Bramwell

Bramwell is a municipality in the Ash Heap region of Appalachia.

Background[]

Formerly a small town, Bramwell was overtaken by the ultra-rich and the construction of what would come to be known as "Mega Mansions," giant skyscraper-like mansions housing the richest denizens of Appalachia and displacing regular mortals from the area.^[1][2] During the automation riots, one of these mansions was brought down via stolen blasting explosives used by disgruntled ex-miners,^[3] headed by one "O'Conner," as Mick Flanagan led another group in an attempt to capture the Rockhound.^[4] While the insurgents were arrested, there was still much unrest in the area, which the combined corporate/government forces tried to suppress.^[5]

After the Great War, Bramwell was abandoned and its opulent occupants scattered to the winds. Eventually, the Responders' Fire Breathers undertook a few expeditions to the area, to search for survivors isolated by the smoldering Mount Blair. Although they found nobody alive, they did rediscover the Excavator power armor, which was planned for deployment in future operations.^[6]

Layout[]

Although Bramwell is not marked as a location on the map, several in-game locations are stated to be part of Bramwell, including the Hornwright and Garrahan Estates, along with the unfinished mansion, which represent the first stop along the Appalachian monorail. It is also mentioned as a destination at the Watoga Transit Hub. A terminal entry there marks the Garrahan Estate and the Garrahan Mining Headquarters on the map if they have not yet been discovered.

Appearances[]

Bramwell is mentioned only in Fallout 76. Its in-game physical appearance was cut from the game, but is still mentioned in various terminal entries.

Behind the scenes[]

• An unused sign texture bearing the city's name exists in the game files.
• Level designer Steve Massey commented about Bramwell within the Bethesda Game Studios Discord server, stating that Bramwell's appearance in-game was essentially relegated to the Mega Mansions. He was unsure if the scope for Bramwell changed early on in development, leading to its cut content. He stated that it was unlikely for new structures within Bramwell to appear in future updates, as adding pre-War buildings does not make sense within the fiction of the game; the team generally prefers to add buildings created by new settlers or expand upon existing structures, not add pre-War locations.^{[Non-game 1]}
• Bramwell is based on the real world location of Bramwell, West Virginia. Mirroring in-game events, the real world town acquired some notoriety for having the largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States in the late 1800s. Numerous large homes were built in the town by wealthy coal operators, but were subsequently lost to a massive fire and martial law that destroyed the vast majority of downtown.^{[Non-game 2]}

References[]

Non-game