Morgantown

Morgantown is a city in the Forest region of Appalachia in 2102.

Background
Situated on the banks of the Monongahela River in northern Appalachia, the city of Morgantown was alive and booming prior to the Great War. The home of Vault-Tec University, the city was a prime stop for many students, hunters, miners, soldiers, and visitors passing through.

To meet the demand for transportation within the city amid a country experiencing a low supply of gasoline, the city featured a monorail that had a stop at Morgantown Airport and Vault-Tec University, as well as two stops at both the northern and southern parts of downtown.

People living and working within the city had challenges, though. Some businesses were impacted by new technologies and a changing world that decreased their revenue,  while others suffered from the growth of the local land values that triggered an increase of rent. For the most part, Morgantown was a lively city and continued to be so, even after the Great War.

Following the war, the city was torn apart by violence, chaos, and subsequent death. Some managed to wait out the turmoil, but in time, even the students at Vault-Tec University had to leave after running out of food rations. The city came to be ruled by tribes, torn apart by the squabbling of numerous rival student gangs. These gangs were formed by students survivors that emerged from Vault-Tec University and Morgantown High School, and were led by students from VTU who had been studying to become overseers.

In the first year, many students died of natural causes like radiation poisoning, dehydration, and starvation, however, most students died from the wars between the Greek houses. RadAway shortages became commonplace, as time passed without any substantial relief. In particular, one such event was recorded in which a group of male students fought over a cache of RadAway they found and killed one of the students, marking the first death by fellow peer.

At this time, the two leading Greek houses were the Roof House and the Street House. These two houses were differentiated by their territories, with the Roof House ruling from the monorails and roofs of buildings, while the Street House survived among the alleys and streets below, with both bent on destroying the other. The continued onslaught of radiation decimated the houses, causing students and other survivors to lose their hair and skin or just simply keel over dead. It was only with the aid of RadAway that the leading houses were able to maintain control over Morgantown and their territory. In time, a possible truce between Street House and Roof House was suggested after the radiation proved to be too much for them to cope with.

After the Christmas Flood of 2082 nearly wiped out the Responders in Charleston, a group of them, led by Maria Chavez, returned to Morgantown Airport, claiming it as their headquarters and setting up a tent city and other facilities across the tarmac, to perform triage and provide aid for the surrounding area. A member of the group, Sanjay Kumar, managed to set up a Protectron to patrol the streets and three locations with supply caches, along with modifying the machinery inside Mama Dolce's Food Processing to manufacture canned food. Morgantown's proximity to the Mire allowed for trade with Harpers Ferry to develop, aided by the Appalachian Brotherhood protecting the passage through the mountains out of Grafton Dam, at least until they were forced to pull out.

In 2097, despite all their efforts, the Responders were wiped out by the Scorched. By 2102, the only inhabitants of the city were feral ghouls and the Scorched. Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide pp. 306–307: "32. MORGANTOWN The town of Morgantown encompasses this and the subsequent seven Primary Locations, all within a relatively easy-to-distinguish border (once you hit railroad, grass, or forest, you're out of town). Therefore, all information regarding Crafting, Dangers, Items, Information, Locked areas, and Item Examples are also specified for those individual locations. This entry simply gives you a short overview of the entirety of the settlement and areas of interest outside these locations. ''Navigating Morgantown can be tricky due to the complex maze of structures, the ruined city streets, and dilapidated apartment blocks and other buildings, some of which feature interior and rooftop access. Your first step is figuring out a base of operations; this could be at the Responders Headquarters (in a liquor store close to the center of town), but a better bet is to stay to the north, at the Red Rocket Gas Station, which has a My Stash Box you can utilize. There is a camp with a few chemistry stations and traps built on the elevated rail line itself.'' ''There are numerous apartment structures (and to a lesser extent, stores) with interiors you can explore. It's worth checking the multiple exits—at street level, onto the monorail, or onto the rooftops. Expect at least two city blocks to have this type of access. Over on the eastern side, where the buildings aren't as tall, there's still some interiors and rooftops to check. Of particular note are three Responder Stashes; access the monitor at a bank, attorneys, and deli (all relatively close to the headquarters) for a wealth of additional junk (mainly foodstuffs). These are accessible once the Event: Back on the Beat has been completed.'' ''The taller structures in town are surrounded by a monorail loop and several stations (North, South, University, and Airport) you can reach by wandering on or below the rails. When you reach the southern edge of Morgantown's sprawling settlement, there's a small farmstead with a cottage (and flooded basement), a silo, and a red barn."'' (Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia)

Layout
The city has a large amount of loot, both notable and junk, spread out through the old campsites, buildings, caches, etc. There are a few workstations hidden through the city, although most of them are on the rooftops, which can only be accessed by climbing stairwells and fire escapes, parkouring from the monorail tracks, and various combinations of the two. Two daily events, Back on the Beat and Feed the People can be completed every 24 hours for various items and experience. Specific locations within Morgantown include:

Notable loot

 * Holotapes and notes
 * Suspicious note - Two notes found in the booby-trapped warehouse southwest of the Mama Dolce's Food Processing plant:
 * One note is nailed to a wooden crate by a screwdriver on the lower level, next to a safe with a skull on top of it.
 * The other note is on a suspended plank on the upper level, in front of the cymbal clapping monkey.
 * In memory of books - Holotape, in a locked safe in a bookstore at the southwest end of Morgantown, near the entrance to the Morgantown monorail station. The bookstore is connected to a salon by a hole in the wall.
 * HR meeting minutes - Holotape, in an ornate desk in a red brick building with an "Apartments" sign on it in the southern end of Morgantown, near the Super Duper Mart and Graviano's Italian eatery. The building can be accessed from the monorail tracks or by crossing a ladder from the eatery.
 * To Janet - Note, can be found hanging on the bulletin board of a bar in the southern part of town.
 * Damaged holotape - On the body of a young woman in an alley northeast of the Vault-Tec University monorail stop, past the abandoned camp and across the street from a parking garage. The body will be near the dumpsters.
 * Dumb street kids - Holotape, on a table on the roof of the building northeast from the VTU monorail stop. The catwalk leading to the roof of the building is booby-trapped with punji boards and a rigged gun trap, in addition to the door being locked.
 * Tear it all down - Note, on a stack of wooden crates in the abandoned camp area to the east of VTU, in front of the largest tent and near a circle of chairs.
 * The Battle of Morgantown - Holotape, in a green portable toilet next to a skeleton, just north of the abandoned camp, against the north side of the walls.
 * Postcard from Maddy - Note, on the porch of a house just northeast of the Shadowbreeze Apartments, on the deck between the skeleton and blue suitcase.
 * Postcard from grandma - Note, next to a female skeleton on the back porch of a red brick house to the northeast of the Morgantown High School water tower.
 * Postcard from Elizabeth - Note, on a desk in an apartment building immediately north of the VTU campus. The apartments can be entered from the ground level or by the monorail. The note is near the entrance from the monorail.
 * Trouble with radiation - Note, can be found on the roof of the apartments, next to a sleeping bag in the campsite. The gate must be unlocked or jumped over from the higher fire escape. There is also another gate from the monorail on the east side with stairs booby-trapped by punji boards.
 * History of Morgantown: Vol. I - Holotape found on the roof of a building north of the Vault-Tec University along the monorail tracks at a campsite. The campsite is accessed by jumping from boxes stacked on the monorail tracks and climbing over the triangular roof. A fire escape on the opposite side is the way down.
 * History of Morgantown: Vol. II - Holotape, found on the rooftop accessible from the monorail tracks. From the Vault-Tec University station follow the tracks north and to the west until reaching a plank suspended by cinderblocks on the south side of the tracks. Jumping from the board and onto the nearby roof and following the boards will lead to a table with the holotape on it, next to some blue place settings.
 * History of Morgantown: Vol. III - Holotape, found next to an ammo box and duffle bag under a wooden tower on the northern intersection of the monorail track, near the northern monorail exit/parking garage and almost immediately southeast of the Morgantown Airport hangars.
 * History of Morgantown: Vol. IV - Holotape, on the roof across the monorail from the desk with the postcard from Elizabeth. It will be on a metal duct to the south of the wooden shack.
 * Stuck - Holotape, on the roof of the building just north from where the History of Morgantown: Vol. IV is obtained. The roof is accessed by taking a long jump from the monorail. The holotape is on a table near the weapons workbench.
 * Postcard from VTU - Note, the postcard is on another table with cardboard boxes near the table with the Stuck holotape.
 * History of Morgantown: Author's notes - Holotape, on a bed on the roof of the building on the opposite side of volume IV, to reach it, one must follow the monorail tracks to the south and jump onto the first fire escape and climb it to the top, then jump off to the ledge below the billboard and follow the roof around to the campsite.
 * Postcard from mom & dad - Note, on a dresser with a picture frame and flower vase near the author's notes holotape.
 * Everyone - Note, in Stash M-3 in the remains of the bank, next to a dead Responder on the desk.
 * Postcard from home - Note, underneath a shot glass on a table in the bar to the north of the VTU campus.
 * Unfinished postcard - Note, found on an elevated porch to the southeast of the wooden structure on the monorail tracks and the Pulowski Preservation shelter below. It will be on a small table with a pencil and a beer bottle.
 * PSY101 notebook cover - Note, near the wooden tower built on the monorail tracks to the north, on some metal shelves to the right of the chemistry workbench.
 * Roof climber's poem - Note, on the very top of the red brick building northeast of the Street House gang camp. To reach the spot, one must head east from the camp and jump on top of the mini-parking lot. From there one must jump on the catwalk that is attached to the red brick building and head upstairs. Upon reaching the "Danger! Cliff Edge, Stay Away!" poster, one must turn left and use improvised climbing steps to reach the very top of the building. The poem lies there.
 * Birthday toast drafts - Note, inside a trash bin, near the front counter within the small Slocum's Joe south of Big Al's Tattoo Parlor.
 * Business is bad - Note, in the supply closet of the barbershop in the southwest part of town, behind a locked door requiring level 1 Picklock.
 * AUTOMATED RECORD 0000001 - Holotape, in a "mysterious box" southeast of Big Al's Tattoo Parlor, in the parking lot of the Super Duper Mart.
 * Other loot
 * Potential weapon plan - On the same roof where the Stuck holotape can be found, on a desk opposite of the tape.
 * Stealth Boy - On the same roof where the Roof climber's poem can be found.

Appearances
Morgantown appears only in Fallout 76.

Behind the scenes

 * Morgantown is based upon the real world city of Morgantown, West Virginia. Both cities share many similarities such as a nearby airport, university, and public transportation monorail system, or Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), operated by West Virginia University. Unlike Vault-Tec University being confined into a single area, West Virginia University is spread out through the city of Morgantown.


 * On the east side of town, there is an apartment building with a Nuka-Cola billboard. Inside one of the rooms is a set of wooden blocks that spell out "BFG," a reference to the weapon first appearing in the Doom franchise, published by Bethesda Softworks since 2010.