Vault 13

Vault 13 (or V13) is one of the Vault series of fallout shelters developed by Vault-Tec. Specifically, it is the home of the Vault Dweller. Fallout begins in Vault 13, and it is eventually referred to as the "Holy 13" in Fallout 2. V13 also plays a major role in the Master's plan, as it is one of the few remaining untouched Vaults when Fallout begins.

Construction on the Vault started in August 2063, and was completed in March 2069. The total number of occupants (at maximum capacity) was 1000, and the Vault was meant to stay closed for ten years. However, due to the Enclave's Vault experiments, V13 stayed locked up for at lot longer.

In 2161, V13's only functioning water chip (the spares were mistakenly sent to Vault 15) was broken by a time-travelling tribal from 2242. One Vault dweller (The Vault Dweller) was randomly selected to be sent out into the wasteland to find a replacement chip, a task that was completed on May 10th, 2162. The Vault Dweller was subsequently expelled from V13. This was the last time V13 would be opened for many years.

Between May 15th and 17th 2242, the Enclave opened up V13, kidnap the inhabitants and dropped a unit of intelligent deathclaws into the (now empty) Vault. When the Enclave were destroyed in the autumn of the same year, the inhabitants of V13 founded a village (New Arroyo) with the descendants of the exiled Vault Dweller.