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I see... I see... Oh, it's horrible, kid. Claws and teeth and horns. The very face of death itself.
”— Mama Murphy, foreseeing the events in ConcordDeathclaws are a type of creature found in Fallout 4, continuing the tradition of including them in every Fallout game.
Background[]
Deathclaws were engineered before the Great War, for use as cheap replacements for humans during close-combat search-and-destroy missions.[1] The project was successful in creating a ferocious predator capable of surviving on its own in the wild, though no references exist to them ever being used in combat against the Chinese. After the Great War, deathclaws escaped into the wild through unknown means and gradually spread throughout the continent. Initial spread was limited to isolated nests on the East and West Coasts, leading some to believe that it was just a rumor, a tale to scare children with,[2] though the population of Boneyard was keenly aware of their existence, as a single pack mother and her offspring claimed the area between Downey and Norwalk around 2161, keeping the Gun Runners in a checkmate and terrorizing other communities in the region.[3] A lone deathclaw was also living near the Hub,[4] with an unknown number of deathclaws experimented on and refined by the Master.[1]
Their gradual spread throughout the wasteland raised awareness of their existence, until they entered common consciousness as a lethal predator – but a myth no longer. As stated above, the Enclave eventually continued the research project started before the war, developing intelligent deathclaws for use in hostile environments around 2235.[5] On May 17, 2242, the first successful pack was dropped into Vault 13 to cloak the presence of the Enclave and their abduction of the dwellers within. Following their first combat test, the deathclaws broke free of their Enclave masters, far more intelligent than anyone could foresee.[6] They began developing an unique culture, as the first non-human sentient beings in history.[7] Unfortunately, their intelligence was discovered by Doctor Schreber of Navarro, whose report led to the extermination of intelligent deathclaws with extreme prejudice.[8] Subsequent experimentation involved the aforementioned domestication units, although by the end of the 23rd century.[9]
Characteristics[]
Deathclaws are immensely powerful enemies that should not be taken lightly at any level. Fortunately, they tend to be solitary creatures and are rarely encountered in pairs. While in Fallout 3 they became a manageable nuisance due to the use of poison darts (dart gun), they become much harder to defeat in Fallout 4. This is for a variety of reasons:
- Commonwealth deathclaws are quite intelligent in their hunting of prey, or in the protecting of their territory, as seen with their tactics in weaving in and out during their approach, in order to avoid gunfire and to help keep its unarmored stomach a moving target. They will also retreat behind cover or otherwise hide if they cannot reach the attacker, forcing its prey to periodically pop out of cover in order to keep up the offensive.
- They deal tremendous damage and can rapidly damage and destroy components on power armor; therefore, fighting them in close quarters is inadvisable.
- They are highly resistant to both physical and energy damage, with the darker scales covering their skin serving as armor. While they do possess a weak point in the form of their unarmored belly, the deathclaws move in such a manner as to keep it well protected.
- Finally, they receive a special power attack, where they grab their prey and smack them around for severe damage (if not wearing power armor), or they will pin their prey to the ground and claw at them repeatedly, causing severe wounds and severely damaging power armor.
Taming[]
With the Wasteland Workshop DLC, the player can capture these creatures through building trap cages, then make them allies by adding a beta wave emitter in the settlement. This makes them into terrific defensive creatures, adding 10 defense to the settlement's rating.
Variants[]
- Base variant
- Alpha deathclaw
- Glowing deathclaw: Greatly increased health and generates radiation field.
- Deathclaw matriarch
- Savage deathclaw
- Albino deathclaw
- Chameleon deathclaw: Can use a natural stealth field.
- Mythic deathclaw
Locations[]
- The following map contains all the spawn locations on the world map (excluding interiors or harvested items)
Behind the scenes[]
Was it always a big scaly lizard thing? Nope. My initial design for this terrible creature was a the apex predator of the wasteland, a mix of wolverine and brown bear, mutated by the FEV. It could survive any environment and feared nothing; a legendary force of nature that struck terror into the hearts of men! Unfortunately, the artists took one look at my concept sketch and said, 'Dude, that's way too much hair.' It was true. The Wolverine-bear was very furry, and there was just no way around it.
So here's what happened: the newly formed Black Isle started work on what would be Planescape: Torment. One of the first art pieces was a monstrous creature called a Terrasque. It was sculpted in clay and was then point-by-painstaking-point digitized into a 3D model. As Planescape moved forward, it turned out that the Terrasque wouldn't actually be featured in its design, leaving that tasty model in disuse. Thus, the furry wolverine-bear became a hairless reptilian biped. (Take a look at page 339 of the D&D second edition Monster Manual. Holy cats! It's a Deathclaw!)
”— Scott Campbell, Origins of Fallout No Mutants Allowed- The deathclaw name is derived from Shadowclaws in Wasteland.
- In Scott Campbell's original concept art, deathclaws were mammals covered with fur and were meant to be a mix of wolverine and brown bear, created by FEV.[10] The reason it lost the hair from concept to production was a technical limitation of the rendering software, which couldn't get all the hair to move properly. The hairy deathclaw in Fallout Tactics was inspired by the original concept.[10][11]
- According to the Fallout Bible[12] and Scott Campbell,[10] deathclaws were modelled visually on the Tarrasque of Dungeons & Dragons after a D&D computer game made by Interplay was cancelled (according to Fallout Bible) or after the creature was cut from Planescape: Torment (according to Scott Campbell), as a Tarrasque clay model was already made and this way the work would not go to waste. However, according to Chris Taylor, while they do look Tarrasque-like, it was not intentional and the clay model was supposed to be a deathclaw from the start.[11]
I met my first Deathclaw in middle school, playing Fallout on a friend's machine, and I fell instantly in love with these "Dragons of the Waste." It was an honor to tackle them for Fallout 3 - sourcing from both the originals and the concept art of Adam Adamowicz - but I'm proudest of my Fallout 4 redesign.
To improve upon their F3 counterparts, I gave the newer ones thicker, more armored skin; shorter, strong-looking claws and hands; a bull-like redesign to the horns (to suggest the ability to ram); and a thicker tail - heavy enough to act as a counter-weight when it ran. It's important to note, too, that the Deathclaw is not a mutant, but a hybrid bioweapon created by the US military. To that end, I incorporated chameleons, alligators, bulls, panthers, serpents & lizards into their design.
I love him.
”— Jonah LobeAppearances[]
Commonwealth deathclaws appear in Fallout 4 and its add-ons Far Harbor and Nuka-World.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets p.27: "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. The resulting creature is almost unbelievably fast and powerful. Deathclaws are well named—they are the toughest animals that you will encounter in the Wastes."
"Unless you have Combat Armor, extremely heavy weaponry, and a lot of Stimpacks
, running for the exit hexes at the first sign of a Deathclaw is your best chance of survival. If you're well equipped and want to stick it out, though, get in at least one shot at long range, because Deathclaws move so fast that you're unlikely to get another long-range attack as they charge you. They'll always close rapidly so they can use their powerful claws to tear and rend you. For maximum damage, use a Called Shot to the eyes when you shoot them. However, even with Called Shots, you'll need several good hits to put a Deathclaw down—use extreme caution (and save often) when fighting them."
Note: Deathclaws being genetically engineered before the Great War and later refined by the Master is mentioned in the Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets strategy guide, written by Fallout 2 lead designer, Matt Norton, as well as in Fallout Tactics. - ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{347}{}{Do you know anything about the Deathclaw?}"
John Maxson: "{262}{Gen_78}{Oh. Just another stupid rumor. Some people say it's a huge fanged monster and others say it's a vampire.}"
(MAXSON.MSG) - ↑ Gabriel
- ↑ Find the missing caravans.
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0: "2235 The Enclave experiments on deathclaws, attempting to create special fighting units for waging war in hostile environments."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0: "2242 May 17 Enclave animal handlers drop a Deathclaw unit into Vault 13 from a safe distance to kill anyone investigating the Vault and cloak the Enclave's presence. Other Deathclaws are sent into the desert surrounding Vault 13 to check for any escapees or witnesses."
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{123}{}{What are you doing here?}"
Goris: {135}{}{I'm a student of sorts. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the world and the different cultures that have developed. Right now I'm studying the culture the deathclaws are forming and comparing it to human development along similar lines. I've acquired just about all the information I need here. It would help my research a great deal if I could do some traveling. However, I don't want to go it alone, if you know what I mean.}"
(Ocgoris.msg) - ↑ The deathclaw massacre within Fallout 2.
- ↑ Raven Rock terminals; Delivery Terminal, Note Regarding Recent Delivery
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "The Origins of Fallout", part 3 by Scott Campbell
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chris Taylor at No Mutants Allowed forum
- ↑ Fallout Bible 8, As always, firm chests just out of reach
Fallout Bible 8, Deathclaws...