================================================================ Fallout: A Post Nuclear Adventure Complete Game Guide Written by Omkar Namjoshi FAQ version 1.81 If you have problems, or are willing to contribute, e-mail me at: omk_489@hotmail.com Visit my webpage (Fallout Next) at: http://www.geocities.com/omk_489 for Fallout files and screenshots. Also visit http://www.rpgplanet.com/fallout/fallout/help/Omkar/index.shtml for an on-line version of this walkthrough. NOTE: The latest versions of the FAQ can be found at the website listed above or at GameFAQs.com. ================================================================= CONTENTS: --------- 1. Disclaimer 2. About this guide - FAQ history, requirements (for FAQ), textual notes, and an introduction to the storyline of Fallout and its gameplay 3. Character Creation - Talks about primary/secondary statistics, traits, and perks. Also includes sample characters. 4. Walkthrough - Complete walkthrough for every area in the game. Includes quests, a few maps, notable areas and important characters. - Also has notes for three variations of Fallout: Highest Karma, Truly Evil, and Pacifist. - Endings, of course! 5. Combat Tactics - Combat tips, Boss strategies, plus Cowboy strategies for the mutant bases/areas. 6. Appendix - Quest/experience list, weapon/armor/item list, derived statistics, critter information, NPC information, and random encounters that you will face. 7. Fallout Technical FAQ - Requirements, bugs, how to install Fallout on Windows NT 4.0, 2000, and XP (as well as future versions based on the NT kernel) and how to install and play Fallout on Linux/UNIX using Wine. It also has some cheap tricks. 8. Credits LEGAL DISCLAIMER ---------------- Feel free to post this guide on any webpage or distribute it on CD, floppy, etc. Just don't modify the guide and don't sell or barter for the guide. It should be available for free. Also, people who want to post this guide on their respective web page should contact me before doing so. Although it isn't a necessity, it is something that I would like to know. If you have anything to add, that would be great! Fallout is a huge game, and even the most detailed FAQs cannot show everything. I don't want any ASCII art; it just makes the walkthrough seem somewhat bigger. If you have some info, go ahead and send it to me...I'll appreciate it! This walkthrough is Copyright (c) 2001 by Omkar Namjoshi. ABOUT THIS GUIDE ================ FAQ REQUIREMENTS ---------------- - Computer with an ASCII text reader with support for files larger than 65,536 bytes. You can open this guide with your web browser, a word processor (except for Microsoft Notepad), the MS-DOS editor or the | MORE command in MS-DOS. - It is a good idea to have the Fallout 1.1 patch installed before you use this guide. If you're playing the European release of Fallout (v.1.2), you might see some differences in the game. ______________ |FONT CHECKER| | | |*-* -*- *-* | |123 456 789 | |... ... ... | If the dots don't line up with the numbers, the stars don't correspond with odd digits and the dashes don't correspond with the even digits, then change your font to Courier and your size to whatever you want. TEXTUAL NOTES ------------- NOTE: : Important sidenote (some text here): Important sidenote BTW : By the way xp, x.p. : experience points :) : Colorful commentary i.e., e.g. : Examples COC : Acronym for Children of the Cathedral BOS : Acronym for the Brotherhood of Steel - Please note that references to 'you' (i.e 2nd person) and 'your character' can be used interchangebly. VERSION HISTORY --------------- 1.81 - 10/12/2001 Information about working for the water merchants has been added as well as some more stuff for Vault 15, as well as an interesting new revelation for the Cathedral. 1.80 - 10/10/2001 A new variation of Fallout, the Dimwit, has been added, with its own character. Some info regarding the NPC's has also been corrected. 1.732 - 10/06/2001 The Boneyards section has been updated slightly. 1.731 - 9/29/2001 Updated the technical guide just a teeny-bit. 1.73 - 9/21/2001 Retyped parts of the Vault 15 section, which contained many mistakes. The credits have been updated also. And the mini-FAQ has been updated. 1.72 - 9/09/2001 Slightly improved interface, plus an update to the bugs list. Characters have been updated, as well as the section about the Hub. 1.71 - 9/02/2001 Cleared the bit where you could screw Keri for the Buffouts, and updated the Necropolis section. Credits have been updated as well. 1.70 - 8/31/2001 Clarified some things on getting Tycho, plus some textual changes throughout Junktown. The appendix has been updated, as well as the textual notes. The Technical FAQ has been updated also. 1.69 - 8/25/2001 The Red Ryder Bee-Bee guns have been added in the weapons list. The random encounters list has been updated and so has the technical FAQ. 1.683 - 8/21/2001 Some minor updates regarding the appendix have been completed. Also, the dates and timeline section has some new stuff in it. The Techinical FAQ has been updated as well. The 'What's in this Guide' section has been removed (I think that the table of contents answers this question). 1.68 - 8/17/2001 The Appendix has received a massive update and a new note precedes the Necropolis section. The Technical FAQ has been updated as well. And another note precedes the Boneyards section. 1.67 - 8/11/2001 Minor updates for the Brotherhood of Steel section and the Tactics section. Ditto for the characters. 1.66 - 8/09/2001 Massive update. Lots of stuff has been added. Major updates include the appendix and lots of other stuff. 1.65 - 8/05/2001 More information regarding Tandi's capture in Shady Sands has been added. (Credits have been updated as well.) Also, the Pacifist section has been updated as well. 1.64 - 8/03/2001 Changed the 'notice' section a bit. It's smaller but does a better job of giving the message...no water chip necessary, etc. 1.63 - 8/02/2001 Clarified the Brotherhood section (about getting the mutant autopsies disc) a bit. Also, the Dogmeat quest was added (I thought I had it, but only in the notes preceding the walkthrough...) to the walkthrough. 1.62 - 8/01/2001 Minor additions throughout the guide (especially characters) and various formatting errors have been corrected. The section for the Military Base has been corrected as well. 1.61 - 7/31/2001 Corrected the arming the nuke approach for the Cathedral, and various small fixes throughout. Also, I added the Damage Threshold stat to the derived statistics and an addendum for calculating how much damage you'll take and types of ammo has been added. They are included in their respective sections. Also, the Hub section has suffered a massive, massive re-write. The new approach is far more efficient than the previous one. 1.60 - 7/29/2001 Table of contents updated; so are the random encounters. Full Perk list now included, and the derived statistics list has been placed in the character creation section. 1.53 - 7/28/2001 Some new updates regarding the character sexes has been added, plus a relatively large update regarding the Hub and a minor update for Vault 13. Also, an update regarding the character variations has been added. 1.52 - 7/24/2001 Misc. updates, plus a new variation, 'Psycher.' Some more notes have been added, notably some for the Brotherhood and for the Master conversation. There are some new tactics updates in this release as well, as well as updates regarding NPC's. 1.51 - 7/15/2001 New FAQ nomenclature - eliminates the WIP releases. Vault 13 section has been rewritten. I found it easier to complete the Vault 13 sidequests earier so that you'll have an easier time at the Raider camp. The Hub section is now finished. Some formatting errors have been corrected. 1.5 - 7/7/2001 Added endings as well as some cheap tricks, as well as more stuff that I missed. I also forgot one big element of Shady Sands. I don't even know how I missed it. I also added some more things to the tactics section. There is also a new 'end-game badass' character to play around with as well. In the Hub, there is a new notes-type section on various caravan jobs. Also, lots of information about the ghouls has been corrected. And the credits section has been expanded a bit. Generally, this release just contains fixes and some formatting errors have been corrected, along with a 10% rewrite of the Shady Sands section. 1.4 - 6/30/2001 Fixed some stuff for the 'Pacifist' and 'Truly Evil' versions as well as a few grammar/spelling errors here and there. Some more info for the appendix is updated. Lots of formatting errors have been corrected, but some new ones have been made in the process. Yes, the Pacifist section was added in 1.3. I forgot to include it in the Version History. 1.3 - 6/9/2001 Major upgrade. Lots of fixes and new things, plus a few quests (especially in Junktown) that are added. 1.2 - 6/5/2001 I added some info before the walkthrough, telling what it covers and the route that you'll go through. The walkthrough for the Glow is now complete, and the Brotherhood walkthrough is finally (sigh) complete. The not-so-complete quest guide and critter guide is complete. Robots are now included. Note that experience for blowing up the Cathedral and Military Base might be inaccurate. 1.1 - 6/4/2001 I fixed some up stuff in the Hub section, like the Deathclaw cavern information. I also added some extra info on where to get free stuff and bits of information in that section as well. I also finished off some sections that were incomplete, like the Brotherhood (especially that one) as well as a few incomplete sentences here and there. Various grammar errors were fixed as well. The item list is complete, as well as information about the centaurs and floaters. I also added dashes under the 'Details' for the walkthrough. 1.0 - Released 6/2/2001 to GameFAQs First version ABOUT FALLOUT ------------- Fallout is one of the best RPGs out on the market today. It's very different compared to other ones. There are many ways to solve a problem instead of one on many RPGs. You can create your own character to use in the game (unlike many others) and its non-linear architecture allows for a good deal of replay action. There are multitudes of solutions to a specific problem. Plus, it is hard for any character to complete every single sidequest in the game, which further adds to its replay value. You have a plethora of freedom in this game. You can choose your own dialogue and make your own decisions, choosing when and where to get involved (and when not to). Unfortunately, the core plot of the game (spoiler: this isn't finding the water chip) is linear and must be completed in order to finish the game. (In technical terms, Fallout is considered as a non-linear character role-playing game.) Fallout is a very violent game. It deals with mature themes, including violence, drugs, adult language, and sex. That means the walkthrough will be dealing with them also. If you find this too much to bear, quit this game and play something else. Fallout takes place after World War III, which destroys much of the planet. Nations are in deep conflict after waging nuclear war for the control of more territory and the need of more resources. China invades Alaska. The United States conquers Canada. And the European Commonwealth becomes a lawless community with bickering nations attempting to take control of the western area. To protect its citizens, the United States started to build vaults, which essentially were large, underground dwellings which protected its people from radiation, chemical, and biological weapons. Vaults can occupy several hundred people. You were a citizen of the Vault known as Vault-13. Your vault has a water purification controller, which purifies all the water it receives to be ready for human consumption. Unfortunately, the controller chip in the vault has malfunctioned. Without it functioning, the people cannot have drinking water available. You are chosen to venture out to the outside world to find a replacement chip before your vault's supply is depleted. After this, there is nothing but cheap stuff. Read if you are only stuck, caught in a trap, or are surround by some putrid green people wielding chainguns and plasma rifles. I hope you have as much fun as playing Fallout as I have had. Best of luck to you, Vault Dweller! PLAYING FALLOUT --------------- Some things in the manual might not seem very clear; this section is designed to give you a concise breakdown of the various actions that you can perform. There's also a breakdown of the various difficulty levels as well. * Difficulty levels - If you choose the game difficulty level to easy, you will receive a 20% bonus to non-combat related skills. If you set it to hard, you'll receive a 10% penalty to non-combat related skills. - If you choose the combat difficulty at wimpy, you will receive a bonus to your accuracy and the enemies will receive a penalty. If you change the difficulty to rough, you'll receive a penalty and the enemy will get a bonus and will perform many more critical hits. * Interface - The hex-shaped cursor icon is used to show movement. - The arrow (standard) cursor icon is used for most other functions. - The 'INV' button is used to access your inventory. - The red button beside 'Skilldex' is used to use your secondary skills. - The button below 'INV' is used to bring the main menu. - The red button above 'INV' is used to change your item slots. * Moving When the cursor is a hexagonal-shaped structure, that means you can move your character. Hold shift to run around instead of walking. You can right-click to change the cursor. If you want to go to the world map, you have to go on the red grid in an area. If you want to access another area of a city or building, you have to go to the green grid or climb stairs/ride elevators. * Examining your surroundings Right-click the mouse to change the hexagonal-shaped structure to an arrow-shaped cursor. Move the cursor to the object you want to examine. Hold the left mouse button and choose the binoculars to examine an object or a critter. * Talking to critters Simply click the character that you want to talk to you. You should have the arrow-shaped cursor icon to talk to the character. * Using items To use an item on an object, hold the cursor (standard cursor) over an object and click on the wallet (or like object). You'll see your inventory. Click on the item that you want to use on the object. Another way is putting the item in one of your item slots. Click on the item and move the crosshair on the object you want to use the item on. * Using skills To use a skill on an object or a critter, click the red button that reads 'Skilldex.' Choose the skill that you want to use. Use the crosshair to target the object or critter that will be the target of a given skill. Some, like Sneak, don't have a target; instead, a message box pops up on the lower left, telling you that your character is sneaking. Another way is holding the left mouse button on the character (mouse cursor is standard cursor) and clicking on the face and then choosing the skill. * Activating an item (flares, motion sensors, etc.) Put the item in your item slot and click on it to activate it. Another method is accessing your inventory and holding the left mouse button on the item that you want to activate. Choose the hand that's open to activate the item. If you want to use flares, first activate them, and then drop them. Ditto with dynamite/plastic explosives. * Changing weapon modes (target/burst/reload) Right-click on the weapon when it is in your active weapon slot. The mode will change. (e.g., the 10mm will change from single to aimed [has bullseye] and then to reload.) * Entering Combat Mode If you hit 'A' on the keyboard, you will enter combat mode. You can walk around without people noticing (at the expense of your action points). This is useful near the end of the game. * Using lockpicks, electronic lockpicks, first-aid kits, the doctor's bag, and the tool increase lockpick, first-aid, doctor, and repair skills by 25%, respectively. * While stealing, it is a good idea to steal while sneaking. Also, steal from behind the character and don't worry about stealing particularly large items. * Pay attention to the screen on your bottom-left. It tells you lots of information about what's going on in the game. * If you're examining dead bodies and you examine a body that's in a pile of other dead bodies, there will be arrows beneath the body picture in the inventory screen. Bodies will be easier to search if you set the violence level really low. CHARACTER CREATION ================== An impression for the game was "a big dumb ox and a pretty little lady won't have the same experience" - to quote Christopher Smith's great Fallout FAQ. The three pre-made characters that come with the game can finish it. First, select your name. The name doesn't make any difference in the game; it is your own preference. Next, select your age. You can be as young as 16, but as old as 35. Age has an insignificant impact on the game. Probably older characters might have different reactions with young ones, but none that I know of. But at the same time, all of my characters were pretty young. Now you are ready to select your sex. You can be male or female, and the game does differ if you are a girl or a guy. It's your own choice; try beating both variations of the game. However, there are some issues regarding the sex of your character. The game really doesn't matter if you are male or female, but these are the differences. (Female is recommended for a slightly easier game.) - Male characters typically get knocked down and have a greater chance of you scoring a critical hit on them if you hit them in the groin. The female character doesn't have any known weaknesses in combat. - NPC's have different reactions if you are female or male (Killian calls you darling if you're female, Keri can have sex with you if you're male, etc.) - Probably to offset the male weakness thing, female characters are hated by couple of NPC's, notably Lasher. Harry is a bit harder to BS with if you're female. - If you are female, there is no charisma bonus to your character, and there aren't any strength and endurance penalties. Ditto for males as well. MAIN SKILLS ----------- They're pretty self explanatory, but on the descriptions it tells what each skill modifies. All skills are important, but try to keep Luck, Strength, and Perception at least at 4. Characters with Intelligence values of three or less face a totally different game...the only options that you'll receive in dialogue are "Ruk" and "Eeg," as well as the occasional "Yah," "Uh-Huh," and "want morE." Strength - It modifies carry weight, hit points, weapon handling, and some weapon skills. Perception - It modifies some skills and increases accuracy at range. Endurance - Toughness. It modifies some skills, hit points, and resistance to poison and radiation. Charisma - Looks. It modifies speech and barter, as well as NPC reactions. Intelligence - It modifies dialogue options (gives you more), skill points given per level, and 'science' skills. High intelligence is important, seven or eight as a minimum is recommended. Agility - Speed. It modifies many skills, armor class, and action points. An Agility of 10 is recommended for snipers. Luck - It modifies critical chance, some skills, and the outcome of the game. SECONDARY SKILLS ---------------- Here is a list of other skills that you'll face. Whenever you create a character, you have to choose three tag skills. Tagging a secondary skill gives you an instant 20% bonus for that skill and 2% increase for each skill point used to increase the tag skill. Small Guns: The use of rifles, pistols, and various small arms. Be sure to tag this one, since most combat will take place with small arms. This skill can be increased by reading the popular magazine 'Guns and Bullets.' Big Guns: The use of miniguns, rocket launchers, and flamethrowers. This skill isn't that great because big guns are fairly easy to aim (with the given strength) and that some small arms are better than these large weapons. (And even then, energy weapons are better than all of these...) Don't tag this one, nor should you really consider building this skill. Energy Weapons: The use of all weapons powered by power cells. This one is good in the endgame. You should build it if you plan on killing the Master and the Lieutenant and all of those mutants. Unarmed: The use of fists in combat. This skill helps early on, but it becomes pretty useless in the midgame. If you find the power fist, this skill truly shines. I tagged it so I would have an easy time in Vault 13 and 15 and not having to resort to my gun. Melee Weapons: The use of knives, sledgehammers, spears, and the like. This one follows like unarmed, except that you'll find super sledgehammers instead of power fists. This one is pretty good if you plan on getting the super sledgehammer. Throwing: Use of throwing knives and grenades. Pretty useless, if you ask me. In the fist place, grenades are hard to find and second, even with something like 70% skill, grenades suffer from having a relatively low accuracy to hit your desired target. And grenades are quite expensive. First Aid: Recovers a few hit points. You can increase this skill with first aid books. It is pretty useless to tag or to build since you can read books (and that First Aid kits increase your success with this skill.) Doctor: Recovers a few more hit points than first aid and you can heal crippled limbs. I've healed crippled limbs with 45% skill, and a doctor's bag increases your chance of success with this skill. Don't worry much about it. Sneak: The art of moving around without making people notice. I really haven't found much use for this skill. You can ignore it. Steal: Pretty self explanatory. I didn't have a need to steal from other characters, so I ignored it. Lockpick: The art of picking locked doors. Now this is one thief-type skill that you should pay attention to. Work on this one and build it to about 65% or so. If you work it to 80%, you don't even have to do the Brotherhood quest. It is worth tagging. NOTE: Using Lockpicks increases skill by 25%. Traps: The skill of arming explosives and disarming traps. Not too important; 50% is adequate for arming explosives and detecting a few traps. Science: Covers primarily computers as well as biology, chemistry, physics, etc. It can be increased by reading 'The Big Book of Science,' as well as taking a few computer courses at the Vault 13 Library and the Brotherhood of Steel. 90% is adequate. Repair: Covers standard repair techniques. Build to about 60%. It can be increased by using the tool as well as reading 'Dean's Electronics.' NOTE: Using a Tool increases skill by 25%. Speech: The act of convincing others that you are right. This skill is second to small guns, and is extremely useful in bullshitting other people. I tagged this one and worked it to 120%. Barter: This skill is used to determine trade prices. Even with relatively low skill, there will be a couple of merchants whose prices will be higher than yours while bartering. I didn't raise this skill one bit. Gambling: Again, pretty self explanatory. There are only two gambling places I know of: Gizmo's and the Malatese Falcon. It is not worth putting valuable skill points into this skill. Outdoors: Practical knowledge of the outdoors. You can read Scout handbooks to raise this skill, and there are a couple at Shady Sands. You don't have to increase this skill by a lot. DERIVED STATISTICS ------------------ Derived statistics are statistics that are a direct result of the main statistics, in other words, increase and decrease a skill and see what happens. NOTE: These are straight out from the Fallout manual. Hit Points: The number of "life" points. If it goes to zero, so will you. Formula : HP = 15 + (2 x EN) + ST. Average is 30. Armor Class: The higher it is, the harder it is for the enemy to hit you. Formula : AC = AG + Armor worn. Average is 5. Action Points: Determines what you can do during combat. They are displayed by the green lights in combat. Formula : AP = 0.5 x AG + 5. Average is 7. Carry Weight: Mass of how much equipment you can carry, rated in pounds. You can barter for more equipment than you can carry. Formula : 25 + (25 x ST). Average is 150 pounds. Melee Damage: How much extra damage your character does in melee or unarmed attacks. Formula : ST - 5, min.1. Average is 1. Damage Threshold: How much damage your armor can withstand when you are hit. Formula: DR = 0 + Armor Damage Resistance: How much damage your armor can resist when you are hit. The value given in the character screen pertains to normal attacks, while the value given in the inventory screen pertains to different types of attacks, including normal but also explosive, fire, laser, and plasma to name some. Formula : DR = 0% + Armor (Combat Armor has 40% DR) Poison Resistance: How much poison damage that you can resist. Formula : PR = 5 x EN. Average is 25%. Radiation Resistance: How much radiation damage that you can resist. Radiation can affect any character, and the only way to get maximum resistance is using RadX. Formula : RR = 2 x EN + Armor Resistance (Combat Armor has 30% Resistance). Average is 10%. Sequence: Determines who will attack first in combat. Higher is better. Formula : SQ = 2 x PE. Average is 10. Healing Rate: How much you can heal in three hours of rest. Formula : HR = 0.5 x EN, min.1. Average is 1. Critical Chance: Chance of scoring a critical hit on the opponent. I think it increases up to 4 times with a hit to the eyes. Formula : CC = LK. Average is 5%. * Poison is measured in units; keep it below 25. * Being 'raidiated' qualifies having a rem count of 75, with 300 or above being quite serious. A rem count of 5 or higher will bring symptoms of nausea; a rem count of 75 is quite serious, while a rem count of 300 or higher is fatal. If you have enough radiation in your body to necessiate attention, the message 'Radiation' will appear on the screen. TRAITS ------ You can choose up to two traits. Be careful in choosing traits because after you select, there's no going back. Here is a list: Fast Metabolism: Your body is much less resistant to poison and radiation, but it heals faster. Don't take this one: you'll want some poison resistance and you'll have to take two RadX's to get complete radiation resistance with or without this perk (unless you have the Rad Resistance perk or 10 endurance and Power Armor), and that there are plenty of stimpacks lying around. Don't take this one. Bruiser: Your strength is increased by two but your actions points are decreased by two. Not a good one...you'll need all the action points that you have. Small Frame: Your agility is increased by one but your carry weight drops by 30 pounds. It isn't too bad, but the carry weight decrease hurts in the beginning. At least Ian and Tycho have unlimited carrying capacities. One Hander: You are good with one-handed weapons but are bad with two handed weapons. Not a good choice, since the best weapons are two handed. Finesse: Your normal attacks do 30% less damage but your critical chance is increased by 10%. Not too bad of a tradeoff, but I didn't tag this one. And critical damage isn't affected. Kamikaze: Depletes your armor class to what you are wearing but increases sequence by 5. It isn't that great because with 6 perception you'll attack before anyone else does. (in the required fights, that is.) Heavy Handed: Your melee damage is increased by 4 but criticals do 30% less damage. Good in the beginning, and criticals do heaps of damage anyway. But it isn't good in the end, where super mutants and deathclaws lurk around. Fast Shot: You can't aim, but your total cost is decreased by one. It isn't a bad tradeoff if you have high critical chance, and is really really good if you take the perks 'Bonus Ranged Attack,' 'Sniper,' or 'Slayer.' The turbo plasma rifle will cost 2 AP's to shoot and the super sledgehammer will only cost 1 AP with those perks. Since most of the aforementioned perks come up in the end, it is good to pass this one by. Bloody Mess: You will always see a grosteque death animation whenever you kill a critter. There really isn't a downside to this, so you can take this one if you want to. The ending at the very very end changes slightly (and for the better). Jinxed: Everybody makes more critical failures, but so do you! If you have 9 or 10 Luck, you'll make few critical failures. Only take it if you have 9 or 10 Luck. Good Natured: Your combat skills are decreased by 10%, but speech, doctor, science, etc. are increased by 15%. Not that great...you'll need high combat skills while 70% or so in the non-combat areas will let you go through the game easily. Chem Reliant: Your addiction rate is increased by 200%, but your withdrawal rate is only 50%. Some drugs, like RadAway, have a 10% addiction rate and no withdrawal...so, it isn't worth it. Chem Resistant: Your addiction rate is 50% of normal, but chems only last for half as long. Not too bad, since combat doesn't take a long time on the Fallout clock. Night Person: Normally, your intelligence and perception are decreased by one from 1800 to 0600 hours. This trait reverses what happens normally. Since most people will ask to talk to you during the day, this isn't that great. Skilled: You get a 10% increase to all of your skills, but you get a perk every four levels. You'll want those perks as early as possible... they are quite useful. Gifted: All of your primary stats are increased by one, but you get 5 fewer skill points per level and your secondary skills are lowered by 10%. This is among the best traits, since there are only a few skills that you really need to work on. I recommend taking Gifted and either Bloody Mess, Chem Resistant, or Small Frame. PERKS ----- After your character reaches the third level, you can choose a perk. A perk is something that gives you a clearcut benefit without a drawback. You can pick a perk after your character's level is a multiple of three (or four, those with skilled). NOTE: 'per level' means the rank of the perk. Action Boy: It gives you one extra action point per level. Requirements: 5 Agility, Level 12 Ranks: 3 Animal Friend: Animals won't attack you unless they are threatened or are attacked first. Requirements: 5 Intelligence, 25% Outdoorsman, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Awareness: You get to see a critter's hit points and what weapon they are carrying. Really good. Requirements: 5 Perception, Level 3 Ranks: 1 Better Criticals: It enables instant death and increases damage done by all criticals by 20%. Requirements: 6 Perception and Luck, 4 Agility, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Bonus HtH Attacks: All hand-to-hand attacks cost one less action point to perform. Requirements: 6 Agility, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Bonus HtH Damage: All hand-to-hand attacks deal two extra hit points of damage per level. Requirements: 6 Agility, 6 Strength, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Bonus Move: It gives you two free action points to move around per level. Requirements: 5 Agility, Level 6 Ranks: 3 Bonus Ranged Damage: All ranged attacks deal two extra hit points of damage per level. Requirements: 6 Agility and Luck, Level 6 Ranks: 2 Bonus Rate of Fire: All attacks (except unarmed) cost one less action point. Requirements: 7 Agility, 6 Intelligence, 4 Perception, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Cult of Personality: Your reputation is always positive. Great for evil characters. Requirements: 10 Charisma, Level 12 Ranks: 1 Dodger: A 5% increase in armor class in addition to armor class bonus when armor is worn per level. Requirements: 4 Agility, Level 9 Ranks: 2 Earlier Sequence: It adds two to your sequence per level. Requirements: 6 Perception, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Educated: Adds two extra skill points whenever you level up per level. Requirements: 6 Intelligence, Level 6 Ranks: 3 Empathy: Highlights in blue better dialogue choices; highlights in red for bad dialogue choices. Requirements: 7 Perception, 5 Intelligence, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Explorer: You'll get more random encounters with this perk. Requirements: Level 9 Ranks: 1 Faster Healing: Healing rate is increased by one per level. Requirements: 6 Endurance, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Flower Child: You're 50% less likely to get addicted to drugs, and your withdrawal time drops by half. Requirements: 5 Endurance, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Fortune Finder: You'll find more money in random encounters. Requirements: 8 Luck, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Friendly Foe: Your allies will be highlited in green instead of red. Requirements: 4 Perception, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Ghost: It's a one-time bonus of 20% to the Sneak skill. Requirements: 60% Sneak, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Healer: You heal two to five more hit points when using First Aid or the Doctor skills per level. Requirements: 7 Perception, 6 Agility, 5 Intelligence, 40% First Aid, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Heave Ho!: This perk will increase your strength by two for determining range with thrown weapons per level. It won't affect carry weight, skills, etc. Requirements: Level 6 Ranks: 3 Lifegiver: You will gain four hit points when you gain a level per level. Requirements: 4 Endurance, Level 12 Ranks: 3 Master Thief: It's a one-time bonus of 10% to the Lockpick, Steal, Traps, and Sneak skills. Requirements: Level 12 Ranks: 1 Master Trader: You have a 25% discount whenever you purchase or barter goods from a store or another person. Requirements: 7 Charisma, 60% Barter, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Medic: It's a one-time bonus of 20% to the First Aid and Doctor skills. Requirements: Level 12 Ranks: 1 Mental Block: It tunes out any outside mental interference, such as the Master attempting to psychically attack you. Requirements: Level 15 Ranks: 1 More Criticals: Increases critical chance by 5% per level. Requirements: 6 Luck, Level 6 Ranks: 3 Mr. Fixit: It's a one-time bonus of 20% to the Repair and Science skills. Requirements: Level 12 Ranks: 1 Mutate!: It changes one of your traits into something else. Requirements: Level 9 Ranks: 1 Mysterious Stranger: A stranger comes from time to time to help you out. Requirements: 7 Luck, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Night Vision: It reduces the overall darkness by 10% per level. Requirements: 6 Perception, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Pathfinder: It reduces your travel time by 25% per level. Requirements: 6 Endurance, 40% Outdoorsman, Level 6 Ranks: 2 Pickpocket: This perk lets you ignore size and facing modifiers when you are stealing. Requirements: 8 Agility, 80% Steal, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Presence: It improves the NPC's reaction by 10% per level. Requirements: 6 Charisma, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Quick Pockets: With this perk, one less action point to access the inventory than normal per level. Requirements: 5 Agility, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Rad Resistance: It increases your radiation resistance by 10% per level. Ranger: Your chances of getting a bad random encounter are lowered for each level of the perk. Requirements: 6 Perception, Level 6 Ranks: 3 Scout: It increases the size of explorations on the world map by one square for each direction. Requirements: 8 Perception, Level 3 Ranks: 1 Scrounger: In a random encounter, it doubles the amount of ammunition that you find. Requirements: 8 Luck, Level 9 Ranks: 1 Sharpshooter: It increases your perception for range modifiers only per level. Requirements: 7 Perception, 6 Intelligence, Level 6 Ranks: 2 Silent Death: With this perk, you can use the Sneak skill and attack a critter using a hand-to-hand attack from the back for double damage. Requirements: 10 Agility, 80% Sneak, Level 18 Ranks: 1 Silent Running: You can run and sneak at the same time with this perk. Requirements: 6 Agility, 50% Sneak, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Slayer: A 10-sided dice is rolled. If the number is equal to or below your luck, you'll get a critical hit with unarmed or melee weapons. It's really nice and works extremely well with the Super Sledgehammer, Power Fist, or the Ripper. Requirements: 8 Strength, 8 Perception, 80% Unarmed, Level 18 Ranks: 1 Smooth Talker: Increases your intelligence by one for dialogue purposes only per level. Requirements: 4 Intelligence, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Snakeater: It gives you a 25% increase to your poison resistance. Requirements: 3 Endurance, Level 6 Ranks: 1 Sniper: Same as Slayer, except it works with ranged weapons. It is great with aimed shots (using Small Guns) and is really really nice with burst weapons. (It actually makes the SMG a source of total devestation...) Requirements: 8 Perception, 8 Agility, 80% Small Guns, Level 18 Ranks: 1 Speaker: It's a one time bonus of 20% to your Speech and Barter skills. Requirements: Level 12 Ranks: 1 Strong Back: This perk gives you an increase in carry weight by 50 pounds per level. Requirements: 6 Strength, 6 Endurance, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Survivalist: This perk gives you a 20% increase in Outdoorsman for survival purposes only per level. Requirements: 6 Endurance, 6 Intelligence, 40% Outdoorsman, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Swift Learner: Whenever you gain experience, you'll receive 5% more experience per level of the perk. Requirements: 4 Intelligence, Level 3 Ranks: 3 Tag: With this perk, you can pick a new tag skill in addition to the ones you already have. Requirements: Level 12 Ranks: 1 Toughness: It adds 10% to your general damage resistance per level. Requirements: 6 Endurance, 6 Luck, Level 3 Ranks: 3 SAMPLE CHARACTERS ----------------- All-rounder: ST 6 PE 6 EN 6 CH 7 IN 8 AG 10 LK 4 (shown with gifted) Tag small guns, speech, and something else. This is an all around average character. You can mess with other skills to increase Luck and Agility, and modified ones are shown below. Another one : ST 6 PE 7 EN 5 CH 9 IN 8 AG 8 LK 4 (shown with above.) You can lower your strength and endurance for for increased luck. Pacifist: ST 4 PE 5 EN 9 CH 6 IN 8 AG 10 LK 5, take Gifted and Good Natured, and tag Lockpick, Science, and Speech. This character can get you through the game without killing people. To see how to do this, look in the 'Pacifist' section below. This character is recommended with the female sex.* Work Speech to above 100% and work Lockpick to 60%. * For what reason I don't know. Dim-Wit: ST 5 PE 6 EN 6 CH 7 IN 3 AG 8 LK 5, take Chem Resistant, and tag Small Guns, Unarmed, and Lockpick. You start out with two Mentats Late-Game Badass: ST 7 PE 8 EN 6 CH 5 IN 7 AG 8 LK 6 == OR == ST 6 PE 7 EN 5 CH 5 IN 7 AG 9 LK 8 Take Gifted, Fast Shot, and for the perks, make sure you take Bonus Rate of Fire, Better Criticals, and Sniper. To get Sniper, you have to kill the Deathclaws at the Boneyards and not kill the Mother Deathclaw and her eggs. That's the only way you get the experience. Be sure that you get the .223 Pistol and the Turbo Plasma Rifle as well. If you choose the latter character, you have to get the Perception operations from the BoS and to get Sniper (or take Mentats when you turn Level 18). For both characters it is a good idea to get the Agility operations from the BoS after you return the water chip. Sniper characters: The below characters are good with small guns. They should allow you to finish the game without much trouble. - Rounded Sniper: ST 6 PE 8 EN 5 CH 6 IN 8 AG 10 LK 5 Take Gifted, Small Frame, tag small guns, speech, and one of these: unarmed, energy weapons, or melee. You won't get all conversation options, but this character talk, snipe, and is eligible for the 'sniper' perk later on. Mix between a diplomat and a sniper. - Diplomatic Sniper: ST 5 PE 7 EN 5 CH 8 IN 8 AG 10 LK 4 Take Gifted, Bloody Mess, tag small guns, speech, and one of these: unarmed or lockpick. This character will have low hit points and should stay at a low level; he/she is not eligible for the sniper perk later on. Be sure to take Bonus Rate of Fire. This character is not good for endgame killings (Master, Deathclaws, etc.). - Killer Sniper: ST 6 PE 8 EN 5 CH 6 IN 7 AG 10 LK 6 Take Gifted, Small Frame, tag small guns, energy weapons, and preferably speech. Build tag skills to 130% or so and you'll have an easy time at the end. Be sure to get the Plasma Rifle sooner or later, and increase other skills with books. - Sniper-Slayer: ST 6 PE 8 EN 5 CH 6 IN 7 AG 10 LK 6 Same as above, except exchange speech for melee. Be sure to build speech to 90% or so, take the speech perks if necessary. Build small guns, energy weapons, and melee to over 110%, and ask the Brotherhood for the Super Sledgehammer. - Neutral Sniper: Variations of Killer and Sniper-Slayer characters. You can decrease Luck by one and increase charisma by one. UPGRADING YOUR STATISTICS ------------------------- During your adventure, you can receive some bonuses to your statistics. - Drugs, such as Buffout, Mentats, Psycho, and RadX can increase them temporarily. (For more info, check out the appendix.) - Armor can provide a good increase in armor class, damage threshold and resistance, as well as radiation resistance. - Tycho can teach you some outdoorsman skill if you ask. - MacRae, the guard at the Blades, can teach you some fighting skills if you ask him. It's futile to ask if they're at 91%. - Watching the Brotherhood Initiate training can give you an increase in melee and unarmed skills. - The Brotherhood has computer courses that can increase your science skill by 15%. - Reading books can increase your skills, up to 91%. These include: Scout Handbook (outdoorsman), Big Book of Science (Science), Guns and Bullets (small guns), Dean's Electronics (repair), and the First Aid Book (first aid). - The Brotherhood surgeon can increase all of your skills (except for charisma and luck) for a price (and long recovery time). - Strength : $2000, 3 weeks - Perception : $4000, 1 week - Endurance : $3000, 1 week - Intelligence: $6000, 3 weeks ($3000 for characters with bad intelligence) - Agility : $5000, 3 weeks - Patrick the Celt, the wandering bard, can increase your charisma by one if you sing the gaelic song with him. - Chuck, the fortuneteller, can increase your luck by two if you get your fortune told and choose the right conversation path. WALKTHROUGH (or the complete spoiler) ===================================== NOTE: See the Appendix for Quest Notes. Mini-FAQ -------- Q1: What is the time limit to bring back the water chip? A1: 150 days, or an additional 100 days for the water caravan. Q2: Where is the water chip? A2: It's in Vault 12, which is in Bakersfield, more commonly known as Necropolis. Q3: Do I have to get the water chip to beat the game? A3: No. Even if you do get the water chip, the game doesn't end immediately. You have to destroy the mutant threats. Q4: How many ways are there of destroying the mutant threats? A4: Several. Cowboy (aka kill everything that moves) and stealth approaches work. Q5: How can I get stuff back from NPC's like Ian or Tycho? A5: Use the steal option. It's just like trading with them. DATES & TIMELINES ----------------- This section tells you how long it will take (in game time) to complete the major (required) quests. - You must find the Water Chip in 150 days before your vault runs out of water. - If you destroy the mutant threats in 150 days, you will not need to find the water chip. - There is a 500 day time limit to destroy both mutant threats. (They are the Vats and the Cathedral.) The time limit starts at the beginning of the game. - If you get the water caravan to deliver water to your vault, then the time limit is shortened by 100 days to destroy the mutant threats. - With version 1.1, the time limit to find the Water Chip will still remain, but the 500 and 400 day time limits will be removed and be replaced with a 13-year time limit. I think that this applies to Fallout v.1.2 (European release) as well. PREFACE ======= This walkthrough goes through a pretty quick game. You won't get the water chip, but will destroy the mutants with about 75 days remaining. Sections for getting the water chip are included, so you can get it. This is the route that the walkthrough goes through: - Vault 13 - Shady Sands - Vault 15 - Shady Sands (to get the Tandi quest) - Raiders (free Tandi) - Shady Sands (return Tandi) - Raiders (kill them) - Junktown - Hub - Brotherhood - Glow (if you couldn't pick the locks) - Brotherhood (Power Armor) - Hub (kill the raiders) - Brotherhood (reward for killing raiders) - Military Base - Brotherhood (tell Maxson that there is a threat to the military base even though you have blown it up. You'll get 1500 exp.) - Cathedral This is the route that you should follow if you want to do everything: - Same as above, up to the Brotherhood with Power Armor - Necropolis (get water chip, fix the pump, kill mutants) - Vault 13 (finish extra sidequests and return the water chip) - Hub (kill the raiders that are holding the Brotherhood initate) - Brotherhood (reward, any operations) - LA Boneyards - Cathedral - Military Base And yes, it covers primarily good quests but has 4 evil quests, one that is needed to bust this gang, two for money/experience/important items, and one purely for items. There are also three variations: Highest Karma, Truly Evil, and Pacifist. PATCHES (also in the tech FAQ) ------- There are three versions of Fallout available. Fallout v.1.0 is the initial North American release, v.1.1 is the patched North American release, and v.1.2 is the European release. It is recommended that you use either version 1.1 or 1.2. Version 1.2 doesn't have children. VAULT 13 ======== Notable Areas 1) The Caves 2) The Vault itself (Entrance, Living Quarters, Command Center) Notable Characters 1) Several rats 2) Overseer of the Vault 3) Theresa, leader of the rebel faction 4) Lyle, concerned Vault dweller 5) Cindy, concerned Vault dweller 6) The water thief 7) Guard at the armory - Various Vault Dwellers Stuff to get 1) 24 AP 10 mm bullets 2) Knife 3) Shotgun and 40 shells 4) 10mm JHP ammo 5) Stimpacks, first aid kit, mentats 6) Flares Notes 1) Examine the corpse and take the ammo and the knife. 2) Kill all 20 cave rats without your gun. 3) Speak with Theresa and calm the rebel faction. 4) Catch the water thief. 5) Use the Vault learning terminals to gain experience. 6) Get weapons/equipment from the Overseer, armory, and the water storage room. Details ------- The corpse is on your right. Examine it, and take everything in the corpse's remains (24 10mm AP ammo and a knife). There are 20 rats in the Vault Cave; they are quite easy to kill. Kill them with a knife, or even better, brass knuckles. You don't have to kill all of them, but 500 xp comes in pretty handy. After you've wasted them, exit Vault 13. Leave the Vault entrance, and head on to Vault 15. Travel for a day, and go back to Vault 13. You can get lots of weapons and quite a bit of experience if you do the sidequests there. Alternatively, you can skip the area and head for Vault 15. If you do go to Vault 13, go at 8:00 in the morning and save the water thief quest for last. Most of the vault dwellers will refuse to talk to you during that time. To get the extra weapons, go to the command center (third floor) and keep on telling the overseer that you haven't found the water chip. When he says 'Please...tell me that you have found the chip...' tell him that you'll need weapons to complete the quest. He'll give you some 10mm JHP ammo and two stimpacks. Also, go into the armory (room with guard)and talk to the guard. Tell him which people have access, then tell him 'sounds like people who only have need can go in.' Afterwards, tell him that you have need. He'll unlock the door for you, and you can get a shotgun and 40 shells alongside with lots of ammo. You can also go into the water storage room, also on the third floor, for a first aid kit, stimpacks, and some mentats. On the first floor locker (near the big vault door), there are some flares that you can take. On the third floor, in the library (westernmost room), there are two learning terminals that you can use. One is near the entrance, to its right; the other terminal is on the northern end of the library. Use the science skill on both of the terminals to gain a total of 700 xp, 350 on each terminal. Go on the second floor and on the north-west end there is a red-haired vault dweller whose name is Theresa. Speak with her, tell her that your journey is going on well. She'll start to say that the Overseer is paranoid, and you'll have to tell her that the Overseer is trying to protect the Vault dwellers. She'll agree and you'll receive 750 experience. Note that it requires good speech and intelligence. An alternate method is finding out about a rebel meeting, attending it, and killing the rebels, but I haven't tried it yet. Go to the south end of the second floor, and speak with Lyle and Cindy. Lyle is directly to the south of Theresa, and Cindy is the redhead on the southeast. They will both tell you about the water thief. Save, and enter the third floor. (Actually, Lyle tells you indirectly while Cindy will tell you about it.) If you can't get them to tell you about the water thief, rest up till 8:00 A.M. and then head to the third floor. Talk to the water guard and ask him how is he doing. He'll tell you about the water thief then. Go and hide in a corner on the third floor and wait until midnight. A Vault dweller will come up from the elevator. Don't talk to him, and observe his actions. After he enters the storage room and leaves, talk to him and tell him that you are looking for the water thief. Threaten him if he resists, and search him. You'll get 1000 experience. NOTE: There is no way of solving the water thief quest if you didn't get any leads from the water guard or Lyle or Cindy. I tried and the Water Thief doesn't show up. Now you'll want to head towards Vault 15. You'll see a city enclosed in a green circle on the map; stop at the city. SHADY SANDS =========== Rough map Town hall \ \---Farm Area / Bhramin pastures Notable Areas 1) Town Hall 2) Farm and Brahmin Pen 3) Radscorpion Caves Notable Characters 1) Seth, the leader of the guards 2) Ian, an NPC who you can pick up 3) Aradesh, the leader of Shady Sands 4) Katrina, gate greeter 5) Tandi, daughter of Aradesh 6) Razlo, doctor of Shady Sands 7) Curtis, a farmer 8) Jarvis, Seth's brother - Shady Sands townsfolk - Shady Sands guards Stuff to get 1) Rope 2) 2 cartridges of .223 FMJ bullets and 20 bee-bees 3) Sledgehammer 4) Scout book 5) 5 stimpacks 6) First Aid guide 7) 2 Radscorpion tails 8) First-aid kit and Doctor's Bag Notes 1) Stop here instead of going to Vault 15. (It's the green circle.) 2) Talk to the main characters in the city. 3) Recruit Ian into your ranks. 4) Solve the agriculture problem. 5) Solve the Radscorpion problem. 6) Help Razlo make the Radscorpion antidote. 7) Heal Jarvis, one of the guard's brothers. 8) Steal whatever is in the bookcases. Details ------- In the middle of your journey to Vault 15, you'll see a green circle on the map. The name of the small community is Shady Sands, and it is a good idea that you stop there. When you enter Shady Sands, you will see a woman and a man guarding the entrance to the town. Speak with the woman (Katrina), and choose the dialogue option " Please help me..." Ask everything that is offered, and you can get 250 xp for doing so. Go talk to Seth, the guard. Introduce yourself to him, and then go to the building to the right of him. Talk to the guards, and they might tell you to get out (don't). In the bookcase to the north side of the guardhouse, there are some ammunition, .223 caliber and some for BB guns. Take it, as it will give you something to sell. Open the curtain on the east side and you'll see a man in a leather jacket and some blue jeans. Talk to him, and then talk to him again. Ask for help, and he'll join you for free if you have 9 charisma and a high speech skill (otherwise, it costs about $100 to get him). His name is Ian, and he comes in pretty handy. You will also get an additional 100 xp. (Another way is 'giving him a piece of the action' instead, and he'll join you for free. I didn't try this myself, since I thought my reputation with Ian would go down. However, it doesn't.) Go to the building that is south of the guard house. Enter it, and there will be a robed figure standing in the corner. The person who is wearing the robes is Aradesh. Speak with him, and tell him that you're from a Vault to the west and that you'll help the community get rid of the radscorpions for free. Go to the south until you reach the wall. Now go to the building on the west, and you will see a doctor named Razlo. Discuss the Radscorpion problem with him, too. Now head on eastward, and go to the green translucent area. You will go to the farms of Shady Sands (by the way, Green areas are to navigate through different areas of the town). Speak with the farmer in the farm in the southern area. (he may be hard to see because he is by crops). His name is Curtis. If you have good science skill, you can teach the farmer new agricultural skills. (Be sure to tell him about Crop Rotation.) Also, raid all of the shelves and floors of the buildings to the north and east of the farm...there are lots of nice things there. (Scout Handbook, ropes, even a sledgehammer) Go back to the town hall area of Shady Sands. Go to Razlo's house again, and steal whatever is in the bookcase. If his wife (or Razlo) catches you, go and use the 'sneak' skill and try again. After you have looted Razlo's house, go to the deserted building north and take the scout handbook, and then go to Aradesh's house. Open the curtains that lead to the bedroom. The room on the far left (or your characters) right has a bookcase with a knife and a stimpack. After you've looted the area, go talk to Seth again. Tell him that you want to go to the Radscorpion caves. When you enter the caves, begin searching for the Radscorpions. Kill them with your 10mm, since you're probably too weak to fight them all single-handedly. There are 9 of them, and are worth 110 xp each. You'll also get 500 xp for solving the problem. Alternatively, you can use some dynamite to finish them off. There is a portion of the cave wall that seems weak. Plant the explosives there, and watch it fall down. This prevents the radscorpions from entering the town. I decided to kill them for the hell of it, and plus you get more xp and have a chance of making the Radscorpion cure. (BTW, the explosives are found in Vault 15, which you'll encounter later). If you go decide and kill them (or even one), examine one radscorpion corpse and take the tail part of the radscorpion. Give it to Razlo to make the radscorpion antidote. You'll get 250 xp for that. Be sure to scout out the caves also. You can find 10mm ammo scattered around the first radscorpions that you'll kill and a stimpack near the bones in the area with four radscorpions. Behind Razlo and past the curtain is a man lying on the floor. Use the antidote on him, and get 400 xp. Your karma will also go up. Also, be sure to talk to Aradesh that you've solved the radscorpion problem. After you've finished doing everything that's listed above, try to find one rope. You'll need it for Vault 15. Seth has one that you can barter for, and there is another one in the farm. VAULT 15 ======== Notable Areas 1) Shack entrance 2) Vault Caves and Entrance 3) Living Quarters 4) Command Center Notable Characters 1) Lots of rats 2) The Greater Mole Rat (actually there are two) Stuff to get 1) Stimpacks and a First-Aid kit 2) Leather Jacket 3) MP9 Sub-machine gun and Hunting Rifle 4) Whatever ammo you can find 5) Dynamite 6) Frag grenades 7) Another piece of rope Notes 1) Kill all of the rats in the area. 2) Get the Leather Jacket, the 10mm SMG, the Dynamite, and the 2 grenades on the upper levels. 3) Get to the Vault Command Center. Details ------- When you enter the vault area, you'll notice a small shack in the middle of nowhere. Enter it, and you'll see a manhole. Go down the manhole to enter the Vault 15 cavern. There's not much to tell about here in this area. Probably the most troublesome thing is the Lesser Mole Rat, and even he is quite easy to kill. Either attack him unarmed or with the pistol. The primary goal of this level is to go to the command center and try to go to the hallway that leads to the main computer and the overseer pedestal. The passageway is blocked, and you'll get a message saying that the water chip is nowhere to be found. You'll get 500 xp for your efforts. (Okay, so no water chip. Still, you should scour the area just because of the xp, the SMG, and the leather jacket.) When you enter the vault, kill all of the rats and get the flares from the locker in the first hallway and some healing items from the locker in the eastern hospital room. To get to the second floor, you need a rope. Use it on the elevator, and you can climb up to reach the living quarters of the vault. Kill the rats in the second floor and enter the room with the locker, which contains a Leather Jacket and some rope. In the northern half, there is some FMJ ammo and in one room's bathroom (the southwestern room) there is a Hunting Rifle (it's hard to see...it blends in with the floor). Use the rope on the elevator on the right-hand side and enter the command center. Once when you enter the command center, there will be a mole rat guarding the area. Kill him. Go to the southern area, and then go to the eastern side, which is covered with rocks. Once you reach the area, you will get a message saying that the water chip cannot be found. You'll get 500 xp.* On the third level in the armory (the room above the passage which leads to the command center; in other words, the room with lockers), there are two frag grenades and a stick of dynamite, a crowbar, and a Sub-Machine gun. In addition, there is some ammo in the eastern rooms, as well as a first aid book in the library, and some more ammo in a locker in the library. After you've plundered the abandoned Vault for any usable items and have killed the rats, head back to Shady Sands. * One of the FAQ readers, Eric Wills, has told me that you can receive 200 experience for finding the source of the rat infestation. The source can be found in the conference room, just north of the room where the SMG is. SHADY SANDS (again) =================== Notes 1) Save Tandi from the Raiders. Details ------- When you first go to Shady Sands (assuming it is your second time), talk to Seth and Aradesh. You'll find out that Tandi, the daughter of Aradesh, is missing. You'll have to free her from the Raiders. When you talk to Aradesh, he'll give you a spear. If you want more stuff (two stimpacks actually), you can talk to Razlo and tell him that many people, including yourself, are looking for Tandi. He'll give you two stimpacks. Afterwards, head for the Raider Camp. KAHN RAIDER CAMP ================ Rough map Building Tents Notable Areas 1) Several tents 2) The main building Notable Characters 1) Garl, the Raider leader 2) A very terrifed Tandi Stuff to get 1) See second section of Raiders, located below Notes 1) Free Tandi from the Raiders. Do this by either killing the raiders or lockpicking the door and then killing the raiders (if they attack you). 2) If you've freed Tandi in a diplomatic manner, go back to the camp after you've brought her back to Shady Sands and kill everyone there. Details ------- When you enter the area, do not talk to any of the raiders yet, except for Garl, their leader. Just avoid them and enter the main building. If a raider talks to you, try to bullshit them by saying that you have something to do with Garl, or you're leaving soon. Garl is the guy in the metal armor. Talk to him, and try to get Tandi back. You can wrestle him, barter for her release, talk him out of it, or the straight and forward approach, kill him. Not every option is available for every character (of course, the latter one is). Return to Shady Sands to return her home. If you don't, then she'll be just another NPC. If you decide to fight Garl hand to hand, he'll hand you his Desert Eagle and his metal armor if you win. It is quite easy to win; even the starting character Natalia can win. NOTE: If you're male, are wearing leather armor, and have high charisma and intelligence (former important) then Garl will think that you're his father. Adds some neat conversation options. Go back to Shady Sands, and talk to Seth and Aradesh. NOTE: If you choose to kill all of the raiders, you won't get any quest experience for freeing Tandi - in the game, this is considered a risky maneuver, as it is a bit early to face the raiders in combat. Mind you, it is possible, and isn't too hard with Ian on your side. SHADY SANDS (yet again) ======================= Notable Areas 1) See above listing for Shady Sands Notable Characters 1) See above listing for Shady Sands Notes 1) Talk to Seth and Aradesh. 2) Get the reward from Aradesh for freeing Tandi. Details ------- When you enter Shady Sands, talk to Seth and Aradesh. You'll get a reward of $800 dollars, get some xp, and your karma will shoot up. If you've missed a quest in Shady Sands, do it and go back to the Raider camp. KAHN RAIDER CAMP (again) ======================== Notable Areas 1) See above listing for Khan Raider Camp Notable Characters 1) Garl, Raider Leader 2) Petrox, a tough desert raider 3) Tolya, another tough desert raider 4) Diana, a tough she-desert raider 5) Gwen, Garl's assistant 6) The two slaves - Various Desert Raiders Notes 1) Kill everyone except for the two slaves housed in the main building. 2) Swipe Garl's Metal Armor, the Desert Eagles and Leather Armors. 3) Get the Shotgun and 40 shells from the refrigerator and the desk. 4) Acquire as many leather armors as you can from the raiders. 5) Get the lockpicks from the refrigator. Stuff to get 1) 4-6 Desert Eagle .44's 2) 5-10 10mm pistols 3) 10-15 Leather Armors 4) 1 Metal Armor 5) 2 Molotov Cocktails 6) Lots of ammunition 7) Stimpacks and drugs Details ------- When you enter the raider camp, have your gun (by now you should have a SMG or a shotgun), and make sure that Ian has a gun (probably the 10mm pistol). Kill all the raiders, and don't hesitate giving Ian some stimpacks so he can heal himself. Don't be afraid to burst at the raiders. Just make sure Ian isn't in the way. Make sure you kill Garl, the main Raider, preferably using the burst mode on the SMG. Steal Garl's metal armor, and you'll have fairly good defense early on into the game (normally, you would be buying this at Beth's or Jake's weapon store in the Hub). If you have the shotgun from Vault 13, that one works well also. That way, you can give the SMG to Ian. After you kill everyone in the large room in the main Raider building, you'll free two slaves. 200 xp for you. Also, be sure to raid the fridge in the building; it has lockpicks, which you should take if you don't have any. Take all the guns, the ammo, and the stimpacks. You'll need them, and you can sell the guns you found here in the Hub for combat armor and some heavy weapons. The extra armors that you can get are good for trading stuff at the Hub and possibly the Boneyards if you choose to go there. Head south to Junktown to continue your journey. It is a good idea to give the Ian the .44 Desert Eagle and all the ammo right now. He'll make a good shot with it. JUNKTOWN ======== Rough map Casino | Crash house / Killian's store | | Entrance Notable Areas 1) Entrance 2) Crash House and Killian's store 3) Casino and Skum Pitt Bar Notable Characters 1) Lars, the leader of the guards 2) Killan, mayor of Junktown 3) Doc Morbid, doctor of Junktown 4) Tycho, another NPC that you can pick up 5) Gizmo, crook and casino owner; wants Killian dead 6) Neal, Skum Pitt owner 7) Marcelles, Crash House owner 8) Sinthia, Crash House customer who gets held hostage by a raider 9) Vinnie, leader of the Skulz, wears a leather jacket 10) Phil, Junktown dweller who has dog problem 11) Dogmeat, dog who is annoying Phil; joins you 12) Ismarc, singer at the Skum Pitt 13) Saul, a Junktown boxer 14) Trish, the waitress at the Skum Pitt - Junktown Guards Stuff to get (and as a reward) 1) Hunting Rifle 2) Mauser 9mm 3) Rewards - Choose either: - Shotgun with shells (if you haven't gotten it yet) - Stimpacks (preferred option) Stuff to barter for 1) Stimpacks Notes 1) Meet up with Killian, and kill Kenji, the assassin that the casino owner has sent. 2) Meet Gizmo (the casino owner) instead and kill Killian. Crosses out other quests, though. (This info is not included in this FAQ.) If you do decide to kill him, you'll end up killing the innocents and guards who inhabit Junktown. 3) Lockpick Killian's safe. 4) Help Lars bust the Skulz gang. 5) Save Sinthia from the crazed raider. 6) Recruit Tycho and Dogmeat in your ranks. 7) Straighten the deal out with Saul and his girlfriend. 8) Optionally kill Doc Morbid and his guards. Details ------- When you enter the town, be at all costs unarmed and enter at daytime. Junktown takes the law very seriously. There is a guard whose name is Kalnor who is guarding the entrance to Junktown. If you have high charisma and speech skill, try to bullshit him around, saying that you have to enter the city now. Otherwise, you have to enter at 6:00 A.M. (It really doesn't matter; all the businesses are closed at 6:00 A.M anyway. You can go in, and rest until 8:00 A.M) Also, speak with Lars, the sergeant of the Junktown guards. Go to the Crash House area, and enter Killian's store. Talk to him, say that you're new, and be on the friendly side. After the conversation, an assassin pops out and tries to kill Killian. Help kill the assassin. After the assassin is dead, Killian will speak to you, and agree to help him bust Gizmo (specifically why Gizmo wants Killian dead). Talk to Killian again and engage in a conversation about Junktown, and then ask about other towns. Be sure to ask about Necropolis. Equip the tape recorder in your active item slot. Go to the Casino area, and talk to Gizmo. He's the gigantic fat guy sitting in the chair, way up north in the building. Talk to him. Tell him his assassination failed, and that you'll do the job. But ask him why he wants him dead, and then say that he will be dead before sundown. After that ordeal, go talk to Killian. Tell him that you have the confession, and he will offer you three things: A shotgun and 100 shells, a suit of Leather Armor, or a Doctor's Bag. Take the shotgun, and say you want to help kill Gizmo. Go back to the Junktown entrance, speak with Lars, and tell him that you are ready to kill Gizmo. You will be instantly transported to his office. Gizmo will fire at Killian, Lars will fire at Gizmo's assistant Izo, Izo will attack you, and you should attack Gizmo. You'll get heaps of xp for the fight. Rest until the evening, and enter the Skum Pitt, a bar on the north-east side of the casino area. Speak with Tycho (discription says he has a gas mask) and tell him to join your group. After you get Tycho, speak with Neal, the bar owner. Moments later, a Skulz ganger will attack the Skum Pitt's bartender. Neal, the owner of the bartender, will blow the Skulz ganger who attacked the bartender away. You can pick up a leather armor from the dead ganger to trade later. NOTE: It is possible for Tycho to teach you survival skills. Ask about his trip from Nevada to California and how did he survive the dangers. Also, Tycho will only join you if you've accepted the quest to kill Gizmo for Killian. NOTE: If you want to kill the two Skulz punkers, talk to the Skulz whose description reads "a man with filed teeth." He'll probably attack you. There is a guy wearing a cap a bit to the north of Tycho. His name is Ismarc; tell him that you like his singing, and ask if he has been to other places. Ask for directions to the Boneyards (or Adytum) as well as the Brotherhood of Steel and the Hub if you haven't done so. Save, and go to the Crash House. Go to the Crash House and rent a room for one night. Say that you want to sleep until the morning. After you wake up, a raider is holding a hotel customer hostage. Save the game, enter the room, and attempt to talk to the Raider. Keep assuring him that you have his trust, and he'll let Sinthia go. You'll get 1000 xp. If the raider won't gain your trust, then you'll have to give him $100 or so, which generally works for all characters. NOTE: It isn't a good idea to save between the conversation. Once, I gained his trust, saved the game, and after I talked to him, he blew Sinthia away. Now, go back to the casino area, and back to the Skum Pitt. There is a door on the right side that is unlocked; enter the bar from there, and steal the item that looks like a trophy. It is an urn that holds the ashes of Neal's late wife. It is on the large desk where Neal usually is during the evening hours. After you steal Neal's urn, go back to Gizmo's casino and go to the room where he normally is. Take the iguana-on-a-stick from his desk and head to the southeast corner of Junktown in the casino area. You should see a man (Phil) being terrorized by a dog (through dialogue; Phil also has a woman in leather armor to his left). You can talk to the man and he'll ask you to take the dog away. Use the iguana-on-a-stick on the dog and he'll join you. Another way is walking towards him with the leather jacket on and he'll come and join you. Go back to the Crash House, and enter through the doorway at the back. Speak with the Skulz in the leather jacket, tell him you have the urn, and then say that you'll wait to kill Neal later. Head back to the entrance, speak with Lars, and tell him about the Skulz, and offer to kill them. You'll be transported to the bar, and you'll have to kill the Skulz with the help of a few Junktown guards. (There is this one female Skulz that sometimes runs away, and killing her might be the hardest thing.) After the fight, save the game, enter the Crash House area, and rest until morning. Go to Killian's store and open the door that is normally locked. Use the lockpicks on his safe, and after you pick the lock, you'll get 500 experience. Killian won't care even if he is standing next to you. Go to Lars you'll get 500 experience for killing the rest of the Skulz. If you want, you can go to the Casino area and go to the boxing ring. Speak with Saul, the boxer in the leather armor. Keep on talking about Junktown, and if you get the option, ask about Trish. You can straighten some things out between them. Be sure to tell Saul about Trish's views on his boxing; this helps their relationship and you'll receive 250 experience. Before your way out, you can go and kill Doc Morbid and his guards without agitating the cops. You'll get some experience, and you can get lots of stuff from his dead guards and his lockers. You might need to lockpick the lockers to open them. Unfortunately, these killings lower karma. Now that you have finished with Junktown, head for the Hub. THE HUB ======= Rough map Entrance | | / Merchant center------------Old Town / | / | Heights | | Water Merchants / COC Hospital Notable Areas 1) Entrance 2) Merchant Center 3) Old Town 4) Heights 5) Water Merchants 6) The Underground Notable Characters 1) Decker, the criminal leader 2) Kane, Decker's assistant 3) Beth, gun shop owner, likes to gossip around 4) Butch, owns Far Go Traders 5) Rutger, Butch's assistant 6) Demetre, owns Crimson Caravan 7) Keri, Demetre's assistant, has sex with you if you're male 8) Sheriff Justin Greene, keeps the law; he'll be on your side when you kill Decker 9) Deputy Fry, police officer in the entrance of the Hub 10) Loxley, leader of the Thieves' Circle 11) Jasmine, Loxley's assistant 12) Jake, heavy weapons merchant 13) Vance, drug dealer at old town 14) Hightower, owns water merchants, quite rich 15) Jain, Children of the Cathedral priestess 16) Harold, the old mutant at Old Town, has seen Deathclaw 17) Slappy, crazed uncle of Beth, knows where Deathclaw is 18) Irwin, his house has been taken over by raiders 19) Mitch, owns the General Store (or All-In-One store) 20) Mrs. Stapleton, Librarian 21) Lorenzo, loan shark, owns Friendly Lending Company - Police guards (dressed in metal armor and combat armor) - Guards for the Far Go Traders, Decker, Hightower, and Jain - Caravan Drivers/Guards - Townsfolk - Skags (only in Old Town) Stuff to get 1) Cathedral Robes (probably THE most important item) 2) Chemicals in Cathedral Armory, most notably the super stim, other stimpacks, RadX's, RadAway's, and any Psychos you get plus the Hunting Rifle 3) Hightower's Necklace 4) Any stimpacks or guns found off of Hightower's and Jain's guards 5) Spiked Knuckles (later - see Hub Revisited) 6) .223 Pistol (ditto) Stuff to buy 1) Combat Shotgun 2) Sniper Rifle 3) Combat Armor 4) Books if your small guns, science, outdoorsman, and repair skills are below 75%. Beware that they can get very expensive. 5) 10+ Stimpacks 6) Ammunition (be sure that you have something like 200 rounds for the shotgun, 50 for the sniper, and loads of 10mm JHP for the SMG if you like spraying bullets) Stuff to sell 1) Your leather jacket and your 10mm Pistols for the books 2) Your leather armors, metal armor, and shotgun for combat shotgun and/or sniper rifle 3) Your Desert Eagles for stimpacks, extra books, extra ammo 4) Your SMG and maybe a Desert Eagle for the 14 mm Pistol 5) Your .44 JHP / FMJ ammo, extra armors, first-aid kit and doctors bag for either very large weapons and / or an extra two pairs of dynamite if you can't get the robes (lockpick the door). Also useful for buying the books. 6) Your SMG and its 10mm ammo after the brawl with Decker Notes 1) Enter unarmed, and do not enter combat. 2) Gossip around and buy items from the General Store, books from the librarian, small arms from Beth, heavy weapons from Jake, and drugs from Vance, the drug dealer. 3) Solve the caravan problem and kill both the deathclaw and the mutant. 4) Kill Darren Hightower, the eccentric rich person and steal his wife's necklace. 5) Kill Priestess Jain and her minions. 6) Turn Decker into the cops. (Post-Brotherhood). 7) Go to the Thieves' Circle in Old Town, and get the lockpicks and electronic lockpicks. 8) Help Irwin by killing the raiders that have invaded his home. 9) Rescue the lost Brotherhood initiate (Post-Brotherhood). 10) Optionally work the caravan routes. Details below. Important note on the Hub ------------------------- The Hub has many quests, and they can be done in any order. Here is a list on the preferable route: - Jake for the weapons/armor at Old Town. Be sure you buy the rocket launcher, all of the explosive rockets, combat armor from that guy. - Mitch (general store, north of FLC building) for 2 RadX's and 2 RadAways. - Kill the FLC. - Decker for quests to kill Jain and Hightower. - Kill Decker for the Hub police. - Irwin for .223 Pistol - Butch for the caravan quest. - Loxley for the electronic lockpicks - Brotherhood of Steel for Power Armor, Vree's tape, weapons and optionally Glow quest if you couldn't pick the lock. In the walkthrough, this is how it is covered: - Kill FLC - Get .223 Pistol - Start caravan quest - Jake for weapons/armor - Finish the first part of the Thieves' Guild - Finish caravan quest - Get Decker's jobs and finish them - Loxley for electronic lockpicks - Kill Decker for the Hub police - Brotherhood/Glow - Brotherhood (give Cabbot the Glow holodisc) - Hub (missing Brotherhood initiate) In addition, if you have high steal skill, you can go and steal the guards' weapons, ammo, and stimpacks. There is a guard in metal armor who has an assault rifle that you can steal, and a couple more who have combat knives. But then again, you have all of those weapons from the Raiders that you can trade for better weapons. Information for the caravans is below the walkthrough. Details ------- When you enter the Hub, you'll see 4 caravans. Further down south, there are a couple of buildings, and several armed policemen. Head south to the merchant market (or downtown, as it is called on the town map). Enter the FLC building and kill off Lorenzo and his guards (a better way is getting a loan from him and then killing him afterwards). Loot his body and his lockers to get lots of cash. Afterwards, continue going east until you go to a new area, Old Town. Go east, past the abandoned warehouse, and enter the building directly to its right. Talk to Jake, the guy wearing Metal Armor. Ask him about radiation and then buy a combat armor, a combat shotgun and a sniper rifle along with their respective ammunition plus some .44 FMJ ammo. (Trade in your old old leather armors, metal armor, all desert eagles (except for one), shotguns, etc. for the items.) Give Ian the Desert Eagle and the ammo and give Tycho the sniper rifle. Keep the combat shotgun for yourself and then put on the combat armor. After you have equipped yourself, head eastward until you get to a warehouse that has guards and a man wearing a leather jacket standing in the center. Talk to him and buy two RadX's, one RadAway, and some stimpacks using any excess inventory that you might have. Head back to the merchant market. First off, it is time to help Irwin. Irwin is in a dilapidated shack to the southern end of the merchant market. Talk to him and offer to kill the raiders in his home. Kill all of the raiders and optionally raid their corpses. After you've done so, head back to the merchant market and talk to Irwin and tell him that the raiders are dead. He'll give you a .223 Pistol. NOTE: You'll need high karma to complete the quest. To be on the safe side, it is a good idea to have a karma of 18 or higher. Now it is time to pacify the FLC. Their bulding is on the southwestern end of the merchant market. Go in the building and talk to the loan shark, Lorenzo. Ask to borrow some money. After you borrow the money, kill him and his guards. Afterwards, lockpick his safe and get all the loot. Go to the eastern end towards the Far Go Traders. Talk to the man in leather armor and accept the job to find the missing caravans. Afterwards, talk to Butch. Accept the job from Butch, and then head towards the gun store in the central quadrant of the merchant maket. Talk to Beth and ask her about the Deathclaw. Keep on asking about it until she tells you that Harold has seen it and that her uncle Slappy mumbles about it sometimes. Now it's time to go to Old Town. Head towards the eastern side of the merchant market to go there. When you go to old town, head eastward and go to the building to the northern side (it has guards in it). Talk to Jake, and trade all of your excess leather armors for a combat shotgun, combat armor, a sniper rifle, and some .223 FMJ ammo (and some stimpacks as well). Give the sniper and the .223 FMJ ammo to Tycho. Also while you're in Old Town, head to the central building occupied by some skags (the building has two rooms, one huge one and a little one with a stairwell leading to the basement). Go down the stairwell. You'll enter the hideout for the Thieves' Circle. Lockpick all of the doors using your lockpicks. After you get in, talk to the man in the leather jacket (he's to the south). Accept the job to find Hightower's necklace. On your way out, talk to Jasmine, the woman in the leather armor standing beside the doorway. She'll give you another set of lockpicks as well as some flares and a nuke-a-cola. Go to the south of Old Town and enter the building with the man in the green shirt walking around. Talk to him and ask him about the Deathclaw. (He's Slappy.) He'll send you to Harold, the mutant. Give Harold $5 and ask him about the Deathclaw. Go back and talk to Slappy and ask him to take you to the Deathclaw caverns. When you go in the cavern, you'll automatically get 800 xp. Head to the east, and then south until you reach the Deathclaw. Kill the Deathclaw by using targeted shots to his eyes using the .223 Pistol. After the deathclaw has been killed, kill the dying super mutant at the end of the cavern. Get his radio (if you don't have one) and his holodisc. Be sure to read the holodisc. Afterwards, head back to the merchant market. Enter the Far Go Traders building and tell Rutger and Butch that the mutants were casuing the caravan disappearances. If they don't buy it, tell them that you killed the Deathclaw and that you have evidence that it was the mutants. Now, with your money, you can stop at the General Store to buy some books and some anti-radiation drugs. Buy a tool and get some RadX and preferably some RadAway. There is also a library in the merchant center that has an unlimited supply of books. Unfortunately, the prices are very high. You can get science books, repair manuals, gun magazines, etc. there. It is better to buy the books from the General Store shopkeeper. However, the latter doesn't have an unlimited supply. The books can raise science, outdoorsman, first aid, and repair skills up to 91%. You need to raise Science to about 80%, while Repair at 45% is okay. (Actually, you don't need to, but it is a good idea to.) You can also go to the Crimson Caravan (its on the northwest side of the merchant center). You can loot the desk and get lots of powerful drugs. If you're male and want to have sex with his assistant, talk to Demetre (he's the guy with the leather jacket and the white undershirt). Accept the job offer, and he'll send you to Keri, who is on the left room of the Crimson Caravan building. Talk to Keri and tell her that you're interested in her. She'll give you three buffouts. NOTE: You'll need seven Charisma to screw Keri. Afterwards, go back to the merchant center. There is a bar called the Maltese Falcon on the west side. When you enter, you'll see a man whose name is Kane (he is guarding the southern door). Talk to him, and ask to be taken to Decker for jobs. When you are taken to Decker, he'll give you the quest to kill Darren Hightower. He will offer what is standard Hub pay: $500 up front for accepting it, $2000 for finishing the job. Darren Hightower is a rich guy who is head of the water merchants. He has his own guards and mansion. The Heights, the area in which he lives in, is located to the west of the merchant center. Go through there, and kill all inhabitants there. They won't give you too much trouble, since you have at least the metal armor and the shotgun that you have gotten from Junktown. Kill everyone and disarm the traps and lockpick the footlocker in the building that Hightower is in. Steal the expensive necklace in the locker, and DO NOT SELL OR TRADE IT AT ALL COSTS!!! You'll need the necklace to get the electronic lockpicks, which in turn are needed to get the powered armor quickly. (You might need some regular lockpicks to open the locker; if you don't, skim on down until you see Thieves' Circle. If you have them, you can use them right now.) Go back to the Maltese Falcon and talk to Kane. You'll be taken back to Decker, and he'll give you the $2000. Next, he wants Jain, a COC (Children of the Cathedral) preist dead. This may seem a bit odd, but it is imperative that you do this!!! Go down south in the merchant center, and go to the water merchant's area. You'll see a building with radiation signs on a red flag. Enter it. There is a child there; annoy her a bit about the flower (don't buy it from her). Ask her about the holy flame, Lasher, etc. You might have to do this about three or four times to get her to leave. (Why get her to leave? The entire Hub will be against you if you attack her.) A good idea is leaving Ian and Tycho in the merchant center (tell them that they can leave, but then talk to them again to get them back). Ian killed the kid once. After you get the child to leave, there is a woman in purple robes (Jain). Save before talking with her (fairly interesting conversation paths). You can also say what you want to her, since the objective is to kill her (My favorite was when I was pretending to be a COC member and at some point on, telling her that her "cups were overflowing with enlightment." :) Afterwards, just kill Jain and her guards. Two of them have Desert Eagles and are a bit on the hard side, but don't have much armor. You should easily win with metal armor. NOTE: Apparently, if you kill the Master (blow up the Cathedral) you can get a new quest from Jain. I haven't tried this yet. More importantly, there is a locked door to the northwest corner of the building. Hone your lockpicking skill here; try about three or four times to get the door unlocked. If your lockpicking skills aren't good, come here after you go to the Thieves' Circle (see below). The room contains many things, including armor, stimpacks, drugs, a rifle, and some purple COC robes. Take the COC robes. Even though they are pitiful when it comes to arming yourself, the robes serve an entirely different purpose, which you'll find out. In other words, PLEASE KEEP THEM!!!!!!!! Go back to the merchant center, and go to the police department. Talk to the cop in metal armor, and tell him that Decker told you to kill Jain or the Hightowers. The cop will get mad, and he'll ask you to help lead the assassination of Decker. He'll offer you again what is standard Hub pay: $300 up front, $1000 for completing the job. The details of the fight are below. You'll also get a boost to your karma and a lot of experience. When you are ready, prepare yourself for a good fight. Decker has got Kane and a few other cronies with him. They all have some strong melee weapon and are all clothed in some type of armor. Luckily, you've got two cops and Ian and Tycho on your side. But be ready...both of your NPCs are liable to death. If you are not equipped in combat armor, then you might be too. Have at least a shotgun ready, and have about 10 stimpacks to be on the safe side. After you've killed Decker, talk to Justin Greene to get your salary. Now it's time to go to the Thieves' Circle to return Hightower's necklace to Loxley. Go there. Speak with Loxley again and give him the necklace. He'll direct you to Jasmine, who will then give you the electronic lock picks as well as lots of money. More experience for you. Leave Old Town, and go to the Brotherhood. If you do not know the location, it is on the left of the Hub, past the mountains. Save if you do not know, find it, reload the game, and go to the location (it won't be on the map, but you should know the area in which it is located. It will appear on the world map as an unknown location.) Caravan Notes ------------- The Hub, of course, is a big merchant trading center. It is only natural to find caravan companies there who want to hire extra guards. It is a good idea to take a caravan to Necropolis, Brotherhood of Steel, or the Boneyards if you don't know where the cities are located. Here is a list of the two caravans: - Crimson Caravan: Their pay is $600, and they leave on the 3rd and the 17th of every month. They go to the Brotherhood of Steel, Junktown, Necropolis, and the Boneyards. The company travels on dangerous routes, so it is a good idea to have something like a combat shotgun and metal armor ready. If you return to the Hub with them, you get an extra $600. To get the job, talk to Demetre, accept the job, and then to Keri. - Far Go Traders: Their pay is $400, and they leave on 8th, 18th, and 28th of every month. They go to the Brotherhood of Steel, Junktown, and the Boneyards. The company travels on safe routes, so you don't really need much combat gear - probably metal armor and a shotgun max. If you return to the Hub with them, you'll get an extra $400. To get the job, talk to Rutger, accept the job, and then talk to the caravan driver in the left side of the Far Go Traders building. - Water Merchants: Their pay is $200, and they leave on the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th of every month. They go to the Boneyards and Junktown. The company travels on extremely safe routes, so having combat gear isn't always necessary. Like the other caravans, you can go to the Hub with the company for an extra $200. To get the job, talk to the caravan leader in the Water Merchants building, accept the job, and then talk to the caravan driver who is standing outside of the building with the brahmin. The Water Chip -------------- If you're pressed for time (i.e., you don't have the water chip and time is about to run out), you can buy one hundred days' worth of water sent to Vault 13 for $2000 from the water merchants. Even though this move gives you experience, the mutants will be able to locate Vault 13 faster. You'll only have 400 days to destroy the mutant threats, opposed to 500 if you don't get the chip. I think the 1.1 patch removes both of the dates, but the 500 day limit will be removed with the patch. BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL ==================== Notable Areas 1) Entrance 2) Building (Levels 1-4) - Armory & Training rooms (Level 1) - Medical area and initiate's rooms (which includes your room) (Level 2) - Library and Armor / Weapon mechanics, Knight's Quarters (Level 3) - Governing council and Elder area (Level 4) Notable Characters 1) Cabbot, initiate and front door guard 2) Darrell, front door and only guard wearing airtight helmet to Power Armor 3) Jennifer, a paladin who is standing guard at the entrance on Level 1 (Level 1) 4) Rhombus, head paladin (Level 1) 5) Talus, Rhombus' second-in-command(Level 1) 6) Michael, quartermaster, fills out orders from stockroom (Level 1) 7) Thomas, Talus's premier student 8) Medical Doctor (Level 2) 9) Jerry, your roommate (Level 2) 10) Vree, head scribe (Level 3) 11) Sophia, teaches initiates Brotherhood history (Level 3) 12) Kyle, Power Armor mechanic (Level 3) 13) General Maxson, the high elder (Level 4) 14) Mathia, Maxson's personal guard (Level 4) - Brotherhood Guards (in Power Armor) - Brotherhood Initiates - Scribes (in light purple robes) - Brotherhood Elders (in blue robes) Notes 1) Attempt to pick the Brotherhood entrance with your electronic lockpicks. 2) Get 'Ruins of the Ancient Order' quest from Cabbot. (if you couldn't pick the lock to the entrance with electronic lockpicks) 3) Get the quest to free the Brotherhood initiate in the Hub. 4) Watch the training where Talus is. You'll get a bonus to your melee and unarmed skills plus receive 500 experience. 5) Speak with Vree about mutants and ask her for the computer course. Also, get the holodisc and read it. 6) Speak with Kyle and get the systolic motivator from Michael or Rhombus for the Power Armor. 7) Repair the Power Armor. Details ------- When you enter the Brotherhood, you'll notice two guards in really neat armor. This is Power Armor. Speak with Cabbot, the guard on the left. Ask about joining the Brotherhood, and he'll give you the quest to find the 'Ruins of the Ancient Order', or the Glow. Ask Darrell for directions to the Glow and other general questions about the Brotherhood. NOTE: If your character has extremely low intelligence (3 or less) Darrell will give you a free RadX pill. Use the electronic picks on the front door. If it doesn't open, try several times. (It is a good idea to have 65% skill. I got it open after several tries.) When it does, run right through to enter the building. (BTW, enter the building in a heartbeat because the door will be locked on subsequent visits and you can enter directly through the first floor, and plus, the guards in the interior of the Brotherhood bunker will think that you've completed the quest.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Okay, so your lockpick skill sucks and the electronic picks don't work. You'll just have to go to the Glow. Go to the Hub, and barter for two RadX's and a rope. Leave the Hub and go to the Glow. Right before you are about to enter it, use the RadX's. When you enter the Glow, there is a huge crater in the middle of the screen. On the edge of the crater, there is a metal bar. Use the ropes on the bar, and descend down. Go south, make a right, and then head on north until you get to the room with the dead Brotherhood soldier in Power Armor. Examine his body and get the tapes. Leave the Glow and head for the Brotherhood. When you get to the Brotherhood, read the tapes for 100 experience. Talk to Cabbot and give him the tapes. The door will be unlocked and you will also receive 1500 experience points. If you want more information on the Glow, skim down and read the dedicated section for the Glow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the building, you have to speak with Talus. Go on the hallway to the right of the screen, and proceed to the room to the south at the end of the hall (the one with the bunch of recruits in combat armors). Talus is the only one in the room with power armor. Speak with him, and ask him about weapons. He'll fill out three scripts of any ammunition you want, plus a suit of Brotherhood Combat Armor. (Not as good as the power armor, but certainly not the worst.) Speak with Talus again, and ask for more weapons. He'll hesitate, but beg him and he'll give you the quest to free the lost Brotherhood initiate. (BTW, you'll need high karma to be given the quest. Also, don't tell him that you'll climb the world's largest mountain - you won't be given the quest.) Also watch the training going on; you'll get a bonus to your unarmed/melee skills and some experience. NOTE: There's a storage room with a door that's locked; it's a bit to the north of the training room (where Talus is). Don't try to open the door with or without lockpicks; the guards will come and attack you and you will have to kill all of the Brotherhood members. Time to get yourself Power Armor. Go on the third level, and go to the room on the bottom right. (It should have a broken suit of power armor and two people in combat armors.) Speak to the person by the dismantled Power Armor (that's Kyle.) Ask him why this suit is broken, and he'll send you back up to get a systolic motivator. Save the game. Go back to the first level, and speak with Michael (the guy in combat armor above the room with Talus). Ask him about the systolic motivator, and tell him that "ordinance needs it or it will be my ass." Michael will believe you, and will give you the motivator. (Only works with characters who have high speech skill and/or high charisma.) If you tell him that you need it for the broken Power Armor, tough luck - he'll hesitate. You can also beg him, and he'll give one to you. If your speech skill sucks, go in the room with one person in power armor. That is Rhombus, the leader of the Paladins. When you go in, sneak in the locker and get the systolic motivator. Rhombus will catch you, but beg him to let you go. He'll say that he will forget about this moment. (Don't bother him again; he will expel you from the Brotherhood.) After you have gotten the part, go speak with Kyle again. He'll soldier it in, but the suit needs repairing. (75% Repair, high luck, or 50% repair with tools does the trick.) After you repair it, the suit will be on the floor. Pick it up and equip it! (Power Armor weighs 85 pounds, so you may have to drop your armor and weapons, or put them in your Brotherhood room on level 2.) If your repair skill sucks, read the manual that goes along with the Power Armor. If it still isn't 75%, then you'll have to get the quest to find the missing initiate from Talus, and then ask for the Power Armor. Repeated tries with a low skill and a tool have also worked. Go to Vree on the third level. Ask her about technical information, and then as her what is causing the mutations. Ask her why she says what she says and then ask her for proof. Afterwards, ask her how to read a holodisc and she will offer you a computer course. She'll give you a holodisc about the mutant autopsies and the course will increase your science skill by 15%. Read the holodisc, and do not give it away AT ALL COSTS! Leave the Brotherhood, and go to the Hub. (If you're having difficulty getting the disc, you might be able to steal it from her - she has two copies.) BTW, if you're radiated or need healing, go the doctor on the second floor to heal yourself. Character Upgrade Notes: - The doctor on the second floor can increase any of your main skills (except for charisma or luck) by one for lots of money. The operations last up to three weeks, so it's a good idea to get the water chip before completing the operations. Here's a table on how much each operation costs: - Strength : $2000, 3 weeks - Perception : $4000, 1 week - Endurance : $3000, 1 week - Intelligence: $6000, 3 weeks ($3000 for characters with bad intelligence) - Agility : $5000, 3 weeks THE HUB (revisited) =================== Notable Areas 1) See on earlier Hub section Notable characters 1) See above Notes 1) Free the Brotherhood initiate 2) Complete any previous quests that you haven't completed Details ------- Now that you have your hands on some good old power armor (erm, Brotherhood for those without luck and repair), can complete many quests now. Now, even with your power armor on or not, first thing is to go to Old Town. There is a shack with some guards. Kill all of the guards with a shotgun or combat shotgun. Be prepared for a good fight : Ian and Tycho both need good arms. (Before the fight, you can sell all of the leather armors, the metal armor, the Desert Eagles and their ammo, and the 10 mm pistols for some good weaponry. For instance, I bought a combat shotgun for myself and a sniper rifle for Tycho with just the leather armors. I gave the SMG I got from Vault 15 to Ian. You can also sell your old shotgun for some ammo.) To kill the guards, talk to one of them. You'll enter combat immediately. If you feel real high & mighty, you can go up close and personal with the combat shotgun and burst them to pieces. (Note that burst takes 3 shells, but is one bitch to avoid... use it whenever you can give the shots to the opponent "Up Close & Personal." ) Talk to the man in the green shirt (use the lockpicks). After you've picked the lock, speak with him and tell him that you're an initiate. He'll thank you and leave. Save before going to the Brotherhood. (BTW, it's a good idea to re-supply for ammunition and chemicals before you leave.) BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL (revisited) ================================ Notable Areas 1) See above section on Brotherhood Notable Characters 1) See above section on Brotherhood Notes 1) Get reward for freeing the Brotherhood initiate. 2) Get the quest to scout the northern area for Maxson. Details ------- Go to the first level and speak with Talus. Tell him that you have finsihed the quest, and ask him for your reward. Pick whatever you want. (Choose Power Armor if you don't have it.) Go to the fourth level, speak with Maxson, and talk to him about the war, mutants, etc. and offer to scout the area to the north for free. If have not done so yet, ask for some weapons. Go back to Level 3 and ask Vree about the mutants and get the holodisc if you haven't done so. Go to the outside Brotherhood entrance and save the game. Leave the area, scout to the northwest, and enter the area enclosed in the green circle. This is the Military Base. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to complete the Military Base/Cathedral, this is the checklist that you should follow: 1. Ditch your NPC's. 2. Have the COC robes and Vree's Mutant Autopsy Disk with you. 3. Have the sets of both standard and electronic lockpicks with you. 4. Don your Power Armor and put your combat shotgun in one of your item slots, but you shouldn't let it be in your active item slots. * (The above only applies for infiltration approaches) 5. Ignore number one for the cowboy military base approach. Your NPC's will be dead anyways. If you're intending on going to Necropolis for the water chip or want to complete the Boneyard level, then don't worry about ditching your NPC's. - You have to ditch the NPC's for the infiltration approach because the Super Mutant guards will come and attack you if you have NPC's with you. - Simply destroying the mutant threats will allow you to beat the game. You need not find the water chip! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MILITARY BASE ============= Notable Areas 1) Entrance 2) Military Base - Level 1, computer building, small barracks - Level 2, armory 3) Fortress - Level 3, holding pens - Level 4, vats and lieutenant's quarters Notable characters 1) Mutant guards, BS them by saying that you are either a special mutant or that you're with the Cathedral. 2) Flip, large mutant 3) Krupper, another large mutant 4) The Lieutenant of the mutant armies - Super Mutant Guards - Nightkin (outside the base) - Children of the Cathedral technicians Stuff to get 1) Key to arm nuke in the Cathedral Notes 1) Fake out the mutants with the radio distress signal. 2) Either infiltrate the base with the robes, or be high and mighty, taking out everything out with the "cowboy" approach. 3) Hack the computers and disable the security systems. 4) Blow up the base, of course. (With the correct security code) NOTE: If you want 1500 experience points for telling the Brotherhood of the military base, enter the military base and immediately leave and return to the Brotherhood. Go to the fourth level and speak with Maxson. Tell him that you've found the base, and you'll be called in to a meeting for the elders. Tell the Elders everything that you have found, and you'll get three crack assault paladins for an attack at the military base. The problem is that they do not follow you inside. Details for the *pseudo* James Bond approach -------------------------------------------- When you enter the military base, save the game. For this mission, don your Power Armor and take out any weapon in your active weapon slot. Equip your radio in your active slot. Walk your way up, and the guard will catch you. Tell him that you are either a special mutant or you are a member of the Cathedral. He'll believe you. (This works with characters that have relatively high speech skill.) Now, use your radio to draw off three of the four guards. Here is the complete conversation: (you'll also get 1500 xp for drawing them off if you succeed) Radio: Command to patrol, command to patrol. What is your status? Over. You : Command, we are under attack by a large group of armed humans. Request assistance. Over. Radio: Understood, patrol. What are your coordinates? You : 4 miles, south-southwest. Radio: Understood, patrol. We are sending reinforcements. Alternatively, you can use the radio and tell the radio operator the dialogue "help...heavy attackers...coordinates 10...argh!" line and the mutants will get drawn off. 3 of the 4 mutants will get drawn off. The one by the door stays. Talk to him, and tell him that you are a special mutant for the master. He'll believe you. There is a locked door in front of the mutant. Use your electronic lock picks. Save the game. If the picks don't work, then go behind the mutant and steal all of his stimpacks and his holodisk. Read the holodisk to find out the code to the door and enter. If the mutant catches you stealing, then load the game and keep on trying. If it still doesn't work after several tries, then you will have to kill the mutant in less than three turns. That way, the base won't get alerted. A good method is getting in front of him and bursting him with the combat shotgun (or another burst weapon). Open the door which you just lockpicked. When you enter, you'll see two forcefields. You can pass through them, but will take damage (7-15 with the Power Armor, 18-25 with the robes). You will have to go to the computer complex on the right. (There is a mutant with a rocket launcher guarding the complex.) BS him again. If this sounds too confusing, here is an ASCII map: -> --Alternate route to right computer complex ^ | To left complex ^ | | | |-| |-| <- <- | | | |=| | | *| -- Computer complex, console description is | | | | | ---| plain old "computer" instead of "mach iv | | | | | | computer" | | | | | | | | | | | |--- | e |-| f | | | e-forcefield emmiter, disabled except ----| |-------- | for when the base is under alert e | f-red forcefield, passable, causes damage, ------ -------------- cannot be disabled Entrance I hoped this clarified things. If you still have problems, save the game, and scout the area. Now for the left computer complex... If you follow the ASCII map above, the passageways that lead to the north take you to the left computer complex. (Again, there might be forcefields blocking your path.) You'll see some Mach IV computers, and another one whose description reads "computer." Use the science skill, and disable the sensors. You can also try to modify pest control and movement security options for the base, but I left them blank. Actually, you don't have to mess with it in the first place. There is an outlet to exit the left computer complex on the left side. There will be two robobrains guarding the area (they aren't hostile, so don't worry.) Go in the elevator, and head to level 2, the main armory. You can still BS the guards in the level with Power Armor. This level is essentially a supply depot; you can loot all of the lockers on this level. After you are finished raiding this level, go back into the elevator, and enter level 3. As soon as you enter level 3, put on the COC robes immediately. Leave the area, and go to the right (or your character's left). There should be a big mutant walking to the elevator (knows that someone is there.) Since you have the robes on, he'll just think you are another COC tech, and you will be ignored completely. Head on south, and there should be a super mutant that is guarding the holding chamber. He'll talk to you, ask him what is the place, and then thank him. Go onto level 4. If you are unsure where everything is, here is a rough ASCII map: Elevator | |------------------- | -------------- |---- | | | | ... - branches out to elevator that goes to vats | | (out of order) | * - *=mutant that guards holding area | | ------- | | | Holding | Areas | /\ - elevator to fourth level |--| When you enter level 4, you should get 2000 xp for just going this far without annoying the guards. Go to the left, and go straight up until you enter the room with all of the computers (control room). There should be a COC tech in Purple Robes guarding the area. He'll surrender, and so will his comrades. NOTE: If you want an extra 1000 experience and a minigun, ammo, and stimpacks, use 'Repair' (1st) and 'Science' (2nd) on the robot near the elevator. He is supposed to blow up the forcefield emitter that leads to the Vats. There is a computer in the northeast quadrant whose description should say "Vats Control Computer" or something like that. Use the computer, and go into the Security Codes option. There should be some key codes. Select one of the following codes:* 67209-5574-7805564 (270 second silent self-destruct sequence) 31914-1041-1251514 (300 second silent self-destruct sequence) - the code on the bottom is recommended. NOTE: I was reading WhiteChocobo666's Evil FAQ, and his listed a different code. If yours lists different codes, leave the system, save, and experiment. If you select the first one of the ones listed in the game, you have to haul ass in 60 seconds. If you select the last one, it means instant death to you and the base. If you select the middle one, that will set the base on alert.(And the mutants will be after you...if you want to finish them off, don your power armor, pop whatever drugs you have, heal to full health, etc...) After you select the code, run to the elevator. Dash to the elevator on the northwest corner on the third level, and descend down to the first level. Put on your Power Armor, and get the hell out of the base. BS the mutant guarding the entryway, and go to the world map area. You should see the video that shows the base being blown up. For the final required mission, head towards the Cathedral. It is two square units south of the Boneyards. * If you're going to get the key to arm the nuke in the Cathedral, head to the east until you see a large mutant with a COC tech on his side. Enter Sneak mode and put the lockpicks in your active item slot. Walk towards the edge of the wall and lockpick the locker. Take the key to arm the nuke (it looks different). Afterwards, sneak out of the room again, towards the edge of the wall. Once your character starts to walk to the west you can stop sneaking. You might need relatively high sneak skill to do this; I was successful with 60%. Having a Stealth Boy also helps. Details for the Cowboy Approach ------------------------------- Be sure that you have killed Dogmeat and have told your NPC's that you want them to leave. And when you start to attack the mutants in the base, the entire base will be under alert - everything that moves will probably attack you (save for the NPC's). You have been warned. Use the radio and draw off the three of the four mutants. Go behind the remaining mutant and try to kill him in under three turns. Snipers and the .223 pistol have worked well. After you pacify the mutant, look at his body and take the holodisc and the radio. Read the holodisc. Get your NPC's and enter the base. Kill every mutant on the first level. After the mutants have been killed, go to the computer on the east corner. Hack into it, disable the forcefields, and use the radio on the computer. This sets up remote control. Go to the field computer, hack into it, and set the 'Pest' setting to 'Large Pests.' That way, the robots will attack the mutants. At the last level, there is a robot that is called Mr. Handy. You can repair him and use the 'Science' skill on him and he'll blow up the forcefield that goes to the vats. Kill the mutants and the COC techs. In the footlocker in the room next to the elevator, there are two plastic explosives. Take them. Also on the last level, there is the lieutenant of the Super Mutants. He has 250 hit points, a gatling laser, and two guards with gatling lasers and rocket launchers. He is fairly difficult, but if you use the .223 pistol (or a strong weapon) at the eyes, he'll be dead in about six hits. (Alternate methods: go up to him and attack him. His guards have rocket launchers and gatling lasers, so those attacks will hurt the lieutenant as well.) After the guards and the lieutenant are dead, lockpick the locker next to the dead guards. Take the key. Go to the computer area (the room whose force field was blown up by Mr. Handy). Use the 'Science' skill on the Vats control computer and access it. Save the game. Access the computer again, and once you have found desired code, make a run for the exit. Be sure that every creature is dead on Levels I, III, and IV. Go to the third level, and use the radio to toggle the forcefields. If the radio won't work, then use the explosives that you brought earlier. Escape from the base. For the final required mission, head towards the Cathedral. It is two square units south of the Boneyards. THE CATHEDRAL ============= Notable Areas 1) The Cathedral building - Morpheus' Quarters (4th floor) - Lasher's Quarters - Entrance to the Vault - Prayer Room 2) Cathedral Vault - Psychers' Quarters (Level 2) - Prison Quarters (Level 2) - Cathedral Control Center (Level 3) - Master's Quarters (Level 3) - The nuclear bomb chamber (Level 4) Notable Characters 1) Lasher, High Priest 2) Dr. Wu, COC medic (He won't heal you.) 3) Ton, mean guy (tries to seduce you if you are female) 4) Francine, a devout Cathedral believer 5) Morpheus, High Priest and leader of the Cathedral 6) Laura, Follower spy 7) Jeremiah, COC member who opens door for you 8) Gideon, Psychotic nut who will give you nullifier 9) Viscious, Strong mutant who guards north area 10) The Master of the Super Mutants - Cathedral figureheads/techs (purple robes) - Chanters of the Children of the Cathedral (brown robes) - Followers of the Children of the Cathedral (Ton, etc.) - Nightkin guards (ground and tower levels only) - Super Mutant guards (vault only) - Mad Scientists - Prisoners - Robots Stuff to get 1) Red Cathedral Key (barter from Ton) 2) Black Cathedral Key (kill Morpheus) 3) Robes (if you still haven't got them, get them after you kill Morpheus) 4) Psychic Nullifier Notes 1) Kill Morpheus and his nightkin guards. Alternatively, you can slaughter everyone in the Cathedral for the 'Cowboy' approach. - OR - You can skip steps 2-6 if you speak with Morpheus and ask him to take you to the Master. Choose this option only if you have robes and Vree's autopsy disk. 2) Head on to the Cathedral Vault, and wait for approximately a minute for Jeremiah to open the door. Rush in with your robes on. - OR - Examine the bookcase directly to the left of the secret doorway (wall with irregularities). Go on the left of the bookcase and use traps on it. I got it open with two tries with 38% traps and 5 luck. 3) BS the mutants that are guarding the Vault entrance that you have business to do. 4) Hack into the computer on the first floor. 5) Free the prisoners on Level 2. 6) Speak with Gideon and ask him to 'anoint' you (he'll give you the Psychic Nullifier) 7) Either... a - Kill the Master with your gun (Cowboy) b - If you have brought the key from the military base (and have insanely high lockpick skill), use the key to arm the nuke. c - Talk the Master out of his plans (only if you have Vree's autopsy report and/or have read it, and have robes on.) 8) Escape from the Cathedral after your confrontation with the Master. NOTE: Like the Military Base, there are many ways you can blow up the Cathedral. These include two infiltration methods and of course, the cowboy method. If you have spoken with Ismarc, then you should already know the location of the Boneyards. The Cathedral is to the south of the Boneyards by two square units. NOTE: Many people in the Cathedral will refuse to speak with you if you have a weapon in your active weapon slot, and some might even turn hostile. NOTE: Unlike the Military Base, the members of the Cathedral (first floor) won't turn hostile if you kill Morpheus and his mutant guards. The same applies if you kill mutants on the second floor and enter the third. The members do say threatening dialogue and might turn hostile towards you. The Cathedral Vault is a sealed area. If you kill members on the first floor, you can enter the second and third floors without any of the mutants turning hostile towards you (provided that you have the robes on). But if you kill the Master, the entire Cathedral Vault will be under alert. Details for the diplomatic-infiltration approach ------------------------------------------------ Enter the Cathedral in your Power Armor. Once you get into the main prayer area, there should be a man in leather armor. Speak with him, and barter for his red cathedral key. (After that, you can call him little man or whatever...) Use the cathedral key on the locked door next to the lady in the leather jacket. After the door is unlocked, climb the stairs until you reach the fourth floor. NOTE: Another way of getting the key is bartering it from Sister Francis or by asking Lasher really nicely. Also, you can lockpick the door (80% with lockpicks works). When you reach the fourth floor, put the combat shotgun or .223 pistol in the inactive weapon slot. Open the door that goes to Morpheus' room (he is the guy in the robes), hit 'A' to go to combat, and kill him. There are three nightkin (Super Mutants) who are his guards; two are equipped with a flamethrower and one has a minigun. Dispose of his guards, and examine Morpheus' corpse and take his black Cathedral key. Go back to the first floor, and put on your robes and equip the black Cathedral key in your active item slot. There is a locked door leading to a room with a bookcase on it; use the black cathedral key there. Enter the stairwell that leads to the basement. When you descend down the stairwell, you will enter the Cathedral basement. There is a secret door in the basement that leads to the Cathedral vault. Here is an ASCII map showing you where the secret entrance is: Stairs | | | | | | b = bookcase . . . * = bookcase with trapdoor switch. | |---- | b | * | secret doorway |------------- There are two ways into the Cathedral vault. One is to wait for a minute until Jeremiah (Master's messenger) opens the door and goes up the stairs. The second way is to examine the bookcase that is directly to the left of the secret entrance. On the left of the bookcase, examine it. After your examination, use the traps skill on the bookcase. Eventually, you will find a hidden switch (I got it with two tries on 38% skill and 5 luck). Then examine it again to open the door. Rush in. When you enter the cavern entrance to the vault, there will be several grotesque creatures, namely floaters and centaurs. They'll ignore you since you are wearing the robes. Like Vault 13, this vault has an entrance on the north corner guarded by two super mutants. They'll stop you as you go in, but since you have your robes on, you can BS them easily. Just say that you are on important business, and give them a blessing. You'll get 750 xp. There is a computer next to the elevator. Use science on it to find the location of the military base...(even though you know it already, it gives you 1250 xp). Enter the elevator, and go to level 2. On Level 2, go to the room with a lone super mutant guard with some scientists. Enter the room, and go south. You'll see some trapped prisoners. Go to the terminal on the wall, use it, and the prisoners will be free. You will get 2000 xp for your efforts. (BTW, once the prisoners escape and reach the terminal, they'll be blown away...no known way to stop this.) Go in the northwest of level 2, and enter the room on the left of the prayer room(the room with people in COC robes and two super mutants). Speak with the man with the green shirt, and ask him for a nullifier. He'll give you one, and you'll receive 1000 xp. Also, be sure to equip the nullifier in your active item slot. Go back to the elevator for level 3. When you enter level 3, head south and take a turn (your right or your character's left). There should be a mutant walking towards you. He won't talk to you or attack, so there is no need to worry. Head towards the control area (the area with the goo-covered computers) and open the door. Go through the door, through the passageway, and you should see the master. Speak with him. Now, here is the conversation: Master: So what shall it be? Do you join the Unity or do you die here? Join! Die! Join! Die! You: If you can prove to me that your Unity is the best course for humanity, then I will help you. Master: I don't have to prove anything to you! Prove. You: I can't know you represent the best future unless you prove it to me. Master: Very demanding for one in your tenuous position. But I can respect your needs. You: So tell me. Master: The Unity will bring about the Master race...to our destiny. Destiny! You: That race being the mutants, of course. Master: Of course. Mutants are best equipped to deal with the world...age of mutants. Mutants! You: You mean to change others into mutants, as well. Master: All that resist, yes...last of their race. You: You've got a problem with your master plan. Master: And what is that? You: I happen to know that your mutants are sterile. Master: Preposterous! The FEV-2 virus doesn't destroy the reproductive organs of those it mutates. You: Have you talked to any of your mutants about this? (NOTE: you have read report, but do not have it) Master: I believe I shall. Don't move. My scientists assure me that nothing is wrong. What do you say to that? You: How about a female mutant? Master: Reasonable. One moment. Are you sure? What about the other females? It cannot be. Be. You: Sorry, your race is doomed. Master: But it cannot be...failure...be. You: Sorry, this isn't an option for you...race...die. Master: < Last speech...choose 'done' and leave Cathedral immediately. > NOTE: You'll need high intelligence to get this conversation. Eight works, six or seven might work. High speech skill is also a good idea to have. After the conversation, run down to the elevator, down to the first level, and exit out of the Vault cavern through the secret door and basement. After you go climb the stairwell that leads to the first floor, leave the Cathedral through the entrance that takes you outside. After you get outside (with some people in leather armor and brown robes), run to the red exit. You'll see a video of the Cathedral blowing up, and the game will be over. Details for the Cowboy Approach ------------------------------- This method is pretty much the same as the above, but you kill everything that moves. Be sure to don your Power Armor, use stims often, and also save. Be sure to pick up heavy weapons from the dead mutants. On Level 2, be sure to free the prisoners and get the Psychic Nullifier if you can. Level 3 will probably be the hardest area to fight. There are several assault robots and many super mutants, each with at least 100 hit points. Then there is the Master as well. (For tips on defeating the Master, see the 'tactics' section.) After the battle with the Master, you have to run from the Cathedral. Details for the *pseudo* James Bond Approach -------------------------------------------- A bit different from the traditional infiltration approach, this one goes through in the same way as the original one, except that it requires you to have the Lieutenant's key to arm the nuke. Vree's holodisc is not required. When you have gone to the third level, head to the south and to the west, and enter the room that's full of super mutants. Use the electronic lockpicks on the door that is locked (if you don't have them, they can be found on the fourth floor of the Cathedral). After you've locked that door, lockpick the elevator door. (You can't use your picks.) Enter the elevator and go to the fourth level. When you go to the fourth level, again, you can't use your lockpicks to open the door. After you open the door, equip the key in one of your active it