Guide 103: Chapter 1

Guide 103
Get a strong start exploring solo!
Season	3rd (Began 2017 Sept 01)
Status	Setting up structure
Completion	3%
Authors	Henry
This Chapter	Chapter 1
More Chapters	Guide 103: Intro Guide 103: Outline Guide 103: Chapter 1 Guide 103: Chapter 2 Guide 103: Chapter 3
Notes	Express Version

A WORK IN PROGRESS

You can try this, or try the Express Version.

You begin this journey having just exited your vault, the place you've called home all your life. The vault door is locked behind you, and you cannot get back in, nor contact anyone inside - the control panel there is unresponsive. You're in a cave, and you see bones nearby. You have a chilling, dark feeling as you realize there is only one way to go: out, into an unfamiliar wasteland! But you know...you're not ready...

NOTE: Check out your Character's ID by holding ALT and clicking the Character. This ID is unique. If you keep game notes, write it down for later reference.

Your First Big Decision

As you reach the mouth of the cave, you see Lander's Point, a settlement nearby where some weary travelers seem to be going. You are prompted to choose between going to the settlement, or striking out on your own. It could be a secure place to start your adventure, but something about it reminds you of a crude prison. Maybe they can help you get outfitted with some basic gear, or maybe they set up this close to a vault for some sinister reason. You're not sure. You're smart enough not to trust anyone yet, and you're not naive enough to quickly go anywhere until your eyes focus better. Truly, you have nothing on you - no gear, no weapon, no food or water or even any money, and the alternative is surely a harsh wasteland. With no clear direction, Lander's Point becomes the obvious choice. Which is why you push past it, and let your eyes adjust to the light of day before making your first command decision.

Some day, maybe you'll come back here and check out the settlement, but not today. Today your eyes are focusing on the horizon. You see what looks like an actual town! Your eyes adjust more, your vision sharpens, and your will to thrive wells up inside you. You have a lot of work to do, and it won't get done in some weakling settlement that just happens to be this close to your vault. No, your superior Intelligence is already kicking in. You "head out into the wasteland", and make for a real town...

Your Starting Location

Choose to exit the cave, and run down to the Startled Caravan Driver. (His real name is J.D.). Talk with him to get 2 jobs: Far Go Scout, and Into the Great Wide Open. Press P twice to verify these are in your Pip-Boy. Before you leave, talk with Kris too. He's the Water Guard guy at the water hole. He teaches you how to get water from the ground, and you get your first 50 XP. Then run to the Exit Grid to hit The World map.

Hub

Only one zone to the east, walk to Hub, the first real town you've ever seen, but use your TOWN/WORLD button to enter the town via the Market district.

◄EXERCISE: Press Control+1 to toggle ceilings off/on. Press Control+2 to toggle walls off/on. Many veteran players run with ceilings off, but walls on, and toggle walls off to temporarily see interior spaces better.►

Run up the street between the 4 buildings to the Bookstore and ask Mrs. Stapleton about books. Get Swift Learner to get +10% XP whenever you earn XP. Search the bookshelves and the tables in the bookstore. Then exit the bookstore via the door closest to her computer, and find the Fruit tree nearby, in front of that old truck. Pick some Fruit there. From there, run across the street west past the flag pole, and up to the brahmin pens. Talk to the Brahmin Herdsman to get a job shoveling poo, and get a free shovel from him. Don't worry, you won't be doing this job for long. You only need to shovel 31 poo to hit Level 2, and shoveling poo at Level 1 pays the most. Shovel until you hit Level 2.

◄Welcome to Level 2! Distribute all Skill Points to make Science 94, from 52.►

Get paid a few Caps by the poo guy, and run up into the nearby tent. Talk with Dan twice to trade your shovel for a knife. Run across the street to those corn fields, and use your knife to cut certain plant stalks - the ones that yield Fibers. (You can harvest up to 180 Fibers here, but this guide assumes you get 100.)

Now run up the street just outside the wall and talk with Joe Kelly. Ask him he can tell, and ask him about Custos. Run farther up and get a job moving crates from the Caravan Packer. Move crates one-at-a-time from the caravan cart to the hut nearby. Just drop them on the floor in there and go back for the next crate. As you go, you'll say "phew", and when you've loaded all 10 of them, you'll "stretch back". Talk to the Caravan Packer to get paid a few Caps. Now exit Hub, and use TOWN/WORLD to re-enter Hub's Old Town.

In Old Town, run southeast under the Tannery and talk to a Sad Little Girl about her missing papa. Check your Pip-Boy to verify you now have a 3rd quest, called No Child Left Behind. Next, run southeast around the corner to enter the trashy building there, and speak with the Sad Wife to get a quest to Find Joseph, her missing husband. Then exit her building and run north across the street and enter there to speak with Jacob. To get his quest, ask him where he gets his weapons. Press P twice to open your Pip-Boy and verify you have a 4th quest, The Gun Runner Delivery. From Jacob, go into the building at the end of the street, and use thew Workbench in there to "FIX ALL" Rope.

◄EXERCISE: Use Shift+Click on Rope to drop all Rope, and then use G to pick up only as much Rope as you can carry.►

You'll be overloaded so you can only walk, but carry it down into the Tannery building to meet Claire and sell all of the Rope. Make 2 or 3 trips if necessary. Claire often gives you a repair Tool as a bonus item for selling Rope here. You need a Tool, so if Claire does not award you one, see if you can get some more fiber from the fields, make more Rope and try selling it again. Get that Tool!

◄Welcome to Level 3! Choose Adrenaline Rush, and distribute Skill Points to make Science 100, from 94, and Repair ___ from 24.►

Use your new Tool to scavenge all around Old Town. Check boxes, crates, pieces of junk, old car wrecks, barrels, newspaper machines, etc. Also keep searching tables, desks, and bookshelves for misc items. Be on the watch especially for Brahmin Hides, so you can make a Folded Tent. When you find a Radio, enable its reception and arm it in Slot 2. Search and Scavenge until you get 8 Brahmin Hides, 4 Wood, and some more Fiber. Use Workbench to craft a Folded Tent. Exit Old Town back to Market district.

◄Welcome to Level 4! Distribute Skill Points to make Repair 50 from ___, and Outdoorsman 82 from 56.►

Stop in Far Go Traders and speak with Mitch to deliver J.D.'s message from the Starting Location. Speak with Mitch again to get Hello City quest, and verify it in Pip-Boy. Run into the Maltese Falcon and talk with Mick to get Wasteland Band (verify in Pip-Boy. Speak with drunk at the bar about his daughter.

◄Welcome to Level 5! Distribute Skill Points to make Outdoorsman 100 from 82, and have 12 Skill Points left over for now.►

Next, speak with the bar tender about the menu, and eat some food. Exit Hub via the south Market Exit Grid, and re-enter via Old Town again. Tell the Sad Little Girl you found her dad, and exit Old Town back to Market. Now run into the Gun Store and introduce yourself to Beth. Then sell most of your misc items to her.

Run to the General Store next, and introduce yourself to the other Mitch. Then run out west to the new clinic and introduce yourself to Dr Burhnefletch. Then speak with him again and figure out how to get his Anguished Man quest. From the clinic, run north into the Post Office and talk with a Hubber there about the clinic. Then run south behind the Maltese Falcon into the Heights area, and find the Hubber down the street standing in a pool of blood.

◄Welcome to Level 6! Choose Toughness, and keep 33 left over Skill Points for now.►

Exit heights back to Market, exit Hub via south Market Exit Grid. Immediately re-enter Hub's Water Merchants district, go into the church there and speak with another Hubber. Exit Water Merchants and run up to Old Town again. Enter shabby L-shaped building, and speak to Hubber in there too. Now go back to Dr Burhnefletch and report. You probably got a RadAway from the doctor. Now run all the way up the street to the small 2-room house north of the corn fields, and talk with the Sad Dog Owner twice to help him cure his dog by giving him the RadAway.

Run north from there up into the church and speak with Fr O'Shaughnessy to complete the quest, Into the Great Wide Open. Speak with him again to get Old Traditions. Start running toward Hub's main entrance, but find Shren along the way and feed him some Fruit to get a Support Perk called Way of the Fruit. Exit Hub to The World map.

Junktown

From Hub, head north 4 Zones to Junktown. As soon as you're in, don't go in through the gate yet. Run west to the tent, and ask Scout Captain Lex for his report. Then enter Junktown's gate and run north into the General Store and sell any misc items you could not sell to Beth. Then go into the building with the Workbench, and speak with Boyce. Pay him 1500 Caps for Small Guns 1 professional training, but DO NOT read that Skill Book yet. Then run all the way west to boxingf ring behind the Skum Pitt bar, and speak with Ronnie about the Wasteland Band. Exit to The World map via Junktown's north entrance.

First Tent

Find a place you like on the map very close to Hub, maybe not too far from Hinkley, and go into an empty random encounter map. Use your Folded Tent to build it there. You can drop crafting materials and items you want to keep there before moving on. This is a safe place as long as you don't lead anyone to it; nobody can see it but you. When you exit your tent, you should be wearing that leather helmet and have a radio in Slot 2, a Spiked Knuckles in Slot 1 if you have one, 1 Guns and Bullets Skill Book, your Caps, a Tool, a Lighter, a Hatchet, and your best Knife which might be a Combat Knife by now. Run light, and exit back to The World map.

Boneyard

Head south to Gunrunners. For now, avoid all combat along the way - your skills are still too low. If you get into forced encounters, exit asap and keep moving. In Gunrunners, go into building where Marshal is, tell him you want training punching people in the face. He gives you a free boost to your Close Combat skill. Now read that Guns and Bullets Skill Book, and talk with him again, about the deal with Jacob.

◄Distribute Skill Points to make Close Combat 128 from 94, and Traps skill 23 from 21.►

Head south to New Adytum. Enter and talk with Dyer to get his report. Speak with him again to get location of Salvagers. Search and Scavenge all you can here in New Adytum. Take a shot at fixing that Water Pump for Montag.

◄Welcome to Level 7! Distribute Skill Points to make Close Combat 130 from 128, and Traps 44 from 23.►

Exit New Adytum to The World map, and go to Salvagers location. Ask the bald regulator about Joseph. Then load crates for Caps. This won't take long - it's a shorter distance. Get paid for that, then Scavenge a few nodes and exit location. Go up to Library, enter and speak with Nicole of FoA to get her report. Search every bookshelf in the place as you work your way downstairs to talk with Therese to get Educated. Exit location when done here.

Back to Hub

Travel back to Hub and enter Old Town. Talk with Jacob about the deal with Gunrunners, and then give the sad news to the Sad Wife to complete the search for Joseph. Exit Old Town to Market and talk with Mitch in Far Go Traders to deliver the Hello City report. See if Gun Store Beth will buy some of your misc items. Return to the Maltese Falcon and tell Mick about Ronnie.

Talk with Hope on stage in the bar, to open a case and help her find a killer. Talk with Sheriff Hayden next, then Cwan, then Spade. Then go downstairs under the bar and speak with Vasquez. Go back to Hayden to report you've solved the murder case. Let Hope know, and you throw your hat away.

Speak with Iguana Pete about his missing son. Then get Gecko Skinning from the Independent Merchant there, and pay him 300 Caps for directions to a good place to hunt Geckos. Head out of Hub to the nearby Tent in the Wasteland and speak with Evelyn in the tent. She tells you their farm is overrun with rats. Tell her you will help them, and exit. Next, head south to the Gecko-hunting location, arm Spiked Knuckles in Slot 1, and enter it.

◄EXERCISE: Press Q to toggle on/off highlighting your Sight limit in green. Press W to toggle on/off highlighting your weapon range in red. The red limit should be your 1 hex if you're armed with Spiked Knuckles.►

Drink a beer, put on the Leather Armor, kill all critters there and loot all containers. Make sure to find the Combat Shotgun on the ground near the Star Trek guy, and the 10mm SMG near the green pond.

◄Welcome to Level 8! Distribute Skill Points to make Close Combat 130 from 128, and Traps 50 from 44, and Doctor 28 from 14.►

Exit there and head west to Gunrunners to speak with Marshal one last time about his deal with Jacob. Then head north to the family's farm and kill all of the rats. Report back to Evelyn and you're awarded a Folded Tent. Now speak with Cira. A bad thing happens, and the "main quest" begins: Blood-Soaked Heroes.

Go back to Hub's Old Town and report the good news to Jacob. Sell that Metal Armor to Jacob, and sell the Combat Shotgun to Mitch. Scavenge in Old Town to craft Combat Shotguns there, and sell them to Mitch in the General Store. You need to reach 17k Caps to begin your journey abroad.

◄Welcome to Level 9! Choose Even Tougher and distribute Skill Points to make Close Combat 140 from 130, and Doctor 36 from 28.►

-wip-

Abroad

(Then Necropolis: Thrane, rats, Elmer, main quest)
(More: Main quest outside Necropolis, north to V15, Shady Sands quests, train station for Pete's Son)
(And: CW perk in BHills, north to VCity, day timing, Medical Investigation, Day Pass, main quest, Skeeter)
(Then: Train Stations to SF, Tanker, exit to mine, up to Ranger, east to Reno for car)
(Next CW in Redding, Old Traditions, main quest)
(More: Den for food, Klamath for Light Step and Toxic Caves, Modoc, VCity, main quest)
(Back South: Necropolis for Elmer, Hub for Band, Jacob, Fr O'Shaughnessy, Water Runs)

Table of Contents

• Guide 103: Intro
• Guide 103: Outline
• Guide 103: Chapter 1
• Guide 103: Chapter 2
• Guide 103: Chapter 3