Vault 87 Vault 87 is one of the vault series of fallout shelters developed by Vault - Tec . It is located northwest of Little Lamplight and southwest of Broadcast tower KT8 . It is the birthplace of the super mutant s and centaur s in the Capital Wasteland . Background . Vault 87 ' s assigned experiment was the Evolutionary Experimentation Program , a military experiment which involved the use of a modified strain of Forced Evolutionary Virus ( FEV ) onto the Vault 87 residents . The experiment was done on the initiative of the Mariposa Military Base personnel as noted by a terminal entry written by Dr . Wayne Merrick , the vault ' s chief physician . On the day of the Great War , the surface entrance was struck by a nuclear device , dooming the surface entrance with deadly amounts of radiation and destroying the main vault door . The test subjects were locked into test chambers and exposed to the FEV , where the scientists would observe the changes the test subjects would go through . After their infection , the subjects underwent physical and mental changes over a period of about two weeks . Their form became genderless , more muscular , and their skin toughened . However , a great number of them died , either due to the loss of major brain functions which caused them to be unable to sustain their basic bodily needs ( such as Mary Kilpatrik , mentioned on Merrick ' s terminal ) , or due to the security being forced to kill the subjects as they exhibited severe bouts of rage and anxiety , compromising the vault ' s security . Due to the large number of deaths , the vault overseer ordered the medical personnel to list the test subjects as " unexplained " deaths as a cover - up . However , after some time , it appears that some of the residents became suspicious of the vault ' s activities , such as Daniel Koster , the vault ' s maintenance chief . The Vault 87 super mutants are obsessed with the preservation of their brand new species . Since they are all sterile , they kidnap humans from all over the Capital Wasteland and bring them to the Vault to be mutated . They had been doing so for nearly 200 years , until their source of FEV started to run out . Because of the shortage of the " green stuff , " there are now super mutant bands searching all over the Capital Wasteland for a new source of the virus . The Vault entrance . The radiation near the above ground entrance to Vault 87 is the highest in the game ( as well as the entire " Fallout " series ) , peaking at well over 3 , 500 rads / second , which can kill in about 0 . 29 seconds . The overseer ' s terminal states , " " I ' m quite sad to report that due to a direct hit from what I presume to be a nuclear weapon on the entry area of Vault 87 , we will be unable to provide the Scouting Reports as outlined in Vault - Tec ' s Operations Manual . The main door to Vault 87 is damaged beyond repair and we are detecting extremely high levels of lethal radiation outside and in the entry tunnel . " " It is possible to reach the entrance through the extensive use of RadAway in combination with clothing providing radiation resistance and Rad - X . However , as the overseer ' s message states , the door is inaccessible , making the vault impossible to enter from above ground . The map marker will activate near the entrance . There is a dead scientist in a radiation suit that can be found near the vault door , as well as RadAway and Rad - X , presumably carried by the scientist , but apparently not enough to prevent her death by massive radiation exposure . The entrance can also be found from within . The test labs section of the vault has a key - locked door near where Lone Wanderer is captured and taken to Raven Rock at the end of the quest . Going in there will reveal the vault door , though nothing is behind it . Super mutants have built a barricade of broken girders and wrecked cars around the entrance . If one decides to venture into this one - way death trap , they have to defeat them before going in , remembering that super mutants can be exposed to intense radiation without ill effects , like the possible companion Fawkes . Strangely , one can fast travel from the vault ' s entrance despite the heavy radiation which normally prevents fast - travel . Though , almost always , one will arrive dead . An Enclave eyebot is usually seen patrolling south of the entrance . Accessing Vault 87 . Before Vault 87 can be accessed , The Waters of Life must be completed , a part of the main quest line , by speaking with Scribe Rothchild in the Citadel . The Lone Wanderer will then be sent there to recover the Garden of Eden Creation Kit , also known as the G . E . C . K . Vault 87 can only be accessed through Little Lamplight , via two routes . These are revealed to the Wanderer by questioning Mayor MacCready . The more dangerous route involves crossing Murder Pass . This is the initial option suggested by the mayor . However , he also informs the Wanderer that a broken computer terminal in Little Lamplight will allow direct access to the Vault via a different , safer route . To access the terminal , one must speak to Joseph . Joseph can fix the broken terminal , allowing it to be hacked , but he will only do so if Penny has been rescued from Paradise Falls , or if the Wanderer has a high enough Science or Speech skill , or the Child at Heart perk . Joseph can be found in the Little Lamplight schoolhouse in the morning . The Wanderer must have a Science skill of 50 to actually hack the terminal to get into the vault . If Penny is not rescued , or if Joseph becomes upset through dialogue , entrance through Murder Pass will be the only option to get to Vault 87 . To access Murder Pass , the Wanderer must ask Mayor MacCready to open the gate , which is located north of the souvenir building . The pass houses several super mutants armed with heavy weaponry such as missile launcher s and minigun s . There are also a number of traps , so a careful approach is recommended . Murder Pass is a good choice for earning experience , and also contains several first aid box es , a decent amount of ammunition , a Stealth Boy , a Nuka - Cola Quantum , and a " " skill book . Traveling through the Vault . Vault 87 is very similar to all the other vaults a player may visit during the game , with narrow , confusing corridors and small rooms connected by the main lobby . Once inside the dimly lit vault , the Wanderer will encounter super mutants , centaur s , super mutant brutes , masters , and , if " Broken Steel " is installed , super mutant overlords . Super mutants take pride in mutilating the corpses of humans they kill in combat , hence the many skeletons and gore bag s found throughout the vault . The Lone Wanderer can also find the remains of failed FEV subjects . Eventually , one will encounter a friendly super mutant named Fawkes , who was sealed in a test chamber and left there decades before . Fawkes , via the intercom , will offer his services in acquiring the G . E . C . K . in return for being freed from his cell . Though Fawkes does not have to be freed , the super mutant will indeed honor this bargain , and will help the Wanderer acquire the G . E . C . K . by serving as a guide , as well as attacking any future enemies encountered , and finally , retrieving the device itself from its highly irradiated resting place . However , the same goes for the door and there are 3 options for interaction . One of these choices has you activate the G . E . C . K . killing the player . Later , if the player character has good Karma , Fawkes can be recruited as a follower , after The American Dream . There are two methods to free Fawkes . First , in the room at the end of the right hallway , a fire can set off the fire alarm in a room inhabited by two super mutant variants , which will open all five isolation rooms . However , this is not recommended , as in the process , two centaurs and a hostile non - player character will also be freed . It is advisable to instead hack the average - rated terminal located next to the fire alarm to unlock an individual chamber , of which Fawkes ' cell is the fifth . Appearances . Vault 87 appears only in " Fallout 3 " . It is briefly mentioned by Robert Joseph MacCready in " Fallout 4 " . Paladin Danse also shares this as the place of Cutler ' s death in " Fallout 4 " .