Regulators (Fallout 3)

	For the character page, see Regulator (Fallout 3). For the faction in control of Adytum in Fallout, see Regulators (Fallout). For other articles relating to the term Regulators, see Regulators.

The Regulators are a faction encountered in the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3.

Background[]

Known for their distinctive cowboy-style hats and dusters in the fashion of pre-War gunslingers and outlaws, the Regulators seek to dispense justice and maintain a semblance of peace in the regions they oversee. As the Capital Wasteland is one of the harshest and most unforgiving places on the East Coast, they primarily achieve these goals by killing unjust individuals.^[1]

The organization was founded around ten years prior to 2277 by a group of unknown individuals. These individuals fund the organization’s operations while Sonora Cruz leads the group itself, though it is unclear if she was one of the founders of the group at its original inception or joined later and became its leader through merit.^{[Non-game 1][Non-game 2]}

While the Regulators oppose all who practice evil, in some cases, the worst of the Capital Wasteland’s criminals will have specialized bounties placed on them by the Regulators.

It is possible for members to maintain positions of authority outside of merely being bounty hunters as is the case for Lucas Simms, a member who also serves as the sheriff of the town of Megaton.^{[Non-game 3]}

Organization[]

Sonora and a few other members operate out of a small farmhouse near Canterbury Commons as the group's headquarters, although the majority of the Regulators operate in secret around the Capital Wasteland.^[2] Sonora herself has taken on the task of paying the organization’s members for dispatching unjust individuals, for which the fingers of the unjust are used as evidence of the deed. She is adamant that any collected fingers are only used as deed markers and that Regulators are trusted not to try turning in fingers collected from non-criminals.^[3]

Technology[]

All members of the Regulators are identifiable by the choice to wear their trademark dusters.^[4] Although the organization does not appear to have standardized equipment beyond their dusters, weaponry used by members is known to include laser rifles, laser pistols, combat shotguns, Chinese assault rifles, and other common small arms.

Interactions with the player character[]

Should the Lone Wanderer become qualified to join the organization, Sonora will act as their employer, accepting the fingers they have collected from the unjust and paying them for their altruistic deeds.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} If the Lone Wanderer has been particularly benevolent in their activities in the Capital Wasteland, Sonora will praise them and enthusiastically offer them a bonus on collected fingers as a reward for going above and beyond what the organization requires.^[10][11][12] She will also personally reward them for the special bounty on Junders Plunkett if his finger is brought to her.^[13]

Sonora has little time for practical jokes, and will rebuke the Lone Wanderer if they tell her that they have fingers to collect the bounty on without actually having any, remarking that “justice is serious business” and that they should make their jokes “only when the Wastes are rid of the filth that feed off of it.”^[14][15]

Conversely, should the Lone Wanderer have been particularly malevolent in their activities in the Capital Wasteland, they will be routinely attacked by members of the Regulators, each carrying evidence of a special bounty placed on them, regardless of their potentially having been a member of the organization prior. Unlike their standard practice of collecting the fingers of the unjust, the bounty on the Lone Wanderer specifies that the Regulators are to collect their head as evidence of their death.

Known members[]

• Sonora Cruz (leader)
• Lucas Simms^{[Non-game 3]}
• Lone Wanderer (optional - requires Lawbringer)
• Dead Regulator

Notes[]

• Due to the association with Karma-relevant perks that are diametrically opposed, it can be inferred that Littlehorn & Associates (Contract Killer) and the Regulators (Lawbringer) are mutually antagonistic, though neither faction has any in-game interactions with the other beyond the Lone Wanderer being attacked by the Regulators for doing the kind of work that interests Littlehorn & Associates.
• The Lonesome Drifter in Fallout: New Vegas wears a Regulator duster, but it is never confirmed in-game that he is involved with, or a member of the Regulators.

Behind the scenes[]

• The Regulators encountered in Fallout 3 are a separate entity from the Regulators the Vault Dweller meets in the Boneyard in Fallout.^{[Non-game 1]}
• Regulator is the actual term for an official who maintains control and supervision of an area of public interest.^[16] As a result, many armed groups, both vigilante and official, have been named "Regulators" throughout American history. One of the most notable groups in American history were the Regulators of the Carolinas around the time of the American Revolution.

References[]

Non-game