Fallout

**Fallout** is a series of post-apocalyptic role-playing video games created by Interplay Entertainment. The series is set during the 22nd and 23rd centuries, and its atompunk retrofuturistic setting and art work are influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s United States, with its combination of hope for the promises of technology and the lurking fear of nuclear annihilation.

# **WORLD**

## History

The series is set in a fictionalized United States in an alternate history scenario that diverges from reality following World War II. In this alternative atompunk "golden age", the transistor was never invented. As such, a bizarre socio-technological status quo emerges, in which advanced robots, nuclear-powered cars, directed-energy weapons, and other futuristic technologies are seen alongside 1950s-era computers and televisions. The United States divides itself into 13 commonwealths and the aesthetics and Cold War paranoia of the 1950s continue to dominate the American lifestyle well into the 21st century.

More than a hundred years before the start of the series, an energy crisis emerged caused by the depletion of petroleum reserves, leading to a period called the "Resource Wars" in April 2052 – a series of events which included a war between the European Commonwealth and the Middle East, the disbanding of the United Nations, the U.S. annexation of Canada, and a Chinese invasion and subsequent military occupation of Alaska coupled with their release of the "New Plague" that devastated the American mainland. These eventually culminated in the "Great War" on the morning of October 23, 2077, eastern standard time, a two-hour nuclear exchange on an apocalyptic scale, which subsequently created the post-apocalyptic United States. Mankind was set back several hundred years in the span of just two hours.

## Geography

In the years after the Great War, the United States has devolved into a post-apocalyptic environment commonly dubbed "the Wasteland". The Great War and subsequent nuclear Armageddon has severely depopulated the country, leaving large expanses of property decaying from neglect. In addition, virtually all food and water is irradiated and most lifeforms have mutated due to high radiation combined with mutagens of varied origins. Despite the large-scale devastation, some areas were fortunate enough to survive the nuclear apocalypse relatively unscathed, even possessing non-irradiated water, flora, and fauna. However, these areas are exceedingly rare. With a large portion of the country's infrastructure in ruins, basic necessities are scarce. Barter is the common method of exchange, with bottle caps providing a more conventional form of currency. Most cities and towns are empty, having been looted or deserted in favor of smaller, makeshift communities scattered around the Wasteland.

Many humans who could not get into the Vaults survived the atomic blasts, but many of these, affected by the radiation, turned into so-called "ghouls". While they were given an extended lifespan, many lost their hair and their skin decayed. Often, their voices became raspy giving them a zombie-like appearance. Ghouls often have a hatred towards humans due to jealousy or in response to discrimination. Ghouls typically resent any comparison to zombies, and being called a zombie is viewed as a great insult. If ghouls continue to be exposed to high levels of radiation, irreversible damage to their brains can cause them to become feral ghouls that attack almost anything on sight, having lost their minds.

# **Locations**

After the events of the Great War, numerous areas were forced to be created in order for Mankind to survive the nuclear fallout of the world.

## **Vaults**

Vaults are a type of hardened subterranean installation designed by Vault-Tec Corporation on contract with the U.S. government to protect a selected fragment of the United States population from nuclear holocaust so that America could be repopulated. Installations built as part of the Vault-Tec Societal Preservation Program commonly claimed to have a chance to fail equal to 1,763,497 to 1.

Despite this claim however, the true purpose of these vaults were altered after the Great War, as the means of having them preserve Humanity were altered to their own personal uses; some had strictly males devoid of any females; some weren't provided with enough food for means of survival; some were used for experimentations on its inhabitants ranging from annoying to lethal.

## **Commonwealth**

The pre-War United States was comprised of 13 commonwealths, acting as an intermediate level of governance between the state and federal governments. Intended to help create legislation broad enough to benefit states with common regional concerns, but narrow enough not to affect those with dissimilar interests or political cultures. Following the Great War, the commonwealths disintegrated into what became known as the wasteland. When land across the country eventually became less radiated and more habitable, survivors reestablished settlements and began new post-War lives.

# **Flora**

Like the rest of the United States, the changes in the ecosystem were due to a combination of factors, the most prevalent of which was the pollution and radiation. However, instead of reducing the number of plant types that could be grown, other mutated variants adapted to their place in the local environment(s). This can be seen with plants such as the tato, a plant that shares characteristics with the potato and tomato, and razorgrain, the popularity of which is due to its ability, unlike wheat, to be grown almost anywhere in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth has quite a fertile landscape, barring the areas where pollution and radiation are at their most extremes. Most towns are agriculturally stable, if not thriving, both due to trade, as well as various locations throughout the region suited to grow particular kinds of crops, from the Sunshine Tidings co-op, to Graygarden, and the Slog. The worst of such places where plant life is at its most scarce is the Glowing Sea, a vast and true wasteland. This radioactive landscape was birthed from the nuclear weapons devastated the location and the continuous pollution from the destroyed nuclear power plants that dotted the area. The result of the vast mudslides of barren radioactive soil covers what once was a very populace area, burring whole communities and even elevated highways. This is where the region's radioactive storms originate, the effects of which continue to shower radioactive fallout across the Commonwealth.

# **Fauna**

Because of both massive amounts of radioactive fallout and latent exposure to weaponized and/or accidental mutagens, fauna across the former United States have mutated rapidly. While mutated forms of animal life are prevalent, various "normal" animals (Rabbits, Dogs, Vultures, Cattle, Rodents, Etc.) still exist. Giant variations of normal animals also exist, such as Giant ants, giant rodents, or giant catfish. Both mutated and non-mutated fauna continue to to be used for nutrition, medicine, clothing and armor. While many animals were mutated versions of previous creatures, new species had also emerge from the Great War:

## *Mutants*

### **Centaur**

Centaurs are highly mutated creatures that resulted from Vault experiments involving the "Forced Evolutionary Virus" or FEV for short, causing Humans to evolve at a highly rapid rate into these abominations. Like Ghouls, radiation in the Wastelands draw in Centaurs as they seemingly favor it. Centaurs get their name due to their anatomy mirroring the mythical creature in question: a human-like torso attached to a quadrupedal body. There're two notable subspecies of Centaurs that exist:

#### ***Two-Headed Centaur***

The Two-Headed Centaurs are a hybrid creature composed of both Human and Canine components. They are fairly large, about the size of a bear, with six arms used as the creature's legs. Centaurs of this subspecies have one human head and one dog head, both seemingly aware that they're not the same species as the dog head can be observed gnawing on the humanoid counterpart. This form of Centaur has not been seen since 2241, so it is unclear if the species is still alive or driven to extinction.

#### ***One-Headed Centaur***

The One-Headed subspecies are drastically different from their two-headed counterparts. Aside from the singular head and conscious, with a human-like torso sitting on an insect-like abdomen. Unlike the two-headed version, however, it has three long, tentacle-like tongues coming out of its mouth instead of feelers on its back, and uses a ranged attack: a high-arcing, slow-moving saliva projectile that can carry lethal doses of radiation and is fairly accurate, even at long range. It is capable of igniting lingering gas vapors as well. In close quarters, it utilizes a long, three-pronged tongue to whip and slash at any intruders.

### **Deathclaw**

Deathclaw are gigantic, reptilian, apex predators of the Wastelands. Twenty feet long, they were genetically designed by Humanity to be organic weapons of maximum lethality, and to be used for close-combat missions replacing humans. After the Great War resulting in complete disaster, the Deathclaws escaped from Humanity and colonized much of the wastelands over the next few decades. Deathclaws are primarily differentiated by age and gender, from the youngest, "baby" deathclaws, to the terrifying legendary male deathclaws.

Deathclaws are territorial pack animals, the whole pack lead under a dominant alpha pair. Other members of the pack follow under them, communicating amongst themselves through growls and forms of body language. Due to their genetics, they are also capable of mimicking human voices similar to a parrot as means to deceit their prey. They are notoriously stubborn once they settle in a location, and the most surefire way to make a Deathclaw pack leave is to either kill the dominant pair or wipe out the entire pack altogether.

A widespread and versatile species, Deathclaws come in numerous variants including Albinos, subspecies with hair growing out of their limbs, and "Experimental Deathclaws" developed within one of the vaults.

### **Floater**

Floaters are a unique mutant of unknown origins and known terrifying appearance. The floater is a large, soft-bodied invertebrate, named after the flotation sacs that allow it to hover in the air. Noxious, flammable gases are generated by the creature and stored in the flotation bladders, giving the creature its distinctive appearance and ability to hover. The sacs are of various sizes and dangle along the underside of the mouth. As the flotation gases are highly flammable, energy and flame weapons are notably effective and may cause the creatures to suddenly combust.

### **Ghost People**

Ghost people are mysterious creatures; they do not speak, and they never sleep. They seemingly exist only to lurk through the villa ruins, forever seeking prey. If they have a lair at all, it is unclear where: according to Dean Domino, they collect anywhere in the Sierra Madre away from holograms; the underground service routes and ruined buildings of the Sierra Madre Villa are prime habitats for them. Their most common hunting grounds are Salida and Puesta del Sol, especially in areas thick with the Cloud.

Ghost people enjoy apparent immortality, but possess a unique mutation whereby they only die if one of their limbs is dismembered. Blood and yellow fluid spray at high pressures when they are injured, which Dog explains as them having pockets of pressurized gas inside them.

### **Ghoul**

Ghouls, also referred to as **Post-Humans**, are a form of mutated Humans that undergone what is known as Goulification - a unique form of mutation mostly effective towards Human-like creatures. They appear in a zombie-like state, but their skin, ligaments and flesh aren't actually rotten but instead ravaged by exposure to the high levels of radiation. So much so, that they are known to actually be healed by radiation as opposed to feeling pain. Despite their infertility and in some cases mental deterioration, they have greatly extended overall lifespans. In danger to this though, many individual Ghousl can turn feral if they become too radiated.

Sapient Ghouls are treated as another race of Humans within the Commonwealth, suffering through forms of prejudice and racial discrimination: A city known as Necropolis, a city highly populated in Ghouls, is nicknamed the "City of the Dead" due to the few Humans that ever go into the city and ever actually return. Some believe ghouls to be carriers of disease, without ever having examined one, while others believe that all ghouls are inevitably bound to become feral and pose a threat to people around them, a sentiment with a lot of truth to it.  This was the basis for the Anti-ghoul decree of 2282 in Diamond City, that saw their ejection from the city based on prejudice.

Despite these common prejudices, there're some areas of the Commonwealth such as the Mojava Wastelands, treat Ghouls as equals compared to Human Beings.

### **Mirelurk**

Mirelurks is the name given to an animal group comprised of mutated semi-aquatic creatures, in particular Crustaceans and Turtles. They have the reputation for being one of the first mutants to be created as result of the Great War, thanks to the high levels of radioactive pollution affected the marine life along the eastern seaboard.

#### ***Crab Mirelurks***

These variants are the most common form of Mirelurks, commonly found that are the results of mixing Horseshoe and Blue Crabs. Their most noticeable feature is the large, chitinous shell that provides excellent resistance to firearms, melee weapons, and even ray guns. Soft body parts, such as their faces and sections of their abdomen, are much less resistant. Of course, that only applies to adult mirelurks. The shell's chitin takes time to harden and young mirelurks are quite vulnerable at that stage of their life.

#### ***Lobster Mirelurks***

The lobster mirelurk is a unique mutation found in New England environs, called mirelurk hunter by its denizens. The most characteristic elements of this kind of mirelurk are the oversized claws and its head, housing the eyes and antennae, its primary sensor organs. Although they lack the protection of their crab cousins, lobster mirelurks make up for it with their more powerful melee strikes and the ability to spit corrosive acid at targets. Its prey is usually consumed whole and digested in the stomach, using acids and teeth embedded in the lining.

#### ***Turtle Mirelurks***

The third of the major mirelurk types, the kings are heavily mutated snapping turtles. Standing upright on two feet, they are the most human-like of the mirelurks, especially in terms of behavior. They have a symbiotic relationship with the other mirelurk types and commonly employ ranged attacks which the other variants lack. Their hands allow them to employ simple tools. They also constantly exude slime to prevent their skin from drying.

### **Nightstalker**

Nightstalkers are an amalgamation of the coyote and rattlesnake, displaying characteristics of both. They growl, howl and whimper like regular coyotes, but hiss, rattle and inject venom into their prey like rattlesnakes. Their bodies are mostly dog-like, covered in a combination of fur and scales. Their heads and tails, however, are more like that of a rattlesnake, including fangs and a forked tongue. Night stalkers' right eyes are blue with a round pupil, while their left eyes are yellow with an elliptical pupil, like a rattlesnake's. They lay eggs, like a snake, but raise their pups similar to a coyote, nursing their young in cave nests.

### **Tunneler**

Tunnelers appear to be reptilian-humanoids with dark, scaly skin, large bioluminescent eyes, a mouth filled with sharp teeth, and chitinous spikes protruding from their shoulders and heads. Tunnelers live underground, and are averse to intense sensory stimulation. This can be taken advantage of through the use of flash bangs or firing a flare gun, causing them to flee from combat and head back underground. Their enlarged eyes appear to be an adaptation to the conditions of their habitat. The tunneler's bite is known to be as deadly as a bark scorpion sting.

### **Wanamingo**

Morphologically, wanamingos are bipedal lifeforms that bear almost no resemblance to any other form of terrestrial life. They possess a large central body with a sizable mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and a pair of long, tentacle-like appendages that appear to be used for both grasping objects and to batter opponents in combat. The creature's large head lacks visible sensory organs, but it does not seem to require eyesight in order to discern the location of prey. The creatures are devastating in close combat, chewing at foes and lashing at them with their tentacles. Through a process not entirely understood, these attacks also induce radiation poisoning.

They hatch from eggs laid by a wanamingo queen — a large grey-colored wanamingo which others fearlessly protect. They aren't intelligent in the usual sense, but they do seem to have a hive-mind mentality.

## *Mammals*

### **Bighorner**

Bighorners are native to the American Southwest, descendents of the local Bighorn Sheep. Humans have since domesticated them for their horns, meat, milk, and hides, but wild herds can be found in mountainous regions, usually in close proximity to banana yucca fruit. This makes them rather instrumental in herb tracking. Several settlements, such as Goodsprings and Jacobstown, keep domesticated bighorners in order to survive. Bighorners are communal animals, and as such, if one member of the herd is distressed, the entire herd becomes aggressive.

### **Brahmin**

Brahmin are mutated cattle resulting from the Great War's radiation. They are a two-headed bovine commonly domesticated by Humans of the Wastelands. In addition to twice as many heads, they also have eight stomach compartments, males have four testicles, and females have enlarged udders. Domesticated Brahmin have lost much of their hair, leaving their skin a toasted brown, orange, or pink color, and attack by head-butting or trying to gore someone with their horns. Wild Brahmin however have much more hair, resembling a wild Yak.

#### **Brahmiluff**

Brahmiluffs are brahmin-like creatures mutated from African buffalo, Asian water buffalo and American bison. They feature the same build of the body with two heads. There are some main differences between the two. The most noticeable are the horns. Brahmiluffs have larger and more prominent horns. Their hide seems to be less mangled and more smooth, being less disfigured by radiation.

Their ears are bigger and point downwards. Their skin color seems to be a lot darker than brahmin. They also don't have an udder, whereas the brahmin does.

### **Mole Rat**

Mole Rats are enlarged descendants of the Naked Mole Rat. Their enlargement is due to heavy radiation exposure. While larger than their ancestors, the naked mole rats have similarly low brain function, possibly due to an exceedingly tiny brain organ. Their incisors show increased enamel and dentin growth, making them razor sharp. In addition, the naked mole rats have extremely low levels of Substance P which results in incredible pain tolerance.

### **Pig Rat**

Pig rats are large, hairless, burrowing rats. Mutated pig rats are, much like their namesake's pig rats, large, hairless, burrowing rats. It is not known whether they are a rat-pig hybrid or an entirely new creature. Pig rats combine the feral cunning of a rat with the voracious appetite of a pig. Beyond this, their similarities with common pig rats, they also seem to be irradiated; at least enough to transfer considerable doses of radiation, as well as poison, to any foe they manage harm.

### **Yao Guai**

Yao guai are large, ursine animals that are descended from the bears that lived across America before the War. Due to their zombie-like appearance, yao guai may be the bear equivalent of a ghoul, however unlike human ghouls they are not sterile, as evidenced by the presence of cubs. This is further supported by Ruzka, the only yao guai in Point Lookout, who seems to be a ghoulifed pre-War circus bear judging by the ball found in her lair and the posters around the Pilgrim's Landing boardwalk.

## *Reptiles*

### **Gecko**

Geckos are reptilian in appearance and sport a pair of frills behind their head. Their eyes generally have an orange tint, and their body colors differ greatly based on the individual gecko type. Most geckos have five fingers, five toes and have kept their pre-War ability to make chirping sounds in social interactions with each other. Gruff breathing, squeaking, and cooing can be heard from time to time in gecko-inhabited areas. Like their pre-War cousins, Geckos lack eyelids and tear-ducts and can often be seen using their elongated tongues to lick at their eyes, clearing away dust and small debris. Most regular geckos are peaceful, unthreatening creatures, but if one gecko is attacked, the rest of the pack in the area will quickly converge on the attacker, charging quickly with their mouths open and rapidly attacking with bites and swipes from their clawed hands.

Geckos seem to have no strictly hierarchical social structure, with no apparent leader and everyone seemingly being equal in the pack. Some seem to serve as hunters for the pack. Like deathclaws, they are oviparous, with the eggs typically covered by the father or the mother before the hatching and not laid into a place.

## *Amphibians*

### **Gulper**

One of the rare creatures found on the islands of Maine, the gulpers are analogous to deathclaws. Like their reptilian cousins, they keep the natives constantly in fear, as they are shown as having no issue with assaulting the local homesteads and towns. They share their special attacks and animation set with the deathclaws.

Gulpers are mutated salamander-like creatures that roam the Island. They can hang on trees in order to take their victims by surprise. They can also slide through swamp-like areas and hide underwater. They tend to stay near bodies of water, as said by Old Longfellow, and can grow to the size of deathclaws.

## *Invertebrates*

### **Cazador**

Cazadores have distinctive amber-orange wings, a blue-black carapace and blood-red eyes. They have a quick and rather erratic flight pattern, making them difficult to hit without V.A.T.S. assistance. They are most often encountered in swarms of four or more, with the occasional strays flying in the outlying area. Their venomous attacks can lead to a quick death if they succeed in poisoning their target. The spikes on their back rise and fall, both when idle and when attacking.

Cazadores are more common in mountainous regions of the Mojave Wasteland, although some swarms can be found near lakes in lower areas. They chew wood fiber and mold it into a paper pulp in order to create large basket-shaped nests, many of which can be seen at places such as Bonnie Springs, cazador nest, west of the Brewer's beer bootlegging, the road heading towards Jacobstown, north of Goodsprings, inside various tents in the tribal village and the boathouse at Callville Bay. The cazadores' original breeding ground is the Z-14 Pepsinae DNA splicing lab in Big MT. They compete with night stalkers for prey.

### **Desert Stalker**

the Desert Stalkers are mutated giant Antlions. The insect attacks by burrowing up from the ground underneath the victim and dragging them back down into the earth with razor-sharp mandibles. Desert stalkers have an uncanny ability to hunt for the weakest person in any group; picking them off while they're the least aware of the danger and catching the rest of the group off-guard as well.

### **Fog Crawler**

Fog Crawlers are giant mutated crustaceans that live in the deep mists of Desert Island off the coast of what was once Maine. They mutated thanks to the radiation exposure of the local fog affected the native shrimp population. The exact species from which fog crawlers mutated is not immediately apparent, but they are most likely a form of mutated mantis shrimp (specifically the Squilla mantis) based on the anatomy of their forelimbs and the presence of a distinctive neck which most crustaceans lack. Another potential candidate is the crayfish.

Fog crawlers are known to make deep, booming vocalizations as an indicator of their presence. They are also among the strongest and most tenacious foes encountered in their respective areas, combining excellent protection with a generous health pool and the ability to attack at range.

### **Hermit Crab**

The hermit crab still resembles its unmutated pre-War ancestor quite closely both in appearance and habits, with only one major difference: its immense size. Towering head and shoulders over any human, hermit crabs are far too large to protect their vulnerable abdomen by squeezing it into an empty gastropod shell. Instead, they use wrecked vehicles to facilitate their ambush hunting style.