Fawkes

Fawkes is a Vault 87 super mutant and possible companion of the Lone Wanderer in 2277. He is an outsider among his kin, having regained his civility and intelligence following the rigors of his mutation.

Life in the Vault
Fawkes was one of the original residents of Vault 87, and possibly went by the name of Shelton Delacroix, who was a Vault security officer. Not long after the vault dwellers moved into Vault 87, the vault overseer and security guards began testing with the FEV. Several vault dwellers were changed into super mutants, and they forcibly mutated the other normal humans - thus, all the members of Vault 87 were changed into super mutants or centaurs, or killed.

It wasn't long before the Mutants began to overrun the Capital Wasteland, searching for new sources of the Forced Evolutionary Virus. Despite being infused with FEV, Fawkes's mind was not affected as badly as the other mutants when they went through the transformation; the cause, however, is not clearly given. Even though he forgot his past and who he was, Fawkes still possessed a sense of morality and showed remarkable intelligence. As stated in dialog with the Lone Wanderer, this "ironically" made Fawkes a mutant in comparison to other super mutants (or "Meta humans," as Fawkes calls them). As a result, he received the same treatment as other failed FEV experiments, and was confined in a medical observation cell in the Vault 87 lab area as a "curiosity."

When Fawkes meets the Lone Wanderer, he states that he has been trapped in that cell for a long time and cannot recall how long he was in there - he states that he has been "in this cage...all my life." He also explains how he was able to keep himself from going crazy, as well as keeping his intelligence up. He did so by using a terminal that linked to the Vault 87 mainframe, containing a large amount of information about the outside world.

In isolation
His fellow mutants had failed to realize that the chamber Fawkes was locked in had a working terminal. Here he read about the past for at least a century, learning about the history of the world. One piece of history he took a liking to was the 'Gunpowder Plot' which involved a group of rebels, trying to assassinate King James I, the current British monarch at the time, by blowing up the 'House of Lords.' Guy Fawkes was a member of this rebellion, and despite the fact his failure is celebrated throughout the pre-War United Kingdom, Fawkes took a liking to him, and because Fawkes had forgotten his old name a long time ago he renamed himself Fawkes.

Residing as a prisoner in Vault 87, Fawkes is one of two known "humanized" super mutants in the capital wasteland, the other being Uncle Leo. In 2277 he is confined to Isolation Room 5 in Vault 87, where he has resided for as long as memory permits. Fawkes claims that he was able to attain literacy and a civilized personality (things most East Coast super mutants, and super mutants in general, sorely lack) by gleaning as much information as possible from the vault's immense on-line database (or at least until recently as the terminal that he used was destroyed by the other super mutants as a way of tormenting him).

Fawkes credits his intimate knowledge of Vault 87 to being a resident there before being transformed into a super mutant, additionally he wears the tattered remnants of a male Vault 87 jumpsuit, possibly due to him outgrowing it while mutating. Fawkes has knowledge of the Garden of Eden Creation Kit, one of which is located inside Vault 87. He waits patiently inside his small isolation chamber, waiting for someone to come along, in search of the G.E.C.K, and give him his freedom.

Identity before mutation
A series of unused holotapes which were meant to be found in Vault 87 shed possible light to the identity of Fawkes.



The holotapes are part of a daily diary Shelton started to record, detailing his "life in one of Vault-Tec's newer vaults." The first tape is primarily an introduction, but the later tapes concern some bizarre sounds Shelton hears while on shift, and later something disturbing he witnessed.



Shelton's next recording reveals that his previous holotapes eventually came to the attention of the wrong people. The recording is made as Shelton is hiding in the reactor room. Before the recording abruptly ended, a door can be heard opening.



The fifth and final holotape reveals what eventually happened to Shelton after his capture.



It is important to note that, although Fawkes shares the same voice as most of the Capital Wasteland's super mutants, he is explicitly defined within the game's dialog files as being the speaker in the final recording.

Though nothing is left to document why these recordings were not included in the final version of the game, Fawkes' demonstrated intelligence does not appear to be present in the fifth holotape recording, consistent with his statement that he had to work to become as intelligent and well-spoken again as he was at the time of meeting the Lone Wanderer.

Daily schedule
Fawkes lives in Isolation Room 05, a cell in Vault 87. Should he find a way out, he will be at the Museum of History inside the lobby and right outside of Raven Rock after the quest The American Dream.

Quests

 * Finding the Garden of Eden: Fawkes pleads for you to release him from his cell. In exchange for release, Fawkes retrieves the Garden of Eden Creation Kit device from a radioactive section of the Vault, and then bids the Lone Wanderer farewell.
 * The American Dream: After the player is incapacitated and taken to Raven Rock, home of the Enclave, Fawkes appears as the Lone Wanderer emerges from the base. He repels any Enclave soldiers with an acquired Gatling laser to aid the player's escape. Any items given to Fawkes before the trip to Raven Rock will be gone when he is encountered yet again, presumably discarded in favor of his new weapon. If your Karma is high enough, the player has the choice to add Fawkes as a companion.
 * Take it Back!: When the player is faced with the climactic decision at the conclusion of the game, Fawkes politely declines to enter the radioactive room in lieu of the player (even though he is immune to radioactivity), stating that the decision is the player's destiny and not his. However, if the player has the Broken Steel add-on installed, the option to send Fawkes in will appear, allowing the player to opt out of entering themselves or Sentinel Sarah Lyons. When this option is used, he states that although he was going to tell the player that the player's destiny lies in that chamber, he has already altered his own.

Other interactions

 * Recruiting Fawkes: Depending on the player's Karma, Fawkes may agree to accompany the player on future travels as a companion.
 * If the player's Karma is too low, or if the player fires him at any time, Fawkes can be later found wandering around the entrance to Underworld, located in the Museum of History. Fawkes may also return if left on his own for a significant length of time. If you maintain positive Karma, you have the option of recruiting him again.
 * Equipment: The player cannot equip Fawkes with different clothing, though his staggeringly large health bar and damage rate are more than enough for almost any situation. He can carry a total of 229 pounds of equipment.
 * Combat: Fawkes is extremely resilient thanks to the inherent thick skin natural to super mutants. Fawkes is highly skilled in all weapon categories (small guns, big guns, energy weapons, explosives, melee weapons, and unarmed).

Inventory
1. Fawkes no longer carries this weapon once he appears at the conclusion of The American Dream.

Fawkes is limited in the weapons he can use, and will only equip weapons from the following list:

Also note that Fawkes will not equip any unique versions of the weapons in the above list.

Notable quotes
Fawkes shares many sentences with the regular super mutants, but also features many unique quotes of his own, often referring to his and Uncle Leo's possible Zen philosophy.

Appearances
Fawkes appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * Contrary to a comment about Fawkes' gender made by his voice actor, lead designer Emil Pagliarulo has confirmed, "No, Fawkes was absolutely a male. This was a mistake. Wes gave an interview and he was mistaken. Trust me, Fawkes is and was male."
 * Much of the random dialogue heard from Fawkes as one wanders around with him can be heard as simple wasteland survival advice. However, there are also references to Zen philosophy; examples include "Be aware of the present moment" and "There is safety in mindfulness."
 * Fawkes' battle cry of "Wake up... Time to die!" mirrors a quote from Leon to Deckard in the film Blade Runner.
 * When asked about his name, Fawkes answers that it was taken from a historical entry on his terminal, "The name comes from a man who was willing to fight and die for what he believed in." This refers to Guy Fawkes, an English Catholic who participated in the Gunpowder Plot, a failed assassination attempt on King James I of England.
 * Even though he is one of the two companions recruited with "Good" karma, the other being Cross, Fawkes' karma is "Neutral."
 * In Alan Moore's V for Vendetta, the protagonist "V" was also locked in cell number five, and wears an iconic Guy Fawkes mask.