Arroyo

Arroyo is a small, isolated village in south-west Oregon founded by the Vault Dweller following his exile from Vault 13 by its Overseer. It is the home of the Chosen One. However, by the time of New Vegas, it is known as New Arroyo and is a bustling city under rule of the NCR.

In 2241, the Chosen One is tasked with the quest to retrieve a G.E.C.K. in the hopes that it would remove the scourge that befell the village.

Layout
The village of Arroyo is divided into four main areas:

Temple of Trials
This is the beginning area of the game. There is a clear path that leads into the Temple of Trials, but also a path leading back to the main village.

It is impossible to talk your way through Klint, as he is determined to make sure the player endures the trials of the elders. The only way to get past Klint is to kill him, but upon doing so the entire village of Arroyo will become hostile.

Village
The central village portion of Arroyo serves as home to most of the tribe. Hakunin's tent and garden - which has been infested with man-eating plants - inhabit the northwestern corner of the map, while the Village Elder's tent lies just south and west. And shortly south of it lies the town well, broken and dormant with your whiny cousin Feargus pouting about it a few feet away.

The south-most tent belongs to none other than your old, cranky aunt Morlis, whom is in possession of a piece of rather scarce flint. The large stone monument sits peaceful and quiescent immediately northeast of her tent. The wigwam residing on the east-most bounds of the map is home to Jordan, a skilled and seasoned hunter for the tribe. The rest of the homes belong to generic tribesmen and women.

Hunting Grounds
The hunting grounds northwest to the village foster a steady pack of small geckos that serve as a source of food for the tribe. Just as well, there are a few cuttings of xander roots and broc flowers growing in the alcoves formed by the abundant foliage. These can be brought to Hakunin to be synthesized into healing powder.

In the northwest corner of the map, in the secluded flat where spots of radioactive waste can be found, Nagor's dog Smoke is trapped by a few hostile geckos lurking near the only path back to the village.

Bridge
This section of Arroyo is not so densely populated, as only a few vigilant tribe members keep watch over the sole passageway into the village. Mynoc, the young warrior standing immediately next to the bridge, will offer to sharpen the Chosen One's spear before their departure, requiring a piece of flint for the job.

The bridge connecting Arroyo to the wasteland serves as a metaphorical gateway for the Chosen One. It is here that the player leaves their tribe bearing the quest to find the GECK, and prove to be their salvation. The Arroyo which the rope bridge extends across bears ancestral drawings likely created by past - possibly present - tribe members upon the establishment of the village.

The Tribe
In May 2162, the Vault Dweller returned to Vault 13 after defeating the Master and his army and was subsequently exiled from the Vault by its Overseer. He wandered the desert, but never moved far from the mountains that shielded the Vault from the rest of the world. Upon hearing of what happened to him, a few other residents of the Vault decided to leave and join his side, following him soon afterward. The Vault Dweller eventually came into contact with the small group of dwellers. They knew little of the outside world, and would have likely died if it were not for his knowledge and experience. After this, the Vault Dweller removed his vault suit, never to wear it again.

Two months later, The Vault Dweller headed north, to the great canyons, with a small group of Vault Dwellers and Wastelanders, and founded the village of Arroyo. Slowly, he taught them what experience had taught him, and together they learned to thrive. Over time, their ragtag group turned into a minor tribe. The Vault Dweller fell in love with a members of the tribe named Pat, and they raised a family, like all of their tribes people. The construction of Arroyo was completed on August 18, 2167.

Early Years
Initially, they would send scouts back towards the Vault, to help others who thought like themselves, but that slowly came to an end. The Vault Dweller taught the others the skills they would need to survive and grow strong: hunting, farming, and other skills to feed them; engineering and science to build their homes; fighting to protect what was theirs.

The Vault Dweller and Pat led the village and the tribe. The tribe grew, and grew strong with their help. In 2188, their daughter, who later became the Elder, was born. Eventually, she and their other children became the leaders of the community.

Vault Dweller's Departure
On January 16, 2208, several years after Pat's death, the Vault Dweller wrote his memoirs. Soon after that, he vanished from Arroyo and was presumed dead. The Vault Dweller left the Vault Suit behind, folded on the bed. Some say the Vault Dweller was taken by the sky spirits, others say that the Vault Dweller felt it was time to move on and leave the Elders to guide Arroyo to its destiny. After the One-Moon (Month) Cycle of mourning for the Vault Dweller ended, activity in Arroyo began to return to normal.

The Elder
The final training of the Vault Dweller's daughter for the role of village elder began on February 2. She underwent a great deal of physical training and tutoring in various sciences, mathematics, and, of course, weapon skills. Two years later, she took her mystic test, a key ingredient of which is several pots worth of hallucinogenic plants from Hakunin's garden. She ran the gauntlet in the Temple of Trials, using her charm to pass most of the tests after her handgun jammed (and was ruined) on the first level. She offered numerous criticisms of the test, resulting in many revisions. Two days later, she ascended to role of Village Elder. She ruled with a steady hand, and her wisdom was greatly respected.

Chosen One
The Elder's son, later called the "Chosen One", was born on March 23, 2221. His father is not recorded in the tribal records. The reason for this is unknown, but the Elder may have simply been embarrassed.

In 2241, the worst dry season in many years causes a drought in the Northern California area, hurting crops and Brahmin in Arroyo. The Elder, having read a G.E.C.K. advertisement in her father's old holodisks, decided that her son must be sent to find it, as it is the village's only hope. On July 25, the Chosen One began his mystic test, descending into the Temple of Trials, just like his mother had many years before. Two days later, he left his home village to find the ancient device.

The Enclave
While the Chosen One was on his quest, on July 20, 2242, Arroyo was attacked by Enclave soldiers in vertibirds, wearing Power Armor, armed with energy weapons, and the villagers were captured and brought to the oil rig. Some of them tried to resist the attackers and were killed, and Hakunin was seriously wounded. When the Chosen One returned to the village, he found it almost completely destroyed and found a dying Hakunin among the dead bodies. Now, the Chosen One had a new quest - to save his people from the hands of the Enclave.

The Enclave needed the tribals for their FEV experiments. They needed two test groups: one of clean, pure humans; and another composed of the "mutants" that lived all over the mainland, suffering radiation and FEV exposure for decades that, to the Enclave, made them unclean. The unclean sample was easily obtained by kidnapping the entire population of Arroyo. The clean group were the dwellers of Vault 13, who were reunited with their long lost Arroyo brethren in Enclave prison cells.

In Fall 2242, the Chosen One managed to enter the Enclave using a damaged tanker and destroyed the Poseidon Energy platform, killing the President of the Enclave and severely setting back the Enclave's plans for world domination. The surviving people of Arroyo and Vault 13 were free.

New Arroyo
After the Enclave's destruction, the refugees of Arroyo and Vault 13 resettled, building a new community with the aid of the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. Finding themselves hundreds of miles from their Vault, the members of Vault 13 chose to join the villagers in establishing a new community, and their technical expertise, combined with the villagers survival skills, allowed the new settlement to grow and prosper. Two generations of the same bloodline were reunited, and their saviour, the Chosen One, became Elder, presiding over the village of New Arroyo in the years to come. Certain that the safety of the new village had been secured and the new community was flourishing, his mother, the old Elder, passed away a few months later in her sleep.

In 2281, Arroyo is still present and has become a large city. Emily Ortal, a member of Followers of the Apocalypse, is from the city of New Arroyo, which has become part of the NCR.

Appearances
Arroyo appears only in Fallout 2. However, while not appearing in-game, Arroyo is mentioned by a few characters in Fallout: New Vegas.

Inconsistencies
The statement from the Fallout Bible timeline that the "construction" of Arroyo is finished in 2167 and one from the Vault Dweller's memoirs that the Vault Dweller taught the tribe "engineering and science to build their homes" are inconsistent with the fact that the people of Arroyo in the actual game live in primitive tents and the only real building is the Temple of Trials, which according to Chris Avellone was made before the Great War. But you have to remember, how exactly would they build advanced structures in such a situation.

Behind the scenes

 * The name Arroyo possible comes from the Spanish - an arroyo (literally brook in Spanish), also called a wash or draw, is usually a dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. As such, the term is similar to the word wadi. Arroyos can be natural or man-made. The term usually applies to a mountainous desert environment. In many rural communities, arroyos are the principal roads, and in many urban communities they are important multi-use trails for recreation and pedestrian and equestrian travel.

Restoration changes

 * Stealing from the Village Elder's chest, Hakunin's chest, or Aunt Morlis' vase will result in a karma drop.
 * Ability to plant new seeds obtained from the EPA.