Old Olney is a decaying and derelict town in the Capital Wasteland, inhabited only by vicious deathclaws.
There is no known history about Old Olney, other than its status as another casualty of the Great War. Sometime after the war, it was occupied by mercenaries who built fortifications, although it eventually became a breeding ground for deathclaws. In the Broken Steel add-on, the Lone Wanderer must enter Old Olney in search of a Tesla coil to be utilized in defense of the Citadel, following the destruction of Liberty Prime. Here, they may come across two ghouls, Kidd and Wint who, based on dialog choice, may reveal that ghouls had earlier attempted to make a living in Old Olney.
Layout
Old Olney is located just east of Vault 92 and northeast of Greener Pastures Disposal Site. It is noticeable on the Pip-Boy 3000, as it is located within a lighter rectangle along with Vault 92.
The town itself is about a 500 by 500 foot square. It doesn't seem to be a residential town, but there is what looks to be apartments in the southeast corner. There is a main street that runs east-west and usually has three deathclaws wandering around. To the north is a large parking lot with derelict cars scattered about. Deathclaws are found throughout the town, especially on the eastern outskirts near the town hall.
There are two entrances to the Olney sewers. One is a circular sewer manhole located between two ruined buildings in the southwest corner of town. The second is a grate "trap-door", located in the northeast corner of Old Olney, two blocks north of the fire station. It is not obvious, but it is possible to climb out of the trap by using one of the sides as a ladder. The unique prototype medic power armor is located in these sewers on the dead body of a Brotherhood of Steel initiate, near the corpses of a mercenary and a wastelander. Members of the Brotherhood of Steel say that they did not go to recover the armor because of the deathclaws.
Inhabitants
Old Olney is infested by deathclaws. There appear to be a total of 7 of them roaming the town, although the actual number will vary at times. There are several deathclaws occupying the Old Olney sewer as well. The deathclaws eventually respawn, so it is impossible to "clear" the town permanently. If Broken Steel is installed, there are two non-hostile ghouls and several dead ghouls in the Old Olney underground.
Notable loot
Exterior
- Carl Wallace's Nuka-Cola accident report may be found on the ground next to a skeleton, directly in front of the boarded-up front door of Old Olney's firehouse, which is in the southern part of the town. Carl's Nuka-Cola truck is located east-southeast of Old Olney, past a broken elevated highway and close to a Red Rocket refueling station, and contains 5 Nuka-Cola Quantums.
- A mailbox just north of the Nuka-Cola truck contains a copy of Guns and Bullets; the player character can see the mailbox from the back of the truck.
- In a burned out bus is a U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes, southeast past the broken highway, almost at Grisly diner.
- A fair distance north-northeast of the burned-out bus, at the irradiated outhouse, there is a Nuka-Cola Quantum.
- 26 bottles of Nuka-Cola
Old Olney sewers
- In the eastern most room there is a mini nuke, which is behind a Very Hard locked door to the left of the safe.
- The prototype medic power armor can be found deep within the Old Olney sewers. It is worn by a dead Brotherhood Initiate.
- There is a Nuka-Cola Quantum behind an ammunition box in a room with four beds; it is located next to the bed with the missile launcher. This same room also contains a Fat Man just beneath the 3 wall safes.
- There is a copy of Duck and Cover! at the dead end of a cave passage that starts nearby the prototype medic power armor. Right next to a skeleton, at the end of the tunnel.
Related quests
Notes
- Fast-traveling to Old Olney deposits you in the middle of the town, likely resulting in encountering a swarm of deathclaws.
- There is a note next to the skeleton of Carl Wallace, in front of the fire house (in the southeast corner of town), giving a report that his truck has crashed just east of the town, next to a gas station. The truck is located east of town, in the direction of Chaste Acres Dairy Farm. It contains one of the largest stashes of Nuka-Cola Quantum in the wasteland.
- Dave from the Republic of Dave will travel to Old Olney should he lose the election at the end of the quest Election Day. With the deathclaw infestation, he will almost certainly die without intervention.
- If Dave actually survives the trip, he will camp out in the middle of the town, next to some trash bins and dead raiders (this is right on the spot in the middle of town in which you appear if fast-travelling to Old Olney). Dave will ask the Lone Wanderer to leave "The New Republic of Dave" if dialogue is initiated; doing this three times results in him opening fire. Killing him makes the remaining citizens of the Republic of Dave hostile, but killing them will not result in Karma loss. The inhabitants of the Republic of Dave will not become hostile if he is killed with a sneak attack.
- To the west of Old Olney after The Waters of Life quest, there is an Enclave camp on the old broken road. When approaching the camp, one soldier will fire a flamer into a trailer in the camp; upon examination of the trailer, the Lone Wanderer will find dead wastelanders and some purified water inside. According to the terminal, Enclave soldiers are offering wastelanders purified water in exchange for screening to see if they are appropriate to their human standards or not. Non-appropriate wastelanders are slain by flame so as not to waste any 'resources'. Also, according to the terminal entries, Enclave soldiers are searching for 'feral' creatures; of course, the Enclave is under the impression all ghouls are feral. According to the entry, there are also at least two deathclaws in the trailer (but they are nowhere to be found).
- A short cave-like tunnel extends from the room in which the prototype medic power armor is found. At the end of the tunnel is a battery-powered lamp, a Duck and Cover! magazine, a skeleton and a large wooden spoon. Presumably the game designers intended to give the impression that the person whose corpse is at the end of the tunnel dug his way there using the spoon.
- Throughout the Capital Wasteland, it is possible to overhear a conversation between raiders, mentioning some of their rookies encountering "Monsters" and "claws of death" up North, likely referring to Old Olney and its infestation of deathclaws. This may also explain the bodies of raiders that are found in the city.
Appearances
Old Olney appears only in Fallout 3.
Behind the scenes
Old Olney is named after Olney, Maryland. Olney is 6–7 miles northeast of Rockville, MD, where Bethesda Softworks is currently residing.
Bugs
A dead mercenary's body lies on the doorstep of a building on the east edge of Old Olney. He possesses two laser rifles; one in the game world next to his corpse and one in his inventory. This is presumably a goof. There may be a laser rifle and a stimpak next to a pool of blood. [verified]- If walking towards Vault 92, there is a dead-end with several blocks and other rubble. It is possible to jump onto these rocks and walk on air, around that building. [verified]
- Sometimes ALL of the deathclaws will be found down in the sewer, making for a difficult fight. [verified]
- Occasionally, Deathclaws will spawn outside of the fence separating Old Olney from the Capital Wasteland. [verified]
