Fort Constantine

Fort Constantine is a large military base containing atomic bomb storage and launch facility in the northwest Capital Wasteland, between the SatCom Array NW-05a and SatCom Array NN-03d. By 2277, it is heavily guarded by a wide variety of robots, including sentry bots, Mister Gutsies, Robobrains and Protectrons, inside and out.
==Background==
Fort Constantine is a military base built by the US Army in 2043. It was used to store and launch nuclear bombs,Fort Constantine terminal entries; Fort Constantine Launch Control as well as hide a top secret power armor that was under development at the time.Fort Constantine terminal entries; armor R&D terminal
In 2257, Allistair Tenpenny hired 5 mercenaries — Mister Crowley, Dave, Dukov, Jeff Strayer and Tara Fields — to retrieve a rare weapon from the fort. The mercs completed the mission, though lost two of their members doing so.The Lone Wanderer:"Do you remember a Mister Crowley?"Allistair Tenpenny: "The Ghoul? He's dead. Died twenty years ago. Good riddance too. I hate those shufflers."The Lone Wanderer: "How did he die?"Allistair Tenpenny: "Who cares? I hired some mercenaries to get me some equipment from Fort Constantine. He was one of them. Of the five, only three survived. You'll have to ask one of them if you want the gory details."(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) In the bunker, Tara was believed to have been killed by a group of feral ghouls (though was actually killed by a Robobrain)Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.99: "Tara Fields (deceased)Tara was one of five mercenaries hired by Allistair Tenpenny to infiltrate Fort Constantine and retrieve an experimental suit of armor. Reports were that she was mauled by Ghouls, but in reality, she reached the last chamber but lacked the key to unlock the door. She was shot by a Robobrain, and her body remains here to this day."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) and Crowley was locked in the same room, surviving due to being a ghoul himself, thus not attracting the attention of the ferals.The Lone Wanderer: "Mister President, do you know a Ghoul named Mister Crowley?"Dave: "There's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Before the people elected me President, I worked with a mercenary named Mister Crowley. We were part of an expedition to Fort Constantine."The Lone Wanderer: "What happened in the Fort, Mister President?"Dave: "Two of us died, including Crowley. The rest achieved the mission goals and were paid."The Lone Wanderer: "How did Mister Crowley die, Mister President?"Dave: "When the Feral Ghouls killed Tara, Dukov realized that he would get more of the commission. He decided to kill off the rest of us too. He locked Crowley into a room with Feral Ghouls, and that was the last we saw of him. Strayer and I didn't trust Dukov after that. The three of us finished the mission together, but with guns drawn."The Lone Wanderer: "Crowley is alive, Mr. President. I'm supposed to bring back proof of your death."Dave: "Alive? I always wondered. He was locked in with a bunch of Feral Ghouls. They won't attack Ghouls, you see. Would you consider taking him a personal item, like this key, and just telling him you killed me?"(Dave's dialogue) Crowley discovered a suit of T-51b power armor in Fort Constantine, and became obsessed with retrieving it.Mister Crowley: "You did me a great favor with those keys. How do you like my new armor? Those keys led me right to it."(Mister Crowley's dialogue) The rest of the group, knowing Tara was dead and thinking Crowley was as well, went their separate ways.
Years later, Mister Crowley, now living in Underworld, waited for someone like the Lone Wanderer to find all the other surviving mercs (except for Jeff Strayer, whose son, Ted Strayer, holds the key required by Crowley) and shoot them in the head, then return the keys.The Lone Wanderer: "Hey, anything for some extra caps."Mister Crowley: "Excellent! Take this sniper rifle. You'll need it. Here's a list of the guys and their last known locations. Word will get around if Tenpenny is killed, but I'll need proof for the others. Bring me back something personal from each of them as proof. Like a key or ring or something."(Mister Crowley's dialogue)
==Layout==
The area contains three buildings:
* CO quarters house to the northwest.
* Personnel offices building to the west.
* Bomb storage building to the north.
The doors to the bomb storage (warhead storage) are both locked with a Very Hard lock, but the bomb storage basement can be alternatively accessed through an underground path in the cellar of the CO quarters. (The floor plan picture for the launch control bunker has been mislabeled. The north door connects to the CO quarters, while the southern one leads to the bomb storage section.) The Fort Constantine bunker door can be opened only with Ted Strayer's special key and cannot be lockpicked. Also, the only access to the T-51b power armor is through this pathway, as the door can't be opened from the other side in the bomb storage, because Tara holds the key. However, the cellar grants access to the launch control bunker, eventually leading to the basement of the bomb storage. The door to the bomb storage requires Dukov's special key. In here is Tara's corpse, (which holds the warhead storage key), two Very Hard-locked doors and a door (can be accessed only with Dave's special key) on the opposite side which finally leads to a room with the T-51b power armor.
The CO quarters contain the Fort Constantine launch codes stored in a small safe in the cellar next to the Big Guns bobblehead. These can be used to launch the ICBM from the Fort Constantine launch control terminal in the launch control bunker. After attempting to launch the ICBM, the launch terminal reports an error and mentions that the missile's tracking system is damaged and the navigation data is corrupted. The alarms will sound and the doors will shut, but only for a few seconds and open again afterwards, or they can be opened manually (they do not lock).
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_CO_Quarters.png|CO quarters
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_CO_Quarters_Foyer.png|CO quarters foyer
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_CO_Quarters_Living_Room.png|CO quarters living room
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_CO_Quarters_Base_Access.png|CO quarters basement with access to the launch bunker
Fo3_Fort_Constantince_Launch_Bunker_Security_Checkpoint.png|Launch bunker security checkpoint
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Launch_Bunker_Locker_Room.png|Locker room and infirmary inside the bunker
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Launch_Bunker_Command_Center.png|Command center inside the bunker
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Launch_Cycle.png|Launch cycle in progress at the bunker
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Launch_Bunker_Living_Quarters.png|Living quarters inside the bunker
Fo3 Fort Constantine Personnel Offices Building.png|Personnel offices building
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Personnel_Offices_Building_Foyer.png|Personnel offices, foyer
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Personnel_Offices_Building_Cafeteria.png|Personnel offices, cafeteria
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Personnel_Offices_Building_Lounge.png|Personnel offices, lounge
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Bomb_Storage_Building.png|Bomb storage building
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Bomb_Storage_Storeroom.png|Bomb storage building, storeroom
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Bomb_Storage_Storeroom_2.png|Bomb storage building, storeroom 2 
Fo3_Entrance_to_the_HS_Storeroom_Fort_Constantine.png|Entrance to the high security storeroom
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_High_Security_Store_Room.png|Bomb storage building, High security storeroom
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Bomb_Storage_Whole_Lotta_Bombs.png|Bomb storage building storing, well, bombs
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Bomb_Storage_North_Room.png|Bomb storage building, northern structure
Fo3_Fort_Constantine_Bomb_Storage_Connector.png|Connecting structure
==Notable loot==
===CO quarters===
* Bobblehead - Big Guns in the basement in an open safe, and the Fort Constantine launch codes are in the back left corner.
* Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual and a Stealth Boy right next to the safe in the basement.
* Two pre-War books, one on a shelf near the entrance and one on the table or floor beside the queen sized bed.
* Nuka-Cola Quantum in the kitchen in the broken refrigerator.
* Guns and Bullets on the queen sized bed in the bedroom.
===Personnel offices===
* Grognak the Barbarian in a Hard-locked storage room on the ground floor in the east, near the back entrance.
===Launch Control bunker===
* Duck and Cover! in the office on the desk with the Fort Constantine launch control terminal.
* Big Book of Science in the office on a desk near a broken terminal.
* A pre-War book and a Stealth Boy on a desk in the living quarters, next to a radio (which might be on. This will make it easier to find the correct desk with the items on it as there are two radios in this area).
===Bomb storage===
* The unique T-51b power armor, inside a stasis field. The stasis field must be deactivated using the terminal mounted on the console before the armor can be taken.
** Note: can't be accessed without the three special keys mentioned above.
* A Fat Man, two mini nukes and a D.C Journal of Internal Medicine skill book on a table right beside the T-51b power armor stasis field. Another mini nuke on a table just right around the corner after entering.
* Another mini nuke on the desk in the room at the top of the bunker stairs, near the locked storage room.
* A Guns and Bullets skill book is behind a Very Hard-locked door. This door must be lockpicked.
* A rake behind a Very Hard-locked door.
==Related quests==
* You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
==Notes==
* After delivering the keys to Mister Crowley and traveling to the fort within three days of doing so, he can be found in the basement extension of the bomb storage shelter wearing the T-51b armor and smoking. Interacting with him will only give dialogue options as if he were in Underworld. He can still be killed and the armor taken, along with the keys and many other items without any Karma loss. The stasis field will be deactivated and Tara's body will only be named "raider."
* The armor R&D terminal which controls the stasis field reads "Medical Armor Prototype" in its prompt, suggesting that the prototype medic power armor was originally meant to be the reward.
* The text on the door in the CO quarters basement shows up as red; however, opening it does not result in any loss of Karma.
* The bed in the CO quarters is tagged as owned, despite there being nobody living in the area.
* On the road just outside the main gate is an Outcast patrol spawn point. There is also a separate squad of three Brotherhood Outcasts that are usually always present outside the fort, in addition to those that may appear from the spawn point. The static squad is on patrol west of the main gate past the spawn point.
* An Enclave camp is located to the east. Completing The Waters of Life quest will increase the amount of Enclave soldiers there.
==Appearances==
Fort Constantine appears only .
==Behind the scenes==
The launch codes found in Fort Constantine are "00000000," a reference to the American nuclear launch codes which were created in 1961 during the Cold War and weren't changed to legitimate codes until 1977.Keeping Presidents in the Nuclear Dark (Episode #1: The Case of the Missing “Permissive Action Links”) - Bruce G. Blair, Ph.D. (archived)
==Bugs==
* It is possible to find a bugged Enclave soldier in the vicinity of Fort Constantine, generally located between the fort and the Outcast shack. This particular soldier appears and respawns well before the Enclave arrive in-game, regardless of whether Broken Steel is installed.
* Sometimes, accessing the Pip-Boy inside Fort Constantine will trigger the bug where only half of the Pip-Boy screen displays. This can be remedied by returning to the Capital Wasteland and equipping a different weapon.
* Sometimes, the door cannot be opened with the keys which will cause Mister Crowley to run at the wall where the sentry bot is located.
==Gallery==
Fort Constantine.jpg
T-51b Constantine.jpg|T-51b power armor in the stasis field
Ft. Constantine CO quarters Guns and bullets.jpg|CO quarters, Guns and Bullets and a pre-War book
Ft. Constantine CO quarters kitchen Nuka-Cola Quantum.jpg|CO quarters kitchen, Nuka-Cola Quantum
Lauchcodes BigGuns ChineseArmy SOTM.jpg|Fort Constantine launch codes, Bobblehead - Big Guns, Stealth Boy and Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual
Launch Control bunker Big Book of Science.jpg|Launch Control bunker, Big Book of Science
Launch Control bunker Duck and Cover!.jpg|Launch Control bunker, Duck and Cover!
Bomb Storage Guns and Bullets.jpg|Bomb storage, Guns and Bullets
TarasCorpse.jpg|Bomb storage, Tara's body
Bomb Storage 1of3 Mini nukes.jpg|Bomb storage 1 of 3 mini nukes
Bomb Storage Most notable loot.jpg|Fat Man and mini nukes inside the bomb storage T-51b power armor room
Bomb Storage Main.jpg|Bomb storage main
Personnel offices Grognak the Barbarian.jpg|Personnel offices, Grognak the Barbarian
Fo3 Stealth Boy FortC LCB.jpg|Stealth Boy, LCB
Ft. Constantine CO quarters Guns and bullets.jpg|Pre-War book, CO quarters
Fo3 prewar book FC co.jpg||Pre-War book, CO quarters
Fo3 prewar book FC LCB.jpg||Pre-War book, launch control bunker
Frag grenades Fort Constantine BS.jpg|Frag grenades
Ft. Constantine silo view.jpg|Silo view
Constsign.png|Sign texture file
==References==
Non-game
Category:Fallout 3 locations
Category:United States Armed Forces locations
Category:Fallout 3 military and research facilities
Category:Missile silos
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es:Fuerte Constantine
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ru:Форт Константин
uk:Форт Костянтин
zh:康斯坦丁要塞