Fallout 3 Part #16 - Man, that's a lot of redemption.

Part 16: Man, that's a lot of redemption.

VigilantePrime posted:

Suddenly Lizard Wizard, Mage Mage finds himself in front of a bonfire. The world feels cold despite the flame, as if the energy had been sucked from the air itself. He knows not why he now walks in this realm, but he feels he must restore this energy, this fire, to the land. He embarks upon his journey. He heads to the north, through the inviting archways and crosses a tranquil pool. He marvels at the large raven he sees overhead, yet undaunted he continues on. Descending the staircase ahead of him, he is then stabbed by a skeleton and dies.

I'm not gonna rule out a Dark Souls LP at some point, but man I don't wanna think about a Dark Souls LP right now. Not that it wouldn't be awesome.

_{I could beat a damn skeleton anyway}

Man, that's a lot of redemption.

Okay, they're gone. Now, as I recall, I've got work to do.

First thing I'll be crossing off my list is charity. Just gotta milk ol' Wadsworth dry...

...and lubricate this poor hobo's throat! You're welcome, hobo. You're welcome.

Next up, something I really should've done months ago: delivering that letter to Lucy West's family in Arefu.

As per usual, raiders infest the raised-roads that litter the wasteland.

I've heard of worse reasons to try out a weapon.

All right, pal, time to teach you a lesson you won't soon-

_{_{Holy fucking shit.}}

Redemption is FUN!

Okay, the whole punching thing doesn't work out so good against robots. Let's try a more unconventional method.

DOG BEAM FIRE!

Good dog. Best bullet.

I wonder what this could be?

A cave, apparently. I wonder what goodies are inside!

Holy shit.

I'm findin' Vaults all over the place, here!

Huh. This seems a bit creepy.

Nowhere to go but in, I guess!

Electronic though they may be, these door panels still take a key, so, picky picky!

Computer, huh? Now we're talkin'!

Shame. Oh well, there's plenty of Vault to explore.

Hey.

HEY.

Leave my dog alone, man.

Now, let's see what else we can oh wait the place has gone all purple now. Hi, Dadddddsssssssss?

Sorry, did I come at a Dad time?

Ooh, this computer's not even locked. Fancy that.

Can't say as I've seen that OS before.

Now that sounds like a plan, purple world computer.

Deeeeelicious.

Annnnd everything's all normalways again. Fine by me, I guess.

Back to Vaultcrawlin'.

Awful lot of violent punks in here!

I know it's not exactly squeaky clean, but god do I love punching people into jelly.

Really not much to speak of except for some more jerks and this key I don't need.

Okay, just the one thing.

Oh, and I guess someone decided to run poison gas that'll drive everyone in the Vault insane because WHY NOT?

I think I should probably leave.

Since I know someone will mention it, I didn't cover the entirety of Vault 106. There's the Overseer's Terminal which presumably opens some hidden chamber, but that would require 100 Science. There's also a neat bit where you fight hallucinations of the Tunnel Snakes, but I figured it'd just be funnier for Lizard Wizard to just go "yeah, no" at the insanity gas.

Back to the dusty ol' trail it is, then. And the robots.

Think I saw some buildings on this raised-road. And, well, the sign does say "Arefu".

Nice little place.

AUGH

After a...mild misunderstanding, I speak to the local, er, vigilant old coot in town.

Long story short, they're being terrorized by some gang.

Even killed their horrible mutant cattle.

So I figure I may as well do what I can here. Everyone's too scared to come out of their homes, so first thing on the agenda is to check on everyone.

Morale is not high at the Ewers household.

Miss Schenzy is a bit less bitter. And hey, she raises a good point. Hell, I could probably handle this Family.

Oh yeah. I can deliver this letter now.

...well.

This is hardly ideal.

And I think shit just got a lot more serious. Need to gather a bit more information.

Wait, there's another?

Old man has a few ideas as to where the Family was hiding out. Some old railway station, and this cavern called Harrison's Hideaway. They travel at night, so he can't be sure which one is their nest. I think I see where this is going.

Just heading over to the train station first...

Oh, shit.

I'd forgotten about this den of slavery.

The guards, of course, are easily dealt with.

This level I finally top off my Small Guns and Energy Weapons, along with a healthy investment in Science. Now I can shoot with deadly efficiency even out of VATS! I also take Lawbringer as a perk, which will be mighty convenient for lightening my karma in a hurry. It'll come up soon enough.

Something tells me I shouldn't try to take on the whole base yet. I mean, I died like eight times trying.

Shh.

Urgh. I had hoped to put it off, but I'm going to need to investigate me some more Metro Tunnels.

Nothing too bad here. But those barrels are a bit conspicuous.

Whoa, okay. Apparently these guys are working on some kind of superdrug? They can do what they want, but I'm not getting mixed up with that shit.

Okay, that's sketchy.

This bears investigation.

Okay, at least this whole pit isn't irradiated.

Let's see where it goes.

...hm. From one patch of Metro to another, huh?

Just a matter of persistence with these godforsaken mazes.

And it looks like I'm on the right track. Turns out the Wests' son is with the Family, so I manage to talk my way past him.

Into the Family's den, then. He said Vance was their leader?

This place is very different from any of the other settlements I've seen.

It is a sanctuary for the oppressed and a beacon of faith for the tyrannized.

<Oh boy.>

We are the remnants of society, cast aside like the clean-picked bones of a hunter's feast.

<Slick metaphor there, buddy.>

Men of science would call us cannibals, eaters of human flesh. Society labels us as monsters, demons and the unclean.

Speech Yeah, I know, you're v-

Failed I am afraid that the knowledge required to appreciate our true nature is far above your level of comprehension. Humans call for our extermination or reform. Reforming implies something is wrong with us and needs to be eliminated. I think of my teachings as more of an improvement, a way to transcend our cannibalistic nature. Allow me to bolster your understanding with a lesson in objectivity.

<Oh for fuck's sake.>

I say we are no longer cannibal, only consuming the blood of our prey. What would that make us in your eyes?

I can't imagine.

In ceremony, each member of the Family must speak one of the Laws...it is theirs to remember and to enforce. Perhaps from these Laws you can discover what we are. Return to me when you are ready.

Yes laws okay. I'll be on my way, then.

Yeah, cool. I'm looking for this kid named Ian West, you seen him?

Ian? What do you want from him?

Speech He needs to talk to someone from the outside, to get some perspective.

Say, that's not a bad idea. Here's the password to his isolation area. Just don't mention my name to Vance about this.

He's needed at home, you know. His parents are dead.

Well, Ian was there when it happened and did nothing to stop it. If you ask yourself why, the answer is obvious.

...

He belongs with us here. He's one of us. Don't deny him his rightful home.

So, over this way, isn't it?

Might this be the holding cell?

Bingo.

Hey, King sent me to look for you. You're a bitch to find, you know that?

I bet he has the entire town out looking for me. He's worse than my parents.

Which brings me to my next point, which is that said parents are DEAD.

You think I wasn't there? You think I don't know what happened?

...you seem awfully troubled, Ian. What did you do?

It was the fucking hunger. The thing that's haunted me my entire life!

Maybe I can help.

Help? How can you help? There's something inside of me...something completely messed up! No one gives a shit about me except Vance and the Family. Can't you understand that?

Speech Yeah, it's some heavy shit. I know that. What you really need to do is face it. Let's go home, Ian.

I...maybe you're right. I don't know what I'm running away from, but given time maybe things can go back to the way they used to be. Please, tell Vance I've made my decision; I'm going home to Arefu. I'm just gonna gather my stuff together my stuff together and say my goodbyes, then I'll head on back. See you there.

Vance is a little upset, but it seems he's more than understanding of Ian's decision. That's a relief.

Now back to Arefu.

Ooh, some scrap metal. Walter will sure appreciate this!

Looks like I even get to clean up some trash on the way!

Huh. Her finger came off so...so cleanly. Might as well take it. And there was this note, too. An invitation to join a group devoted to cleaning up the wastes, and coordinates for their base of operations. I think I'll mark that on my map.

Almost there.

It was a long, hard trek...

...but in the end, I think it was worth it.

At the moment, I've got a guy to see about some scrap metal.

Hey, whatever I can do to help.

That Regulator place should be just north of Scrapyard so oh goddammit.

This place.

Is CRAWLING.

With raiders.

And hey, more fingers. How 'bout that.

Oh, there's the Regulator place. It's a bit...smaller than I imagined.

Hey, you're all about cleaning up the Wasteland and so am I. I'm on board.

Now, as for the rest, here's the only thing we want from you: hunt down the evil, the wicked, and the villainous. Bring them to justice. Bring us their fingers as proof of the deed. We'll pay you a bounty for each one. Simple, right? Questions?

Neat! Actually, I think I've got some fingers for you already.

Hereyago.

For every finger we turn in we get about 5 caps, but that's just a side bonus. Fingers have a chance to drop not just from evil NPCs, but random evil mobs like raiders as well. Turn 'em in, get a Karma boost. It's a great fast track to Good status!