Fawkes

Fawkes is a Vault 87 super mutant and possible companion of the Lone Wanderer in 2277. He is an outsider among his kin, having regained his civility and intelligence following the rigors of his mutation.

Life in the Vault
Fawkes was one of the original residents of Vault 87, and possibly went by the name of Shelton Delacroix, who was a Vault security officer. Not long after being in Vault 87, Shelton and the Vault's other occupants went through a horrific transformation, and were changed into super mutants.

It wasn't long before the Mutants began to overrun the Capital Wasteland, searching for new sources of Forced Evolutionary Virus. He was, presumably, captured by the vault's original super mutants, and then applied the FEV. However, Fawkes's mind was not affected as badly as the other mutants when they went through the transformation, and even though he forgot his past and who he was, Fawkes still knew what was right and wrong and showed remarkable inteligence. As stated in dialog with the Lone Wanderer, this, "ironcly", made Fawkes a mutant in the eyes of the other Super Mutants (or Meta Humans, as Fawkes calls them), who placed him in a observation cell in the Vault 87 lab area as a "curiosity", as they did with other FEV failed experiments.

In isolation
His fellow mutants had failed to realize that the chamber Fawkes was locked in had a working terminal. Here he read about the past for at least a century, learning about the history of the world. One piece of history he took a liking to was the 'Gunpowder Plot' which involved a group of rebels, trying to assassinate King James I, the current British monarch at the time, by blowing up the 'House of Lords.' Guy Fawkes was a member of this rebellion, and despite the fact his failure is celebrated throughout the pre-war United Kingdom, Fawkes took a liking to him, and because Fawkes had forgotten his old name a long time ago he renamed himself Fawkes.

Residing as a prisoner in Vault 87, Fawkes is one of two known "humanized" super mutants in the capital wasteland, the other being Uncle Leo. In 2277 he is confined to Isolation Room 5 in Vault 87, where he has resided for as long as memory permits. Fawkes claims that he was able to attain literacy and a civilized personality (things most East Coast super mutants sorely lack) by gleaning as much information as possible from the vault's immense on-line database (or at least until recently as the terminal that he used was destroyed by the other super mutants as a way of tormenting him).

Fawkes credits his intimate knowledge of Vault 87 to being a resident there before being transformed into a super mutant, additionally he wears the tattered remnants of a male Vault 87 jumpsuit, possibly due to him outgrowing it while mutating. Fawkes has knowledge of the Garden of Eden Creation Kit, one of which is located inside Vault 87. He waits patiently inside his small isolation chamber, waiting for someone to come along, in search of the G.E.C.K, and give him his freedom.

Identity before mutation
A series of unused holotapes which were meant to be found in Vault 87 shed possible light to the identity of Fawkes.

The holotapes are part of a daily diary Shelton started to record, detailing his "life in one of Vault-Tec's newer vaults." The first tape is primarily an introduction, but the later tapes concern some bizarre sounds Shelton hears while on shift, and later something disturbing he witnessed.

Shelton's next recording reveals that his previous holotapes eventually came to the attention of the wrong people. The recording is made as Shelton is hiding in the reactor room.

The fifth and final holotape reveals what eventually happened to Shelton after his capture.

It is important to note that, although Fawkes shares the same voice as most of the Capital Wasteland's super mutants, he is explicitly defined within the game's dialog files as being the speaker in the final recording.

Though nothing is left to document why these recordings were not included in the final version of the game, it is interesting to note that Fawkes' demonstrated intelligence does not appear to be present in the fifth holotape recording, consistent with his statement that he had to work to become as intelligent and well-spoken as he was at the time of meeting the Lone Wanderer.

Daily schedule
Fawkes lives in Isolation Room 05, a cell in Vault 87. Should he find a way out, he will be at the Museum of History inside the lobby and right outside of Raven Rock after the quest The American Dream.

Quests

 * Finding the Garden of Eden: Fawkes pleads you to release him from his cell. In exchange for release, Fawkes retrieves the Garden of Eden Creation Kit device from a radioactive section of the vault, and then bids the Lone Wanderer farewell.
 * The American Dream: After the player is incapacitated and taken to Raven Rock, home of the Enclave, Fawkes appears as the Lone Wanderer emerges from the base. He repels any Enclave soldiers with an acquired Gatling laser to aid the player's escape. Any items given to Fawkes before the trip to Raven Rock will be gone when he is encountered yet again, presumably discarded in favor of his new weapon. If your Karma is high enough, the player has the choice to add Fawkes as a companion.
 * Take it Back!: When the player 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 (even though he is immune to radioactivity), stating that the decision is the player's destiny and not his. However, if the player has the Broken Steel add-on installed, the option to send Fawkes in will appear, allowing the player to opt out of entering themselves or Sentinel Sarah Lyons. When this option is used, he states that although he was going to tell the player that the player's destiny lies in that chamber, he has already altered his own.

Other interactions

 * Recruiting Fawkes: Depending on the player's Karma, Fawkes may agree to accompany the player on future travels as a companion.
 * If the player's Karma is too low, or if the player fires him at any time, Fawkes can be later found wandering around the entrance to Underworld, located in the Museum of History. Fawkes may also return if left on his own for a significant length of time. If you maintain positive Karma, you have the option of recruiting him again.
 * Equipment: The player cannot equip Fawkes with different clothing, though his staggeringly large health bar and damage rate are more than enough for almost any situation. He can carry a total of 229 pounds of equipment.
 * Combat: Fawkes is extremely resilient thanks to the inherent thick skin natural to super mutants. Fawkes is highly skilled in all weapon categories (small guns, big guns, energy weapons, explosives, melee weapons, and unarmed).

Inventory
1. Fawkes no longer carries this weapon once he appears at the conclusion of The American Dream.

Fawkes is limited in the weapons he can use, and will only equip weapons from the following list:

Also note that Fawkes will not equip any unique versions of the weapons in the above list.

Appearances
Fawkes appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * Contrary to a comment about Fawkes' gender made by his voice actor, lead designer Emil Pagliarulo has confirmed "No, Fawkes was absolutely a male. This was a mistake. Wes gave an interview and he was mistaken. Trust me, Fawkes is and was male."
 * Much of the random dialogue heard from Fawkes as one wanders around can be heard as simple wasteland survival advice, but also references Zen philosophy. Examples include "Be aware of the present moment" and "There is safety in mindfulness".
 * Fawkes takes his name from "a man who died for what he believed in", apparently a reference to England's infamous Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up the Parliament building in London.
 * Fawkes' battle cry of "Wake up... Time to die!" mirrors a quote from Leon to Deckard in Blade Runner.

Bugs

 * Fawkes is unable to use any unique weapons, including unique versions of weapons he is otherwise able to use (e.g. Eugene vs. the Minigun). This is caused by the list determining what weapons Fawkes is able to use missing the entries for these unique weapons.
 * If you do not free Fawkes and instead take the GECK yourself then return after escaping Raven Rock and talk to him the speech options will be the same as if he had come to rescue you from Raven Rock, ("Fawkes, what are you doing out here?").
 * If you kill Fawkes after entering Broken Steel his body may follow you to Adams Air Force Base and back to the Citadel after being taken back via the vertibird.
 * When Fawkes kills something, his Gatling laser may continue to play the sounds, even after he has holstered it. This can be fixed by saving and then loading the saved game.
 * Other fixes include engaging him in conversation and getting him to fire the weapon again or fast traveling to another location.
 * Fawkes will "not speak" to the player. Conversation dialogue initiates but he doesn't say anything. Pressing the "Activate" button doesn't help, making it impossible to trade equipment, fire him, etc. This forces the player to kill Fawkes to obtain the equipment given to him.
 * Fawkes will not be in the Museum of History after you fire him. He will sometimes be waiting for you at the entrance to The Pitt DLC.
 * If the terminate specimen button is pressed, Fawkes will die upon reaching the doorway even if he was freed beforehand. There is still a Karma loss.
 * Fawkes may have two super sledges in his inventory.
 * Fawkes may not meet you at Raven Rock and he is not found at Vault 87 or the Museum of History after the player is captured by the Enclave.