So I picked up the Fallout Trilogy by Interplay last week, warred with Vista to get it running, and set up a custom character (I don't care for any of Bethesda's preset characters). That character died a horrible radscorpion death on the way to the next Vault. So I started a new character with slightly diff stats (small arms, sneak, and melee) and made it to Shady Sands in one piece. I spent the next hour trying to kill the radscorpions, and, realizing that was out of my range, headed off to Junktown. Didn't find anything of interest, so left for the Hub. Got into the Crimson gang first, read what sort of raids they did, just about wet myself recalling I couldn't handle a mere radscorpion without serious damage, and left for Far Go traders. And learned they dealt with Deathclaws instead.

So what I want to know is "Are there any quests out here for low-levels like me?" I'd like to level up (I'm level 3 now), but I can JUST scraqe by a single radscorpion, and even the single mole rat I ran into did a total of 10-15 points of damage (out of 35 hp). Is it better for me to just charge into the vault? Or are there easy quests I can take to raise some cash? (I had to sell half my stuff for a single stimpack!!! Wow.)

Yup, FO1 is fairly rough at the start.

I recommend going into Vault 15 (you'll need a couple of ropes) and killing off the critters therein- you'll hit level 4 and possibly level 5, and get a bunch of stuff you can trade for more supplies. There is a related quest in Shady Sands, I believe you get it from Aradesh. That should get you to L5 if you're not there already, and there's some other stuff you can do in and around SS to gain a couple of levels.

There's also a couple of fairly easy (and also fairly safe) assignments you can get in The Hub, those should level you a bit as well. It's been a few years since I last played, so I don't remember what they are; ask around and you should be able to get some work.

EDIT: as to the Radscorp job in SS, hit-and-run is your friend. Also, you'll want to get to a safe location and heal up as often as possible. Last time I did it I took several game-days to complete it via that method, but that's not a problem since you can afford a few days at that point.

Bethesda did not make or publish any previous Fallout title.


As to the Radscorp job in SS, you can complete it without firing a shot, or getting stung even once (just look around a bit).

Yeah, I forgot Bethseda just made Fallout 3. What company did the others? (eh, I can always wiki it later)

You can!? That makes life much easier!! And a guide mentioned buying grenades, but where do I buy them? And about how many ropes will I need? I have one or two, should I aim for three or five?


General: Do you remember having to kill the Deathclaw? Guides online mentioned the dying super mutant, but not all mentioned actually killing the deathclaw...?

Weapons like that will usually only be found in military areas, but there is a guy in the HUB that sells high end stuff. I actually finished Fallout before realizing that the Hub (and several other areas) had more parts to the left and right.

When using grenades, its great to hit as many as you can with one shot ~Go for the clumped enemies. With the Rad Scorpion Quest though... I meant that it is possible to finish it without combat of any kind, just look around a bit when you get there.

Theres plenty low level quests In Vault 13, Shady Sands, Junktown and obviously Vault 15.

Im not sure how you can find nothing of interest in junktown. Theres a hell of a lot goin on there.

Why Interplay did,...

Grenades are fairly late level. Try the guy in the "old Town" section of the Hub. One rope is enough to walk in to V15 with (the other one you'll need is on site). You'll also need another rope later on for another location.

Yes, but don't worry about that just yet, your character is far too young to beat a deathclaw.

l play a ninkumpoop with 2 int and 10 strength, so l can punch rad scorpians to death ln 2 hits.. But l had a bad encounter with 6 muties with gatlings, SO my brute character lasted 17min. I needed to level up before l explored like that. Learned my lesson.

My bad. I thought Interplay was a random distributor of old games. I was wondering if there was going to be a lawsuit or something... Now I feel stupid. :facepalm: Oh well, game and learn.

Oh, okay. I can probably go ahead and check that Vault out now. Maybe I'll find some stuff worth selling...

Good, I was going to say, "Either I stumbled on a ridiculous quest, or my character is really a futuristic Clark Kent!" Having a futuristic Clark Kent would have been awesome. But I'll settle for not dying a horrible death.



Oooh, I watched a character like that on youtube before! Something about helping some other idiot with radscorpions. The whole conversation was really all grunts and growls, but they had captions in game that made them sound like two people having an intelligent conversation in their own language. It was awesome. What level were you, and how far out into the Wasteland (does that apply to the West?) were you?


Calgone: I'm still having trouble making my way around town maps (mostly because of the awkward camera angle), so I didn't spend too much time there. I did wind up in a fight with the doctor and his henchmen, so I reloaded and ditched the place (as the only other quest I noted was something about shady guy. Sounds like trouble to me...). I might go back later...

Gitzmo: Oh cool, I'd feel a bit cheap simply walking in and out without actually solving anything, but then again, I'll be in one piece. :thumbsup: I may just do it anyway and avenge myself on the scorpions later...

:thumbsup:
... Well, you'd still be solving it... Aradresh said that no matter how many they kill, they keep coming back. (make it so they can't come back)

I'd forgotten about that part of the Radscorp quest (I really should get the old games again...), and was offering tips for the 'kill em all' method, which also works.

@Silver Dreamer:
Killing the Deathclaw is something you should leave for much later, FO1 and 2 Deathclaws make FO3 ones look like wimps (no, I'm not exaggerating). If you're going to try that get good armor and heavy weapons, you'll need them.

@Guitarguru134:
You want to be really high level with a lot of HP and the best gear before you start messing with Super Mutants, those guys are BRUTAL. For reference: I took what I thought was a sufficient character (L15, about 260HP, high combat skills, PA, and Turbo Plasma Rifle) into SM territory and got utterly PWNED by the first patrol I ran across.

I headed out for Vault 15 (squeezing by the radscorpion), grabbed a few goodies, and got myself killed twice by the greater mole rat in the basemant. On the bright side, I picked up the leather jacket and the smg (SMG = WIN right now), and sold off my 10mm pistol. I also learned that, defying expectations, the barter system does NOT cover up any difference in price, so if I sell $20 and buy $5, I only get my $5 item. >.> No wonder I've been struggling with supplies (I simply thought "Holy crap living out here is almost as expensive as living on the Vegas Strip!!").

With my new gear in hand, I headed off to do the radscorpion quest and learned something else: SMG + BURST (+sometimes a knife swing) > RADSCORPION. Once I aggro'd them and lured them one by one into 81% or more burst fire range, they died off pretty fast (at one point it did like 80-odd damage. If my char was the dancing type I imagined he'd have done the polka...).

If Deathclaws are really that bad (I still have nightmares of Charon chasing them and getting obliterated), I'll just "forget" the right time to go on the caravan trip (which I probably missed by now anyway). And by forget, I mean "What caravan?". For now, I'll just poke around Vault 13 like the lapdog Theresa says I am and await further orders. (something about a rebel faction? Is it bad that I'm tempted to say there's a paradise out there just to watch Theresa die a horrible, messy death?)

Saadly, thats not far from the truth these days. Bethesda today is what Interplay was about 10 years ago - Making and distrubting "top tier" games, but not as many as EA, etc.

As for Caravans, at this level you're probably best doing the water merchants, and maybe Far-Go at a stretch. Although Crimson will offer you a lot of money, there's a darned good reason for that. Save beforehand no matter which you do.

:( Still, they do garner a lot of respect as a game company (I'd say comparable to Valve, which has a solid fanbase of its own). I haven't heard of EA really having a hardcoe fanbase (and by fanbase I mean people who get excited when they see the EA logo on anything), so it can't be all bad.

Haha, yeah, I asked about Crimson after I accepted their job. I reloaded a save once I learned that and went Far Go instead. At the moment, I'm hanging out in Vault 13, about to ask the Overseer what to do next. Probably involves more Radscorpions... *shudder* After doing some quest in there, I may head back to Shady Sands to see if a particular quest starts yet...

for the shady sands radscorpion quest, you can loot enough stuff from the ss to get cash and persuade that ian guy to help you. he should get you through the radscorpian mission, what a legend.

on the caravan trips you can sometimes get away with just staying out of the way and letting the pros do the real work- an easy 600 caps (for the crimsons).

I thought about hiring Ian, but I read he had an interesting habit of shooting you instead of the enemy (since I like to soften up enemies and draw them to me for some melee, that would be bad. ). On a different note, I wish I had taken Awareness before (read about it in an online guide)! Now seriously wounded actually means something (and less deaths from charging at a seriously wounded scorpion or greater mole rat with melee only to have them survive long enough to slaughter me)!! I'll have to remember this for my next character...

I rate Ian, I kept him with me all the way through the game until...
(minor spoiler alert, highlight text below)

the military base(no follower survives that, you'll find out...).

he does occasionally miss his target and hit you but he's definately more of a help than a hindrance.

yeah, awareness is a good perk, its very helpful in FO1 and FO2.
it's a perk you get after level 3(ish) though, not a trait you decide at the start, so there's no need to start a new character to get it.

keep us posted on where you're up to. I love FO1 and 2 so it's great to reminisce about different towns/ characters. FO1 is quite a short game though, if you know what you're doing you can finish it pretty quickly. FO2 on the other hand...

Yeah, wait until you get to Fallout 2 and give Sulik an SMG.
At times it's going to look like your companions are assassins hired by your enemy that try to 'make it look like an accident'

Actually companions are very useful - just take care of what weapons you give them and make you get out of their way during combat.

I'll have to remember that perk next time I play then. ;) I did hire him to hep me with the Raiders, but when I try to heal him with the stimpack, I'm left to chase him around the map as he retreats. >.> And talking to Garl leaves me with the option of fighting him hand to hand for Tandi. It doesn't go well. XD (I do small weapons and melee. Unarmed is definitely not my char's forte.) Any suggestions? Maybe I should give Ian a bunch of stimpacks, or should I go raise actual money to set her free or something?




Awesome. All I need is an assassin besides the mutated freaks walking about!! Q.Q Sounds just like Fallout 3 (there's a reason I don't let Charon use my grenades...). But I'm giving Ian a spin now, may get Dogmeat later...


SPEAKING OF WHICH, I went to the Overseer and he was about as helpful as a wet sock. If Vault 15's waterchip is buried under rubble, does that warrant dynamite or am I supposed to go elsewhere? Does something happen after Tandi?

You can shoot up all the guards, buy her out, do the unarmed combat, sneak her out and i think maybe even talk them down and get them to let her go?



You wont be able to move that rubble, you might have to try to find another Vault.

I'm sorry Mario, but the princess is in another castle.

There might be clues to another vault elsewhere, and if there were surely it would be documented somewhere... Are there any bastions of Pre-War documents anywhere?

You can sell stimpacks to your companions and they just use them when they need. For the raiders there's loads of ways to rescue tandi. I got an option (i think it's related to a decent speech level) to 'prove i'm a tough guy' by shooting 2 girls. it felt wrong and lowered karma but its a quick way to get her back. The easiest way is probably to sell some stuff to buy her back. I've heard you can sneak round the back way and lockpick your way in to sneak her out too. it depends on your characters strengths i suppose, is he good at sneaking, talking or fighting?

It's never a good idea to give companions burst weapons in FO1 or 2, it doesn't end well! if you get marcus to help you out in FO2, make sure you get that minigun off him quick or you'll get blown to crap when he tries to kill a giant plant or something.

there's no clear direction about water chips for a while, the game definately doesnt spell it out for you, so go explore other towns and look for water! you can buy more time by sending water from the water merchants in the hub but it's just a temporary solution. By the way, to avoid frustration, developing first the repair skill and then the science skill above 50 is advised for the main quest. it's not essential but it'l definately help.

good luck, wanderer!

In my first playthrough I must have wasted hours reloading the game trying to figure out which was the spot I was supposed to place the dynamite. :banghead:
And the lesson was:
See that little message window on the bottom left side of the screen? Pay attention to it!

And while your in the Hub make sure to find the Master Water Merchant, she will supply your Vault with water adding 100 more days to the time you have to get the waterchip before you lose.

There is a nasty side effect from that though.