The Burrows

The Burrows is a location in Fallout 76, added in the Wild Appalachia series of content on April 16, 2019.

Background
The Burrows is a term referring to Harpers Ferry stormwater management system, stretching beneath the entire town. The spacious underground areas are some of the oldest parts of the city and by 2072 were partially falling apart due to a combination of lack of funds, general neglect, and sheer age. However, this also made them a welcome refuge for people who had very little, with communities regularly emerging beneath the Ferry and just as quickly dispersed by work crews in accordance with anti-trespassing laws.

In September 2072, renovations were started on the oldest parts of the stormwater system, which were on the verge of collapse. Due to potential infrastructure issues, plans were approved to bypass water flow around these sections and preserve access for future work. Work continued, with squatters continuously removed by the work crews. They usually left without causing much of a fuss, used to drifting out of society's sight. Even if they were sympathetic towards their plight, the engineers enforced the law. The worst came when Public Works decided to solve the situation permanently, installing automated security turrets in the network, loaded with stun rounds and programmed to attack any non-employees so that they would be collected.

Once the renovations were completed, the stormwater network was significantly improved and expanded, with equipment installed to measure and test various substances in water. Project was completed 2 months overdue and 1.4 million dollars overbudget due to historical society's complaint of construction occurring in one of the oldest sewer chambers. In the words of one of the engineers: "When society's getting nostalgic over their own shit you know something's went wrong." The completion of renovations was followed by complete automation in 2075, with the workers tasked with monitoring the network told to vacate the premises within a week and sacked. Some took it poorly, like John Welch, who rigged the turrets to attack everyone while leaving his post. Perhaps the oddest part was the installation of military fabricators within the network, giving it military-grade security. To the soon-to-be unemployed workers it felt like an excuse to funnel even more money into the coffers of RobCo.

After the Great War, the situation changed dramatically. The Harpers Ferry stormwater tunnels became a refuge for those who lost everything, continuing the tradition established by the squatting communities. The neighborhoods that formed in the tunnels invited the unlucky, the broken, and the destitute to join and help them form a society beneath the Ferry. Especially after the Charleston Flood of 2082, the Burrows welcomed everyone who was in need of a home, opening arms to those who needed a new start.

However, the peace did not last the test of time. Eventually, Marcus, the son of one of the Public Works employees decided to take over the Central Chamber neighborhood and institute his own, despotic rule. His gang, the Burrows Boys, decided that everyone had to earn their keep - and everyone was limited to people strong enough to take what they need. They mandated biweekly scav runs to keep food reserves high, used the water station as a source of water to purify and boil, and maintaining the old turret network - now loaded with live ammunition and gunning down anyone who wasn't them. Most of the denizens vacated the stormwater network, including the infamous Doctor Ken, who ran a chem den in one of the neighborhoods, feeding the addiction of visitors with Med-X, Psycho, and for those on a budget, glue, paints, Buffout, and booze. He also dabbled in treating people coming in with health problems as a sideline. That particular gentleman picked Mosstown as his next stop.

Of course, the turrets and robots did not escape the notice of the Brotherhood of Steel, back when they were still exploring Appalachia. A team was dispatched to investigate reports of military grade robots in the area, eventually disappearing in the vast network of tunnels.

Most interestingly, in 2101, MODUS accessed the network and redirected water from the network to The Whitespring, starting in October 2101, with over 600 000 gallons of water sent to the resort by that date.

Points of interest

 * Periphery
 * If entering from the southern entrance, players immediately gain access to the central area. The safe entrance area with a Brotherhood corpse leads to the main storm drain, with branching paths to the north and the south (roughly speaking), that run in parallel to the main channel. Both areas are heavily infested with ghouls. The northwest areas contain the messhall with a locked pantry, and allows to circumnavigate the cavein further down the central channel. A branching path leads to a damaged pipe that can be taken to get to the retracted bridge area.
 * The southern side is where the fishing wharf was located, and connects to a small living space with an armor workbench and a lit tunnel leading to an enclosed space with a power armor. Both paths terminate in the barricade leading to the central area. The walkway can be accessed through the right-hand path (looking at the entrance to Central) and leads to the retracted bridge that can be opened using the nearby terminal (watch out for the flamethrower trap).
 * Over the bridge lies the Market, just next to the Burrows (north side). Through a large living space is a closed storm drain pipe that can be opened using the nearby valve and leads to Doctor Ken's Chem Den in the west. It contains some chems and other medical supplies and is surrounded by even more winding corridors. At the southern end past the den lies the northern entrance to the Burrows. The tunnels through to the northeast lead to the main section, with a tinker's workbench tucked off in the corner to the west.
 * Central
 * The heart of the Burrows, filled with makeshift construction. The main "hall" includes a weapons workbench, with storage offset to the sides. The adjacent reservoir (roughly northern/eastern side) has a closed-down bar on the upper floor. Check the box for tips. A cooking station is below, overlooking the reservoir.
 * The western section of Central contains the Burrow Boys' throne room, with Marcus terminal in the corner. As typical, approaching it triggers an ambush by several feral ghouls.
 * The southern section leads to the market and further back to Dr Ken's chem den.
 * The eastern part, helpfully marked with a red light and a Do Not Enter sign leads to the old, damaged tunnels and through them to the pump station, required to complete Waste Management.
 * Pump station
 * The pump station offers a dramatic change of pace, replacing ghouls with robots floating around. It's accessible once the player turns the valve down the northern end of the old tunnel. It's surprisingly open, but with plenty of pipes to hide behind. The office in the corner, right of the entrance, contains a tinker's workbench for replacing lost ammunition. On the opposite end, the station leads up the walkways into the old control room and beyond it, into the heart of the robot maintenance and control system.
 * Entering the room will spawn a throng of robots that are necessary to wipe out if the player wants to complete Waste Management. Accessing the terminal allows to collect the final quest holotape and open the door in the red pipe nearby, which leads back to the bar area.

Notable loot

 * Notes and holotapes
 * Burrows Mission Brief: On the dead scribe at the entrance.
 * Warning for Dylan: Beyond the wharf, by the armor workbench.
 * Marcus' Speech
 * To Pete
 * Maude's Journal Page: By the entrance to the Market in Central.
 * For Maude: On the end terminal.
 * Power armor
 * Random suit: In the water, down the stairs through the doorway to the right of the southern entrance to Central.
 * Caps stash
 * Down the stairs east of the drug den, by the gut shroom.
 * Dynamic spawns

Appearances
The Burrows appears in Fallout 76.