Talk:Mutations and their causes

I may be wrong, but are Deathclaws the result of military sponsered bio-engeering? They shouldn't be under "Radiation," but instead somewhere else if I am correct.

Deathclaws were not created by the military. They only modified existing deathclaws to make them intelligent. Mimir 04:27, 12 Feb 2005 (GMT)

I could have sworn I read somewhere (I checked the FO Bibles too) that Deathclaws were a mutation of some form of American Tazmanian Devil-type of critter, but I couldn't find it. Here's what the FO2 Strategy Guide says, however:

''Deathclaws were originally created to replace humans during close-combat search-and-destroy missions. They were derived from mixed animal stock and then refined by the Master, using genetic manipulation.''

From that description I assume that they were created by the military before the war, then mutated further from the resulting background radiation. The Master then decided to tinker with them some more by giving them FEV baths in the vats. --Senornacho 07:35, 12 Feb 2005 (GMT)

They were mutated from chameleons. Ausir 22:14, 13 Feb 2005 (GMT)

Aradesh, Shady Sands Leader - Fallout 1: aradesh.msg When using "ask about" for Deathclaws: {260}{Ara_58}{Yes, yes. yes. It is a rumor of a monster created during the War.}

Joseph, the herbalist (Found in Vault 13 think, a healer amongst the Deathclaws who's there of his own free will) - Fallout 2: ocjoseph.msg {146}{}{Well, let's see... Deathclaws appear to be mutated Jackson's Chameleons, the horned variety. There are a lot of similarities still present, but an even greater number of differences. The mutation factor is quite high. This species is highly intelligent, about the equivalent of an eight-year-old, with some individuals reaching human normal level. Their learning capacity is very high and they are capable of abstract thought and reasoning.}

It should be noted that Joseph is talking of Fallout 2 "talking" Deathclaws. Arguably there wouldn't be much difference between those in FO1 and FO2 but in my mind they were manipulated genetically by a "military force" (In FO2's case by the Enclave). They may have started out as chameleons but I *think* it was deliberate genetic manipulation that has led to their status today (IE: Not a random FEV event or mutation caused by the bombs). I didn't think the Master had anything to do with the Deathclaws (I can find no dialogue to that affect and it also makes little sense - given they're the most powerful creatures in the wastes, why aren't they used in defending the Master's lair?).

FalloutWikiOp 08:49, 15 Feb 2005 (GMT) (DarkUnderlord)

Disagree with the description of ghouls, and provide alternative description. First of all, what evidence is there that "most" Vault 12 residents have turned into ghouls? Second, it's true that by the time Fallout started, all ghouls are very old. But perhaps they are a minority, and their regenerative capabilities and/or life longetivity are random mutations? Third, ghouls are named so after the extensive tissue damage they've suffered as the result of their rediation exposure, combined with phenotype mutations that took over the decades they were alive. That doesn't contradict the real-life radiation phenomena, as there's no good evidence, in my opinion, that ghouls' appearance is the standard effect radiation has on people in Fallout world's. --161.88.255.139 19:15, 28 Jul 2005 (CEST)

Wait a minute, the intelligent deathclaw leader Gruthar explicitly telsl you that they were created with FEV, but they can breed, because Gruthar sired baby deathclaws by the current mother. Oh....hello thing that noone else noticed. So, I guess FEV only causes sterility in humans? 71.98.189.118 07:39, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Different radiation
It wasn't stated anywhere in Fallout games that physics in this universe are different. That claim sound more like speculation, rather than the actual canonical fact. 89.110.20.58 17:23, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Quite frankly, the fact that Fallout's radiation turns people into super-powered mutants instead of corpses is proof enough of this. Keebalicious 04:36, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Enclave mutation policy
Not sure about the fit of this in this article. Perhaps it would be better in the introductory part as a minor comment on the different definitions of a 'mutant.' The article really just discusses the obviously mutated creatures, so it would be nice to point out that according to the Enclave almost all humans are actually suffering from anomalies due to exposure to airborne FEV and radition or similar. Want to get some opinions before I make the edit. Ishotamaninnewreno 08:41, November 10, 2009 (UTC)

Radiation? No, FEV!
The various types of mutant creatures that inhabit the Wastelands are the result of FEV being released from the West-Tek facility (Glow) after it suffered a direct hit. Radiation plays little or no role in their mutation, and would indeed just kill them by itself. Read the Fallout bible, Section zero - it's all there, straight from the game's authors.
 * You mean this?

FEV-Infected Critters in the wasteland include almost all the ones you've seen in F1 and F2:


 * Mantises.
 * Most species of rats.
 * Gecko lizards.
 * Brahmin
 * Scorpions
 * Ants
 * Various varieties of plants, including the Venus Flytrap.
 * Rumor has it some dogs were affected, but no one's seen any, so for now that's just rumor. Of course, the centaurs are a mash of human, dog, and various other parts... but hey, who knows how that mutation came about. Grey was probably messing around in one of his labs.


 * This leaves out Ghouls, radroachs, mirelurks, Yao Guai, dwarves, bighorners, etc.
 * FEV's a big part of it, but not the only bit. Nitty Tok. 16:18, December 30, 2010 (UTC)

As far as ghouls are concerned...

''When the West Tek research facility was hit, it shattered the FEV storage tanks on levels four and five and released the FEV into the atmosphere. Through some means, perhaps propelled by the explosion, the virus was able to reach the ghouls quickly and the mutation process began even as the radiation was rotting away their bodies. How the virus was able to survive the blast without being sterilized is unknown... it would depend on what type of warhead cracked the West Tek facility like an egg.''

Now of course creatures from F3 are absent from the list, as it was made after the Fallout bible had been written (and by different people). But it's safe to say the same rules apply to them.

Radiation
I doubt the ghouls were exposed to radiation poisoning rather burning of the skin if the vault 12 door was open heatwaves omitted from the explosion would melt human skin --Owen1983 19:18, January 1, 2011 (UTC)

"Different physics" notion
Nothing in any Fallout game indicates that physics (and, more specifically, the radiation) work differently in this universe as claimed in a few articles. The vast majority of mutants seen in Fallout haven't become mutants instantly. Radscorpions, giant ants, geckos, etc. (in short, all non-FEV and not bioengineered mutants we encounter in the games) are descendants of irradiated animals. Even in out world massive radiation exposure caused various mutations in just a few generations of animals and (more rarely) even humans (just look at Chernobyl). In Fallout case the amounts of radiation unleashed on world's inhabitants was way bigger, and there are 85 years between the Great War and Fallout 1, more than enough time for mutant species to originate in the heavily irradiated Wastelands from various animals.

Ghouls are the only instance of radiation poisoning that one can argue to be unscientific, but ghouls are not radiation mutants per se. They are humans from Vault 12 (and there are 3 or 4 ones that lived and became ghouls through irradiation in other places, Raul and Dean Domino among them) whose organisms were crippled by extremely high radiation. Ghouls are a case of the slight suspension of disbelief, rather than different physics. After all, even today the radiation and all its effects aren't that well studied yet.

Mutate! perk is also nothing that would supprt the "radiation works differently" notion. Even its picture shown crazed normal rather than mutant =) Radiation does damage one's organism, thus (factoring in game mechanics) alters perks.

The "computers were never miniaturized in Fallout" notion is also almost completely false, but that's a different problem. Right now, I removed the text about physics and radiation being different from the Radiation section of this article and from Radiation article itself. XEL 17:23, February 16, 2011 (UTC)