Carol (Fallout 3)

Carol is a female ghoul residing in the Underworld in 2277. Together with her partner Greta, she runs Carol's Place.

Background
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 impact flash-vaporized him leaving only a shadow. 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. While some had become mad, others, like Carol, just accepted their transformations. It is unknown if these "mad" ghouls were ferals or if they just went insane from the psychological damage caused by the transformation.

Relationships
Carol met another ghoul named Greta in the mid-2210s. For over sixty years, the two have jointly run Carol's Place, with Carol handling sleeping arrangements and Greta serving food. It is implied that Carol and Greta are either a couple, or that Carol sees Greta as a daughter.

At an unspecified time prior to the emergence of the Lone Wanderer from Vault 101, Carol befriended and "adopted" a ghoul named Gob. This caused a small rift between her and Greta, which Carol would later ascribe to jealousy. Whether or not that was correct, Gob later moved out, and the relationship between Carol and Greta stabilized, though Carol often worries about Gob's well-being.

Daily schedule
Carol performs basic hotel keeping duties such as sweeping and renting out beds.

Other interactions

 * Although Carol is hesitant to talk about her experiences during and since the War, she will tell her story if encouraged.
 * When talking to Carol, you can ask her about Gob. If you blew up Megaton and tell her that you killed Gob everyone in Underworld (except Doctor Barrows, his assistant, and sometimes Tulip and Willow) becomes hostile towards you (including Charon, even if he is your follower). If you didn't blow up Megaton, but killed Gob, only Carol will become hostile to you. Killing her in self defense will not result in any karma loss.
 * If you just tell her that Gob is dead, she will become very sad and start talking about how she was "thinking about Gob" every time you open a chat with her.
 * Whether you tell Carol that Gob is a slave or not, she will advise that he not visit Underworld.
 * Carol claims that she was "a little girl" when the bombs fell, and her story of "looking up" at her father seems to support this. Therefore, her birth date of 2051 (which would make her 25 at the youngest in 2077) must be a mistaken memory.
 * From her story, one could speculate the bomb shelter was underground and she was "looking up" the stairs at her father. This would also explain why she was covered from the explosion.

Quests

 * You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head: Greta can point out that Crowley's supposed hate for smoothskins is not the real reason for his assassination assignment.

Effects of player actions

 * If both Gob and Greta are killed, Carol will become despondent and mope around in her shop.

Appearances
Carol appears only in Fallout 3.