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{{For|other characters named Harold|Harold (disambiguation)}}
 
{{For|other characters named Harold|Harold (disambiguation)}}
 
{{Infobox character
 
{{Infobox character
|games =FO1, FO2, FO3, FOBOS, FBGNC, VB, FOBOS2
+
|games =FO1, FO2, FO3, FOBOS, FOSO, FBGNC
|mentions =PV13
+
|label =MTG
|image =HubHarold.png
+
|image =Fallout Magic Harold and Bob, First Numens card art.jpg
  +
|label2 =Fallout 3
|image desc =Harold in [[Timeline#2161|2161]]
 
  +
|image2 =Harold.jpg
|race =[[Human]] (formerly)<br />[[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]] [[Mutations and their causes|mutant]] [[Psyker]]
 
|sex =Male
+
|label3 =Fallout 2
  +
|image3 =FO02 NPC Harold N.png
|age =89 {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}}<br />137 {{Icon|FOBOS|link=Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel}}<br />169 {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}<br />205 {{Icon|FO3|link=Fallout 3}}
 
  +
|label4 =Fallout
  +
|image4 =HubHarold.png
  +
|image desc =Harold and Bob, First Numens
  +
|image desc2 =Harold in 2277
  +
|image desc3 =Harold in 2241
  +
|image desc4 =Harold in 2161
  +
|race =[[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]] [[Radiation#Mutations|mutant]]<br />[[Numen]]
  +
|gender =Male
  +
|affiliation =[[Treeminders]]<br />[[Bob (tree)|Bob]]
  +
|role =Informant {{icon|FO1}}<br />Foreman<ref name="foreman">[[Gordon (Gecko)|Gordon]]: ''"{330}{}{I really owe you. Now I can get everything I’ve ever wanted. All at Gecko and Vault City’s expense. Just as soon as I’m ratified as the new foreman. Yessir, that Harold’s really out on his ass Now.}"''<br />The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{332}{}{You just better watch yourself, Gordon. The trip down is usually a lot faster than the trip up. Goodbye.}"''<br />([[GCGORDON.MSG|Gordon's dialogue]])</ref> of Gecko {{icon|FO2}}<br />Treeminder deity {{icon|FO3}}
  +
|location =[[Vault 29]] (2077-2090)<br />[[The Hub]] (2096-2102), (2161)<br />[[Los]] (2208)<br />[[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] (2238)<br />[[Oasis]] (2277)
  +
|age =89 {{Icon|FO1}}<br />137 {{Icon|FOBOS}}<br />169 {{Icon|FO2}}<br />205 {{Icon|FO3}}
  +
|age verified=yes
  +
|dob =2072<ref name="FO1GG" group="Non-game" />
  +
|dob verified=yes
  +
|quests =[[Find the missing caravans]] {{icon|FO1}}<br />[[Solve the Gecko powerplant problem]] {{icon|FO2}}<br />[[Find Missing Pieces]] {{icon|FOBOS}}<br />[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel quests#Chapter 1|Harold's romp with Ruby]] {{icon|FOBOS}}<br />[[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]] {{icon|FO3}}
 
|special ={{SPECIAL|6,4,5,8,7,6,7|icon=FO1}}<br />{{SPECIAL|6,8,5,5,6,6,7|icon=FO2}}
 
|special ={{SPECIAL|6,4,5,8,7,6,7|icon=FO1}}<br />{{SPECIAL|6,8,5,5,6,6,7|icon=FO2}}
  +
|derived =[[Hit Points]]: 30 {{Icon|FO1}}, 80 {{Icon|FO2}}<br />[[Experience Points|XP]]: 60 {{Icon|FO1}}, 250 {{Icon|FO2}}<br />[[Armor Class]]: 6<br />[[Action Points]]: 8<br />[[Carry Weight]]: 175<br />[[Melee Damage]]: 1<br />[[Sequence]]: 8 {{Icon|FO1}}, 16 {{Icon|FO2}}<br />[[Healing Rate]]: 1
|affiliation =[[Treeminders]]
 
  +
|tag skills ={{tag skills|small guns=80|unarmed=70|melee weapons=60|barter=90 {{Icon|FO2}}}}
|role =Informant {{icon|FO1}}<br/>Mayor of Gecko {{icon|FO2}}<br/>Unwilling deity of the [[Treeminders]] {{icon|FO3}}
 
|location =[[Vault 29]] (2077-2090)<br />[[Hub|The Hub]] (2096-2102), (2161)<br />[[Los]] (2208)<br />[[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] (2238)<br />[[Oasis]] (2277)
+
|actor =[[Charlie Adler]] {{Icon|FO1}} {{Icon|FO2}}<br />[[Stephen Russell]] {{Icon|FO3}}<br />[[Alan Oppenheimer]] {{Icon|FOBOS}}
|quests =[[Find the missing caravans]] {{icon|FO1}}<br />[[Solve the Gecko powerplant problem]] {{icon|FO2}}<br />[[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]] {{icon|FO3}}<br />[[Find Missing Pieces]] {{icon|FOBOS}}
+
|designer =[[Mark O'Green]] {{Icon|FO1}}<br />[[Alan Nanes]] {{Icon|FO3}}
|actor =[[Charlie Adler]] {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}} {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}<br />[[Alan Oppenheimer]] {{Icon|FOBOS|link=Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel}}<br />[[Stephen Russell]] {{Icon|FO3|link=Fallout 3}}
+
|dialogue =[[HAROLD.MSG]] {{Icon|FO1}}<br />[[Gcharold.msg]] {{Icon|FO2}}<br />[[Harold.txt]] {{Icon|FO3}}<br />[[Harold's dialogue]] {{Icon|FOBOS}}
  +
|scripts =[[HAROLD.INT]] {{icon|FO1}}<br />[[GCHAROLD.SSL]] {{icon|FO2}}
|tag skills ={{tag skills|small guns=80|unarmed=70|melee weapons=60|barter=90 {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}}}
 
  +
|voice type =MaleUniqueHarold {{Icon|FO3}}
|derived =[[Hit Points]]: 30 {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}}, 80 {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}<br />[[Experience Points|XP]]: 60 {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}}, 250 {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}<br />[[Armor Class]]: 6<br />[[Action Points]]: 8<br />[[Carry Weight]]: 175<br />[[Melee Damage]]: 1<br />[[Sequence]]: 8 {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}}, 16 {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}<br />[[Healing Rate]]: 1
 
|proto ={{proto|157}} {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}}<br />{{proto|109}} {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}
+
|proto ={{proto|157}} {{Icon|FO1}}<br />{{proto|109}} {{Icon|FO2}}
|baseid ={{ID|03034e}} {{Icon|FO3|link=Fallout 3}}
+
|formid ={{ID|03034e}} {{Icon|FO3}}
 
|refid ={{ID|031497}}
 
|refid ={{ID|031497}}
  +
}}
|dialogue =[[HAROLD.MSG]] {{Icon|FO1|link=Fallout}}<br />[[Harold's dialogue]] {{Icon|FOBOS|link=Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel}}<br />[[Gcharold.msg]] {{Icon|FO2|link=Fallout 2}}<br />[[Harold.txt]] {{Icon|FO3|link=Fallout 3}}
 
|footer =[[File:Harold.jpg|240px]]<br />Harold in 2277
 
}}{{Games|FO1|FO2|FO3|FOBOS|FBGNC|FOOL|FB|VB|FOBOS2}}
 
   
 
{{Rotating content
 
{{Rotating content
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|content3={{Quotation|Please, I can't very well speak to you when you're back there.|sound=Speak back there.ogg}}
 
|content3={{Quotation|Please, I can't very well speak to you when you're back there.|sound=Speak back there.ogg}}
 
|content4={{Quotation|Come around to where I can see you (coughs and splutters).|sound=Come around.ogg}}
 
|content4={{Quotation|Come around to where I can see you (coughs and splutters).|sound=Come around.ogg}}
|content5={{Quotation|Sometimes the meat slides right off the bone, if you know what I mean. Heh heh. Whoo. That was a wild time.}}
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|content5={{Quotation|Sometimes the meat slides right off the bone, if you know what I mean. Heh heh. Whoo. That was a wild time.|sound=FoBoS Harold Sometimes the meat.ogg}}
 
}}
 
}}
   
  +
'''Harold''' is a unique [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]] [[Mutations|mutant]] who once resembled a typical [[ghoul]], until his physiology was gradually changed by a parasitic tree he calls [[Bob (tree)|Bob]]. He survived the [[Great War]] in a [[Vault]] and has witnessed pivotal events throughout post-War history.
'''Harold''' is one of the most unique denizens of the wasteland. Born five years before the [[Great War]], in [[Timeline#2072|2072]], Harold survived it in a [[vault]] and witnessed many of the pivotal events and met the most influential people of the wasteland. Rising to prominence as a caravan master in the formative years of the [[Hub]], he would later meet the future [[Master]], travel to [[Mariposa Military Base]], undergo a change into a [[ghoul]]-like mutant through exposure to [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]], lose everything, then become a wasteland traveler, leading [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] into a new future, and eventually becoming an unwilling god for the [[Treeminders]] in the [[Capital Wasteland]], on the opposite end of the continent.<ref>Sources within the article.</ref>
 
   
  +
He is first encountered as an impoverished mutant eking out an existence in [[Old Town]], remembering the [[Master]] before his rise {{in|FO1}}. In ''[[Fallout 2]]'', he is the foreman and mayor of [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]]. Harold ultimately crossed the country and became rooted to the ground, and {{in|FO3}} he is worshipped as a deity at [[Oasis]]. Harold was also planned to appear in several canceled ''Fallout'' games, and has been depicted in official materials outside of the main series.
While he appears to be a ghoul and is treated as such by everyone he meets (save for the few exceptional individuals who look beyond his horrifying appearance), Harold is technically not a ghoul, but a special kind of mutant created through his limited exposure to [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]]. Due to his birth before the War and subsequent growing up in a Vault, shielded from the high amounts of radiation that flooded the world, he was largely untainted and qualified for full transformation into a super mutant, given the right levels of exposure. However, the relatively low amounts of exposure coupled with a number of random, uncontrolled factors, resulted in his transformation into an unique, special kind of mutant. Harold is Harold, just like [[Talius]] is Talius. Although hesitant to self-identify as a ghoul at first, Harold eventually embraced his identity and worked to aid his brethren.<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 5#Questions|Fallout Bible 5]]'': {{Expandable content|''"'''27. I disagree with making Harold not a ghoul. During Fallout 1 the name "ghoul" was not yet as widely used as in F2. Harold could have disagreed with calling his mutant kind with such a name (which is not very nice). When you ask him about the ghouls he says:''<br />''{1102}{hrold302}{Mutants. Doesn't matter what they call themselves.}''<br />''I think it doesn't necessarily mean that he's not a ghoul. It just means that he doesn't want to be called a 'ghoul'. He says, that the ghouls are mutants, just like him, and it doesn't matter how they call themselves.''<br />''I think the name 'ghouls' was either created for them by the Necropolis ghouls themselves, or by people who considered them monsters. As he looks like a ghoul, i think he would be considered one by both. Ghouls are not like supermutants, they are not all the same. It's only a name for people twisted by radiation or FEV (or both). There may be ghouls created only by radiation, and ghouls created only by FEV.''<br />''I also think, though Harold was mutated in the Vats, that if you say that all the ghouls were created by the FEV, then there isn't much difference between Harold and other ghouls.''<br />''Chris Taylor wrote:''<br />''>>Actually, a dip in FEV has a chance of modifying Intelligence, but it doesn't always increase it. Some people do gain increased intelligence, a larger majority lose intelligence and most people remain the same. It also depends if people have enough radiation damage to be turned into ghouls or super mutants.<<''<br />''If so, then people dipped in the Vats can become ghouls instead of supermutants, if they are radiated. I think that easily matches Harold's case...''<br />''Fallout 2:''<br />''{100}{}{You see a particularly leathery-looking Ghoul.}''<br />''{101}{}{You see Harold.}''<br />''{102}{}{You see a very old but still spry-looking ghoul.}''<br/>''{172}{}{Put a sock in it ya smelly old ghoul. Goodbye.}''<br />''Loxley (F1):''<br />''{244}{LOX_69}{Harold? He's a good enough sort, for being a ghoul an all. Lives on the south side.}''<br />''As you can see, Harold is called a ghoul in the game.''<br />''Butch (F1):''<br />''{233}{BUTCH46}{Alright, so it wasn't the Death Claw. But what would the mutants in Old Town want with our caravans? Unless it's some kind of conspiracy.}''<br />''As you can see, there are more muties in the Hub Old town, not only Harold (though we don't see them in the game). And they are all called both 'mutants' and 'ghouls'.''<br />''I think the point is that you call 'ghouls' only the ones that were exposed to 'wild' FEV in the air and radiation, and not the ones that were screwed-up results of dipping (like Harold and Talius). I think both kinds should be called 'ghouls', because, though they were created with different methods, the result is identical, and they were both result of radiation and FEV (ghouls of Necropolis are radiated people that were exposed to mutated FEV in the air, and Harold and Talius are result of dipping people with radiation damage - think this is what Chris Taylor meant).'''"''<br />''"All good points - Tim Cain and Chris Taylor agree with you, and they say Harold's a ghoul. To quote statements within the past week:''
 
  +
<blockquote>'''''Chris Taylor:''' Ghouls are a type of mutant.
 
  +
Rising to prominence as a caravan master in the formative years of [[the Hub]], he would meet the future [[Master]], travel to [[Mariposa Military Base]], undergo a change into a [[ghoul]]-like mutant through exposure to [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]], lose everything, then become a wasteland traveler. His journey then took him to the town of [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]], where he enjoyed a new life. He eventually became an unwilling deity for the [[Treeminders]] in the [[Capital Wasteland]], on the opposite end of the continent of where he began.
Harold is a ghoul. He's also a little special.
 
  +
Super Mutants are humans with no or minimal radiation damage who have been exposed to FEV.
 
  +
Harold is a kind-hearted soul with a comical personality. He made many friends throughout his travels, potentially including the [[Vault Dweller]], the [[Chosen One]], and the [[Lone Wanderer]]. He is kind to children and [[Disability representation in the Fallout series|the differently-abled]], and treats his branching appendance with respect. Despite his afflictions, Harold remains light-hearted (if somewhat deranged) and strives to do right by his fellow wastelanders.
Ghouls are humans with significant radiation damage exposed to FEV.
 
Harold is, well, Harold.''</blockquote>
 
<blockquote>'''''Tim Cain:''' I know we treated him as a ghoul, but not a Necropolis one. He may have been irradiated before or after. All I remember was that he went in there with the guy whose name I forget (the one who fell into the vat and became the Master), and only Harold came out. Harold's memory is totally whacked, btw.
 
...most people don't know when they get irradiated, so he [Harold] just may not know what happened to him. I do know that radiation and FEV do not mix. Mutants are immune to radiation effects, but an irradiate human is killed by exposure to FEV. So one thing is sure: Harold is not a mix of radiation and FEV. He's got to be one or the other, and I think he's a ghoul.''</blockquote>
 
''According to Chris, ghouls are irradiated humans exposed to FEV.''<br />''According to Tim, ghouls are due solely to radiation.''<br />''Both agree Harold is special. And I don't mean handicapped.''<br />'''''Officially''': Ghouls are a mix of FEV and radiation. Harold is a mutant who resembles a ghoul. Harold may have had some radiation damage before he was exposed to FEV, but his mutation (outside of his surface appearance) makes him different than a ghoul. Most ghouls are the result of extreme radiation + FEV exposure, but Harold's change was due primarily to FEV exposure (again, he could have sucked up a few rads in the wastes without him knowing, especially considering how long he ran caravans in the wastes).''<br />''He is hideously mutated enough so that he looks like a ghoul, but he's not technically one, and this is the mistake that Loxley makes (Loxley only judges a book by its cover, and he knows nothing about genetics or anything beyond a surface appearance).''<br />''You can call him a ghoul if you want, but the official answer is:''<br/>''"Harold is Harold." Harold's special.''<br />''BTW, glowing ghouls are ghouls that suck up too many rads after they have become ghouls. We originally wanted Lenny in F2 to be able to turn into a glowing ghoul when he drinks too much radioactive liquor, but we didn't put it in."''
 
}}</ref>
 
   
 
==Background==
 
==Background==
 
===Early life===
 
===Early life===
  +
Born in [[Timeline#2072|2072]], Harold was only five years old when the War started and he entered [[Vault 29]].<ref group="Non-game">[[List of Vaults and their experiments (Fallout Bible)]]: ''"Vault 29 No one in this Vault was over the age of 15 when they entered. Parents were redirected to other Vaults on purpose. Harold is believed to have come from this Vault."''</ref><ref name="FO1GG" group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Official Survival Guide]]'' p. 97: ''"'''Harold: An Old, Old Mutant'''''<br />''Harold is the oldest person alive in the Hub. In fact, he was five years old when the war started. After his vault opened and its inhabitants made their way out into the wasteland, he became a merchant.''<br />''At some point many years ago, he handled an artifact contaminated with the FEV virus that caused him to mutate. He is now very old, sick, and he tends to ramble on a lot. Some of his information may be out of date. He can be cranky at times, but he likes to tell stories. He could be a good source of information on people and things within the Hub, and it's worthwhile talking to him to find out what he knows.''<br />'''''Hints'''''<br />''Be patient with Harold and draw him out. He has one critical piece of information that may be of use: He knew the Master when the Master was still human, and he has been to the lost military base."''</ref> He still remembers the sirens on that day and the terrible days that followed, living in an overcrowded Vault with not enough food and water to go around.<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{1005}{}{Vault}"''<br />Harold: ''"{1105}{hrold305}{Yeah, I came from a Vault. Too many people, not enough food and water. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
Born in [[Timeline#2072|2072]] , Harold was only five years old when the War started and he entered [[Vault 29]]. He still remembers the sirens on that day and the terrible days that followed, living in an overcrowded Vault with not enough food and water to go around.<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{1005}{}{Vault}"''<br />Harold: ''"{1105}{hrold305}{Yeah, I came from a Vault. Too many people, not enough food and water. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG]]) {{Small|'''Note:''' This actually corresponds to [[Vault 27]], which was to be deliberately overcrowded by twice the sustainable amount, as opposed to [[Vault 29]].}}</ref> [[File:Gametitle-VB.png|20px|Gray paragraphs are based on Van Buren and were not confirmed by primary sources]] <span style="color:dimgray">The reason was that his shelter, [[Vault 29]], was populated with young children separated from their parents, and placed under the care of [[Diana Stone|Diana]], a human scientist immortalized by merging her human brain with a supercomputer controlling the Vault and the [[Nursery]], a repository of seeds and genetic records preserved in case of a global thermonuclear war. Diana would control the unrest by periodically releasing young dwellers to scout the surface and report whether it was safe to settle. They never returned, as Diana would take them to the Nursery, where they'd either be able to join her or leave, after being conditioned to be unable to speak of the Nursery or the Vault.<ref>[[Nursery design document]]</ref> Harold was selected by Diana and initially agreed to stay, before escaping. He kept the Nursery a secret, believing it his duty to protect it from those who would exploit it.</span><ref name="Ausir1">Information acquired from one of the developers by [[User:VaultAusir|Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski]]: ''”Yes, we actually remembered about him coming from Vault 29 originally. The story was that he was taken by a robot to the Nursery. There he was given the choice of staying with Diana, or exploring the outside world. However, if he chose to explore, she would have to 'condition' him, so that he could not reveal anything about her, or the nursery to the world. He agreed to stay, but escaped eventually. Afterwards, he kept the nursery a secret because he felt it was his duty to the world to keep such a future gift intact until the world was ready for it. His later return to the nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a 'new experience' to him, as much of his early memories faded with age.''”</ref>
 
   
He left in [[Timeline#2090|2090]], at eighteen, and began to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit between survivalist communities that emerged throughout [[New California]].<ref>Harold: ''"{101}{HROLD0}{Spare change, old friend, old pal? Can you help a poor mutant down on his luck? [Cough]}"''<br />The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{102}{}{Yeah, here's $25. Good luck to you.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{108}{HROLD2}{Oh, kind of ya, friend. Very kind. You know, if I could clear the gunk out of there, you, just might find a tear in Old Harold's eye.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{109}{}{Why is that?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{111}{HROLD3}{[Cough] Rest of the Hubbers' been picking on me like a bad booger since I came back to town. I can't leave, though. When the deals are done [wheez] it's still my home.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{112}{}{What happened to you?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{115}{HROLD4}{Well, after the Great War, my Vault was one of the first to open. [Takes a deep breath] Whew. Long time.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{116}{}{Tell me more about those days.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{118}{HROLD5}{All started with the sirens. I was young, but ohh, I do remember that. Lotta terrible years followed. And I remember walking outta the Vault late one morning.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{120}{}{Where was your Vault located?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{122}{HROLD6}{You know, [cough] I'm not real sure anymore. West, I think. Uh wait - east? Ooh I don't know. [Hacking cough]}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG]])</ref><ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2090 ''Vault 29 opens. Harold (now human) sets out to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit around the survivalist communities in the wasteland."''</ref><ref>''[[Fallout Bible 5#Questions|Fallout Bible 5]]'': "2090 ''Vault 29 opens. Harold (currently human) sets out to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit around the survivalist communities in the wasteland."''</ref><ref name="FOGG1" /> Over the next twelve years, he made a tidy profit, rising to prominence in the Hub. However, all things come at a cost and Harold's success ran up a hefty bill due to attacks by gangers, scavengers and mutant creatures that made it necessary to employ entire armies of guards just to keep them at bay.<ref name="Harold Mariposa" >The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{119}{}{What did you do then?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{124}{HROLD7}{Well, I was a trader. Did pretty good making a circuit between survivors. Lost a lotta good people, though. [Coughs]}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{125}{}{How?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{126}{HROLD8}{Gangers got'em. Scavengers attacking the caravans. And mutants, son of a dog, if they weren't springing up like rabbits with a mission. [cough] Had to have an army of guards with, just to do a deal.}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG]])</ref> This was all the more apparent to him since he became the head of his own caravan outfit in 2096.<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2096 ''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."''</ref>
+
Thirteen years later, in [[Timeline#2090|2090]], he walked out of the Vault in the late morning.<ref name="SpareChangeBackground" /><ref name=":0" group="Non-game" /> Now eighteen, Harold began to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit between survivalist communities that emerged throughout [[New California]].<ref name="SpareChangeBackground">Harold: ''"{101}{HROLD0}{Spare change, old friend, old pal? Can you help a poor mutant down on his luck? [Cough]}"''<br />The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{102}{}{Yeah, here's $25. Good luck to you.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{108}{HROLD2}{Oh, kind of ya, friend. Very kind. You know, if I could clear the gunk out of there, you, just might find a tear in Old Harold's eye.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{109}{}{Why is that?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{111}{HROLD3}{[Cough] Rest of the Hubbers' been picking on me like a bad booger since I came back to town. I can't leave, though. When the deals are done [wheez] it's still my home.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{112}{}{What happened to you?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{115}{HROLD4}{Well, after the Great War, my Vault was one of the first to open. [Takes a deep breath] Whew. Long time.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{116}{}{Tell me more about those days.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{118}{HROLD5}{All started with the sirens. I was young, but ohh, I do remember that. Lotta terrible years followed. And I remember walking outta the Vault late one morning.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{120}{}{Where was your Vault located?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{122}{HROLD6}{You know, [cough] I'm not real sure anymore. West, I think. Uh wait - east? Ooh I don't know. [Hacking cough]}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref group="Non-game" name=":0">''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2090 ''Vault 29 opens. Harold (now human) sets out to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit around the survivalist communities in the wasteland."''</ref><ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 5#Questions|Fallout Bible 5]]'': "2090 ''Vault 29 opens. Harold (currently human) sets out to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit around the survivalist communities in the wasteland."''</ref><ref name="FO1GG" group="Non-game" />
   
Eventually, he had enough and on [[Timeline#2102|May 22, 2102]], financed one of the first adventuring parties in [[New California]] together with [[Richard Grey]], a mysterious scientist and doctor from the [[Hub]].<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2102 May 22 ''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."''</ref> the expedition set out from the Hub and tracked the mutants to the northwest, deep into the Californian Central Valley. After fighting through what seemed like an endless stream of mutants, they finally reached [[Mariposa Military Base]] on June 23.<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2102 June 23 ''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."''</ref> Penetrating the base's defenses proved no small feat and eventually, the entire group was whittled down to just Harold and Richard Grey. [[Francine]] was wounded and [[Mark (Fallout)|Mark]] was sent to the surface, never to be heard from again. The two of them penetrated all the way into the base's central core, where the vats of [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]] were located. The expedition was finally routed when the robotic crane crashed into them, sending Grey into a vat of FEV and badly injuring Harold. He passed out, only to wake up in the wasteland days later, in the throes of change due to exposure to FEV, when he handled a contaminated item in the base.<ref name="FOGG1" /><ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{128}{}{Where were the mutants coming from?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{133}{HROLD10}{Everywhere! Hell, seemed like you couldn't fart without hitting one. But mostly in the northwest.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{134}{}{Did you explore that area?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{138}{HROLD11}{We mounted an expedition. God, Richard. Richard Grey. Led a small group of us up there.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{139}{}{Richard Grey?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{146}{HROLD14}{Richard Grey was a doctor. Little older than me, and friend was he smart. He found the source.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{147}{}{And what was that?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{160}{HROLD18}{Some sort of old military base. We lost a lotta folks getting in there.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{161}{}{How did you know this base was the cause?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{165}{HROLD20}{Because it was like someone went bargain shopping at mutantland! Geez! Cheaper by the dozens! Can't figure any other reason except that being the factory.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{166}{}{Did you examine the base closely?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{167}{HROLD21}{We got pretty far inside. Wasn't a lot of us left by then. Grey, me and couple of others.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{168}{}{And then?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{169}{HROLD22}{One of them robots got Francine. Mark was wounded, sent him back to the surface. Then it was just me and Grey.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{170}{}{What ever happened to Mark?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{172}{HROLD23}{To this day, I don't know. He never made it back here, and...well I...couldn't face the wasteland again, so I...I never looked.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{173}{}{What about you and Grey?}"''<br />''"Harold: {174}{HROLD24}{We made it to some sort of central core, like a plant of some sort. That's when it happened.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{175}{}{What?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{176}{HROLD25}{A robot crane crashed into us. Last I saw of Grey, he was flying through the air in-into some sort of acid bath. I was in bad shape and...well I passed out.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{177}{}{How did you survive?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{181}{HROLD26}{Well, I have no idea. Woke up in the wasteland, barely hanging on. Got lucky and some traders I knew found me days later. Good thing, since I was already changing. They brought me here, and here I've been since.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{182}{}{How did you mutate?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{190}{HROLD28}{All's I know, is it was something inside that base.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{191}{}{Do you think it could have been radiation?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{193}{HROLD29}{How the hell should I know? Grey would've known if anybody could. [sigh] Anyway, that's how the deal went down.}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG]])</ref><ref name="Harold Mariposa" /><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How did a tree end up growing out of your head?"''<br />Harold: ''"It was a long time ago... I tend to lose track. I was exploring some sort of a military base with some other people... I think it was called Mariposa. We were pretty deep inside and we found some weird vats of this nasty green goo. Right when we were about to leave, I think we were attacked. Last thing I remember before blacking out was something knocking my friend into the stuff."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref> He was found by traders four days later, on June 27, and taken back to the Hub. His horrifying transformation caused him to lose his business, as employees and partners turned away from him. Soon, he was left a beggar, living in a derelict ruin in the Old Town.<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2102 June 27 ''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."''</ref>
+
Over the next twelve years, he made a tidy profit, rising to prominence in the Hub as one of its caravan bosses. The position came with many perks, including the friendship of [[Master|Richard Grey]], a doctor whom Harold revered as a brilliant philosopher. A little older than Harold, he made a lasting impression on the caravaner.<ref name="expedition">The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{119}{}{What did you do then?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{124}{HROLD7}{Well, I was a trader. Did pretty good making a circuit between survivors. Lost a lotta good people, though. [Coughs]}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{125}{}{How?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{126}{HROLD8}{Gangers got'em. Scavengers attacking the caravans. And mutants, son of a dog, if they weren't springing up like rabbits with a mission. [cough] Had to have an army of guards with, just to do a deal.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{128}{}{Where were the mutants coming from?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{133}{HROLD10}{Everywhere! Hell, seemed like you couldn't fart without hitting one. But mostly in the northwest.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{135}{}{Why didn't you just avoid the area?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{141}{HROLD12}{Needed to see what was there. Maybe stop whatever was churnin them boogers out. We thought we were prepared. Were we wrong.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{142}{}{What did you do?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{138}{HROLD11}{We mounted an expedition. God, Richard. Richard Grey. Led a small group of us up there.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{139}{}{Richard Grey?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{146}{HROLD14}{Richard Grey was a doctor. Little older than me, and friend was he smart. He found the source.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{147}{}{And what was that?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{160}{HROLD18}{Some sort of old military base. We lost a lotta folks getting in there.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{161}{}{How did you know this base was the cause?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{165}{HROLD20}{Because it was like someone went bargain shopping at mutantland! Geez! Cheaper by the dozens! Can't figure any other reason except that being the factory.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{166}{}{Did you examine the base closely?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{167}{HROLD21}{We got pretty far inside. Wasn't a lot of us left by then. Grey, me and couple of others.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{168}{}{And then?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{169}{HROLD22}{One of them robots got Francine. Mark was wounded, sent him back to the surface. Then it was just me and Grey.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{170}{}{What ever happened to Mark?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{172}{HROLD23}{To this day, I don't know. He never made it back here, and...well I...couldn't face the wasteland again, so I...I never looked.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{173}{}{What about you and Grey?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{174}{HROLD24}{We made it to some sort of central core, like a plant of some sort. That's when it happened.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{175}{}{What?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{176}{HROLD25}{A robot crane crashed into us. Last I saw of Grey, he was flying through the air in-into some sort of acid bath. I was in bad shape and...well I passed out.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{178}{}{And you never saw Grey again?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{188}{HROLD27}{No, you idiot! I just said I never saw him again, didn't I?}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{189}{}{How did you survive?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{181}{HROLD26}{Well, I have no idea. Woke up in the wasteland, barely hanging on. Got lucky and some traders I knew found me days later. Good thing, since I was already changing. They brought me here, and here I've been since.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{182}{}{How did you mutate?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{190}{HROLD28}{All's I know, is it was something inside that base.}"''<br />The Vault Dweller: ''"{191}{}{Do you think it could have been radiation?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{193}{HROLD29}{How the hell should I know? Grey would've known if anybody could. [sigh] Anyway, that's how the deal went down.}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> While attacks by mutants were bearable with a good guard outfit, the attacks intensified<ref name="expedition" /> a few years after he was made caravan boss in 2096.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2096 ''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."''</ref>
   
  +
By 2102, Harold had enough. He organized one of the first adventuring parties in [[New California]] together with Richard Grey, and on May 22, [[Timeline#2102|2102]], the expedition launched from [[the Hub]] to identify the source of the mutant menace.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2102 May 22 ''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."''</ref> Grey served as the leader of the expedition. Thanks to Grey's expertise, they tracked the mutants to the northwest, deep into the Californian Central Valley. A month later, they finally reached [[Mariposa Military Base]], and started penetrating it on June 23.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2102 June 23 ''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."''</ref>
===No country for old mutants===
 
[[File:Fo1 Harold.png|thumb|200px|Harold in the Hub.]]
 
His resolve and hardiness allowed him to survive despite the poverty. By the time he met the [[Vault Dweller]] around [[Timeline#2161|2161]], he was the oldest person alive in the whole wide [[Hub]], known for his stories and knowledge, not just about days long past, but also contemporary events. For example, he knew how to find the [[deathclaw]] suspected of attacking caravans and was aware of the fact that [[Decker]]'s men captured [[Jonathan (Fallout)|Brother Jonathan]] of the [[Brotherhood of Steel]] recently, and would happily share that knowledge for a modest amount of bottle caps to keep himself afloat.<ref name="FOGG1">[[Fallout Official Survival Guide]] p.97: ''"'''Harold: An Old, Old Mutant'''''<br />''Harold is the oldest person alive in the Hub. In fact, he was five years old when the war started. After his vault opened and its inhabitants made their way out into the wasteland, he became a merchant.''<br />''At some point many years ago, he handled an artifact contaminated with the FEV virus that caused him to mutate . He is now very old, sick, and he tends to ramble on a lot. Some of his information may be out of date. He can be cranky at times, but he likes to tell stories. He could be a good source of information on people and things within the Hub, and it's worthwhile talking to him to find out what he knows."''<br />''"'''Hints'''"''<br />''"Be patient with Harold and draw him out. He has one critical piece of information that may be of use: He knew the Master when the Master was still human, and he has been to the lost military base."''</ref>
 
   
  +
Simply getting into the base resulted in major casualties, and by the time the adventurers infiltrated the facility, only four were left.<ref name="expedition" /> [[Francine]] was soon killed by a security robot. [[Mark (Fallout)|Mark]] was injured, so Grey and Harold sent him back to the surface, never to be heard from again. Harold and Grey finally entered the central core, where they found vats full of [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]]. When the robotic crane crashed into them, the expedition was finally defeated: Grey was wounded and thrown into a vat of FEV, while the impact badly injured Harold and knocked him out. He woke up in the wasteland days later, with the exposure to FEV already mutating and twisting him.<ref name="FO1GG" group="Non-game" /><ref name="expedition" /><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How did a tree end up growing out of your head?"''<br />Harold: ''"It was a long time ago... I tend to lose track. I was exploring some sort of a military base with some other people... I think it was called Mariposa. We were pretty deep inside and we found some weird vats of this nasty green goo. Right when we were about to leave, I think we were attacked. Last thing I remember before blacking out was something knocking my friend into the stuff."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
Harold left sometime after [[Timeline#2162|2162]], having managed to bring a measure of equality between the impoverished population of [[Hub]]'s [[Old Town]] and the rest of the city. He traveled north, accompanied by a sapling ([[Bob (tree)|Bob]]) that took root in his head. By 2238, he arrived in [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] and noticing that the careless way the power plant was managed, he decided to stick around and do his best to help the ghouls with the running of the facility, becoming the de facto mayor and leader of the local community.<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2238 ''Harold arrives in Gecko, and (with a lot of shaking of his head) he does his best to help the ghouls with the running of the Nuclear Power Plant."''</ref> He would be one of the key players in the struggle between the ghouls and the bigoted inhabitants of [[Vault City]] to [[solve the Gecko powerplant problem]]. After the conflict was resolved,<ref>There is no reference as to how the situation was resolved.</ref> he started to travel again. The tree growing out of his head continued to grow larger and bear fruit. Its remarkably tough seeds are able to withstand even the toughest environments and thrive.<ref>''[[Fallout Bible 0#Questions, questions|Fallout Bible 0]]'':<br />"'''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'''"<br />''"Fallout 1: I don't know why. Tim and the Troika crew apparently ended up doing this for the NPCs in ''Arcanum'', though."''<br />[...]''"In any event, here you go - note that some are personalized for the actor, others are not:"''[...]
 
<center>"'''Harold'''"</center>
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|-
 
| "'''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.'''"
 
|}
 
[...]
 
</ref>
 
{{clear}}
 
{{FOBOS}}
 
   
  +
He was found by traders four days later, on June 27, and taken back to the Hub, where he hoped to find Mark waiting for him. Mark did not come. Harold felt he should return to the wasteland to search for his friend, but he lacked the courage, and lingered in the Hub for decades.<ref>''{172}{HROLD23}{To this day, I don't know. He never made it back here, and...well I...couldn't face the wasteland again, so I...I never looked.}'' ([[HAROLD.MSG]])</ref> Over this period of time, his transformation took its final toll: Harold lost clients, employees, and ultimately all of his friends. Destitute and twisted, he moved into a derelict building in the [[Old Town]], living among the Hub's skags: The impoverished castoffs of its burgeoning capitalist society.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike|Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2102 June 27 ''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."''</ref>
===Traveler of the Wasteland===
 
[[File:FOBOS Harold.png|thumb|Harold in ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'']]
 
After the destruction of the [[Master's Army]], Harold left the Hub and became a traveler who visited various places around the wasteland. It's known that he traveled in [[Texas Commonwealth|Texas]] to [[Carbon]] where he had a sexual encounter with Carbon's prostitute, [[Ruby (Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel)|Ruby]], and the ghoul-city of [[Los]] around [[Timeline#2208|2208]]. He wanted to have a good time in Los after leaving Carbon but the arrival of super mutants and the loss of his hand, his toe and his eye in the city changed the deal. The [[Initiate (player character)|Initiate]] helped Harold to recover his parts so he could leave the city before its destruction. Harold's travels ended in [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] in [[Timeline#2238|2238]].<ref>[[Fallout Bible]]</ref>
 
   
  +
Richard and Harold each believed the other was dead. Harold assumed his friend had perished in the vat. Richard reasoned; ''"He must have been killed or he would have tried to help me."''<ref>[[Richard Grey's audio diary]]</ref>
====Quests====
 
  +
* [[Find Missing Pieces]] - Harold has lost three pieces of his body and asks the player character to retrieve them.
 
  +
===Life in poverty===
* Harold's romp with Ruby - the Initiate can remind Harold of his adventures with Ruby, the prostitute from Carbon, for 300 XP.
 
  +
[[File:Fo1 Harold.png|thumb|200px|Harold in [[the Hub]] [[Old Town]].]]
{{FOBOS|end}}
 
  +
His resolve, hardiness, and love of [[the Hub]] as his home allowed him to survive despite poverty and harassment from regular Hubbers.<ref name="SpareChangeBackground" /> By the time he met the [[Vault Dweller]] around [[Timeline#2161|2161]], he was the oldest person alive in the whole wide Hub, known for his stories and knowledge, not just about days long past, but also contemporary events. Even [[Decker]] of the Hub's Underground knew about him and considered him a good source of information,<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{1005}{}{Harold}"''<br />[[Decker]]: ''"{1105}{DECK_54}{Harold's been around for some time. He's over in Old Town. A good source for certain types of information.}"''<br />([[DECKER.MSG|Decker's dialogue]])</ref> though the less competent caravaners, like [[Butch Harris]], failed to appreciate his worth.<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{1005}{}{Harold}"''<br />[[Butch Harris]]: ''"{1105}{BUTCH78}{Old Harold? What do you want with that old mutant? He's in Old Town. Just ask there.}"''<br />([[BUTCH.MSG|Butch Harris' dialogue]])</ref> He also had a measure of respect from the [[Circle of Thieves]], also operating out of the Old Town.<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{1003}{}{Harold}"''<br />[[Loxley]]: ''"{1103}{LOX_69}{Harold? He's a good enough sort, for being a ghoul an all. Lives on the south side.}"''<br />([[LOXLEY.MSG|Loxley's dialogue]])</ref> While much of his information is tied to his life, he's also well informed about current events and will happily share that information for a modest fee. Among Hubbers, he's known as one of the only people to see the [[Deathclaw (Fallout)|deathclaw]] and live to tell the tale - no mean feat in the mid-22nd century.<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{243}{}{Do you know anything else about the Deathclaw?}"''<br />[[Beth (Fallout)|Beth]]: ''"{245}{}{Well, I know this old mutant in Old Town named Harold. He's seen it. He's the 'only' one that's seen it and lived.}"''<br />([[HBETH.MSG|Beth's dialogue]])</ref> He also was aware of the fact that Decker's men captured [[Jonathan (Initiate)|Brother Jonathan]] of the [[Brotherhood of Steel]] recently, and would happily share that knowledge for a modest amount of bottle caps to keep himself afloat.<ref>The [[Vault Dweller]]: ''"{224}{}{Heard any good words recently?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{242}{HROLD53}{Well, heard one of Decker's men has somebody from the Brotherhood of Steel trapped in Old Town.}"''<br />([[HAROLD.MSG|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref name="FO1GG" group="Non-game" /> However, his memory wasn't perfect at ninety years of age, and he started forgetting things like the number of his Vault or its location.<ref name="SpareChangeBackground" />
  +
  +
Harold left sometime after [[Timeline#2162|2162]]. He traveled north, accompanied by a sapling ([[Bob (tree)|Bob]]) that took root in his head.<ref group="Non-game" name="suffler 1"/>
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
   
===Leader of Gecko===
+
===Gecko's foreman===
 
[[File:Fo2 Gecko Good Ending.png|thumb|200px|Gecko power plant]]
 
[[File:Fo2 Gecko Good Ending.png|thumb|200px|Gecko power plant]]
  +
By 2238, he arrived in [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] and decided to help the ghouls there out.<ref group="Non-game" name="suffler 1">''[[Fallout Bible 1#Fallout Timeline table|Fallout Bible 1]]'': ''"2238: Harold arrives in Gecko, and he does his best to help the ghouls with the running of the Nuclear Power Plant."''</ref> Ratified as the foreman,<ref name="foreman"/> Harold maintained the trade relationship with [[Broken Hills]] to source [[Uranium ore (Fallout 2)|uranium]] to [[nuclear fission|fuel the reactor]] and provide energy for Gecko.<ref>The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{258}{}{Who do you buy your fuel from?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{266}{hld51}{We get our fuel from the Broken Hills. That’s a mining community some ways south.} "''<br />([[Gcharold.msg|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> However, he is aware that the position of the town is tenuous. First of all, while well-meaning, the ghouls he leads aren't exactly bright: One of the reports he received from the power plant suggested that the coolant levels were too high and should be reduced by shutting down the main coolant valve. Realizing that such an action would result in a meltdown that would "make the [[Grand Canyon]] look like a pig wallow," he quickly intervened and stopped the decision. Secondly, the reactor lacks a functional [[hydroelectric magnetosphere regulator]], which means it is discharging radioactive coolant and polluting the groundwater, affecting the neighboring [[Vault City]], adding to their already unfriendly attitude towards ghouls. At the same time, the city likely has a spare unit that would allow the reactor to be fixed, but since they shoot ghouls on sight, it's a tricky situation to resolve. Harold is also well aware that if it's not resolved, Vault City is likely to run out of patience, invade Gecko, and execute everyone to disable the reactor.<ref>Harold: ''"{121}{hld3}{Wha-whatever it takes to keep this place together. Better job on it than me.}"''<br />The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{122}{}{This place is coming apart?} "''<br />Harold: ''"{127}{hld4a}{Well, sorta. Our atomic reactor’s a mite...sensitive. The people I got running it mean well, but... well, they are not the sharpest tools in the shed. If you know what I mean.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{130}{}{What do you mean?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{138}{hld6}{Need a little time on the whetstone yourself, huh? I mean they are not too bright. Here’s an example. The other day I get a report. On it, it says the main coolant valve should be shut down. That woulda caused a meltdown that would make the Grand Canyon look like a pig wallow.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{139}{}{That sounds bad.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{140}{hld7}{Uh, yeah, that would be bad. Now, I got things fixed up in time, but we came close to the end there. They need someone to watch out for ‘em.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{141}{}{Good thing you’re here to help them.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{142}{hld8}{Who’d a thought I’d be making things right? Although if we don’t get a Hydroelectric Magnetosphere Regulator pretty damn quick, there is gonna be trouble.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{143}{}{What the hell is Hydra-magna-whateveraltor?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{254}{hld48a}{Without a functional Hydroelectric Magnetosphere Regulator we’re leaking radioactive coolant into the groundwater. Now that means, anyone using that water is not gunna need a night-light to take a midnight piss. Also, we need more fuel because our power plant is not burnin’ it very efficiently.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{256}{}{Sounds bad. Where would you get a Hydro magnetosomething-or-other?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{261}{hld49}{Well, I’m certain those ornery bastards in Vault City have one. Not that they’d share. Hell, even if we had one of those thingies, I’m not so certain Festus could install the dang thing.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{262}{}{Vault City wouldn’t give you the part? Even if it means that the groundwater won’t be polluted anymore?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{264}{hld50}{If we don’t get it, you can bet those boneheads from Vault City will shut down our power plant, permanently.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{265}{}{What will you do then?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{270}{hld52}{Take dirt naps. Vault City doesn’t play nice. They’ll just come up here and kill all of us if we don’t get that part. Well, at least I’ll have a tree for a monument.}"''<br />([[Gcharold.msg|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
In 2241, Harold is a very old but still spry-looking ghoul.<ref>[[Gcharold.msg]], line 102</ref> The [[Chosen One]] runs into Harold in [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]], the [[ghoul]] town not far from [[Vault City]]. After the destruction of the [[Necropolis]] following ''[[Fallout]]'', most of the ghoul population of the town migrated far to the north to form a settlement around an old nuclear power plant built by [[Poseidon Oil]] before the Great War. Anyone else would likely be killed by long term exposure to [[radiation]], but the ghouls just find it pleasant. When Harold arrived, the plant was being run dangerously and stupidly. Harold quickly took over from the well-meaning but inept leaders of Gecko and got the reactor into some kind of working order. When the Chosen One arrives in Gecko, Harold asks them to help [[solve the Gecko powerplant problem]].
 
   
  +
Until [[Chosen One|someone comes along]] to mediate between the ghouls and Vault City, Harold is stuck in a holding pattern, processing endless amounts of paperwork and keeping the town in one piece.<ref name="foreman"/> He's assisted by [[Lenny (Gecko)|Lenny]], the town's doctor and an expert in paperwork,<ref>The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{115}{}{What do you do here?}"''<br />[[Lenny (Gecko)|Lenny]]: ''"{340}{}{I h’help H’harold administer the town. Th’there’s always more p’paperwork to do.}"''<br />([[GCLENNY.MSG|Lenny's dialogue]])</ref> and [[Gordon (Gecko)|Gordon]], responsible for monitoring Gecko's economy.<ref>[[Gordon (Gecko)|Gordon]]: ''"{230}{}{I tally up economic data on Gecko’s economy and report it to Harold. But he usually doesn’t listen to me.}"''<br />The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{231}{}{I’m sorry to hear that. Economic data on what?}"''<br />([[GCGORDON.MSG|Gordon's dialogue]])</ref> He also turns a deaf ear to the constant suggestions by the latter to share the economic data with Vault City to persuade them that it's in the best interest of both towns to trade: Nuclear power for medical technologies to keep the ghouls alive. While Gordon believes that greed is good and it alone would produce the optimal outcome, Harold has a more down-to-earth attitude: He realizes that sharing this data would reveal to Vault City that Broken Hills is their sole source of uranium, and would allow the City to simply cut off shipments, then set the terms, and turn Gecko into a slave camp providing power to Vault City - all due to greed and prejudice.<ref>Harold: ''"{185}{hld26}{Their best interest? What do you mean?}"''<br />The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{186}{}{Well, according to some economic data I got hold of Vault City is much better off if they help you to repair your power plant.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{190}{hld27}{Economic data? You didn’t give them that information th-that Gordon keeps flapping his yap about, did you?}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{191}{}{Uh, yes I did. Why?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{199}{hld30}{Why?! Now Vault City knows just how much we need uranium ore from Broken Hills. They could cut off them shipments and we’d be finished.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{192}{}{Uh, no, of course not.}"''<br />
The Chosen One still heard 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 be remarkably tough, and several of them have taken root even in the most barren stretches of the wasteland.
 
  +
Harold: ''"{202}{hld31}{Well, I sure hope not. Those idjits in Vault City hate ghouls. They’d cut off our ore shipments from Broken Hills in a white-hot minute. Then they’d set the terms. Wouldn’t be long until Gecko’d be a slave camp.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{203}{}{Oh, I’m sure they wouldn’t do that. They seem pretty reasonable.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{206}{hld32}{Reasonable? Reasonable! Well, I’m sure people said the Master was reasonable, too. What a bonehead. Get the hell out. Now!}"''<br />([[Gcharold.msg|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Despite that, Gordon keeps angling for an angle to remove Harold and be ratified as the new foreman of Gecko.<ref name="foreman"/>
   
  +
Much of this is rooted in the experience of the [[Unity]]. Unlike [[Marcus]], who holds a fairly nuanced view of the Master, Harold's view of his former friend - though it's not known if he actually realizes who the Master was - is unconditionally negative. In fact, Harold believes that the Vault Dweller actually saved everyone in the world by defeating the Master, and wonders what happened to his old friend. The last he heard of him, he was kicked out of [[Vault 13]], before disappearing in the mists of history.<ref>Harold: ''"{225}{hld38a}{Well, to be honest, can’t remember the name. But they wore a funny suit. Kinda like the one you’re wearing.}"''<br />The [[Chosen One]]: ''"{226}{}{I’m wearing the Vault Suit that my ancestor wore. It’s a totem of my holy quest.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{231}{hld39}{That so? Well, well, well. That explains a thing or two. I wondered why you looked familiar. I’m not losing the last coupla marbles I got left.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{232}{}{We really look alike?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{236}{hld41}{There is a resemblance. Near as I can remember, anyways. You know, your ancestor saved the whole darn lot of us.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{237}{}{The Vault Dweller saved all of the ghouls?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{239}{hld42}{Jumpin’ to conclusions, youngster. That’s gonna get your ass shot off someday. All of us. Saved every two-legged-shuffler on the dang planet. }"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{240}{}{I didn’t realize that.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{242}{hld43}{Well. Now ya do. And what happened next? For a thank you, the damn high-and-mighty Vaulties booted the Vault Dweller out. I always wondered what happened after that.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{243}{}{I can tell you what happened.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{245}{hld44}{Well, I’d sure like to hear that.}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{246}{}{The legend of the Vault Dweller starts with the Vault casting him out into the dry Wastes.... [You tell Harold the story of your ancestor]…and so that’s why I’m looking for Vault 13 now.}"''<br />Harold: ''"{247}{hld45}{Thanks for telling. I sure was curious all these years. You sure got your work cut out for ya. Huh, ya know....}"''<br />The Chosen One: ''"{248}{}{Know what?}"''<br />Harold: ''"{250}{hld46a}{Well, I been saving these for a rainy day, but it sounds like you're gonna need'em more than I ever will. Here, take these.}"''<br />([[Gcharold.msg|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
{{VB}}
 
   
===Back home===
+
===Capital Wasteland===
By the [[Timeline#2250|2250s]], Harold was ill. The tree in his head developed an unknown disease and was dying. Much to his surprise, Harold found himself affected as well. He didn't think he was going to die, but he just didn't feel right in the head.
 
 
So, he set out on a quest for a cure. Naturally, he didn't have an easy time of it either. People just didn't seem to want a mutant around any more, but Harold didn't let that stop him. He persisted in his quest until he came upon the [[Twin Mothers]] tribe, which originated from his home, [[Vault 29]].
 
 
Much to his surprise, the tribe took him in and accepted him as he was. He explained his quest to the [[tribal]] leaders and was told that they would consult their goddess. Days later, Harold was approached by the tribal shaman and given a potion to drink. It was a foul concoction, but it worked. Bob, the tree, got better and was happy again.
 
 
Harold couldn't let such a good deed go unrewarded, so he offered to help the tribe in any way that he could. They smiled at him, and thanked him, but declined his help. "The [[Diana Stone|goddess]] will provide," they always said. Harold said that he would like to pay his respects to the goddess, and was taken to the tribal shrine to be granted a private audience. He wasn't really surprised when the projected image of a woman appeared before him, but he was taken aback when she told him where he could find her. His return to the Nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a "new experience" to him, as much of his early memories faded with age.
 
 
Harold traveled to the [[Nursery]] and spent considerable time there. He even considered settling down and spending the remainder of his day in the tranquility of the gardens. However, eventually he left and traveled even further east.
 
 
If the [[Prisoner]] gives Diana the information on the [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]] and the [[New Plague]] from the [[ZAX (Boulder Dome)|Boulder ZAX]], Diana will be able to create a cure to the New Plague virus in the form of a small fruit, by genetically engineering it from Harold's tree.
 
{{VB|end}}
 
 
===Ascension===
 
 
[[File:FO3 Harold.jpg|thumb]]
 
[[File:FO3 Harold.jpg|thumb]]
  +
After the defeat of the Enclave, he set out once more. The tree growing out of his head continued to grow larger and bear fruit. Its remarkably tough seeds are able to withstand even the toughest environments and thrive.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 0#Questions, questions|Fallout Bible 0]]'': ''"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."''</ref>
Harold's tireless legs eventually carried him all the way to the opposite end of the continent, to the [[Capital Wasteland]]. Overwhelmed by Bob, he stopped to rest, only to realize that he was unable to move anymore, rooted to the ground by his companion. He became part of the tree, sustained by its photosynthesis and nutrients taken from the ground. He took root in the northern Capital Wasteland and was found by a wanderer in the late 2250s.<ref name="Literally rooted">The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"You don't actually seem that sad. Why do you want to die?"''<br />Harold: ''"I've been literally rooted to this spot thanks to Bob for maybe twenty or thirty years... I can't even remember anymore. Can you imagine being stuck in one place for that long not being able to eat or to read or to sleep or anything? In the meantime, I have these Treeminders bothering me every day about things I don't even care about. I can't stand it anymore."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref name="Whycalltreeminders" >The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Why do you call yourselves Treeminders?"''<br />[[Birch]]: ''"We care for this place and keep it safe from those who would seek to exploit it. He gives to us, so we give back to Him. It's an arrangement that's worked well for almost two decades. We shun technology and embrace nature. That's the life of a Treeminder."''<br />([[Birch's dialogue]])</ref> This wanderer, later taking the name Birch, beheld the glory of Harold and knew other wanderers would seek to do the Great One harm. He founded the Treeminders, a group of pure-hearted individuals that would protect the Great One as his last line of defense.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How did the Treeminders begin?"''<br />[[Birch]]: ''"When I first beheld the glory of the Great One, I knew there'd be others who would seek to do Him harm. I also knew He would be calling others that he felt were pure of heart to protect Him. Right then and there I created the Treeminders... the Great One's last line of defense."''<br />([[Birch's dialogue]])</ref> Once Harold and Bob truly became a part of the environment, a verdant vale of growth spread from the tree, washing the barren hillside over with life and greenery,<ref>[[Fallout 3 Official Game Guide]] Game of the Year Edition p.319-320: ''"'''2.01: OASIS (LAT -03/LONG 28)'''''<br />''OASIS''<br />''Oasis is a fertile, verdant dot in the center of all the desolation. This odd hidden vale is home to a strange, tribal-like people who call themselves the Treeminders. You are welcomed into Oasis with open arms, and their leader, Tree Father Birch, invites you to meet their god. Oasis is tucked away inside a giant rocky outcrop in the mountains just northeast of the monorail and freeway skeletons, and the entrance is close to a rope bridge."''<br />([[Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition Tour of the Capital Wasteland]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How is it you're causing all of these things to grow around you?"''<br />Harold: ''"It's kind of embarrassing really. Once a year, Bob decides he's going to go ahead and start growing these weird pods filled with tiny seeds. Well, all it takes is a good wind and the seeds just fly everywhere. I call them Herbert's Seeds. He hates that!"''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref> and enticing [[Creature|animal]] life to inhabit the area.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Amazing, this place seems so abundant with animal life."''<br />[[Birch]]: ''"The innocent creatures are drawn here by His gifts. They come from across the Wasteland to live in this sanctuary. This part of the world is healing, my friend, and it's all thanks to Him."''<br />([[Birch's dialogue]])</ref><ref>There are sounds of birds, crickets, and squirrels? as backround sounds in Oasis.</ref>
 
 
With the Treeminders' care and attention, Bob started to take root further; over time, his root system carried away Harold's internal organs far throughout the cave system below, making it plain that short of a merciful death, Harold would remain forever in one spot.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Hey, maybe if you tell me what Harold is scared of I won't be scared either."''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"Tell me, too! Then I won't be scared either."''<br />[[Yew]]: ''"Awww, I never knew an Outsider could be scared of anything! Harold told me that he's scared of fire. If fire ever got on him, it would burn him and Bob until they were all gone. That's why we keep the fires far away from him."''<br />([[Yew's dialogue]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How would I be able to kill you? You're a tree."''<br />Harold: ''"How to put this? ...I've been feeling rather "spread out" lately. I think Bob's kinda shoved my insides around some. It's hard to tell where everything is, but it's always that way with one's insides, isn't it? Anyway, I believe Bob's carried some of my organs into his root system. I want you to go underground and destroy my heart."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Harold used his ability to spread Herbert's seeds to attract wanderers, at first to amuse himself, and then to find a solution to the problem he was in. The key issue was that the purification ceremony necessary for outsiders to gain access to Harold involved drinking hallucinogenic sap derived from Bob, resulting in psychosis and other severe mental problems in most who came to the Oasis.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How do the Treeminders normally handle other Outsiders?"''<br />Harold: ''"Oh, you wouldn't believe how they handle them. They make them drink this gunk that Poplar makes. Sometimes they just go nuts and start running around, and sometimes when they wake up and see me they run for the hills! I'll tell you, Outsiders are almost as entertaining as the Treeminders!"''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
 
   
He kept trying, hoping to attract someone capable of helping him through his ordeal. Finally, in [[Timeline#2277|2277]], he managed to attract the [[Lone Wanderer]]. Upon their acceptance into the cult, Harold requested that they kill him, to spare him the agony of being rooted in one spot for all eternity.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."''<br />Harold: ''"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you please kill me?"''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"You want me to murder you?"''<br />Harold: ''"Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"You don't actually seem that sad. Why do you want to die?"''<br />Harold: ''"I've been literally rooted to this spot thanks to Bob for maybe twenty or thirty years... I can't even remember anymore. Can you imagine being stuck in one place for that long not being able to eat or to read or to sleep or anything? In the meantime, I have these Treeminders bothering me every day about things I don't even care about. I can't stand it anymore."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Suffering from depression, he pleaded with the Lone Wanderer to end his life, something the Treeminders could not do.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Hey, life is a gift. Even if it lasts a long time, be glad you have it!"''<br />Harold: ''"I've tried to stay happy, really I have. Bloomseer Poplar thinks I'll live for hundreds of years... maybe even more! Can you imagine THAT? Stuck here for centuries? I can't do it, I just want to be alone. Just me and Bob until the end. When I saw you coming towards Oasis, I thought I felt that you'd understand me. I guess I was wrong."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"If people thought I was a god, I'd exploit it for all it's worth!"''<br />Harold: ''"Hey, I thought that too... at first. I had them sing me songs, I made them do stupid dances and things like that. Bob even told me to make Maple stand on his head for a whole day! After a while though, it just gets boring. Then it becomes a nuisance and now it's completely driving me nuts! When I saw you coming towards Oasis, I thought I felt that you'd understand me. I guess I was wrong."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref> His requests for them to end his life wound up interpreted as tests of their moral and spiritual aptitude, rather than genuine pleas for mercy.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Had you ever asked one of them to kill you before?"''<br />Harold: ''"They wouldn't listen to me at all! If I told them something simple, then it got done. Otherwise, Birch spent a week looking for a hidden meaning. Plus, he used to just pop in whenever he wanted and started chanting this nonsense. Sometimes I used to just sit there silently just to make him mad! That was fun for a while. Hopefully this will all change now that things are different... thanks to you!"''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref>Harold: ''"I can't believe you'd kill those innocent people like that. And I thought I was a monster! If I could move, I would show you a thing or two, but Bob has me stuck here."''<br />Harold: ''"Those people you killed were some of the most peaceful people in the Wasteland! How could you do that to them?"''<br />Harold: ''"How dare you come into Oasis and shoot up the place! Even Bob is mad at you, and he never gets mad except when I don't stop calling him Herbert!"''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
+
Harold's tireless legs eventually carried him all the way to the opposite end of the continent, to the [[Capital Wasteland]]. Overwhelmed by [[Bob (tree)|Bob]], he stopped to rest, only to realize that he was unable to move anymore, rooted to the ground by his companion. He became part of the tree, sustained by its photosynthesis and nutrients taken from the ground. He took root in the northern Capital Wasteland and was found by a wanderer in the late 2250s.<ref name="Literally rooted">The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"You don't actually seem that sad. Why do you want to die?"''<br />Harold: ''"I've been literally rooted to this spot thanks to Bob for maybe twenty or thirty years... I can't even remember anymore. Can you imagine being stuck in one place for that long not being able to eat or to read or to sleep or anything? In the meantime, I have these Treeminders bothering me every day about things I don't even care about. I can't stand it anymore."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref name="Whycalltreeminders" >The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Why do you call yourselves Treeminders?"''<br />[[Birch]]: ''"We care for this place and keep it safe from those who would seek to exploit it. He gives to us, so we give back to Him. It's an arrangement that's worked well for almost two decades. We shun technology and embrace nature. That's the life of a Treeminder."''<br />([[OasisTreeFatherBirch.txt|Birch's dialogue]])</ref> This wanderer, later taking the name [[Birch]], beheld the glory of Harold and knew other wanderers would seek to do the Great One harm. He founded the Treeminders, a group of pure-hearted individuals that would protect the Great One as his last line of defense.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How did the Treeminders begin?"''<br />[[Birch]]: ''"When I first beheld the glory of the Great One, I knew there'd be others who would seek to do Him harm. I also knew He would be calling others that he felt were pure of heart to protect Him. Right then and there I created the Treeminders... the Great One's last line of defense."''<br />([[OasisTreeFatherBirch.txt|Birch's dialogue]])</ref> Once Harold and Bob truly became a part of the environment, a verdant vale of growth spread from the tree, washing the barren hillside over with life and greenery, and enticing animal life to inhabit the area.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout 3 Official Game Guide]] Game of the Year Edition'' pp. 319-320: ''"2.01: OASIS (LAT -03/LONG 28)''<br />''OASIS''<br />''Oasis is a fertile, verdant dot in the center of all the desolation. This odd hidden vale is home to a strange, tribal-like people who call themselves the Treeminders. You are welcomed into Oasis with open arms, and their leader, Tree Father Birch, invites you to meet their god. Oasis is tucked away inside a giant rocky outcrop in the mountains just northeast of the monorail and freeway skeletons, and the entrance is close to a rope bridge."''<br />(''[[Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition Tour of the Capital Wasteland]]'')</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How is it you're causing all of these things to grow around you?"''<br />Harold: ''"It's kind of embarrassing really. Once a year, Bob decides he's going to go ahead and start growing these weird pods filled with tiny seeds. Well, all it takes is a good wind and the seeds just fly everywhere. I call them Herbert's Seeds. He hates that!"''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Amazing, this place seems so abundant with animal life."''<br />[[Birch]]: ''"The innocent creatures are drawn here by His gifts. They come from across the Wasteland to live in this sanctuary. This part of the world is healing, my friend, and it's all thanks to Him."''<br />([[OasisTreeFatherBirch.txt|Birch's dialogue]])</ref>
   
  +
With the Treeminders' care and attention, Bob started to take root further; over time, his root system carried away Harold's internal organs far throughout the cave system below, making it plain that short of a merciful death, Harold would remain forever in one spot.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"[Child at Heart] Hey, maybe if you tell me what Harold is scared of I won't be scared either."''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"{{Tooltip|Tell me, too! Then I won't be scared either.|Speech}}"''<br />[[Yew]]: ''"Awww, I never knew an Outsider could be scared of anything! Harold told me that he's scared of fire. If fire ever got on him, it would burn him and Bob until they were all gone. That's why we keep the fires far away from him."''<br />([[OasisSaplingYew.txt|Yew's dialogue]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How would I be able to kill you? You're a tree."''<br />Harold: ''"How to put this? ...I've been feeling rather "spread out" lately. I think Bob's kinda shoved my insides around some. It's hard to tell where everything is, but it's always that way with one's insides, isn't it? Anyway, I believe Bob's carried some of my organs into his root system. I want you to go underground and destroy my heart."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Harold used his ability to spread Herbert's seeds to attract wanderers, at first to amuse himself, and then to find a solution to the problem he was in. The key issue was that the purification ceremony necessary for outsiders to gain access to Harold involved drinking hallucinogenic sap derived from Bob, resulting in psychosis and other severe mental problems in most who came to Oasis.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"How do the Treeminders normally handle other Outsiders?"''<br />Harold: ''"Oh, you wouldn't believe how they handle them. They make them drink this gunk that Poplar makes. Sometimes they just go nuts and start running around, and sometimes when they wake up and see me they run for the hills! I'll tell you, Outsiders are almost as entertaining as the Treeminders!"''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
His sole real companion was [[Yew]], the youngest of the group, who listened to him without reservation.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Which Treeminder do you get along with the best?"''<br />Harold: ''"Actually, the kid is the nicest one of all. Yew's her name. She sneaks in here sometimes and just lets me talk about stuff I wanna talk about. Bob really likes her too, cause she makes me happy."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Others, treating him as a god, always looked for hidden meanings or had their own designs for him. [[Birch|Tree Father Birch]] and [[Laurel|Leaf Mother Laurel]] held two opposing views of what should happen: Birch wished to contain Bob's spread to protect Oasis and Harold, while Laurel desired to share their god's gift with everyone. It was up to the [[Lone Wanderer]] to decide whether to fulfill Harold's wish and euthanize him or persuade him to live on and either have Bob spread out or be contained.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"You've become an important part of their life. Without you, they're lost."''<br />Harold: ''"So, they really need me that badly, huh? I guess I never thought of it that way. Awfully selfish of me. Should we give them another chance, Herbert? Fine, fine. I mean Bob. I still think it's funny when I call him Herbert."''<br />([[Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
 
   
  +
He kept trying, hoping to attract someone capable of helping him through his ordeal. Finally, in [[Timeline#2277|2277]], he managed to attract the [[Lone Wanderer]]. Upon their acceptance into the cult, Harold requested that they kill him, to spare him the agony of being rooted in one spot for all eternity.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."''<br />Harold: ''"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you please kill me?"''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"You want me to murder you?"''<br />Harold: ''"Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"You don't actually seem that sad. Why do you want to die?"''<br />Harold: ''"I've been literally rooted to this spot thanks to Bob for maybe twenty or thirty years... I can't even remember anymore. Can you imagine being stuck in one place for that long not being able to eat or to read or to sleep or anything? In the meantime, I have these Treeminders bothering me every day about things I don't even care about. I can't stand it anymore."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Suffering from depression, he pleaded with the Lone Wanderer to end his life, something the Treeminders could not do.<ref name="LifeIsAGift">The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Hey, life is a gift. Even if it lasts a long time, be glad you have it!"''<br />Harold: ''"I've tried to stay happy, really I have. Bloomseer Poplar thinks I'll live for hundreds of years... maybe even more! Can you imagine THAT? Stuck here for centuries? I can't do it, I just want to be alone. Just me and Bob until the end. When I saw you coming towards Oasis, I thought I felt that you'd understand me. I guess I was wrong."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"If people thought I was a god, I'd exploit it for all it's worth!"''<br />Harold: ''"Hey, I thought that too... at first. I had them sing me songs, I made them do stupid dances and things like that. Bob even told me to make Maple stand on his head for a whole day! After a while though, it just gets boring. Then it becomes a nuisance and now it's completely driving me nuts! When I saw you coming towards Oasis, I thought I felt that you'd understand me. I guess I was wrong."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> His requests for them to end his life wound up interpreted as tests of their moral and spiritual aptitude, rather than genuine pleas for mercy.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Had you ever asked one of them to kill you before?"''<br />Harold: ''"They wouldn't listen to me at all! If I told them something simple, then it got done. Otherwise, Birch spent a week looking for a hidden meaning. Plus, he used to just pop in whenever he wanted and started chanting this nonsense. Sometimes I used to just sit there silently just to make him mad! That was fun for a while. Hopefully this will all change now that things are different... thanks to you!"''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
===Nature of Harold===
 
[[File:FO02 NPC Harold N.png|right|240px]]
 
To the untrained eye, Harold appears to be an ordinary ghoul. This is not so, however. Ghouls are the result of massive and/or long-term radiation damage to a human body; Harold is a product of the [[Forced Evolutionary Virus]]. Unlike most people who are exposed to FEV, Harold did not become a [[Mariposa super mutant|super mutant]], but is the result of a unique combination of radiation damage from constant low-level environmental exposure, indirect exposure to FEV (it is unclear how Harold was infected with FEV as he blacked out for a while during his exploration of Mariposa) and a fair amount of random chance. Thus he's not a ghoul, and certainly not a super mutant, though it could be argued that he is somehow a hybrid of the two. To quote [[Tim Cain]], "Harold is special."
 
   
  +
He and Bob genuinely only enjoyed the company of [[Yew]], the youngest of the group, who listened to him without reservation.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Which Treeminder do you get along with the best?"''<br />Harold: ''"Actually, the kid is the nicest one of all. Yew's her name. She sneaks in here sometimes and just lets me talk about stuff I wanna talk about. Bob really likes her too, cause she makes me happy."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> Others, treating him as a god, always looked for hidden meanings or had their own designs for him. [[Birch|Tree Father Birch]] and [[Laurel|Leaf Mother Laurel]] held two opposing views of what should happen: Birch wished to contain Bob's spread to protect Oasis and Harold, while Laurel desired to share their god's gift with everyone. One can decide to fulfill Harold's wish and euthanize him or persuade him to live on and either have Bob spread out or be contained.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"You've become an important part of their life. Without you, they're lost."''<br />Harold: ''"So, they really need me that badly, huh? I guess I never thought of it that way. Awfully selfish of me. Should we give them another chance, Herbert? Fine, fine. I mean Bob. I still think it's funny when I call him Herbert."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref name="LifeIsAGift" /><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Ok, I'll do it."''<br />Harold: ''"You will? Oh! You've made us so happy! Isn't that right Bob? Just give me a little time to say goodbye to good old Bob and then I'll be ready."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."''<br />Harold: ''"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you please kill me? "''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"Kill you? You can't be serious!"''<br />Harold: ''"Completely serious. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"Look, I really don't want to kill you..."''<br />Harold: ''"Of all the Wastelanders I had to bump into it has to be one with a conscience. Let's keep it an open invitation then. I don't want to wait until the next person visits, it could be years."''<br />The Lone Wanderer: ''"Can I have some time to think about it?"''<br />Harold: ''"Of course. I know this is an unusual request, but hey, I'm an unusual tree. Well, Bob is anyway... We'll just keep it an open invitation then. I don't want to wait until the next person visits, it could be years... you're all I've got."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
Furthermore, Tim Cain has this to say on the subject: ''"As for contact [with FEV], any contact at all will infect the subject, but the amount of contact determines the result. For example, I imagine Harold had some contact with the virus, but he was not fully immersed in it, so he became a different mutant than the Master's subjects. Full immersion, of course, is the preferred method of infection, as it provides the virus a large surface area for infection."''
 
   
  +
==Characteristics ==
Another similar [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]]-created, ghoul-like mutant is [[Talius]].
 
  +
===Mutation===
  +
Unlike most people who are exposed to FEV, Harold did not become a [[Super mutant (Fallout)|super mutant]], but is the result of a unique combination of radiation damage from constant low-level environmental exposure and contact with FEV, resulting in a hybrid type of species.<ref group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 5#Questions|Fallout Bible 5]]'': ''"27. I disagree with making Harold not a ghoul. During Fallout 1 the name "ghoul" was not yet as widely used as in F2. Harold could have disagreed with calling his mutant kind with such a name (which is not very nice). When you ask him about the ghouls he says:''<br />''{1102}{hrold302}{Mutants. Doesn't matter what they call themselves.}''<br />''I think it doesn't necessarily mean that he's not a ghoul. It just means that he doesn't want to be called a 'ghoul'. He says, that the ghouls are mutants, just like him, and it doesn't matter how they call themselves.''<br />''I think the name 'ghouls' was either created for them by the Necropolis ghouls themselves, or by people who considered them monsters. As he looks like a ghoul, i think he would be considered one by both. Ghouls are not like supermutants, they are not all the same. It's only a name for people twisted by radiation or FEV (or both). There may be ghouls created only by radiation, and ghouls created only by FEV.''<br />''I also think, though Harold was mutated in the Vats, that if you say that all the ghouls were created by the FEV, then there isn't much difference between Harold and other ghouls.''<br />''Chris Taylor wrote:''<br />''"Actually, a dip in FEV has a chance of modifying Intelligence, but it doesn't always increase it. Some people do gain increased intelligence, a larger majority lose intelligence and most people remain the same. It also depends if people have enough radiation damage to be turned into ghouls or super mutants.''<br />''If so, then people dipped in the Vats can become ghouls instead of supermutants, if they are radiated. I think that easily matches Harold's case...''<br />''Fallout 2:''<br />''{100}{}{You see a particularly leathery-looking Ghoul.}''<br />''{101}{}{You see Harold.}''<br />''{102}{}{You see a very old but still spry-looking ghoul.}''<br />''{172}{}{Put a sock in it ya smelly old ghoul. Goodbye.}''<br />''Loxley (F1):''<br />''{244}{LOX_69}{Harold? He's a good enough sort, for being a ghoul an all. Lives on the south side.}''<br />''As you can see, Harold is called a ghoul in the game.''<br />''Butch (F1):''<br />''{233}{BUTCH46}{Alright, so it wasn't the Death Claw. But what would the mutants in Old Town want with our caravans? Unless it's some kind of conspiracy.}''<br />''As you can see, there are more muties in the Hub Old town, not only Harold (though we don't see them in the game). And they are all called both 'mutants' and 'ghouls'.''<br />''I think the point is that you call 'ghouls' only the ones that were exposed to 'wild' FEV in the air and radiation, and not the ones that were screwed-up results of dipping (like Harold and Talius). I think both kinds should be called 'ghouls', because, though they were created with different methods, the result is identical, and they were both result of radiation and FEV (ghouls of Necropolis are radiated people that were exposed to mutated FEV in the air, and Harold and Talius are result of dipping people with radiation damage - think this is what Chris Taylor meant)."''<br />''"All good points - Tim Cain and Chris Taylor agree with you, and they say Harold's a ghoul. To quote statements within the past week:''<br />''Chris Taylor: Ghouls are a type of mutant.''<br />''Harold is a ghoul. He's also a little special.''<br />''Super Mutants are humans with no or minimal radiation damage who have been exposed to FEV.''<br />''Ghouls are humans with significant radiation damage exposed to FEV.''<br />''Harold is, well, Harold.''<br />''Tim Cain: I know we treated him as a ghoul, but not a Necropolis one. He may have been irradiated before or after. All I remember was that he went in there with the guy whose name I forget (the one who fell into the vat and became the Master), and only Harold came out. Harold's memory is totally whacked, btw. ...most people don't know when they get irradiated, so he [Harold] just may not know what happened to him. I do know that radiation and FEV do not mix. Mutants are immune to radiation effects, but an irradiate human is killed by exposure to FEV. So one thing is sure: Harold is not a mix of radiation and FEV. He's got to be one or the other, and I think he's a ghoul.''<br />''According to Chris, ghouls are irradiated humans exposed to FEV.''<br />''According to Tim, ghouls are due solely to radiation.''<br />''Both agree Harold is special. And I don't mean handicapped.''<br />''Officially: Ghouls are a mix of FEV and radiation. Harold is a mutant who resembles a ghoul. Harold may have had some radiation damage before he was exposed to FEV, but his mutation (outside of his surface appearance) makes him different than a ghoul. Most ghouls are the result of extreme radiation + FEV exposure, but Harold's change was due primarily to FEV exposure (again, he could have sucked up a few rads in the wastes without him knowing, especially considering how long he ran caravans in the wastes).''<br />''He is hideously mutated enough so that he looks like a ghoul, but he's not technically one, and this is the mistake that Loxley makes (Loxley only judges a book by its cover, and he knows nothing about genetics or anything beyond a surface appearance).''<br />''You can call him a ghoul if you want, but the official answer is:''<br />''"Harold is Harold." Harold's special.''<br />''BTW, glowing ghouls are ghouls that suck up too many rads after they have become ghouls. We originally wanted Lenny in F2 to be able to turn into a glowing ghoul when he drinks too much radioactive liquor, but we didn't put it in."''</ref>
   
  +
===Bob ===
Harold behaves unusually in treating Bob as if the plant were actually sentient. Although at no point does the plant indicate that it can convey feelings, Harold certainly is not stupid, and perhaps only crazy in the humorous sense, yet he still insists on hearing out the plant's opinions on certain matters that he might otherwise take seriously. Given Harold's newfound ability to "see" through the trees that are descended from Bob through the use of extreme concentration, it may not be much of a stretch to suggest that both are deeply linked in some unknown way, almost certainly as a result of FEV exposure. Because of his mutation, it is no surprise that Harold is afraid of fire.
 
  +
{{Main|Bob (tree)}}
  +
The tree growing out of, and eventually, overwhelming Harold, is named [[Bob (tree)|Bob]]. Bob sprouted from Harold's head sometime after his exposure to FEV at the Mariposa Military Base. In the beginning, Bob was a small sprig but its growth accelerated, turning into a full-sized tree, overtaking Harold, and rooting itself to the ground in the [[Capital Wasteland]] region.<ref name="ReferenceA">The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"What's with all the names? Bob, Herbert and Harold? I don't get it."''<br />Harold: ''"I was once a man a long time ago named Harold. Something in me changed and a weird little tree started growing right out of my head. It kept getting bigger until I ended up stuck inside. When people would ask about it, I decided to name it Bob. You know, like a friend or something. Sometimes I call him Herbert instead of Bob, because I get bored and I think it's funny. So long story short, call me Harold!"''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> As of 2277, the two have been rooted to the location for over two decades.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"You want me to murder you?"''<br />Harold: ''"Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
   
  +
Harold considers Bob his friend and speaks to him as if he was thinking aloud. Harold will sometimes jokingly refer to Bob as Herbert and makes several comments regarding the literal and figurative closeness of their relationship.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Um... I must be dreaming."''<br />Harold: ''"Sigh. I wish I was too. Then me and Herbert could be the best of friends and live side by side. He's the tree, you see. We're old pals... the best of buddies and we know each other inside and out; literally. Well, his name's really Bob. I think it's funny to call him Herbert. But I don't think he thinks it's that funny."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref> When the [[Lone Wanderer]] approaches Bob and Harold for the first time, Harold will share that he was able to see their approach through the leaves of other trees, and although impressive, makes Bob jealous.<ref>The [[Lone Wanderer]]: ''"Seeing me approach Oasis is quite a feat for a living tree."''<br />Harold: ''"Maybe I'm just losing my mind from all this boredom. I swear if I try real hard, I can see all around me like my eyes are in every leaf on every tree. I think it's making Bob kind of jealous, cause he was the first tree in my life and all that."''<br />([[Harold.txt|Harold's dialogue]])</ref>
Despite his appearance, Harold is a kind-hearted soul with a comical personality. He has made many friends throughout his travels, potentially including the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One and the Lone Wanderer. He is also good with kids, as evidenced by his friendship with [[Yew|Sapling Yew]] in Oasis, of whom he is particularly fond.
 
   
 
==Interactions with the player character==
 
==Interactions with the player character==
===''Fallout''===
+
===''Fallout'' ===
 
{{Interactions FO1
 
{{Interactions FO1
|perm companion =
+
|perm companion =
|temp companion =
+
|temp companion =
|talking head =yes
+
|talking head =y
  +
|wares =
|faction hostile =
 
|wares =
+
|items modified =
|restocks =
+
|doctor =
  +
|medical services =
|items modified =
 
|heal =
+
|slaves =
  +
|quests started =
|cure radiation =
 
  +
|quests involved =* {{Icon|FO1}} [[Find the missing caravans]]
|heal cripple =
 
  +
* {{Icon|FO2}} [[Solve the Gecko powerplant problem]]
|quests started =
 
  +
* {{Icon|FO3}} [[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]]
|quests involved =*[[Find the missing caravans]]
 
  +
|dead =
 
}}
 
}}
 
 
====Quests====
 
====Quests====
* [[Find the missing caravans]]: [[Beth (Fallout)|Beth]] tells the Vault Dweller to go to Harold to obtain more information on the missing caravans.
+
* {{Icon|FO1}} [[Find the missing caravans]]: [[Beth (Fallout)|Beth]] tells the Vault Dweller to go to Harold to obtain more information on the missing caravans.
  +
* {{Icon|FO2}} [[Solve the Gecko powerplant problem]]: Harold is concerned that if the pollution does not cease, [[Vault City]] will assault [[Gecko (town)|Gecko]] and kill all of the ghouls.
  +
**If the quest is concluded in favor of the ghouls, Harold will thank the Chosen One once he's talked to afterwards, calling them the Vault Dweller. This thread is only available once, but following it through will result in Harold gifting the player character five stimpaks and three super stimpaks. Note that talking to Lenny about the Vault Dweller will render this dialogue path unavailable, as the same variable is checked for both.
  +
*{{Icon|FO3}} [[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]]: [[Birch]] wants to stop Harold's influence on the wasteland, [[Laurel]] wants to spread his influence and Harold just wants to die.
  +
==== Other interactions====
  +
*In ''[[Fallout: The Board Game]]'', Harold can be acquired at the shop by any [[Fallout: The Board Game player characters|player character]] that has [[Endurance]]. When shopping with him as the active companion, the player character can exhaust him in order to gain an additional two bottle caps for every item they sell. When the player character performs the camp action, he will become unexhausted. However, if the player character does not have [[Charisma]] at this time, he must be discarded.
   
====Tell me about====
+
====Tell me abouts====
{|class="va-table va-table-full collapsible collapsed"
+
{| class="va-table va-table-full collapsible collapsed"
! colspan="2" | Harold's [[Tell me about]]s in the original ''[[Fallout]]''
+
! colspan="2" |Harold's [[tell me about]]s in ''[[Fallout]]''
   
 
|-
 
|-
! Query
+
!Query
! Response
+
!Response
   
 
|-
 
|-
| Richard, Grey
+
|[[Master|Richard, Grey]]
| Brilliant guy. A doctor and philosopher. Long ago he lead the expedition where I got changed into a mutant.
+
|Brilliant guy. A doctor and philosopher. Long ago he lead{{sic}} the expedition where I got changed into a mutant.
   
 
|-
 
|-
| Master
+
|Master
| Who? Is he some sort of sex therapist? I could use one, you know.
+
|Who? Is he some sort of sex therapist? I could use one, you know.
   
 
|-
 
|-
  +
|[[Ghoul]]s
| Ghouls
 
 
| Mutants. Doesn't matter what they call themselves.
 
| Mutants. Doesn't matter what they call themselves.
   
 
|-
 
|-
| Loxley
+
|[[Loxley]]
| Him. He leads the Thieves Circle. Thinks he's Robin Hood. [cough] He's alright, I guess.
+
|Him. He leads the [[Circle of Thieves|Thieves Circle]]. Thinks he's Robin Hood. [cough] He's alright, I guess.
   
 
|-
 
|-
| Cathedral
+
|[[Children of the Cathedral|Cathedral]]
 
| I've seen religions come and religions go, and I hope this one goes. Soon.
 
| I've seen religions come and religions go, and I hope this one goes. Soon.
   
 
|-
 
|-
| Vault
+
|[[Vault]]
| Yeah, I came from a Vault. Too many people, not enough food and water. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?
+
|Yeah, I came from a Vault. Too many people, not enough food and water. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?
   
 
|-
 
|-
| War
+
|[[Great War|War]]
| Horrible. The world just went insane. Long ago, but I'll never forget it. Never.
+
|Horrible. The world just went insane. Long ago, but I'll never forget it. Never.
   
 
|-
 
|-
| Decker
+
|[[Decker]]
| [Cough] Trouble. Nothing but trouble.
+
|[Cough] Trouble. Nothing but trouble.
 
 
|}
 
|}
   
===''Fallout 2''===
+
===''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel'' ===
{{Interactions FO1
 
|perm companion =
 
|temp companion =
 
|talking head =yes
 
|faction hostile =
 
|wares =
 
|restocks =
 
|items modified =
 
|heal =
 
|cure radiation =
 
|heal cripple =
 
|quests started =[[Solve the Gecko powerplant problem]]
 
|quests involved =
 
}}
 
   
  +
*{{Icon|FOBOS}} [[Find Missing Pieces]] - {{color|gray|Harold has lost three pieces of his body and asks the player character to retrieve them.}}
====Quests====
 
  +
*{{Icon|FOBOS}} [[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel quests#Chapter 1|Harold's romp with Ruby]] - {{color|gray|The Initiate can remind Harold of his adventures with Ruby, the prostitute from Carbon, for 300 XP.}}
* [[Solve the Gecko powerplant problem]]: Harold is concerned that if the pollution does not cease, Vault City will assault Gecko and kill all of the ghouls.
 
   
===''Fallout 3''===
+
==Notable quotes==
  +
;''Fallout 2''
{{Interactions FO3
 
  +
*{{Inline quote|Yep, but I’m doing great for being dead! I never get tired of the looks when I tell that one.|sound=FO2 Harold GreatForBeingDead.ogg}}
|essential =
 
  +
;''Fallout 3''
|enslave =
 
  +
*{{Inline quote|See Herbert, now that's a nice person for you. Why can't you be more like that?|sound=Herbert nice person.ogg}}
|ear =
 
  +
*{{Inline quote|Please, I can't very well speak to you when you're back there.|sound=Speak back there.ogg}}
|finger =
 
  +
*{{Inline quote|Come around, to where I can see you (coughs and splutters).|sound=Come around.ogg}}
|temp companion =
 
  +
;''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel''
|perm companion =
 
  +
*{{Inline quote|Sometimes the meat slides right off the bone, if you know what I mean. Heh heh. Whoo. That was a wild time.|sound=FoBoS Harold Sometimes the meat.ogg}}
|wares =
 
|caps =
 
|max condition =
 
|heal =
 
|cure addiction =
 
|cure radiation =
 
|rent =
 
|quests started =[[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]]
 
|quests involved =
 
}}
 
   
  +
==Other depictions==
====Quests====
 
  +
*[[File:FOBOS Harold.png|thumb|Harold missing an arm.]]Harold appears in ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]''. After the destruction of the [[Unity|Master's Army]], Harold left the Hub and became a traveler who visited various places around the wasteland. It is known that he traveled to [[Carbon]] around [[Timeline#2208|2208]], where he had a sexual encounter with Carbon's prostitute, [[Ruby (Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel)|Ruby]]. He briefly resided in the ghoul city of [[Los]], in the Bridge area, away from the "ghoul crazies" and [[Church of the Lost|religious fanatics]]. He wanted to have a good time in Los after leaving Carbon, but the arrival of super mutants and the loss of his hand, his toe, and his eye in the city changed the deal. The [[Initiate (player character)|Initiate]] helped Harold to recover his parts so he could leave the city before its destruction.
* [[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]]: [[Birch]] wants to stop Harold's influence on the wasteland, [[Laurel]] wants to spread his influence and Harold just wants to die.
 
  +
*A mutant named "[[Harold (Fallout Tactics)|Harold]]" with a tree growing out of his head appears in ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel|Fallout Tactics]]'', though his given bio does not resemble the character from the rest of the series.
  +
*In ''[[Fallout Shelter Online]]'', he appears both as a story character in Oasis and as a playable Hero. The game also suggests he survived the events of ''Fallout 3'', being set after it.
  +
*Harold appears in the ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' crossover event as the card "Harold and Bob, First Numens." He is depicted as a tree, in an approximation of his ''[[Fallout 3]]'' appearance, worshiped by [[Treeminders]]. His eye appears to be on the right side in this illustration. [[Numen]]s are a concept from [[Church of Harold]] lore, from the canceled ''[[Project V13]]''.
  +
*Harold appears as a skin in the ''[[References to Fallout in other media|Minecraft Mash-up Pack]]'', specifically identified as his ''Fallout 2'' design. There is also a location based on [[Oasis]], where a tree with a face can be seen at the central clearing.
   
  +
==Notes ==
===''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel''===
 
  +
*Harold appears in more games than any other character. Other characters appearing in multiple main series titles include [[Tandi]], [[Marcus]], [[Madison Li]], [[Robert MacCready|MacCready]], and [[Arthur Maxson]].
{{Interactions univ
 
  +
*Harold explicitly refers to himself as a ghoul in ''Fallout Shelter Online''.
|perm companion =
 
|temp companion =
 
|faction =
 
|wares =
 
|heal =
 
|quests started =*[[Find Missing Pieces]]
 
|quests involved =
 
}}
 
   
====Quests====
+
==Appearances==
  +
Harold appears in ''[[Fallout]]'', ''[[Fallout 2]]'', ''[[Fallout 3]]'', ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'', ''[[Fallout Shelter Online]]'' and the ''[[Fallout: The Board Game]]'' add-on ''[[Fallout: New California]]''. He was also planned for inclusion {{in|VB}}, as well as ''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2''. Photos of Harold appear in ''[[The Armageddon Rag]]'', and he would have appeared in ''[[Project V13]]''. He was also featured in the ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' crossover event and the ''[[References to Fallout in other media|Minecraft Mash-up Pack]]''.
* [[Find Missing Pieces]]: Harold is having trouble keeping parts of his body on, so he sends the Initiate to look for his missing body parts.
 
   
  +
==Behind the scenes==
===''Fallout: New California''===
 
  +
===Cut content===
{{FBGNC}}
 
  +
*In ''Fallout'', Harold was tied to the good [[Fallout endings|ending]] for [[the Hub]]. By giving money to Harold, the player character would be considered as having "shown kindness," setting global variable 606 to positive (<code>KIND_TO_HAROLD</code>). The ending is triggered correctly if the GVAR is set, but as Harold's dialogue does not change it, the ending remains unobtainable.
Harold can be acquired at the shop by any [[Fallout: The Board Game player characters|player character]] that has [[Endurance]]. When shopping with him as the active companion, the player character can exhaust him in order to gain an additional two bottle caps for every item they sell.
 
  +
**In the game, there are no other ghouls in [[Old Town]], although the area is noted to be inhabited by "skags" and other impoverished denizens of the city.
  +
**The cut narration is as follows:
  +
{{transcript|text = With your assistance, Old Harold brings the ghoul population of the Hub into equality with the humans. The two sides work together, and the Hub prospers. Old Harold is still alive, as far as anyone knows.}}
  +
*Some inaccessible content in ''Fallout Tactics'' involves Harold.
  +
**A cut holotape titled [[Prophecy]] concerns the [[Plutonius|Plutonian]] legend of Saint Harold of the Leafy Scalp.
  +
**The internal character description of the Plutonian [[Defcon|Bishop Defcon]] states that he has a tree growing from his head, but this text cannot be seen in-game.
   
  +
===Canceled games ===
When the player character performs the camp action, he will become unexhausted. However, if the player character does not have [[Charisma]] at this time, he must be discarded.
 
  +
*He was planned for inclusion in ''[[Van Buren]]'', the canceled ''Fallout 3'' by [[Black Isle Studios]]. The incarnation would have expanded greatly on his background, making him a denizen of ''Van Buren''{{'}}s [[Vault 29 (Van Buren)|Vault 29]], which was populated with young children separated from their parents, and placed under the care of [[Diana Stone|Diana]], a human scientist immortalized by merging her human brain with a supercomputer controlling the Vault and the [[Nursery]], a repository of seeds and genetic records preserved in case of a global thermonuclear war. Diana would control the unrest by periodically releasing young dwellers to scout the surface and report whether it was safe to settle. They never returned, as Diana would take them to the Nursery, where they would either be able to join her or leave, after being conditioned to be unable to speak of the Nursery or the Vault.<ref group="Non-canon">[[Nursery design document]]</ref> Harold was selected by Diana and initially agreed to stay, before escaping. He kept the Nursery a secret, believing it his duty to protect it from those who would exploit it.<ref group="Non-game" name="Ausir1">Information acquired from one of the developers by [[User:VaultAusir|Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski]]: ''”Yes, we actually remembered about him coming from Vault 29 originally. The story was that he was taken by a robot to the Nursery. There he was given the choice of staying with Diana, or exploring the outside world. However, if he chose to explore, she would have to 'condition' him, so that he could not reveal anything about her, or the nursery to the world. He agreed to stay, but escaped eventually. Afterwards, he kept the nursery a secret because he felt it was his duty to the world to keep such a future gift intact until the world was ready for it. His later return to the nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a 'new experience' to him, as much of his early memories faded with age.''”</ref>
  +
**Harold would have played a major role in the Nursery and [[Twin Mothers Village]] questlines, eventually retiring and ending his role in the series. Bob would become instrumental in developing a cure for the [[New Plague]], if the [[Prisoner]] gave Diana the information on the F.E.V. and New Plague from the [[ZAX (Boulder Dome)|Boulder ZAX]], providing genetically engineered fruit that would heal the afflicted.<ref group="Non-game" name="Ausir2">Information acquired from the developers by [[User:VaultAusir|Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski]]:<br>''"Yes, him being the source of Diana's cure was indeed our intent."''</ref><ref name="Boulder" group="Non-canon">[[Boulder Dome design document]] for ''[[Van Buren]]''</ref><ref group="Non-canon">[[Twin Mothers design document]]: ''"By the [[Timeline#2250|2250s]], Harold was ill. The tree in his head developed an unknown disease and was dying. Much to his surprise, Harold found himself affected as well. He didn't think he was going to die, but he just didn't feel right in the head. So, he set out on a quest for a cure. Naturally, he didn't have an easy time of it either. People just didn't seem to want a mutant around anymore, but Harold didn't let that stop him. He persisted in his quest until he came upon the [[Twin Mothers (Van Buren)|Twin Mothers]] tribe, which originated from his home, [[Vault 29 (Van Buren)|Vault 29]]. Much to his surprise, the tribe took him in and accepted him as he was. He explained his quest to the [[tribal]] leaders and was told that they would consult their goddess. Days later, Harold was approached by the tribal shaman and given a potion to drink. It was a foul concoction, but it worked. Bob, the tree, got better and was happy again. Harold couldn't let such a good deed go unrewarded, so he offered to help the tribe in any way that he could. They smiled at him, and thanked him, but declined his help. "The [[Diana Stone|goddess]] will provide," they always said. Harold said that he would like to pay his respects to the goddess, and was taken to the tribal shrine to be granted a private audience. He wasn't really surprised when the projected image of a woman appeared before him, but he was taken aback when she told him where he could find her. His return to the Nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a "new experience" for him, as much of his early memories faded with age. Harold traveled to the [[Nursery]] and spent considerable time there. He even considered settling down and spending the remainder of his day in the tranquility of the gardens. Eventually, he left and traveled even further east. If the [[Prisoner]] gives Diana the information on the [[Forced Evolutionary Virus|FEV]] and the [[New Plague]] from the [[ZAX (Boulder Dome)|Boulder ZAX]], Diana will be able to create a cure for the New Plague virus in the form of small fruit, by genetically engineering it from Harold's tree."''</ref>
  +
*Harold was planned for inclusion in [[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay's]] canceled ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2]]''.
  +
* In ''[[Project V13]]'', Harold and Bob would have become the deities of the [[Church of Harold]]. Members of this society referred to Harold as a "[[Numen]]," and regarded him as a host that represents a symbiosis between mutant and plant lives.<ref group="Non-canon">[[The Armageddon Rag, Vol. 2]]</ref>
  +
** The concept was later invoked in the ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' crossover event, in the title of Harold's card: ''"Harold and Bob, First Numens."''
   
  +
===Development and voiceover ===
==Notable quotes==
 
  +
*A group called "Harold's Cult" is mentioned in a piece of concept art by [[Adam Adamowicz]], which was released after Adamowicz's death. It depicts an early version of the [[Treeminders]].
  +
**These designs were later used for [[Mothman]] cultist robes in ''[[Night of the Moth]]''.
  +
*According to the ''[[Fallout Bible]]'', Harold's dialogue in ''Fallout'' was written by [[Mark O'Green]], who was later the principal author of ''[[The Armageddon Rag]]''.
  +
*In ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2'', Harold is voiced by actor [[Charlie Adler]]. In ''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel'', he is voiced by [[Alan Oppenheimer]].
  +
*In ''Fallout 3'', Harold is voiced by [[Stephen Russell]]. In the ''Fallout 3'' credits, Russell's role as Harold is credited as "The Great One."
  +
**In localized versions of ''Fallout 3'', Harold's voice is dubbed by Piotr Bąk (Polish), Aparicio Rivero (Spanish) and Oleg Shcherbinin (Russian; also the dubbed voice of Harold in ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2'').
  +
*In ''Fallout 3'', the writing for Harold as he appears in [[Oasis]] was worked on by quest designer [[Alan Nanes]], who was also one of the designers on the [[Oasis (quest)|Oasis]] quest itself.<ref group="Non-game">[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/General:Meet_the_Devs_of_Skyrim Meet the Devs of Skyrim Q&A]:<br />[[Alan Nanes]]: ''"Some of the most notable characters is a really tough question. Harold in Fallout was a big one for me. I also really liked enjoyed writing the characters involved in 'The Family' as well."''</ref>
  +
  +
===Developer quotes===
  +
{{Quotation|Ghouls are a type of mutant.
  +
  +
Harold is a ghoul. He's also a little special.
  +
  +
Super Mutants are humans with no or minimal radiation damage who have been exposed to FEV.
  +
  +
Ghouls are humans with significant radiation damage exposed to FEV.
  +
  +
Harold is, well, Harold.|[[Chris Taylor]], ''[[Fallout Bible 5]]''}}
  +
  +
{{Quotation|I know we treated him as a ghoul, but not a Necropolis one. He may have been irradiated before or after. All I remember was that he went in there with the guy whose name I forget (the one who fell into the vat and became the Master), and only Harold came out. Harold's memory is totally whacked, btw.
  +
  +
...most people don't know when they get irradiated, so he [Harold] just may not know what happened to him. I do know that radiation and FEV do not mix. Mutants are immune to radiation effects, but an irradiate human is killed by exposure to FEV. So one thing is sure: Harold is not a mix of radiation and FEV. He's got to be one or the other, and I think he's a ghoul.|[[Tim Cain]], ''[[Fallout Bible 5]]''}}
  +
  +
{{Quotation|As for contact [with FEV], any contact at all will infect the subject, but the amount of contact determines the result. For example, I imagine Harold had some contact with the virus, but he was not fully immersed in it, so he became a different mutant than the Master's subjects. Full immersion, of course, is the preferred method of infection, as it provides the virus a large surface area for infection.|[[Tim Cain]]{{Citation needed}}}}
  +
  +
== Gallery==
 
===''Fallout''===
 
===''Fallout''===
<gallery widths=220>
+
<gallery>
FO01 NPC Harold N.png|[[File:FO01 NPC Harold Clip 1.ogg|noicon|220px]] "Well, after the Great War, my Vault was one of the first to open. [Takes a deep breath] Whew. Long time."
+
FO01 NPC Harold N.png|[[File:FO01 NPC Harold Clip 1.ogg]] "Well, after the Great War, my Vault was one of the first to open. [Takes a deep breath] Whew. Long time."
FO01 NPC Harold G.png|[[File:FO01 NPC Harold Clip 2.ogg|noicon|220px]] "Oh, kind of ya, friend. Very kind. You know, if I could clear the gunk out of there, you, just might find a tear in Old Harold's eye."
+
FO01 NPC Harold G.png|[[File:FO01 NPC Harold Clip 2.ogg]] "Oh, kind of ya, friend. Very kind. You know, if I could clear the gunk out of there, you, just might find a tear in Old Harold's eye."
FO01 NPC Harold B.png|[[File:FO01 NPC Harold Clip 3.ogg|noicon|220px]] "Nevermind, that was from my time. I'm cranky, old and I've been that way ever since I changed."
+
FO01 NPC Harold B.png|[[File:FO01 NPC Harold Clip 3.ogg]] "Nevermind, that was from my time. I'm cranky, old and I've been that way ever since I changed."
Avatar-Harold.jpg|Harold's headshot
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
   
 
===''Fallout 2''===
 
===''Fallout 2''===
<gallery widths=220>
+
<gallery>
FO02 NPC Harold N.png|[[File:FO02 NPC Harold Clip 1.ogg|noicon|220px]] "I gotta tell ya, ol' Harold's a bit slow on the draw hisself. The two of us talkin' wouldn't get a whole lot done."
+
FO02 NPC Harold N.png|[[File:FO02 NPC Harold Clip 1.ogg]] "I gotta tell ya, ol' Harold's a bit slow on the draw hisself. The two of us talkin' wouldn't get a whole lot done."
FO02 NPC Harold G.png|[[File:FO02 NPC Harold Clip 2.ogg|noicon|220px]] "Mighty kind a'ya. Not many smoothskins would do that for a town full of ghouls. Kinda reminds me of a smoothie I knew, way back when."
+
FO02 NPC Harold G.png|[[File:FO02 NPC Harold Clip 2.ogg]] "Mighty kind a'ya. Not many smoothskins would do that for a town full of ghouls. Kinda reminds me of a smoothie I knew, way back when."
FO02 NPC Harold B.png|[[File:FO02 NPC Harold Clip 3.ogg|noicon|220px]] "I'd rather look like this than look like you and have to be you. You are a bonehead. Get the hell outta here."
+
FO02 NPC Harold B.png|[[File:FO02 NPC Harold Clip 3.ogg]] "I'd rather look like this than look like you and have to be you. You are a bonehead. Get the hell outta here."
  +
Fo2 Harold Gecko.png|Harold in the [[Gecko settlement]]
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
   
  +
===''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel''===
* {{Inline quote|Yep, but I’m doing great for being dead! I never get tired of the looks when I tell that one.|sound=FO2 Harold GreatForBeingDead.ogg}}
 
  +
<gallery>
  +
BOS Harold full.png|Harold in ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]''
  +
BOS Harold arm.png|Harold with his arm restored
  +
</gallery>
   
 
===''Fallout 3''===
 
===''Fallout 3''===
  +
<gallery>
* {{Inline quote|See Herbert, now that's a nice person for you. Why can't you be more like that?|sound=Herbert nice person.ogg}}
 
  +
Harold.jpg|Harold in ''[[Fallout 3]]''
* {{Inline quote|Please, I can't very well speak to you when you're back there.|sound=Speak back there.ogg}}
 
  +
FO3_Harold_endslide 1.jpg|Burning Harold
* {{Inline quote|Come around, to where I can see you (coughs and splutters).|sound=Come around.ogg}}
 
  +
FO3_Harold_endslide 2.jpg|Harold's death
  +
Harolds_heart.jpg|[[Fallout 3 and New Vegas miscellaneous world objects#Harold's heart|Harold's heart]] in the Sunken Chambers
  +
Harold corpse.jpg|Harold, burnt
  +
Fo3 harold1 tex.png|Texture file
  +
</gallery>
   
===''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel''===
+
===''Fallout Shelter Online''===
  +
<gallery>
* {{Inline quote|Sometimes the meat slides right off the bone, if you know what I mean. Heh heh. Whoo. That was a wild time.|sound=FoBoS Harold Sometimes the meat.ogg}}
 
  +
FSO Capital Wasteland Trailer Harold.gif|Harold and the Treeminders in a trailer for ''[[Fallout Shelter Online]]'''s Capital Wasteland update
  +
FOSO Oasis.png|Harold at Oasis in ''Fallout Shelter Online''
  +
FSO SpriteAtlasTexture HeroNPC Harold.png
  +
FSO Harold sprite.gif
  +
FOSOHaroldHeroCard.png|Hero card Harold in FSO
  +
</gallery>
   
===''The Armageddon Rag''===
+
=== ''Minecraft Mash-up Pack'' ===
  +
<gallery>
* ''"Be kind to the Smoothskins. One saved the world once. 'Course, they broke it to start with."''
 
  +
File:MC Harold skin.png
  +
File:MC Harold tree.png
  +
</gallery>
   
==Notes==
+
===Other===
  +
<gallery>
In ''Fallout'', Harold's "Tell-Me-About" on vaults leads to his explaining that the vault he originated from failed, due to an overabundance of vault dwellers, and a lack of food to sustain their numbers. This actually corresponds to the description of Vault 27 in ''Fallout Bible''. This vault was to be deliberately overcrowded by twice the sustainable amount, as opposed to Vault 29 as it's described in ''Van Buren'', not canon either. This means the official fate of Harold's home is the one he tells.
 
  +
HaroldTAR.png|"Be kind to the Smoothskins. One saved the world once. 'Course, they broke it to start with."
 
  +
Haroldfnc.png |Harold's ''Fallout: New California'' card
When asked about "Master," Harold related it to "some sort of sex therapist," a reference to an American gynecologist in real-life, William H. Masters.
 
  +
F2 Seth clay head WIP 1.png|Clay model of Harold's head
 
  +
F1 Set clay head WIP 2.png|Clay model of the head in another stage of completion, featuring [[Scott Rodenhizer]] at work
==Appearances==
 
  +
FO3 CA Harold.jpg|''Fallout 3'' concept art
* Harold appears in ''[[Fallout]]'', ''[[Fallout 2]]'', ''[[Fallout 3]]'', ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' and the ''[[Fallout: The Board Game]]'' add-on ''[[Fallout: New California]]''. A mutant named "[[Harold (Fallout Tactics)|Harold]]" with a tree growing out of his head appears in ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel|Fallout Tactics]]'', although it is unclear whether this is actually ''the'' Harold.
 
  +
Fallout Magic Harold and Bob, First Numens.png|''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' card
* Additionally, Harold was to appear in both ''[[Van Buren]]'', the canceled ''Fallout 3'' by [[Black Isle Studios]] and [[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay's]] ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2]]''. A cult called the [[Church of Harold]] was set to appear in ''[[Project V13]]''.
 
  +
Fallout Magic Harold and Bob, First Numens Extended Art.png|Extended Art
* A group called "Harold's Cult" is mentioned in a piece of concept art by [[Adam Adamowicz]], which was released after Adamowicz' death. It portrays three characters in clothing similar to that of the [[Treeminders]].
 
  +
Fallout Magic Harold and Bob, First Numens card art.jpg|Card art
 
==Gallery==
 
<gallery widths=200>
 
FO3_Harold_endslide 1.jpg|Burning Harold in ''[[Fallout 3]]''
 
FO3_Harold_endslide 2.jpg
 
Harolds_heart.jpg|[[Harold's heart]] in the Sunken Chambers
 
Harold corpse.jpg|Harold, burnt
 
HaroldTAR.PNG|A picture of Harold from the [[Church of Harold]] brochure
 
FBGNC Harold.jpg|Harold as he appears in ''Fallout: New California''
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
   
  +
==References==
{{RTB}}
 
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{{Ref box}}
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'''Non-game'''
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{{Ref box|group="Non-game"}}
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'''Non-canon'''
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{{Ref box|group="Non-canon"}}
   
 
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{{Navbox characters FOBOS}}
 
{{Navbox characters FOBOS}}
 
{{Navbox characters FBG}}
 
{{Navbox characters FBG}}
{{Navbox FOBOS2}}
 
{{Navbox Armageddon Rag}}
 
 
{{Navbox The Hub}}
 
{{Navbox The Hub}}
 
{{Navbox Gecko}}
 
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[[Category:Fallout 3 characters]]
 
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[[Category:Fallout Shelter Online characters]]
 
[[Category:Fallout: New California companions]]
 
[[Category:Fallout: New California companions]]
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[[Category:Nursery characters]]
 
[[Category:Nursery characters]]
 
[[Category:Oasis characters]]
 
[[Category:Oasis characters]]
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[[Category:Mutant characters]]
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[[Category:Characters who appear in multiple Fallout games]]
   
 
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[[uk:Гарольд]]
 
[[uk:Гарольд]]
 
[[zh:哈罗德]]
 
[[zh:哈罗德]]
  +
[[Category:Mythical figures]]

Latest revision as of 20:18, 23 March 2024

Please, I can't very well speak to you when you're back there.

Harold is a unique FEV mutant who once resembled a typical ghoul, until his physiology was gradually changed by a parasitic tree he calls Bob. He survived the Great War in a Vault and has witnessed pivotal events throughout post-War history.

He is first encountered as an impoverished mutant eking out an existence in Old Town, remembering the Master before his rise in Fallout. In Fallout 2, he is the foreman and mayor of Gecko. Harold ultimately crossed the country and became rooted to the ground, and in Fallout 3 he is worshipped as a deity at Oasis. Harold was also planned to appear in several canceled Fallout games, and has been depicted in official materials outside of the main series.

Rising to prominence as a caravan master in the formative years of the Hub, he would meet the future Master, travel to Mariposa Military Base, undergo a change into a ghoul-like mutant through exposure to FEV, lose everything, then become a wasteland traveler. His journey then took him to the town of Gecko, where he enjoyed a new life. He eventually became an unwilling deity for the Treeminders in the Capital Wasteland, on the opposite end of the continent of where he began.

Harold is a kind-hearted soul with a comical personality. He made many friends throughout his travels, potentially including the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One, and the Lone Wanderer. He is kind to children and the differently-abled, and treats his branching appendance with respect. Despite his afflictions, Harold remains light-hearted (if somewhat deranged) and strives to do right by his fellow wastelanders.

Background

Early life

Born in 2072, Harold was only five years old when the War started and he entered Vault 29.[Non-game 2][Non-game 1] He still remembers the sirens on that day and the terrible days that followed, living in an overcrowded Vault with not enough food and water to go around.[2]

Thirteen years later, in 2090, he walked out of the Vault in the late morning.[3][Non-game 3] Now eighteen, Harold began to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit between survivalist communities that emerged throughout New California.[3][Non-game 3][Non-game 4][Non-game 1]

Over the next twelve years, he made a tidy profit, rising to prominence in the Hub as one of its caravan bosses. The position came with many perks, including the friendship of Richard Grey, a doctor whom Harold revered as a brilliant philosopher. A little older than Harold, he made a lasting impression on the caravaner.[4] While attacks by mutants were bearable with a good guard outfit, the attacks intensified[4] a few years after he was made caravan boss in 2096.[Non-game 5]

By 2102, Harold had enough. He organized one of the first adventuring parties in New California together with Richard Grey, and on May 22, 2102, the expedition launched from the Hub to identify the source of the mutant menace.[Non-game 6] Grey served as the leader of the expedition. Thanks to Grey's expertise, they tracked the mutants to the northwest, deep into the Californian Central Valley. A month later, they finally reached Mariposa Military Base, and started penetrating it on June 23.[Non-game 7]

Simply getting into the base resulted in major casualties, and by the time the adventurers infiltrated the facility, only four were left.[4] Francine was soon killed by a security robot. Mark was injured, so Grey and Harold sent him back to the surface, never to be heard from again. Harold and Grey finally entered the central core, where they found vats full of FEV. When the robotic crane crashed into them, the expedition was finally defeated: Grey was wounded and thrown into a vat of FEV, while the impact badly injured Harold and knocked him out. He woke up in the wasteland days later, with the exposure to FEV already mutating and twisting him.[Non-game 1][4][5]

He was found by traders four days later, on June 27, and taken back to the Hub, where he hoped to find Mark waiting for him. Mark did not come. Harold felt he should return to the wasteland to search for his friend, but he lacked the courage, and lingered in the Hub for decades.[6] Over this period of time, his transformation took its final toll: Harold lost clients, employees, and ultimately all of his friends. Destitute and twisted, he moved into a derelict building in the Old Town, living among the Hub's skags: The impoverished castoffs of its burgeoning capitalist society.[Non-game 8]

Richard and Harold each believed the other was dead. Harold assumed his friend had perished in the vat. Richard reasoned; "He must have been killed or he would have tried to help me."[7]

Life in poverty

Fo1 Harold

Harold in the Hub Old Town.

His resolve, hardiness, and love of the Hub as his home allowed him to survive despite poverty and harassment from regular Hubbers.[3] By the time he met the Vault Dweller around 2161, he was the oldest person alive in the whole wide Hub, known for his stories and knowledge, not just about days long past, but also contemporary events. Even Decker of the Hub's Underground knew about him and considered him a good source of information,[8] though the less competent caravaners, like Butch Harris, failed to appreciate his worth.[9] He also had a measure of respect from the Circle of Thieves, also operating out of the Old Town.[10] While much of his information is tied to his life, he's also well informed about current events and will happily share that information for a modest fee. Among Hubbers, he's known as one of the only people to see the deathclaw and live to tell the tale - no mean feat in the mid-22nd century.[11] He also was aware of the fact that Decker's men captured Brother Jonathan of the Brotherhood of Steel recently, and would happily share that knowledge for a modest amount of bottle caps to keep himself afloat.[12][Non-game 1] However, his memory wasn't perfect at ninety years of age, and he started forgetting things like the number of his Vault or its location.[3]

Harold left sometime after 2162. He traveled north, accompanied by a sapling (Bob) that took root in his head.[Non-game 9]

Gecko's foreman

Fo2 Gecko Good Ending

Gecko power plant

By 2238, he arrived in Gecko and decided to help the ghouls there out.[Non-game 9] Ratified as the foreman,[1] Harold maintained the trade relationship with Broken Hills to source uranium to fuel the reactor and provide energy for Gecko.[13] However, he is aware that the position of the town is tenuous. First of all, while well-meaning, the ghouls he leads aren't exactly bright: One of the reports he received from the power plant suggested that the coolant levels were too high and should be reduced by shutting down the main coolant valve. Realizing that such an action would result in a meltdown that would "make the Grand Canyon look like a pig wallow," he quickly intervened and stopped the decision. Secondly, the reactor lacks a functional hydroelectric magnetosphere regulator, which means it is discharging radioactive coolant and polluting the groundwater, affecting the neighboring Vault City, adding to their already unfriendly attitude towards ghouls. At the same time, the city likely has a spare unit that would allow the reactor to be fixed, but since they shoot ghouls on sight, it's a tricky situation to resolve. Harold is also well aware that if it's not resolved, Vault City is likely to run out of patience, invade Gecko, and execute everyone to disable the reactor.[14]

Until someone comes along to mediate between the ghouls and Vault City, Harold is stuck in a holding pattern, processing endless amounts of paperwork and keeping the town in one piece.[1] He's assisted by Lenny, the town's doctor and an expert in paperwork,[15] and Gordon, responsible for monitoring Gecko's economy.[16] He also turns a deaf ear to the constant suggestions by the latter to share the economic data with Vault City to persuade them that it's in the best interest of both towns to trade: Nuclear power for medical technologies to keep the ghouls alive. While Gordon believes that greed is good and it alone would produce the optimal outcome, Harold has a more down-to-earth attitude: He realizes that sharing this data would reveal to Vault City that Broken Hills is their sole source of uranium, and would allow the City to simply cut off shipments, then set the terms, and turn Gecko into a slave camp providing power to Vault City - all due to greed and prejudice.[17] Despite that, Gordon keeps angling for an angle to remove Harold and be ratified as the new foreman of Gecko.[1]

Much of this is rooted in the experience of the Unity. Unlike Marcus, who holds a fairly nuanced view of the Master, Harold's view of his former friend - though it's not known if he actually realizes who the Master was - is unconditionally negative. In fact, Harold believes that the Vault Dweller actually saved everyone in the world by defeating the Master, and wonders what happened to his old friend. The last he heard of him, he was kicked out of Vault 13, before disappearing in the mists of history.[18]

Capital Wasteland

FO3 Harold

After the defeat of the Enclave, he set out once more. The tree growing out of his head continued to grow larger and bear fruit. Its remarkably tough seeds are able to withstand even the toughest environments and thrive.[Non-game 10]

Harold's tireless legs eventually carried him all the way to the opposite end of the continent, to the Capital Wasteland. Overwhelmed by Bob, he stopped to rest, only to realize that he was unable to move anymore, rooted to the ground by his companion. He became part of the tree, sustained by its photosynthesis and nutrients taken from the ground. He took root in the northern Capital Wasteland and was found by a wanderer in the late 2250s.[19][20] This wanderer, later taking the name Birch, beheld the glory of Harold and knew other wanderers would seek to do the Great One harm. He founded the Treeminders, a group of pure-hearted individuals that would protect the Great One as his last line of defense.[21] Once Harold and Bob truly became a part of the environment, a verdant vale of growth spread from the tree, washing the barren hillside over with life and greenery, and enticing animal life to inhabit the area.[Non-game 11][22][23]

With the Treeminders' care and attention, Bob started to take root further; over time, his root system carried away Harold's internal organs far throughout the cave system below, making it plain that short of a merciful death, Harold would remain forever in one spot.[24][25] Harold used his ability to spread Herbert's seeds to attract wanderers, at first to amuse himself, and then to find a solution to the problem he was in. The key issue was that the purification ceremony necessary for outsiders to gain access to Harold involved drinking hallucinogenic sap derived from Bob, resulting in psychosis and other severe mental problems in most who came to Oasis.[26]

He kept trying, hoping to attract someone capable of helping him through his ordeal. Finally, in 2277, he managed to attract the Lone Wanderer. Upon their acceptance into the cult, Harold requested that they kill him, to spare him the agony of being rooted in one spot for all eternity.[27] Suffering from depression, he pleaded with the Lone Wanderer to end his life, something the Treeminders could not do.[28][29] His requests for them to end his life wound up interpreted as tests of their moral and spiritual aptitude, rather than genuine pleas for mercy.[30]

He and Bob genuinely only enjoyed the company of Yew, the youngest of the group, who listened to him without reservation.[31] Others, treating him as a god, always looked for hidden meanings or had their own designs for him. Tree Father Birch and Leaf Mother Laurel held two opposing views of what should happen: Birch wished to contain Bob's spread to protect Oasis and Harold, while Laurel desired to share their god's gift with everyone. One can decide to fulfill Harold's wish and euthanize him or persuade him to live on and either have Bob spread out or be contained.[32][28][33][34]

Characteristics

Mutation

Unlike most people who are exposed to FEV, Harold did not become a super mutant, but is the result of a unique combination of radiation damage from constant low-level environmental exposure and contact with FEV, resulting in a hybrid type of species.[Non-game 12]

Bob

Main article: Bob (tree)

The tree growing out of, and eventually, overwhelming Harold, is named Bob. Bob sprouted from Harold's head sometime after his exposure to FEV at the Mariposa Military Base. In the beginning, Bob was a small sprig but its growth accelerated, turning into a full-sized tree, overtaking Harold, and rooting itself to the ground in the Capital Wasteland region.[35] As of 2277, the two have been rooted to the location for over two decades.[36]

Harold considers Bob his friend and speaks to him as if he was thinking aloud. Harold will sometimes jokingly refer to Bob as Herbert and makes several comments regarding the literal and figurative closeness of their relationship.[35][37] When the Lone Wanderer approaches Bob and Harold for the first time, Harold will share that he was able to see their approach through the leaves of other trees, and although impressive, makes Bob jealous.[38]

Interactions with the player character

Fallout

Interactions
Icon talkinghead
This character has a talking head.
FO76 ui icon quest
This character is involved in quests.

Quests

  • Fallout Find the missing caravans: Beth tells the Vault Dweller to go to Harold to obtain more information on the missing caravans.
  • Fallout 2 Solve the Gecko powerplant problem: Harold is concerned that if the pollution does not cease, Vault City will assault Gecko and kill all of the ghouls.
    • If the quest is concluded in favor of the ghouls, Harold will thank the Chosen One once he's talked to afterwards, calling them the Vault Dweller. This thread is only available once, but following it through will result in Harold gifting the player character five stimpaks and three super stimpaks. Note that talking to Lenny about the Vault Dweller will render this dialogue path unavailable, as the same variable is checked for both.
  • Fallout 3 Oasis: Birch wants to stop Harold's influence on the wasteland, Laurel wants to spread his influence and Harold just wants to die.

Other interactions

  • In Fallout: The Board Game, Harold can be acquired at the shop by any player character that has Endurance. When shopping with him as the active companion, the player character can exhaust him in order to gain an additional two bottle caps for every item they sell. When the player character performs the camp action, he will become unexhausted. However, if the player character does not have Charisma at this time, he must be discarded.

Tell me abouts

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

  • Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel Find Missing Pieces - Harold has lost three pieces of his body and asks the player character to retrieve them.
  • Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel Harold's romp with Ruby - The Initiate can remind Harold of his adventures with Ruby, the prostitute from Carbon, for 300 XP.

Notable quotes

Fallout 2
Fallout 3
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

Other depictions

  • FOBOS Harold

    Harold missing an arm.

    Harold appears in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. After the destruction of the Master's Army, Harold left the Hub and became a traveler who visited various places around the wasteland. It is known that he traveled to Carbon around 2208, where he had a sexual encounter with Carbon's prostitute, Ruby. He briefly resided in the ghoul city of Los, in the Bridge area, away from the "ghoul crazies" and religious fanatics. He wanted to have a good time in Los after leaving Carbon, but the arrival of super mutants and the loss of his hand, his toe, and his eye in the city changed the deal. The Initiate helped Harold to recover his parts so he could leave the city before its destruction.
  • A mutant named "Harold" with a tree growing out of his head appears in Fallout Tactics, though his given bio does not resemble the character from the rest of the series.
  • In Fallout Shelter Online, he appears both as a story character in Oasis and as a playable Hero. The game also suggests he survived the events of Fallout 3, being set after it.
  • Harold appears in the Magic: The Gathering crossover event as the card "Harold and Bob, First Numens." He is depicted as a tree, in an approximation of his Fallout 3 appearance, worshiped by Treeminders. His eye appears to be on the right side in this illustration. Numens are a concept from Church of Harold lore, from the canceled Project V13.
  • Harold appears as a skin in the Minecraft Mash-up Pack, specifically identified as his Fallout 2 design. There is also a location based on Oasis, where a tree with a face can be seen at the central clearing.

Notes

  • Harold appears in more games than any other character. Other characters appearing in multiple main series titles include Tandi, Marcus, Madison Li, MacCready, and Arthur Maxson.
  • Harold explicitly refers to himself as a ghoul in Fallout Shelter Online.

Appearances

Harold appears in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout Shelter Online and the Fallout: The Board Game add-on Fallout: New California. He was also planned for inclusion in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, as well as Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2. Photos of Harold appear in The Armageddon Rag, and he would have appeared in Project V13. He was also featured in the Magic: The Gathering crossover event and the Minecraft Mash-up Pack.

Behind the scenes

Cut content

  • In Fallout, Harold was tied to the good ending for the Hub. By giving money to Harold, the player character would be considered as having "shown kindness," setting global variable 606 to positive (KIND_TO_HAROLD). The ending is triggered correctly if the GVAR is set, but as Harold's dialogue does not change it, the ending remains unobtainable.
    • In the game, there are no other ghouls in Old Town, although the area is noted to be inhabited by "skags" and other impoverished denizens of the city.
    • The cut narration is as follows:
Transcript

With your assistance, Old Harold brings the ghoul population of the Hub into equality with the humans. The two sides work together, and the Hub prospers. Old Harold is still alive, as far as anyone knows.

  • Some inaccessible content in Fallout Tactics involves Harold.
    • A cut holotape titled Prophecy concerns the Plutonian legend of Saint Harold of the Leafy Scalp.
    • The internal character description of the Plutonian Bishop Defcon states that he has a tree growing from his head, but this text cannot be seen in-game.

Canceled games

  • He was planned for inclusion in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios. The incarnation would have expanded greatly on his background, making him a denizen of Van Buren's Vault 29, which was populated with young children separated from their parents, and placed under the care of Diana, a human scientist immortalized by merging her human brain with a supercomputer controlling the Vault and the Nursery, a repository of seeds and genetic records preserved in case of a global thermonuclear war. Diana would control the unrest by periodically releasing young dwellers to scout the surface and report whether it was safe to settle. They never returned, as Diana would take them to the Nursery, where they would either be able to join her or leave, after being conditioned to be unable to speak of the Nursery or the Vault.[Non-canon 1] Harold was selected by Diana and initially agreed to stay, before escaping. He kept the Nursery a secret, believing it his duty to protect it from those who would exploit it.[Non-game 13]
  • Harold was planned for inclusion in Interplay's canceled Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2.
  • In Project V13, Harold and Bob would have become the deities of the Church of Harold. Members of this society referred to Harold as a "Numen," and regarded him as a host that represents a symbiosis between mutant and plant lives.[Non-canon 4]
    • The concept was later invoked in the Magic: The Gathering crossover event, in the title of Harold's card: "Harold and Bob, First Numens."

Development and voiceover

  • A group called "Harold's Cult" is mentioned in a piece of concept art by Adam Adamowicz, which was released after Adamowicz's death. It depicts an early version of the Treeminders.
  • According to the Fallout Bible, Harold's dialogue in Fallout was written by Mark O'Green, who was later the principal author of The Armageddon Rag.
  • In Fallout and Fallout 2, Harold is voiced by actor Charlie Adler. In Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, he is voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
  • In Fallout 3, Harold is voiced by Stephen Russell. In the Fallout 3 credits, Russell's role as Harold is credited as "The Great One."
    • In localized versions of Fallout 3, Harold's voice is dubbed by Piotr Bąk (Polish), Aparicio Rivero (Spanish) and Oleg Shcherbinin (Russian; also the dubbed voice of Harold in Fallout and Fallout 2).
  • In Fallout 3, the writing for Harold as he appears in Oasis was worked on by quest designer Alan Nanes, who was also one of the designers on the Oasis quest itself.[Non-game 15]

Developer quotes

Ghouls are a type of mutant.

Harold is a ghoul. He's also a little special.

Super Mutants are humans with no or minimal radiation damage who have been exposed to FEV.

Ghouls are humans with significant radiation damage exposed to FEV.

Harold is, well, Harold.
Chris Taylor, Fallout Bible 5
I know we treated him as a ghoul, but not a Necropolis one. He may have been irradiated before or after. All I remember was that he went in there with the guy whose name I forget (the one who fell into the vat and became the Master), and only Harold came out. Harold's memory is totally whacked, btw. ...most people don't know when they get irradiated, so he [Harold] just may not know what happened to him. I do know that radiation and FEV do not mix. Mutants are immune to radiation effects, but an irradiate human is killed by exposure to FEV. So one thing is sure: Harold is not a mix of radiation and FEV. He's got to be one or the other, and I think he's a ghoul.Tim Cain, Fallout Bible 5
As for contact [with FEV], any contact at all will infect the subject, but the amount of contact determines the result. For example, I imagine Harold had some contact with the virus, but he was not fully immersed in it, so he became a different mutant than the Master's subjects. Full immersion, of course, is the preferred method of infection, as it provides the virus a large surface area for infection.Tim Cain[citation needed]

Gallery

Fallout

Fallout 2

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

Fallout 3

Fallout Shelter Online

Minecraft Mash-up Pack

Other

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Gordon: "{330}{}{I really owe you. Now I can get everything I’ve ever wanted. All at Gecko and Vault City’s expense. Just as soon as I’m ratified as the new foreman. Yessir, that Harold’s really out on his ass Now.}"
    The Chosen One: "{332}{}{You just better watch yourself, Gordon. The trip down is usually a lot faster than the trip up. Goodbye.}"
    (Gordon's dialogue)
  2. The Vault Dweller: "{1005}{}{Vault}"
    Harold: "{1105}{hrold305}{Yeah, I came from a Vault. Too many people, not enough food and water. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Harold: "{101}{HROLD0}{Spare change, old friend, old pal? Can you help a poor mutant down on his luck? [Cough]}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{102}{}{Yeah, here's $25. Good luck to you.}"
    Harold: "{108}{HROLD2}{Oh, kind of ya, friend. Very kind. You know, if I could clear the gunk out of there, you, just might find a tear in Old Harold's eye.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{109}{}{Why is that?}"
    Harold: "{111}{HROLD3}{[Cough] Rest of the Hubbers' been picking on me like a bad booger since I came back to town. I can't leave, though. When the deals are done [wheez] it's still my home.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{112}{}{What happened to you?}"
    Harold: "{115}{HROLD4}{Well, after the Great War, my Vault was one of the first to open. [Takes a deep breath] Whew. Long time.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{116}{}{Tell me more about those days.}"
    Harold: "{118}{HROLD5}{All started with the sirens. I was young, but ohh, I do remember that. Lotta terrible years followed. And I remember walking outta the Vault late one morning.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{120}{}{Where was your Vault located?}"
    Harold: "{122}{HROLD6}{You know, [cough] I'm not real sure anymore. West, I think. Uh wait - east? Ooh I don't know. [Hacking cough]}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Vault Dweller: "{119}{}{What did you do then?}"
    Harold: "{124}{HROLD7}{Well, I was a trader. Did pretty good making a circuit between survivors. Lost a lotta good people, though. [Coughs]}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{125}{}{How?}"
    Harold: "{126}{HROLD8}{Gangers got'em. Scavengers attacking the caravans. And mutants, son of a dog, if they weren't springing up like rabbits with a mission. [cough] Had to have an army of guards with, just to do a deal.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{128}{}{Where were the mutants coming from?}"
    Harold: "{133}{HROLD10}{Everywhere! Hell, seemed like you couldn't fart without hitting one. But mostly in the northwest.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{135}{}{Why didn't you just avoid the area?}"
    Harold: "{141}{HROLD12}{Needed to see what was there. Maybe stop whatever was churnin them boogers out. We thought we were prepared. Were we wrong.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{142}{}{What did you do?}"
    Harold: "{138}{HROLD11}{We mounted an expedition. God, Richard. Richard Grey. Led a small group of us up there.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{139}{}{Richard Grey?}"
    Harold: "{146}{HROLD14}{Richard Grey was a doctor. Little older than me, and friend was he smart. He found the source.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{147}{}{And what was that?}"
    Harold: "{160}{HROLD18}{Some sort of old military base. We lost a lotta folks getting in there.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{161}{}{How did you know this base was the cause?}"
    Harold: "{165}{HROLD20}{Because it was like someone went bargain shopping at mutantland! Geez! Cheaper by the dozens! Can't figure any other reason except that being the factory.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{166}{}{Did you examine the base closely?}"
    Harold: "{167}{HROLD21}{We got pretty far inside. Wasn't a lot of us left by then. Grey, me and couple of others.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{168}{}{And then?}"
    Harold: "{169}{HROLD22}{One of them robots got Francine. Mark was wounded, sent him back to the surface. Then it was just me and Grey.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{170}{}{What ever happened to Mark?}"
    Harold: "{172}{HROLD23}{To this day, I don't know. He never made it back here, and...well I...couldn't face the wasteland again, so I...I never looked.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{173}{}{What about you and Grey?}"
    Harold: "{174}{HROLD24}{We made it to some sort of central core, like a plant of some sort. That's when it happened.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{175}{}{What?}"
    Harold: "{176}{HROLD25}{A robot crane crashed into us. Last I saw of Grey, he was flying through the air in-into some sort of acid bath. I was in bad shape and...well I passed out.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{178}{}{And you never saw Grey again?}"
    Harold: "{188}{HROLD27}{No, you idiot! I just said I never saw him again, didn't I?}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{189}{}{How did you survive?}"
    Harold: "{181}{HROLD26}{Well, I have no idea. Woke up in the wasteland, barely hanging on. Got lucky and some traders I knew found me days later. Good thing, since I was already changing. They brought me here, and here I've been since.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{182}{}{How did you mutate?}"
    Harold: "{190}{HROLD28}{All's I know, is it was something inside that base.}"
    The Vault Dweller: "{191}{}{Do you think it could have been radiation?}"
    Harold: "{193}{HROLD29}{How the hell should I know? Grey would've known if anybody could. [sigh] Anyway, that's how the deal went down.}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  5. The Lone Wanderer: "How did a tree end up growing out of your head?"
    Harold: "It was a long time ago... I tend to lose track. I was exploring some sort of a military base with some other people... I think it was called Mariposa. We were pretty deep inside and we found some weird vats of this nasty green goo. Right when we were about to leave, I think we were attacked. Last thing I remember before blacking out was something knocking my friend into the stuff."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  6. {172}{HROLD23}{To this day, I don't know. He never made it back here, and...well I...couldn't face the wasteland again, so I...I never looked.} (HAROLD.MSG)
  7. Richard Grey's audio diary
  8. The Vault Dweller: "{1005}{}{Harold}"
    Decker: "{1105}{DECK_54}{Harold's been around for some time. He's over in Old Town. A good source for certain types of information.}"
    (Decker's dialogue)
  9. The Vault Dweller: "{1005}{}{Harold}"
    Butch Harris: "{1105}{BUTCH78}{Old Harold? What do you want with that old mutant? He's in Old Town. Just ask there.}"
    (Butch Harris' dialogue)
  10. The Vault Dweller: "{1003}{}{Harold}"
    Loxley: "{1103}{LOX_69}{Harold? He's a good enough sort, for being a ghoul an all. Lives on the south side.}"
    (Loxley's dialogue)
  11. The Vault Dweller: "{243}{}{Do you know anything else about the Deathclaw?}"
    Beth: "{245}{}{Well, I know this old mutant in Old Town named Harold. He's seen it. He's the 'only' one that's seen it and lived.}"
    (Beth's dialogue)
  12. The Vault Dweller: "{224}{}{Heard any good words recently?}"
    Harold: "{242}{HROLD53}{Well, heard one of Decker's men has somebody from the Brotherhood of Steel trapped in Old Town.}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  13. The Chosen One: "{258}{}{Who do you buy your fuel from?}"
    Harold: "{266}{hld51}{We get our fuel from the Broken Hills. That’s a mining community some ways south.} "
    (Harold's dialogue)
  14. Harold: "{121}{hld3}{Wha-whatever it takes to keep this place together. Better job on it than me.}"
    The Chosen One: "{122}{}{This place is coming apart?} "
    Harold: "{127}{hld4a}{Well, sorta. Our atomic reactor’s a mite...sensitive. The people I got running it mean well, but... well, they are not the sharpest tools in the shed. If you know what I mean.}"
    The Chosen One: "{130}{}{What do you mean?}"
    Harold: "{138}{hld6}{Need a little time on the whetstone yourself, huh? I mean they are not too bright. Here’s an example. The other day I get a report. On it, it says the main coolant valve should be shut down. That woulda caused a meltdown that would make the Grand Canyon look like a pig wallow.}"
    The Chosen One: "{139}{}{That sounds bad.}"
    Harold: "{140}{hld7}{Uh, yeah, that would be bad. Now, I got things fixed up in time, but we came close to the end there. They need someone to watch out for ‘em.}"
    The Chosen One: "{141}{}{Good thing you’re here to help them.}"
    Harold: "{142}{hld8}{Who’d a thought I’d be making things right? Although if we don’t get a Hydroelectric Magnetosphere Regulator pretty damn quick, there is gonna be trouble.}"
    The Chosen One: "{143}{}{What the hell is Hydra-magna-whateveraltor?}"
    Harold: "{254}{hld48a}{Without a functional Hydroelectric Magnetosphere Regulator we’re leaking radioactive coolant into the groundwater. Now that means, anyone using that water is not gunna need a night-light to take a midnight piss. Also, we need more fuel because our power plant is not burnin’ it very efficiently.}"
    The Chosen One: "{256}{}{Sounds bad. Where would you get a Hydro magnetosomething-or-other?}"
    Harold: "{261}{hld49}{Well, I’m certain those ornery bastards in Vault City have one. Not that they’d share. Hell, even if we had one of those thingies, I’m not so certain Festus could install the dang thing.}"
    The Chosen One: "{262}{}{Vault City wouldn’t give you the part? Even if it means that the groundwater won’t be polluted anymore?}"
    Harold: "{264}{hld50}{If we don’t get it, you can bet those boneheads from Vault City will shut down our power plant, permanently.}"
    The Chosen One: "{265}{}{What will you do then?}"
    Harold: "{270}{hld52}{Take dirt naps. Vault City doesn’t play nice. They’ll just come up here and kill all of us if we don’t get that part. Well, at least I’ll have a tree for a monument.}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  15. The Chosen One: "{115}{}{What do you do here?}"
    Lenny: "{340}{}{I h’help H’harold administer the town. Th’there’s always more p’paperwork to do.}"
    (Lenny's dialogue)
  16. Gordon: "{230}{}{I tally up economic data on Gecko’s economy and report it to Harold. But he usually doesn’t listen to me.}"
    The Chosen One: "{231}{}{I’m sorry to hear that. Economic data on what?}"
    (Gordon's dialogue)
  17. Harold: "{185}{hld26}{Their best interest? What do you mean?}"
    The Chosen One: "{186}{}{Well, according to some economic data I got hold of Vault City is much better off if they help you to repair your power plant.}"
    Harold: "{190}{hld27}{Economic data? You didn’t give them that information th-that Gordon keeps flapping his yap about, did you?}"
    The Chosen One: "{191}{}{Uh, yes I did. Why?}"
    Harold: "{199}{hld30}{Why?! Now Vault City knows just how much we need uranium ore from Broken Hills. They could cut off them shipments and we’d be finished.}"
    The Chosen One: "{192}{}{Uh, no, of course not.}"
    Harold: "{202}{hld31}{Well, I sure hope not. Those idjits in Vault City hate ghouls. They’d cut off our ore shipments from Broken Hills in a white-hot minute. Then they’d set the terms. Wouldn’t be long until Gecko’d be a slave camp.}"
    The Chosen One: "{203}{}{Oh, I’m sure they wouldn’t do that. They seem pretty reasonable.}"
    Harold: "{206}{hld32}{Reasonable? Reasonable! Well, I’m sure people said the Master was reasonable, too. What a bonehead. Get the hell out. Now!}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  18. Harold: "{225}{hld38a}{Well, to be honest, can’t remember the name. But they wore a funny suit. Kinda like the one you’re wearing.}"
    The Chosen One: "{226}{}{I’m wearing the Vault Suit that my ancestor wore. It’s a totem of my holy quest.}"
    Harold: "{231}{hld39}{That so? Well, well, well. That explains a thing or two. I wondered why you looked familiar. I’m not losing the last coupla marbles I got left.}"
    The Chosen One: "{232}{}{We really look alike?}"
    Harold: "{236}{hld41}{There is a resemblance. Near as I can remember, anyways. You know, your ancestor saved the whole darn lot of us.}"
    The Chosen One: "{237}{}{The Vault Dweller saved all of the ghouls?}"
    Harold: "{239}{hld42}{Jumpin’ to conclusions, youngster. That’s gonna get your ass shot off someday. All of us. Saved every two-legged-shuffler on the dang planet. }"
    The Chosen One: "{240}{}{I didn’t realize that.}"
    Harold: "{242}{hld43}{Well. Now ya do. And what happened next? For a thank you, the damn high-and-mighty Vaulties booted the Vault Dweller out. I always wondered what happened after that.}"
    The Chosen One: "{243}{}{I can tell you what happened.}"
    Harold: "{245}{hld44}{Well, I’d sure like to hear that.}"
    The Chosen One: "{246}{}{The legend of the Vault Dweller starts with the Vault casting him out into the dry Wastes.... [You tell Harold the story of your ancestor]…and so that’s why I’m looking for Vault 13 now.}"
    Harold: "{247}{hld45}{Thanks for telling. I sure was curious all these years. You sure got your work cut out for ya. Huh, ya know....}"
    The Chosen One: "{248}{}{Know what?}"
    Harold: "{250}{hld46a}{Well, I been saving these for a rainy day, but it sounds like you're gonna need'em more than I ever will. Here, take these.}"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  19. The Lone Wanderer: "You don't actually seem that sad. Why do you want to die?"
    Harold: "I've been literally rooted to this spot thanks to Bob for maybe twenty or thirty years... I can't even remember anymore. Can you imagine being stuck in one place for that long not being able to eat or to read or to sleep or anything? In the meantime, I have these Treeminders bothering me every day about things I don't even care about. I can't stand it anymore."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  20. The Lone Wanderer: "Why do you call yourselves Treeminders?"
    Birch: "We care for this place and keep it safe from those who would seek to exploit it. He gives to us, so we give back to Him. It's an arrangement that's worked well for almost two decades. We shun technology and embrace nature. That's the life of a Treeminder."
    (Birch's dialogue)
  21. The Lone Wanderer: "How did the Treeminders begin?"
    Birch: "When I first beheld the glory of the Great One, I knew there'd be others who would seek to do Him harm. I also knew He would be calling others that he felt were pure of heart to protect Him. Right then and there I created the Treeminders... the Great One's last line of defense."
    (Birch's dialogue)
  22. The Lone Wanderer: "How is it you're causing all of these things to grow around you?"
    Harold: "It's kind of embarrassing really. Once a year, Bob decides he's going to go ahead and start growing these weird pods filled with tiny seeds. Well, all it takes is a good wind and the seeds just fly everywhere. I call them Herbert's Seeds. He hates that!"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  23. The Lone Wanderer: "Amazing, this place seems so abundant with animal life."
    Birch: "The innocent creatures are drawn here by His gifts. They come from across the Wasteland to live in this sanctuary. This part of the world is healing, my friend, and it's all thanks to Him."
    (Birch's dialogue)
  24. The Lone Wanderer: "[Child at Heart] Hey, maybe if you tell me what Harold is scared of I won't be scared either."
    The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me, too! Then I won't be scared either."
    Yew: "Awww, I never knew an Outsider could be scared of anything! Harold told me that he's scared of fire. If fire ever got on him, it would burn him and Bob until they were all gone. That's why we keep the fires far away from him."
    (Yew's dialogue)
  25. The Lone Wanderer: "How would I be able to kill you? You're a tree."
    Harold: "How to put this? ...I've been feeling rather "spread out" lately. I think Bob's kinda shoved my insides around some. It's hard to tell where everything is, but it's always that way with one's insides, isn't it? Anyway, I believe Bob's carried some of my organs into his root system. I want you to go underground and destroy my heart."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  26. The Lone Wanderer: "How do the Treeminders normally handle other Outsiders?"
    Harold: "Oh, you wouldn't believe how they handle them. They make them drink this gunk that Poplar makes. Sometimes they just go nuts and start running around, and sometimes when they wake up and see me they run for the hills! I'll tell you, Outsiders are almost as entertaining as the Treeminders!"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  27. The Lone Wanderer: "Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."
    Harold: "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you please kill me?"
    The Lone Wanderer: "You want me to murder you?"
    Harold: "Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."
    The Lone Wanderer: "You don't actually seem that sad. Why do you want to die?"
    Harold: "I've been literally rooted to this spot thanks to Bob for maybe twenty or thirty years... I can't even remember anymore. Can you imagine being stuck in one place for that long not being able to eat or to read or to sleep or anything? In the meantime, I have these Treeminders bothering me every day about things I don't even care about. I can't stand it anymore."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  28. 28.0 28.1 The Lone Wanderer: "Hey, life is a gift. Even if it lasts a long time, be glad you have it!"
    Harold: "I've tried to stay happy, really I have. Bloomseer Poplar thinks I'll live for hundreds of years... maybe even more! Can you imagine THAT? Stuck here for centuries? I can't do it, I just want to be alone. Just me and Bob until the end. When I saw you coming towards Oasis, I thought I felt that you'd understand me. I guess I was wrong."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  29. The Lone Wanderer: "If people thought I was a god, I'd exploit it for all it's worth!"
    Harold: "Hey, I thought that too... at first. I had them sing me songs, I made them do stupid dances and things like that. Bob even told me to make Maple stand on his head for a whole day! After a while though, it just gets boring. Then it becomes a nuisance and now it's completely driving me nuts! When I saw you coming towards Oasis, I thought I felt that you'd understand me. I guess I was wrong."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  30. The Lone Wanderer: "Had you ever asked one of them to kill you before?"
    Harold: "They wouldn't listen to me at all! If I told them something simple, then it got done. Otherwise, Birch spent a week looking for a hidden meaning. Plus, he used to just pop in whenever he wanted and started chanting this nonsense. Sometimes I used to just sit there silently just to make him mad! That was fun for a while. Hopefully this will all change now that things are different... thanks to you!"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  31. The Lone Wanderer: "Which Treeminder do you get along with the best?"
    Harold: "Actually, the kid is the nicest one of all. Yew's her name. She sneaks in here sometimes and just lets me talk about stuff I wanna talk about. Bob really likes her too, cause she makes me happy."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  32. The Lone Wanderer: "You've become an important part of their life. Without you, they're lost."
    Harold: "So, they really need me that badly, huh? I guess I never thought of it that way. Awfully selfish of me. Should we give them another chance, Herbert? Fine, fine. I mean Bob. I still think it's funny when I call him Herbert."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  33. The Lone Wanderer: "Ok, I'll do it."
    Harold: "You will? Oh! You've made us so happy! Isn't that right Bob? Just give me a little time to say goodbye to good old Bob and then I'll be ready."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  34. The Lone Wanderer: "Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."
    Harold: "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you please kill me? "
    The Lone Wanderer: "Kill you? You can't be serious!"
    Harold: "Completely serious. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."
    The Lone Wanderer: "Look, I really don't want to kill you..."
    Harold: "Of all the Wastelanders I had to bump into it has to be one with a conscience. Let's keep it an open invitation then. I don't want to wait until the next person visits, it could be years."
    The Lone Wanderer: "Can I have some time to think about it?"
    Harold: "Of course. I know this is an unusual request, but hey, I'm an unusual tree. Well, Bob is anyway... We'll just keep it an open invitation then. I don't want to wait until the next person visits, it could be years... you're all I've got."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  35. 35.0 35.1 The Lone Wanderer: "What's with all the names? Bob, Herbert and Harold? I don't get it."
    Harold: "I was once a man a long time ago named Harold. Something in me changed and a weird little tree started growing right out of my head. It kept getting bigger until I ended up stuck inside. When people would ask about it, I decided to name it Bob. You know, like a friend or something. Sometimes I call him Herbert instead of Bob, because I get bored and I think it's funny. So long story short, call me Harold!"
    (Harold's dialogue)
  36. The Lone Wanderer: "You want me to murder you?"
    Harold: "Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  37. The Lone Wanderer: "Um... I must be dreaming."
    Harold: "Sigh. I wish I was too. Then me and Herbert could be the best of friends and live side by side. He's the tree, you see. We're old pals... the best of buddies and we know each other inside and out; literally. Well, his name's really Bob. I think it's funny to call him Herbert. But I don't think he thinks it's that funny."
    (Harold's dialogue)
  38. The Lone Wanderer: "Seeing me approach Oasis is quite a feat for a living tree."
    Harold: "Maybe I'm just losing my mind from all this boredom. I swear if I try real hard, I can see all around me like my eyes are in every leaf on every tree. I think it's making Bob kind of jealous, cause he was the first tree in my life and all that."
    (Harold's dialogue)

Non-game

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Fallout Official Survival Guide p. 97: "Harold: An Old, Old Mutant
    Harold is the oldest person alive in the Hub. In fact, he was five years old when the war started. After his vault opened and its inhabitants made their way out into the wasteland, he became a merchant.
    At some point many years ago, he handled an artifact contaminated with the FEV virus that caused him to mutate. He is now very old, sick, and he tends to ramble on a lot. Some of his information may be out of date. He can be cranky at times, but he likes to tell stories. He could be a good source of information on people and things within the Hub, and it's worthwhile talking to him to find out what he knows.
    Hints
    Be patient with Harold and draw him out. He has one critical piece of information that may be of use: He knew the Master when the Master was still human, and he has been to the lost military base."
  2. List of Vaults and their experiments (Fallout Bible): "Vault 29 No one in this Vault was over the age of 15 when they entered. Parents were redirected to other Vaults on purpose. Harold is believed to have come from this Vault."
  3. 3.0 3.1 Fallout Bible 0: "2090 Vault 29 opens. Harold (now human) sets out to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit around the survivalist communities in the wasteland."
  4. Fallout Bible 5: "2090 Vault 29 opens. Harold (currently human) sets out to make his fortune as a trader, making the circuit around the survivalist communities in the wasteland."
  5. Fallout Bible 0: "2096 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."
  6. Fallout Bible 0: "2102 May 22 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."
  7. Fallout Bible 0: "2102 June 23 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."
  8. Fallout Bible 0: "2102 June 27 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."
  9. 9.0 9.1 Fallout Bible 1: "2238: Harold arrives in Gecko, and he does his best to help the ghouls with the running of the Nuclear Power Plant."
  10. Fallout Bible 0: "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."
  11. Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition pp. 319-320: "2.01: OASIS (LAT -03/LONG 28)
    OASIS
    Oasis is a fertile, verdant dot in the center of all the desolation. This odd hidden vale is home to a strange, tribal-like people who call themselves the Treeminders. You are welcomed into Oasis with open arms, and their leader, Tree Father Birch, invites you to meet their god. Oasis is tucked away inside a giant rocky outcrop in the mountains just northeast of the monorail and freeway skeletons, and the entrance is close to a rope bridge."
    (Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition Tour of the Capital Wasteland)
  12. Fallout Bible 5: "27. I disagree with making Harold not a ghoul. During Fallout 1 the name "ghoul" was not yet as widely used as in F2. Harold could have disagreed with calling his mutant kind with such a name (which is not very nice). When you ask him about the ghouls he says:
    {1102}{hrold302}{Mutants. Doesn't matter what they call themselves.}
    I think it doesn't necessarily mean that he's not a ghoul. It just means that he doesn't want to be called a 'ghoul'. He says, that the ghouls are mutants, just like him, and it doesn't matter how they call themselves.
    I think the name 'ghouls' was either created for them by the Necropolis ghouls themselves, or by people who considered them monsters. As he looks like a ghoul, i think he would be considered one by both. Ghouls are not like supermutants, they are not all the same. It's only a name for people twisted by radiation or FEV (or both). There may be ghouls created only by radiation, and ghouls created only by FEV.
    I also think, though Harold was mutated in the Vats, that if you say that all the ghouls were created by the FEV, then there isn't much difference between Harold and other ghouls.
    Chris Taylor wrote:
    "Actually, a dip in FEV has a chance of modifying Intelligence, but it doesn't always increase it. Some people do gain increased intelligence, a larger majority lose intelligence and most people remain the same. It also depends if people have enough radiation damage to be turned into ghouls or super mutants.
    If so, then people dipped in the Vats can become ghouls instead of supermutants, if they are radiated. I think that easily matches Harold's case...
    Fallout 2:
    {100}{}{You see a particularly leathery-looking Ghoul.}
    {101}{}{You see Harold.}
    {102}{}{You see a very old but still spry-looking ghoul.}
    {172}{}{Put a sock in it ya smelly old ghoul. Goodbye.}
    Loxley (F1):
    {244}{LOX_69}{Harold? He's a good enough sort, for being a ghoul an all. Lives on the south side.}
    As you can see, Harold is called a ghoul in the game.
    Butch (F1):
    {233}{BUTCH46}{Alright, so it wasn't the Death Claw. But what would the mutants in Old Town want with our caravans? Unless it's some kind of conspiracy.}
    As you can see, there are more muties in the Hub Old town, not only Harold (though we don't see them in the game). And they are all called both 'mutants' and 'ghouls'.
    I think the point is that you call 'ghouls' only the ones that were exposed to 'wild' FEV in the air and radiation, and not the ones that were screwed-up results of dipping (like Harold and Talius). I think both kinds should be called 'ghouls', because, though they were created with different methods, the result is identical, and they were both result of radiation and FEV (ghouls of Necropolis are radiated people that were exposed to mutated FEV in the air, and Harold and Talius are result of dipping people with radiation damage - think this is what Chris Taylor meant)."
    "All good points - Tim Cain and Chris Taylor agree with you, and they say Harold's a ghoul. To quote statements within the past week:
    Chris Taylor: Ghouls are a type of mutant.
    Harold is a ghoul. He's also a little special.
    Super Mutants are humans with no or minimal radiation damage who have been exposed to FEV.
    Ghouls are humans with significant radiation damage exposed to FEV.
    Harold is, well, Harold.
    Tim Cain: I know we treated him as a ghoul, but not a Necropolis one. He may have been irradiated before or after. All I remember was that he went in there with the guy whose name I forget (the one who fell into the vat and became the Master), and only Harold came out. Harold's memory is totally whacked, btw. ...most people don't know when they get irradiated, so he [Harold] just may not know what happened to him. I do know that radiation and FEV do not mix. Mutants are immune to radiation effects, but an irradiate human is killed by exposure to FEV. So one thing is sure: Harold is not a mix of radiation and FEV. He's got to be one or the other, and I think he's a ghoul.
    According to Chris, ghouls are irradiated humans exposed to FEV.
    According to Tim, ghouls are due solely to radiation.
    Both agree Harold is special. And I don't mean handicapped.
    Officially: Ghouls are a mix of FEV and radiation. Harold is a mutant who resembles a ghoul. Harold may have had some radiation damage before he was exposed to FEV, but his mutation (outside of his surface appearance) makes him different than a ghoul. Most ghouls are the result of extreme radiation + FEV exposure, but Harold's change was due primarily to FEV exposure (again, he could have sucked up a few rads in the wastes without him knowing, especially considering how long he ran caravans in the wastes).
    He is hideously mutated enough so that he looks like a ghoul, but he's not technically one, and this is the mistake that Loxley makes (Loxley only judges a book by its cover, and he knows nothing about genetics or anything beyond a surface appearance).
    You can call him a ghoul if you want, but the official answer is:
    "Harold is Harold." Harold's special.
    BTW, glowing ghouls are ghouls that suck up too many rads after they have become ghouls. We originally wanted Lenny in F2 to be able to turn into a glowing ghoul when he drinks too much radioactive liquor, but we didn't put it in."
  13. Information acquired from one of the developers by Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski: ”Yes, we actually remembered about him coming from Vault 29 originally. The story was that he was taken by a robot to the Nursery. There he was given the choice of staying with Diana, or exploring the outside world. However, if he chose to explore, she would have to 'condition' him, so that he could not reveal anything about her, or the nursery to the world. He agreed to stay, but escaped eventually. Afterwards, he kept the nursery a secret because he felt it was his duty to the world to keep such a future gift intact until the world was ready for it. His later return to the nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a 'new experience' to him, as much of his early memories faded with age.
  14. Information acquired from the developers by Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski:
    "Yes, him being the source of Diana's cure was indeed our intent."
  15. Meet the Devs of Skyrim Q&A:
    Alan Nanes: "Some of the most notable characters is a really tough question. Harold in Fallout was a big one for me. I also really liked enjoyed writing the characters involved in 'The Family' as well."

Non-canon

  1. Nursery design document
  2. Boulder Dome design document for Van Buren
  3. Twin Mothers design document: "By the 2250s, Harold was ill. The tree in his head developed an unknown disease and was dying. Much to his surprise, Harold found himself affected as well. He didn't think he was going to die, but he just didn't feel right in the head. So, he set out on a quest for a cure. Naturally, he didn't have an easy time of it either. People just didn't seem to want a mutant around anymore, but Harold didn't let that stop him. He persisted in his quest until he came upon the Twin Mothers tribe, which originated from his home, Vault 29. Much to his surprise, the tribe took him in and accepted him as he was. He explained his quest to the tribal leaders and was told that they would consult their goddess. Days later, Harold was approached by the tribal shaman and given a potion to drink. It was a foul concoction, but it worked. Bob, the tree, got better and was happy again. Harold couldn't let such a good deed go unrewarded, so he offered to help the tribe in any way that he could. They smiled at him, and thanked him, but declined his help. "The goddess will provide," they always said. Harold said that he would like to pay his respects to the goddess, and was taken to the tribal shrine to be granted a private audience. He wasn't really surprised when the projected image of a woman appeared before him, but he was taken aback when she told him where he could find her. His return to the Nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a "new experience" for him, as much of his early memories faded with age. Harold traveled to the Nursery and spent considerable time there. He even considered settling down and spending the remainder of his day in the tranquility of the gardens. Eventually, he left and traveled even further east. If the Prisoner gives Diana the information on the FEV and the New Plague from the Boulder ZAX, Diana will be able to create a cure for the New Plague virus in the form of small fruit, by genetically engineering it from Harold's tree."
  4. The Armageddon Rag, Vol. 2
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