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Come on Al, cut the ghoulies a break. If they've got the caps and you've got the space, it's a win-win, right? So what do you say?Three Dog

Tenpenny Tower is a side quest connected with Tenpenny Tower that is given by either Gustavo or Roy Phillips and is an Achievement/Trophy in Fallout 3.

Quick walkthrough[]

Side Quest: Tenpenny Tower 
Witness argument between Roy Phillips and Gustavo at Tenpenny Tower
Agree to help Chief Gustavo get rid of Roy. 
Reward: Assault rifle 
Reward: Chinese assault rifle 
Seek out Roy Phillips in Warrington station
Kill Roy and the other ghouls. 
Agree to help Roy into Tenpenny Tower. 
Report to Gustavo. 
Kill everyone in the Tower. 
Find the key to the Tower's generator room
Speak to Allistair Tenpenny about letting them in. 
Reward: 500-700 bottle caps and 300 XP 
Return to Roy. 
Let the ghouls into the Tower to kill everyone. 
Convince the tenants to let the ghouls in, or kill them. 
Reward: Ghoul mask and 300 XP 

Detailed walkthrough[]

The ghouls want to live in the luxurious Tenpenny Tower, but neither Allistair Tenpenny nor the other residents are willing to let them in. The player character can choose to kill the band of ghouls, let them into the tower, or find an uneasy diplomatic solution. Note that the decisions made in this quest can have permanent and major effects on the fate of a major city and obtaining some of the most useful items in the game.

Starting the quest[]

The quest is started either by speaking with Chief Gustavo at Tenpenny Tower or by Roy Phillips in the Warrington Tunnels. If the quest is initiated by speaking to Chief Gustavo, the Lone Wanderer will get an assault rifle and a promise of 500 caps for the death of Roy Phillips and his "gang." A successful Speech check will raise the reward to 700 caps, as well as upgrade the player character's starting gun to a Chinese assault rifle with some 5.56mm rounds. Attempting and failing the Speech test means one will get a 10mm SMG instead. This quest will also be automatically added if one kills every resident of Tenpenny Tower. The quest will jump straight to the stage where the Lone Wanderer can "Tell Roy Phillips the ghouls can move in."

Gustavo will direct the Lone Wanderer to the feral ghoul infested Warrington Tunnels southwest of Tenpenny Tower. Follow the tunnels and one will find a door leading to Roy Phillips' hideout. Once Roy and his gang have been located, either kill the ghouls, or speak to Roy and offer to help him and his ghouls enter the building through the secret underground entrance to massacre the residents, or find a peaceful way for the ghouls and humans to live together. One way the ghouls will take over and occupy the area, and the other way the ghouls will be dead and the humans will continue living where they were before.

Kill Roy Phillips[]

After killing Roy and his gang, return to Chief Gustavo for a reward of 500 caps (700 by passing a Speech check). The ghoul mask cannot be obtained if this method was chosen. Killing Roy Phillips has the upside of sparing the lives of all the residents of the tower, as all the other solutions eventually result in the death of every human in the area (killed either by the Lone Wanderer or by Roy Phillips and his pack of feral ghouls). Killing Roy will result in having multiple traders in the tower compared to just two if he were allowed in.

Ways to kill Roy Phillips and his gang[]

For negative Karma[]

Enter Roy's hideout and kill Roy Phillips and his ghouls while they are in the hideout. One can also choose to kill Roy during the conversation he has with the intercom when first approaching Tenpenny Tower. Simply allow the conversation to finish and then attack him when he leaves, or reverse pickpocket a mine or grenade into his inventory while he is looking away. Gustavo still has to be spoken to, to initiate the quest and kill the rest of his gang.

Without losing Karma[]

If one wants to kill the ghouls without losing Karma, they can allow the feral ghouls to follow them into the room containing Roy Phillips and Bessie Lynn. Roy, Bessie, and Michael Masters will attack even if the Lone Wanderer has not harmed the feral ghouls. If one then kills them, their Karma will not suffer, but Three Dog will still verbally berate the Wanderer afterward. Roy, Bessie or Michael can be provoked into attacking via dialogue choices, and then they can be killed without losing Karma. Roy Phillips and his gang can be killed without losing Karma if the Lone Wanderer has the Mister Sandman perk. To do this, first wait for the three ghouls to go to sleep. Murder Bessie first, she will scream but this will not wake Roy or Michael. Either Roy or Michael can be killed next (preferably Roy because he is closer to Bessie). Afterwards, the third ghoul will wake up and turn hostile, so he can then be picked off without incurring loss of Karma.

Helping the ghouls move into Tenpenny Tower[]

Talk to Roy about the possibility of a peaceful negotiation, then bring the proposal to Allistair Tenpenny. He will say that if they can convince tenants Edgar Wellington II, Millicent Wellington, Anthony Ling, Lydia Montenegro and Susan Lancaster to have the ghouls as neighbors, he will let them move in. One can also get rid of them by murder to accomplish this task.

There are several methods of getting the five residents to cooperate. The first is passing a Speech check (for positive Karma), which forces them to accept the change or leave. Stealthy assassinations (for negative Karma, Mister Sandman perk can be useful here) also work. Alternatively, take the love letter from Susan Lancaster's desk and show it to Millicent Wellington, she will then proceed to murder both her husband Edgar and his lover Susan. Millicent will then leave the tower, leaving only Anthony and Lydia. These two can be convinced to leave by stealing from their store safes and speaking to them after doing so.

Once all required tenants are convinced or otherwise removed from the picture, visit Mr. Tenpenny for a 500 cap reward. Once Roy Phillips has been brought the news, he will reward the Lone Wanderer with a ghoul mask, which makes them friendly with feral ghouls. Additionally, one will also gain a 300 XP reward. Upon returning to Tenpenny Tower, human and ghoul residents will be found living together. Inquiring among residents will indicate that both sides are getting along well. A few days later, however, all the human residents will be gone. Further investigation reveals that the human and ghoul tenants had a "disagreement," and that Roy Phillips decided to "take out the trash." The human residents have all been slaughtered, and their looted and stripped bodies dumped in the basement. Former residents of Tenpenny Tower such as Mr. Ling and Ms. Montenegro will also die and disappear at this point, even if they have moved to the entrance of Megaton. One may choose to kill Phillips and the other ghouls in Tenpenny Tower after learning this, at the cost of Karma.

It is also possible to help the ghouls enter the tower by obtaining the key to the generator room from either Herbert "Daring" Dashwood or Chief Gustavo. To obtain the key, either pickpocket or kill Chief Gustavo, and either pickpocket, kill, or choose certain dialogue options with Dashwood, including, "I don't have time for games." The door to the generator room is on the exterior of Tenpenny Tower around the back. However, releasing the ghouls inside the generator room will also result in very negative Karma.

Ways to open the door in the generator room[]

  • If the terminal cannot be hacked, due to not having a high enough Science skill, one can choose to shoot the generator to their left. Also, after the ghouls have been let in and the door is open, the door is assumed to be open indefinitely, but the generator can be shot then the door can be closed.
  • If all the humans in Tenpenny Tower are killed, then one can tell Roy that he and his ghouls can move in. If one does this, remember that Lydia Montenegro has the key to Le Chic Boutique. Chief Gustavo has the key to the Tenpenny Tower armament, Anthony Ling has the key to New Urban Apparel, Shakes has the key to the liquor cabinet, Dr. Banfield has the key to the medicine cabinet, and Herbert Dashwood has the key to his safe. In summary, one will obtain Schematics - bottlecap mine (from Dashwood's safe), Schematics - dart gun (from Le Chic Boutique inventory), and a bunch of other items like caps, medicine, Tenpenny's sniper rifle, some weapons and ammunition from the armament, a bunch of armor and assault rifles from the guards, etc.

Quest stages[]

StageStatusDescription
10 Kill Roy Phillips and his followers.
11 Kill Roy Phillips and his followers, or Help the Ghouls get into Tenpenny Tower.
20 Report back to Chief Gustavo.
100 Help the Ghouls get into Tenpenny Tower.
101 Help the Ghouls get into Tenpenny Tower, or Kill Roy Phillips and his followers.
120Quest finishedTell Roy Phillips the Ghouls can move in.

Notes[]

  • Raiders nearby might kill Roy Phillips, therefore failing the quest or one will be forced to kill the ghouls.
  • If one decides to enslave Susan Lancaster and kill all of the tower residents by themselves (after Roy initiates the quest by asking for the key to the back door), one must receive their reward for Susan before speaking to Roy (after the killings). When speaking to Roy while Susan is "in-transit," he will thank the Lone Wanderer for helping them get in to the tower but then Roy's mask cannot be received nor quest-related XP/Karma, and the quest becomes unfinishable.
  • If forced out through dialogue, the Tenpenny residents may be found wandering the wastes or loitering around city entrances with no conversation possible.
  • If Allistair Tenpenny is dead, the others can still be convinced. However, since Gustavo has taken his place and cannot be convinced, he must be killed for this to work. Doing so will award positive Karma (and a finger with the Lawbringer perk). Note that any security guards in sight will turn hostile if he is attacked, but not those in other areas.
    • If one wishes to kill Allistair Tenpenny for any reason (such as obtaining his unique suit, the Karma granted for killing him, or for the You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head quest), but avoid dealing with Gustavo replacing him, the period between when Tenpenny grants permission to have the ghouls move in and when telling Roy that he did so is the only window in which to kill him, so be careful not to miss the opportunity. One can also enter the tower after witnessing Roy at the gate for the first time, and go upstairs to Tenpenny's suite. Tenpenny can be killed immediately, or offered to take care of Roy and the ghouls, and take the caps first. Fast travel to the bottom of the tower, and the residents and security will remain oblivious to Tenpenny's death.
  • Talking to the residents about ghoul neighbors before Tenpenny may break the quest.
  • If one turns Ms. Lancaster in to the slavers and then rescues her, she will not have all her dialogue options, forcing the Lone Wanderer to kill her to convince Tenpenny.
  • If one first asks Roy Phillips and Michael Masters about the missing human tenants, then sees the bodies in the storage room, and then asks them about the killing, it is possible to kill Roy without incurring any negative Karma. After killing Roy, Michael will turn hostile; it is also possible to kill him without incurring negative Karma. This works some of the time and is more likely if they are killed quickly with few shots (tested on PC GOTY).
  • Sometimes after letting the ghouls move in and then killing all ghoul residents inside, one may face a later encounter where they find the dead bodies of two ghouls in business wear and two wastelanders marked "Tenpenny Survivors" who apparently have killed them. One of these survivors claims that they might move into a new residence in a nearby building or the RobCo facility, although it is unknown whether this happens.
  • By allowing the ghouls to break in by force or via the diplomatic route after all humans are dead after having agreed to blow up Megaton, Mister Burke and Roy Phillips will have a conversation.
  • One can only enter their suite from the balcony entrance during the feral ghoul invasion. Upon exiting the suite the feral ghoul invasion will end.
  • If one does not mind or instead wants the negative Karma, then all the humans in Tenpenny Tower can be killed for a good bit of loot and easy XP, before letting the ghouls in (who would then kill the humans therein anyways).
  • If Tenpenny was killed previously in "Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head," the residents can still be talked into letting the ghouls move in. They will all still agree to pass the message on to Tenpenny, and Chief Gustavo continues to talk about Tenpenny as if he were still alive.
  • If Tenpenny is alive and the "Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head" quest is still ongoing, the Lone Wanderer will receive a notification that they need to tell Mister Crowley about Allistair Tenpenny's death when exiting Warrington station (the ghouls will appear with the player character if one accompanied them, then disappear, at which point this notification is given). If one enters the tower and goes to Tenpenny's suite, there are suspicious dark stains on a wall as well as streaks on the floor leading to the bathtub. The tub will be similarly stained. Asking Roy Phillips about Tenpenny's fate causes him to explain that the two of them had a disagreement, and Tenpenny had an "accident" soon after.
  • If the player character chooses to aid the people in Tenpenny Tower and kill Roy Phillips and his small band of followers, Three Dog can later be heard berating the player character on Galaxy News Radio about it calling them a "scumbag".[1]
  • To receive two copies of the dart gun schematics, first buy it from Lydia Montenegro or kill her and use her key to raid the Le Chic Boutique inventory. Then after letting the ghouls take over the tower, buy it from or kill and loot Michael Masters.

Behind the scenes[]

Originally, Mister Burke would have disappeared if the ferals were released into the tower. This is not the case in the final version of the game, as he is present during the attack; the lines to disable his reference are still found in the quest's main script, but are commented out.[2]

Bugs[]

  • If the player kills Roy Phillips during the first intercom interaction, but also kills the entirety of Tenpenny Tower afterwards, this quest will be given. However, the objective marked instructs the player to "Tell Roy Phillips the Ghouls can move in." And as such the quest is made unfinishable. (Presumably for this to happen, the player must talk to Chief Gustavo about the ghouls, but not initiate the quest with him.)[platforms tag needed][verification overdue]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 After allowing the ghouls to move in using the "diplomatic method" and Roy killed the human residents, a bug can happen where there are no human bodies present in the basement, just blood stains and feral ghouls. The only way to get around this bug is to not speak at all to any of the tenants who need to be convinced to let the ghouls move in until the player has spoken to Tenpenny to get the list of names. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 After letting the ghouls invade, sometimes it will permanently lock the player out of their room that they may have acquired after blowing up Megaton. This can occur if one has opened the emergency gate in the metro access without initiating the quest. One possible solution is to kill all of the feral ghouls in Tenpenny Tower (and all sublocations), and wait at least 24 hours. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 After killing Roy and his companions, head through the door in the back of Roy's room that's labeled "Metro Access & Generator." Walk into the room, and shoot a missile at the wall where the door generator is on the other side. Doing so may cause the Xbox players to lock up entirely, requiring restart. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 The quest script that moves the ghouls into Tenpenny Tower will not check whether Roy is still alive before moving their bodies into the basement. So if Roy is killed before the human tenants are disposed of, he will still somehow manage to murder them. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If Roy is killed immediately after gifting the player with the ghoul mask (for example, in a proactive attempt to prevent Roy from committing to disposing of the human tenants), both ghouls and humans cohabitate. However, Roy's body mysteriously appears in the lobby in front of Chief Gustavo's desk. Then after 24 hours, all occupants of the tower apart from Shakes are removed. [verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 Sometimes after letting the feral ghouls into Tenpenny Tower, the assault on the tower's residents will never end. If Susan Lancaster was sent to the slave pens, attempt to kill her in her pen then return to the tower and personally scour each level to ensure all residents are dead. After confirming this, talk to Roy and if he thanks the Wanderer for their part in the siege, leave the tower, wait 24 hours and return and the tower should be functional again. An alternative solution to this bug is to kill all the ghouls. Roy will not attack the player if they attack the ghouls. After Michael Masters and Bessie Lynn arrive at the tower wait 24 hours and the tower should be functional. [verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 Killing all the residents of the tower and then unlocking the basement door for Roy via the terminal in the metro access tunnel will make it impossible to ever finish the quest. Roy will act as if already living at the tower when meeting him in front of the main doors, even though the feral ghoul invasion is in full swing inside, and all of Roy's gang inside the tower will be hostile. Even after waiting for 48 hours, which will return the tower to normal, it will still be impossible to finish the quest. To prevent this from happening, talk to Roy directly inside Warrington Station instead of opening the basement door for him. This will finish the quest and the ghouls will move into Tenpenny Tower normally. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Killing Roy Phillips will complete the quest, but if the player fails to kill all three, the remaining ghouls will move in and will still mention Roy Phillips, as if he were alive. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 The game has been known to lock-up after killing all of the ghouls and residents from Tenpenny Tower, if the player attempts to load the Tenpenny Tower lobby via elevator and front door. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If one tells Roy that they will let the ghouls in and then kill him and his friends, GNR may report that the Wanderer has let them kill everyone in Tenpenny Tower, despite this never happening. [verified]
  • PCPC If one completes the quest by convincing Tenpenny to let the ghouls live in the tower, and then proceed to blow Tenpenny's head off (as for the quest "Shoot 'em in the Head"), before telling Roy that he can move into the tower, will result in Three Dog reporting that the Wanderer allowed the ghouls to slaughter all the residents; despite this never happening. Ironically, Three Dog will tend to praise and then insult the Wanderer as if they were able to complete the quest both ways. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Sometimes, upon re-entering Tenpenny Tower (after convincing Tenpenny to allow the ghouls to live in the tower), all levels of the building will be completely devoid of all life. To solve this, reload a save. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 After allowing the ghouls to move in, the standard 'Tenpenny resident' ghouls will sometimes refer to Chief Gustavo, even if he has been killed or the human residents moved out. [verified]
  • PCPC If the "kill the ghouls" option is followed, the Tenpenny residents may occasionally give the player speech options indicating that the player had instead brokered the deal to let the ghouls move in. When starting conversations repeatedly, they may first greet the Lone Wanderer correctly (praising them for killing the ghouls), then incorrectly (as if the player had let the ghouls in peacefully), then give a generic greeting for all subsequent chats. [verified]
  • PCPC Giving the love letter to Millicent Wellington while she is sitting and eating with Edgar will still cause her to stand up and acquire the 10mm pistol, but she will not shoot Edgar while he is eating. Even after he finishes eating and stands up, Millicent just stands there and will not talk to the Wanderer again. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If one helped the ghouls get into Tenpenny Tower by force, Lydia's and Antony's safes are Hard difficulty to pick, however if one accesses them by using the terminals, and successfully disengages the locks, it will still say it is locked with Hard difficulty but will allow one to open them. [verified]
  • PCPC If one convinces Tenpenny to let the ghouls live in the tower and go to Roy with the good news and kill Roy and his friend but still allow the ghouls to live in the tower, everyone will be slain in the tower, when asking the only survivor what happened, she will say "Roy did it," regardless if Roy Phillips has been killed. [verified]
  • PCPC If one takes the short path (via the Metro & Generator access door) after killing Roy Philips and manage to pass somehow through the "containment door" (lockpick skill 100 or blow the electric generator that keeps the door shut with a grenade), when entering Tenpenny Tower, a nice pack of feral ghouls will be there attacking the residents. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If one enslaves any of the Tenpenny security guards, then choose to unleash the feral ghouls on Tenpenny Tower, the tower will be stuck in the attack mode forever. The game tries to check if the security guards are dead; however, as they have left the game world, they are never counted as dead. The only solution is to load a save from before enslaving them, or to finish the quest peacefully instead. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If one kills Chief Gustavo, and then kill Roy Philips, the quest will be stuck with the objective "Report back to Chief Gustavo." The quest marker will continue pointing towards Tenpenny Tower indefinitely. [verified]

References[]

  1. Three Dog: "The butcher-at-large? Yep, you guessed it none other than the kid from Vault 101. Nice going, scumbag."
    (Three Dog's dialogue)
  2. MS12QuestScript: "we used to make Burke disappear when Ferals were released. Leaving this in but commented out in case we decide to do that again."
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