Vipers design document The Vipers design document for the original " Fallout " , written by Scott Campbell , was first published in Chris Avellone ' s " Fallout Bible 6 " , where you can also find Avellone ' s expansion of the Vipers ' background . The Vipers did not appear in the final game , but since they are mentioned a few times , this document is assumed to be canon . Raiders in general . The second clan , the Vipers , are mysterious followers of an ancient religion ( or so they claim ) . They usually only come out at night to hunt for food or to conduct raids . They are very ruthless when it comes to combat . They prefer stealth to strength . They usually carry bone knives dipped in Pit Viper venom . This poison , when in the blood stream , paralyzes the victim . Most victims captured in this way are taken back to their hideout . Overview . The leader of the Vipers , Asp , conducts their ceremonies and administers duties . The members of the clan will follow his orders even if it meant death . Asp is usually in the same type of bone armor as the others , save he wears a snake skull as a helmet adorned with feathers and snakeskin as a cape . The Vipers are always dressed in bone armor . This armor , as the name implies , is made from strips of bone bundled around the body with strips of leather . All viper clan members have crude tattoos all over their bodies . Exotic piercings are not uncommon . The Vipers usually carry bone knives , bone spears , and sometimes pistols . The Vipers hideout , or as they call it " The Shrine , " is many small adobe buildings surrounding a large pit . This pit is where they conduct their religious ceremonies . The sacrifices are placed within the pit and several huge Pit Vipers slither out to claim their meal . Although it has never happened , if anyone were to escape the pit , the Vipers would let that individual go , claiming it was the will of the great Snake . Background . 64 years ago , a man named Jonathan Faust led his group of about 200 people from the overcrowded Vault into the wastes of the outside . It was there that his small band came to a small oasis in the middle of the desert . In the middle of this oasis was a large pit , almost like a crater . While resting and setting up camp , Faust decided to look into the pit . Darkness greeted him . When a member of the band called out to him , Faust turned , startled , and slipped into the Pit . He slid down twenty feet and then fell another 20 and broke his leg in the process . As he lay there dazed , a half dozen gigantic Pit Viper s slithered toward him . Not knowing what these things were , Faust was terrified . The group above heard one loud scream and then nothing . Three others went to look for him , but never came out . The small band , leaderless and stuck in the desert with no food and water , decided to stay at the oasis , at least for a little while . They covered the pit with a tarp and nailed spikes around it to keep whatever horror lived there encased there . They then set up their camp as far from the Pit as possible . Whatever was down in the Pit never bothered them . Days passed . The more influential of the group argued about what they were to do . There was talk of joining up with others from the Vault . There was talk about going back to the Vault . During these four days , almost ¼ of the group was either dying or already dead . Those who survived the radiation poisoning were too weak to travel , while those who survived either left or stayed and helped defend the little settlement against the desert creatures . Finally , after a week , the remaining members of the group decided to move on . They started to pack their belongings when an almost spectral figure emerged from the shadows . It was Faust , except this was not the strong leader they remembered . He was wan , pale , and emaciated , and there was a feverish gleam in his eyes . He told them that when he was down in the pit , a god visited him and told him the True Way . They would make sacrifices to the Gods of the Pit , and wealth and happiness would be theirs . Of course , everyone was skeptical . Some were even violently rebellious , saying that Faust was crazy . After Faust patiently listened to them , he then whistled , and from behind him , came two very large Pit Vipers . Without warning , they struck . They attacked everyone in the group , including Faust , but he just laughed as they bit his flesh . As the sun rose the next day , the two snakes lay dead by Faust ' s hands . Half of his people were dead , the other half were on the brink of death as the Pit Venom started to sink into their systems . By that afternoon most would be dead , but the forty or so survivors of the venom were half crazy with the aftereffects of the venom . Faust , himself immune to the venom , helped the remaining few through this time , which has come to be known as the Great Awakening . He whispered things to them , told them how the Great Snake has spared their lives , so that they would fight for His mighty cause . And thus the Viper clan was born . They decided to make the Pit their Shrine , and to go out into the wastes and take what they needed from those blasphemers that did not follow the Winding Way of the Great Snake . When Faust ( or the Great Snakekeeper , as he was called ) , grew too old to rule , his son , Asp , was given the sacred role of leader and High Priest . He has ruled ever since . Dress . Vipers typically dress in bone armor with a red sash , and their elite warriors are called the Crimson Tongue . Rituals . Once a month , the Vipers fall into a deep trance through a dangerous mixture of alcohol and snake venom ( anyone who doesn ' t awake is considered to have been found unworthy by the Great Snake ) . When the Vipers reach manhood , they are given a special mixture of the Pit Viper venom . Those who die ( or are in a coma for more than seven nights ) are given as sacrifices to the Children . ( The snakes in the Pit are officially called the Children of the Great Snake . ) Those who survive the week - long delirium become Warriors of the Snake ( also called Chosen Ones ) . There is also a monthly ritual , where the Venom is taken by the High Priests and Priestesses of the tribe in small quantities , which causes bizarre dreams . This is called the Time of the Summoning , because many claim to see the Great Snake come to them in their dreams . When it is time for a captured prisoner to be sacrificed , he is typically hurled into the Pit at midnight . Camp Breakdowns . The Pit . This is the large pit that lies in the center of the Viper ' s camp . It currently holds four giant Pit Vipers . Each one is old and very well fed , but they are still very deadly . The Pit itself branches off into many tunnels , where the player can find Faust ' s old staff , as well as many nests of rats . One of the tunnels opens up into a secret exit near the mountains , so a resourceful player could use it to escape after being hurled into the Pit . The Sanctuary . This is where Asp sleeps and attends to the governmental duties of his people . His mate , the High Priestess of the Great Snake , is always close by . They have no children . The meeting room itself is long and lined with torches . The throne Asp sits on was made from the skulls and bones of the two snakes that Faust killed during the Great Awakening . The Cages . Where the prisoners are kept . Located at the very edge of the Oasis ( they cannot taint the snakes with the unbelievers ) , these pits are dug into the ground . Their entrances are made of iron grates set into the stone ground of the oasis . They are usually guarded by the Crimson Tongue , the special elite warriors . The reason they are used to guard this is because a lot of the time the Cages are used to hold the sacrifices to the Children . The Hall of Ascension . This is the ceremonial lodge used in the Time of Summoning . This is also used for all religious purposes , except the Snake Sacrifice , which is done on a platform set up over the Pit .