 | For an overview of slave collars throughout the Fallout series, see Slave collar. |
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If a slave's going the wrong direction, we push a button, and boom. His head pops.
”— Grouse Jurley, Fallout 3The total pacification collar (commonly referred to as a slave collar) is a pre-War prisoner control device developed at Big MT Research and Development Center,[1][2] and adapted by slavers after the War for the purpose of capturing and forcing slaves into submission.
Background[]
Slave collars have a simple, but deadly design. Encased in five pounds of durable steel is a small explosive charge, a microphone/speaker and a radio wave receiver and transmitter. When remotely triggered, the receiver signals the detonation of the charge, obliterating everything above the neck of the wearer without damaging the surrounding area. The collar's transmitter constantly broadcasts its position and environmental input to the controller, meaning wearers can be constantly monitored and eavesdropped upon.[3][4][5] In addition, the collars are designed to detonate if they are removed without a disarming signal; it takes quite the expert in explosive circuits to get one off without such a signal.[3][6] The collars can even be adjusted to detonate if the outgoing signal of another nearby collar goes silent.[7] However, their simple design can be their downfall: the collars do not have selective radio wave jammers, meaning that rogue background electromagnetic waves can interfere with the receiver and set off the collar.[8][9]
After the war, they have found widespread use among the survivors, usually slavers. However, some also use it for simply ensuring cooperation, such as the Brotherhood of Steel[10] and Father Elijah, without the risk of hostilities.
Characteristics[]
There are two versions of this item; the first is a quest item given to the player by Grouse for use in the quest Strictly Business, along with a Mesmetron. It has a weight of 1 and a value of 0, and cannot be removed from the player's inventory except by enslaving an non-player character. The second version of this item is a hidden apparel item that is generated on non-player characters enslaved by the player.
The slave collar is used by the slavers from Paradise Falls. The collars send a frequency to Paradise Falls to keep track of where every collared slave is.
It is possible to remove a collar from an enslaved non-player character simply by talking to them and select the appropriate conversation choice. Success in removing the collar is based on the player's Science skill: your level must be at least 25 to attempt to remove the collar, with only a 50% chance of success. The likelihood of success increases in steps (at levels 50 and 75) up to a 100% success rate.
Outside of initiating conversation, the player character may be approached in the Wasteland by an escaped slave still wearing a slave collar, who will beg for the collar to be removed.
The collar will also explode if struck by the Mesmetron. As the slave collar's instructions state, "The Mezzer rays trigger the collar's self-destruct mechanism, so once the collar's on, don't shoot the slave with the Mesmetron, unless you want to pay me for a new collar.".
Locations[]
The slave collar can only be obtained through accepting the quests marked below as there are no collars placed in the game world.
Related quests[]
Behind the scenes[]
- Exploding collars are frequently used as plot devices in fiction entertainment. The earliest known use of an exploding collar was in the Starchild Trilogy, a trio of novels published between 1964 and 1969.
Bugs[]
- If the player receives more than one slave collar, enslaves multiple people, and then returns to Paradise Falls, Grouse will say that you have lost the collar, and will make you pay for a new one. Also, if the player receives more than one slave collar and enslaves more than one person, Grouse may still pay you for only one slave, and you will receive one collar.
Removing a collar via dialog from any non-player character who has been enslaved by the player (other than Red, Flak, Arkansas, and Susan Lancaster) may cause a crash to desktop. A small number of non-player characters, such as Bone, will always cause a crash in this instance.- If you put a slave collar on an Enclave scientist (the ones wearing a glass helmet), their body will become invisible leaving only their hands and head visible.
- If the player receives the slave collar for the quest and kills Grouse the quest will end, and the slave collar will be 0 WG instead of 1 WG it usually adds.
See also[]
References
- ↑ Little Yangtze terminals; Little Yangtze Log Terminal, Log Entry 03
- ↑ The Courier: "Where did you get the collars?"
Elijah: "The collars. They're Pre-War tech, I suspect this great land had... compliance issues before the war. It's one of a series of models. The one on your neck? Special, easier to make adjustments. Unreliable in other ways, notably radio interference."
The Courier: "If they're Pre-War tech, where did you get them?"
Elijah: "A place far from here, called the Big Empty. Almost didn't make it out. Were two others there... a woman. And a man, a courier. The woman was familiar... the other... I don't know what happened to him."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Lone Wanderer: "How does the collar work?"
Grouse Jurley: "It's got a radio signal we monitor here at Paradise Falls. If a slave's going the wrong direction, we push a button, and boom. His head pops. Once you get a collar on, you can't take it off in the field. They're wired to blow if anyone tinkers with it. So don't."
(Grouse Jurley's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "I convinced him that staying here was more dangerous than moving on."
Nolan McNamara: "Yes, you exploited his fear of Powder Gangers very effectively. The collar includes a microphone, you see. Part of the test. He'll keep his distance, setting ambushes, never suspecting that these bunkers house something far more dangerous to him than criminals. Well-played."
(Nolan McNamara's dialogue) - ↑ Elijah: "Are you listening? Good. From now on, when I talk, listen - and follow my instructions. Play stupid, play clever, make the mistake of saying "no?" That collar on your neck'll go off and take your head with it."
The Courier: "Collar? What are you talking about?"
Elijah: "It's like that Pip-Boy on your wrist, except filled with explosives. A little radio of the Old World, just needed some tuning. Do what I say, and the collar won't go off... refuse, try and run, disobey me? I'll kill you and find someone else. There's no escape from here until I let you go. The sooner you accept your situation, the better."
The Courier: "As long as you can find me, you mean."
Elijah: "[FAILED] As long as you're wearing that collar, you're not far from me. A press of a button, and I'll find you - I'll just listen for the explosion."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "RF detonator? Give me a second.<Deactivate the charge and remove his collar>"
Kenny Weathers: "[SUCCEEDED] Hey, you did it! Nice work!"
(Kenny Weathers' dialogue) - ↑ Elijah: "If only the others would've obeyed orders half as well as this one... should have thought of linking the collars together the first few times."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Radios and speakers?"
Elijah: "Yes, music was intended to be broadcast all over the Villa... over time, however, the radio signal has decayed and emits a different frequency. Speakers and radios interfere with the bomb collar frequency, and can trigger the detonators... prematurely. It is an unfortunate side effect, one I did not anticipate. I was unable to calibrate the collars to block the signals - so you'll have to make do."
The Courier: "Radios and speakers can set off my collar?"
Elijah: "Yes. But not immediately. You'll hear a beep from your collar's detonator - when you do, step back, scan the area, and find the signal source. There are damaged speakers, and shielded ones... the damaged ones you can destroy at range - don't get close, you can't switch them off like a radio. The damaged speakers are sparking, ha... hard to miss. The casings are resistant to vandalism - punching or hitting them will not destroy them."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ Slave collar instructions
- ↑ The Courier: "I can take care of the Ranger."
Nolan McNamara: "Very well. I'll be interested to see how thoroughly and efficiently you carry out your mission. Paladin Ramos will escort you back to the bunker's entrance and set you loose. Notice that I said "loose," not "free." You are not free to carry the secret of this bunker's location beyond Hidden Valley - until I'm convinced that you're capable and dependable. To underscore this point, you'll be fitted with an explosive collar. Wander off, and it will detonate. Focus on your mission, and you'll be fine."
(Nolan McNamara's dialogue)