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This page is a part of the Fallout: The Apprentice contest. It should not be confused with in game content |
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Santa Clara is a major city that appears in Fallout.
A repressive Theocracy, the subservient public live in fear of the beast known as "El Diablo", which Father Martinez warns will drag away sinners should they disobey the church's orders. Those who are marked as Sinners are exiled to the slums where they are to live out the rest of their days, lest El Diablo take care of them first. The strict government has a broad spectrum concerning what constitutes as a sin; it could be anything from petty theft to sharing opinions that oppose the church.
The town receives few visitors, and from the small amount that do visit Santa Clara, even less leave. Travellers are warned to stay away from the town, and caravans rarely visit due to superstitious stories regarding the horrible El Diablo, effectively isolating the cult-like community.
Background[]
Before the Great War, Santa Clara was a highly religious community, predominantly occupied by Latin-American Christians. After the bombs fell, the town was re-established in 2093 by a small group of devout religious survivors. Some went on to travel the Wastes, leaving the remaining members behind to pick up the pieces. The remaining survivors formed a cult, believing that God had punished the sinners by cleansing the world with the "Holy Flame" (nuclear holocaust). For the first few years, the town remained isolated, shunning travellers who came looking for refuge.
As the years went by, the town slowly grew larger, and at the same time the cultists became more passive to their religious leaders. But with the steady increase of the population, the church needed some way of ensuring that their many followers would remain under control. Stories were fabricated of a beast known as "El Diablo" by the government, who used it to deter the potential of an opposition from rising up. El Diablo was rumoured to drag away sinners and eat them - therefore, the church warned that anything that went against their orders was a sin. In order to validate their warnings, a Deathclaw was captured and imprisoned underneath the chapel. Anyone suspected of sinning would be fed to El Diablo the Deathclaw, which resulted in "sinful" members of the community being exiled to the slums by their friends and families who feared persecuted by association.
In 2130, Father Lasher was appointed head of the church alongside Deacon Martinez. Lasher's rule was by far the most fanatical and violent. But he felt that the church wasn't doing enough to spread their beliefs throughout the Wasteland, until 2131 when an ex-member of the Rippers named Morpheus came into town. Morpheus was young, but had a better understanding of the Wastes than many who came through Santa Clara. He was infatuated by the doomsday cult, and convinced Lasher that in order to allow it's potential to grow, they needed to travel the Wasteland and spread the word of the Holy Flame. Lasher left Martinez in charge of Santa Clara before taking off with Morpheus and a handful of cultists to form what would later become the Children of the Cathedral.
Martinez continued the reign of the oppressive theocracy, using El Diablo to silence travellers and cultists who began to oppose the church while remaining completely righteous in the eyes of the complicit public. In 2162, the Vault Dweller visited Santa Clara on his journey to put a stop to the Master. Depending on the actions of the player, the fate of Martinez and Santa Clara changes.
Location[]
Santa Clara can be found eight squares south and thirteen squares west of Vault 13.
Layout[]
Main Square[]
Santa Clara
The Main Square is the main section of town, where the fearful public resides. Here the player can buy from the merchants, Jules (weapons), Galvin (armour) and Ester (general wares). Also, Santa Clara's only doctor Maria can be located in the town centre. Several quests can be undertaken, including the beginning of the main quest arc for Santa Clara in which the Vault Dweller must look for clues regarding Gomez's disappearance. From the Main Square, the player can head to the slum district and the Chapel district.
Santa Clara slums[]
Home of the Sinners
The slums of Santa Clara are a depressing, bleak place where the downtrodden Sinners live. Here, the player can meet Miguel, and help him take down Martinez and The Church. Also, Pablo resides here, who gives the Vault Dweller a quest to head to the Chapel district in hopes of gaining forgiveness for his sins. Herman, a drug dealer, can sell cheap chems to the player, which can then also be sold to Maria for bad karma. The slums are by far the most dangerous part of Santa Clara, as the Vault Dweller can be attacked by muggers and murderers.
Chapel District[]
The Chapel
The Chapel District is located in the centre of town, where members of The Church reside. They watch over Santa Clara from the Chapel, which also houses Martinez on it's uppermost floor. Below the Chapel, El Diablo resides in it's underground lair. Quests can be undertaken and completed here, including Help Pablo atone for his sins, Name and shame the thief and Help Martinez silence Miguel. Brother Armand spends his time outside the Chapel's gates where he preaches warnings of El Diablo. Here, the player can also learn the history of Santa Clara and the tale of El Diablo.
Dominio de Satanás[]
El Diablo's lair
Dominio de Satanás (meaning "Dominion of Satan" in Spanish) is the home of El Diablo the Deathclaw, built beneath the Chapel. It is here where Sinners are locked away by The Church to be killed. A small, dark series of tunnels, El Diablo rests in the lowest depths. The Vault Dweller will wake up here after learning the truth behind the disappearance of Gomez in Santa Clara. The only way to exit is to retrieve the key from the stomach of El Diablo. Throughout the tunnels, the skeletons of unlucky victims can be found, including the corpse of Gomez.
Related quests[]
- Find out what happened to Gomez: Gomez's mother, Elmira, fears the worst when her son goes missing. Gomez never sinned and everyone in town attests to his righteousness, so the possibility that El Diablo killed him is unlikely. Elmira begs the Vault Dweller to find out what happened to Gomez. After an investigation, it's revealed that Martinez was seen arguing with Gomez hours before the disappearance, however The Church swears that El Diablo is responsible. Elmira is skeptical, placing suspicion on Martinez and the Church. In order to learn more, she directs the Vault Dweller to the slums, to meet with a man named Miguel.
- Put a stop to El Diablo: At the slums, Miguel tells the Vault Dweller that The Church has something to hide regarding El Diablo. He explains how many good people have gone missing without explanation, and Martinez is always at the root of the problem. The Vault Dweller is tasked with looking into the matter by any means, be it persuasion, stealth or violence. Once the Vault Dweller uncovers the conspiracy, Martinez appears and has them thrown into the Deathclaw's lair to be disposed of. The player must defeat El Diablo and escape.
- Oust Martinez to the public: With The Church's corruption revealed, the Vault Dweller has the option to return to Miguel and reveal the truth behind El Diablo and the persecution of The Sinners. With this new knowledge, Miguel rouses up the public into overthrowing The Church. The player must infiltrate the Chapel to kill Martinez and the other high-order members of The Church. Afterwards, Miguel takes over Santa Clara and begins to undo decades of damage.
- Help Martinez silence Miguel: If the Vault Dweller goes to Martinez before Miguel, they have the opportunity to work with The Church to silence the more skeptical members of The Sinners once and for all. Taking the guise of El Diablo, the player must secretly murder Miguel and other prominent Sinners, sending a message to all those who might go against The Church in the future. The player is rewarded with a large sum of caps.
- Get supplies for Maria: Due to lack of trade caravans coming through town and by extension low medical supplies, Maria has little to remedy the people with. She asks the Vault Dweller if they can go out and gather supplies for her, in return for caps. If the player buys discount chems from Herman in the slums and convinces Maria they're safe, they will receive bad karma, a result of the chemicals being harmful. Passing dialogue will imply that townspeople have died after visiting the doctor's office if the latter path is chosen.
- Help Pablo atone for his sins: Pablo, a Sinner, has almost gone completely insane from living out of fear of El Diablo. In order to return to society, he tasks the Vault Dweller with gaining atonement for his sins. If the Vault Dweller leaves the task in the hands of Brother Armand, Pablo will be forgiven and return to the Main Square. If the player goes directly to Martinez, he promises to take care of it, and Pablo will end up missing a few days later.
- Name and shame the thief: Brother Carmelo has heard reports of thievery, yet no culprits have been named yet. He tasks the Vault Dweller with learning who is behind the thefts, so that they may be "forgiven by God" before El Diablo punishes them (this is, of course, a lie). By following up on victims and through other various means, the Vault Dweller learns that the culprit is a man named Bernard who just wanted to feed his family. The Vault Dweller can either kill Bernard and inform Carmelo, tell Carmelo that Bernard was responsible which will lead to him going missing, or let Bernard off the hook and lie to Carmelo that the culprit left town.
Inhabitants[]
Inhabitants can be split into three groups: Sinners, who live in the slums - The Sinners are poverty stricken and downtrodden, many waiting to die by the hands of El Diablo. The Church, who live in the Chapel District - Clergymen who rule the city of Santa Clara through fear, many members of The Church know the truth behind El Diablo and do their best to keep it from the public. Finally, the public who live in the Square - subservient followers of Martinez's every order, the public are too afraid to even think differently lest they be punished.
Notable residents include:
- Miguel: Miguel is the leader of The Sinners, a group of exiled Santa Clara residents who live in the slums. Miguel does not believe in El Diablo, and is suspicious of Martinez and The Church. Martinez is unable to have Miguel killed due to his influence amongst The Sinners, who would surely start a riot if anything were to happen to Miguel.
- Martinez: Martinez is the leader of The Church and Santa Clara. A cruel man, he forces his subjects to follow his every command using the threat of the monstrous El Diablo. Depending on the player's actions, Martinez can be killed by the Vault Dweller.
- Maria: Maria is the head doctor of Santa Clara. Although she is unsure of Martinez and the methods of The Church, she fears El Diablo too much to say anything. The Vault Dweller can gain medical supplies for her through a quest.
- Pablo: Pablo is a Sinner who begs forgiveness from The Church. With the help of the player, he can gain forgiveness from Armand and return back to society.
- Brother Armand: Armand is a loyal clergyman who believes everything that the Church tells him. He often preaches outside the Chapel, warning of the horrible El Diablo.
- Herman: A Sinner who can sell the player cheap chems. He loiters around the Slums all day, and can sell the player dangerous discount medical supplies that can be sold to Maria for bad karma.
Trivia[]
- Martinez is named after Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, President of El Salvador from 1931 to 1944. Martínez was feared for his oppressive fascist regime, in which he would have any and all opposition murdered.
- There are two possible endings for Santa Clara:
- If Martinez is exposed and overthrown, Miguel takes over control of Santa Clara and attempts to turn the once oppressive theocracy into a more peaceful religious government. However, many members of society feel lost without the overbearing guidance of the Church, and soon enough many leave in search of a new place to call home. Santa Clara goes from a once great city into nothing more than a meagre settlement, overlooked by travellers and caravans alike - a mere shadow of it's former self.
- If Miguel is murdered by order of Martinez, the Church regains full control over Santa Clara and in order to prevent the possibility of future uprisings, closes the city off from the rest of the Wasteland. In pure isolation, Santa Clara fails to last much longer. Within years, due to lack of supplies and a dwindling population choked by the now-desperate leaders of the Church, Santa Clara perishes and is reclaimed by the Wasteland.
- Santa Clara is a real life city, located on California's West Coast.
Appearances[]
Santa Clara appears in the original Fallout.