Understone

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**Understone** is a location rumored to exist in Fallout: DUST.

## Overview

A common rumor among the rescued has made various mentions of a settlement known as "Understone." Purported to be the last proper community within the Mojave Wasteland, vague statements made by survivors place this location in the general area of Black Mountain, though attempts to press these witnesses for an exact location have failed; garnering responses ranging from confusion to outright hostility. The lack of details (and unwillingness of Survivors to divulge information) have some researchers convinced this "Understone" is some sort of collective incentive among the displaced to keep surviving rather than an actual location, though a map has been referenced at least once. Attempts to learn more are ongoing.

## Background

Understone is a survivor settlement added to Fallout: DUST by the companion mods *Understone,* *Understone: Enhanced* and *Understone Plus*, created specifically to exist within Dust's lore, with *Understone Plus* being the most recently maintained version.

The sole remaining functional community in the Mojave, it serves as a safe haven and trading post for the Survivor as they attempt to escape.

Understone is a small underground settlement consisting of alternatively one or two (dependent on the version of the mod) sections, and is accessed through a small shack located in the foothills of Black Mountain, south of the Repconn HQ and east of the NCR Ranger Safehouse.

## Layout

Understone is built into a series of large caverns under the foothills of Black Mountain. Survivors enter the settlement through a small shack on the surface, which is protected by several Survivor Guards, and proceed down a tunnel that ends in a gated checkpoint opening up into the Town's Market district.

The Market District is a large cavern with a centrally located hub with multiple vendor stalls underneath a sniper post. Going clockwise, the Survivor will encounter The Understone Diner, a Junk Vendor and his Protection assistant, which offers repairs, a small Guard barracks, and a weapons and ammunition vendor. Located to the left of the hub is a small shack that houses a general store. Numerous makeshift apartments radiate out around the hub and into nearby passageways, including an unowned room which may be used as a player home. A tunnel to the right of the Junk Vendor leads to the Residential District, which houses more apartments as well as a Clinic that offers medical supplies, healing, radiation and addiction removal, and if the *Project Nevada* mod is installed, cybernetic surgery. The Residential district is removed in the *Understone Enhanced* mod, with the clinic being placed at the end of its entrance tunnel. All of Understone's vendors utilize bottlecaps as their currency. Additionally, *Understone Plus* adds a leveled chem dealer and player housing with safe storage (which must be bought for 500/250 caps depending on the players barter skill)

## Radiant Quests

The mod *Understone Enhanced* adds a small number of repeatable radiant quests to the Settlement. These offer small rewards of supplies in exchange for various items, such as scrap metal or Tunneler hides.

*Understone Plus* adds a one-time quest to recover a suit of combat armor for a ghoul named Taylor in exchange for a unique 5.56 Hunting Rifle.

## Locations' Footprint

There are several notes that talk about the rumor of Understone spreading around Mojave. These notes are found near the Understone scouts, and tend to hint towards the location.

The Understone scouts who went out to scavenge for needed supplies are (mostly) all dead, and the Survivor can find them out in the Mojave. Each corpse generally has a duffel bag nearby with supplies and a note to identify themselves.

One scout went to the Repconn Test Site and was besieged by ghouls, and was trapped in a small alley beside the main building, eventually getting themselves killed.

Another scout was possibly killed by bark scorpion's poisoning them inside a train station beside the Repconn Headquarters.

One scout went to find a clean water source, and managed to find one at the cistern pump station, but was killed, possibly at the hands of the two survivors there.

An adventurous scout went to the Cottonwood Overlook, to sneak a look at Aurelia, but slipped and fell to their death at the bottom of the cliff.

The exception to the rule of dead scouts is one who's roaming around Railway station 15. The difference being that they don't spawn as a corpse like the rest of the scouts. However, they're still usually killed by the large number of nearby Deathclaws, so they tend to be dead when found. Unfortunately, even if they don't die they are hostile towards the player, so they'll end up dead one way or another.

## Trivia

* Understone is referenced in a survivor note, in which the writer confuses it with the New Vegas Sewers. This note can be found regardless of the companion mod being installed.
* The owner of the General Store appears to be Chet, owner of the General Store in Goodprings. This is expanded on in *Understone Enhanced*, where he is indeed identified as Chet. (I guess the guy's business practices paid off.)
* An ever present bug of Understone is where a bunch of NPCs get stuck on one nook or cranny, which is likely due to the area having poor pathfinding, with misshapen geometry and an abundance of harsh corners. If you want to find them, look for them in the furthest and most hidden corner.