Vault 87

Vault 87 is a Vault-Tec Vault located in the Capital Wasteland. It is located northwest of Little Lamplight and southwest of Broadcast tower KT8. It is the birthplace of the super mutants and centaurs in the region.

Background
Construction on Vault 87 began in May 2066 and finished in December 2071. The primary computer system was Cyberbrain v2.3, while energy was provided by a General Atomics nuclear reactor, with a backup Versicorps fusion power generator. Non-standard equipment included four stasis chambers, a plasma containment field, six food processing stations and a Garden of Eden Creation Kit. Around 2076, the original Vault experiment was scrapped and the Vault was converted into a secondary research center that would study the effects of the Forced Evolutionary Virus on humans, exclusively for Dr. Wayne Merrick and his staff. Using batch 11-111 as a basis, the team attempted to create a virus batch that would result in reliable creation of humans adapted to the post-nuclear environment, the Evolutionary Experimentation Program. However, despite the efforts of the science team, only inferior mutants were created. Despite a substantial increase in size, strength and practical immunity to environmental hazards, the subjects suffered from considerable mental damage and extreme aggression towards their surroundings.

The overseer and his security guards were well aware of the nature of the experimentation, as they were following their orders from Vault-Tec. However, the standard security measures were not enough. A year after the Vault was sealed (following a disastrous nuclear detonation right on top of the entry cave), some test subjects broke free, overwhelming the security forces, and beginning a haphazard dipping process.

Since then, the mutants are effectively a staple of the Capital Wasteland. They are obsessed with the preservation of their species as they are all irrevocably sterile. Super mutants kidnap humans from all over the Capital Wasteland and bring them to the Vault to be mutated. They have been doing so for nearly 200 years until their source of FEV started to run out. Because of the shortage of the "green stuff," there are now super mutant bands searching all over the Capital Wasteland for a new source of the virus. Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.42: "Super Mutants The Super Mutants that infest the urban ruin of Washington D.C. originated in Vault 87. Those unlucky enough to have reserved space in Vault 87 soon found themselves forcefully taken to a secure part of the Vault, where they were locked in airtight chambers and exposed to a concentrated form of the F.E.V. The Overseer and his security force had no real idea what to expect; they were simply following the "plan." When the exposed Vault dwellers started transforming into Super Mutants, nearly the entire Vault population had been exposed. Those who hadn't yet metamorphosed knew what was coming, and, well...it didn't end well for humanity. ''The dwellers of Vault 87 were turned into Super Mutants in 2078, and have been a presence in the Capital Wasteland ever since. Most of those original Super Mutants have long since been killed. But whether it's because of the nature of the F.E.V. they were exposed to, or a simple underlying human instinct, the Super Mutants of the Capital Wasteland are obsessed with the preservation of their own species. Super Mutants are asexual and incapable of procreation, so their only way of reproducing is to kidnap other humans, drag them back to the Vault 87 chambers, and infect them with F.E.V. And so they have done, for nearly 200 years.'' ''Super Mutant society is loosely hierarchical, with the weaker (most recently transformed) Super Mutants generally giving way to the stronger. The Super Mutant hierarchy, as defined by the Capital Wasteland contingent of the Brotherhood of Steel, is as follows: Grunt, Brute, Master, and Behemoth. Generally speaking, the Super Mutants of the Capital Wasteland get bigger, stronger, and dumber as they age. The Behemoths are so strong and savage that they’re the only thing feared by the other Super Mutants."'' (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles)

By 2277, the Vault is in a state of disrepair. Lack of maintenance led to advanced deterioration of subsystems and even the very structure of the Vault. Parts of it have collapsed entirely. The mutants, owing to their low intelligence, have adapted various sections of the bunker in an ad hoc fashion. For example, medical recovery rooms were turned into makeshift prison cells meant to store experiments deemed a failure (like Fawkes).

The Vault entrance
The radiation near the aboveground entrance to Vault 87 is the highest in the game (as well as the entire Fallout series), peaking at well over 3,500 rads/second, which can kill the player character in about 0.29 seconds.

The overseer's terminal states, "I'm quite sad to report that due to a direct hit from what I presume to be a nuclear weapon on the entry area of Vault 87, we will be unable to provide the Scouting Reports as outlined in Vault-Tec's Operations Manual. The main door to Vault 87 is damaged beyond repair and we are detecting extremely high levels of lethal radiation outside and in the entry tunnel."

It is possible to reach the entrance through the extensive use of RadAway in combination with clothing providing radiation resistance and Rad-X. However, as the overseer's message states, the door is inaccessible, making the Vault impossible to enter from aboveground. The map marker will activate near the entrance. There is a dead scientist in a radiation suit that can be found near the Vault door, as well as RadAway and Rad-X, presumably carried by the scientist, but apparently not enough to prevent her death by massive radiation exposure.

The entrance can also be found from within. The test labs section of the Vault has a key-locked door near where the Lone Wanderer is captured and taken to Raven Rock at the end of the quest. Going in there will reveal the Vault door, though nothing is behind it.

Super mutants have built a barricade of broken girders and wrecked cars around the entrance. If one decides to venture into this one-way deathtrap, they have to defeat them before going in, remembering that super mutants can be exposed to intense radiation without ill effects, like the possible companion Fawkes. One can fast travel from the Vault's entrance despite the heavy radiation which normally prevents fast-travel; though, almost always, one will arrive dead. An Enclave eyebot usually patrols south of the entrance.

Accessing Vault 87
Before Vault 87 can be accessed, The Waters of Life must be completed, a part of the main questline, by speaking with Scribe Rothchild in the Citadel. The Lone Wanderer will then be sent there to recover the Garden of Eden Creation Kit, also known as the G.E.C.K.

Vault 87 can only be accessed through Little Lamplight, via two routes. These are revealed to the Wanderer by questioning Mayor MacCready. The more dangerous route involves crossing Murder Pass. This is the initial option suggested by the mayor. However, he also informs the Wanderer that a broken computer terminal in Little Lamplight will allow direct access to the Vault via a different, safer route.

To access the terminal, one must speak to Joseph. Joseph can fix the broken terminal, allowing it to be hacked, but he will only do so if Penny has been rescued from Paradise Falls, or if the Wanderer has a high enough Science or Speech skill, or the Child at Heart perk. Joseph can be found in the Little Lamplight schoolhouse in the morning. The Wanderer must have a Science skill of 50 to hack the terminal to get into the Vault. If Penny is not rescued, or if Joseph becomes upset through dialogue, entrance through Murder Pass will be the only option to get to Vault 87.

To access Murder Pass, the Wanderer must ask Mayor MacCready to open the gate, which is located north of the souvenir building. The pass houses several super mutants armed with heavy weaponry such as missile launchers and miniguns. There are also a number of traps, so a careful approach is recommended. Murder Pass is a good choice for earning experience, and also contains several first aid boxes, a decent amount of ammunition, a Stealth Boy, a Nuka-Cola Quantum, and a U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes skill book.

Traveling through the Vault
Vault 87 is very similar to all the other Vaults a player may visit during the game, with narrow, confusing corridors and small rooms connected by the main lobby. Once inside the dimly lit Vault, the Wanderer will encounter super mutants, centaurs, super mutant brutes, masters, and, if Broken Steel is installed, super mutant overlords. Super mutants take pride in mutilating the corpses of humans they kill in combat, hence the many skeletons and gore bags found throughout the Vault. The Lone Wanderer can also find the remains of failed FEV subjects.

Eventually, one will encounter a friendly super mutant named Fawkes, who was sealed in a test chamber and left there decades before. Fawkes, via the intercom, will offer his services in acquiring the G.E.C.K. in return for being freed from his cell. Though Fawkes does not have to be freed, the super mutant will indeed honor this bargain and help the Wanderer acquire the G.E.C.K. by serving as a guide, as well as attacking any future enemies encountered, and finally, retrieving the device itself from its highly irradiated resting place. However, the same goes for the door and there are three options for interaction. One of these choices has you activate the G.E.C.K., killing the player. Later, if the player character has good Karma, Fawkes can be recruited as a follower, after The American Dream.

There are two methods to free Fawkes. First, in the room at the end of the right hallway, a fire can set off the fire alarm in a room inhabited by two super mutant variants, which will open all five isolation rooms. However, this is not recommended, as in the process, two centaurs and a hostile non-player character will also be freed. It is advisable to instead hack the average-rated terminal located next to the fire alarm to unlock an individual chamber, of which Fawkes' cell is the fifth.

Inhabitants

 * Super mutants
 * Centaurs
 * Fawkes
 * Sid

Notable loot

 * A Garden of Eden Creaton Kit can be found in the G.E.C.K chamber located deep into the Test Labs.
 * This is the only time Fawkes' super sledge can be acquired; Fawkes must either be killed or have been traded weapons to get it. Sometimes, while fighting to get to the G.E.C.K., Fawkes may be disarmed and will not pick his super sledge back up, meaning it can be taken.
 * A copy of Nikola Tesla and You can be found in a wooden box at the feet of a mannequin in the southwesternmost dead-end tunnel of the reactor chamber, along with four bottles of whiskey (from the Murder Pass entrance, turn left and go downstairs, turn left again, then through the door at the end of the corridor).
 * A copy of Pugilism Illustrated is on a shelf in the storage room behind an Average locked door on the south side of the catwalk level of the living quarters. The room is on the top part of the catwalk in the south hallway.
 * A Nuka-Cola Quantum is located in the same room as the Pugilism Illustrated skill book.

Related quests

 * Finding the Garden of Eden

Appearances
Vault 87 appears only in Fallout 3. It is briefly mentioned by Robert MacCready in Fallout 4. Paladin Danse also shares this as the place of Cutler's death in Fallout 4.

Bugs

 * If the player character goes to the door in Little Lamplight that requires the broken terminal to be repaired, one may find it is already open and they can get into Vault 87 without problems.
 * Upon re-entering the Vault with Fawkes after completing the quest, if one selects the "Kill subject" option on the terminal outside of Fawkes' old cell, he will instantly die if he enters it, even if he is not in the room when the fire is released.
 * Exiting the test labs area, Charon might randomly "die". Highlighting him will say "Talk Charon", but pressing A will open up his inventory. This may also occur with Jericho.
 * Exiting the test labs area, Star Paladin Cross will "die". She drops dead on the floor at the other side of the doors. Her body will follow the player character at every door. If one asks her to wait for them before exiting, she will drop on the floor where the player character left her. In any case, highlighting her will say "Talk Star Paladin Cross", but pressing the dialogue button will open up her inventory. This can also happen to Dogmeat.
 * Sometimes after the player character retrieves the G.E.C.K., a super mutant will follow them into the room where the Enclave ambushes the player character. Once the player character falls to the floor, the Enclave and super mutants will not attack one another, and since the player character is hidden from the super mutants, they cannot be attacked nor escorted to Raven Rock, but will be stuck on the floor.
 * When returning to the Test Labs area in Vault 87; both Butch and RL-3 will not follow through the door and will "die". However, Fawkes and Dogmeat can traverse the Test Lab.