Mole miner

Mole miners are creatures found in Appalachia.
==Background==
 
A bleak remnant of Appalachia's storied past, the mole miners are a mutated form of human that make their homes in the many caves, mines, and above-ground mining locales of the region. They are trapped within the deteriorating suits they once used while mining, and will attack anything they perceive as a threat.Fallout 76 loading screens: "Trapped within their deteriorating mining suits, the Mole Miners are frenzied combatants who attack anything they perceive as a threat."
Despite their suffering, almost all of their cognition and human-like behavior remains, with mole miners frequently carrying things they considered important in a previous life, such as keys to their old mining lockers.Lost and Found A unique mole miner named Purveyor Murmrgh has even gone so far as assembling vending machines, opening up a trading post at Berkeley Springs Station prior to relocating to the Rusty Pick. Here, she sells her wares for a price. The mole miners were first encountered in Welch and experimented upon by the Appalachian Enclave and its Research Division prior to their collapse in 2086.Depiction of a mole miner on a known creatures plaque in the Whitespring bunker science wing. There are no additional known records of another encounter until the Fire Breathers engaged mole miners in a firefight in March 2095.Lt. Thomas' action report
The particular cause of their significant degeneration is unclear, whether it is caused by radiation, the toxic atmosphere of their underground dwellings in the Ash Heap, or a combination of both. However, it is significant enough to prevent them from breathing normally without their Filter-O-Matic respiration device and breathing apparatus. Mole miners are highly communal and are rarely (if ever) encountered outside of their organized groups. Their hierarchy follows the organizational structure of pre-War mining operations, with the actual miners (including scrapers, diggers, and rockbreakers) led by foremen and supervisors, a testament to their pasts as coal miners.
At some point, the Vault 76 overseer was seriously injured by a mole miner at the Mountainside Bed & Breakfast and left a holotape log detailing the experience.Overseer's log - Mountainside
Openly hostile to nearly everyone (save for Purveyor Murmrgh, the only known exception), the mole miners are highly aggressive, well-armed, and have even managed to domesticate mole rats.Raider: "They keep Mole Rats as pets. Weird."(Generic raiders' dialogue) Note: This line is said during the Mole Miners v. Raiders random encounter. They make use of a variety of shotguns, assault rifles, missile launchers, and improvised weapons to attack their enemies while using their mole rats as anything from standard attack animals to mobile landmines.
In 2102, mole miners could be encountered scavenging in the upper tunnels of the Lucky Hole Mine. In the events of Wastelanders, they were driven out by the returning Followers of the Winged One in 2103.
In 2104, mole miners were found to be serving the Ultracite Titan, a giant mole rat living under the Ash Heap. They also attacked the Tunnel of Love at Nuka-World on Tour.
In 2105, mole miners clashed with the Blood Eagles at the Crosshair.
==Characteristics==
===Physical characteristics===
Once human, the mole miners have since mutated into stout, squat, and hardy humanoids that display a territorial hostility towards outsiders. Their limbs are extremely short and thick, and they have claws.Script notes: "muffled: "Gotta keep the claws sharp..."" (Mole Miners' dialogue) They stand in a permanent hunch with their limbs tucked closely to their body. They dress in thick layers, but part of their faces can be seen if one looks closely under their hoods. Their eyes unnaturally bulge, and their faces are puffy and undefined.
Mole miners require their breathing apparatus and respiration device to survive, suffocating without it.Mole miners (note) Their speech is unintelligible to humans.
Their mutations have endowed them with powerful strength that allows them to wield heavy weapons effortlessly. Their aggression and hardiness render them capable of warding off staggers, and their determined shuffling allows them to close the gap between themselves and enemies fairly quickly.
===Gameplay attributes===
Mole miners often live in organized groups and are usually led by a foreman or supervisor. They are immediately hostile to anyone who approaches them except for mole rats that are friendly to them, joining alongside to fight opponents together to gain an advantage.
They often mobilize against their target with weapons of great damage such as shotguns or missile launchers. They can easily and quickly mow down low-level player characters. They are mainly located near mining areas in groups, although they can be seen everywhere.
==Variants==
===Overview===
===Scorched mole miner===
A charred, fleshy variant of the mole miner infected with the Scorched Plague. All regular mole miner variants have a corresponding Scorched variant with the same stats, abilities, and items. They may become Scorched when attacked by scorchbeasts or the scorchbeast queen, becoming allies with other Scorched creatures.
===Mole miner juggernaut===
An immensely powerful Mole miner wearing a light blue cloak and heavy ore backpack, who serves as the boss of daily ops when the enemy faction are mole miners.
===Treasure hunter===
A unique mole miner variant encountered during the Hunt for the Treasure Hunter community event. They wear a hand truck strapped to their back acting as an oversized backpack, with various bags and other objects tied to the cart with rope. A walkie-talkiereferred to as "NPCTreasureHunterWalkieTalkieLP" in sound descriptor record [SNDR:005ACFB6] in the game files is strapped to treasure hunter backpacks, emitting radio static, mixed with Morse code. The audios volume and pulse speed rises the closer a player gets to one, similar to the Scorched and Feral ghoul officers carrying Appalachian launch codes. They always spawn as a legendary enemy.
The Treasure Hunter may replace any standard NPC spawn in the overworld - they cannot replace NPCs spawned in interior locations, or those spawned by events, random encounters or quests.
* They will always flee from combat
* They will not enter combat with other NPCs
* They cannot be pacified using the Wasteland Whisperer perk
==Locations==
==Notable mole miners==
* Purveyor Murmrgh - A vendor found at the Rusty Pick.
==Notes==
* Sometimes the miner's key will be found on a dead mole miner corpse, unlocking the repeatable miscellaneous quest Lost and Found.
==Appearances==
Mole miners appear only .
==Behind the scenes==
* Although most of the mole miners' dialogue is said to be "muffled" vocalizations in the subtitles, the script notes in the game's files contain full lines for what is supposed to be said. Though the dialogue may sound like nonsense, these original script notes can be heard when listening closely to the mole miners' voice lines. Designer Ferret Baudoin denied that these script notes were "direct canon" and said that he "would not read too much into [them]."Fallout 76 Lore Dive with Bethesda's Ferret Baudoin and the Fallout Lorecast!
* Though not directly stated in-game, mole miners appear to worship the Ultracite Titan in some capacity. Developers decided on this connection during development of the Nuka-World on Tour update, though the specifics of their worship, as well as the level of intelligence needed for it, is a "more open ended question."Carl McKevitt (BGS_Carl) on Bethesda Game Studios' official Discord
* The sound produced by treasure hunters is likened to a walkie-talkie in the game files.referred to as "NPCTreasureHunterWalkieTalkieLP" in sound descriptor record [SNDR:005ACFB6] in the game files
Mole miner script notes
Idle lines:
* Need to keep digging... We'll find it... Soon...
* Can't wait until another surfacer shows up...
* The green men... Blind as all the rest in the tunnels...
* Gotta keep the claws sharp...
* The blue suits... Just want to tear them into pieces...
Upon getting wounded/hit:
* Ugh! That all you got?
* Ugh! I'll kill you for that!
* Agh! I'll kill you!
* Ug! I'll tear out your spine!
* Agh! You're dead!
* Come on! Is that it?
* Agh! It's nothing!
* Agh! That hurt!
Into combat:
* Now!
* There!
* Kill! KILL!
* Tear them all apart!
* Fucking kill all of you!
* Dead!
* I'll peal off your skin!
* Snap every bone in your body!
To normal behavior:
* Nothing...
* It's over...
* Back to it...
* Forget it...
* Damn. Got away.
* Next time...
Becoming alerted:
* What?
* Huh?
* Hmm.
* Who?
* Something...
* Over there...
Losing the combatant:
* Over here?
* Hmm...
* Soon...
* Won't take long...
* Here?
Combat to normal behavior:
* Yeah. That's right.
* Too easy...
* And stay dead...
* That's it. Die.
* Heh. That all?
Alert idle lines:
* I'll find you...
* Can't hide forever...
* I know you're here...
* Come out...
* Annoying...
Ally killed:
* You'll fucking pay for that!
* He/She's dead. Now you're dead!
* One more reason to kill you!
* You're next!
Taunting lines:
* Going to fucking kill you!
* You're dead!
* Rip you apart!
* Tear your face in half!
* Line the tunnels with your bones!
* Never see the light again!
* Scream you piece of shit!
* Bleed! BLEED!
* Break every fucking bone you have!
* Dig straight into your eyes!
* I'll claw your teeth out!
* Go ahead! Try to run!
* I'll drag you into hell!
Upon swinging a melee weapon:
* Let's kill this motherfucker!
* How do you like me up close?
* Gonna bury you!
* Tear you apart! Spread your guts on the floor!
* Let's hear your bones snap!
* Bleed out, you piece of shit!
* Take this!
* See you in hell!
* Rip you apart!
==Gallery==
In-game
FO76 Mole miner.jpg|Mole miner
Fo76_Mole_Miner_2.png|Mole miner
Mole Miner Scrapper.png|Mole miner scrapper
FO76 mole miner digger.png|Mole miner digger
FO76 mole miner rockbreaker.png|Mole miner rockbreaker
FO76 mole miner foreman.png|Mole miner foreman
FO76 mole miner supervisor.png|Mole miner supervisor
FO76 glowing mole miner.png|Glowing mole miner
Mole Miners Seismic Activity.png|Mole Miners using ultracite laser rifles during Seismic Activity
Art
FO76 Legendary Perk Overcharged Core Art.png|A mole miner, as shown on the Overcharged Core legendary perk card
FO76OW Legend card surv short.png|Shown on the Survival Shortcut legendary perk card
Ben Carnow (Mole miner).jpg|Concept art by Ben Carnow
==References==
Non-game
Category:Fallout 76 creatures
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