Vault Dweller

In a general sense, a vault dweller is just someone who lives in one of the Vault-Tec Vaults.

When capitalized, the Vault Dweller is the main character of Fallout, born in Vault 13, famous for defeating the Master and his super mutant army.

The quest
The Vault Dweller was sent out by the Vault 13 Overseer on a misson to find a replacement for the Vault's broken water chip. In the course of his adventure, he ended up defeating the mutant threat (by blowing up an abandoned military base overrun by the super mutants and housing massive FEV stockpiles) and assassinating the Master, and the leader of his cult, the Children of the Cathedral's Morpheus.

The exile
In May 2162, the Vault Dweller returned to Vault 13 after defeating the Master and his army and was exiled from the Vault by the Overseer (as it was thought that his contact with the outside world would cause disruption within the vault). He wandered the desert, but never moved far from the mountains that shielded the Vault from the rest of the world. Some other members of the Vault, who upon hearing of what happened to him, had decided to leave the Vault and join his side, followed him soon afterwards. The Vault Dweller eventually found this small group of Vault-dwellers. They knew little of the outside world, and would have died if it were not for his assistance. That's when the Vault Dweller removed his vault suit, never to wear it again.

The tribe
Two months later, Vault Dweller headed North, to the great canyons, with a small group of Vault-dwellers and wastelanders and founded the small village of Arroyo. Slowly, he taught them what experience had taught him. And together they learned to thrive. Over time, their ragtag group turned into a tribe. The Vault Dweller fell in love with one of them, named Pat, and they raised a family, like all of their tribespeople. The construction of Arroyo was completed on August 18, 2167.

Initially, they would send scouts back towards the Vault, to help others who thought like themselves, but that slowly came to an end. The Vault Dweller taught the others the skills they would need to survive and grow strong. Hunting, farming and other skills to feed them. Engineering and science to build their homes. Fighting to protect what was theirs.

The Vault Dweller and Pat led the village and the Tribe. The Tribe grew, and grew strong with their help. In 2188, their daughter, who later became the Elder, was born. Eventually, her and their other children became the leaders of the community.

The departure
On January 16, 2208, several years after Pat's death, the Vault Dweller wrote his memoirs. Soon after that, he vanished from Arroyo and was presumed dead. The Vault Dweller left the Vault Suit behind, folded on the bed. Some say the Vault Dweller was taken by the sky spirits, others say that the Vault Dweller felt it was time to move on and leave the Elders to guide Arroyo to its destiny. After the One-Moon (Month) Cycle of mourning for the Vault Dweller ended, activity in Arroyo began to return to normal. Years later, Vault Dweller's grandchild, later called the Chosen One, was born.

Quotes

 * I always thought of Fallout's story of drawing straws was something the Overseer thought of. "Look, someone has to go outside, and they may die out there, so let's draw straws". Someone, probably not the Overseer since he wouldn't have gone outside no matter what, demanded that EVERYONE draw a straw in order to be truly fair. But to be honest, the vault dwellers were simpy terrified of going outside, and terrified people do not always make the wisest decisions. Anyway, when big dumb Larry drew the straw, maybe the Overseer saw a way to rid their limited gene pool of some really bad alleles. - Tim Cain at DAC forum

Appearances in games
The Vault Dweller is the player character in the first Fallout. He does not appear in Fallout 2, but is mentioned in every Fallout game. He also makes a cameo in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel and is an unlockable player character.

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