The New California Republic (NCR) is a fictional post-apocalyptic federal republic in the Fallout franchise. Initially mentioned in an ending for Fallout (1997), the NCR were first formally depicted in Fallout 2 (1998) as a technologically advanced nation. The republic later reappeared as a major role in the plot of Fallout: New Vegas (2010), and served as a key story element in both seasons of the 2024 Fallout television series.
As an attempting governing body modeled after the pre-war United States government, the New California Republic aim to rebuild society after its collapse following a nuclear holocaust. After being formed out of the village of Shady Sands in 2189, the NCR quickly became one of the largest governmental and economic powers in North America since the Great War. Though primarily operating out of Southern California, the nation's territory extends into the former states of Oregon and Nevada, along with further colonization efforts in Arizona and the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.
Development The NCR were intended to feature in the unfinished Van Buren, the codename for the original Fallout 3, developed by Black Isle Studios. Within the game, the NCR were to be involved in conflicts against the Brotherhood of Steel and a "merchant mafia", as well as be involved in the origin of the antagonist Victor Presper. Many concepts from Van Buren were eventually repurposed for Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas, with developer Chris Avellone stating that the "NCR in Van Buren was very much like it was in New Vegas in the sense it was trying to rebuild," and that many concepts from the game were considered to be expanded upon within an expected sequel to New Vegas.
When working on the NCR's appearance in New Vegas, Josh Sawyer intentionally added both morally virtuous and intentionally malicious characters as members of the republic into the game, aiming to avoid "painting too simple of a picture for the player and their decision making," further stating that the diversity properly represented a democracy. When comparing the NCR and their adversary, Caesar's Legion, Avellone stated that "in many respects, NCR isn’t better than the Legion, and while the Legion has plenty of bad qualities, it's not cartoon bad: it's got some elements about it that NCR could stand to pay attention to." Avellone has also vocally expressed worry about the NCR growing too large and "making things too civilized" within the franchise, and chose to allow the player to release a nuclear weapon onto the faction in New Vegas' DLC Lonesome Road, intending to allow the player to destabilize and "shake up" the faction.
When explaining the choice to destroy the NCR's capital of Shady Sands with a nuclear weapon in the Fallout television series, showrunner Graham Wagner stated: "I think it would have been a mistake to go from the retro-futuristic America to another America that has been fully civilised and the NCR is doing everything great," comparing the state of the NCR to the end of the wild west. During the creation of Fallout season 2, which takes after the events of New Vegas, showrunners Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dwore decided to a take a "fog of war" approach to confirming the ending of New Vegas, in which the player decides the fate of the NCR's control of Hoover Dam.
Structure The New California Republic is a federal republic with the primary goal of reestablishing a formal governing body for the wasteland; it has a professional military, a system of elected government and collects taxes from trade routes. With a population of over 700,000, the republic is divided into the five states of Dayglow, Hub, Los Angeles, Maxson, and Shady, all of which located in southern California, and has multiple territorial holdings in northern California and the former states of Oregon and Nevada, with efforts to colonize Arizona and the former Mexican state of Baja California.
As a democracy, the faction models its government after that of the United States, however does not strictly follow its practices. For example, the NCR president is not elected by the people, but rather chosen through the elected members of the senate, nor does the position feature term limits, leading to instances such as President Tandi serving 52 consecutive years in office. The republic struggles with corruption, for example, a law was lifted which prevented cattle barons from holding strong political power. The NCR prints its own paper currency and mints its own coinage which is primarily backed by gold, although the value of its currency had rapidly fallen after attacks on the republic's gold reserves. Operating out of military installations in locations such as McCarran International Airport, one of the most notable branches of the faction's army is the New California Republic rangers. Consisting of former anti-slaver fighters, the NCR rangers serve as commandos, spies and border control agents, utilizing armor sourced from pre-war riot gear.
The NCR have been able to rebuild advanced infrastructure throughout its territory, some of which nearly recreating pre-war civilization. For example, the nation's capital of Shady Sands, which houses a population of over 30,000, is depicted as having power grids, public transportation, a Hall of Congress, public markets and public utilities such as libraries. Another city, the Boneyard, contains advanced banking systems and medical universities. The republic also has systems of trade routes, roadways and trains throughout its territory. The NCR has established civil laws, including upholding the rights of posthuman beings such as ghouls and mutants, the prohibition of gambling and prostitution, and has formal immigration and annexation policies.
Appearances
The New California Republic was first mentioned in an ending to the original Fallout.|President Tandi (2196–2248) With the Khans raider tribe wiped out and the Master's army destroyed by the Vault Dweller, Tandi and Aradesh of Shady Sands use the breathing room to establish trade with other towns and eventually form the New California Republic in 2189.
The NCR then appeared as a major faction in Fallout 2. Led by President Tandi, the NCR has become a powerful force in southern California, allied with the Brotherhood of Steel, and is expanding into the lawless northern Californian wastes in 2241, roughly eighty years after the events of Fallout. Seeking to annex the technologically advanced Vault City and the gold mining town of Redding, the NCR collaborates with the Bishop crime family of New Reno to bully Vault City into joining the NCR by covertly stealing technology and sending mercenaries to attack the city, with the goal being to force Vault City into desperation and accept NCR governance. Redding is lusted after by the NCR, Vault City, and New Reno for its gold mining, all the while engulfed in a cold war between the various resident mining companies and local medic Doc Johnson, who each want to choose which faction Redding will join, with Marge LeBarge of Kokoweef Mine voting to join the NCR. Elsewhere, the New California Rangers, an unofficial branch of NCR law enforcement with limited government support, is on a crusade to destroy slavery in northern California, particularly opposed to the Slaver's Guild.
The Chosen One, the main protagonist of Fallout 2 and grandchild of the Vault Dweller, can either aid the NCR's expansion northward or hamper it, fighting the NCR's enemies in the region or destabilizing the NCR's efforts. Though the player can achieve multiple different endings, the NCR canonically annexes the vast majority of northern California, and the New California Rangers reorganize into the New California Republic Rangers, an elite branch of the army. As the Enclave, the genocidal remnants of a post-War American government deep state, collapses in the region after being destroyed in a personal conflict with the Chosen One, the NCR attacks and overruns its mainland base at Camp Navarro in 2246, engaging in manhunts together with the Brotherhood of Steel to destroy survivors of the attack.
Its most prominent appearance is in Fallout: New Vegas, where the NCR is featured as a major element to the game's plot. The faction engages in war against its former ally the Brotherhood of Steel, and actively fights against Caesar's Legion for control over the Hoover Dam, which the NCR uses to provide themselves and civilians with power and water. The NCR also fights over post-war Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert region. Additionally, the cover art for the game depicts an NCR Ranger.
In the 2024 television adaptation Fallout, the character Lee Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury) is depicted as an NCR leader seeking cold fusion in order to power the surrounding area. By 2296, the NCR's influence in the Los Angeles area has declined following their capital Shady Sands being completely destroyed by a nuclear bomb dropped by Vault-Tec Corporation employee and Vault 33 Overseer Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan) and the Brotherhood of Steel attacking the scattered and disorganized remnants of the local NCR forces. During the beginning of the show, Moldaver leads a raid upon Vault 33 and kidnaps MacLean, prompting his daughter, Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), to leave the vault to search for him.
The NCR is additionally referenced in both Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.
Promotion and reception On June 17, 2021, Bethesda released limited-edition, wearable NCR Desert Ranger helmets. The helmets, listed with a limited quantity of 500, were sold out right after they had been put up for sale. Bethesda released flags based on major factions in the Fallout series, including the New California Republic's two-headed bear flag.
Kristine Steimer of IGN Gaming Network labelled the NCR as "bloated and ineffective at protecting its people" during her review of Fallout: New Vegas, while Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer granted that the NCR had brought "semblance of order" to the Wasteland. In 2017, a man cosplaying as a New California Republic veteran ranger in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, was arrested after members of the public mistook him for an individual carrying a bomb. Following the release of the 2024 television adaptation, the New California Republic's lore came into question by Fallout fans who discovered apparent contradictions between the timeline of events surrounding the show's sixth episode and events from Fallout: New Vegas.
With the destruction of NCR's base of operations in Shady Sands in the television series, Fallout fans questioned the faction's future. In an interview with IGN, Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard responded by teasingly remarking, "I don't think you've heard the last of the New California Republic." Howard additionally noted that the NCR after all had operations beyond California, implying that the destruction of Shady Sands will not be the end for the republic.
References
External links New California Republic at Nukapedia, the Fallout Fandom wiki New California Republic at the independent Fallout wiki