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Could you come back in an hour or two? Even geniuses need their sleep.

Moira Brown is the owner of the Craterside Supply shop within Megaton in the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3.

Background[]

Past[]

A self-styled inventor, Moira grew up with an uncommon curiosity about the world while living in the trading community of Canterbury Commons. Sometime before 2263, she left Canterbury Commons and moved to the settlement of Megaton.[1] She takes every opportunity to learn about as much as she can, largely by reading almost every book that comes through the town via traders and caravans. Although the 24-year-old Moira's love of reading has taught her a great deal, she knows very little about the world itself nor understands how the knowledge she has can be applied outside of her workshop or Megaton itself.

Around 2277, an incident involving a domesticated centaur inspired Moira to author a book serving as a compilation of practical knowledge and important tips about surviving in the wasteland and avoiding similar dangers.[Non-game 1] The only hurdle she faced in creating her book was getting someone to help her complete her experiments and research on the wasteland's resources.

Later life[]

After the guide was completed with the help of the Lone Wanderer, it achieved considerable popularity, not just in the Capital Wasteland, but also managing to reach places like the Mojave Wasteland on the other side of the continent in less than four years. By 2287, ten years after Moira published it, the Wasteland Survival Guide had become a renowned series, with multiple guides on subjects ranging from self-defense to hunting and farming, and even had recreations tailored to different regions like the Commonwealth to the north of D.C.

By 2297, Moira continued to run Craterside Supply and manage the distribution network of the survival guide. On September 10 of that year, she began work on a biography of the Lone Wanderer.[Non-game 2]

Daily schedule[]

As the owner of Craterside Supply, she spends the day sweeping and trading as well as conducting odd experiments. She opens the store at 8:00 a.m. and closes at 8:00 p.m. The Megaton Craterside Supply store is also her home. She sleeps upstairs and if the Lone Wanderer is caught trespassing after hours she will become increasingly upset. The only time she will leave her shop is if Megaton is destroyed in the quest The Power of the Atom. If the Wasteland Survival Guide quest is completed before Megaton is destroyed, she will instead stay near the entrance to the ruins and only has the option to repair equipment, lacking an option to buy or sell items.

Interactions with the player character[]

Interactions overview[]

Interactions
Icon quest starter
This character starts quests.
FO76 ui icon quest
This character is involved in quests.
FO76 ui trading team
This character is a merchant. Bottle cap 160-3000
Sells: weapons, apparel, aid, miscellaneous, ammunition, house improvements
2d20 Jury Rigger
This character can repair items. Max Repair condition: 54 (72)
Icon severed ear color
This character drops an ear upon death (Contract Killer).

Quests[]

Effects of player's actions[]

  • If the Lone Wanderer blows up Megaton during The Power of the Atom, Moira is the only survivor from Megaton, becoming ghoulified. If the Wasteland Survival Guide quest is started, or she is met and gives the armored vault jumpsuit to the Lone Wanderer, she can be found at the Megaton ruins. If the quest was not started, she can instead be found in the Underworld, whereupon she will claim she was 'out-of-town' during the detonation and is apparently unaware of her recent affliction.[2] Depending on how the Lone Wanderer breaks the news to her she will either fall into despair or remain positive.
  • Convincing her that writing The Wasteland Survival Guide is a bad idea will result in a 30% discount on her wares and an increase of her Repair skill from 24 to 54 (72% condition). Karma will be lost but the Dream Crusher perk is given to the player character. This will also make her considerably less positive and gloomier in her interactions.

Merchant items[]

Ammo Armor and clothing Drugs and edibles Weapons Misc

Inventory[]

Fallout 3
Fallout Shelter

Notes[]

  • Moira's voice does not gain the distinct raspy tone that most other ghouls in the game have after she is ghoulified, instead it remains the same.
  • If the Lone Wanderer blows up Megaton, Moira will not fast travel to Underworld, but instead walk there directly in real-time. This makes it extremely likely for her to be killed on the trip there due to a combination of several threats on the way, a less-than-straightforward route, and Moira's observed unwillingness to defend herself.
  • Even though Carol in Underworld says it takes months or years to become ghoulified, the fallout from the detonation of the Megaton bomb will turn Moira into a ghoul in a minimum of a few days.
  • If her terminal is hacked, her current experiments can be tracked.
  • Moira wonders if mole rats can be tamed and domesticated. Although she never learns if this is true during the game, Pumpkin in Fallout 3 and Snuffles in Fallout: New Vegas prove that the species can at least be tamed.
  • Moira will not have a shop in Underworld, although she will still sell things and offer the Wasteland Survival Guide quest.
  • Despite it being stated that she was born in Canterbury Commons, no record of her or her family can be found there.
  • Moira has a second repellent stick in her desk upstairs.
  • Her inventory replenishes on Monday and Wednesday.
  • Her corpse appears floating in the swamp in Point Lookout in the sacred bog during the hallucination.
  • Even if the Lone Wanderer tells her they blew up the town, she will not become hostile or even angry.
  • With Broken Steel installed, if one had previously entered the Holy Light Monastery, it is possible for Moira to be killed by the ghoulified Mother Curie III.

Notable quotes[]

Appearances[]

Moira Brown appears in Fallout 3, Fallout Shelter, Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, and Fallout Shelter Online.

Behind the scenes[]

  • During development, Moira was previously named Lea[Non-game 3] Marsh before it was changed. When asked about it in 2023, quest designer Fred Zeleny could not recall why exactly her name needed to be changed, but it occurred early on in development and was an easy change.[Non-game 4]
  • Upon Megaton's destruction and encountering Moira after she becomes a ghoul, the Lone Wanderer can tell her "Don't take this the wrong way, but you got ugly real fast."[3] This is a quote from the 1992 film Army of Darkness.
  • In one of the latter chapter 8 quests in Fallout Shelter Online, set about 10 years after the events of Fallout 3, Moira is at the Commonwealth and is trying to fulfill her mission to tame and ride mirelurks, but she accidentally traps herself in their lair. She introduces herself as coming from the Capital. One of the team members recognizes her as the author of the Wasteland Survival Guide and claims to be her biggest fan. She agrees to sign their copy. After, she joins the player's Vault and shows interest in studying its "ecological environment"; this is only from a story perspective however, as she still needs to be recruited gameplay-wise. Fallout Shelter Online was developed by an outside studio (Shengqu Games) and has not been placed into the main continuity.

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Occasionally, Moira will not move from the Megaton ruins after the town has been destroyed if you have completed the quest Wasteland Survival Guide. She will stand in front of Megaton and can only repair. This will happen also if you complete the quest by depressing her. She will only say usual things like "Oh good. Someone who doesn't have a brahmin to wash up. That's a nice change." [verified]
    • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 To avoid this glitch, don't complete the "Wasteland Survival Guide", while doing that quest, complete "The power of the atom" quest and she while greeting you in Megaton and after some dialogue, she will start traveling to the Museum of History (Underworld).
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Even when Moira is dead, opening her Craterside Supplies container, and stealing an item, she replies "Hey, that's valuable junk!", despite being dead. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 In a very rare occasion if you save, kill Moira, and reload the save she will not be there and therefore rendered completely lost. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 In a very rare occasion when Moira dies from an explosive or the Bloody Mess perk one could find (if one had detonated the atom bomb) Moira Brown floating outside Megaton in her 'corpse' pieces and any interaction with the Lone Wanderer is ignored. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Attempting to trade with Moira Brown after she closes Craterside Supply each night results in her saying she's closed for the night. However, if told "I'm looking to buy some things for my house," and then "Okay, let me take a look at your stuff," she can be traded with as if her store was open. [verified]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Moira's dialogue: "I'm pretty sure I remember a girl coming into town with that about ten, twelve years ago."
  2. The Lone Wanderer: "The bomb in town just blew up. You're lucky to be alive!"
    Moira Brown: "Wow! Who would have thought a town built around a bomb could be so dangerous? Good thing I wasn't in town at the time, huh? Man, that could have really done a number on me!"
    (Moira Brown's dialogue)
  3. The Lone Wanderer: "Moira, don't take this the wrong way, but you got ugly real fast."
    Moira Brown: "Don't be silly, I just got some gunk on my face after the explosion... but that doesn't explain why it peels away in strips. And oozes. You know what? I think I'm turning into a Ghoul! This is fascinating! Now, where can a Ghoul like me go to study these effects in peace?"
    (Moira Brown's dialogue)

Non-game

  1. 1.0 1.1 Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.86: "Moira Brown
    A self-styled inventor, 24-year-old Moira grew up in the trading community of Canterbury Commons with an uncommon curiosity about the world. She's read almost every book that's come through the town. Although her reading has taught her a wide variety of useful knowledge, she has nearly no actual experience with the world, so she doesn't always understand how it can be applied outside of her workshop. After a recent accident with a domesticated Centaur, Moira was inspired to write a book to help others survive in the Wasteland and avoid similar dangers. She just needs someone with real experience to test out her ideas and give her some real-world insight into life in the wastes."
    (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Afterword
  3. MS03script from GECK: Tracks when Lea dies to end quest...
    ...basic task completed (can return to Lea)...
    ;bonus task completed (must return to Lea)
    ... tracks if the player's speech challenge is attempting to convince Lea to stop writing the book...
  4. Fred Zeleny on Tumblr
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