Deathclaw

Deathclaws are an enormously large, agile, and strong species of mutant creatures created through genetic engineering. They are substantially larger than a human, and have large and dangerous claws.

Biology
Deathclaws are reptiles that stand roughly 10 feet tall, with an extremely resistant thick skin, powerful muscle and bone structure as well as razor-sharp claws, resulting in their moniker. Their build gives them incredible speed, resiliency and strength in close combat, making them an extreme threat at all times.

They are aggressive, territorial and carnivorous. Typically, they live in small packs, rarely alone (although it's not unheard of), with the alpha male being its leader, who is the only one allowed to mate with the female. Deathclaws are oviparous, with the eggs typically laid in dark, sheltered locations and fiercely guarded by their mother. Young deathclaws reach maturity under the care of their parents.

Although they do not have vocal cords, the deathclaws seem to be able to mimic human speech much the same as a parrot does. However, normal deathclaws aren't intelligent enough to be capable of real speech.

History
The deathclaws were originally created before the Great War by the United States Military in order to replace humans during high-risk close-combat search-and-destroy missions. They were Jackson's Chameleons genetically modified with the DNA of various other species.

The Master also experimented on the deathclaws early on, but his experiments were not very successful, and eventually they were not used in his army. However, some of the modifications he made to their genome refined them into even more dangerous beasts.

Around 2161, deathclaws were still a mystery, a legendary creature, to many inhabitants of Southern California. In Fallout, a deathclaw first appeared in a mission to find missing caravans: while the deathclaw was not responsible for the caravan disappearances, as some had believed, evidence in its lair did lead to the correct solution. Deathclaws had also established a nest in the abandoned warehouse district of the Boneyard, obstructing traffic between the Gun Runners and potential trading partners and making any scavenging in the area very hazardous. As the deathclaw population grew, the deathclaws stopped being perceived as legendary beasts, and started to be seen as simply yet another dangerous animal.

Mother deathclaw
Female deathclaws, also called Mothers and Matriarchs, are stronger and tougher than males, as well as fewer in numbers. Only one female is the pack mother at a given time, with another female taking its place when it dies. A pack is led by an 'alpha male'.

It's possible that the deathclaw variety with no spikes on the back and smaller, backward horns is in fact meant to represent the female deathclaw.

Baby Deathclaw
Baby Deathclaws are infantile deathclaw offspring, found all around the West Coast. They are similar in appearance to an adult, but smaller.

Talking deathclaw
In 2235, the Enclave captured many deathclaws and exposed them to FEV. This boosted their intelligence, giving them the ability to talk with varying degrees of erudition and articulation. This subspecies was highly intelligent, about the equivalent of an eight-year-old, with some individuals on par with average adult humans. Their learning capacity was very high and they were capable of abstract thought and reasoning. Although they did not have vocal cords, the deathclaws seemed to mimic human speech the same as a parrot does. Socially, they had rigidly hierarchical, peaceful, pack-based ethical code. They were extremely loyal to the pack as a whole, treating it as a family unit rather than having individual families. Fights within a pack are unheard of, and the pack's leader controls many aspects of life, such as choosing and matching female and male deathclaws for reproduction. Oddly enough, Deathclaws are not subject to sterility from FEV exposure; this trait is not explained.

Hairy deathclaw


A deathclaw subspecies living in the area of the former states of Illinois, Missouri and Kansas developed patches of fur to better cope with the colder climate. Furthermore, some of them were noted to be capable of speech as early as in 2197, which means that they probably developed speech through spontaneous mutation, or were experimented on by someone other than the Enclave. Another possibility that they were designed to have an intellect and ability to speak before the Great War. They were also more matriarchal than their Western counterparts, with packs being led by Matriarch. While infant, these deathclaws are less hairy and seems to be absolutely unintellegent, behaving like an animal or simply following the adults. They presumably become self-aware when they grow up.

Experimental deathclaw


In the Secret Vault, a Vault-Tec installation which served as the company's ticket to a life after the apocalypse, aside from many scientific projects that were to insure the company's power, some research with radioactive materials and FEV took place. When the Initiate of Brotherhood of Steel visited the Vault, he encountered unique variants of the beast known all over the wastes.

The Vault-Tec scientists apparently obtained a sample of the deathclaw bioweapon and tried to improve it, using FEV, radiation and technology. The new species became larger, stronger, gaining extra muscle mass and a type of exoskeleton with many protruding spikes. However, the mutation led them to become blind, leaving the deathclaws to rely on their other senses. The longer they live, the bigger they become, so their mutation and the FEV effect could be very similar to that of Capital Wasteland super mutants. The eggs of these deathclaws are also unique, as they appear more like a pile of flesh nearly the same size as a human.

Reptilian deathclaw


Another deathclaw subspecies living in Southwest and should appear in canceled Fallout d20.

In the games
Deathclaws are not affected by the Animal Friend perk.

Fallout

 * The Deathclaw located in the Deathclaw's Lair has 250 HP and grants 1000 XP.
 * The Mother Deathclaw located in the basement of the Deathclaw Warehouse in the Boneyard has 320 HP and grants 1500 XP.

Fallout 2
Found in Vault 13, and in random encounters throughout the wasteland.

Fallout 3
The majority of hostile Wasteland characters (i.e. Talon Company or Enclave patrols, rogue robots, or wasteland critters such as Yao Guai or Radscorpions) seem to consider Deathclaws a priority target, and will usually attack the Deathclaw instead of attacking the player.

Deathclaws have the tendency to spawn at random encounter locations throughout the Wasteland even at early stages of the game. They will never appear at places within the DC Metro area (unless taken there by the Enclave), but other locations that were once safe — like Super-Duper Mart or areas east of Vault 101 — have the potential to begin spawning solitary Deathclaws, even as far south as Dukovs Place. In addition, two main locations are heavily populated by Deathclaws: the Deathclaw Sanctuary in the Northwest corner of the map, and Old Olney in the Northeast. One can also be reliably encountered at the F. Scott Key Trail & Campground. Also, another sometimes stalks the area west of Canturbury Commons, attacking any traders that head its way. One might also be seen as you head over to Oasis ( it may spawn somewhere between the Dickerson Tabernacle Chapel and Oasis).

A Deathclaw encounter has even been noted to happen outside of Megaton as you leave. You will see it run up and take out the Deputy Protectron first.

Deathclaws make appearances as Enclave camps begin to appear. These camps are likely to house caged Mind-Controlled Deathclaws, which are just the same as regular ones with the exception that they will not attack Enclave forces. However, as the mind-control devices on their heads can be targeted, the potential to put them into a Frenzy remains.

Deathclaw corpses contain a Deathclaw Hand, a component which can be used in creating a Deathclaw Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is the strongest unarmed weapon in the game, having a (x5) critical multiplier and the unique property of ignoring target armor (damage resistance), which makes it as effective against an adversary in Power Armor as against an unarmored Raider.

It is important to note that Deathclaws possess some degree of intelligence as they'll purposefully avoid mines. One very important feature of deathclaws is that they also can open doors. In urban areas, deathclaws have been seen to run away from the player around a corner, making the player follow it a little carelessly. As soon as the player gets around the corner, however, it pounces on the player straight away, showing tactics.

Deathclaws can sometimes been seen 'sharpening' their claws on metal structures, especially in Old Olney and Old Olney Sewer.

After downloading Broken Steel random encounters with deathclaws occur far more often, and at higher levels deathclaws can be commonly seen traveling in pairs. During the quest Shock Value, the player can receive a item that causes Enclave Controlled Deathclaws to become allies.

If the player hit Deathclaws with the Dartgun, their legs will cripple and they will not be able to run anymore. Now one just need to choose a ranged weapon, to stay away from its attack range, and do some hit and run until it dies. In areas where there is no space to hit and run, like Old Olney Sewer, the Combat Shotgun is a good choice (with the terrible shotgun being an even better choice, taking around 4-5 shots to kill one). If two or more Deathclaws engage the player, one is advised to first hit all of them with the Dartgun and then kill one by one. It is of note that most weaponry requires at least a full clip, if not two, to take down a Deathclaw. Exceptions to this rule are the Alien Blaster (available from looting the downed Alien Recon Vessel, 1 3-round burst), the Missile Launcher (3 missiles), and the Fat Man (unknown, but probably around 1-2).


 * Destroying the mind control device on a deathclaw (Or at least attempting to) can be rather risky as you have a higher chance at getting a critical headshot than a frenzy.

Fallout Tactics
In Fallout Tactics patched to 1.27 deathclaws are deadly. They are highly resistant to regular ammo. The NPC's in each bunker often say " I have some AP ammo for those deathclaws." but they will not trade it. Even an Anti-Vehicle mine, does only medium damage. The first mission where a player is confronted with 2 Deathclaws and around 5 Baby Deathclaws in Fallout Tactics is Quincy, but they can be seen in a Random Encounter before that mission.

Behind the scenes
The deathclaws are a reference to the Shadowclaws in Wasteland. In Scott Campbell's original concept art (see: gallery), deathclaws were mammals covered with fur. The reason it lost the hair from concept to production was a technical limitation of the rendering software, which couldn't get all the hair to move properly. The hairy Deathclaw in Fallout Tactics was inspired by the original concept.

According to the Fallout Bible, after a Dungeons & Dragons computer game made by Interplay was cancelled, deathclaws were modelled (visually) on the Tarrasques of the D&D canon, as a Tarrasque clay model was already made. However, according to Chris Taylor, while they do look Tarrasque-like, it was not intentional and the clay model was supposed to be a deathclaw from the start. .

Quotes

 * "The Deathclaw is the most evil thing to rise out of the ashes after the War. Some say it's a powerful ghost from the war that haunts the land. It's no ghost, it's as real as you and me. It's 20 feet tall with teeth as big as your arm. It's some kind of demon that found it's way here when the world was engulfed in fire." - Beth (Beth's dialogue file)
 * "The Deathclaws are all over in the Boneyard. I'd rather not even think about them. Huge and aptly named." - Katja (Katja's dialogue file)
 * "Okay. Well, it's like a damn big man, is what it is. Got spikes and claws that can cut through the heaviest armor. But don't let the size fool ya, it's quick." - Harold (Harold's dialogue file)
 * "You can't look at 'em! It is said the Death Claw can hypnotize just by lookin'. Then it walks up and "boom", you're et!" - Harold (Harold's dialogue file)
 * "Heard some tales about something faster, bigger, and meaner than any living creature has a right to be. Not too many, though, which means that it doesn't leave many survivors. Big claws, ferocious disposition." - Tycho (Tycho's dialogue file)
 * "The Death Claw? Oh, that's a bedtime story. Drinks blood and howls at the full moon." - Killian Darkwater (Killian's dialogue file)
 * "I heard a tale from a traveller up from the south. He said the Death Claw was a creature that killed people at night. He said no one can catch it, because it can disappear like smoke. Not that I believe it, of course." - Tandi (Tandi's dialogue file)
 * "Oh. Just another stupid rumor. Some people say it's a huged fanged monster and others say it's a vampire." -Maxson (Maxson's dialogue file)
 * Protectrons humorously say that Deathclaws are critters of unusual size.

Fallout 3

 * There also seems to be a strange glitch with Deathclaws in Fallout 3. Sometimes when they are encountered by the player, they randomly fly straight up into the sky- literally hundreds of feet into the air, so far so that they pass out of sight and even out of V.A.T.S. range. When this glitch is encountered, it will be quite surprising, and even funny. There is no real trigger to this event, as they sometimes are attacking, idle, or roaming when it occurs. The Deathclaw will rarely die from this random flight, however it will take damage when it lands.
 * Sometimes flying Deathclaws will "loop". They will fly into the air, spawn near the ground, then fly into the air again. Each time the loop occurs, the Deathclaw appears to suffer no falling damage. If the player targets the Deathclaw and successfully lands some hits, the Deathclaw may end up never returning from flight, which can be quite bothersome because it will keep the player in the [DANGER] status for awhile, preventing fast traveling, waiting, or even talking to NPC's because they may be fleeing.
 * Targeting flying Deathclaws using V.A.T.S. can result in rather humorous bullet behavior. Sometimes bullets tracking the Deathclaw as it rockets into the air will tumble, perhaps due to the Deathclaw's massive acceleration.
 * There seems to be a glitch involving the download of Broken Steel in which a friendly Enclave-Controlled Deathclaw follows you into Tenpenny Tower if you have the Deathclaw Control Scrambler. It then proceeds to kill everyone in the lobby. This can be countered by keeping a strong weapon out such as A3-21's Plasma Rifle or the Terrible Shotgun, and shooting it in the back before it can kill Chief Gustavo and the other security guards in the lobby (have not tested on ghoul-controlled Tenpenny Tower, need confirmation). If this fails, simply reload the autosave and try again. (Confirmed on 360.)
 * Outside Dukov's place an Enclave controlled Deathclaw may be marked as a friendly on the compass. It will kill all the Radroaches in the area. Then it walks back to its cage and the script for it exiting started where it looks both ways then jumps out. Afterwards it was hostile.
 * The mind controlled Deathclaw in Raven Rock was marked as friendly, and when it was released, it just stands, doing nothing in the mouth of its cage.
 * A glitch happens where Enclave controlled Deathclaws appear friendly to you and stand in front of you for about 8 seconds then attack you.
 * East of RobCo Facility, there is sometimes a random Deathclaw wandering around. It will disappear if you try to aim at it with a scoped-weapon.
 * Sometimes when fast-traveling in Megaton, a friendly Deathclaw will spawn next to character and start attacking Megaton Settlers. This might occur while having the Deathclaw Control Scrambler in your inventory, after completing the given optional quest related to the scrambler device. After dealing with the Deathclaw mishap, you will be able to revive any unwanted casualties by hitting the console button (only for the PC), targeting the corpse, typing in "resurrect" then hitting enter. Upon exiting the console, the Megaton Settler will be alive again and it shall return to it's normal scripted activities
 * A Deathclaw may spawn inside Regulator HQ and attack everyone. It will continue to spawn in this manner after the first time this happens.(Confirmed Xbox 360)
 * A Deathclaw was found walking close to The Republic of Dave or anywhere in the north-east corner of the Wasteland. It had low health, and it was killed after one headshot from the Old 'Painless hunting rifle. I found it there at a low level (around level 5).