Intelligent deathclaw Intelligent deathclaws are a variety of deathclaw s in New California that were experimented on by the Enclave , which gave them higher intelligence and the ability to speak . Background . In 2235 , the Enclave captured deathclaws and exposed them to FEV . This boosted their intelligence and gave them the ability to talk with varying degrees of articulation . While the Enclave hoped that the deathclaws would be intelligent enough to obey orders without question , the Enclave ' s deathclaws doubted the morality of their masters . Although they stormed Vault 13 in 2242 and kidnapped the population with the Enclave , they later abandoned them and adopted the now - empty vault as their new home under the leadership of Gruthar . Several humans from the surrounding area moved into the vault to live under the protection of the deathclaws , but not all were pleased with these new neighbors . One human , Matt , struck against the deathclaws and bombed the mother deathclaw and her hatchlings ; the deathclaw mother survived , but security was tightened from then on . They faced other problems while adapting to life in the vault as well : after the overthrow of the paranoid Overseer , the dwellers of Vault 13 had turned day - to - day operations over to a Brotherhood - technology based computer . However , the deathclaws could only interact with it by voice commands , and it became a severe problem when the computer ' s voice module malfunctioned . Fortunately , a tribalman or tribalwoman known as the Chosen One had a replacement voice module and was willing to install his in exchange for Gruthar ' s help in finding a GECK , one of which Gruthar had within the vault ' s storage area . The deathclaws paid a high price for their rebellion , however : an Enclave team , led by Frank Horrigan , attacked Vault 13 and massacred the deathclaws ( and presumably those humans under their protection ) . Of Vault 13 ' s inhabitants , only Goris , who had accompanied the Chosen One on adventures outside Vault 13 , survived . However , it is known that there was a bugged " good ending " present in the game files as well as being restored by the Fallout 2 Restoration Mod . Whether this has any bearing on future games and the Intelligent Deathclaw ' s existence is unknown ; further complicated by entries in the Fallout Bible as mentioned below . In this ending , the Deathclaw pack residing in Vault 13 survived and peacefully expanded into the surrounding region ; possibly leaving the confines of the vault as the Enclave threat was ended by the Chosen One . Xarn , a deathclaw kept in Navarro under the custody of Dr . Schreber , Goris and Xarn are the only intelligent deathclaws in the whole Fallout canon to survive the end of " Fallout 2 " , depending on certain actions of the Chosen One . According to chapter six of Fallout Bible , they did not reproduce , and were the last of their kind . Although chapter five says otherwise . Characteristics . This subspecies was intelligent for deathclaw s , about the equivalent of an eight - year - old , with some individuals on par with average adult humans . Their learning capacity was very high , and they were capable of abstract thought and reasoning . Although they did not have vocal cords , the deathclaws seemed to mimic human speech similarly to a parrot . Socially , they had rigidly hierarchical , peaceful , and pack - based ethical code . They were extremely loyal to the pack as a whole , treating it as a family unit rather than having individual families . Fights within a pack are unheard of , and the pack ' s leader controls many aspects of life , such as choosing and matching female and male deathclaws for reproduction . Oddly enough , Deathclaws are not subject to sterility from FEV exposure ; this trait is not explained . Appearances . The intelligent deathclaws appear both in " Fallout 2 " and " " .