Angelus Temple, it became the first seat of God's Militia.
However, the violent nature of the faith quickly led to problems. Angelus Temple was set upon by an angry mob of people fundamentally opposed to the policies of the Church and burnt down to the ground. The survivors retreated under Samson's lead towards Griffith Park, establishing the Bastion of Faith in the Griffith Observatory.
Samson himself is believed to have perished sealing the tunnel used for evacuation. Since then, God's Militia has evolved into one of the most brutal and savage entities in Los Angeles, routinely committing atrocities, enslaving people, and indulging in general debauchery, all in the name of spreading the faith.
- All Hail the Great God Mickey!: A downplayed variety of a cult who worshipped the word of a televangelist named James King and later Samson rather than the bible itself.
- Church Militant: Thanks to Samson's teachings, they've taken a militaristic stance against the unbelievers and launched raids into nearby settlements in the name of purity.
- Corrupt Church: Despite their message of purity and crusade against sins, the entire organization had fallen into debauchery. One example being "confiscating contrabands (alcohol and drugs)" to be consumed later by various members and prostituting their penitents (or enslaved bystanders from raids) for their pleasure.
- The Fundamentalist: Ironically, they tend to worship the word of James King rather than the biblical texts. Retribution Jones and Church Militant tend to be more zealous of the organization.
- Sesquipedalian Smith: It's standard for members of the clergy to adopt this sort of name as a Rite-of-Passage Name Change, taking a relevant noun as their first name as a sort of meaningful title and personal statement of intent.
Luke "Red" Samson
The founder of God's Militia, Luke Samson was once a mentally unstable mercenary with little regard for religion, but that all changed when he and his partner found the tape-recorded sermons of the fire-and-brimstone televangelist, Reverend James King. A violent an uneducated man, Samson took to the televangelist's teachings to heart with terrifying zeal. Soon after, he began experiencing visions of the Reverend, eventually founding the church with the intent to wipe the world of the "sinners" described in the sermons.
In his crusade, Samson converted dozens, and killed hundreds. He waged war on the people of Hollywood for years, until the day of the exodus to Griffith Park, when he was cut off from the church by an explosion in the tunnel. Lost and alone, he stumbled upon the long-lost final episode of the Reverend's show - where he admits to lying about God's will, begs for forgiveness, and shoots himself on live television.
Distraught, Samson swore to root out the evil in the church he'd created and end the mad crusade - only to be lynched by an angry mob before he could return to his flock. Considered a martyr by his followers, the Militia's zealous rage only grew, and he is now revered as their prophet and messiah.
- Affably Evil: The spies sent by Hollywood were shocked by how kind and trusting he was to his followers, though they could never forgive him for his innumerable crimes.
- Dark Messiah: His followers call him the second coming. The people of Hollywood call him a mass-murderer.
- A Day in the Limelight: His story is the subject of the supplementary book All Bad Things, which was available as a Kickstarter reward and preorder bonus.
- The Fundamentalist: He fit this trope to a T, driven by his mad desire to purge the world of sinners and unbelievers.
- Hearing Voices: He apparently heard the voice of Reverend King in his head, which commanded him to slaughter nonbelievers in the name of God. The voices stopped once he learned the truth about the Reverend.
- Heel–Face Turn: After he discovers that his beliefs were Based on a Great Big Lie. Unfortunately, he was martyred before he could do anything about it.
- Holier Than Thou: He made his feelings about the "whores and sinners" of Hollywood very clear.
- Knocking on Heathens' Door: He offered the people of Los Angeles a simple choice... join the church, or die.
- Posthumous Character: He was lynched to death by an angry mob decades before the game begins, and the true events of his death are revealed only in the tie-in book All Bad Things. Still, his followers and their devotion to his ideals play a large role in the California storyline.
- Red Baron: He is known to his followers — and most of Los Angeles — as "Red Samson," or "The Red Messiah."
Malediction Mayweather
- Voiced by: Sean Chiplock
Nominally, Malediction Mayweather is the pious leader of the Church Ecstatic, bent on bringing the God's news to the wasteland. In reality, he is one of the most corrupt, heinous creatures in existence, abusing his position in order to get all the luxury he needs, including whores, alcohol, drugs, and other pastimes banned by the teachings of the Militia.
- Alliterative Name: Malediction Mayweather.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: If you follow his path in the Miltia questline, he tries to have you killed to tie up his last loose ends, forcing you to wipe the organization out.
- Domestic Abuse: He beats his wife a lot.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: That pompadour is a sin all on its own.
- Hiding Behind Religion: He beats his wife, orchestrates murders, and apparently indulges in monstrously depraved acts behind closed doors.
- Light Is Not Good: He's a dainty-looking fellow who wears bright purple and leads a church, yet he's one of the most sadistic people in California.
- Purple Is Powerful: As the leader of God's Militia, it's only natural he'd be wearing this.
- Sinister Minister: His sermons on the radio are chilling.
Retribution Jones
- Voiced by: Rex Anderson
Head of the Church Militant, Retribution Jones is a tall fellow with a mean look in his eye. As the Church's military commander, he is tasked with "spreading the faith", though in reality, all this entails is murdering anyone who rejects the Church's authority.
- Church Militant: He's the head of them. As such, he's the most dangerous of the three leaders.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Due to being a fanatical zealot, he reacted Malediction Mayweather's pictures of his time with prostitutes in disgust.
- Knocking on Heathens' Door: His job, as leader of the Church Militant, though he's less focused on "converting" and more on "massacring."
- Noble Demon: While he's genocidally insane, he still adheres to a moral code, warped as it may be. If you follow his path in the Militia's questline, he ramps up the crusade to new levels of depravity, but spares you and the Rangers, along with anyone who chooses to convert.
- Obstructive Zealot: Unlike the corrupt, self-serving Mayweather and the jaded, repentant McDade, Jones is a fierce believer in the Militia's tenents - mostly the violent ones.
- Race Lift: The original game's text describes him as a Scary Black Man with a scarred face and an Eyepatch of Power, which his character model appears as in-game. His portrait, on the other hand, is of a Caucasian man with a receding hairline and wearing a pair of Sinister Shades. The Director's Cut changes his character model to match his portrait and describes him as a tall, thin man with a high forehead and a cold glint in his eyes.
- Sinister Minister: In a way he serves as the counterpart to Mayweather's version of this trope - while Malediction is a hypocrite who is Hiding Behind Religion, Retribution is a mad zealot who fiercely believes in the Church for all the wrong reasons.
- Sinister Shades: As depicted in his character portrait.
Ascension McDade
- Voiced by: Kyle Blessing
Ascension McDade was pressed into the Church at a young age after he was captured by them in a raid. He joined the Church Vigilant, the Militia's intelligence-gathering branch, eventually becoming its head. However, years of torturing folk and extracting information have turned him into a weary, old man, keenly aware of the corruption among the ranks of the faithful.
- Cutting Off the Branches: Wasteland 3, via a radio dispatch, confirms that "a prostitute and an inquisitor" took over God's Militia and reformed it, meaning that Ascension's path was chosen by Team Echo.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He wears red and black, has a grim look on his face, and is the church's head torturer... and yet he's the one of the few members that possesses a moral compass.
- Heel–Face Turn: If you choose to follow his path during the God's Militia questline, he makes peace with Hollywood and completely changes the Church's policies.
- The Mole: For once, it's not for the Robot Army - he's been feeding information to Hollywood spies in the hopes of ending the Militia's mad crusade.
- Saintly Church: If the players help him take control of the God's Militia, he reformed the entire church into this. His major reforms are establishing welfare programs (soup kitchen and halfway houses) for the less fortunate inhabitants of Hollywood, expanding biblical sources to older and more accurate bibles other than the group's staples like James King, and freeing the Penitents along with ending the practice.
- Token Good Teammate: Unlike other high-ranking members of the Church, McDade is sickened by the monstrous acts that the Militia has done in God's name.
- Torture Technician: He does not relish his job. Unfortunately, he is the only one who can be trusted not to go too far with it and kill his prisoners.
Fealty Mayweather
The wife of Malediction Mayweather, Fealty is one of the more pleasant members of the Militia. Unlike many others, she believes there is good in the church, and would like for them to do good in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, she is in no position to enact changes, as Malediction is corrupt, mistreats her, and is liable to kill her if she steps out of line.
- Domestic Abuse: Just one look at her portrait tells the story, with a black eye and other bruises across her face.
- Nice Girl: She's very soft-spoken and friendly, though this may be a result of the trauma her husband has caused.
- Token Good Teammate: Along with Ascension McDade, she is one of the few people in the church that isn't a sadistic hypocrite or a mindless zealot.
