Fawkes

Fawkes is an intelligent and sophisticated super mutant, a rare breed in the Capital Wasteland. Before the transformation into a super mutant, Fawkes was a woman. However, all super mutants, or Meta-Humans, lose most of their visible sexual indicators in the process, transforming into an almost asexual state.

Fawkes begs the Vault 101 Dweller to be released from a cell in which the super mutant has resided for as long as memory permits. Fawkes also claims being able to attain literacy and a civilized personality by gleaning as much information as possible from the vault's immense database. Fawkes credits an intimate knowledge of Vault 87 to possibly being a resident there before being transformed into a super mutant. Fawkes is wearing a torn vault 87 jump suit.

In exchange for release, Fawkes retrieves the Garden of Eden Creation Kit device from a radioactive section of the vault, and then 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.

Any items that you give to Fawkes before your trip to Raven Rock will be gone when she meets you at the entrance to Raven Rock.

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

One major issue is that Fawkes often gets stuck due to the super mutant's size, and in small areas the player can even be blocked off entirely if Fawkes 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, alone.

Equipment
Fawkes is clad in a tattered Vault Suit, and wields by default either a Super Sledge or a Gatling Laser. The player cannot equip Fawkes with different clothing, thereby somewhat limiting this NPC companion's effectiveness in combat. Like other NPC companions Fawkes' default ranged weapon, a unique Gatling Laser, has infinite ammo.

After rescuing the Lone Wanderer from Raven Rock, Fawkes can carry 229 pounds of equipment.

In Vault 87, Fawkes carries a Super Sledge called "Fawkes' Super Sledge". To get this, simply offer to trade equipment and provide another weapon Fawkes can use in exchange, such as a regular Super Sledge. It does 37 damage, and comes in near perfect condition. It can be repaired with Super Sledges.

Combat
Fawkes, thanks to the inherent thick skin natural to Super Mutants (or, in the words of Fawkes, 'Meta-Humans'), is extremely resilient. Coupled with a powerful Gatling Laser, Fawkes is a very useful ally. Fawkes can be instructed on which weapon to equip (Super Sledge, Gatling laser, or a gun, energy weapons, explosive and even unarmed weapons) that Fawkes has ammunition for), and on which tactics to utilize in battle (stay close or hang back). Fawkes can use all kinds of weapons. Small guns, big guns, energy weapons, melee, unarmed and explosive weapons.

Fawkes is also highly skilled in all weapon categories (small guns, big guns, energy weapons, explosives, melee weapons, and unarmed). In contrast, most other NPC companions are only skilled in two weapon categories, i.e. small guns and melee weapons for Jericho and Clover, or small guns and explosives for Charon.

Unlike other humanoid companions, Fawkes does not appear to be able to sneak and as such is not the best choice for stealthy characters. Despite some drawbacks, Fawkes is still possibly the most powerful follower in the game, able to withstand several direct missile hits before dying.

Appearances
Fawkes first appears in Fallout 3 in Isolation Room 05 of Vault 87. Fawkes can later be found and recruited upon completing the raven rock quest.

Related quests

 * Finding the Garden of Eden

Question of Gender
Fawkes first appears in Vault 87 in Isolation Room 05 which previously held female test Subject D624. Fawkes' dialogue refers to being placed in isolation as 'Another failed FEV expermiment', and she is wearing a ripped Vault 87 jumpsuit, which point to Fawkes being that test subject. This is, however, contradicted on the Chief Physician's Terminal (in the room across from Fawkes'), which records that Subject D624 was destroyed along with the other three female test subjects after one went insane and the others expired on their own. This would suggest that Fawkes was captured more recently by Super Mutants rather than being first generation.

Entry 87-34224 of the previously mentioned Chief Physician's Terminal reads: "After 3 days, subjects B440, B164, and D624 (All our female specimens) are all exhibiting a unique change. Their bodies are undergoing severe physical changes, losing most of their visible female indicators and transforming into an almost asexual state." Further entries refer to each subject with the appropriate pronouns in accordance with their sex. Therefore, in accordance with the previous games in the Fallout series, the super mutants on the East Coast are not asexual.

Wes Johnson, the actor who voiced Fawkes, stated in an interview that Fawkes was female before becoming a super mutant. Thus while Fawkes has lost most of her visible female indicators, she remains female.

Behind the scenes
Fawkes' 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. Fawkes chose this name out of admiration for Guy Fawkes's principles.

Fawkes is also a reference to the title character 'V' in the graphic novel / film V for Vendetta. In the graphic novel, 'V' is the sole survivor of a government experiment in which test subjects are exposed to a mutagenic agent intended to give them superhuman strength, endurance, and pain tolerance. 'V' supposedly took his name from the number (5, roman numeral V) of the test chamber in which he was held during the experiment. 'V' is extremely erudite and constantly wears a Guy Fawkes mask. Fawkes is the sole survivor of the FEV experiment, and is imprisoned in isolation chamber 05 when found by the player.

Much of the random dialogue heard from Fawkes as one wanders around, while readable as simple wasteland survival advice, also references Zen philosophy. Examples include "Be aware of the present moment" and "There is safety in mindfulness". Together with Uncle Leo's Zen reference, this suggests that Zen Buddhism is the key to retaining a level of independent mental functioning after FEV transformation.

Statistics

 * Health: 500
 * SPECIAL
 * Strength: 9
 * Perception: 3
 * Endurance: 8
 * Charisma: 5
 * Intelligence: 3
 * Agility: 5
 * Luck: 5


 * Skills
 * Barter: 0
 * Big Guns: 75 → 100
 * Energy Weapons: 75
 * Explosives: 75
 * Lockpick: 0
 * Medicine: 0
 * Melee Weapons: 75 → 100
 * Repair: 0
 * Science: 0
 * Small Guns: 75
 * Sneak:
 * Speech: 0
 * Unarmed: 75 → 100

Quotes

 * "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" -Fawkes screaming during combat.
 * "Next time, put up a fight!" -After killing an enemy.
 * "Aw... I wanted a fight" -If the Player kills the opposing enemy before Fawkes does.
 * "YOU LOSE!" - After killing an enemy.
 * "Yes, By All means, LETS!" -While offering to trade equipment.
 * "Something... troubling you, my friend?" -When opening a dialogue conversation with Fawkes.
 * "You Have Something to Say?" -When opening a dialogue conversation with Fawkes.
 * "In all Things, a Calm heart must Prevail" -When an enemy is detected.
 * "There is Safety, in Mindfulness" -When an enemy is detected.
 * "You're Here, You're Here, STOP HIDING!" -When an enemy is nearby but does not sense the Players presence.
 * "Be aware of the Present moment" -When an enemy is detected.
 * "I win again!" -When Fawkes wins a battle
 * "Die, metal man!" -When Fawkes is fighting a robot.
 * "If you insist but DO be Careful, I can hardly repay Your kindness by waiting back here" -When told to Wait.
 * "Now You Went and GOT ME MAD!" - When Fawkes Spots An Enemy

Bugs

 * If you have a vault or science theme active at your Megaton house, avoid going to bed with Fawkes following you. If you do, you will become trapped, as Fawkes will block the door exiting your bedroom.
 * PC: to solve this ask Fawkes to stop following you (fire Fawkes). Fawkes will begin to walk out of the house to head towards underworld; whereupon you simply catch up to and re-hire the super mutant.  You can also use toggle collision (tcl) code in the console to clip past Fawkes.
 * PS3: Fawkes doesn't seem to leave even when fired and just stands there leaving you to remain stuck. Even if you sleep, Fawkes just won't go, and is very hard to kill. One must go back to a previous save.
 * 360: you can just shove Fawkes out of the way. Make sure to push Fawkes out the door and not into a wall.


 * If the player does not release Fawkes from Isolation Room 05and retrieves the G.E.C.K. on his/her own, Fawkes will still be in that cell if the player ever decides to return. Later, if you talk to Fawkes 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 the 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 Fawkes to begin with. However, in some cases Fawkes will not be carrying a gatling laser, and will use only a sledgehammer in combat, which cannot be removed from inventory.


 * It is possible that even after rescue, Fawkes will remain in Vault 87 somewhere either outside Isolation Room 05, 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.


 * There is some chance of a bizzare glitch occuring in the Republic of Dave: Fawkes might just start killing everybody nearby. That happened to me at least three times.


 * If Fawkes is fired in the presence of Liberty Prime the robot will start attacking it.