Citadel

The Citadel is the heavily defended headquarters of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Capital Wasteland in 2277. It is built into and beneath the ruins of the Pentagon. It is located at the 1600 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC, on the west end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, northeast of Arlington Library.

Background
 Opened in 1943, after two years of construction, the Pentagon was the nexus of the American military for the next 134 years, until the Great War of 2077 destroyed the United States. As headquarters of the Department of Defense, it was the symbol of the American military.

The building was constructed at the site formerly occupied by the notoriously unsafe Hoover-Washington Airfield. Although the original pentagonal shape was dictated by the planned Arlington Farms location, it was retained at President Roosevelt's request. The massive, four story high concrete building has five concentric rings, designated from the center out as "A" through "E" (with "F" and "G" in the basement). It also has five façades, counting clockwise from the north one : the Mall Terrace Entrance, the River Terrace Entrance façade, the Concourse Entrance (or Metro Station) façade, the South Parking Entrance façade, and the Heliport façade. The Mall Entrance and The River Entrance feature a portico, with the latter leading out to a long terrace once used for ceremonies.

In the years leading up to the Great War, the Pentagon was adapted as a location for one of the most secret military research projects, a joint venture between General Atomics and RobCo aiming to create Liberty Prime, the ultimate American war machine. However, the nuclear war and the destruction of America cut the project short and the damaged building was eventually abandoned.

It was not until 2255 that it earned a second lease on life, when the Elder council of the Brotherhood of Steel decided to send a contingent of soldiers to the East Coast, to recover any and all advanced technology from Washington, D.C. When the contingent under Paladin Owyn Lyons reached the Pentagon, they discovered it largely destroyed. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered its sub-levels mostly intact, with enough pre-War technology and weaponry to keep Brotherhood forces going. They also secured the mighty Liberty Prime - a technological marvel that, if finished, could help the Brotherhood rebuild a strength and reputation that had been declining steadily for years.

The discovery earned Paladin Owyn Lyons a battlefield promotion to Elder, and a new directive from his superiors – to establish a new, permanent Brotherhood base in the Capital Wasteland and continue the search for any other advanced technology hidden in the capital's ruins. The Citadel's construction was masterminded by Scribe Bowditch. The new gate, leading directly into the Bailey, was built into the destroyed corner between the Mall Entrance and River Entrance façades, with a crane-operated solid metal gate barring entrance.

After a few months of work, the husk that was Pentagon finally became the Citadel. The Brotherhood reoccupied the laboratory underneath the courtyard and the two inner rings, A and B. The remaining three are left empty, except as transit between the inhabited sections and the sentry posts mounted on the top rim of the E ring. The courtyard was adapted as training grounds, called the Bailey. Over the next decades, the former heart of the American military would bear witness to a number of events significant to the Capital Wasteland.

Exterior
The Citadel is a large fortress, built into the ruins of the Pentagon. Collapsed sections were reinforced with salvaged metal sheets and plates, with armored firing positions mounted onto the edges of the roof. Paladins and Knighs man these positions, firing at any intruders from above. The Citadel has only one known entrance, through a large metal gate set into the corner between the Mall Entrance and River Entrance facades, usually guarded by several paladins and one sentry bot. Beyond it, one passes through the five rings through a collapsed section and enters the central courtyard, the Bailey.

The inside is inaccessible until you complete The Waters of Life segment of the main quest. Entry is scripted as part of the completion of this quest. Before then, the guard commander Paladin Bael will gruffly deny you entry.

Bailey
The central courtyard of the Pentagon was adapted as a large bailey for training and assembly purposes. Under the command of Paladin Gunny, new recruits practice various skills from unarmed combat to firearm usage. To this end, the bailey contains shooting ranges and other installations for combat practice.

A large hatch in the middle of the courtyard connects to Liberty Prime's launch bay below, in the laboratory. The Laboratory and A Ring, sections of the buildings which surround the yard, can be accessed through doors opposite and next to the main entrance. Initiates sleep in beds in the Bailey.

A Ring
The A Ring is a small sector within the Citadel which can be accessed directly from the bailey. The entrance is on the right when you enter the Citadel.

The A Ring contains the Lyon's Den, the Great Hall, the Library and entrances to B Ring as well as Citadel Laboratory. The Lyon's Den is the quarters of Lyons' Pride while the Great Hall serves as a briefing room for high-ranking Brotherhood members and the Pride.

In the library you can find the Vault-Tec Industries terminal you need to consult as part of Picking up the Trail. Another terminal reveals some background information on the Maxson family and various tidbits of information about the history of the Brotherhood. Another terminal contains information on a UFO that crashed shortly before the war and a plan to send mutants to China.

B Ring
The B Ring is the second section within the Citadel which can only be reached from the A Ring via two doors in the back. It consists mostly of sleeping quarters for all Brotherhood of Steel members as well as a medical bay and the private quarters of Owyn Lyons and Arthur Maxson. Owyn Lyons' unique laser pistol is in his safe in his private quarters.

Squire Maxson's room contains a hackable terminal in which, among various children's stories and other personal entries, you can find the location of a Guns and Bullets magazine under the bed in the Lyon's Den (A Ring).

The medical bay is home to Sawbones, a Mister Gutsy robot who is doctor of the Citadel, which Knight Artemis finds "creepy".

Laboratory
The laboratory is the third sector of the Citadel, connected to both the bailey and the A Ring. It spans two levels and consists of the main working area, the armory and sleeping quarters for the Scribes. Various terminals with technical background information on weaponry are scattered all over the place.

The lab is naturally the working place for most of the Scribes, save those of the Order of the Quill. While they are conducting research on various fields such as threat assessment, weaponry and defensive technologies, their main focus is the work on Liberty Prime, a gargantuan pre-War robot and the main reason the Citadel base was established.

Scribe Rothchild, who is part of various main quests, is usually to be found in the area just in front of the robot, on the bottom level. In the vicinity of the robot dock there's also a terminal with progress information on the work on Liberty Prime which allows one to run a sound check.

On the wall at the bottom level there is a digital map display providing the locations of Vaults in the Capital Wasteland. The map markers will be automatically added to the Pip-Boy 3000 after Rothchild's demonstration. Next to it are the Scribes' quarters with a cafeteria and storeroom.

The armory is located in an extra room on the bottom level and is run by Knight Captain Durga. She will only trade with Elder Lyons' permission (one needs only ask).

Inside the laboratory on the same floor you come in from, there is a room to the east. The companion Star Paladin Cross is located in that room, along with a set of power armor in low condition.

Armory
With the add on Broken Steel, The Citadel can be targeted by the orbital missile platform controlled by the terminal in the Adams Air Force Base at the end of the quest Who Dares Wins. This destroys both the Air Force Base and the Citadel, revealing some helpful supplies beneath the ruins.

If you chose to destroy the Citadel, you will find a door leading to the armory within the crater, and one on the far side of the circular path around the crater. This section is not to be confused with the regular armory located in the laboratory.

Within this armory, there is a terminal describing several "incident reports" and a wall-safe (unlockable through the terminal) containing Callahan's magnum.

Inhabitants

 * ¹ After the quest Death From Above

Notable loot

 * A Duck and Cover! book in a crate in one of the stalls in the bathroom of the Citadel Lab.
 * A Guns and Bullets book under the rightmost bed in A Ring's "The Den" area. Just outside this room, in the lounge area, there's a Brotherhood of Steel holotag on a small curved table.
 * Smuggler's End, Elder Lyon's unique AEP7 laser pistol, can be found in his safe in B Ring's "The Solar" area. A Lockpick skill of 100 is required to open the safe. Occasionally it may be taken from the safe by non-player characters, in which case it must be either pick pocketed normally or reverse-pick pocketed.
 * 2 Tesla cannons in the Citadel Lab.
 * 2 Tesla cannons in the Citadel Armory.
 * Callahan's magnum in a safe in the Citadel Armory.
 * 3 mini nukes in the Citadel Armory.
 * 72 alien power cells in the Citadel Armory.
 * 3 Nuka-grenades in the Citadel Armory.
 * Notes and holotapes
 * Scribe Jameson's report to Elder Lyons: Obtained from Scribe Jameson when starting the unmarked quest Collecting Holotags.
 * Elder Owyn Lyons—personal log 1 - Elder Lyon's private room, coffee table. This room is located just after solar room in the 'B' Ring in the Citadel.
 * Elder Owyn Lyons—personal log 2 - Private room, in the safe. Found along with Smuggler's End.
 * Elder Owyn Lyons—personal log 3 - Citadel Laboratory, to the right of the Liberty Prime, on a white couch.

Appearances
The Citadel appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * "The Citadel" was the original name of the Cathedral of Fallout in early design documents (like the Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure timeline).

Bugs

 * There are at least two Brotherhood of Steel Initiates using the firing range, and one is firing a laser rifle. Nobody will become hostile if you shoot the laser rifle out of his hands, and he will start throwing frag grenades at the target. Many of his throws will either be off target or ricochet in various directions, causing numerous casualties among the nearby Brotherhood of Steel. When attempting this by using V.A.T.S., it is possible that if targeting the "weapon" too many times, the Initiate will take out a grenade almost instantaneously after the rifle is shot. If this happens you may accidentally shoot the grenade and kill the Initiate and anybody close.
 * The radio in the bailey will continue to play GNR as if Three Dog is still alive after the player has killed him.
 * If you pickpocket the ammunition from the Initiate with the 10mm pistol, he will continually reload. Eventually he will aim down sight and not move or shoot.
 * It is possible to gain access to the Citadel as early as level 2 through a nearby hole south of the Citadel. The player can then speak to Paladin Gunny and receive Power Armor Training.
 * It is possible for Angela Staley to spawn outside the Citadel upon fast traveling. She is capable of all her dialogue options as if she was in Rivet City. She immediately begins walking back to Rivet City, but can be spoken to.
 * Geographical error: If you enter the labs directly (missing out the A Ring) from the far side of the bailey, the door you enter through leads straight down into the lab. However as you find out during the final mission, Liberty Prime is raised through the very center of the courtyard, implying the lab is directly below it. It is worth noting that the door from the bailey is a double door while the door in the Lab is a single door, an obvious design error.
 * If the Citadel is viewed from the outside, there is a notably tall construction crane, however, with the exception of the mission Take It Back!, there is no construction crane if viewed from the Bailey.