Fawkes

Fawkes is a Vault 87 super mutant and possible companion of the Lone Wanderer in Fallout 3. He is an outsider among his kin, having retained his civility and intelligence following the mutation.

Background
Imprisoned in Vault 87's medical area, Fawkes in an anomaly among his brethren. Where the majority of mutants are aggressive, barely intelligent idiots, he is an educated, soft-spoken person that keeps his violent impulses in check. He is one of the original dwellers of the Vault, and can still remember glimpses of his past, of the Vault in its prime, with scientists and regular dwellers walking through the halls. However, these glimpses are all that remains of his past, and the inability to recall his past identity torments him to no end.

His origin is the same as any other Vault 87 super mutant: He was taken by the mutants and exposed to the modified FEV used in the Vault's Evolutionary Experimentation Program. However, unlike other victims of the virus, Fawkes managed to survive the mutation process with his mind intact. Where others would succumb to excruciating pain and become insane, he retained enough of his intelligence to be capable of speech immediately after the process completed. He was branded a failure by his captors and placed in isolation room 5 in the medical ward. Where normally he would be killed, he was different enough for the super mutants to keep him as a curiosity.

It is not known why Fawkes turned out different. It is possible that he had some innate genetic characteristic that granted him above average resistance to pain. It is also possible that the haphazard mutation process employed in Vault 87 malfunctioned in Fawkes' case. Interestingly, the mutation seems to have stabilized, as despite 200 years of age, Fawkes does not resemble a Behemoth, which is the typical end phase of the mutation process. However, not all was well. The damage caused by the mutation resulted in a warping of Fawkes' existing neural pathways, resulting in extensive memory loss.

Fawkes coped with the damage thanks to a working terminal still present in the recovery room that acted as his cell. Thanks to its connection to the Vault mainframe, Fawkes was able to study history, literature, science, and other subjects. The extensive database of book files gave him a wealth of knowledge and insight into a variety of subjects. An added motivation to learn was provided by his isolation. The super mutants kept him locked in the recovery room for over two centuries. In fact, the terminal was the only thing that kept him from going insane. In fact, it is from the history books contained within that Fawkes took his name, from a man willing to fight and die for his beliefs. Unfortunately, the super mutants recently realized that the terminal was keeping him sane and destroyed it to torment him.

Daily schedule
Fawkes lives in Isolation Room 05, a cell in Vault 87. Should he find a way out, he will be at the Museum of History inside the lobby and right outside of Raven Rock after the quest The American Dream.

Quests

 * Finding the Garden of Eden: Fawkes will ask the player to release him from his cell. In return, he will retrieve the Garden of Eden Creation Kit from the radioactive containment area.
 * The American Dream: If released, the super mutant will appear in front of Raven Rock and kill any Enclave soldiers that may spawn. He will state that he came to rescue the player, as they are the only person in the world they know. If the player's karma is high, he can be hired as a companion.
 * Take it Back!: Although Fawkes would be a natural choice to press the button due to his radiation immunity, he condemns either Sarah Lyons or the Lone Wanderer to press the button and die.
 * If Broken Steel is installed, Fawkes will see the obvious logic and press the button instead of the player or Sarah.

Other interactions

 * Recruiting Fawkes: Depending on the Lone Wanderer's karma, Fawkes may agree to accompany the Lone Wanderer on future travels as a companion.
 * Fawkes spends his time in the Museum of History near the Underworld entrance. He can be hired again, but only if the player character has good karma.
 * Fawkes has very high health and excellent damage resistance and can use a variety of weapons, making him an excellent companion in combat-heavy environments. He can also carry plenty of equipment, up to 229 pounds. However, his inability to wear armor does reduce his survivability somewhat.

Inventory
* If the Lone Wanderer take Fawkes' super sledge, it is replaced with a non-playable sledgehammer.

Fawkes can only equip weapons from the following list:

Fawkes will not equip any unique versions of the weapons in the above list.

Notable quotes
Fawkes shares dialogue with regular super mutants, but also features many unique quotes of his own, often referring to his and Uncle Leo's possible Zen philosophy.

Behind the scenes

 * The game includes a number of holotapes in its files that not appear in the game. These chronicle the experiences of Shelton Delacroix, a security guard from Vault 87, who learns of the nature of the experimentation in the Vault's laboratory area and ends up becoming mutated. Note that the final tape indicates that he was at first as feral as regular super mutants from Vault 87, inconsistent with his actual statements in the game.


 * Emil Pagliarulo has stated that Wes Johnson was mistaken when he identified Fawkes as a female: "No, Fawkes was absolutely a male. This was a mistake. Wes gave an interview and he was mistaken. Trust me, Fawkes is and was male."
 * Fawkes' dialogue barks are a double entendre, being both sound survival advice and snippets of the Zen philosophy. Examples include "Be aware of the present moment" and "There is safety in mindfulness".
 * Fawkes' name is apparently a reference to Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up the Parliament building in London.
 * Fawkes' name, backstory, and room number can also be considered nods to Alan Moore and David Lloyd's graphic novel V for Vendetta.
 * Fawkes' battle cry of "Wake up... Time to die!" mirrors a similar cry from Leon to Deckard in Blade Runner.

Bugs

 * With Broken Steel installed, Fawkes possesses a staggering amount of health at higher levels. At level 20 he has several thousand HP, more so than even a super mutant behemoth. This is due to a badly adjusted setting concerning Fawkes' leveling, which grants him in excess of 100 HP per level gained. Dogmeat and Sergeant RL-3 are similarly affected.
 * Fawkes will not use unique weapons, as the formlist determining which weapons he can use omits entries for those.
 * The game will update flags and dialogue for Fawkes even if he is not released from his isolation room. If the player returns to Raven Rock after they escaped Raven Rock, he will offer the same kind of dialogue as when he comes to the player's "rescue."

Appearances
Fawkes appears only in Fallout 3.