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Fallout 3 locations project
Fallout 3 locations project
This article is within the scope of the Fallout 3 locations project. This project is dedicated to standardizing Fallout 3 location articles. If you want to participate, please check the project page.
Megaton
Fo3 Megaton
Icon settlement large
Megaton's front gate
Site
Megaton loc
Map MarkerMegaton
Segments
BuildingsBilly Creel's house
Brass Lantern
Clinic
Church of the Children of Atom
Common house
Craterside Supply
Jericho's house
Lucas Simms' house
Lucy West's house
Megaton armory
Men's restroom
Mister Burke's house
Moriarty's Saloon
My Megaton house
Nathan and Manya's house
Water processing plant
Women's restroom
People
LeadersLucas Simms
DoctorsDoc Church
MerchantsColin Moriarty (drinks)
Gob (drinks)
Jenny Stahl (food)
Leo Stahl (chems)
Moira Brown (general)
Other
QuestsFollowing in His Footsteps
Blood Ties
Holy Water Broken SteelGametitle-FO3 BS
The Power of the Atom
The Replicated Man
The Wasteland Survival Guide
300 Pieces of Silver
Church Donations
Leo's Drug Habit
Treatment
Walter's Scrap Metal
Technical
Cell NameMegatonTown (gate)
MegatonMainGate (Dep. Weld loc)
ref id000010ec (gate)
00001245 (Deputy Weld loc)
Maps
Map over Megaton
Aerial view and guide over Megaton
 
Gametitle-FO3
Gametitle-FO3

Megaton is a sprawling settlement in the Capital Wasteland, set in and around a crater made when a bomber plane crashed, and is mostly built from parts salvaged from that aircraft in the early days, with a Megaton class unexploded nuclear bomb at its center, giving the location its name. The town is protected by large metal walls made from and reinforced by various scavenged materials, primarily the scraps of old pre-War airplanes, which were assembled and reforged together several decades ago by the founders of Megaton in an effort to make the town safer. With 28 named inhabitants and 14 unnamed Megaton settlers, (excluding a varying number of clinic patients) it is rivaled only by Rivet City in population.

Background[]

Beginnings[]

Megaton's crater was first settled by a large group of people who either worshiped the undetonated bomb or sought shelter in Vault 101, but were denied access because the vault dwellers were not allowed to leave or let anyone in as part of the vault's experiment. Locked out of the vault, these settlers, including Manya Vargas' great grandfather, simply settled into the crater for protection against dust storms. After the storms died down, some people began to wander the wastes, but would return to the crater to trade their scavenged goods. A generation later, the crater had turned into full on trade hub.[1] Vargas' father became wealthy on these caravan routes and eventually convinced others to build the scrap metal wall surrounding the town to repel raiders.[1]

Construction on the wall started in 2241. Early that year, raiders attacked the town, resulting in the death of the 14 year old Colin Moriarty's father. After the raid, Moriarty inherited his father's wealth and his bar, Moriarty's Saloon.[2] [3]

Over the course of a couple months, the residents of the town built the walls out of necessity; aircraft debris from an air station a few miles from the crater was the only material that remained and was readily available.[4][5][6] The bomb in the center of the crater remained there; when the wall was being erected, the settlement needed as much manpower as it could get and removing the bomb would have upset those that worshiped it, pushing them away. That is not to say a lot of other people felt it was best to not disturb it; it was not hurting anything and it could have adverse effects if transferred to another location.[7]

First contact with Vault 101 and raider attack[]

In February 2241, an expeditionary party of Vault 101, led by Anne Palmer and sent by the Overseer of the Vault, made contact with the residents of Megaton. Initially, the locals were cautious of the strangers before eventually accepting and welcoming them into their settlement. Palmer appointed two vault residents, Agnes Taylor and Lewis, as vault ambassadors to Megaton.[8]

By the time of the expedition, the front gate of Megaton had been completed.[9]

Present day[]

In 2277, space is limited in the town, forcing many residents to live in the common house, a building that would usually be reserved for meetings and voting.[10] Lucas Simms is the self-appointed town sheriff and does not hesitate to throw anyone out if they cause trouble.[11][12] On the subject of trouble, Colin Moriarty runs the town saloon and has a less than decent reputation, keeping the drunks drunk and and his employees in servitude. Moriarty has a line on everything that happens in Megaton and it all eventually gets back to him.[11][13]

In early 2277, a gang of raiders occupied nearby Springvale Elementary School, intending to tunnel from the school basement into Vault 101. A group, led by Boppo, staged a raid on Megaton, but the attack was foiled when Boppo was shot in the head and killed by Lucas Simms. The raiders did not leave the area, though, choosing to remain at the Springvale School. Their mining operation stopped when they opened a nest of giant ants.[14][15]

Project Purity's activation[]

Gray paragraphs are based on 3 guide ep guide epilogue and have not been confirmed by primary sources In the years following Lyons' Brotherhood's victory over the Enclave and recapture of Project Purity, Megaton prospered immensely. Following the death of Sheriff Lucas Simms, his son Harden took on the role. Moira Brown published and distributed her Wasteland Survival Guide across the expanse of the American wasteland by way of traveling caravans. By October 10, 2297, Brown was working on a new book, a compilation of "the best and most useful tales of the Lone Wanderer for the next generation."[16]

Layout[]

Fo3 Megaton View 1

View of Megaton from the entrance

The city of Megaton has been built in a steep-walled crater around an undetonated atomic bomb which rests in a small puddle of radioactive water at the bottom of the depression. This gives the city two roughly circular levels centered on the bomb. The main gate consists of two old aircraft wings and a jet engine which can be opened and closed to protect the only entrance/exit to the town.

If a visitor follows the entry path to the bottom of the depression, the Megaton Clinic will be on their right and The Brass Lantern on their left. Just past the bomb to the right is the Church of the Children of Atom and past it to the left lies Mister Burke's house. Confessor Cromwell can usually be found here sermonizing from the puddle to random settlers.

If they turn right when they first enter so that they are still on the lip of the crater, the "path" will take them past Lucas Simms' house, around the water processing plant, down to Craterside Supply, then back up to the Men's restroom, Moriarty's Saloon and Billy Creel's house. Going down the ramp from there will take them around Nathan and Manya's house (a bus) and to the Women's restroom. Craterside Supply can also be easily reached by taking the ramp directly to the right of the Megaton Clinic.

When one turns left at the upper lip, they'll find a locked house (which can be acquired by the player if they deactivate the central atomic bomb), followed by Jericho's house. From there, going down will take them to Lucy West's house while going around to the left will get them to the end of the right hand path.

Fo3 Megaton View 2

View of Megaton from the common house

The Megaton armory (very hard lock) can be reached by going up the ramp and around the Church of the Children of Atom to the right or by going down the hill starting from the back door of Moriarty's Saloon. There are strong enemies inside. Prepare with strong weapons and armor before entering.

The common house can be reached by going around the Women's restroom to the right or by passing behind Moriarty's Saloon rather than going around the front past the entrance to the Men's restroom.

In front of the city, outside the walls, there's a caravan stop, Micky the water beggar, and Deputy Weld. Behind the city, near the south west corner is the hollowed-out rock.

Megaton ruins[]

If player revisits Megaton after blowing it up in The Power of the Atom quest, Deputy Weld's head with an orange (or purple) eye will be nearby, sticking out of a pile of debris. He says, ironically, "Welcome to Megaton. The bomb is perfectly safe. We promise. Please hold," in a garbled voice that sounds broken. The sky will be green, and, if the player started the Wasteland Survival Guide quest, Moira Brown will survive as a ghoul and appear to tell them that she is relocating to Rivet City. If the player has not started the quest, Moira can still be found in Underworld. However, the Strength Bobblehead will be unobtainable if the player detonates the bomb before retrieving it.

Buildings[]

Inhabitants[]

¹ after being released from Paradise Falls

Notable loot[]

Related quests[]

Notes[]

  • If you intend to obtain the Strength bobblehead, you should do so before blowing up the town in The Power of the Atom quest as the explosion will destroy Lucas Simms' house, rendering the bobblehead inaccessible.
  • If you have very good Karma, a Megaton settler will approach you each day you are in Megaton (after around 8am) and give you a random item of loot, saying something like, "I wish there were more people like you in the world." The gift can range from ammunition (around 10 to 20 of any standard type) to medical supplies (stimpaks, Rad-X, etc.) to packaged food. She will sprint from wherever she happens to be in town to reach you; occasionally this action will not be triggered, but finding and talking to her will produce the appropriate dialog. If you have very bad Karma, the same settler will approach you and mutter insults instead of giving you something.
  • If you are wearing a Vault 101 jumpsuit when you enter Megaton for the first time, Lucas Simms and the other named settlers will comment on it during the initial greeting. This special greeting does not occur when wearing the Vault security, utility jumpsuits and Vault scientist coat.
  • Megaton will occasionally be attacked by various enemies when you approach or leave it. These are usually one or two raiders or giant ants, but can be more dangerous enemies such as giant radscorpions. Usually, Deputy Weld can easily dispatch them, with the help of Stockholm and any merchant caravan that happened to be in front of Megaton when the fight happens.
  • If you look up during Megaton's daytime you will see a flock of birds circling the settlement.
  • If you choose to blow up Megaton, the fast travel point will be renamed 'Megaton Ruins.'
  • If you travel to Megaton Ruins, an eerie green glow will surround the wreckage and will still be evident when you travel to places like Super-Duper Mart.
  • You cannot enter Megaton after destroying it, and getting very close will result in a hefty dose of radiation.
  • If you destroy Megaton you are likely to be encountered by Megaton refugees; they are hostile at first sight.
  • The first time you come to Megaton the gate is closed but opens as you approach it. The gate never closes again after that.
  • Nathan and Manya's house appears to be made up of a bus, as does the bridge near their house, rather than planes like the rest of the town.
  • Even if you gain access to your own Megaton house, perform various tasks for the locals and spend a significant amount of time in Megaton, the settlers will still qualify you as an outsider if you approach conversations with them. As a matter of fact, nobody besides the Simms' family and Moira comments on anything remotely related to the fact that you have a permanent house there.
  • Megaton is the only settlement in the Capital Wasteland in which airplane components were used as building materials.
  • Because it is an open environment, you can fast travel into and out of town without going through the gate.
  • There are additional unused sniper towers seen on the inside perimeter of the town, although they cannot be seen from the outside and there is no visible way to enter them.
  • It is possible to get to Stockholm by entering Lucas Simms' house, going through the trapdoor on the second floor, jumping on the fence on the roof, running along the fence, getting on top of the plane, running along the left side of the plane, and making a jump at the perfect time to land on the city walls. From here, carefully walk along the edge until you get to his platform.
  • When you are out of the city walls (outside of Megaton) and look through the holes in the walls you may see only a large crater with nothing in it.
  • Despite that fact that Manya tells the story of her father and others scavenging from an airport, and the buildings were claimed back by the waste, there is no evidence at all to a nearby airport; no runway or large area in the vicinity that seems realistically in range.

Appearances[]

Megaton appears only in Fallout 3 and is mentioned in Fallout 4.[17]

Behind the scenes[]

  • The bomb in the center of the town and the people worshiping it are likely a reference to Beneath The Planet of the Apes, which features a cult worshiping an undetonated nuclear weapon after the modern world has been destroyed.
  • A Megaton is used to measure an explosion equivalent to the force of a million tonnes of TNT- A fitting name to a town with a nuke in the center of the town.
  • In the Japanese version of Fallout 3, Burke is completely gone, and therefore, the quest to blow up Megaton has been completely removed due to its "parallels to real historic events",[18] referring to the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Bugs[]

  • Xbox 360Icon xbox360 Right after leaving Vault 101 the sky and surrounding area may look as if the bomb has already exploded.
  • PlayStation 3Icon ps3 Xbox 360Icon xbox360 PCIcon pc After Broken Steel is installed, if you pick-up the note from your door, after completing quest Holy Water, the note will respawn every day. This can be very annoying, and it is recommended to achieve the note from a settler.
  • Xbox 360Icon xbox360 Upon leaving Vault 101 Megaton may not spawn. To fix this, restart your console.
  • PlayStation 3Icon ps3 Xbox 360Icon xbox360 Occasionally the player will be shot at by the settlers of Megaton upon first entering, which can be rather troublesome for a low level character.
  • PlayStation 3Icon ps3 Occasionally upon entering Megaton with Fawkes accompanying you, he will randomly start shooting everyone in sight.
  • PlayStation 3Icon ps3 In front of Megaton, where merchants are usually standing, if you drop a small item (such as stimpak) it will seem to disappear, but will not fall through the map.
  • Xbox 360Icon xbox360 Sometimes when entering Craterside Supply, All the people in there will fall through the ground.(including you)

Xbox 360Icon xbox360 2 Enclave soldiers accompanied by an Enclave eyebot have been seen spawning outside megatons front gate not hostile to megatons citizens, the fact that they are only hostile to the player and not the citizens can be explained by the radio broadcasts of colonel autumn stating to stay out of the way of the enclave.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Lone Wanderer: "How did the town start?"
    Manya Vargas: "Well, originally, it started as a hole in the ground. My papi talked about how his father and the original settlers just hid in this crater. It was enough to keep them safe from the dust storms. When things cooled down and people started wandering into the Wastes, some stayed behind. The wanderers started coming back here to trade their stuff. By the time my papi was born, the town was a full on trading center. Papi got rich on the caravan routes and eventually convinced the others to build the walls to hold off the Raiders."
    The Lone Wanderer: "So it was just a collection of traders in the beginning?"
    Manya Vargas: "Not at first. It was a collection of people trying to get into the vault, people worshipping the bomb, and a few other refugees. Then the traders came. Now the caravans take care of most of the trading, but before they were set up, it was all Megaton. I worked on the caravans with my father for a while. That's how I met that worthless bag of liver spots I call a husband."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  2. Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.66: "Colin Moriarty
    Moriarty, 50, has been here nearly his entire life. He claims that his grandfather helped found the original settlement a few years after the war. His father used the nearby trade routes to amass wealth, which is used to help secure Megaton. Colin inherited this wealth when his father was killed during a Raider attack when Colin was 14. Colin's first move was to build a fence around the town. Since then, the people have looked to Colin as a benefactor despite his running drinks, Chems, girls, and games out of his saloon. Simms turns a blind eye to Moriarty's activities, because he is acutely aware that the town needs Colin's support and resources."
    (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
  3. Moriarty was born in 2227. 2227+14 + 2241. Combine this with the presence of the completed Megaton gate in the Vault 101 scouting reports later that year, and construction had to have begun in early 2241.
  4. The Lone Wanderer: "There are a lot of parts here for just one machine."
    Manya Vargas: "Good eye. You're right honey, there are. There was an air station a couple of miles from here. It'd been stripped of everything except the planes. My daddy got a bunch of people together to go out there, break apart the machines and drag back what we could use. It took 'em a couple of months. You can't even tell where the air station was anymore. The Wasteland just took it back."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  5. The Lone Wanderer: "What's this place made of?"
    Manya Vargas: "Long ago, before the war, there used to be machines they were like buses, but they flew through the sky, taking people anywhere they wanted to go. You didn't have to walk, you just went to the air station, bought a ticket, and took to the skies. Anywhere in the world, you just up and flew there. When the war happened, the machines started dropping from the sky. Everyone around here thinks that the bomb made the crater, but it didn't. The crater provided good cover from the dust storms and when my daddy and the rest of the town decided to build the walls, they used what they had."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  6. The Lone Wanderer: "Why build the walls out of some old flying machine?"
    Manya Vargas: "It's a hell of a lot easier than trying to find enough parts to build walls and houses from nothing. The scrap was there, why not use it? Besides, it's sturdy. It keeps the Raiders and the dust storms out. Not all of us had the luck to be born in a vault, you know."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  7. The Lone Wanderer: "So why didn't they move the bomb?"
    Manya Vargas: "Some of us wanted to. But the Church of Atom was just getting its start then. We needed their help to build the walls and clear the wreckage. If we'd have tried to move the bomb, they would have refused to help. Besides, a lot of people just wanted to leave it alone. It didn't seem to be hurting anything and who knows what would happen if we messed with it."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  8. Overseer's Terminal, Report 2241-02-10
  9. Overseer's Terminal, 2241-02-10 Exhibit B
  10. The Lone Wanderer: "So anyone can live in Megaton?"
    Manya Vargas: "No. Space is limited these days. You see all of these people wandering around here? They live up in the common house and aren't really citizens. Most people around here keep one eye open around strangers, but me, I can spot a Raider spy at 100 meters. I'm not worried about it at all. But if having meetings and pretending to vote on things makes the others feel safer, so be it."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  11. 11.0 11.1 The Lone Wanderer: "Who's in charge around here?"
    Manya Vargas: "Well, technically, no one. But you can't put two people in a room together without one of them trying to govern the other. But it depends on who you ask. Lucas Simms appointed himself the Sheriff. He throws anyone out who causes too much trouble. But Colin Moriarty runs just about everything else. Not much happens here that he doesn't know about. Or plan."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  12. The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about Lucas Simms."
    Manya Vargas: "That man tries to bring law to this place. Lost cause if you ask me, but I respect his trying. He does seem to keep people in line though. Other than that weird cowboy thing of his, I don't have much to complain about."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  13. The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about Colin Moriarty."
    Manya Vargas: "That man is the scum of the Earth. He keeps the drunks around here soaking in liquor and that poor Nova, that girl deserves better. And don't even get me started on how he treats Gob. Just because the boy looks dead doesn't mean that he should be treated like that. That man has his fingers in everything around here. Just watch what you say about him, it'll always get back."
    (Manya Vargas' dialogue)
  14. Springvale raider mining log
  15. Terminal
  16. Afterward
  17. Note
  18. Official Xbox Magazine
Megaton
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