Burham Springs design document / 1 This is part 1 of the Burham Springs design document for " Van Buren " , the canceled " Fallout 3 " by Black Isle Studios . Overview . Burham Springs is a horrible wreck of a pre - war mining community that has been burning for decades . Only a tiny handful of people continue to linger in the dreadful place . The constant threat of death by fire , smoke , radiation , and horrible monstrosities keep the rest of the world away . The smoldering coal mines contain a wealth of technology , but the risk is too great for most people to bother . The area consists of three maps : AR0001 Burham Springs ( simple ) , AR000101 Burham Mines ( complex ) , and AR000102 Toxic Caves ( complex ) . AR0001 is the exterior town map for Burham Springs . It is fairly small , consisting of only three standing buildings and six other burned down building foundations . The ground is cracked and / or blackened almost everywhere . Smoke issues forth in several places and small flames continue to burst forth at haphazard locations across the map . All three of the building interiors are single story . The west and south edges of the map take the player to the World Map ( party required ) . At the northeast corner of the town in a cliff face is the entrance to AR000101 Burham Mines ( party required ) . AR0000101 is a maze of mining tunnels with collapsed dead ends , lingering fires , and a constant haze of smoke . Horrible creatures called gehennas roam the corridors in search of prey and flammable items . A number of ladders lead down to the toxic caves ( party required ) and an exit in the west leads back to AR0001 Burham Springs . AR0000102 contains fewer mine corridors and more open caverns . Unfortunately , it is chock - full of radioactive material and even more gehennas . The southeast section of the map contains a lowered basin that can be drained for access to a robot laboratory ( same map , no transition required ) . Several ladders lead up to AR000101 Burham Mines ( party required ) , but there are no other exits from the map . Though the geometry on these maps does not necessarily change , the dynamic " water " in the Toxic Caves will need to be lowered so the player can access the AGRICOLA lab . If / when the fires at Burham Springs are extinguished , the flames and smoke will mostly disappear from the exterior maps . This may change overall lighting of several levels , but dynamic lights and / or fakey sprite lighting could simply be removed to achieve the same overall effect . The overall goals in the area include : exploration of the mines , the destruction of all gehenna mutations , and either the destruction of all AGRICOLA robots or their employment in the extinguishing of Burham Springs . Unless the player chooses to engage the three squatters " living " in town , the only foes he or she faces here are gehenna mutants and AGRICOLA robots . Between exploring the mines , dealing with the NPCs on the surface , and figuring out the AGRICOLA lab , the player should spend between 2 and 4 hours at this location . Area Background . The town of Burham Springs was established fifteen years ago by Trent Burham , a wealthy NCR mine merchant . The community was given a charter by Lt . Gov . Dodge to excavate the existing mines in the region for the production of valuable coal resources . Burham ' s men and women struck black gold , NCR tea . A small community quickly grew up around the mines in the shells of the old mining town . With the NCR railroad project moving through the area , everything was safe and secure . The NCR ignored the lower caves , as pre - war toxic waste had been dumped here by the government . Everything went well at Burham Springs until the NCR presence pulled out . The railways were completed , and civil discontent was brewing back west . NCR recommended that the citizens of Burham Springs pack up their things and return with them . Many of the stubborn miners refused to give up what had become a very profitable and familiar way of life . Several were ex - criminals , or " integrated " tribal s with no future in the rest of NCR . With no one to protect the community , it became vulnerable to attack by the powder gangs of the wasteland ( the powder gangs were old railway workers left jobless and helpless by NCR ) . After a powder gang attack between Burham Springs and Hoover Dam left several important NCR political figures dead , the 5th Engineering Company was deployed to track down the responsible gang . The gang , finally afraid of NCR ' s focused might , retreated to Burham Springs . The NCR ' s firepower forced the gang to retreat into the mines . The commanding NCR officer , Maj . Robert " Border " Briggs , hastily ordered his men to plant explosives around the mine and detonate them . The massive explosions reached all the way down the mineshafts and hit the powder stockpiles of the gang . A chain reaction occurred . Flames erupted from every mineshaft that didn ' t collapse . The oil and coal dust on top of the local creek and pond were lit ablaze . A number of partially - tapped veins of coal also ignited , starting an unstoppable blaze that burns and smolders to this day . To make matters worse , the explosion didn ' t kill " everyone " . At least a few dozen townsfolk and power gang members were horribly burned and exposed to the radiation leaking from the ruptured containment barrels in the lower caverns . Through mysterious 50s sci - fi - esque pseudo - science , the anthracite coal , fire , and radioactive elements combined to create a bizarre mutated monstrosity that the nearby Canaanites call " gehennas " . Though a few " extraordinarily " hardy miners still pluck small amounts of coal and gang - stolen technology from the caverns , everyone else has abandoned the area out of fear . NCR doesn ' t even bother posting warnings or trying to keep people out . As far as they ' re concerned , if you walk into a city that ' s been burning for over a decade , you ' re on your own . The three residents of the town ' s surface , Phil , Sparky , and Frank , collect bits of coal and small pieces of technology to trade with various merchant s and roving packs of tribal s . To date , only three tribal groups have tried to attack the strange trio . They were " not " successful . The two men and one ghoul are tough bastards , and clever enough to see trouble coming . They typically trade for food , weapon s , and ammunition to defend themselves , When entering the area , the first area the player will see is the burning village itself . He will most likely encounter Phil , Sparky , and Frank as soon as he or she walks down the central street in town . The PC can trade with these characters and learn about the background of Burham Springs as well as the horrible dangers that lie just inside the cave mouth . Phil and Frank will " more than adequately " warn the PC that the mine is extremely dangerous — dangerous enough that NCR didn ' t think it was worth saving . Phil has a map of the traps on the first floor of the mine and Frank has a map of the extra toxic areas in the lower caves . Neither is willing to part with either unless the payoff is significant . Near the mine entrance , they will pass a water pump on the surface that will prove important in the toxic caves . Inside the mines , the player will find roving packs of gehennas , fire and smoke hazards and bits of technology stashed here and there . There are six ladders going down into the caves below . Though the player will encounter two a short distance into the mines , they could explore the whole level before descending . The toxic caves are uneven caverns with barrels and small pools of radioactive waste . The player will encounter more gehennas and more badly mutated gehennas in this area . The worst of the gehennas are huge abominations called molech s . In addition to these monstrosities and more tech , the player will encounter the end of a hose for a radioactive pool . The system is broken , but can be fixed on the surface and in the mines with a replacement part from Hoover Dam or through use of the Mechanics skill . When the pool is drained , a door is revealed and opens . Inside , the PC will find the AGRICOLA lab and the waiting AGRICOLA robots . The player will deal with the robots , search through the holodiscs in the archives , and learn about the hazard suppression system that the robots are set up to perform . The player can then help organize the robots and set them on their way , effectively extinguishing the Burham Springs flames and removing a great deal of the toxic waste . The day is saved and dogs and cats live together in harmony . Inspirational movies for this film : , Inspirational books for this film : ( short story , part of Stephen King ' s " " ) Emotional Porn . This section sets up all the emotional role - playing opportunities present in the location – as well as whatever feelings you ' re trying to spark in the player playing the game ( fear , foreshadowing , survival , sympathy for the location or NPCs there , or whatever ) . Drama . All three of the salvager s are wary of the PC , but not afraid . Upon first entering town , they will encounter a population sign that reads : EAGLE ROCK , POP . 160 . Of course , EAGLE ROCK has been crossed out and replaced with BURHAM SPRINGS , and the 160 has been crossed out and replaced a number of times . The bottom number reads " 3 " . Under the sign is a makeshift painted board that reads KEEP OUT ! Around the sides and backs of the houses are more makeshift signs that say WARNING : KEEP OUT OF MARKED AREAS . The player is supposed to get the impression that Burham Springs is a fucked up place , and they should tread lightly to avoid being blown up by traps and / or shot in the face by its three dangerous residents . The presentation of the gehenna and their history could also make the player feel a little sad , since they were once human s , and are now just messed up abomination s without any higher thought processes . Other Role - Playing Tests and Epithets . If the player kills Phil , Sparky , and Frank , he will get the title Desolator .