Baby Steps

Baby Steps Theme

Baby Steps is the very first Fallout 3 quest.

Walk to Dad
Walk over to Dad.

Escape the playpen
After the PC's father speaks for a little while, he will lock him/her in the playpen and leave. A new objective is given at this point: open the playpen's gate. Walk up to the gate and press the action button. The gate will swing open, and the next part will start. This is also when you learn how to grab and move objects without putting it in your inventory. Approaching the chair next to the playpen will give the PC a quick tip on how to jump.

You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
The next objective is to find the "You're SPECIAL!" book. It is lying right in front of the toy box. Once examined, you are prompted to decide what your character's initial primary statistics should be. The book gives a description of what each attribute does on each page. The last page allows for all to be adjusted from one location.

If you are not satisfied with your SPECIAL stats, you will be given an opportunity to change them after the "Escape!" quest.

Follow Dad
James will come back into the room, perfectly aware of the player character's escape (even if he/she returns to the pen and closes the door). He reads his wife's favorite Bible verse, Revelation 21:6, to the player. He then tells the player to follow him to see if their friend Amata wants to play. After entering into the hallway, the game skips forward nine years to the PC's tenth birthday party, starting the "Growing Up Fast" quest.

Rewards

 * S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points assigned
 * Progress to age 10

Transition quotes
You may not be able to listen to all the voices talking at the same time during the transition from being a newborn to an infant. These are the lines:
 * I'm sorry, Madison. I am. But what choice do I have?- Dad
 * I thought I knew you... I trusted you! We all did! How can you be so selfish? -- Doctor Li
 * Selfish? This is my child we're talking about, Madison! My child! -- Dad
 * It's you and me, now, okay? You and me. But that's okay. So long as we've got each other, that's all that matters. -- Dad
 * No, no, put that away. This one's on the house. And now a toast. To James and his cheery cherub. May your future be safe, bright, and boring as hell.-- Colin Moriarty
 * Shh... You're safe now. No more monsters. No more nightmares. Shh... That's it. Daddy's got you… -- Dad
 * Yes, yes. Cardiology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry. Whatever your needs. You'll find I can handle, well… I can handle just about anything. -- Dad
 * All right. Just remember one thing. We need a doctor, not a deadbeat. Fail to meet my expectations, and there will be repercussions. -- Overseer
 * Not so bad, huh? A bit chilly maybe, but we'll get used to that. A few decorations, some donated toys, and this place will feel just like home. Home… -- Dad
 * Hmmmm... Good? Huh, is that good? Here you go... No... Not too fast. That's it. That's it. Everything on the spoon. Come on, you can do it. -- Dad

Bugs

 * After the line where Dad says "I want to show you something," he may simply stand still. You have to create a new file in order to get him to move. Another workaround would be to save the game, exit to the menu, then reload the save.
 * When you are first able to rotate the camera, you can look up and down but trying to look right will make you look slowly to your left. While trying to look left will make you look left but will act as your look sensitivity is extremely high.
 * It is possible to leave the vault as an infant. When James opens the door and re-enters the room, the Lone Wanderer (as a baby) can slip through the door, travel down the hall and walk into a white light. The player, remaining as an infant can progress through subsequent levels and even travel out into the Capital Wasteland, though it is impossible to hold weapons, among other complications, until you enter Megaton. (Verification? The "White Light" should end up triggering the script to change to your 10th Birthday, and sounds unlikely that the game designers would have added the possibility to go through the vault to outside. They might have removed all separate rooms behind the doors to simplify the first area, a smart move for early stages of a game)
 * If you prevent James from re-entering the room by closing the door in front of him from the the outside of the room you can walk down to the outer hallway without triggering the time skip. If you walk through the door at the end of the hallway you will be dropped into an area of the vault that is usually only accessible during the Escape! quest. From here you can continue as if you were doing the quest and escape the vault (although some NPCs will be missing like Tom Holden and Mary Holden), thus allowing you to explore the Capital Wasteland as a baby.