Fawkes

Fawkes is an intelligent and sophisticated super mutant, a rare breed in the Capital Wasteland. Fawkes can be found in Vault 87 in Isolation Room 05 which previously held Subject D624. It is noted on the Chief Physician's Terminal (in the room across from Fawkes') that Subject D624 was, before the experimentation, a female. It should also be known that all Super Mutants, or Meta-Humans, display an asexual phenotype after their transformation. The same terminal also indicates that all four female test subjects were destroyed after three expired on their own and one went insane.

Fawkes begs the Vault 101 Dweller to release her from her cell, which she has resided in for as long as memory permits. She also reveals that she was able to attain literacy and a civilized personality by gleaning as much information she could from the vault's immense database. Fawkes has an intimate knowledge of the vault, for which she credits with her possible former life as a human resident of the very same vault she is imprisoned in.

In exchange for her release, Fawkes retrieves the Garden of Eden Creation Kit device from a radioactive section of the vault, and bids the Vault 101 Dweller farewell. After the Vault 101 Dweller is incapacitated and taken to Raven Rock, the base of The Enclave, Fawkes aids in the escape, and devastates the Enclave soldiers with an incredibly powerful Gatling Laser.

Depending on the player's karma, Fawkes may agree to accompany the Vault 101 Dweller on future travels. If your karma is too low, she is found wandering around the entrance to The Underworld.

One major issue is that she often gets stuck due to her size, and in small areas can even block off the player entirely if she gets stuck.

When the Vault 101 Dweller is faced with the climactic decision at the conclusion of the game, Fawkes politely declines to enter the radioactive room in lieu of the player, stating that is the player's destiny, not his.

Equipment
Fawkes is clad in a tattered Vault Suit, and wields either a Super Sledge or a Gatling Laser. The player cannot equip Fawkes with clothing, somewhat limiting his effectiveness in combat. Like other human companions his default ranged weapon, the Gatling Laser has infinite ammo.

Combat
Fawkes, thanks to the inherited thick skin natural to Super Mutants (or, as he prefers, 'Meta-Humans'), is extremely resilient. Coupled with his powerful Gatling Laser, Fawkes is a very useful ally. Fawkes can be instructed on which weapon to arm himself with (Super Sledge, Gatling laser, or a gun (possibly only Big?) that Fawkes has ammunition for), and on which tactics to utilize in battle (stay close or hang back). Despite Fawkes' drawbacks, he's still possibly the most powerful follower in the game, as he can take several direct missile hits before dying.

Unlike other humanoid companions, Fawkes does not appear to be able to sneak and as such is not the best choice for sneak characters.

Appearances
Fawkes appears in Fallout 3. Fawkes can be found in Vault 87 in Isolation Room 05. You can also find him after you complete the raven rock quest. He will help you giving you another chance to get him if you already haven't.

Related quests

 * Finding the Garden of Eden

Behind the scenes
His name is a reference to Guy Fawkes, a 16th century English Catholic famed for his involvement in an assassination attempt known as the Gunpowder Plot.

May even possibly be a reference to "V from the comic V for Vendetta" wherein the story tells of the antihero, wearing a mask portraying Guy Fawkes, being imprisoned and then mutated from an experimental compound called "Batch 5." Also, the protagonist "V" is mutated and "reborn" after imprisonment in a secret government facility, cell number 5, same as Fawkes.

Bugs

 * If you already have Dogmeat as a companion, hiring Fawkes on the Xbox 360 will make Dogmeat disappear.


 * It is possible that Dogmeat will "come back" to you eventually. After him disappearing, several days later in game, I received a message stating "Dogmeat is waiting outside Vault 101" and he was, and after telling him to follow me, he did and I had no further issues with the combination of Dogmeat and Fawkes.


 * If you have a vault or science theme active at your Megaton house, do NOT go to bed with Fawkes following you. If you do, you will become trapped, as he will block the door exiting your bedroom. To get him to move out of the way, ask him to stop following you (fire him).  He will begin to walk out of the house to make his way towards underworld; simply catch him before he gets to your door and re-hire him.  Problem solved. (On the PS3, he doesn't seem to leave even if you fire him. He just stands there and you remain stuck. Even if you sleep, he just won't go, and he is very hard to kill. One must go back to a previous save.) (On the Xbox 360 at least, you can just shove Fawkes out of the way.  Make sure to push him out the door, as pushing him into a wall does not help you.) PC users can simply use the toggle collision (tcl) code in the console to clip past Fawkes.


 * If the player does not release Fawkes from his cell and retrieves the G.E.C.K. on his/her own, Fawkes will remain at his cell if the player ever decides to return to release him. Later if you talk to him through the intercom, it will cause a dialogue conversation that apparently was meant to happen at Raven Rock where Fawkes (if released) helps the player escape. From here, and Karma permitting, Fawkes can glitch out of his cell and then follow you normally through the course of the game. This is handy for players who couldn't find a way to release him to begin with. (On a personal note: after doing this I found Dogmeat in a corridor of Vault 87 after I told him to stay put in My Megaton House. Whether Dogmeat spawning here because of Fawkes is unknown, but it was REALLY weird).


 * It is possible that even after rescuing Fawkes, he will remain in Vault 87 somewhere either outside his cell, near the GECK room, or somewhere in between, and not meet you outside Raven Rock. If you go back to the Vault and find Fawkes your dialog options will be the same as they are right outside Raven Rock.