Seward Square

Seward Square is the section of Washington, DC where Reilly's Rangers' Compound is located.

Location
Seward Square is reached through the Metro. It can be reached most easily from Anacostia (Rivet City) through Anacostia Crossing Station. It can also be accessed through The Capitol Building from The Mall. A battle between Talon Company mercs and Super Mutants may be taking place, with exploding cars in the crossfire. To the east near the train station is also the location of a random Enclave encounter with a horde of mutants.

Points of Interest

 * The Capitol Building in the west, near Seward Sq. Northwest map marker.
 * An Office Building near the Penn. Ave/Seward Sq. Metro.
 * A skybridge east of the Capitol Building (and accessible via the office building) houses a switch which will call in artillery to be fired across the square. This provides a novel way to take out some of the warring Talon Mercenaries and Super Mutants.  A sniper guards the switch.
 * If you have Broken Steel expansion installed, a small sandbag fort with additional Talon Company Mercs will appear in Seward Square Northwest, East side against a building, across the battlefield where Super-Mutants and Talon Company fight it out outside the Capitol Building back (East) entrance. A few loot items such as cherry bombs, 2 ammo cases, 2 medkits, suitcase etc., and a new holotape log titled "Talon Company Merc Log #1" on a shelf next to a medkit. The log talks about Talon Company developments after the purifier was activated.

Unmarked quest: The Preacher
There is a mad preacher ("Wastelander") standing on the second floor of a building in an alleyway west of the Reilly's Rangers headquarters entrance (B). The alley has been rigged with mines and nukes that he detonates if you try to get close to him. Note that even if you have a Stealth Boy, you cannot simply walk in and take the nukes. You must be crouching or you will get blown up. There is a man(another Wastelander) on one end of the alley, who you can talk to. If your charisma is high enough, you can convince him to try to talk to the preacher, but he will only run in with no thought to stealth and get himself blown up. You will get negative karma(no karma change for 360/PS3). It should be noted that it is possible to kill the Mad Preacher before he detonates the trap. Doing so will allow you to loot the frag mines and mini nukes he failed to detonate. Sufficient stealth, either intrinsically or by use of a Stealth Boy will make it possible to loot the alley without killing the Mad Preacher.


 * It is possible to survive the blast if you hide at the end of the swing set where the pipes on the building meet the ground.


 * The mad preacher makes a mention of the Oasis. There may be a link between Oasis quest and the mad preacher.


 * If you loot the alley (I use the Chinese Stealth Suit) without killing the Mad Preacher then convince (charisma) the hostage into walking down the alley the explosions will still occur even though you have looted everything. This is funny to watch, you get all the loot, and no karmic loss. (360)


 * A possible glitch: if you kill the Mad Preacher, upon returning to the Wastelander you can no longer access the dialogue options.


 * Its easy to kill the Mad Preacher using a Sniper Rifle or a Scoped .44 Magnum on the side of the alley where the Wastelander is.

Notable loot

 * Pulowski Preservation Shelter with Lying, Congressional Style near The Capitol Building (A).
 * There is a safe (average lock) with a random goodies in the truck at the corner of 5th and Independence.
 * If you manage to kill the mad preacher before he detonates the explosives, there should several Mini-nukes and Frag mines to collect in the area below him. The mini-nukes are in crevices in the rocks next to the Mad Preacher's building, on the merry-go-round ahead on the left, and in a shopping cart. The frag mines are inactive, since they're hooked to the detonator device, and upon the Mad Preacher's death can be picked up without fear.
 * There is a truck at the far SE corner of the area with two Ammo boxes and two first aid kits (one locked easy) and a bed to sleep. Be careful as there is a baby carriage trap next to the bed.

Behind the Scenes
 is likely referencing Seward Square Park in the Washington, DC area.

It may be interesting to note that  is named for William H. Seward, who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.