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This page is about the location in the Fallout series. For the Fallout precursor game, see Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure. |
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This is an overview article, listing content appearing in multiple Fallout media. For information specific to a given game or TV series, consult the table below. |
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Vault 13, later known as the Vault of the Holy 13 among the tribesman of Arroyo,[1] is one of the Vault-Tec Corporation's trademark Vaults, with 13 being built in the southern half of the American state of California, west of the post-War settlement of Shady Sands and east of the Mariposa Military Base. It appears as a location in both the original Fallout and Fallout 2.
Background[]
Pre-War[]
Construction of Vault 13 started in August 2063 and was completed in March 2069, making it the last Vault on the West Coast to be completed and covering 3,200,000 tons of soil at 200 feet. The starting budget for Vault 13 was $400 billion, although it eventually totaled to $645 billion. It was originally planned for Vault 13 to operate for a duration of 10 years.[Non-game 1] The Vault supported up to 1,000 occupants in its 100 designated living quarters. At maximum capacity, ten people would be assigned to a single living quarter, practicing a hot bunking system.[Non-game 1]
Vault-Tec assigned the dwellers the Pip-Boy 2000 and also equipped the Vault with a Solar Scorcher, an experimental photo-electric weapon harnessing sunlight as an energy source. In addition, Vault 13 housed heavy-machinery for construction projects, sustainable hydro-agricultural farms and a water purification system sourced from a subterranean river. Dwellers enjoyed equipment for social gatherings and enough entertainment material to last the projected duration. Communication equipment kept Vault security effective despite their limited armory.[Non-game 1] Vault 13 was also supplied with an extra Garden of Eden Creation Kit (which, when added to the Vault standard complement of two, makes three kits in total), instead of the extra water chips that made their way to Vault 8.[2] Due to its late completion, the "cry wolf" effect that hurt the other Vaults is not as pronounced in Vault 13.[Non-game 2]
Vault 13 was a control group for the Societal Preservation Program, intended to be sealed until the subjects were needed by the Enclave, according to Dick Richardson.[3] According to the Fallout Bible, however, the purpose of Vault 13 was to remain closed for 200 years, as a study of prolonged isolation.[Non-game 3] Some time prior to the water chip crisis, a resident named Ed was sent out for unknown reasons and died in the immediate area outside the Vault, with his body left to decompose afterward.
Water chip crisis[]
Vault 13's water purification system
Sometime prior to December 2161, Vault 13's standard-issue water purification chip began to malfunction. The incumbent overseer made the decision to send out scouts from their population into the wasteland to find any usable replacement chips. One resident, Talius was captured during his search by nightkin at Necropolis and later dipped in the vats of FEV at Mariposa, only to instead mutate into a ghoul-like mutant like Harold. He wound up with the Followers of the Apocalypse, far away from the Vault.[4][5] The final resident selected by the overseer for the chip retrieval mission was a man simply called the Vault Dweller. On December 5, 2161 at 07:21, he left the Vault with a 10mm pistol, some supplies, and the pre-War coordinates of Vault 15. By then, 13's water chip finally failed, leaving the Vault's residents with just 150 days worth of water reserves.
After braving the dangers of New California, the Dweller finally returned with the chip in February 2162, recovering it from Vault 12 beneath Necropolis, succeeding where Talius failed.[Non-game 4]
The overseer was pleased, in particular because of the rebel faction rising in the Vault, demanding to leave.[6] Upon reviewing the Vault Dweller's report, in particular the mutants at Necropolis, he calculated that the mutant population was far too uniform to be the result of random chance, and concluded that there had to be a factory producing them at a startling rate. Determining it was a threat to the Vault, the Overseer once more sent the Dweller into the wasteland as 13's most capable agent. The Vault Dweller succeeded, locating and assassinating the leader of the mutant army, the Master, and destroying his command center, the Cathedral, in March 2162.[Non-game 5] On April 20, 2162, the Vault Dweller completed his mission, killing the Lieutenant and destroying the Mariposa Military Base containing the FEV vats used to create the mutants.[Non-game 6]
The Vault Dweller returned to Vault 13 in May 2162. However, he was prevented from entering the Vault as the Overseer stood outside the Vault blast door, and stated that, rather than let him back inside as a hero, he was banishing the Dweller into the wasteland, convinced that his presence and exploits in saving the Vault would inspire other dwellers to seek out new lives in the wasteland and abandon Vault 13 entirely (endangering the control group). In preventing this, the Overseer believed that he was saving the Vault.[Non-game 7] However, when the remaining residents learned of what he did, most were disgusted by the Overseer's decision. A faction under Theresa and Lyle eventually formed and rebelled against him, leading to many leaving the Vault anyways in protest. Those who remained believed that the deserters were doomed to perish in the wastes and arrested the Overseer. He was tried and sentenced to death, and the position of Vault overseer was abolished afterward.[7][Note 1]
Enclave occupation[]
With the death of the last Overseer and the abolishment of the position after his betrayal of the Vault Dweller, the remaining Vault 13 dwellers commissioned the Brotherhood of Steel to acquire and install a mainframe computer, allowing for automatic control and regulation of Vault 13's systems.[8]
After his banishment, the Vault Dweller reunited with the deserter group and they journeyed north, into the wilderness of North California and Oregon, where they ultimately founded a new village and named it Arroyo, relying on the protection of an extensive network of badlands and canyons. Rather than try to rebuild a town, they created a new community with a tribal culture. Over the span of three generations (roughly eighty years), Vault 13 and the Dweller's origins turned into a myth, known as "the Vault of the Holy Thirteen." The leader of Shady Sands, Aradesh, seeking to learn more about the Dweller that had saved his daughter and village, disappeared and was presumed dead on a journey with Seth to find the old Vault, leaving Tandi to assume the leadership of the growing nation of the New California Republic.
In 2241, the grandchild of the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One, was sent by Arroyo's elder, daughter of the Vault Dweller and their mother, to find Vault 13 and retrieve the G.E.C.K. inside in order to save the dying village during a historic drought.[9] In the time since the Dweller's banishment, however, Vault 13 had been seized by the paramilitary organization known as the Enclave earlier that year. On May 15, it sent a coded sequence to Vault 13, activating its central computer with an All-Clear signal. Martin Frobisher, the spokesman for Vault 13, promptly went through the emergence protocol, playing the pre-War Leaving the Vault training video for the gathered dwellers and ensuring other preparations were complete. A day later, on May 16, 2241, the Vault was opened, only to be met by Vertibird-assisted assault squads. The Enclave troops opened fire, killing three Vault dwellers on the spot and stormed the Vault, rounding up everyone they could and taking them to their stronghold on the Enclave Oil Rig. A day later, on May 17, a pack of intelligent deathclaws was deployed to the now-empty Vault by Enclave animal handlers to cover up the operation and slaughter any witnesses.[Non-game 8]
Ultimately, however, the pack did not obey their orders and with their isolation from their handlers, they deserted the Enclave's mission. Gruthar, the pack leader, organized a proper community in the confines of the Vault, using the voice recognition on the mainframe to provide for his family. A small community of humans eventually trickled back into Vault 13 as well, mostly composed of refugees rescued from the wasteland or volunteers from other communities. Problems for the Vault's new inhabitants arose later in 2241, when a new arrival stumbled onto the Vault and concluded that the peaceful, intelligent deathclaws were the greatest threat to humanity, leading to him damaging the mainframe, and bombing Kerith, Gruthar's mate and the pack's matriarch before being taken into custody. With the interloper's actions endangering the safety of the pack in the Vault, Gruthar was forced to send out hunters in the surrounding area, preying on NCR brahmin herds to help his pack survive.[10]
Eventually, the Chosen One's search for a G.E.C.K. brought them back to Vault 13 where they received the last one from Gruthar. Shortly after, however, the Enclave sought to eradicate the deathclaws for their failure, and a team under Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan returned to Vault 13, wiping out the pack (save for Gruthar's son Goris who was outside the Vault at the time) and their human neighbors entirely. Vault 13 was left abandoned afterward.[Non-game 9]
Layout[]
Cavern entrance
The link between Vault 13 and outer world. Remains of Ed are a good warning. There are 20 rats in the cave.
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Entrance
The link between Vault 13 and the outside. Here Vault Dwellers can find medical treatment.
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Living quarters
The Vault Dwellers sleep here (around 19:00 to 8:00). Also, some are using the rooms for private meetings, like the rebel faction.
Command center
The command center where the overseer is located, as well as the Vault library. It is where the overseer maintains the Vault. Nearby is the library, armory, and water supplies room. However, the water guard gives the supplies because there is a thief who steals water. One can "spend some time researching important information" using the Science skill on the westernmost computer.
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Magazine:
Armory:
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Cavern entrance
The link between Vault 13 and outer world. Nothing is here.
Entrance
Some intelligent deathclaws as a welcome
Intelligent deathclaws have moved in, however, they allow humans (who they found in the wasteland) to live among them. They are first brought to Joseph, the herbalist for medical treatment.
Living quarters
Who needs to be eliminated?
The Living Quarters serve now more as a prison for those who disturb the law in Vault 13. Also, a shrine to Vault 13's champion is being built here and it is being tended by Gordon.
Command center
One mother and one computer
The Command Center is now a place where the deathclaw matriarch lays her eggs. The main computer is broken and a computer voice module is needed to repair it.
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Inhabitants[]
Related quests[]
Notes[]
Vault 13 command center before 2161, seen in the Guardian of Forever special encounter (Fallout 2)
The Vault will be inaccessible when starting the game, but can be entered after one day has elapsed in-game.- The Vault-Tec elevator decal has a spelling mistake, saying Vaul Tek.
- However, this can be noticed on all vault elevator panels in Fallout, not only in Vault 13.
- The special encounter "Guardian of Forever" involves passing through a glowing portal of the same name, leading to the Chosen One arriving in Vault 13's command center and having to break the water purification chip in 2161 to return to their own time, setting the events of the original Fallout in motion.
- If the Chosen One leaves a companion inside the Vault, leaves, allows the deathclaw massacre to occur, then returns, said companion will still be alive.
- A rusted Vault 13 flask can be found and given to the Vault Dweller in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, mentioning after Vault 13 - "the old vault colors haven't even faded that much."
- Vault 13 is mentioned by a missionary in Fallout: New Vegas during G.I. Blues and in the Gun Runners' Arsenal challenge Vault 13's Revenge.
- A Vault 13 canteen and the armored Vault 13 jumpsuit of the Vault Dweller appear as items with the Classic Pack/Courier's Stash add-on(s) in Fallout: New Vegas.
- The background music "The Vault of the Future" is re-used for Vault 22 in Fallout: New Vegas.
Appearances[]
Vault 13 appears in Fallout and in Fallout 2. It is mentioned in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout: New Vegas and its add-on Gun Runners' Arsenal.
Gallery[]
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- Areas
- Sprites
- Cutscenes
- Concept art
- Vault 13
- A GURPS Post-Nuclear Role Playing Game
- Magic The Gathering
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{175}{}{Yes, It was eighty years ago. How did you know that?}"
Martin Frobisher: "{176}{}{Eighty years ago, a hero saved our vault and then the Overseer exiled him. Others followed him into exile and they were never heard from again. We remember the event with shame.}"
The Chosen One: "{177}{}{Hey! You're talking about *my* ancestor and the people who founded my village. They all came from the Vault of the Holy 13.}"
(Martin Frobisher's dialogue) - ↑ Vault City central computer's information: "{238}{}{According to the archives, there is no GECK currently in stock at Vault City's Amenities Office. The people of Vault City seem to have used the only one they had to help establish the place when they came to the surface.}"
"{239}{}{Scroll through the remaining information.}"
"{240}{}{From what you can make out in the archives, two GECKs were part of every Vault's standard inventory package. Only one was shipped to Vault 8, however.}"
"{241}{}{Cross-reference the GECK shipment information.}"
"{244}{}{Due to a shipping error, it appears Vault 8 received a box of surplus water chips intended for another Vault. The other Vault most likely received Vault 8's second GECK.}"
(VICENCOM.MSG) Note: Another major instance of mismanagement, a shipping error related to an essential service. - ↑ The Chosen One: "{227}{}{What about Vault 13? What was it's purpose?}"
Dick Richardson: "{228}{prs37}{Ahh. Vault 13 was a special case. It was supposed to remain closed until the subjects were needed. Vault 13 was, in scientific parlance, a control group.}"
(Dick Richardson's dialogue) - ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{138}{}{Where were you from originally?}"
Talius: "{140}{}{Some time ago, I lived in a place far to the north of here. They were having a problem with the water supply and sought out people to find a way to fix it.}"
(Talius' dialogue) - ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{166}{}{What was the name of this Vault?}"
Talius: "{184}{}{My vault had no name. It was merely numbered 13.}"
(Talius' dialogue) - ↑ Calm rebel faction
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{129}{}{Are you the Overseer?}"
Martin Frobisher: "{172}{}{We don't use that term anymore. There used to be an overseer, many years ago, but he did a bad thing and many of our people left the vault - only to die in the wastes, I'm sure. He was tried and sentenced to death for his crime. We haven't used the title since.}"
(Martin Frobisher's dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{128}{}{Isn't this the vault overseer room?}"
Jimmy: "{151}{}{Normally the vault overseer would be stationed here but Vault 13 has been fully automated.}"
The Chosen One: "{154}{}{Why? I mean, isn't that unusual?}"
Jimmy: "{156}{}{I don't know the full story but at one point in the vault's history there was a rebellion. The overseer was either killed or overthrown, I'm not sure which. Anyway, the leaders of the revolution didn't want to entrust the fate of the people to another overseer so they installed this mainframe. The records say it was purchased from... oh, what was that name... Ah, I remember, the 'Brotherhood of Steel.'}"
(Ocjimmy.msg) - ↑ Arroyo elder: "{174}{aeld19}{Chosen One, things are not well here. We need the GECK if our village is to survive. Our people grow weak with hunger and our food reserves will not last much longer. Please, find the holy Thirteen and return to us. Go now.}"
(Arroyo elder's dialogue) - ↑ Gruthar: "{103}{}{Do not fear me, human. I do not intend to harm you. I am Gruthar, leader of this deathclaw pack. Why have you come here?}"
The Chosen One: "{111}{}{I'm investigating raids on the local brahmin ranches. Do you know anything about this?}"
Gruthar: "{164}{}{(Gruthar pauses and seems to be carefully considering his response to you) I am sorry to say that I ordered the raids on the human lands. I am responsible for the lives of many here. We are running out of food, water, and other supplies. Until I can get the situation corrected, I need to take what I, a deathclaw, can not ask humans for.}"
The Chosen One: "{166}{}{I'm sorry to hear that. Is there some way that I may be able to help you so that you can stop the raids?}"
Gruthar: "{139}{}{(Gruthar stares at you intently for a moment.) You would be interested in helping us? Yes, I sense little evil in you. Very well, I shall place my trust in you.}"
The Chosen One: "{141}{}{Thank you.}"
Gruthar: "{145}{}{There are many machines here, machines built by humans. Deathclaw hands can not use these machines. However, there is one machine that understands questions. I ask it to run the other machines and it obeys. This machine no longer listens. It will no longer run the other machines. We are running out of food and water. I have ordered raids on the human lands so that we may survive. I am not proud of this and I would put an end to it. If you repair this machine, I will be able to feed my people once again. I will gladly stop the raids. Will you agree to this?}"
The Chosen One: "{148}{}{Hmm... sounds like the voice recognition module has gone bad on you. Let's go take a look.}"
Gruthar: "{152}{}{Thank you. The machine is in the vault control center on the third level. If you can repair it, please do so. I am placing my trust in you. Please do not betray it. You are welcome here.}"
The Chosen One: "{153}{}{I won't let you down, Gruthar. You have my word on that.}"
(Gruthar's dialogue)
Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p.1-1: "IMPORTANT VAULT STATISTICS
Vault Number ............................13
Starting construction date ....August 2063
Ending construction date ......March 2069
Starting Budget ........................$400,000,000,000
Final Budget, with interest ..$645,000,000,000
Total number of occupants ....1,000 (at capacity)
Total duration ..........................10 years (at capacity)
Number of living quarters ......100 (hot bunking required if at maximum capacity)
Door thickness ..........................4 yards, steel
Earth coverage..........................3,200,000 tons of soil, at 200 feet
Computer control system ......Think machine
Primary power supply ............Geo-thermal
Secondary power supply........General Atomics Nuclear Power backup systems
Power requirements................3.98mkw/day
Stores ..........................................Complete construction equipment, hydro-agricultural farms, water purification from underground river, defensive weaponry to equip 10 men, communication, social and entertainment files (for total duration)
Note: If the "m" in the figure "3.98mkw/day" stands for million, then the power requirement would be equivalent to 3.98 GWd. - ↑ Fallout Bible p.20: "TIMELINE REPAIR: SECOND STRIKE"
"2063 August: The construction of most Vaults completed, except for Vault 13, whose construction finally gets off the ground... heralding a development cycle that seems plagued with problems. Drills begin in the other cities with completed Vaults, but the increasing frequency of the drills has a "cry wolf" effect, and the turnouts for drills trickle off as the years go on." - ↑ Fallout Bible p.11: "VAULT SYSTEM"
Vault 13: Intended to stay closed for 200 years as a study of prolonged isolation, the broken water chip forced the Overseer to improvise and use the Vault Dweller as a pawn. Later study of the Vault 13 records by the Enclave led them to their current plan to end the war." - ↑ Fallout Bible 4: "9. Do YOU guys know what that ending of the Hub with ghouls and humans uniting is all about? It says Harold and the VD unite the ghouls and humans of the Hub. Anybody seen more ghouls than Harold in the Hub? Can't be about Necropolis, because it's the ONLY good ending for the Hub."
Although there weren't any ghouls shown in the Hub in Fallout 1, there may have been a handful wandering around in Old Town (kind of like Talius the ghoul in the Boneyard). The ending is more appropriate if you just mentally change the word "ghouls" to "skags." Basically, peace and harmony reign supreme. It's possible several ghouls traveled to the Hub during the Migration after they formed their engineering development house in Necropolis." - ↑ Fallout Bible p.26: "TIMELINE REPAIR: SECOND STRIKE"
"2162 March 3: Vault Dweller kicks the Master’s ass." - ↑ Fallout Bible p.26: "TIMELINE REPAIR: SECOND STRIKE"
"2162 April 20: Vault Dweller destroys the Military Base. Dogmeat dies defending his master." - ↑ Fallout Bible p.26: "TIMELINE REPAIR: SECOND STRIKE"
"2162 May 10: Fallout 1 Ends: Vault Dweller returns to Vault 13, only to be told "you're a hero, and you have to leave." Some members of the Vault (led by Lydia, the head of the "return to the surface" faction, and including her supporters, Theresa and Lyle) follow soon afterwards." - ↑ Fallout Bible 0: "2242 May 17 Enclave animal handlers drop a Deathclaw unit into Vault 13 from a safe distance to kill anyone investigating the Vault and cloak the Enclave's presence. Other Deathclaws are sent into the desert surrounding Vault 13 to check for any escapees or witnesses."
- ↑ According to John Deiley, who designed Vault 13, the inaccessible good ending where the deathclaws survive was intentionally scrapped because the Enclave plot required the slaughter of the deathclaws.
Note
- ↑ The overseer may be killed following the goodbye speech if the player has the Bloody Mess trait or enters combat by hitting A.
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