Little Lamplight

Little Lamplight is an underground cavern and pre-War tourist attraction in the Capital Wasteland It is a settlement populated entirely by children under the age of 16.

Background
 Originally discovered in the late 19th century, Lamplight Caverns is a large, naturally occurring underground cave system that was transformed into a tourist attraction during the 1920s. In 2066, portions of the cave were annexed by Vault-Tec for use in its Societal Preservation Program. This resulted in the construction of Vault 87.

On October 23, 2077, approximately half of the students of Early Dawn Elementary went on a field trip to Lamplight Caverns with fourth grade teacher Carrie Delaney, as well as other teachers, a few parent chaperones, and adults and students from several other visiting school groups. Just as the Early Dawn group was preparing to leave for home, the caverns began to shake. The kids began to scream as the lights went out, and one man went out to see what was going on. Upon his return, he informed those within the caverns that nuclear detonations had appeared over the Washington, D.C. area.

By October 27th, four days after the War, the trapped adult survivors were caring for 82 terrified children. That morning Claudia, one of the adults, ventured outside for help and did not return. Another adult, Mr. Cob, set out later that day in search of Claudia and likewise did not return. The adult survivors in Lamplight Caverns had now been reduced to Delaney, two teachers, two parent chaperones, and the few remaining members of the cavern staff.

One month after the War, one of the Early Dawn students, Jason Grant, recorded a journal entry stating that Delaney, the last remaining adult survivor, had ventured outside that morning but had not returned, leaving the children to fend for themselves.

Grant then assumed leadership of the group and organized survival efforts. Their situation improved, and by December, two months after the War, the children were exploring the caves and had discovered Vault 87. They pounded on the Vault doors for days, pleading for assistance, only to be told one day by voices on the other side that they "were dead already." Grant responded to this with furious disdain for the adults that failed and abandoned them.

The "city" of Little Lamplight was founded on January 26, 2078, and Grant was elected as their first mayor.

At some point since the community's founding, Lamplight's residents gained partial access to Vault 87, from which they retrieved holotapes, textbooks, encyclopedias, and other books. Their stash of educational materials also included books about caves from the original Lamplight gift shop, as well as notes left behind by the original group's adults.

The group's antipathy for adults eventually led them to adopt a strict policy of exiling (or killing, if they refused to leave) all "mungos" or residents who reached their 16th birthday. According to legend, the first mungos were drowned in the cave's fungus pools. By 2277, these former residents usually relocated to the nearby settlement of Big Town, in the commonly held - but false - belief that a good life awaited them there.

At the time of the Lone Wanderer's visit, 15-year-old Joseph was acting as Lamplight's teacher, instructing younger residents on subjects including reading, basic math, and anything else that interested them. He also kept notes of his own for his presumed successor, as Joseph knew that he would soon be exiled from Little Lamplight on his 16th birthday.

In 2277, Little Lamplight's mayor was Robert MacCready. Little Lamplight possesses only two permanent laws which must be followed:
 * The mayor is elected via public voting, and must be obeyed. A new mayor can be elected at any time.
 * A Lamplighter must leave the city on their 16th birthday, or they will be killed. 

Lamplight Caverns
A small cave descends to the town's entrance area, which is protected by a fence with a large front gate. Beyond the fence, a small area with the Little Lamplight office building, the town's medical office and school, opens into two small corridors. The first corridor leads to the restaurant Spelunkers, situated in a cave with pools of water, and the Great Chamber beyond. The second tunnel leads to a medium-sized cave which contains the Lamplight restrooms, as well as the souvenir shop, which serves as the town's store. Another access to the Great Chamber can be found here, as well as a small path to the town's back gate, leading to Murder Pass.

The Great Chamber
The Great Chamber area is a huge cavern, with wooden walkways connecting various suspended rooms. It serves as the main living area for the Little Lamplighters, containing a number of beds. The floor of the cave is partially filled with rubble and slightly irradiated water. Besides the two exits leading to the Lamplight caverns, there are two cavities in the chamber's wall, one containing a workbench and the other leading to Vault 87's Reactor Chamber.

Loot

 * Schematics - bottlecap mines, sold by Knick Knack in the souvenir shop.
 * Wazer Wifle, carried by Biwwy.
 * Bottlecap mine in the Great Chamber, in a niche in the northwest side of the cave (see map).
 * Five holotapes, two My diary, by Jason Grant in the souvenir shop, January 26, 2077 -- Little Lamplight! over the pool table in the Great Chamber and two Journal of Carrie Delaney in office building.
 * Blast Off pajamas - Worn by Bumble.
 * Kid's cave rat outfit and Murray the mole hat - Both worn by Zip.

Appearances
Little Lamplight appears only in Fallout 3 and is mentioned in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * Emil Pagliarulo stated that Little Lamplight's location was loosely based on Luray Caverns in Virginia.
 * Nathan Purkeypile designed much of Little Lamplight's layout, lighting and cluttering. He also stated that the settlement's light sources were inspired by glass floats.

Bugs

 * Princess and the other child guarding Murder Pass may spawn on the other side of the gate. This most commonly happens when using the "Wait" option in front of the door.
 * There is a possible glitch where the door to Murder Pass will not open under any circumstance.
 * Upon first entering the caverns to Little Lamplight, the gate is pulled up and the children are fleeing. Going into Little Lamplight reveals super mutants are attacking, after dispatching the super mutants, Mayor MacCready will talk to the player, with the only option available being the Speech check asking to be admitted. MacCready no longer mentions Paradise Falls or gives such a quest option.