Super Mutant Overview (Fallout 3)

Super Mutants are variants of Super Mutant found throughout the Capital Wasteland Four basic variations exist, with a fifth one introduced with the add-on Broken Steel.

Background
These super mutants were created in the Evolutionary Experimentation Program, an experiment assigned to Vault 87. This modified strain of FEV was used to create these mutants and resulted in a new strain of super mutant which, in addition to becoming sterile, grow larger and stronger as they age.

The first super mutants of this variety were created in 2078, becoming a permanent feature of the Capital Wasteland - not intelligent enough to overrun it, but too powerful to die off.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 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) Their routine behavior included raiding to kidnap people for conversion with the EEP mutagen.

Their inability to reproduce (possibly bolstered by the FEV batch and/or human procreation instincts) led to an obsession with preserving their species. They attempt to capture live humans as often as possible, to infect them with FEV, or "green stuff," at Vault 87. However, by 2277, the mutants are running out of FEV and are looking in desperation for a new source of the virus.

Gameplay
The FEV strain used at Vault 87 retains the recursive growth patterns characteristic to FEV but has a different effect, which may be also linked to how the infection was performed in the labs. Test subjects were exposed a single time to FEV in isolated chambers, where the virus was deployed as airborne particulate. When exposed, phenotypical changes occur within three days and include increased muscle mass, changes in skeletal structure and atrophy of all visible sexual characteristics, creating a uniform body shape devoid of genitalia or another sexual dimorphism. At ten days, skin pigmentation becomes a mixture of yellow and green, while its thickness and resistance to radiation and other environmental hazards rapidly increases.

Within fourteen days of initial exposure, subjects regress to an almost feral state, exhibiting extreme aggression at every non-mutant. While some semblance of cognition is retained, exhibited by the ability to speak, operate machines and use basic tactics in combat, super mutants of this type are typically characterized by significant mental degradation. Another unforeseen side effect is that the unfinished virus strain codes the body for continued growth. If a super mutant of this type eludes death for prolonged periods of time, they may become a considerable threat, reaching the size of a small building.

The behemoths are so strong and savage that they are the only thing feared by other super mutants. Super mutants occasionally fraternize with one another and joke about puny humans or tell legends of other impressive mutants.

Appearances
Super Mutants appear in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes
Three Dog refers to super mutants as Frankensteins, in reference to Victor Frankenstein's monster from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein.

Bugs

 * Occasionally, super mutant brutes, masters and overlords may appear merely labeled as a "super mutant," but still have the same health and equipment of brutes/masters/overlords.
 * Super mutants may not acknowledge the player no matter how close they get to it.
 * Occasionally, when battling a super mutant master who's equipped with a minigun the game controls will momentarily freeze while the player character continues to take damage. This has the potential to lead to character death.