The Pitt (Fallout 3)

The Pitt is a raider-dominated city built in the ruins of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was established in the aftermath of the Great War by local gangs. Around 2255, its inhabitants were nearly wiped out by the Brotherhood of Steel, only to be revitalized by former Brotherhood Initiate Ishmael Ashur and his recently formed army of raiders. By 2277, the city's slave trade and steel industry had made it a major power on the East Coast.
==Background==
The Pitt was once the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a major industrial center for steel production, Pittsburgh was a priority target for Chinese warheads. The warheads that landed near the metropolis would dramatically alter the environment around the city. The radioactive fallout from the warheads mixed with the heavy industrial pollution from the steel mills created a hazardous environment unique to the area. The devastation from the warheads also grants ample room and raw construction materials, and the river provided a seemingly-useful source of water. Unbeknownst to the city's inhabitants, however, the river had been heavily polluted with radioactive material, mutagenic agents, and dangerous carcinogens.
The accumulation of poison led to deformed births, genetic damage, and subtle mutations that manifested as Pitt dwellers aged. Many would eventually become Wildmen or trogs, succumbing to the posionous environment of the Pitt. Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition pp.43-44:"Pitt RaidersPitt SlavesTrogsWildmenFollowing the Great War, survivors established a settlement on the remains of a city at the confluence of rivers. The rivers seem to provide a clear resource, and enough of the city was cleared by the bombs that a new settlement could be established. However, radioactive material and unidentified mutagens mixed into the groundwater, causing it to become slightly mutagenic and highly carcinogenic. As a result, the people in the new settlement began to change ever so slightly.The changes were subtle, not nearly to the degree of the Super Mutants or the various Wasteland creatures, but over the next 140 years, it became undeniable that something was affecting the people of The Pitt. Starting from the first few years, children were often born with strange growths or extra vestigial limbs. The mutations never went far beyond the occasional hunchback or cleft palate, but it wasn't long before the vast majority of the residents of The Pitt developed some sort of physical deformity in their lifetimes. Although many children were born "clean," the older they got, the more likely that a problem would develop.The most disturbing change that the environment caused was not nearly as noticeable as the physical deformities. The infected water and poisoned sky began to cause neurological damage to those exposed to it. People became more hostile, violent, and short-tempered; they became known as "Wildmen." Their emotions became out of control, and their actions often teetered on primal. In severe cases, mutated humans devolved into hunched, savage beasts nicknamed "Trogs." Over the first 50 years, The Pitt quickly degenerated into a dangerous den of murderers and rapists; even cannibalism was not uncommon. The only loyalty was in strength, and the only organization was between those who were strong enough to control others and those who were controlled.Rumors of the horrors of The Pitt spread throughout the Wasteland, and all travelers knew to avoid it at all costs. However, The Pitt became one of the most self-sufficient communities in the Wastes. Granted, their self-sufficiency relied on the citizens occasionally eating one another, but they functioned without trade or export.In 2042, Star Paladin Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel led the Scourge, a large-scale military action that wiped out nearly the entire population of The Pitt. In a single night, the Brotherhood swept through the city, eliminating any resident who put up a fight. Although the intent of the Scourge remains unclear, several unmutated children were taken from The Pitt by the Brotherhood and placed into initiate training. The motivations for the Scourge are unclear to this day, but many in the Brotherhood note that it was a marked change in the way the Brotherhood operates. Additionally, it is known that something was recovered from The Pitt during the Scourge, although to date it would seem that only Elder Lyons knows what it was.It is said that a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin from the Scourge stayed on in The Pitt, seeking to bring law and order to the unwashed masses and creating an underclass of Pitt Slaves in the process, guarded by Pitt Raiders under his personal command. However, in the decades following the events of the Scourge, nobody has heard anything from The Pitt. Travelers who have gone to investigate have not returned, and no survivors have emerged."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles)The Lone Wanderer: "What happens to people who get sick?"Wernher: "It's hard to describe. It's nasty. And it affects everyone a little differently. But the longer you're there, the more it gets you. Some just get sick and die. Others go crazy, completely psycho. They live out in the city. We call 'em "Wildmen". And the worst... well... just hope you never have to see 'em. They turn into animals. They forget who they are. They just eat, sleep, fuck, and kill. But this cure, maybe it can stop all that."(Wernher's dialogue) The Troglodyte Degeneration Contagion, or "TDC" became the most persistent issue plaguing the ruins of Pittsburgh, affecting children and adults alike. Infants were particularly vulnerable to the Contagion, which continued to wreak havoc on the city.Haven terminal entries: Research terminal; Trog studies As the population degenerated, so too did the order. Despite valiant efforts by the Union to restore some semblance of order, the brutal war with the Fanatics, a raider confederation unified under a single banner, destroyed the restored Pitt infrastructure, while the trog plague wrought havoc among the survivors. By 2127, the Pitt collapsed into warring tribes of cannibals and rapists ruled by the strong. While this eventually allowed the Pitt to settle into a state of brutal self-sufficiency, it left the city with a terrifying and infamous reputation, and travelers from across the East Coast came to avoid the place as a matter of common sense.
===23rd century===
This state of affairs persisted for over a hundred years, until 2255, when an expeditionary force of the Brotherhood of Steel, led by then-Paladin Owyn Lyons, arrived at the outskirts of the Pitt on their journey to the Capital Wasteland. After reconnoitering the ruins, Lyons ordered an attack on the city. More of a massacre than a military action, Brotherhood soldiers entered the city from Mount Wash, and in a single night slaughtered half of the city's population, sparing only those who surrendered immediately. This operation would come to be known as the Scourge.Ashur's diary, The ScourgeThe Lone Wanderer: "How did the city get started?"Wernher: "After the war, the place just turns into a shithole. The buildings start falling over and the sickness makes people just turn on each other. Some of them... change. They lose any sense of who they are. They just go around killing and fucking and eating. Like animals, man. Some people are still okay, but just... I don't know. Anyway, about 30 years ago, those Brotherhood guys come in and wipe the place out. They kill all of these sick fucks. Anything that looks like it's going to fight -- Bam! Then they take whatever they were looking for and leave."(Wernher's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "How did you end up in the Brotherhood?"Kodiak:"Now that's a story... The only reason I'm here is because of Elder Lyons. You see, I grew up in the Pitt. Don't suppose you've ever been there, huh? It's about 500 klicks to the northwest. Place is a nightmare -- three irradiated rivers coming together. People there were... not well. But the Brotherhood of Steel came down on the place with a righteous hammer. They called it "The Scourge.""(Kodiak's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "What was the Scourge?"Kodiak:"It was a Brotherhood operation. They marched in and swept the place clean. Most of the people there were half-mutated, cancerous, vile things. And these people... rape gangs, torture squads... it was pure chaos there. The Scourge is the best thing that could have happened to it. This was way back, before the Citadel was fortified. Part of the early recon after the Brotherhood first arrived in this area. One night, a squad of Brothers led by Paladin Lyons swept into the city from over Mount Wash, tearing apart anyone who stood against them. They were completely outnumbered. And still they razed that place to the ground."(Kodiak's dialogue) The Brotherhood took 21 healthy children away from the city and trained them as their own soldiers.The Lone Wanderer: "How did you escape?"Kodiak:"As they swept through, the Brotherhood policed up every non-mutie child they could find. Turns out, there weren't that many. Me and maybe twenty others. The younger we were, the less of a chance that we were mutated. It was ugly work, no doubt, but it had to be done. I'll never forget the sight of the Brotherhood of Steel breaching the breast of the mountain at dawn."(Kodiak's dialogue) Rumors claim that the Brotherhood also recovered an important asset of some kind from the ruins. There was only a single casualty, Initiate Ishmael Ashur, believed dead after a building collapse. The Scourge succeeded in calming the city and clearing it of its most violent inhabitants, it also left a power vacuum.The Lone Wanderer: "I remember hearing about The Pitt from a guy in the Citadel."Wernher: "The Citadel, huh? That's the Brotherhood of Steel fortress, right? Yeah, I know about those guys. He must have been part of the attack that cleaned up The Pitt. Well... it didn't so much clean it up as it calmed it down. No way that hellhole could ever be cleaned up without the cure. That's why those guys were after me."(Wernher's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about what the Brotherhood did."Wernher: "Well, as bad as The Pitt is, it used to be worse. Much worse. It was complete chaos. Every man for himself. About the time I was born, those Brotherhood guys swept through the place. Killed anything that put up a fight. More'n half the place was dead by the time they were done. It was a slaughter. But they got the worst of the worst. If it weren't for the Brotherhood sweeping the place, I doubt Ashur would have been able to get control of as much as he has."(Wernher's dialogue)
Ashur survived the building collapse during the Scourge.Diary 3: The Mill implies the first fight in the Hole was between Ashur and the scavenger trying to steal his armor. While his power armor had protected him from death in the accident, he sustained severe injuries that left him comatose for several days. When he was finally awoken, it was by a woman who had survived the purge, attempting to pry his armor off. After questioning the scavenger, Ashur realized that the building was not only a steel mill, but an operational one. As the Brotherhood never saw such a facility before, Ashur recruited the scavengers, many of whom had come to see him as a god due to his miraculous survival and imposing armor, and resolved to restore the Pitt to its former glory.Diary 3: The MillThe Lone Wanderer: "How did The Pitt get started?"Ishmael Ashur: "Believe it or not, it started when the Brotherhood decided to loot this hellhole and wipe it off the map. We called it the Scourge. Back then, I was "Initiate Ashur." But that ended when the Brotherhood left me behind, and I came to see The Pitt in a new light. I was found by tribals who thought I was a god. I didn't argue, and with my leadership and their divine dedication, we began rebuilding this city."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue) The Brotherhood's looting left behind a lot of "damaged goods" that made rebuilding a lot easier.The Lone Wanderer: "How did you rebuild after the Scourge?"Ishmael Ashur: "It wasn't actually that tough. The Scourge had cleared out a lot of Trogs, so we had space to move in. The Brotherhood had looted a lot, but they left even more behind as "damaged goods." And you can rebuild a lot out of "damaged goods." For example, they took one survivor, a kid they called "Kodiak". But they left his big brothers behind, because they were too wild and mean. But as it turns out, the Bear Brothers were some of my finest soldiers. At least, until they went up against you."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue) The city grew rapidly under Lord Ashur, who pressed local gangs into his army and enslaved those too weak to fight as laborers. With the steel mill operational, the Pitt began producing goods, which Ashur traded for supplies and healthy slaves from the outside.The Lone Wanderer: "Where do your people come from?"Wernher: "Some of us are native to The Pitt, most of us are, really. People sometimes have kids before the sickness takes them. But the need for slaves has gotten bigger. Ashur's started importing them. Ever wonder why there are so many Slavers, but you hardly see any slaves? The Slaver operation in this area has been supplying The Pitt."(Wernher's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "Who lives there?"Wernher: "The city is built on the backs of slaves. My people. We're diseased, and suffering. They've restarted the steel mills there. They have us breaking down metal and reforging it. No one knows why. But the guy in charge, Ashur, you can damn well bet your life that he has a plan."(Wernher's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "Wait, can you tell me more about what you're doing in The Pitt?"Ishmael Ashur: " "(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue) The TDC and the toxic environment precluded natural population growth, so Ashur resolved to aggressively recruiting raiders and importing slaves, while making extensive use of boons, propaganda, and intimidation to keep the population pacified. To entertain and distract, he founded The Hole, a gladiatorial arena where slaves could fight to earn their freedom. Ashur considered this brutal approach to governance to be a necessary evil, until a solution to the trog plague could be found.The Lone Wanderer: "What's going to become of the workers?"Ishmael Ashur: " But once we do have a cure, things will be different. We won't need to kidnap people for our city. We'll be able to grow naturally. Until then, this is the way it has to be. It's just what has to be done."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue) Progress was slow, until Ashur's wife and chief scientist, Sandra Kundanika, gave birth to Marie, who was completely immune to the TDC and other horrors of the Pitt. Her immunity, if replicated, could turn a struggling autocracy into a prosperous regional empire.Diary 4: The CureThe Lone Wanderer: "Now that you have Marie back, please set the slaves free."Ishmael Ashur: " The city's disease means we can't have kids, so slaves and recruits are the only way we get new people in the city. But some day, soon, we'll have a cure, and we won't need forced labor. The workers will be free, and the city can grow naturally. Thanks to what you've done, that day is coming. But until then, this is the only way the city can survive."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue)
Not everyone fell in line. Wernher, one of Ashur's lieutenants, attempted a coup against Ashur a few years before 2277, and failed. For this treason, Ashur had him sent down to the Foundry as a slave, with an explosive collar around his neck (something no other slave had to wear).Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.102-103: "WernherOnce one of the smarter raiders in The Pitt, Wernher was condemned to slavery after trying to stage a coup to overthrow Ashur. He used his knowledge of electronics to deactivate his collar and escape. He harbors a grudge against the city and against Ashur in particular. He has no particular love for the slaves, and he sees a plan to kidnap Ashur's baby as a way to get back at The Pitt's ruler and the city in general."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) Ever resentful, Wernher began planning for a second takeover, working with Midea to organize a slave revolt. He needed outside help and eventually disabled his collar and fled the city into the Capital Wasteland. Setting up a radio broadcast to try and get assistance with his plan, Wernher eventually attracted the Lone Wanderer. Together, they infiltrated the city.Into The Pitt
===Second uprising===
The Lone Wanderer made contact with Midea and started at the bottom of the Pitt hierarchy, working the most dangerous task available, salvaging the steelyards. After proving themselves, they are volunteered to fight in the gladiatorial arena, and eventually manage to win their freedom after defeating the Pitt's most notorious raiders in no holds barred combat.Events of Unsafe Working Conditions Ashur correctly identified the Lone Wanderer as Wernher's associate and played a gambit, inviting them up to Haven, where the Lone Wanderer had to make a choice: Either abduct Ashur's daughter and deliver her to Wernher, to finish his takeover of the Pitt, or side with Ashur and chance on hisplan. In the background, Wernher instigated a riot to distract Ashur and lay the groundwork for flooding the raider district of Haven with trogs.Events of Free Labor The Wanderer heads into Sandra's lab, and speaks with her. Finding out that the cure is her daughter, Marie, the Wanderer either leaves without Marie to assist Ashur with putting down Wernher's riot, or steals Marie from her crib and flees Haven to take Marie to Midea. Making their way through the riot with Marie, the Wanderer meets Midea in her quarters, who tells them to take Marie to Wernher's hideout in the steelyard. If the Wanderer left without Marie, Midea can be killed or intimidated to learn the hideout's location. The Wanderer then reaches Wernher's hideout, and if they don't have Marie either kill or convince him to leave the city, ending the riots with Ashur still in control of the Pitt. If they do have Marie with them, Wernher takes her off the Wanderer, and tells them of the final part of his plan - turning off the floodlights in Uptown, and letting the trogs massacre the Pitt raiders who survived the riot. The Wanderer then either agrees to the plan, heading through the Pitt underground to shut down the power plant running the floodlights, or disagrees with it, killing Wernher or convincing him to leave, and returns Marie to Ashur.
==Layout==
When the Lone Wanderer visits the Pitt in 2277, it is a city that has undeniably seen better days. Smoke from the steel mill chokes the air, and the city streets are clogged by abandoned vehicles and rubble. The occupied areas of the Pitt have been fenced off from the surrounding ruins to prevent escape, and the glare of spotlights keep the trogs that have overrun the rest of the city away.
* Train yard: The main trainyard for the Pitt has long since fallen into disrepair, and the main rail bridge into the city has fallen into the highly toxic river. In addition, the tunnel leading to the bridge is collapsed, preventing further journey on rails. A small scouting party of Pitt raiders guards this yard, ready to report back to the main gate if any enemies are spotted or if slaves try to escape. This is moderately well guarded and is the last stop between the wasteland and the Pitt.
* Bridge: Despite ruling the Pitt with an iron fist, there are still pockets of resistance throughout the city, not least of which is an old slave trading post near the Wabash Bridge, which is now under the control of Wildmen. The bridge is a dangerous trap-filled pathway with vicious dogs and a sniper, but it's better to face these than dive into the river below, as radioactive death is instantaneous. On the north side of the bridge, slaves periodically attempt to flee and are blown apart by the many scattered mine traps. Down the street is the main gate to Downtown, guarded by the ever-offensive Mex and his lackeys.
* Downtown: Home to the majority of the slaves working in the nearby Mill, the Pitt's Downtown is a gruesome, grimy, and desperate place, where Pitt raiders rule and slaves are treated worse than dogs. From the main courtyard, with a hole and a furnace, there's an alley leading northeast toward market square, where the majority of the slaves' plot rebellion. Above the ground, and accessible only to Pitt raiders, are the upper scaffold pathways and bridges. These are home to Pitt raiders, who can keep a constant vigil on their property down below.
* Steelyard: Once the main Steel-producing center of the Pitt, recent and increased activity by Wildmen and trogs have rendered this a largely-uninhabitable area. Slaves unlucky enough to be ordered to work in this gloomy location are usually killed, eaten, or both by the inhuman trogs and Wildmen that prowl area, or fall to their deaths from one of the many decaying catwalks and balconies.
* Uptown: This area is primarily a Pitt raider paradise, with defenses and lighting constantly checked to ensure no trog incursions occur. Part of the crumbling tenement blocks holds a number of wandering raiders, all loyal to Ashur. Much like downtown, the Lone Wanderer is able to access the ground and upper levels via a series of scaffolds and catwalks. North of the open-plan tenements is an abandoned apartment. To the east are the main courtyard and the entrance to the power plant and Haven interior.
* Haven: Dominating this expansive courtyard plaza is a giant effigy, flanked by two bouts of intermittent ﬁre. A twisted monument to the sickness, this has the added benefit of keeping trogs away, as they are light-sensitive. However, Ashur knows from past massacres that the lights must be kept on to avoid a trog influx. The effigy stands at the foot of Ashur's base. It is a skyscraper known as Haven, due to the safety and experimentation into curing the sickness that takes place inside.
* Underground: A series of sewer pipes and abandoned utility tunnels running under the city, the Pitt underground is a forgotten passage between the Steelyard and Uptown. Populated by a large number of trogs, the explorable sections of the Underground can be entered from a power plant off of the main plaza in front of Haven and from a manhole next to a collapsed rail tunnel in the Steelyard.
====Buildings====
==Inhabitants==
==Related quests==
==Notes==
* Similar to the Fabulous New Vegas sign, the bridge's "Welcome to Pittsburgh" sign has been hand-modified to reflect the city's new name, having "sburgh" crossed out and "the" added to it.
* In the Fallout 3 base game, Paladin Kodiak provides information regarding his upbringing in the Pitt if asked. Additionally, Rollings -- We're done, a holotape in Rockopolis, mentions the Pitt as the location where the settlement's former inhabitants have been sent to.
* Unlike Operation: Anchorage, the player character can return to the Pitt after the completion of the Fallout 3 add-on.
* The Pitt is mentioned in a holotape in Rockopolis in the base game, as well as Marcella's journal in Point Lookout.
==Appearances==
The Pitt appears in the Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt. It is also mentioned in Fallout 3 and its add-on Point Lookout.Marcella's journal The pre-War city of Pittsburgh is mentioned in Fallout 76Blackwater Mine terminal entries; Blackwater Bandits terminal, Report: 8-13-77 and its update Wastelanders,Holland Chase Invoice 9021 Elsie's storyElsie Taylor: "So glad to be away from the Pitt."(Elsie Taylor's dialogue) while The Pitt itself appears in Expeditions: The Pitt.
==Behind the scenes==
* Several buildings on the skyline, including the BNY Mellon Center, PPG Place, the U.S. Steel Tower, and the Fifth Avenue Place are real buildings in downtown Pittsburgh.
* The entry sign resembles the real world Pennsylvania state welcome sign.
* The Pitt alludes to the 2006 George A. Romero film Land of the Dead. Both are set in Pittsburgh, which is split into a poor part and a rich part where the leader lives in a tower. Outside Pittsburgh, in both the film and The Pitt, are animalistic creatures (zombies in the film, trogs in the add-on) and if following Wernher's path, the creatures invade the rich area.
==Bugs==
 Upon first return from The Pitt, the player character's Pip-Boy may still have an "orange outline" on it, this will be fixed if the player restarts the game. 
==Gallery==
Welcome Pitt.png|"Welcome to the Pitt" in Fallout 3
Ashur's Palace.png|Lord Ashur's Palace
Shelter advertisement The Pitt.png|Vault propaganda
The Pitt metal sculpture.png|Metal Sculpture from behind
Giant sculpture front.png|The giant sculpture from the front
thepittconceptart1.jpg|Concept art by Adam Adamowicz
thepittconceptart2.jpg|Concept art
Fo3 Art Pitt Harbour 02.jpg|Concept art
The Pitt map.jpg|The Pitt map
==References==
Non-game
 
Pitt
de:The Pitt (Stadt)
es:La Fosa
fi:Paikat/The Pitt
fr:The Pitt (ville)
it:Il Pitt
ko:더 핏 (도시)
pl:Dzióra (miasto)
pt:The Pitt (cidade)
ru:Питт
uk:Пітт
zh:匹堡 (城市)