Fallout 3 Dlc Walkthrough

[Octavis Marquez]

Thisguide is quest-oriented, though I've also written much about all the important objects and people that you'll encounter in the various locales, even if they aren't related to completing a specific quest. It's meant to be more of a guide than a walkthrough. A walkthrough for a game like Fallout would of necessity be slanted towards a particular character type - but I try to give you several ways to get around each problem where possible, hopefully accounting for most of the character types across the role-playing spectrum.

Conventions

Once again, I've eschewed that handy yet game spoiling Table of Contents. OK, so this guide is loaded with outright spoilers anyway, but I try not to ruin all the fun right up front by providing you with a listing of all the important locations you will visit. If you're looking for references to a particular location, person, weapon, etc., then just search for it in your browser.

Before you even think about starting to play, check out the Interplay Fallout site, and ensure that you have the latest version installed. If not, download and apply the patch. Be careful to only apply a patch compatible with the locale from which you purchased the game. This guide was written using the U.S. version, patched to V1.1. This patch fixed numerous bugs, and also removed a restriction that you had to finish Fallout in 500 (game) days.

Note: as of 18 June 2004, the Interplay web site has been inaccessible. So we have made the V1.1 patch temporarily available here. Also note: this patch is only guaranteed to work for the US version of the game, so you may have to re-install if you apply it to a foreign language or UK version. Update: 02 December 2014 - That patch above is for the Windows version of Fallout. There is a separate one for patching the DOS version of Fallout, and we have also archived that: Fallout 1.1 DOS patch. Was getting it to run for a friendon a Mac, so DOSBox was the best option :-)

Beware that if your Intelligence (IN) is too low (I mean, your character's in the game, silly. Don't take it personally ;-), you won't be able to get most of the quests here simply because no one will be able to converse with you. Likewise, not having a high enough Charisma (CH) or Speech skill will also alter NPC responses, and you may miss out on important conversation choices that lead to quests. So, I recommend having both IN and CH at a minimum of 6 (you might scrape by with lower CH if you have a decent Speech skill) to keep your options open. If in doubt in a particular situation, pop a Mentat to boost both temporarily. Just for kicks, it's worth starting up a game with IN 3. Yes, it's a very well balanced game :-)

Luck, or dice rolls, and your stats play an important part in conversations. That's why it's very important that you save the game before every conversation. If you feel afterwards that the outcome could have been more favourable, restore to before the conversation and try it again. You just might get the dialogue choice you've been hoping for the next time through. If you consistently get the same undesirable choices, try improving your IN and CH by popping a Mentat before the conversation. Some dialogues even depend on your Science skill, and I've tried to indicate this where possible.

I recommend a minimum Strength (ST) of 6. With less than this, you'll be severely disadvantaged at hand-to-hand, unable to take any unarmed perks (most decent ones have a min ST of 6 requirement), and you won't be able to carry much inventory either. Likewise, unless you're going to play the 'ultimate bruiser' type of character, a starting ST of 9 or 10 is a waste, since you get a chance later on to increase your ST by 3 using... artificial means.

Owing to a design peculiarity in Fallout, Armour Piercing (AP) ammo doesn't do exactly what it's meant to, and is woefully ineffectual. So, it's best to just sell any that you find. Stick to the JHP for actually loading into your weapons.

I just love Big Guns, and Energy Weapons. They're so... destructive. I almost never bother to tag Small Guns, even though conventional wisdom has it that you should. The reason is: if you start off with decent Agility (AG), then you already have nearly 45% Small Guns skill. Also, you can quickly boost this skill by reading some... ahem... educational material you find lying around the place :-)

NPC's make great packrats. They can help you carry all the stuff you pick up after encounters with hostile critters. Be careful about giving them burst capable weapons though... or you could find yourself replaying a lot of encounters :-( Also, you have to keep telling some of them to use their best weapon when you know an important battle is coming up.

Something in Fallout that you need to do all the time, but it isn't patently obvious how you're meant to: exchange items with your party members. Just use your Steal skill, no matter how low it is, and you can swap items back and forth at will.

Like the man says: save, save, SAVE! You never know when you're going to mess up in combat, blow a dialogue with an NPC, etc. Contrary to what you may hear on the grapevine, you can also save during combat, though this practice does seem to make the game more likely to crash... but you just saved, didn't you? So, no big deal.

Those pre-apocalyptic Californians must have been avid readers. There are bookcases everywhere. A lot of them contain valuable stuff, so check every bookcase, desk, locker, etc. Anything that exhibits a hand icon when you move your cursor over it is worth having a look at. Scavenge to your heart's content.

You can rest nearly anywhere when no hostile critters are nearby. Derelict buildings in most towns make a perfect spot for this sort of activity. There's no rush to get through (most of) Fallout. Use the time! Why waste Stimpaks when you can heal while resting or travelling?

Vault 13

Get all the gear off the body immediately outside the Vault entrance. Kill all the rats for 25 XP a pop. Use your knife if possible, to conserve valuable ammo. The exit grid to the outside world is to the SW. Once outside, head due east towards Vault 15, but make sure to stop at the spot marked 'Unknown'.

You can go back inside Vault 13 when you return from the desert. As you enter the vault, there's a wall locker containing some Flares. The Medic here can heal you. About the only other thing you can do besides Quests 1 and 5 is raid the storage room on Level 3. Don't take too much, or the Water Guard will be pissed off!

1. Calm rebel faction - 750 XP.

Anytime before you find and return the Water Chip... if you talk to one of the 'Upset Vault 13 Citizens' in the Living Quarters (Level 2), you'll discover that they are getting restless and thinking about leaving the vault. They meet every evening in Theresa's room, north side of the Living Quarters. If you go there just after 17:00 and talk to Theresa, you can convince her that this idea is ill-advised.

4. Find the Water Chip - a whole bunch of XP, plus Quests 2 and 3 :-)

You have 150 days to complete this quest. No need to rush, but a sense of urgency is required. For the time being, you can't take every quest you chance upon - only the ones that don't take you too far out of the way, or will help you to complete this quest. Keep an eye on the 150 day countdown in your Pip Boy. If you find the water chip with at least 90 days left on the clock, you unwittingly prevent a tragedy from befalling the denizens of the place where you find it.

Note: make sure you knock off Quests 1 and 5 before you deliver the Water Chip to the Overseer, or they'll become unavailable.

5. Find the Water Thief - 1000 XP.

Same conditions as Quest 1... if you talk to the couple in the SE corner of Level 2, you'll find out that someone knocked the guard on Level 3 over the head and stole some water. All you have to do is go down to Level 3 sometime after midnight (no one else is around), and you'll catch the thief red-handed. Confront him when he comes out of the storage room.

Shady Sands

From Vault 13, due east on the way to Vault 15, the place marked 'Unknown' is Shady Sands. Talk to Katrina at the entrance for 250 XP. Ask Seth about the Radscorpions, and learn about the village doc, Razlo. Seth has a Rope. If you can steal it, do so... you're gonna need it! Don't barter for it, because there's another Rope to be found elsewhere in Shady Sands.

In the first building to the east is Ian (jeans and leather jacket). You can get him to join you. He'll ask for 100 Caps, but you can usually get him to come along for free if you offer him "a piece of the action". Whether or not you have to pay him is a moot point. You can steal it right back as soon as he joins you :-) Ian is very good with Small Guns - as a matter of fact - much better than you are at this stage in the game. And you'll get 100 XP when Ian joins your party.

Tandi is the girl wandering around the place (towards the south) that you can talk to. I originally thought I could convince her to come with me, but it's not possible. Talk to her father, Aradesh. He's the robed figure in the building to the SE (Town Hall). You'll get Quest 2 below if you ask him what's going on around the place. Before you embark on this quest, talk to Razlo the doctor, in the building to the west of Aradesh's place. He'll tell you he's looking for something to help him make a poison cure with. Hmmm. The bookcase behind him also contains a few handy supplies, though he doesn't usually take kindly to you trying to lift the Doctor's Bag.

If you take the exit grid to the east, past Ian's place, there's a farmer there standing in the middle of his garden. With at least 40% Science skill, you get the dialogue option to explain the concept of crop rotation to him, for 500 XP. In the building to the NE of the farmer's garden, there's a bookcase that contains a Rope and a Scout Handbook.

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