The following is based on Fallout Bible developer commentary.
Fallout Bible 3 is the third installment of the Fallout Bible, a collection of documents containing background material for the first Fallout games compiled and written by Chris Avellone. This installment was released on February 11, 2002.
The following is the original document or a transcript thereof.
Fallout Bible Update
9/13/2003 12:34:00 AM
Web guys For any translators, I have a version highlighted in green that shows all the changes except for the segments that I chopped out (which you'll probably need to check against the old translation). I would send a warning to any translators that the timeline below can and probably will change again, so they might want to hold off until another draft (and at least until the public can throw their comments in for any errors I may have included).
Again, if you guys ever have any movie or book suggestions that you think have interesting material relating to the Fallout genre, don't hesitate to email me. Again, my contact information is:
Suggestions for material to include in the Bible, questions about Fallout events, and suggestions for good source material are welcome, but I cannot give hints or walkthroughs for the game, provide technical support, answer questions outside of Fallout 1 or 2, or read fan fiction or fan-created material for Fallout. There's nothing more frustrating than getting Fallout fan stories, because I can't read them.
I may not be able to respond to every email you send, but I guarantee I will read them all and try to give you a response when I can.
To the above, I would also add any music suggestions for fifties-style tunes... we're running a Fallout Pen and Paper game at work, and I need theme music pretty badly.
Some of the information contained within this documentation could ruin some surprises in Fallout 1 and 2, so watch out for spoilers.
The next addition will be Monday, February 25. I don't know what's going to be in yet.
I wanted to add more, but revising the timeline took a lot more out of me than I thought.
Translators be warned: the information below may undergo revisions based on feedback, so you might want to wait until the next update to make sure the information below stays solid.
Thanks for supporting Fallout,
Chris Avellone down here at Black Isle Studios
Questions, questions
This submission we answer a few questions, the first one from Albert:
1. Here's a question that everyone would like to have answered. Why is Lynette such a bitch? Is she a jet baby? Was she abused as a youngster? Did she have a series of sordid love affairs that all went horribly wrong and warped her into a domineering cynic? Or she just acting like a typical Vault City citizen? - Albert.
Answer: Yes, Lynette is a bitch if you're not a Citizen. As the figurehead for Vault City, she was supposed to embody the worst arrogance and condescension that Vault City has to offer (traits that are not present in all the citizens, as McClure and others prove). Furthermore, I suspect that she was made a black character to add an additional edge to her hypocrisy over slavery, but I guess you'd have to ask the original designers about that - Mark O'Green and I wrote Lynette's dialogue, but we were working off of an older design that (I think) Jason Anderson had written.
As for why Lynette's a bitch... well, Lynette does have an extreme managerial, economic, and efficient soul, and she's used to getting her way. She wasn't abused, tortured, or twisted in any way when she was young, she just got a certain privileged and superiority complex hardwired into her head around five or six years old, and she's never been the same. She's always known that she was destined to lead the Vault 8 Citizens, and that power has gone to her head.
She's been the leader of Vault City for many, many years, and she's seen the worst that the wasteland has to offer - but rather than taking sympathy on the poor souls that have come to Vault City for protection, she has instead taken the view that these "outlanders" were simply not strong or smart enough to achieve what Vault City has, and thus, are inferior. She tends to work too much and too hard, and she sees all her time as precious, so she has little patience for socializing without a purpose (i.e., if it doesn't involve politicking, she's going to be working late at the office instead) or for people dropping in and wasting her time.
As expected, Lynette has had no positive romantic relationships up until her potential relationship with Westin from NCR in the endgame of Fallout 2. She's had little time for anything other than her job, and that's her focus - if anyone throws her job or decisions into question, buckle up, because she takes it as the worst sort of personal attack.
Lynette uses any negative situation involving outlanders to reinforce her beliefs and disregards or ignores any positive aspects - she's single-minded and set in her ways. The fact that she (and Vault City) had an "environmental welcome mat" stretched out for them (with the GECK) when they emerged from Vault 8 meant they suffered little hardship in comparison to other struggling communities, but this simply doesn't factor into her thinking. She believes that Vault City and the Vault citizens have survived and thrived because they are a superior breed of human - smarter, better, and more capable than the human trash that prowls the wasteland.
Anyway, there you go.
And three questions from Deadlus:
2. Is military base part of enclave or something? (sorry i'am not good at english :) but I think that you know what i wanted to say) - Deadlus
Unknown. The Mariposa Military Base was constructed for the purposes of FEV experimentation on human beings, and considering the nature of the "volunteers" (military prisoners who didn't have their brains scooped for use in brain bots) and the lack of any shred of ethics in the experimentation procedures, it is possible the Enclave had something to do with the experiments at Mariposa. In Mariposa records, however, the Military Base is never mentioned as under the direction of any organization called the "Enclave," and Colonel Spindel, head of the military squad stationed at the base, never indicated any Enclave allegiance... nor did Chief Scientist Anderson in the last few minutes before Maxson put a bullet through his skull.
Still, the existence of the Mariposa Military Base was listed in Enclave records, and this enabled the Enclave to find the base and begin their excavations, so it is possible that some elements of the Pre-War Enclave had their fingers in the horrors taking place at Mariposa. They held the site for many years, but abandoned it after obtaining the FEV samples... and noting the high incidence of mutation among the worker slaves and some of their soldiers, including Frank Horrigan.
3. The boss (richard grey or someone) in f1 was in the vault, which vault is it? - Deadlus
The Vault "Grey" (originally Moreau) started out in before his mutation into the Master was Vault 8 and the Vault you find him in in Fallout 1 was a test/demonstration Vault constructed by Vault-Tec and has no number (according to Chris Taylor - thanks to Nick Garrott for letting me know about Vault 13's stash on this stuff). Relevant quote:
Saint_Proverbius: Which vault number was the Master's base?
Chris Taylor: The Master was in the Vault-Tec private vault. This was the demonstration model built for the federal government, it was also very close to the Vault-Tec headquarters
4. So richard grey was the first vault dweller not the main character in FO1, and why did he left his vault??? - Deadlus
According to Lynette in Fallout 2, Richard was exiled from Vault 8 for murder. The details of the murder are unknown and judging from the hypocrisy filling Vault City] the entire incident is questionable.
One question is from Peeyack, sent via Kreegle of Vault 13 fame:
5. Why in the final scene in Fallout 1 and 2 nothing is said about players friendly NPCs ? I'd love to know what happened to Marcus, Tycho, Ian, Cassidy or Vic afterwards. - Kreegle
Fallout 1: I don't know why. Tim and the Troika crew apparently ended up doing this for the NPCs in Arcanum, though.
Well, according to the manual in Fallout 2 (written by Chris Taylor), Ian bit the bullet in Necropolis, and Dogmeat died in the Mariposa Military Base. Tycho and Katja are not mentioned, so it's assumed they didn't join the Vault Dweller. Still, even though it's mentioned in the manual, I'd substitute your own experiences with them and let that be the true history... even though Dogmeat's pretty likely to bite it in the Military Base because of those damn force fields and because you can't tell him to park his doggie ass in a safe place (without locking him in a force field cage).
In any event, I'll try to include alternate endings for these characters depending on what you did in the game. Your actions should make a difference.
And the last two questions are from Richard Grey from Vault 13 via his neurolink to the Cathedral computers:
6. According to Chris A., the ghouls in V12 were exposed to radiation and FEV. I know Harold said the vault door opened early or something, so the radiation bit makes sense. My question is, how were the ghouls of Vault 12 exposed to FEV? Harold was a special case, since he went to the Vats with... er... someone, whose shall remain nameless... and got dipped. How do you account for the others? - Richard Grey
When the West Tek research facility was hit, it shattered the FEV storage tanks on levels four and five and released the FEV into the atmosphere. Through some means, perhaps propelled by the explosion, the virus was able to reach the ghouls quickly and the mutation process began even as the radiation was rotting away their bodies. How the virus was able to survive the blast without being sterilized is unknown... it would depend on what type of warhead cracked the West Tek facility like an egg.
Actually, Harold never said he got dipped (although it's possible). He was exposed, however - being in close proximity to FEV is enough to cause mutations, as the Enclave slaves mining Mariposa discovered. I imagine the shield between the vats and the control room in Mariposa was meant to keep the virus contained.
7. What the heck was Frank Horrigan? A supermutant in powered armor? A cybernetically enhanced human? A robot? A cybernetically enhanced robotic super mutant in powered armor? Also, if he was mutated, why did the Enclave put up with him? Did they make a distinction between FEV induced mutation and radiation induced mutation? - Richard Grey
Frank Horrigan is a munchkin's worse nightmare: as far as I can find in the documentation, he's a mutant in Power Armor (whether he's technically a super mutant is debatable, since the scientists operated on him so much and tweaked his DNA and physiology it's hard to tell what the final result would have been if he had been left to change on his own).
As for being a mutant, here's an excerpt from the last update:
"It's important to note that Horrigan has never considered himself a mutant; only the scientists at the Enclave would consider him one, but they mostly referred to him as an "experiment," and even then, not to his face. Most soldiers considered Horrigan a walking nuke, something the tech boys built, and they were not generally aware of his mutant status. Most did consider him a freak, however, and there were few soldiers who wanted to accompany him on missions."
They didn't make a distinction as much as an exception. Not many people were aware of his mutant status or could recognize him as a mutant... and those people saw him as more of an altered human experiment than a mutant. It's all semantics. And selective bigotry.
For fan fiction purposes, it's also possible he was just a genetically engineered monster whipped up by the Enclave... and that's what Segeant Granite assumes about him:
"He's some genetically engineered freak is what he is. Used to be the President's bodyguard. Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan. Now he's more than half machine."
Question for you guys
This is a question since BIS is going to keep making RPGs, but some questions I've always been curious about for any of you who still play pen-and-paper games when you have access to computer ones - why? Are there any special qualities about pen-and-paper that make you keep playing them over a computer game or a massively online multiplayer game?
Just curious - we have a dedicated pen-and-paper (and boardgame) base at Black Isle, and we have our opinions, but I'd like to hear yours. If you've got some thoughts on it, feel free to email me at:
If you guys ever need some war posters to throw some spice into a Fallout campaign or just for some window dressing, here's two good links for old war posters, courtesy of JE Sawyer:
The first site says updates are on the way, so I still check it every once in a while to see what they've got up this week.
If you guys know any other cool Fallout-related links, let me know.
Fallout 1 archeology
I'm going to try and start including all the key words you can ask the talking heads in Fallout 1 with the "Tell Me Abouts." This may not be a complete list, but these are all the ones listed in the design documentation. There is no documentation I can find for the non-talking heads, but if you happen to know any or find any other talking head key words I miss, let me know.
For Fallout fan-fiction purposes, you are welcome to make use of the psykers and their potential from Fallout 1, but I'd be careful - the psykers in Fallout 1 show some pretty over-the-top mutations that could take the world to Childhood's End faster than you can say "uh, his eyes are glowing?"
In any event, of the four psykers in the Master's lair, Wiggum was electrokinetic-dominant, Lucy was telekinetic-dominant and a minor photokinetic, Moore was pyrokinetic-dominant, and Gideon was a receiving-telepathic-dominant (without the ability to control his telepathy, requiring the psychic nullifier to block incoming thoughts) with minor photokinetic abilities.
In the Fallout Bible, all psykers were officially wiped from the genre when the Cathedral was vaporized in nuclear fire. It is most likely the Master was able to somehow bring forth psychic abilities in certain humans after they were injected with FEV, but most of the experiments were failures (resulting in insanity) or used to line the corridor of revulsion.
Brotherhood of Steel disk
I'm trying to finalize information on the Brotherhood of Steel, and annoyingly enough, I can't seem to find the following excerpt from the .msg files anywhere in Fallout 1. If anyone can tell me how to get it, or, as a bonus, give me a screenshot of the contents, I'd appreciate it. It's quickly becoming a source of frustration.
# *** Brotherhood of Steel Honor Code ***
# *** Maxson's History ***
{7000}{}{My father was a security guard at a secret military base}
{7001}{}{in the desert of southern California. A typical MP, I}
{7002}{}{remember mostly his strength. When it came time for}
{7003}{}{the revolution, I respected his convictions. He stayed}
{7004}{}{behind, to help those who were disabled and wounded,}
{7005}{}{even the scis. He put the well being of myself and my}
{7006}{}{mother into the hands of his best friend, and ordered}
{7007}{}{us into the desert with the other rebels.}
{7008}{}{**END-PAR**}
# -
{7009}{}{We, very few, marched into the wastes. The only thought}
{7010}{}{on my mind was that I would never see my father again.}
{7011}{}{He knew that to stay behind was death. And still, he}
{7012}{}{stayed. He respected the flag, the CIC and the badge}
{7013}{}{that he wore.}
{7014}{}{**END-PAR**}
# -
{7015}{}{What an idiot.}
{7016}{}{**END-PAR**}
# -
{7017}{}{He died for the sins of others. That will never happen}
{7018}{}{again to us. We will become self-sufficient. We will}
{7019}{}{become keepers of knowledge and lore. We will survive}
{7020}{}{the end of civilization. We will take responsibility}
{7021}{}{for our actions, and we will hold accountable the}
{7022}{}{actions of others.}
{7023}{}{**END-PAR**}
# -
{7024}{}{This I pledge to you, Maxson, my son. The Brotherhood}
{7025}{}{of Steel is justly named. We are a Brotherhood. Unlike}
{7026}{}{my father, we will stand back to back with those that}
{7027}{}{share our convictions and beliefs. We are Steel. We are}
{7028}{}{hard. We have been sharpened to and edge.}
{7029}{}{**END-PAR**}
# -
{7030}{}{Always remember the fires that we were forged in.}
{7031}{}{Never forget. }
{7032}{}{The motto from a previous time, and our motto now.}
{7033}{}{**END-DISK**}
Timeline repair: Second strike
Aside from my comments about Horrigan and the Wannamingoes last update, here's a repaired timeline based on your feedback (thanks again to everyone who sent msg files and screenshots - all of it was extremely helpful). There are heavy revisions to when the Enclave discovered the Military Base, when Melchior was captured, the true Exodus of the BOS and the events surrounding the FEV research at the West Tek Research Facility and Mariposa.
All the factual changes are highlighted in green. Any year events that were removed or switched around have not had their omissions highlighted, however.
Again, this is not a final draft, since I imagine I will find more problems in it later on and as I get feedback from you guys. Thanks again for looking it over.
BTW, even though information is included on the Vault Dweller's journey in Fallout 1 below, you don't have to use it - it was included in the F2 manual, and it does tell you what happened to Ian and Dogmeat. (Granted, the Dogmeat in the F2 special encounter technically was "Dogmeat," but it was a special encounter, so he shouldn't be considered as the real Dogmeat from Fallout 1, if that makes any sense.)
Seeking to protect business interests and their oil supply, the United States begins to exert increasing pressure on Mexico, citing the political instability and pollution stemming from Mexico as a threat to the United States. Various economic sanctions serve to destabilize Mexico, and the United States military enters Mexico to keep the oil refineries running and making sure oil and fuel continue to make their way north across the border... at Mexico's expense.
A television documentary into the withered husk of the Texas oil fields brings the oil shortage into the American households, and reveals how deep the energy crisis runs.
The Resource Wars begin. Many smaller nations go bankrupt, and Europe, dependent on oil imports from the Middle East, responds to the Middle East's rising oil prices with military action. The long drawn-out war between the European Commonwealth and the Middle East begins.
The United Nations, already suffering, begins to collapse. In a series of heated debates, many nations withdraw from the organization as the UN tries to keep the peace. At the end of July, the United Nations is disbanded.
The socially transmitted "New Plague" arises, killing tens of thousands. The United States closes its borders and the first-ever national quarantine is declared. The source of the plague is unknown, but rumors persist that it is a genetically engineered weapon.
In light of the Euro-Middle-Eastern conflict and the plague scare, the United States sets Project Safehouse in motion. The project, financed by junk bonds, is designed to create shelters, called Vaults, for the populace in the event of a nuclear war or deadly plague. Construction begins late in 2054 and proceeds rapidly due to advances in construction technology.
ZAX 1.0 goes on-line, developed by Vault-Tec. Initially a prototype of some of the systems designed to govern the vaults, it is given to the government to help the Department of Energy collect resource data. Within a year, it is taken by the military for plague and tactical research; one version, ZAX 1.2 is constructed for West Tek (below).
The West Tek Research Facility starts working on a new virus to kill the New Plague. Their viral research and close ties to the federal government eventually lead to them being chosen for the Pan-Immunity Virion Project twenty years later as well as Power Infantry Armor and laser research.
ZAX 1.2 is brought in to regulate conditions in West Tek. It is not part of the Vault-Tec preservation software, so it does not have any orders to protect humanity after the bombs fall. In the meantime, it calmly calculates data and plays chess with the scientists. Many scientists claim that ZAX is a big ol' cheater and draws the game out too much for a computer of his considerable abilities.
The Anchorage Front Line is established, as the United States increases its military presence in Alaska to protect its oil interests. The Anchorage Front Line causes tensions in the United States and Canada, as the United States attempts to pressure Canada into allowing American military units to guard the Alaskan pipeline.
The first artificial intelligence is born. Limited by memory constraints, its expansion is rapidly halted. The discovery paves the way for future AI research in laboratories throughout the United States.
Traffic on the streets of the world stops moving. Fuel becomes too precious to waste on automobiles, so alternatives are explored - electric and fusion cars begin to be manufactured, but factories can only make limited amounts. Pressure on fusion research increases.
The Euro-Middle Eastern War ends as the oil fields in the Middle East run dry... there is no longer a goal in the conflict, and both sides are reduced almost to ruin.
The construction of most Vaults completed, except for Vault 13, whose construction finally gets off the ground... heralding a development cycle that seems plagued with problems. Drills begin in the other cities with completed Vaults, but the increasing frequency of the drills has a "cry wolf" effect, and the turnouts for drills trickle off as the years go on.
Due to enormous demands for electricity in the summer of 2065, a nuclear reactor in New York City almost goes critical. The near meltdown brings into effect power rationing, and the term "Hot Summer" is used to refer to the New York incident.
Increasing need for mobility in the United States mechanized cavalry leads the military to focus the efforts on creating a man-based tank - essentially, a two-legged walking armored unit: Power Armor.
Power Armor research grows and several prototypes are developed, many of which prove to be unworkable in the field. These prototypes pave the way for future advances in military, construction, and fusion technology.
As the oil resources dry up across the globe, China's fossil fuel dependency causes an energy crisis in the nation. China, bordering on collapse, becomes more aggressive in its trade talks with the United States. Unwilling to export oil to China, talks between the United States and China break down.
Adding further insult to the Chinese-American relations, the first crude fusion cell is unveiled, one of the results of the Power Armor project. Devices designed for the fusion cell begin to be manufactured. Incorporating fusion power into the general US infrastructure begins, but the process is too slow to supply power to the regions that need it. Nearly thirteen years later, few sections of the United States were supplied with fusion power.
As a sign of increasing tension between the two countries, Canada proves reluctant to allow American troops on Canadian soil or allow American planes to fly over Canadian airspace. The United States and Canadian tensions rise, but Canada eventually backs down, and US troops pass through Canada. This sets the stage for the Canadian annexation in 2076.
The first suit of Power Armor is deployed in Alaska. While lacking the full mobility of future versions, this Power Armor is incredibly effective against Chinese tanks and infantry. Its ability to carry heavy ordinance becomes key in various localized conflicts, and it has the power to destroy entire towns without endangering the wearer. China rushes to create its own versions, but they are many years behind the United States.
Canada begins to feel the pressure from the United States military as the US draws upon Canadian resources for the war effort. Vast stretches of timberland are destroyed, and other resources in Canada are stretched to the breaking point. Many Americans refer to Canada as Little America, and Canadian protests are unheard.
Vault 13 is finally completed - it is the last of the Vaults, and drills begin. Due to its late completion, the "cry wolf" effect that hurt the other Vaults is not as pronounced.
The first of the Chryslus motors fusion-driven cars are developed. Reassuringly big and American, the limited models carry a hefty price tag but are sold out within days. Many Chryslus plants have long since been converted into making military ordinance.
The United States' increasing demand for Canadian resources causes protests and riots in several Canadian cities. An attempted sabotage attempt of the Alaskan pipeline is all the military needs as an excuse to begin its annexation of Canada... which in fact, had already begun in 2067.
As China becomes increasingly aggressive with their use of biological weapons, the United States government felt that a countermeasure was needed. The Pan-Immunity Virion Project (PVP) is officially formed and plans are made to begin experiments at the West Tek research facility in Southern California.
Contrary to their claims of seeking only to retake Alaska from the Reds, American Power Armor units, infantry, and mechanized divisions are deployed to China, but they become bogged down on the mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines.
PVP experiments continue at West Tek with batch 10-011, in the wake of successful tests of the virus on single-celled organisms. Experiments on plant cells are postponed. The pan-immunity virion is renamed FEV - the Forced Evolutionary Virus.
FEV experiments continue at Mariposa with batch 10-011, in the wake of successful tests on flatworms, the flatworms exhibit increase size and heightened resistance to viral contagions. Experiments with insects have less success, and further experimentation on insects is postponed by Major Barnett.
FEV experimentation (batch 10-011) on rabbits is concluded. Increased size, intelligence, and (this time) aggressiveness is noted. Apparently, it was hard to determine whether the flatworms in the previous experiments were angrier and more violent than normal. Frankly, the researchers cannot be blamed for this.
Splicing in several new gene sequences into their test virus, dogs are injected with batch 11-101a at Mariposa. Although increased strength was noted, increased intelligence was not.
The United States annexation of Canada is complete. Canadian protestors and rioters are shot on sight, and the Alaskan Pipeline swarms with American military units. Pictures of atrocities make their way to the United States, causing further unrest and protests.
Using batch 11-011, experiments are conducted on raccoons. Same results are noted, but the attempted escape of several infected raccoons causes Major Barnett to terminate the escape... and the test subjects. Two pairs of raccoons, however, are unaccounted for.
Once all secondary tests and studies are done on the test subjects, all dogs from the batch 11-101a FEV tests at Mariposa are terminated... from a safe distance.
Power Armor prototype completed, resulting in the Power Armor players find in Fallout 1. This is the pinnacle of Power Armor technology before the Great War. Many of these units are sent to China, and they begin to carve a swath through the Chinese forces. The Chinese resources are strained to the breaking point, and the supply lines from the nations China has annexed begin to break down.
Food and energy riots begin in major cities throughout the United States. Military units begin to be deployed in cities within the United States to contain rioters, and many temporary jails are constructed. A state of emergency is declared, and martial law soon follows.
At West Tek, fifteen chimpanzees are infected with batch 11-111. The most successful test to date, growth and immunities in the chimpanzees surpass all other subjects to date. The military practically drools over the results. Plans are made in secret to begin testing in small quarantine towns in North America, and the Mariposa Military Base construction is sped up in anticipation of moving the West Tek project to a location under military supervision.
The first domestic use of Power Armor within the United States for crowd and quarantine control. Units originally serving in China and the Anchorage Front Line find themselves fighting Americans at home. Food riots increase, and many civilians are killed. Several soldiers defect from the military both in Canada and the United States. They are captured, and are sent to military prisons.
FEV Research is leaked to the world through an unknown source. Protests in many major cities and governments around the world, as well as accusations that the US was responsible for the New Plague. FEV is seen as the threat it is, and serves only to fuel tensions.
Prepared for a nuclear or biological attack from China, the president and the Enclave retreats to remote sections around the globe and make contingency plans for continuing the war.
Captain Roger Maxson and his men discover that the scientists at Mariposa have been using "military volunteers" (military prisoners who didn't have their brains scooped for use in Brain Bots) as test subjects in their experiments. Morale in the base breaks down, and Maxson executes Anderson, the chief scientist. Not long after this (and in light of the breakdown of the mental breakdown of Colonel Spindel stationed at the base), Maxson's men turn to him for leadership. He shrugs and says "we should quit."
Captain Roger Maxson, now in control of Mariposa, declares himself to be in full desertion from the army (via radio)... and nothing happens. Worried, Maxson orders all families stationed outside the base moved inside the Mariposa facility.
Great War: Bombs are launched; who struck first is unknown... and it is not even known if the bombs came from China or America. Air raid sirens sound, but very few people go into vaults, thinking it is a false alarm. The Vaults are sealed.
Necropolis Vault [Vault 12] never closes. Once it becomes known that the other vaults have sealed, people within Bakersfield attempt to force their way into Vault 12 to protect themselves and their families.
The West Tek research facility is hit by warheads, breaking open the FEV tanks on levels four and five and releasing it into the atmosphere. Once exposed to radiation, it begins to mutate and infect humans and critters in the wasteland and dooming the player character in F1 and F2 to endure hordes of random encounters.
Two days later at Mariposa, a scout in Power Armor (Platner) is sent out to get specific readings on the atmosphere. He reports no significant radiation in the area surrounding the facility.
After burying the scientists in the wastes outside of Mariposa, the soldiers seal the military base, then head out into the desert, taking supplies and weapon schematics with them. Captain Maxson leads his men and families to the government bunker at Lost Hills. (This event was called the "Exodus," and the surviving soldiers went on to eventually form the Brotherhood of Steel.)
Note: Although Maxson's points in his holodisk indicated that civilian personnel (presumably families of the scientists or other civilians not associated with the military) were to remain at the base, whether they did or not is unknown.
Captain Maxson, his men, and their families, arrive at the Lost Hills bunker a few weeks later, suffering many casualties along the way, including Maxson's wife (but not his teenage son). The Lost Hills bunker becomes the HQ of the Brotherhood of Steel the Vault Dweller finds in Fallout 1.
The first effects of the virus are seen in the survivors. Widespread mutations occur with animals and humans alike. Those that survive the effects of the mutations are permanently changed by the virus. New species are created almost overnight.
Set takes control of Necropolis, wresting control from the original Overseer. The Vault 12Overseer, not willing to take a dirtnap, is driven north and history loses sight of him.
Dr. Richard Moreau is exiled from Vault City for murder. The circumstances surrounding the murder are unknown, but he changes his last name to Grey and heads south.
The Hub is founded by a man named Angus, who sets up camp around a filthy oasis in the desert, and he proceeds to begin trading with other settlements.
Harold rises to the level of a caravan boss in the Hub. His caravans suffer occasional attacks in the wastes, but Harold's caravan outfit survives and prospers... until the mutant attacks begin to pick up a few years later.
Increasing mutant attacks on Harold's caravans cause Harold to get so pissed he finances one of the first adventuring parties of Fallout to try and find out where these dagnab mutants are coming from. Consulting with a scientist and doctor at the Hub, a man by the name of Grey, the two of them decide to join forces.
Richard Grey's Expedition [including Harold] finds the Mariposa Military Base and the Expedition is scattered and defeated by mutants at the base. Grey is knocked into one of the vats of FEV by a robotic arm, and Harold is knocked unconscious, only to awaken later out in the wasteland.
Harold, already mutating, is found by traders and taken back to the Hub. His former caravan partners and employees, horrified by his condition, abandon him and he is soon left without even two bottlecaps to rub together.
Richard Grey, now horribly mutated by the virus, crawls from the Vats covered with FEV and in terrible pain. Barely able to think or perceive his surroundings, he crawls into the Vat control room and begins his audio log. He fades in and out of consciousness, sometimes for days or weeks at a time.
Richard Grey begins to acclimate to his condition, and begins his first tests of animals by exposing them to FEV. These experiments and his growing awareness lay the foundation for his plans for the Unity and the master race. He takes the name, "the Master."
Grey continues his experiments on wanderers that enter Mariposa... with no success. The creations are flawed (due to the radiation counts in their bodies), making them big but incredibly stupid, and Grey consumes them rather than letting them live.
The Master discovers the problem with the influence of radiation on his mutations, and he begins to choose his subjects more carefully. The first classic super mutants are born, butt-scratching animations and all. He begins his plans to build an army.
Throughout this period, the Master begins slowly gathering test subjects, willing or unwilling, from local human stock. The Great Winter of 2130 and the scarcity of human subjects make building his army difficult.
The Great Merchant Wars are fought, the Water Merchants seal up the town, but are outnumbered. A man named Roy Greene (Justin Greene's grandfather) makes the peace and negotiates a settlement. The Hub's Central Council is formed, composed of two representatives from each of the Hub caravan companies. A long period of indecisiveness and meetings maintain the status quo in the Hub.
The Master begins ordering his super mutants to gather human stock from caravans. For many years, the caravan disappearances are blamed on monsters in the desert, and even when the abductions begin to occur on Hub caravans, the deathclaws are blamed. The super mutant army grows.
A faction within the Brotherhood of Steel led by Sergeant Dennis Allen gains strength, and they urge the Elders to let them explore the southeast Glow for artifacts. The Elders refuse, so Allen and his divisionist group splits away from the Brotherhood of Steel, taking some technology and weapons with them.
Led by Sergeant Dennis Allen, a small team of the Brotherhood of Steel head to the West Tek research facility in search of technological artifacts. They arrive there twenty days later, and are promptly chewed apart by the West Tek's unforgiving automated defense systems. Wounded, Allen begins to suffer radiation poisoning from a leak in his suit. Before he dies, he logs what happened to the expedition into a holodisk then goes to join the Brotherhood in the sky.
Elder Roger Maxson dies of cancer, and his son, already an accomplished soldier, takes up the role of "General" (Elder) within the Brotherhood of Steel. John Maxson becomes a member of the Paladins, showing tremendous promise as a soldier.
Master's begins to mass-produce super mutants. Only about one in six or one in five attempts are successful, and of these successes, only half seem to last to go on to be part of his growing army, called the Unity.
As their influence slowly spreads throughout the wastes, the Master finds humans, doomsday cultists, and rather than dip them in the vats, he demands their obedience as spies - their leader is a man named Morpheus, and he pledges his followers to the Master. Morpheus and his cultists form the future core of the Children of the Cathedral.
John Maxson's father dies in a raid by the Vipers. Expecting the raiders to break and run, Maxson doesn't take into account the religious ferocity of the Vipers (or their poisoned weapons), and when a single arrow nicks him with his helmet off, he dies within hours. John Maxson takes up the role of Elder, and Rhombus becomes the new head of the Paladins.
After capturing a caravan of strange-garbed travelers (vault dwellers), Master learns the location of the Boneyard Vault, the future site of the Cathedral. He conquers the inhabitants and sets up operations there, and the human cultists begin to use the Vault as their powerbase. Within the Vault, the Master learns of other Vaults, and realizing their human occupants are ripe for transformation, begins to send out patrols to Vault locations in search of these other Vaults.
The Master sees advantages in establishing a benevolent "religion," the Children of the Cathedral, and using them as spies in settlements throughout the wastes. Missionaries from the Children of the Cathedral spread slowly across the wasteland, acting as eyes and ears for Morpheus and the Master.
The Master learns the location of the Bakersfield Vault, Vault 12, and sends a detachment of super mutants there to seize the vault. Many ghouls are snapped like twigs in the attack, and Set finally parleys with the super mutants, telling them that the ghouls are the Vault survivors the super mutants are looking for. The super mutants, angered at failing to find an intact Vault, set up a small garrison at the watershed to watch the inhabitants and insure Set's... cooperation in the war to come.
A Brotherhood of Steel patrol comes across a dead super mutant in the badlands. They take the corpse back to the Scribes, and Head Scribe Vree begins her examinations of the super mutant.
Vault Dweller recovers the water chip in Necropolis. Ian is killed by a super mutant and reduced to a cinder, ending his tendency to shoot the Vault Dweller in the back with SMG bursts.
Fallout 1 Ends: Vault Dweller returns to Vault 13, only to be told "you're a hero, and you have to leave." Some members of the Vault (led by Lydia, the head of the "return to the surface" faction, and including her supporters, TheresaandLyle) follow soon afterwards.
At high noon, Marcus and Brotherhood of SteelPaladin Jacob cross paths many, many miles southwest of Broken Hills and punch and shoot each other for a few days. Eventually, they give up, unable to get an advantage over the other. The two start traveling together, arguing over Master and BOS doctrine and whether or not the Master could truly neurolink his biology into the Cathedral computer network.
Enclave works on various new technologies, including Power Armor variations. None of these are much of an improvement over the conventional old school Power Armor, and some are actually worse.
After writing the F2 manual memoirs, Vault Dweller vanishes from Arroyo and is presumed dead. The Vault Dweller leaves the Vault Suit behind, folded on the bed. Some say the Vault Dweller was taken by the sky spirits, others say that the Vault Dweller felt it was time to move on and leave the Elders to guide Arroyo to its destiny.
Final training of the Vault Dweller's daughter for the role of village elder begins. She undergoes a great deal of physical training and tutoring in various sciences, mathematics, and, of course, weapon skills.
Vault Dweller's daughter takes her mystic test, a key ingredient of which is several pots worth of hallucinogenic plants from Hakuinn's garden. She runs the gauntlet in the Temple of Trials, using her charm to pass most of the tests after her handgun jams (and is ruined) on the first level. She offers numerous criticisms of the test, resulting in many revisions.
Enclave scientists develop a reliable version of the Mark II Power Armor. The prototype results (and accidents... and explosions... and deaths) are classified by order of the President Richardson for the sake of morale.
The "Chosen One" is born. The Chosen One's father is not recorded in the tribal records. The reason for this is unknown, but the Elder may have simply been embarrassed.
While there had already been a small number of ghouls in Gecko at this time, more come to the area, and the town of Gecko is formed. The new influx of ghouls bring scavenged technology and know-how, and the power plant in Gecko becomes operational later that year. Vault City looks upon their new neighbors with growing concern.
Enclave scientists and chemical corps scour the remains of Mariposa, while assault squads comb the desert for slaves they can use to mine the military base and get to the Vats. One of the squads includes soldier Frank Horrigan, 25 at the time, recently removed from duty on the President's secret service to take some RNR time in the wastes after some undocumented psychotic blunder or another.
Enclave construction crews and super mutant slaves begin excavations. They uncover the FEV virus, and mutations begin to occur in the human workers. Frank Horrigan comes into contact with the FEV and is sent to the Enclave labs for study.
Melchior begins to mutate... but keeps his intelligence and cunning in the wake of the transformation, making him pretty smart for a super mutant. Realizing that the Enclave will kill the super mutants after they get the FEV data, he begins to use his magician talents to secret away weapons for the mutants to defend themselves when the Enclave decides to dispense with them.
Enclave, having obtained the FEV data, abandons the Military Base site after more mutations occur, causing 2nd Generation Super Mutants to arise - the Enclave leaves a single squad behind to wipe out the super mutants, but the mutants, using armaments they have cached in the base during excavation, reduce the squad to ashes after suffering heavy casualties. The remaining 1st and 2nd Generation super mutant slaves decide to remain in the Base, and the group forms a new community.
Horrigan gradually mutates from exposure to FEV, gaining the physique and slow, stupid, single-mindedness of a super mutant. He is kept heavily sedated, operated on, and studied. He is conscious for only brief periods at a time, then quickly sedated after the bloodshed is over.
Tests begin to run dry on Frank Horrigan. It is suggested that he be used as a field operative and be used in tests in the wasteland against local populations.
Frank Horrigan is manufactured for his new role. A new version of Power Armor is built to accommodate his mass, and he is sealed inside. After a few horrifically successful field tests, Horrigan becomes the Enclave's solution to numerous sticky problems.
Enclave sends a coded sequence to Vault 13, activating its central computer and declaring that is time to leave the Vault. Martin Frobisher gathers the Vault dwellers together for tutorial movie.
Less than a day later, Vault 13 is opened, only to be greeted by two Enclave verti-assault squads. The squads kill three of the citizens who were "resisting capture," and storm the Vault, kidnapping all the inhabitants.
Enclave animal handlers drop a Deathclaw unit into Vault 13 from a safe distance to kill anyone investigating the Vault and cloak the Enclave's presence. Other Deathclaws are sent into the desert surrounding Vault 13 to check for any escapees or witnesses.
As for Fallout 2, Matt Norton and I wrote end text for all of the ones in Fallout 2 using the narrator's perspective (and occasionally the appropriate voice actors), so here's the sections I was able to dig up (and it's not all the NPC allies, but the talking heads of everyone). They just didn't make it into the game, and as I understand it, Ron Perlman already had 5 billion lines to do in 2 hours. It's possible we decided not to do them because we ran out of time... or because Ron Perlman is an extremely muscle-bound fellow who looks like he can crush bricks in his hands.
In any event, here you go - note that some are personalized for the actor, others are not:
Lynette
The Vault City that I helped establish was to outlast me and continue on for many more years. In the elections that occurred after the destruction of the remnants of the United States government, Senior Council Member McClure was appointed First Citizen and I retired to honorary council member status.
With my new free time, I traveled south to NCR and met the NCR President.
I was responsible for much of the legislation that followed in the years between NCR and our City.
Marcus
Inspired by the example set by the Chosen One, Marcus eventually traveled across the great mountains to the east, searching for other refugees from the Master's army. You never heard from him again.
President Richardson
The destruction of the Enclave erased all trace of President Richardson from history. Now the title of "President" is used simply a bogeyman used to frighten children.
Harold
You still hear mention of Harold from time to time. Apparently, the tree growing from his head has gotten larger, and if rumors are to be believed, fruit is growing from it. The seeds are said to remarkably tough, and several of them have taken root even in the most barren stretches of the wasteland.
The Elder
The Arroyo elder lived for many years after the destruction of the Enclave. She seemed pleased that the ancient separation between Vault 13 and the Vault Dweller had been reconciled, and many were the times she told you she wished the Vault Dweller were alive to have seen the reconciliation take place.
Certain that the safety of the new village had been secured and the new community was flourishing, the Elder passed away a few months later in her sleep. Many of the older Arroyo residents believe that she now lives in the vault of the sky, telling the Vault Dweller of your brave deeds.
The Elder, 2
[Matt Norton's comments] The end movie is just finishing – the tanker sailing toward the view at full speed. In the distance is a massive explosion of the Enclave oil platform. The tanker draws closer as the screen fades to black. The Elder, the player character, and all the tribesmen are escaping on the tanker, though we do not see them. The Elder speaks in voiceover. She is pleased, even a little mischievous.
Oh, did you see that? That was a good explosion!
Chosen One, you are worthy of your name. I am alive, the tribe is saved, and the evil ones are dead. By the Vault Dweller, you are a hero indeed!
All the village will honor you when we get home – even your Aunt Morliss. We will roast a gecko and feast. There will be a shrine to you in the temple. Children will be taught your name. With you to protect us, we will certainly grow and prosper.
(Fade)
That was a good explosion, wasn't it? I think I would like to see more explosions...
I may include an MP3 of Ron Perlman personally wishing me dead for the end narration sequences in Fallout 2 - it is both funny and frightening at the same time.
