Lost Hills is the codename of a security bunker located in the southeastern end of the Central Valley in New California, hidden beneath a lonely field station. Claimed by renegade soldiers under Captain Roger Maxson in 2077, it is the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Steel, located in the deserts west of Junktown and the Hub, directly southeast of the Mariposa Military Base.
Location[]
The Lost Hills base can be found four squares west and eight squares south of Vault 13 in Fallout. It is marked simply as Brotherhood.
Background[]
In November 2077, a few weeks after the Mariposa Rebellion and the exodus from the military base, the refugees from the base arrived at the Lost Hills government security bunker. The people suffered casualties along the way, as while the soldiers enjoyed the protection afforded by their T-51 power armor, their families had naught. Marauders that attacked the caravan on its journey quickly learned to target the unprotected civilians. Although for every lost civilian two raiders fell, many lives were lost, including Roger Maxson's wife but not his teenage son.[Non-game 1][1][2] Several soldiers broke off during the exodus as well,[3] under Sergeant Dennis Allen, demanding the leadership to allow them to explore the ruins of the West Tek research facility for advanced technologies left behind. Ignoring warnings from Captain Maxson and defying the group's will, Allen's faction separated from the main caravan and ventured southeast to the Glow, taking their power armor with them. They were never heard from again, perishing in the Glow.[4] Around 2151, the Brotherhood sent out knights to seek out Allen's group or its remains. All they found were desolate ruins.[3]
The exodus survivors claimed the bunker as their own. Lost Hills became the headquarters of the newly formed Brotherhood of Steel. The refugees expanded and adapted it to fit their own needs, becoming a bastion of technology in a world that has lost centuries of technological development overnight.[5] Lost Hills became the primary supplier of weapons and ammunition to the region, until the emergence of Gun Runners and other rival manufacturing houses. They traded ordnance for food, water and necessary supplies, not bothering with manufacturing them within the bunker.[6]
During the 2090s, Lost Hills was in contact with the Appalachian Brotherhood of Steel and their commander Elizabeth Taggerdy, although the pre-War technology resulted in satellite connections to fail and thus radio communication between California and Appalachia. The Appalachian Brotherhood had been fighting scorchbeasts at the time, and the loss of communications left their fate unclear to Lost Hills. Lost Hills sent a group known as the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force to Appalachia for reinforcements. Hailey Takano stayed at Lost Hills as the group's communicator, while Matthew Thornberry returned early from the expedition with a group of survivors. Alan Connors was killed by raiders during the trek. Leila Rahmani, Daniel Shin and Odessa Valdez were able to successfully hike to Appalachia and arrived by 2103.
Following the destruction of the Unity circa 2162, the Brotherhood aided other human settlements to drive the mutants away with minimal loss of life on both sides of the conflict. The Brotherhood remained out of the power structure for a time, becoming a major research and development house and reintroducing advanced technology into New California at a slow pace. The wise guidance of Rhombus brought the Brotherhood to arguably the zenith of its power.[7] The Brotherhood had good relations with the developing New California Republic, to the point that one of the states of the federation was named after the founder of the Brotherhood: Maxson. However, Lost Hills was never incorporated into the NCR, although Brotherhood patrols did provide protection for the state.[Non-game 2]
Layout[]
The Entrance
Lost Hills was a pre-War government security bunker. Located almost entirely underground, the only indication of the presence of this installation was a small field station containing the primary access elevator. The Brotherhood protected the bunker with heavy patrols,[8] with a greeter and supporting brother posted within the fence. In Fallout, the greeter is Scribe Initiate Cabbot, overseen by Paladin Darrel.
Cabbot offers the become an initiate quest when asked about joining the Brotherhood, after consulting with the elders. Darrel will interject after learning the elders are sending the Vault Dweller down into The Glow and after discussing the matter, will offer two free doses of Rad-X, even to a stupid character.
Level 1[]
Level 1
The first underground level contains the guard room by the entrance, off-limits to anyone not on guard duty.[9] The opposite corner has contains the main supply room, filled to the brim with pre-War technology and other goods.[10] Withdrawing items requires clearance from ranking officers.
Opposite the storeroom is the training hall,[11] where initiates exercise and learn combat skills under the careful guidance of the best fighters of the Brotherhood. The head instructor has his quarters located near the training room. Two other facilities are also present on the level - Head Paladin Rhombus' office and quarters and the guardroom, where surface guards spend their time when off-duty.
The Vault Dweller can participate in several activities on this level, including:
- Watch the initiate hand-to-hand training session with brother Thomas for a 5% increase in Unarmed and Melee Weapons skills and 500 XP.
- Receive reward from Talus for rescuing the initiate; T-51b power armor is only available if Reputation is 16 or more.
- Get a set of Brotherhood armor and three ammunition units of the player character's choice from Michael (supposedly, it's a weekly issue, but can only do it once).
- Get the systolic motivator from Rhombus' office to fix the broken T-51b power armor unit on level 3.
- Raid the Brotherhood storeroom by lockpicking the door to it and slaughtering the Brotherhood (loot includes two sets of power armor).
Level 2[]
Level 2
Level 2 houses the living quarters for initiates, their classroom and the facility's medical lab. The youngest members of the organization spend their time here, studying to become either a knight or scribe, under the watchful eyes of higher-ranking members. Their quarters are quite cramped; up to twelve initiates share a room (or even more, if hot bunking is used), but fitted with all the necessary amenities.[12]
The infirmary, lead by Dr. Lorri, is well stocked with medical supplies and in 2161 it offered the best medical treatment across the entirety of New California. Apart from healing injuries and removing radiation and addictions for free, the Brotherhood's medical staff can perform human augmentation surgeries (apart from the usual healing and radiation removal):
- ST: $2000, 3 weeks
- PE: $4000, 1 week
- EN: $3000, 1 week
- IN: $6000, 3 weeks
- AG: $5000, 3 weeks
Level 3[]
Level 3
Level 3 houses some of the Brotherhood's most important facilities; workshops, where technology is maintained and recreated by knights and the library,[13] where scribes patiently study old blueprints and knowledge, preserving it for future generations. Their living quarters are also located on this level, design as spartan as the ones of the initiates, although less cramped - only three persons are quartered per room.
In Fallout, both Vree and Sophia can be found at the library. Talking to Vree allows the player to receive the autopsy report, allowing for a diplomatic victory against the master, as well as free Rad-X doses after talking about radiation, and +15% to Science if the player asks about holodisks. Sophia can be interacted with as well, to obtain a Brotherhood History holodisk .
Knights Kyle and Paul offer insight into Brotherhood manufacturing and repair processes, at the eponymous Manufacturing division.[14] Kyle also offers the opportunity to fix the T-51b power armor in his workshop, though this requires acquiring the systolic motivator from Rhombus.
Level 4[]
Level 4
The deepest level of Lost Hills holds its most important assets: The Elder Rooms or quarters for its five elders (including the high elder),[15] the main assembly hall for the Brotherhood, with the Elders' conference room right next door,[16] and the mainframe.
John Maxson is found on the level, who can give out the quest to scout the northern wastes, and a weapon upgrade from his assistant, Mathia (sniper rifle, rocket launcher, laser pistol, power fist or ripper). Once Mariposa Military Base is found and entered - simply entering the surface map suffices - the player can deliver the report to the elders (Mary, Rachael, Jonathan, and Jacob, although only the first will interact with the player), and optionally request for assistance in assaulting Mariposa.
Interactive map[]
Inhabitants[]
The denizens of Lost Hills are exclusively Brotherhood of Steel members, with only merchants and other essential contractors allowed inside for their services. Discipline is strictly maintained, and everyone is expected to fulfill their duties. Members are treated equally, expected to respect other castes and, while highly disciplined, allowed a bit of room for human relations.
Equipment-wise, castes can be easily identified:
- Knights and knight initiates wear Brotherhood armor and carry AK-112 assault rifles.
- Scribes and scribe initiates wear characteristic brown robes and use Wattz 1000 laser pistols.
- Paladins use T-51b power armor and employ heavy weapons.
- Elders wear easily identifiable blue robes with yellow lining and are unarmed.
Notable loot[]
- Big Book of Science, Dean's Electronics, First Aid Book and Scout Handbook - Level 1, in a storage crate
- Small piece of machinery - In Rhombus' locker on level 1. Used in Fix the broken T-51b power armor.
- Powered armor - Obtained either by fixing up the suit or finding the initiate in the Hub.
- Vree's autopsy report - obtained by talking to Vree on level 3.
Related quests[]
- Become an initiate
- Rescue Initiate from the Hub
- Convince the Elders to send help
- Guard the caravans
- Scout the northern wastes
- Fix the broken T-51b power armor
- Receive training from Thomas
- Get Sophia some pulse grenades for Michael
Notes[]
- The background music is "Metallic Monks," which has been later used in locations throughout Fallout: New Vegas, including Freeside.
- In Fallout 3 during the Galaxy News Radio quest, after defeating the super mutant behemoth, one of the paladins will mention Lost Hills by saying "That should give the boys at Lost Hills something to think about."
Appearances[]
Lost Hills appears only in Fallout and is mentioned in Fallout 3, Fallout 76[17] and Fallout Shelter Online.
Behind the scenes[]
- Lost Hills is a real life location of the same name.
- Originally, Lost Hills was not a bunker; it was a small concrete building, found by soldiers from Mariposa that employed it as a base, and slowly but steadily changed it into a true fortress. More information is in the original Vault 13 timeline.
- Some NPCs, like Cabbot, reference the basement, suggesting that the change occurred later in the development process and the dialogue was not updated to match (or wasn't re-recorded).
Cut content[]
- Fallout originally had a more dynamic wasteland, with the super mutants expanding and invading settlements across the wasteland as time passed by. The longer the player took to complete the game, the more settlements would be invaded, with all characters removed, with only super mutant invaders present. A remnant of this mechanic can be seen with Necropolis, where entering after 110 days pass triggers the invasion: All ghouls are killed off by script, with super mutant invaders added to surface maps, along with a ghoul refugee who recounts the invasion. The time limits are still included in Vault13.gam and are as follows:
- Followers of the Apocalypse would be invaded 90 days after the start of the game (March 5, 2162).
- Necropolis falls after 110 days (March 25, 2162).
- The Hub falls after 140 days (April 24, 2162).
- Lost Hills is invaded after 170 days (May 24, 2162).
- Junktown is invaded after 200 days (June 23, 2162).
- Shady Sands falls after 230 days (July 23, 2162).
- Vault 13 finally falls and the game ends in a fail state after 260 days pass (August 22, 2162). This was modified to 500 days for release (corresponding to April 19, 2163).
- In the end, the idea of introducing a distinct, invaded variant of the major locations was scrapped in favor of focusing on finishing the game. However, the time limits were retained and entering any of the locations except for the Brotherhood does trigger the corresponding bad ending in the end slides (eg. entering The Hub after 140 days pass triggers the destruction ending; for Followers, all that suffices is entering the Blades' map).
- The time limit for the Vault 13 invasion was lengthened from 260 days to 500 for release, to reduce the time pressure, before being completely removed in subsequent patches. It was also affected by other factors: Purchasing healing from the Children of the Cathedral reduced the time limit by 1 day, ordering water deliveries from Martha Rastello reduced it by 90 days, while blowing up the Mariposa control computer to trigger the self-destruct sequence halved the invasion time limits for Vault 13, Shady Sands, and The Hub. The removal of the hard time limit only affected Vault 13, with the functionality retained for the other two locations.
- The Brotherhood's bad ending, where the super mutants march against the Brotherhood and lay siege to Lost Hills 170 days after the games starts,[18] is not enabled. The text for the ending notes that while defending their fortress valiantly, a traitor, Kedrick, would assassinate the elders and sell the Brothers to the super mutants. Lost Hills would be subsequently destroyed. An unused "Dead Brotherhood" map is still included in the game files and can be accessed via the main menu.
- Independently, the Brotherhood bunker could also be attacked by super mutants. The Vault13.gam variable governing the mutant invasion is the following:
BROTHERHOOD_INVADED :=0; // (16) // Has the Brotherhood of Steel been invaded?The other invasion uses a different variable,BROTHERHOOD_INVASION :=0; // 223, suggesting the player would be able to witness an attack on the bunker by super mutants - "vile abominations", as the paladin tied to the unused INVGRD.MSG file puts it. The file contains variant for a Vault Dweller initiate and an outsider, indicating this would take place on the otherwise barren surface map. - Other cut elements include a few non-player characters (including a scribe mourning the Brotherhood's reluctance to explore "soft" sciences such as sociology or psychology), a romance subplot including Jennifer the paladin, another Michael-related subquest about pulse grenades and girls from lower levels and a day/night cycle in the bunker.
Gallery[]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Sophia's tape: "The Exodus from the accursed base was a trying time for the men and their families. While there was no radioactive fallout to contend with, they were frequently beset by the fallout of humanity. Roving bands of psychotic marauders attempted several attacks on that noble group. The company itself was in no danger, for they wore the Armor of Power. Members of their families were not so lucky. Once the vermin found out they were easily repelled, they began to fire on the unarmed civilians from a distance. They took a great many casualties, yet for every member of the Exodus that was struck down in this way, our noble brethren took two lives from the wasteland."
- ↑ Captain Maxson's diary
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cabbot's dialogue: "{226}{Cab_64}{Oh, well, in the Exodus, the Brotherhood split into two groups. The group that broke away robbed the others of some of the weapons an-and they went south. Then about ten years ago we sent out knights to look for them and all they found was ruins. No one knows what happened.}"
- ↑ Sophia's tape: "Yet there were those who sought still more. These restless souls demanded we look to the southeast for the advanced technology that was supposedly housed there. Capt. Maxson warned these impetuous youths that the research facility was doubtlessly destroyed when we were spared, but they would not hear his words. They took their sanctified armor and headed off to find their Holy Grail, but not before they spoke the Deliverer's name in vain, questioning his very bravery! These men were never heard from again."
- ↑ Sophia's tape: "In the fullness of time the bunker became our home, our temple and our salvation from the terrors of the outside world. We began to build and shape our fortress into something glorious, the beauty of which the technologically bereft world had never seen before."
- ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{123}{}{Do you have a water chip?}"
Paul: "{134}{}{A Water Chip? The ones from the old Vault-Tec shelters?}"
The Vault Dweller: "{135}{}{Yes!.. Do you have one?}"
Paul: "{136}{}{No. Those things were junk, they were prone to failure. We don’t deal with purifying our own water here. We have water delivered by caravans from the Hub.}"
(PAUL.MSG) - ↑ Fallout endings: "The Brotherhood of Steel helps the other human outposts drive the mutant armies away with minimal loss of life, on both sides of the conflict. The advanced technology of the Brotherhood is slowly reintroduced into New California, with little disruption or chaos. The Brotherhood wisely remains out of the power structure, and becomes a major research and development house."
As Rhombus' survival is a prerequisite (otherwise the BoS turns into the Steel Plague), he is its leader in this time. - ↑ Arrival message: "{107}{}{A small building surrounded by a chainlink fence is to the north. Menacing guards in heavy armor patrol the area.}"
(SHADYWST.MSG) - ↑ Generic Paladin: "{103}{}{The guard room is for guards. You are not a guard. You are in the guardroom. Therefore, YOU should leave.}"
(GENPALB.MSG) - ↑ Kyle (Brotherhood): "{122}{}{Well, they've got more than enough up in the supply room, but Michael and his damn forms say that this particular suit isn't up to specs. Damn bureaucrats.}"
- ↑ Jennifer: "{117}{}{During the day, Talus is normally supervising in the training hall. Do you know where that is?}"
(JENNIFER.MSG) - ↑ Generic Scribe: "{108}{}{Initiate rooming is on the second level.}
(RD1SCRB1.MSG) - ↑ John Maxson: "{240}{Gen_54}{Vree's the head Scribe. She's usually in the Library, she always likes to talk. }"
(MAXSON.MSG) - ↑ Vree: "{198}{Vree304}{I don't know. Ask Manufacturing about it.}"
(VREE.MSG) - ↑ Michael: "{152}{}{Mathia is Maxon's assistant. She is technically the High Elder's assistant, but she works with all the other Elders. She is normally in the Elders' Rooms. That's located on the fourth floor.}"
(MICHAEL.MSG) - ↑ Mathia: "{132}{}{The Elders have called a meeting. They wish you to meet them in the conference room right away.}"
Vault Dweller: "{133}{}{Where is the conference room?}"
Mathia: "{135}{}{It's on this floor. The northeast corner, right behind the assembly hall.}"
(MATHIA.MSG) - ↑ I am a knight
- ↑ Vault13.gam: "BROTHERHOOD_INVADED_DATE :=170; // (151)"
Non-game
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike: "2077 Nov: Captain Maxson, his men, and their families, arrive at the Lost Hills bunker a few weeks later, suffering many casualties along the way, including Maxson's wife (but not his teenage son). The Lost Hills bunker becomes the HQ of the Brotherhood of Steel the Vault Dweller finds in Fallout 1."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 6:
2. How was the Brotherhood of Steel involved with NCR after the destruction of the Enclave?
"Unknown. Presumably, they'd already established some level of co-existence with NCR even before the events of F1, judging by one of the states of NCR being dubbed "Maxson" (more on that in a future update except to say that the Lost Hills Bunker was NOT turned into a town in NCR) and considering their pre-existing ties to the Hub, which became a state by the time of F2. I've always imagined that NCR and BOS have maintained an uneasy truce, with barter and (some) technology sharing between the two groups."
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