Carol (Fallout 3)

Carol is hotel proprietor residing in the Underworld and one of only a handful of known surviving pre-war ghouls, herself aged over 200 years old. Like all innkeepers, Carol rents beds to persons passing through, while her friend Greta handles eating arrangements at the establishment.

She is also effectively Gob's "mother." Although Ghouls don't give birth, he is like a son to her.

History
Born in 2051, Carol was alive for the events of the Great War of 2077. Living in Washington DC, Carol and her father sought safety in a fallout shelter within the city proper, likely close to the Capitol Mall, after the Chinese first strike destroyed the West Coast. Carol had barely entered the shelter, and was turning back to find her father who had stopped to help another family, when the thermal pulse from a nuclear near hit flash-vaporized him. Carol ran back to hopefully find him, but instead only found his shadow permanently burned into a wall. Other survivors took her back into the shelter.

Carol did not stay in the shelter long, however. After the nuclear barrages ended, Carol ventured out into the city to seek a place to survive. Much of the city had either been reduced to rubble or was still aflame following the nuclear bombardment, but Carol was able to find safety in the relatively-undamaged Museum of American History's "Afterlife" exhibit. Carol has been there ever since.

Over time, more survivors gravitated to the Museum, almost all carrying stories of the lawlessness and chaos of the wasteland. This further convinced Carol to remain in the Museum. However, as time passed, Carol and many of the other survivors began noticing odd physiological changes, with dry, flaking skin being dominant. Although the rate at which the disorder progressed varied from person to person, the end result was identical: the entire population of the Museum had become ghouls.

A curious inconsistency exists in her story: though she was born in 2051, she claims she was a "little girl" during the nuclear bombardment of the capital, when in fact she would have aged 26. However, after more than 200 years, her perception of age and time could quite understandably be skewed.

Recent Past
Carol met another ghoul named Greta in the mid-2210s. For over sixty years, the two would remain a couple, and jointly ran Carol's Place, with Carol handling sleeping arrangements and Greta serving food. At an unspecified time prior to the emergence of the Lone Wanderer from Vault 101, Carol had befriended and "adopted" a ghoul named Gob. This caused a small rift between Greta, which Carol would later ascribe to jealousy. Regardless of the cause, Gob would later move out, and the relationship between Carol and Greta would stabilize, though Carol would often worry about Gob's well-being.

Interactions with the Lone Wanderer
Carol is not critical to any main quest, and can easily be missed entirely. Still, any visitor to Underworld will likely encounter her sooner or later. Although she is hesitant to talk about her experiences during and since the War, she will tell her story if encouraged.

Most often, Carol's existence is brought to light by Gob, the ghoul bartender of Moriarty's Saloon in Megaton. Gob's mention of his "mother" comes with an entreaty to bring news of him to her. While this is not a quest and carries no reward, it nevertheless points most to Underworld, at least eventually.

Apart from renting a bed and sharing her story, Carol has no impact on the events surrounding the Lone Wanderer.

If both Gob and Greta are killed, Carol will become despondent and mope around in her shop. A confession of the murders to her and taking responsibility for the deaths will inevitably make her and anyone else in the room become hostile to the Lone Wanderer.

Appearances
appears only in Fallout 3.