James
From The Vault
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James (2226-2277) is a resident of the ruins of Washington, DC in the Capital Wasteland. He is a widower and father of the child later known to the Capital Wasteland's residents as the Lone Wanderer. James is the project leader and chief scientist of Project Purity and also the vault physician of Vault 101.
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[edit] Background
James was the chief scientist and project leader of Project Purity, an ambitious private project intended to cleanse all of the radioactivity from the water of the Potomac River that fed the entire Capital Wasteland. However, when his wife, Catherine, died during giving birth to the Lone Wanderer he gave up on the project over the grief of losing his wife. He then later asked for entry for himself and his child into Vault 101 in return for becoming the Vault's new physician, and the Vault Overseer granted his request.
[edit] Interactions with the player character
James is the player character's father in the game and gives most of the quests in Vault 101, except Escape!. After Amata wakes you up after you turn 19 during said quest, you learn then that James left the Vault. This is the main driving force of the beginning of the game, as the Lone Wanderer must leave the Vault due to the newfound hostility of the residents, and upon his departure his main (and at that time, only) priority is to find his father. As the Lone Wanderer endeavors to find him, this is how the main story starts to reveal itself.
The player ultimately finds him in Vault 112, held prisoner in a virtual realm created (and controlled) by Dr. Braun. The Lone Wanderer then frees him during the quest Tranquility Lane, and after a short reunion escorts him back to Rivet City (or lets him leave by himself). Upon the arrival to Rivet City, James then pulls together a reseach team headed by Dr. Madison Li and escorts the team, with the aid of his son, to the Jefferson Memorial, the site of Project Purity. He wil then request his son to clear the Memorial of any hostiles before they enter.
As the team get the Purifier up and running, James sends The Lone Wanderer on many tasks to help restart the Purifier. On completion of his last task, the Lone Wanderer watches in horror as Enclave storm the Memorial. Upon Re-arrival into the control room, he then watches as his father argues with the Enclave leader, Colonel Augustus Autumn. In the end, acting as if he was complying with the Colonel's wishes, he then overloads the Purifier, releasing radiation into the room and apparently killing the Colonel as he administers some kind of Rad-X. James, however, has no such protection. The last time the Lone Wanderer sees him is when James presses himself against the blast door of the activation room, and telling his son to "Run!" as he slumps to the floor, thus sacrificing himself so his son could live.
In Broken Steel, his dream is finally realized, as the Purifier finally gets activated, providing fresh, clean water for all.
[edit] Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other item | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dad's Wasteland Outfit Vault Lab Uniform* |
.32 Pistol |
* Only while in Vault 101.
[edit] Appearances
James appears only in Fallout 3. As your father, his facial features and race will vary based on the ones you choose for your character.
[edit] Notes
- James was born in the year 2226, which makes him around 51 years old by the events of the game in 2277.
- He was able to enter Vault 101 because they needed a doctor, this is shown during the "One Year Later" scene. The Overseer states "Remember this: we need a doctor, not a deadbeat- fail to meet my expectations and there will be repercussions."
- You can find a holotape "Better Days" of him making advances on your character's mother underneath the Jefferson Memorial.
- In the Tranquility Lane simulator James' dog model is that of Dogmeat's. Should you see him in dog form without the sepia tone filter he shares the same heterochromia
- When the player is doing tasks to make Project Purity work, at one point James will say that he heard of the player's actions. His reaction will change depending on how you resolved the quest Power of the Atom. If you disarmed the bomb, he will ask you if you truly did it, and will be proud of you if you say that you did. If you caused Megaton's destruction and admit it to James he will be disappointed (however you can lie to him, but he won't really believe you).
- If you did not resolve the Power of the Atom quest at all, or if you talk to him again after he comments on the aforementioned quest, he will instead comment on your current karma level. If you have good karma, he will say "You're a good person, and it shows". If you have bad karma, he will instead comment on how you seem troubled, like there is a cloud hanging over you. If the player has neutral karma he just greets you in the default manner.
- If you choose to travel on foot to Rivet City with him, he will often be attacked along the way. Fortunately he is an essential character and thus can only be knocked unconscious. He does not have unlimited ammo for his .32 Pistol, so when he runs out he will resort to using his knife. He can pick up weapons along the way from enemies but he will only use them if he also gets ammo for it. It is impossible to reverse-pickpocket his items, as he will always run to stay ahead of you.
- James can equip Power Armor through reverse pickpocketing, however you must exit and then re-enter the room (i.e. when he is talking to Dr.Li in Rivet City.)
- In the "Six Years Later" scene he can he heard giving the "talk" to his son, saying: "Ah. Well... Umm. You'd think being a doctor would make this easy... Boys and girls have different parts. Right? And when a boy and a girl love each other…"
- There actually is a way of getting your father's outfit. You can get this item is to reverse-pickpocket an outfit with more protection onto your dad either when he is talking with Doctor Li, or while he is standing in the Jefferson Memorial Rotunda. After that leave the room and return, your father should be wearing whatever you put on him, as long as it has more protection. After that pickpocket it off of him, if you don't mind the slight Karma loss. Another way of obtaining his items is to loot him by adjusting the camera and standing close to the purifier glass (or crouching).
- *While the above picture depicts a Caucasian James, depending on the player's selections when creating the Lone Wanderer, James may also appear as African American, Hispanic, or Asian.
- For PC users, James can even take the appearance of races added by mods (i.e. the Golden Saint or Dark Seducer races of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) or otherwise unplayable races (such as Ghouls or child races) unlocked by mods if the player chooses them.
- Regardless of race and facial structure that the player chooses, his hair and eye colors do not change, as well as hair and beard style (though his facial hair changes with his age).
[edit] Behind the scenes
James' voice is provided by actor Liam Neeson, after whom the character is also physically modeled.
"This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game," said Todd Howard, Executive Producer of Fallout 3. "Liam is absolutely amazing to work with". "It’s been a pleasure bringing the father to life and working with the wonderfully talented people at Bethesda on Fallout 3", said Neeson. “I hope the fans of the franchise and the game will be excited by the results."
[edit] Bugs
-James Can appear in the the mission Take It Back! and will still be standing outside of the Jefferson Memorial if you have the Broken Steel Add-on. If the player uses the glitch to enter the citadel early and looks at the computer that has the locations of the vaults to start the quest Picking Up The Trail. Once the Player has retrieved the G.E.C.K the player should then start the quest Take It Back! but should not choose the option of "I'm all ready" but to choose the option that says "I think I need another minute or two". After this the player should go to Vault 112 and retrieve James from Tranquility Lane. After this the player should fast travel to Rivet City and wait for James. Walk with James and Dr Li and the others to the jefferson memorial James will tell you to kill the remaining Super Mutants but there arnt any in there due to the Enclave occupying Project Purity. Now go back to the citadel and start the quest Take it Back! And James should be standing outside shooting the enclave when you arrive there with Liberty Prime and will still be there after you have completed the quest if you have Broken steel Installed. Although you can't say anything useful to him, He just asks if you've killed the Super Mutants in Project Purity yet. (Xbox 360 and PS3).
[edit] Related quests
- Baby Steps
- Growing Up Fast
- Future Imperfect
- Following in His Footsteps
- Scientific Pursuits
- The Waters of Life
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