Growing Up Fast is the second quest in Fallout 3.
Quick walkthrough
| Main Quest: Growing Up Fast | |||||
| Speak with the guests | |||||
| Meet Jonas on the Reactor Level | |||||
| Shoot all 3 targets, and the Radroach, with the BB gun | |||||
| Stand next to Dad so that Jonas can take the picture | |||||
| Reward: Pip-Boy 3000, BB Gun | |||||
| Leads to: Future Imperfect | |||||
Detailed walkthrough
This quest begins immediately after the Baby Steps quest, moving forward in time to the player character's 10th birthday. They will be congratulated and be given a Pip-Boy 3000. The Lone Wanderer then has to speak with the guests to advance the plot. There are only two guests that must be spoken with, these being Amata and Old Lady Palmer.
Amata has three different dialogue options. Each option except "Um, a date with Christine Kendall/Freddie Gomez" will result in her giving the player character a "Grognak the Barbarian issue #14." comic. Seated opposite the Overseer, Old Lady Palmer will give the player a sweetroll. Optionally, Stanley, the one responsible for setting the Wanderer up with the Pip-Boy 3000, can also be spoken to for a Kid's Baseball Cap.
After Old Lady Palmer has been spoken with, Andy, a Mister Handy robot, will try to cut the cake, but will accidentally destroy it instead. This will agitate Butch DeLoria, and he will demand the Lone Wanderer's sweetroll as he is hungry. Various dialogue options are presented at this point. Butch will attack the Lone Wanderer if the sweetroll is not given. Officer Gomez will eventually break up the fight. If the sweetroll was eaten or dropped, Butch will sit back down. Amata will approach the Lone Wanderer to see what Butch's outburst was about, and Dad will also ask what happened.
Shortly after this, Dad will get up and go to the intercom, where he converses with Jonas over it. He will at this point direct the Lone Wanderer to go down to the reactor room for a surprise he and Jonas have been working on. Head out the door Dad just opened and turn right. Beatrice will speak with the Lone Wanderer on the way there. She will give them a poem which can be read in the "Notes" section of the Pip-Boy 3000. Turn left at the "reactor" sign, then head down the hall and turn right. Go down the stairs and enter the room. Talk to Jonas, and he'll direct you to see Dad, who is just coming down the stairs. When he speaks to you, he'll give you a BB Gun. A new objective pops up at this point. Head through the nearby door, and shoot all three targets with the BB gun.
After each target has been shot once, a radroach will come wandering into the area. The player character is tasked to kill it with their new BB gun. After this, Dad wants to capture the moment, and asks Jonas to take a picture. Stand next to him at this point to complete the quest. After the "Six Years Later" transition, the Future Imperfect quest will begin at the Lone Wanderer's age of 16.
Quest stages
Rewards
Notes
- The Grognak the Barbarian comic will be in the dresser in the Lone Wanderer's room along with a Vault 101 utility jumpsuit during Escape!
- During the Lone Wanderer's birthday, one can hear the young Tunnel Snakes talking about their gang, having Wally Mack and Butch argue about the gang's name. Wally replies in one point "You and your snakes and rats" as if the name couldn't be the Tunnel Snakes, but this seems to happen after all. The name "Vault Dwellers" is also suggested and immediately shot down by Butch, who says "Who wants to go around all day being called a Vault Dweller...".
- Instead of heading downstairs to meet with Jonas, the player can head straight forward up the stairs to witness a conversation between Officer Kendall and the Overseer, where the latter states what he really thinks of your party, saying "Bah, I only came because Amata's friends with the brat."
- Wally Mack will comment that the player's Pip-Boy is a "piece of junk," while Stanley calls it "reliable." He comments that someone could "drop a bomb on it and it would still work," then states "as a matter of fact, I know you could."
- If the player runs out of BBs, James will resupply the Lone Wanderer with 25 new BBs if spoken to. Regardless of this, there will still only be 50 BB pellets during the Escape! quest.
- Jonas still manages to take a picture of the Lone Wanderer and their father even if the player has shot him unconscious with their BB gun.
Transition quotes
- "You are to mend broken bones, prescribe medications, and see to the health of my residents. These "experiments" are a waste of time!" – The Overseer-
- "Don't be a damned fool! We experiment to prepare. We prepare to survive." – Dad-
- "What's the matter, teacher's pet? Gonna cry? Awww... Waaahh!" – Butch DeLoria-
- "Your mommy? Oh, sweetie... I... Of course I miss her. I miss her... so much. Each day more than the last." – Dad
Behind the scenes
The confrontation about the sweetroll is a reference to a running gag in Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls series, first appearing in The Elder Scrolls: Arena as a question to determine the player character's class: "While in town the baker gives you a sweetroll. Delighted you take it into an alleyway to enjoy, only to be intercepted by a gang of three kids your age. The leader demands the sweetroll, or else he and his friends will beat you and take it."
Bugs
It is possible that you will receive the Pip-Boy yet not the Vault 101 Citizenship Award trophy.
After shooting the three targets, when the radroach appears the game may crash while James is speaking to you. This can be fixed by restoring the action mapping to its default keys.- If Old Lady Palmer is spoken to after the Lone Wanderer is instructed to meet Jonas at the Reactor Level, Butch won't ask for the Sweetroll when she gives it to them.
Gallery
Overseer Almodovar giving the Pip-Boy 3000
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||