Vault 15

"Underground Troubles" (Fallout)

"City of the Dead"

Vault 15 is a location in New California in 2241.

Background
This large underground shelter is one of the few vaults whose construction went smoothly and without delays, despite additional work poured into reinforcing the third level of the vault to ensure protection against earthquakes. As part of the social experiment conducted by Vault-Tec Industries, only people of radically diverse ideologies and cultures were granted places in the vault, to gain data on their interactions and potential failure over the 50 years it was planned to stay sealed. When the Great War came on October 23, 2077, the dwellers reported to the vault and entered it. The shelter was sealed. Contact with other vaults was lost.

As the years went by, the conditions within the vault deteriorated. Population control was not implemented properly and by 2097, the vault was overcrowded, with correspondingly bad living conditions. The conflict was imminent. In spring, the situation exploded. Fallout Bible 0: Fallout Bible 3: "2141 Spring Vault 15 opened." The date presented by Chris Avellone in the timeline draft is incorrect. Shady Sands is specifically stated to have been founded by Aradesh's ancestor in the game. If it was founded in 2141, then Aradesh would be the founder. There is also no mention of the people of Shady Sands coming out of a Vault, which is inconsistent with the relatively recent founding date. Finally, as the Vipers, Jackals, and Khans emerged out of Vault 15 together, it's impossible for them to raid the Hub in 2125, sixteen years before their emergence. The date is based on the Vipers design document, which states the following: "64 years ago [in 2097], a man named Jonathan Faust led his group of about 200 people from the overcrowded Vault into the wastes of the outside. It was there that his small band came to a small oasis in the middle of the desert. In the middle of this oasis was a large pit, almost like a crater. While resting and setting up camp, Faust decided to look into the pit. Darkness greeted him. When a member of the band called out to him, Faust turned, startled, and slipped into the Pit. He slid down twenty feet and then fell another 20 and broke his leg in the process. As he lay there dazed, a half dozen gigantic Pit Vipers slithered toward him. Not knowing what these things were, Faust was terrified. The group above heard one loud scream and then nothing. Three others went to look for him, but never came out. The small band, leaderless and stuck in the desert with no food and water, decided to stay at the oasis, at least for a little while. They covered the pit with a tarp and nailed spikes around it to keep whatever horror lived there encased there. They then set up their camp as far from the Pit as possible. Whatever was down in the Pit never bothered them. Days passed. The more influential of the group argued about what they were to do. There was talk of joining up with others from the Vault. There was talk about going back to the Vault." There was a schism among the dwellers and the vault was finally opened. Most of the dwellers marched out, stripping the shelter of the best equipment, including the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. A small group stayed behind, trying to continue living in the now gutted vault. The dwellers that left the vault would eventually form distinct communities. The most significant of these was the village of Shady Sands, created with Vault 15's GECK. The rest would band into raider tribes (the Khans, Jackals and Vipers), terrorizing New California for years. The vault itself continued along until it was invaded. The attackers used a shaped charge to breach the vault door. The vault was subsequently abandoned. Its condition deteriorated as the tremors caused the second and third level walls to give way to tons of rock, burying vital sections of the vault. Wildlife and scavengers completed the destruction. When the Vault Dweller set out to find a replacement chip for Vault 13, the buried vault was his first step and first disappointment.

Even as the New California Republic formed in 2189, the vault was left abandoned. The primary reason was arguments over the excavation rights between the republic and salvage teams, raiders, people worshipping the vault, ghoul scavengers, etc. The largest problem manifested in the early 2240s. After the NCR abandoned Vault 15 following another excavation operation a few years before 2241, their old base was claimed by a group of wastelanders with nowhere to go, who formed a squat on the surface. When the NCR tried to reclaim the vault and the vital computer parts within, they were stopped by the squatters.

The reason for their obstinacy was twofold. First, Vault 15 was the only home they knew. Secondly, they were actually covering for a group of raiders, the New Khans under Darion. Darion promised the squatters that the vault was being repaired by his men, to provide them with shelter, food and water. However, in reality, all food and water was coming from Khan raids against caravans. The vault was dead. Darion also managed to plant a spy in the NCR congress, giving him near-perfect intel on the NCR.

The situation was resolved by the Chosen One. Hired by President Tandi to retrieve the computer parts from Vault 15, he also managed to broker a deal between the squatters and the NCR. He would kill Darion and retrieve the parts, while the squatters would grant NCR access to the vault in return for annexation, education, and supplies necessary to survive. Successful in his mission, the Chosen One also vindicated President Tandi's policies of peaceful expansion, gaining the NCR a foothold in the northern wastes, while the squatters learned self-sufficiency and became productive members of society.

Layout
Fallout 1=

Surface
A small building sitting in the middle of an empty space. This entrance will be guarded by a radscorpion if one is unlucky.

Entrance
This area has the same layout as Vault 13's entrance. In the first corridor, the player character will find a mole rat. At the end of this area, they will need a rope to go further down into the vault.

Living quarters
This area has a layout much like Vault 13. Here most people will get their first armor. The player character will again need a rope to go down further at the end of this area. In the third room counting from the left, one can find a locker with a rope in it.

Command Center
Much of this level is buried under tons of rock and rubble, including the command and control center. The rest of the vault's equipment has been ruined or destroyed. There are a lot of pig rats, rats and one mole rat.

Fallout 2=

The squat
A grouping of tents, small buildings and some trees up against the side of a cliff. There are squatters wandering the area.

Eastern entrance
Raiders built a lift to have an easy access to the vault, bypassing the squatter residents and built a shack for its protection. This shack is the place where Chrissy is kept.

Entrance
This area has almost the same layout as Vault 12's entrance, except that the outside section is a cavern instead of a sewer, and the main entrance elevator with a tunnel leading to it is present. This is completely different from what the Vault Dweller saw there in 2162. After the player character repairs the power generator on level 2, they need to deal with a force field to proceed.

Living quarters
This area has no rubble. There is also (with a good repair skill and a tool) a generator that can be repaired, this turns on the lights and the console to activate the level 1 force field. All three levels are connected by a single elevator, which is different than the two shafts seen in Fallout. The presence of a wall locker in one of the rooms bears a resemblance to Vault 12.

Command center
The command center is in control of Darion, the leader of the New Khans. Though most of the computers have been destroyed, there are a few of them that work, barely.

2141

 * Aradesh
 * Katrina
 * Jonathan Faust
 * Asp Faust
 * Garl Death-Hand's father
 * Garl Death-Hand

2161

 * Rats
 * Mole rats
 * Pig rats

Fallout

 * Find the Water Chip

Fallout 2

 * Give Spy Holodisk to authority in NCR
 * Kill Darion
 * Rescue Chrissy
 * Complete Deal with NCR

Appearances
Vault 15 appears in Fallout and Fallout 2 and is mentioned in the Fallout Bible.

Bugs

 * Fallout may sometimes crash if one chooses to travel to the location.
 * Certain raiders in the vault are bugged. Some have incorrect ammo or ammo in their item slots which confuses the AI and prevents them from using their weapons correctly. Darion will not use his flamer and will run away from the player character once combat has started.