Vault 15

"Underground Troubles" (Fallout)

"City of the Dead"

Vault 15 is a location in the former state of California in 2241. Vault 15 can be found nine squares east of Vault 13 (Fallout) or six squares east (Fallout 2).

Background
This large underground shelter is one of the few Vaults whose construction went smoothly and without delays, despite additional work poured into reinforcing the third level of the Vault to ensure protection against earthquakes. As part of the social experiment conducted by Vault-Tec, only people of radically diverse ideologies and cultures were granted places in the Vault, to gain data on their interactions and potential failure over the 50 years it was planned to stay sealed. When the Great War came on October 23, 2077, the dwellers reported to the Vault and entered it. The shelter was sealed. Contact with other Vaults was lost.

There was a schism among the dwellers and the Vault was finally opened. Most of the dwellers marched out, stripping the shelter of the best equipment, including the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. A small group stayed behind, trying to continue living in the now gutted Vault. The dwellers that left the Vault would eventually form distinct communities. The most significant of these was the village of Shady Sands, created with Vault 15's GECK. The rest would band into raider tribes (the Khans, Jackals and Vipers), terrorizing the area for years. The Vault itself continued along until it was invaded. The attackers breached the Vault door, and the Vault itself was subsequently abandoned. Its condition deteriorated as the tremors caused the second and third level walls to give way to tons of rock, burying vital sections of the Vault. Wildlife and scavengers completed the destruction. When the Vault Dweller set out to find a replacement chip for Vault 13, the buried Vault was their first step and first disappointment.

Even as the New California Republic formed in 2189, the Vault was left abandoned. The primary reason was arguments over the excavation rights between the Republic and salvage teams, raiders, people worshipping the Vault, ghoul scavengers, etc. The largest problem manifested in the early 2240s. After the NCR abandoned Vault 15 following another excavation operation a few years before 2241, their old base was claimed by a group of wastelanders with nowhere to go, who formed a squat on the surface. When the NCR tried to reclaim the Vault and the vital computer parts within, they were stopped by the squatters.

The reason for their obstinacy was twofold. First, Vault 15 was the only home they knew. Secondly, they were actually covering for a group of raiders, the New Khans under Darion. Darion promised the squatters that the Vault was being repaired by his men, to provide them with shelter, food, and water. However, in reality, all food and water were coming from Khan raids on caravans. The Vault was dead. Darion also managed to plant a spy in the NCR congress, giving him near-perfect intel on the NCR.

The situation was resolved by the Chosen One. Hired by President Tandi to retrieve the computer parts from Vault 15, they also managed to broker a deal between the squatters and the NCR. They would kill Darion and retrieve the parts, while the squatters would grant NCR access to the Vault in return for annexation, education, and supplies necessary to survive. Successful in their mission, the Chosen One also vindicated President Tandi's policies of peaceful expansion, gaining the NCR a foothold in the northern wastes, while the squatters learned self-sufficiency and became productive members of society.

Layout
Fallout 1=

Surface
A small building sitting in the middle of empty space. This entrance will be guarded by a radscorpion if one is unlucky.

Entrance
This area has the same layout as Vault 13's entrance. In the first corridor, the player character will find a mole rat. At the end of this area, they will need a rope to go further down into the Vault.

Living quarters
This area has a layout much like Vault 13. Here most people will get their first armor. The player character will again need a rope to go down further at the end of this area. In the third room counting from the left, one can find a locker with a rope in it.

Command Center
Much of this level is buried under tons of rock and rubble, including the command and control center. The rest of the Vault's equipment has been ruined or destroyed. There are a lot of pig rats, rats and one mole rat.

Fallout 2=

The Squat
A grouping of tents, small buildings and some trees up against the side of a cliff. There are squatters wandering the area.

Eastern entrance
Raiders built a lift to have an easy access to the Vault, bypassing the squatter residents and built a shack for its protection. This shack is the place where Chrissy is kept.

Entrance
This area has almost the same layout as Vault 12's entrance, except that the outside section is a cavern instead of a sewer, and the main entrance elevator with a tunnel leading to it is present. This is completely different from what the Vault Dweller saw there in 2162. After the player character repairs the power generator on level 2, they need to deal with a force field to proceed.

Living quarters
This area has no rubble. There is also (with a good repair skill and a tool) a generator that can be repaired, this turns on the lights and the console to activate the level 1 force field. All three levels are connected by a single elevator, which is different than the two shafts seen in Fallout. The presence of a wall locker in one of the rooms bears a resemblance to Vault 12.

Command center
The command center is in control of Darion, the leader of the New Khans. Though most of the computers have been destroyed, there are a few of them that work, barely.

2141

 * Aradesh
 * Katrina
 * Garl Death-Hand's father
 * Garl Death-Hand

2161

 * Rats
 * Mole rats
 * Pig rats

Fallout

 * Find the Water Chip

Fallout 2

 * Give Spy Holodisk to authority in NCR
 * Kill Darion
 * Rescue Chrissy
 * Complete Deal with NCR

Behind the scenes

 * The in-game maps in the first two Fallout games show different locations for Vault 13, Shady Sands (later NCR) and Vault 15. In the first game, Vault 15 is near the Death Valley in Nevada. In the second game, it is considerably farther to the west, in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
 * Areas of Vault 15 which were blocked off by fallen rocks in Fallout are accessible in Fallout 2.
 * In the entry tunnel in Fallout 2, there is a ladder that leads straight to the exit grid in "The Squat." Though the Squat does not grant access to the tunnel until they have joined the NCR. This ladder becomes accessible through Zeke's house.
 * The Fallout Bible states that the vault opened in 2141.

Appearances
Vault 15 appears in Fallout and Fallout 2 and is mentioned in the Fallout Bible Fallout Bible p.94: "THE SHORT ANSWER ON HOW TO BE A GAME DESIGNER" "a) Do the 'original' people from community of Shady Sands come from Vault 15? President Tandi says something like: "We need some parts from our old Vault". Is she lying, or the Aradesh didn't want to tell the original Vault Dweller anything 'bout it. As far as I remember after telling him, that the character is from one Vault he says something like: "Wanderer, I shall believe you, for now" - the 'standard' answer. Yes, most of them. There are exceptions, like Ian. I don't know why Aradesh didn't mention Vault 15; I suspect he tends to be pretty reserved and suspicious of strangers. As for "Wanderer, I shall believe you, for now," Aradesh is just commenting on that he's not sure whether he believes the player is from a Vault. It doesn't jive, I know, especially after you help his daughter, but there you are. Just as a detour/side note into game logic so you can see it from a development perspective, voice acting is a double-edged sword. It's cool to hear the characters speaking, but it can cause problems, not just because of expense, but because (1) what you record is what you get, (2) it has to be done several months before the game ships so that audio can clean it and you can lip sync it to the characters, and (3) Ron Perlman is very scary in person. The problem occurs is that you can't always anticipate every spoken line of dialogue you may need for the game - that's why occasionally you'll get some "Tell Me About" responses for some of the spoken characters that do not have any voice attached to them. Also, if you've ever wondered why certain voice acted characters in the Fallout game tell you to go to their assistants to receive rewards, that's why - it's easier to modify their non-voice-acted assistants than them."''.

Bugs

 * Fallout may sometimes crash if one chooses to travel to the location.
 * Certain raiders in the Vault are bugged. Some have incorrect ammo or ammo in their item slots which confuses the AI and prevents them from using their weapons correctly. Darion will not use his flamer and will run away from the player character once combat has started.