Minefield

Minefield is an abandoned settlement filled with, as the name suggests, frag mines. Travelers approaching the area must avoid the mines as well as rifle fire from a sniper named Arkansas, who will not only shoot at intruders but will also attempt to detonate nearby cars with a well-placed shot to the engine.

Background
Ridgefield was a settlement full of military survivors who found the hill-nestled settlement about 100 years after the bombs fell. One day the slavers of Paradise Falls came to the town, gunned down anyone who stood in their way, and enslaved the rest of the inhabitants. Arkansas was a boy when they came and was able to evade the slavers. When Arkansas grew up he spread rumors that the town had inhabitants in it once more. So the slavers arrived once again and were killed by Arkansas' mine traps as revenge, resulting in the town earning its current name. Since then, Arkansas has remained the town's protector, shooting or blowing up any intruders.

Common belief in the Capital Wasteland is that this settlement is haunted, presumably because of the sniper firing on anyone who tries to enter the village.

Layout
Minefield consists of half a dozen houses (four of which are accessible) built around a curving road, with a playground in the middle between the road. Mines are situated on the road, as well as in other parts of the area. The sniper, Arkansas, is situated near four ammunition boxes on the top level of a partially-destroyed building overlooking the road from the north.

The settlement has four explorable houses: Benson house, Gibson house, Gillian house, and Zane house, all of which contain valuable loot, including pre-War books, medical supplies and an R91 assault rifle. Their interiors follow the same basic plan as the houses in Tranquility Lane and Andale.

Each home contains an easy-locked safe. In the Benson and Gibson houses, the safes are behind an upstairs dresser and contain pre-War money, ammunition, and occasionally a Stealth Boy. In the Gillian house, the safe is upstairs under the double bed, while in the Zane house, it is behind the dresser in the ground-floor office. All houses contain at least one pre-War book and one skill book.

Related quests

 * Wasteland Survival Guide
 * Strictly Business

Appearances
Minefield appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes
The names of the houses in Minefield are references to the Hideo Kojima game Snatcher.
 * In the Capitol Post building in L'Enfant Plaza, the decapitated body of Gibson sitting with his head between his legs can be found, with a note on it that says "SEARCH THE HOUSE." This is identical to a scene in Snatcher. The house in the game also had a miniature house model. "Gibson" refers to Jean Jack Gibson, a character from Snatcher. Gillian's house refers to Gillian Seed, the protagonist of Snatcher. Benson is the name of two characters from the game as well (either Benson Cunningham the chief or Harry Benson the engineer). The name of the last house, Zane, however, is not used in Snatcher.