Introduction

In this second and, for now, final installment of my Fallout journal, I want to tell you about my trip to Shady Sands Part 1. As you saw in my first entry, I wanted to spice this series up by writing it in journal form. I’m not sure how well I succeeded then, but I feel like this entry raises the entertainment value some. Let me know if you agree.

Shady Sands Part 1

5 December 2161 (Vault 13 Entrance): Ahead, I see a natural light. For the first time in my life, I’m looking at the outside world. It looks…

Hideous. I want to go home. Something inside…and the urgent message about the water chip on my Pip Boy 2000…urges me to ignore that feeling and go on.

12 December 2161 (The Wasteland/Shady Sands): After about a week of travel through the Wasteland, I pass an outpost. An adobe wall surrounds a peaceful looking village. “Welcome to Shady Sands,” a guard says. He introduces himself as Seth. “The town,” he continues, “other than radscorpions and raiders, have no problems.” The radscorpions menace their Brahmin and attacked one of the farmers. The raiders, on the other hand, attack mostly from the southeast. I thank Seth for the information and assure him I will come back to deal with the radscorpions. He tells me to visit their leader, Aradesh.

Before moving on, I talk to the other woman at the entrance. She introduces herself as Katarina. Concerned, she asks me to put my dagger away. She assures me that my instinct that this world is dangerous is correct, but Shady Sands is peaceful. When I sheath my dagger, she is willing to talk to me. She assures me that her old home, Vault 15, had a functioning water chip the last she knew. Even though she came from Vault 15, she doesn’t remember much about the world. Ian can help me with that. After the conversations, she suggests that I visit Aradesh.

The first person that I meet besides them tells me suspiciously that the last visitor to the town screwed the village. I assure him that I’m not like that. “Just stay out of trouble.” Okie dokie.

Radscorpion Cave

During the search for Ian, I find ammo and a book. The book talka about surviving the Wasteland. I’m thankful for the knowledge. When I get to Ian’s place, he tells me that he lived in The Hub. Like Katarina, he got injured, but not as badly. Now, he works as a wandering trader for the town since he’s one of the only ones who ever left the town. I ask him two favors. 1. Directions to The Hub and Junktown. 2. Help with the radscorpions. He tells me the directions and agrees to help for some caps. We go back to Seth, who takes us to the Radscorpion cave.

Ugh. Back in a cave already.

Ian and I make quick work of the 9 radscorpions. I’m thankful for his help and willingly pay his bounty. One of them poisons me. Where to find an antidote? Perhaps these tails will come in handy.

I bid farewell to Ian and go back to Razlo. Without the poison, he can’t make an antidote to heal me. Aha! The tails. Razlo makes the antidotes. Thank you, Shady Sands. I should rest.

13 December 2161 (Shady Sands Garden): I find another book and some rope. The books talks more about surviving in the Wasteland. It’s a long book and I need to rest again.

14 December 2161 (Shady Sands Garden): I chat with one of the farmers about their crops and how they grow them in the harsh conditions of the Wasteland. Alas, my time here is done for now. Off to Vault 15.

To be continued…

The Verdict

I hope you enjoyed Shady Sands Part 1. As I said, I tried to make this one more entertaining by including more personal details. I think I still have some way to go. But, it’s definitely an improvement. So, join us for a new segment on the page, Final Friday Fallout. Every last Friday of the month, I plan to continue the games until finishing them. As for next week, I start Fallout 2.

Since I’m playing a 25 year old game, I decided to use a blast from the past for my walkthrough.

Introduction

After the release of the show, I wanted to celebrate the Fallout series for a week. Then, I realized that June was perfect for an entire month’s worth of Fallout. With that plan on paper, I worked to flesh it out more. As recently as two days ago, I came up with the idea to format this as a journal. Then, yesterday, I played through the introduction of the first Fallout game to tell you about Vault 13 Part 1.

What Makes Me SPECIAL?

Note: If you never played the Fallout games, they organized character stats into the acronym, SPECIAL. In the interest of time, I consulted a walkthrough for the game.

Strength: 5

Perception: 8

Endurance: 6

Charisma: 6

Intelligence: 8

Agility: 7

Luck: 7

Vault 13 Part 1

5 December 2161: The overseer came to see me today. He says that the control chip in the water purifier is faulty. We only have 4 or 5 months until we run out of clean water. He tells me that I am quite possibly the only hope for the Vault. They are sending me out to find another chip and save my fellow dwellers. He suggests Vault 15 as a first stop.

They lead me to the entrance. Only the vault door stands between me and whatever horrors await me on the surface. I check my supplies. 4 Stimpaks, a pistol, some ammunition, and a knife. Red lights flash all around me as a horn sounds. The gears of the vault door grind. It shifts backwards and then an arm attaches to pull it to the side.

I’m out.

But still in. They dug the entrance into a cave. After my eyes adjust, I see a skeleton. The poor guy left behind a knife and some more ammo. Well, he’s not going to need it anymore. Even with the extra ammo, I decide to conserve and pull out my knife in case of attack.

That attack comes quickly! And from all sides! Rats all around me bite and claw. With my trusty knife, though, I am become death. Destroyer of Rats. In a particularly harrowing battle, the little bastard darts all over the place, making it almost impossible to hit him. I finally kill him but not before he injures me quite severely. I conserved ammo, but now I need to use a Stimpak.

Into the Wasteland

After my epic battles with the rats, I figure it’s a good idea to take a rest before stumbling out into the Wasteland. I pause at the mouth of the cave, set up a make shift bed from the roo skeleton there, and lay down for a well deserved nap. Luckily, the rat families don’t come to avenge their dead. I both anticipate and dread what the Wasteland has in store for me.

To be continued….

The Verdict

I actually played through the rat cave twice because I never saved my first game and ended up getting killed by a pack of moles. Thankfully, I learned from that mistake and saved the second time around. That way, when I pick up the game again, I can start from the mouth of the cave. Stay tuned for more of my adventures in Fallout.

Since I’m playing a 25 year old game, I decided to use a blast from the past for my walkthrough.