Man, this was an effort to write down.
I have sat for three hours behind my computer to write it all down, I hope people will like my effort.
Here are some of my ideas and thoughts on what I would do with some of the stuff in Fallout 3 and how I would alter it.
Washington DC would definitely be more ruined, with radioactive hot spots here and there.
Most save traveling would have to be done underground as mutant wildife, scavengers and Lobotomites would prowl streets and buildings.
People might recognize some of the ideas I mentioned from other Fallout games, and concepts they never made it, I do not mean it as plagiarism.
I hope everything is in the right order and that the grammar errors aren't to severe that they prevent reading.
* * * *
Thirty years before the start of the game.
James, the player's father conceives the idea for a 'Super GECK', unlike the regular GECK issued with most Vault installations that contains seeds, blue prints and discs to unlock extra functions of the Vault, the Super GECK could do what the GECK is advertised to do; revitalize and rejuvenate the wasteland; making the region green once more.
James convinces the leaders at Rivet City to fund his experiments and work and they supply him with money, resources and personnel.
Several scientists including Doctor Li and the player's mother join James as he seeks out a location in the wasteland for an ideal test site.
James and the scientists establish a laboratory in an underground facility under a hidden valley that will one day be known as Oasis or the 'Primary Test Site' to the scientists.
Fences, security force fields and security bots are installed at every entrance to the valley to deter raiders and mutant wildlife.
Work on development of the Super GECK starts.
The Brotherhood of Steel under the leadership of General Lyons arrives in the region, having followed the map they gained from Navarro base after taking out the Enclave.
Their goal is Raven Rock, a Pre War underground facility that was intended as an automated computer and communications hub for US government and later Enclave facilities throughout the wasteland.
Raven Rock contains vast computer archives with pre war scientific knowledge and the facility is run by a ZAX computer, a rare and powerful near AI.
The BOS expedition sends security codes to the ZAX to deactivate the security bots and turrets and move into the base, modifying it in time and turning it into their East Coast base of operations.
They bring along advanced technologies such as captured Vertibirds which they use to explore the region.
A group of exiled Unity Super Mutants under the leadership of Gruntar, a former lieutenant of the Master arrives in the region.
Gruntar wishes to restore the Unity back to strength and is looking for resources and technology in the region, they set up various camps in the Capital Wasteland and in time take control of several Vaults such as Vault 92, Vault 102, and eventually take control of Vault 87, Gruntar's goal.
As most of Gruntar's Super Mutants are rather dumb due to brain damaged caused by dipping in FEV, he has expanded his forces with Ghouls which he has recruited along the way.
They serve as leaders of small groups of Super Mutants as well as diplomats, technical personnel, and scientists, much to the irritation of the 'dumb' Super Mutants who are reminded by the Ghouls' presence of their own limited mental capabilities.
Gruntar also has in his possession a very rare item; a vial of pure FEV which he hopes to use to restore the Super Mutants back to strength.
Harold arrives in the region and discovers the Oasis during his journey, he manages to enter the valley and meets James who is impressed by the Ghoul's intelligence.
James and Harold become friends and Harold is allowed to stay at Oasis, in time becoming a part of the science team.
James makes contact with the Brotherhood of Steel and manages to make an agreement in which both sides exchange scientific and technical knowledge with each other.
The BOS becomes interested in the Super GECK.
Later that year James also makes contact with the inhabitants of Vault 101.
Initially the Vault Overseer is not interested in having contact with the outside world and allowing outsiders to enter, but James convinces him to do so, telling the Overseer about the Super GECK.
The Overseer is interested in working together with James for knowledge on the device.
A small group of Super Mutants under the leadership of a Ghoul scientist sets up a base at Vault 92.
Using the Vault scientists' research on mental conditioning and personality augmentation the scientist starts to experiment on the captured Vault inhabitants, turning them in time in the first generation of Lobotomites.
The scientist uses the Lobotomites to capture more humans and bring them to the Vault to be converted as well as searching Washington DC for resources and technology that he can use.
The Lobotomites fiercely compete with scavengers and salvagers from Rivet City and the Underground Nation for the left overs in the city.
Several Super Mutants join the Family, a post nuclear cult that preaches unity between humans, ghouls and mutants and warns against the dangers and horrors of science.
The scientists at Oasis make a tremendous success when they turn the valley viable again, allowing plants to take roots once more.
Unfortunate afterwards progress on the research slows down significantly as James has problems with modifying the research for a region the size of the wasteland.
One of the problems is that the plants the scientists want to grow in the wasteland have difficulty with the toxins in the soil, killing them within days.
James needs to find a way to mutate seeds so that they become stronger and more toxin resistant.
At the same time James and Catherine get closer to each other and start a relation and Catherine becomes pregnant of the player.
With Oasis suffering from attacks by raiders from Evergreen Mills, slavers from Paradise Falls, and curious Super Mutants, and the current stand still of the project, the scientists makes it clear that they wish to return to Rivet City.
When Catherine dies during the player's birth, James has no choice to agree with their wishes.
A group of the scientists' staff wish to stay at Oasis and James asks Harold to lead them and maintain the research facility and its research.
Using a secret underground passageway James and the scientists leave Oasis, the scientists head back for Rivet City while James takes his child to Vault 101.
Wanting a save place to raise his child as well as continue his research James asks the Overseer if he can join the Vault population.
The Overseer is hesitant but still desires to gain access to the Super GECK so he allows James to join the population and become on of the Vault's doctors/surgeons while his child is raised as a Vault Dweller.
During the time at the Vault James determines through research that he might be able to use the FEV biological agent to complete the Super GECK and turn the wasteland into a green paradise once more.
When the player is around 19 years old, James decides to leave the Vault in secret and return to the surface, his goal is to gather his old scientist staff and restart the project to complete the Super GECK.
He hopes to create a green and fertile landscape for when his child returns to the surface.
When the Overseer discovers that James has left he summons the player to his office.
At first he suspects that the player knew of James' departure but if the player convinces the Overseer otherwise, the Overseer will accept the player's innocence in the matter.
The Overseer instructs the player to find James and bring him back to Vault 101, but he doesn't tell the player the real reason, instead lying that the Vault needs James to survive.
After the player has left the Vault the Overseer secretly contacts the Talon Mercenary Company, contracting them to monitor the player's progress and to capture both James and the Super GECK once they have determined the location of Oasis.
The game begins
The Brotherhood of Steel
An organization dedicated to the goal of acquiring and preserving Pre War knowledge and technologies and expand on this.
The Brotherhood originally operated on the US West Coast and has outposts in Utah and Texas.
Using a Pre War map they acquired when the BOS stormed Navarro base, the Brotherhood determined the existence of a series of Pre War storehouses throughout the US mainland that would allow the Brotherhood to expand East wards.
Their newly acquired uplink to PoseidoNet revealed the existence of Raven Rock, a Pre War underground base that contains vast computer archives and a PoseidoNet hub in the form of a ZAX.
General Lyons who lead the mission to capture Navarro base managed to convince the Brotherhood Elders to organize an expedition to the East to acquire Raven Rock.
Using the Pre War storehouses from the map, a 'railway' could be set up to send worthwhile technologies back to the Lost Hill bunkers.
The Elders were rather hesitant at first, preferring to consolidate their resources and forces at Lost Hills, but seeing this as an opportunity to get rid of General Lyons, a popular proponent of the idea that the Brotherhood should open itself once more to the outside world and allowing the most worthy of outsiders to join the BOS, they allowed him to form his expedition.
During the trek to the East Lyons started to practice his ideas to save the BOS from stagnation and decline and recruited individuals he felt were worthy of BOS membership along the way.
These people would serve as scouts of the expedition and in time be trained as paladins, knights, and scribes to bolster and increase the expedition numbers.
After a year traveling Lyons' expedition reached the East Coast and found Raven Rock which they took control of after transmitting security clearance codes to the controlling ZAX computer.
Using the PoseidoNet uplink Lyons informed the Elders back East of his success and transmitted various computer files containing schematics back to the East.
Despite their dislike of Lyons the Elders at Lost Hills were impressed of his work and results and Lyons was given the status of Elder and leader of the Brotherhood forces on the East Coast.
The expedition's knights in time converted Raven Rock into a base of operations from which further expeditions could be send to other locations on the East Coast.
The hangar bays at Raven Rock were restored so that they could store the expedition's Vertibird fleet.
Currently the BOS seeks to get access to the ruins of the Pentagon, a Pre War military facility that served as the center of administration of the US Government's armed forces.
Underneath the Pentagon is a super computer containing information on all kinds of secret Pre War projects the US Government had started up to win the war with China.
During the War the communications uplink with Raven Rock was separated, preventing the ZAX computer at Raven Rock from downloading the computer files still stored in the Pentagon archives.
Scavenger, raider and mutant wildlife activity in the region make traveling difficult plus the ruins of the Pentagon itself are radioactive as hell.
An entrance to it must be looked for underground, perhaps the Ghouls at the Underground Nation might know of a way.
To increase their presence in the Capital Wasteland the BOS has taken over Fort Independence with permission from the leaders of Fairfax, and has also established a camp at Fort Constantine and has taken over one of the working satellite uplink stations to maintain contact with the BOS elders back East.
The player might become a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and gain their friendship if he helps them out with their mission.
Remnants of the Unity
Leftovers of the Master's Unity.
While many Super Mutants left the Unity after the death of the Master and the destruction of Mariposa and the vats, some Super Mutants stayed together under the leadership of the Master's former lieutenants who sought to continue their creator's plan to make the Super Mutants the dominant species on Earth.
Some factions continued wars against settlements on the West Coast and later the emerging NCR and the Brotherhoof of Steel, while others started looking for resources and the means to increase their strength or solve the problem of being unable to replenish their numbers.
One group went to Texas to look for a hidden Vault containing scientific secrets, but they were eliminated by a group of BOS paladins.
Another group, led by Gruntar decided to go East wards and investigate the ruins of the former US' capital city for any information that could help them to further their goals.
At the East Coast Gruntar learned that not all Vaults had been intended to be faulty or just preserve groups of people and their technology.
Some Vaults had been intended as both shelters for a population as well as research facilities were research and development in various scientific areas could be continued during the War and the years after it.
The former Enclave intended to gather this research when they would absorb the populations of these Vaults back into their organization.
One Vault in particular stood out; Vault 87.
This facility included a vast research laboratory where the designated Vault scientists could study biology and biochemistry, and develop cures and methods to deal with mutation caused by various mutagens.
This facility also included a unique device, a DNA analyzer and recombinator chamber, this machine is capable of mapping the complex DNA of various organisms so that they can be duplicated in a laboratory, and it could also combine the DNA of various sources.
It is a very rare machine and most likely the last of its kind.
Another Vault that interested Gruntar was Vault 108 were research was being performed on the field of cloning.
As most of Gruntar's forces aren't particular bright, Gruntar started to recruit another group of beings shunned by 'normal' humans; Ghouls, who despite their horrible mutation often still maintained their mental capabilities.
Gruntar especially looked for Ghouls who were technicians or scientists before the War, promising them justice for their mistreatment by the people of human settlement.
Many were eager to join the new mutant state Gruntar is promising to establish.
But despite their past bad experiences with normal humans, not all Super Mutants and Ghouls are automatically hostile to normal humans such as the player.
And if the player deals with them friendly and with respect they are more than willing to talk and trade with the player.
The player could also earn the loyalty of the Unity forces.
Gruntar is also interested in the Super GECK for his mutant state.
The Family
A post war cult that sprung up several decades ago that preaches peace and unity amongst humans and mutants.
Unfortunate opposite to this peaceful message is the cult's hatred of advanced technology and science and all those who use it.
They seek to convert every settlement in the region to their religion and their group includes Super Mutants and Ghouls from both the Unity, and Ghouls from the Underground Nation.
One of the settlements they have an eye on is Big Town (working name) which they seek to quietly take over.
In reality The Family was started up by the saboteur who severally damaged Vault 87, and forced the vault dweller population to either return to the surface, or dig their way out like the albino mutants who live in Lamplight Caverns.
Believing that the research at Vault 87 was evil the saboteur damaged one of the reactors of the Vault, causing an explosion that sealed of parts of the Vault as well as the release of tremendous doses of radiation which forces the survivors to evacuate.
Some of the survivors who managed to reach the surface in safety joined up with the people of Big Town, bring with them knowledge and resources the town citizens could really use.
But others joined up with the saboteur, forming the beginnings of the Family.
While giving off the appearance of a peaceful religion, in secrecy the Family also maintains an armed force which it uses to attack more advanced settlements and to ambush and kill members of such groups as the Brotherhood of Steel, the Ghouls of the Underground Nation, and the people of Rivet City.
The player can earn the friendship and loyalty of the Family.
Despite their anti technological stance the Family is interested in the Super GECK for promotion of their own agenda.
Allistair Tenpeny
Most wastelanders know Allistair Tenpenny for Tenpenny Tower, a luxury residence for the most wealthy elite of the Capital Wasteland, as well as the pleasure town that is built around the tower where every form of pleasure is offered, from drinks, to gambling, prostitution and the arena where various fights are organized.
Allistair Tenpenny also offers employment in the nearby Robco factory which his technicians rebuild, and is the only location where new robots are manufactured.
Many humans and Ghouls work at this location.
Unknown to most but the higher ups at the BOS, the Underground Nation, and Rivet City, Tenpenny also runs most of the less savory elements of the wasteland; the raiders at Evergreen Mills, and the slavers of Paradise Falls, using these both to increase his influence in the Capital Wasteland.
He also frequently recruits wastelanders to scavenge for rare and unique items in the wasteland.
To maintain security and protection, Tenpenny employs his own group of well armed and trained mercenaries.
The player can make a business deal with Allistair Tenpenny, making him back up the player.
Allistair Tenpenny is also interested in the Super GECK.
The Lobotomites
Strange and almost feral humans who completely cover their bodies in leather armor.
No one exactly knowns where the Lobotomites come from or what their motivations are, communication with them is impossible and they attack everyone except Ghouls and Super Mutants for some reason.
Despite their almost animalistic state the Lobotomites know how to use fire arms and stim packs.
The Lobotomites barely communicate amongst each other but strangely enough are well organized and use tactics.
They seem to search key locations for resources and items and observers claim that the Lobotomites seemingly take orders from a voice only they can hear.
No one has been able to capture a Lobotomite alive or a corpse completely intact.
When Lobotomites are captured or killed for some particular their heads suddenly explode.
When the player later finds an intact Lobotomite corpse or investigates Vault 92 he or she learns that the original Lobotomites were actually the inhabitants of Vault 92 who were studying mental conditioning before their Vault was invaded by Super Mutants led by a Ghoul scientist.
This Ghoul scientist studied the research of the Vault scientists and decided to use it on the residents themselves.
Having suffered persecution at the hands of humans, the Ghoul scientist wants to take revenge on them by turning all humans of the Capital Wasteland into mindless servants to serve the Unity.
Humans the Lobotomites capture are brought back to Vault 92 to be converted.
The process of turning a human into a Lobotomite involves conditioning of the mind to take on complex instructions without hesitation, also a part of their brain is removed to eliminate the individual's free will, and a radio transmitter is installed through which the Ghoul scientist gives instructions to the Lobotomites.
Last an explosive charge is also installed in the head with a chip programmed to make the explosive go off if the Lobotomite is captured or critically injured to prevent the technology to fall in the hands of others.
The process is one way and can not be reversed.
During the game the player can meet the Ghoul scientist and convince him to work with the player instead of trying to turn the player into a Lobotomite.
Currently the range of influence of the Ghoul scientist's transmitter with which he controls the Lobotomites is rather limited due to its weak signal.
The scientist has seen several transmission towers in the wasteland during his journey and will give the player the quest to activate these and set their transmitters on the frequency the Lobotomites' control signal is send, greatly increasing the range on which the scientist can control the Lobotomites.
The Lobotomites would serve as the primary antagonists during the first half of the game, become a secondary threat in the second half.
They can be completely eliminated if the player kills the Ghoul scientist and shuts down Vault 92.
The Underground Nation
A nation of Ghouls who established settlements in the surviving metro hubs and railways of the Capital Wasteland.
As most settlements shun the Ghouls of the Capital Wasteland (survivors from before the war who were horribly mutated by the radiation) they decided to establish a state of their own the former metro system where humans normally never come.
Since then they have successfully established several settlements and trading outposts at various metro stations from where Ghoul scavengers can enter Washington DC and where scavengers from Rivet City or the other settlements can come trade with the Ghouls for the unique items only they possess.
The Underground Nation is maintains a reasonable high level of technology and they trade in high tech items such as computers and generators they have salvaged and repaired.
Rivet City is one of their biggest customers.
The Underground Nation also maintains a vast underground lab where Ghoul scientist perform various research including study on the mutation that causes Ghoulification with the hope of developing treatments to prevent further physical degradation and perhaps one day even reverse the process.
Ghoul armed groups also maintain the main underground trading routes that connect settlements like Fairfax and Rivet City, keeping these clear of raiders and mutant wildlife.
The player can earn the friendship and loyalty of the Ghouls of the Underground Nation.
They are also interested in the Super GECK.
Rivet City
If there is anything resembling the start of a new civilization in the Washington DC area than it would be Rivet City.
Founded by surviving scientists of the Naval Institute after the War in the hull of a crashed aircraft carrier, Rivet City in time attracted people from all over the wasteland who started to rebuild the carrier into a real city.
In the old cargo bays the scientists and technicians established large hydroponic bays to grow food, at first for themselves but in time also to trade it with other settlements such as Canterbury Commons for Brahmin, and the Underground Nation for salvaged technology.
Rivet City also has its own water purification plant, making it independent from the Water Traders' goods.
Currently Rivet City is inhabited by scientists, traders, and salvagers, the last head from Rivet City into the ruins of Washington which they search for items, resources and construction material which they sell back to Rivet City or the other settlements.
While originally just confined to the hold of the carrier, Rivet City has expanded to include both houses on the flight deck and around the land side of the carrier, around which later a wall was built to keep mutant wildlife and raiders out.
The most prosperous citizens live inside the carriers, while middle class and poor live in the town outside the carrier or on the flight deck.
Rivet City is led by the council which maintains a police force to keep order in the city, as well as armed forces to deal with any outside threat that would prey on Rivet City and its citizens.
The council maintains peaceful relations with other settlements such as Fairfax, Canterbury Commons, and Old Olney, they seek to unite all these settlements into a single state for mutual protection and unhindered trade.
Rivet City is somewhat suspicious of the Underground Nation, a possible government that could compete with them and on which they depend for high tech goods such as computers and generators.
Another torn in their side is Allistair Tenpenny whose enterprises hurt Rivet City, he also seeks to gain control of city and its residents.
To increase their influence the Rivet City council funds such long term projects like James' original Super GECK, wanting to use such beneficial technologies to convince other settlements to join up with them.
The player visits Rivet City to meet up with Doctor Li and James' other former colleagues, he or she can also earn the friendship and loyalty of the Rivet Council and convince them to aid the player.
They are also interested in the Super GECK, being the original financiers of the project.
A DJ lives in the radio tower (Three Dog?) who oversees communication between Rivet City, and its forces and salvagers in the Washington DC ruins.
He informs them of potential places to investigate and dangers such as Lobotomite groups to avoid.
To pass the time he runs old LPs he has purchased from various salvagers for the entertainment of listeners in Rivet City and outside.
Like the Ghoul scientist and the Slaver DJ he will ask the player to activate the radio towers throughout the wasteland in order to boost his signal's reach.
The head technician of Rivet City can give the player the quest to pick up some parts of the old MDPL-13 Power Station for parts he needs to repair and optimize Rivet City's working reactor.
The Talon Mercenary Company
A group of mysterious and well armed mercenaries who use the ruins of Fort Bannister as their base of operations.
There is an aura of mystery around the mercenaries as they are almost self sufficient and are not influenced by any outside faction.
Things they can not produce themselves such as food, medicine and weapons they trade for with fresh water of their own, hinting that the Talon mercenaries have a source of clean water as great or perhaps even greater than that of the Water Traders.
In the past people such as Allistair Tenpenny has tried to gain permanent influence over the mercenaries but paid the consequences for his interference when the mercenaries paid his town a visit.
The Talon Mercenaries are the best armed group outside the Brotherhood paladins from Raven Rock and Fort Independence, and the Super Mutant forces from the Unity.
Their most elite units wear Power Armor and use energy weapons.
Rumors go that the Talon Mercenaries get their most advanced weaponry from another pre war military base; Wheaton Armory, where they maintain a second headquarters.
In secret the mercenaries are working for the Vault Overseer of Vault 101 who supplies them with information where they can find advanced weaponry and technology for their forces.
They have been contracted by the Overseer to find James and his Super GECK and bring it back to the Overseer.
The Talon Mercenaries are the main enemy of the second half of the game after the player has met James again, though groups of them can be found in the wasteland during the first half.
They aren't automatically aggressive before this trigger, and can be talked and bartered with.
The Water Traders
An organization of traders which operates from Montgomery County Reservoir, they are one of the biggest sources of clean water in the Capital Wasteland, trading with settlements that have none of their own such as Old Olney.
The Water Traders employ various people as traders, caravan guards or technical personnel to maintain the facility.
Currently the traders have much difficulty with a group of persistent raiders who seek to take over their business.
The Paradise Falls slavers
The headquarters and market of one of the biggest slaver organizations, the slavers and the town are led by Eulogy Jones who maintains control with a firm hand.
Eulogy Jones and his predecessors ran almost every part of the slaver and raider elements in their region of the wasteland until they ran into Allistair Tenpenny who had the same goals.
What followed was a short war between both sides for control of the wasteland until the leaders of both sides realized that there was no real competition between both.
The slavers simply wanted to control all slave capturing and trading business while Tenpenny wanted to control raider activity and the production of alcohol and drugs in the Capital Wasteland, and seeing as both sides desired what the other side has to offer an agreement between Allistair Tenpenny and the Paradise Falls slavers was quickly made.
Paradise Falls is an important market and stop over for the slaver organizations running on the East Coast, and Eulogy Jones has influence over those groups he doesn't control directly.
The biggest opposition to the slavers is Rivet City and leaders of those settlements that do not allow slavery.
Technically there should be no hostility between the slavers and the Ghouls of the Underground Nation as there is no demand for Ghoul slaves, but the slavers enjoy to occasionally shoot the 'shambling meat bags'.
Rumors go that the Unity occasionally buys slaves from the Slavers.
One of the Paradise Falls slavers' key assets is the WKML radio station which they use to coordinate their raiding operations and to allow communication amongst the various slaver groups.
The slaver DJ operates from this building, and the slavers have set up a camp outside to ensure that wastelanders and mutant wildlife can not make unexpected visits.
The player could meet up with the DJ who would give him a quest, in order to expand the signal which would allow the slavers to cover a larger area, several radio towers in the region must be activated and configured to work on the Slaver' radio signal, significantly boosting the radio range.
(these are the same towers as the Vault 92 quest)
Evergreen Mills
A large raider camp that is the front of a large underground raider town where raiders come to spend their caps for booze and entertainment.
Allistair Tenpenny controls Evergreen Mills from the shadow and makes a profit on the sale of alcohol, drugs and prostitution.
Much to the annoyance of some raiders, they are not allowed in Tenpenny's party town as he doesn't want the raiders to scare away his regular clients and customers, or insult Tenpenny Tower's rich tenants with their presence.
Evergreen Mills is also important for slavers as a stop over before heading to Paradise Falls.
Fairfax
Originally the ruins of the old Fairfax until survivors of Washington DC and other destroyed settlements came here together and rebuild the town.
Since then Fairfax has become an important trading location due to Fairfax Metro Station that connects to Washington DC and the Underground Nation and Rivet City that are located in the former Capital or near it.
Traders of Canterbury Commons and Old Olney also visit the town to bring their goods, and many adventurers and scavengers start their journeys here.
Originally Fairfax maintained a small force of defenders of their own until the Brotherhood arranged a deal with the leaders of Fairfax for use of the nearby Fort Independence.
In return for use of the fort, BOS paladins assist with the defense of the town, a relation which is beneficial for both.
The BOS forces stationed at Fort Independence need Fairfax for the continues flow of supplies that go through it, and the citizens of Fairfax are protected by soldiers better armed than anything in the wasteland.
After the player emerges from the Vault, this is the location he or she most likely will visit first.
Canterbury Commons
The trading hub of the Capital Wasteland, almost all trade flows through Canterbury Commons and the town facilitates many stores and other means of support for visiting traders such as restaurants and brahmin markets.
The town is surrounded by several farms which breed brahmin for meat and milk products as well as beasts of burden.
Unfortunate this also has attracted the attention of brahmin rustlers.
The town leaders themselves are also not above corruption either and there are stories of the mayor and his council having disowned farmers in order to acquire their farms.
One other source of employment and goods is the small mine outside the town, but recently giant ants have invaded the mine, preventing miners from doing their work.
On the other side of the town is the Robot Repair Center, originally both a store and a workshop where robots were repaired, it has been taken over by a peculiar but peaceful cult of people who call themselves the Techs.
Despite their odd nature the Techs are in general welcome as they have a greater understanding of technology than most of the town residents, including the knowledge on how to fix it.
For some peculiar reason the Techs like to dress as robots, fashioning costumes from robot parts
Old Olney
The last town up North before one reaches the Commonwealth, Old Olney is an important stop over for the caravans who travel between the both locations.
As the town wasn't hit as hard as some of the other settlements in the region by the effects of the War, a lot of the buildings are still standing, including its hospital.
Old Olney also has an underground power plants of its own, being one of the few settlements that has the luxury of electricity.
Unfortunate the town is currently suffering from the Lobotomites from Vault 92 as well as a pack of Deathclaws who have taken residence somewhere under the town.
Oasis/The Primary Test Site
This is the location where James and his fellow scientists from Rivet City set up their research lab. The location was specifically chosen because it was out of reach of most settlements, there for most likely ignored by slavers and raiders, and offered seclusion for experiments to be carried out.
Underneath the valley was a Pre War installation that had neither been used or abandoned long ago, it was cleaned out and the scientists and technicians converted it into a laboratory and living quarters, buying technology from the Underground Nation such as generators and computers to fill the facility in properly.
Despite their seclusion James felt that security measures had to be taken so fences were placed around the mountain surrounding the valley, and force fields were placed at all entrances.
Security robots were also installed and mines were placed to deal with any hostile lifeforms.
A small settlement was also build nearby from where observers could look out for any threats.
The scientists at Oasis made some significant progress on research of revitalizing the wasteland and the development of the Super GECK when Harold came across the location and managed to get entrance.
James took a liking to the friendly Ghoul and was impressed by his intelligence, so he convinced his fellow scientists to allow Harold to stay and help the team out.
The scientists actually managed to revive the soil in the valley, allowing Pre War plants to grow once more, but they ran into difficulty when they tried to recreate their success outside.
Unfortunate by this time somehow unsavory elements had taken notice of the valley and were constantly testing its defenses in order to get entrance.
The robots and the mines proved to be more than sufficient for raiders and slavers but the scientists at the Oasis grew tired of the besieged state they were in.
With the research having slowed down they urged James that they should return to Rivet City to show what progress they had made to the council.
James had problems of his own, his wife had died during labor and he now had to raise a child.
Feeling that the Oasis was not save enough, despite its seclusion he decided to make use of his contact at Vault 101 and go there to raise his child after being escorted there by his Brotherhood allies.
Most of the other scientists left but a handful of staff members which included technicians and guards opted to stay behind to maintain the valley and the facility and enjoy the greenery.
Harold also stayed behind on James request and in time became the leader of the people living at the Oasis.
One of the player's goals is to gain access to the Oasis and meet up with the people there while looking for James and the Super GECK.
Unfortunate soon after gaining entrance the Talon Mercenaries attack the Oasis, forcing the people to evacuate.
Either James is here or has asked Harold to take the player with him to safety, should anything threaten the Oasis and the people there.
Vault 101
The so called jewel of the Capital Wasteland.
Vault 101 was part of project Safehous before the War and was originally intended to house a community of Vault Dwellers and equipment until the day would come they could return to the surface to start rebuild.
Some time before 2077 the US Government (and perhaps the Enclave through them) decided to re purpose a number of Vaults for different purposes.
Not just content at preserving humanity and maintaining its level of technology, the US government wanted to make sure that technological progress would continue after the War and expanded a number of Vaults with extensive research and development labs as well as production facilities.
Vault 101 was one of those chosen Vaults to continue on scientific development.
Its particular field of science would be advanced physics, computers, cybernetics, and robotics, and its scientific staff made up of various members of West Tek, General Atomics, Poseidon Energy, and various other high tech corporations.
The staff at the Vault made various incredible advances but focused mostly on power sources, weaponry, and robotics.
One of their key projects was Liberty Prime, a colossal war machine that had originally been intended to be used in the campaign against China.
The robot didn't get finished in time and the US government moved it to Vault 101 to insure that it would not be destroyed during the coming fire storm.
Work on Liberty Prime continued after the War and the Overseer plans to unleash it on anyone who would stand in the way of the new civilization the vault dwellers of Vault 101 will establish under his leadership.
Vault 101 is both the start and end location of the game, and the player must gain access to the laboratory in order to confront the Overseer and his security forces.
Lamplight Caverns.
Originally a tourist attraction, Lamplight caverns became home to a group of light sensitive albino mutants after an explosion damaged the nearby Vault 87.
Originally these mutants were vault dwellers of this Vault, but when one of the reactors exploded, parts of the Vault had been sealed off and these vault dwellers were trapped underground without any way of escaping to the surface.
The explosion had also releases severe radiation that was slowly rendering the Vault uninhabitable and had also released some of the viruses and micro organisms that the scientists in the laboratory had been studying, infecting the underground survivors without them knowing it.
Having to escape the Vault before the radiation would kill them, the survivors had no choice but to dig to the nearby Lamplight Caverns, hoping that these would still lead to the surface.
But during the months underground they were slightly mutated by the radiation and the micro organisms that by the time they finally broke through into the caverns and went to the entrance that they became severally sick when directly exposed to sunlight.
The mutation has altered the vault dweller survivors and their offspring so that UV light can sicken them and even kill them if they are exposed to long.
This forces the mutant population to travel at night when they go outside, and completely cover their bodies.
Unfortunate this has given the poor survivors a rather bad reputation amongst the people of the wasteland, thinking that they are some kind of monsters and carry diseases.
As a result most of the survivor descendants live in the caverns their ancestors dug access too.
Vault 87
Another one of the Vaults that had been re purposed by the US government to serve as a research facility and residence for the assigned scientists.
Vault 87's research was focused on biology, in particular micro biology and biochemistry.
Fearing that the Chinese might use extensive bio warfare during the War and the effects or radiation and other mutagens afterwards, the goal of this Vault was to develop cure and vaccines for vault dwellers and the members of the US government, as well as bioweapons of their very own to use against the Chinese.
This Vault survived relatively intact and its inhabitants continued with their work in the decades afterwards until one of the members of the vault dweller community who wasn't part of the scientist staff discovered the nature of the Vault and decided that it was to evil to exist. (he blamed scientific knowledge for the War in the first place)
This saboteur managed to alter the proper workings of one of the Vault's reactors, causing an explosion that sealed off parts of the lower Vault sections, and releasing large doses of radiation that forced the survivors on the upper levels to evacuate.
Afterwards this saboteur would found the Family to continue his anti technology agenda.
Decades later the Unity would come to the Capital Wasteland to come look for Vault 87 and the research it contained as well as the DNA analyzer and recombinator chamber with the hope of using it to study the vial of pure FEV their leader had brought along.
The Super Mutants and Ghoul technicians cleared up most of the damage of the explosion, not suffering from any lingering radiation and restored the remaining reactor back to proper working.
Some of the laboratory facilities and computer systems were still working and the Unity's scientists started their work.
Unfortunate even with Ghouls who were scientists before the war the Unity's work didn't make much progress as they lacked an true expert on the field of virology.
The Unity started to look for such a person in the Wasteland, learning about Vault 112 in the process.
Vault 112
As part of their re purposing Vault 112 would become a very special preservation Vault.
Wanting to preserve some of the best minds of their generation for the time when the US government had need of them again, they installed cryogenic hibernation units which had been developed for the space program, in this Vault.
All these units would be connected to a super computer that would run a virtual reality program to keep the hibernating scientists' minds occupied while they waited for the day that the Vault would be unsealed again.
Unfortunate for the scientists, one of them; Dr Stanislaus Braun gained access to the master control program of the simulation and started to run scenarios to run his own depraved fantasies, submitting the other scientists to a variety of psychological torture scenarios.
Braun would have happily lived his little fantasies if it had not been for an invasion of Super Mutants.
Gruntar's forces, looking for experts on biochemistry and virology wanted to wake up the scientists and bring them to Vault 87 to make them work on the Unity's projects there.
Unfortunate for Braun the Vault's security robots were no match for the determined Super Mutants, and he was forced to make a deal with the leader of the Super Mutant expedition to preserve his little private paradise.
In return for the expert the Super Mutants wanted, they would leave Braun and the rest of the hibernating scientists alone.
The Super Mutants agreed and left the Vault with the confused scientist.
The player can later meet this scientist in Vault 87 and fill him in on what is really happening.
The player can decide to free the scientist and bring him to a location where he would be accepted;
This would either Vault 101, where the scientist joins the population.
Raven Rock where the scientist would join the Brotherhood and undergo training as a scribe.
Or Rivet City where the scientist joins the scientific community.
Vault 108
Another Vault the Unity Super Mutants were interested in.
Like Vault 87, 92, 101, 108 was expanded with a research facility where scientists could perform research, in this case on the field of cloning.
Unfortunate for the vault dwellers the scientists' cloning experiments ran out of hand and the idiotic but violent clones became a threat to the normal population.
After a severe fight the normal vault dwellers were forced to leave and some of them later joined up with the people of Canterbury Commons, leaving Vault 108 under control of the clones.
The Unity considered using cloning as a replacement of biological reproduction and invaded the Vault with the idea of expecting to find a population of scientists and their families.
Instead they found a large population of violent and stupid clones who furiously attacked the invaders.
The clones soon learned a harsh lesson when the Super Mutants returned fire with their heavy weapons and turned most of them into bloody pulp.
The Super Mutants soon took over the Vault with the purpose of continuing the experiments and the clones were put to use as laborers, a task they are in general ineffectual for as even they even botch up the most simple of tasks.
The Super Mutants own experiments with cloning didn't fare any better than those of the original Vault scientists as their attempts to clone Super Mutants resulted in violent barely humanoid creatures that have no semblance of intelligence whatsoever.
Currently the Super Mutants are using the Vault as a base and salvage it for components and technology for their main base in the region.
Edit: damn I made some grammar errors when writing this.
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