Fallout 1 Retrospective - Time



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Hi there! My name's Lilura1 and welcome to my retrospective on Fallout's time-based reactivity.

Excerpt from my Renaissance write-up:

Fallout's influence has been incalculable; for example, there would be no Arcanum, no Planescape: Torment and no Mask of the Betrayer. That is, there would have been no reactivity to follow.

In itself, Fallout is notable because it's the first RPG to seriously attempt to simulate PnP/tabletop gaming; you know, what computer RPGs are supposed to do. Before Fallout came along, role-playing a character in the genre was almost unheard of.

   I n t r o d u c t i o n   
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Remember that assassin who poisoned us in Baldur's Gate? And if we didn't jump through hoops to get the antidote you would die of its effects in a ten-day? "Oh yes!" I hear you say. "That quest sucked! I take great delight in dispatching him before that flag can be set!" Well yeah, me too. Love the Eagle Bow. But that's not the point: the point is that the quest is timed. It's do or die.

Now, while there are numerous examples of timed quests in many of our favorite RPGs (mostly companion/stronghold/minor quests), it is rare that you see one that employs a time limit that affects a major event in a campaign or the outcome of the campaign itself. One of these rarities — in which the passage of time is integral to the campaign — is found in Interplay's Fallout, the second-best RPG of all-time. But in this post I won't be covering its multi-faceted merits (that demands a series of posts); instead, I'll just be covering one facet of its greatness: how it employs the passage of time.

We all feel time. Sometimes we feel like we don't have enough of it, especially as we grow older. On the other hand, some people feel bored and time becomes a massive burden to them. We often ask ourselves how we should spend our time, when we should really be asking ourselves how we can best use it.

Hah! I'm only mucking around...

   F i n d  t h e  W a t e r  C h i p   

Ok! This timed quest represents the first of two main phases of the campaign. I am only covering this first phase. The quest is given to you by the Overseer of Vault 13, during the opening FMV. The situation is grave indeed:

Ah! You're here. Good. We've gotta problem. A big one. The controller chip for our water purification system has given up the ghost. We can't make another one, and the process is too complicated for a workaround system. Simply put, we're running out of drinking water. No water, no Vault. This is crucial to our survival, and frankly, I... I think you're the only hope we have. You need to go find us another controller chip. We estimate we have four to five months before the Vault runs out of water. We. Need. That. Chip. We marked your map with the location of another Vault. Not a bad place to start, I think. Look, just be safe, ok? - The Overseer of Vault 13.


The Vault Dweller (you, the protagonist) exits Vault 13 to arrive in a tunnel system. She relieves a corpse of some much-needed gear and shakes off some rats en route to the tunnel exit and world map.

To the west you can see a natural light. For the first time in your life, you are looking at the outside world.

So here we have the Vault Dweller stepping outside the confines of a clinical, controlled environment (Vault 13) and preparing to enter into the harsh, post-apocalyptic world known as the Wasteland. Those bones resting at the entryway to the tunnel aren't exactly reassuring, are they? On closer inspection she thinks they may be the remains of a horned kangaroo, but she is unable to determine the cause of death. (Dehydration?)


WATER. Reminded of her quest (the rats threw her off), she checks the status of her Pip-Boy 2000, which says she has 150 days to find the water chip and deliver it to Vault 13, before everyone dwelling in it dies of dehydration: an awful fate.


Ok, so. Assuming the player is attentive and acting logically on various leads that point to possible locations of the water chip, the time limit of 150 days is more than enough to complete most content in the campaign - including side quests and a bit of aimless wandering - but the new player certainly won't know that, unless they read a walkthrough. Ergo, they will feel a sense of urgency. And even completionist veterans who average 70-80 day campaigns always have the time limit in the back of their minds, believe me.

   B u r n i n g  T i m e  o n  t h e  W o r l d  M a p   

The lead given by the Overseer is Vault 15, several "squares" to the east. This represents about a ten-day hike, so you can see how time is a factor already, especially since some players will return to the Overseer in an attempt to inform him that the water chip is not there (from memory, you can't actually explicitly inform him but you can milk some items and sympathy from him, at least, before you head back out to look for the chip, elsewhere.) 

Left circle: Vault 13 (where you start), Center circle: Shady Sands (the first "hub" of the campaign. It's important for initial questing and picking up your first companion who can mark Junktown and The Hub on your map, but it's not important in regards to your primary quest), Right circle: Vault 15.


Now, let's put the Wasteland into perspective. This is the world map in its entirety, showing only the relevant locations the player is likely to visit in their search for the water chip (nothing is stopping them heading farther south or west, but it is dangerous and there is no logical reason to do so at this stage of the proceedings). Anyway, when you compare the above journey with the distances shown below, you can see it's going to burn a fair bit of time getting to these places let alone moving back and forth between them. You really want to keep backtracking to a minimum because travelling on the world map is by far the most time-consuming activity in Fallout. It's also worth noting here that speed of movement is affected by terrain (i.e, it may be quicker to go around a mountain range than over it). The Pathfinder perk also reduces world map travel time by 25% per rank.

World map manually extracted, converted and annotated by Lilura1:


The Hub is a necessary visit because it gives you two leads that pinpoint the location of the water chip, which turns out to be a vault under the ghoul-inhabited Necropolis.


Interestingly, if you "fail" to visit Necropolis before 110 days have passed Set and his ghouls will have been invaded and slaughtered by a super mutant force, and you will miss out on some quality content (though you will meet the super mutants and all that entails).


This is a prime example of how the landscape of the Wasteland changes over time. It blew me away when I first discovered this time-based reactivity. Not just that, but I couldn't believe there was another way into the Military Base, all those leagues away. It was a complete campaign-changer. You don't see much of this in RPGs, past or present. This, as I said earlier, is one facet of Fallout's greatness. But then, we're talking about 1997 here - when people knew how to make an RPG.

As time runs down the player receives messages from their RemindBoy; namely:

• Water supplies running low in Vault 13. Find the water chip quickly. (50 day mark);
• Water supplies near gone in Vault 13. Situation critical. (100 day mark); and finally:
• Water supplies exhausted. Vault 13 dead. Mission over. (150 day mark = GAME OVER -> back to main menu.)

These are presented as FMVs that cut in as you play. Such quality of presentation, still holding up after all these years.

   T i m e  E x t e n s i o n   

Yeah, I'm not really a fan of this. Once you reach The Hub you can pay the water merchant to transport water supplies to Vault 13, thereby giving you an extra 100 days to find the water chip. This is a real luxury, actually. Too generous. Still, it's possible many players won't even find the merchants - I didn't on my first run.


   O t h e r  W a y s  T i m e  P a s s e s   

Aside from travelling on the world map there are other time-burning factors to take into consideration, but they are nowhere near as severe. 

Time basically passes in real-time when you are exploring within an area (for example, a town or dungeon). However, there are a few ways it can pass quicker within an area:

• Using medical skills and studying textbooks to skill up eats an hour each time.
• Waiting until a certain time of day, obviously.
• Resting Until Healed can burn significant time (use stimpacks).
• Some quests can time-lapse you; f.e, Refugee Irwin's quest (.223!) eats two days and one plot-critical journey can eat two weeks.
• Caravan runs go from hub to hub and can take a couple days, though they are much quicker than hiking to the destination.
• Brotherhood operations (for +stats) take up to 3 weeks to perform.

So yeah, not many surprises here. These are just things to keep in mind.

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   O t h e r  T i m e  L i m i t s   

• To my dismay, there was a time limit that Interplay removed in the patch: that of completing the campaign within 500 days or there would be a super mutant invasion on Vault 13! It's a real pity that they removed this because it's a logical consequence of the campaign. (The invasion can now only be caused by revealing the location of the Vault to the enemy, which is not timed reactivity.)

• The 13 year time limit for the entire campaign is just a technical limit put in place by the coders. Players should not be concerned with it at all. If you manage to exhaust it nothing special happens; you're just presented with a game-over screen and that's it.

• There are quite a few quests and other landscape changes that are based on time limits (Tandi being kidnapped by the raiders a couple of days after leaving Shady Sands, perhaps being the most famous), but they are comparatively minor. Lots of other RPGs have this sort of thing, so it's not that notable.

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I've always loved the time limits in Fallout, even though they're not perfect. I don't get why people complain about time limits because they add a layer of depth and urgency to the campaign, giving them a sense of pacing that they otherwise might not have (Fallout's pacing is impeccable). Anyway, I'd like to see more RPGs employ major time-based reactivity in the future, rather than just run of the mill stuff like companion quests and the like.

And this concludes Time in Fallout.


dat1 (FO1): Employ extract -e *.dat using KA_DAT_Extract
dat2 (FO2):  Employ dat_explorer

Self-reference:

Maximum raw Action Points is 13 (AG 10 + Action Boy x3). Doesn't result in the best build, but that is the maximum. Best builds rarely if ever take Action Boy. Bonus Move is better for +mobility, and other perks are better than AB, too.

Maximum possible attacks executable per turn is 13 for unarmed (e.g, power fist) and melee weapons (e.g, super sledge) and 6 for the fastest small guns and energy weapons (BB LE, turbo plasma rifle). 13 is possible due to Fast Shot erroneously working with unarmed and melee weapons skills.

Obviously requires Bonus Rate of Fire (for firearms) and Bonus HtH Attacks (for melee weapons).

The maximum number of skillpoints that can be held in reserve is 99. Perks do not accrue.

The maximum level reachable is 21. It isn't possible to reach 21st level unless we farm Deathclaws / other critters.

Level progression. This is NOT a build. It just shows when key Perks become available and what their prerequisites are. Can easily build optimal Sniper or Slayer build with this info.

01 0 XP
02 1,000 XP
03 3,000 XP * Awareness (PE 5) or Toughness (EN 6, LK 6)
04 6,000 XP
05 10,000 XP
06 15,000 XP * Bonus Move or Bonus HtH Attacks (AG 6)
07 21,000 XP
08 28,000 XP
09 36,000 XP * Bonus Rate of Fire (AG7, IN 6, PE 4). Can Mutate.
10 45,000 XP
11 55,000 XP
12 66,000 XP * Better Criticals (req: PE 6, LK 6, AG 4). Tag can be useful. Action Boy unlocks (AG 5)
13 78,000 XP
14 91,000 XP
15 105,000 XP * Whatever
16 120,000 XP
17 136,000 XP
18 153,000 XP * Sniper ( PE + AG 8) or Slayer (ST + 8, Unarmed 80%)
19 171,000 XP
20 190,000 XP
21 210,000 XP * Doesn't matter: Silent Death (AG 10, Sneak 80%) or Action Boy or Bonus Move.

Sniper Build needs at least PE 8, AG 8, IN 6, LK 6.
Slayer needs at least ST 8, PE 8, AG 6, LK 6, PE 6 (and EN 6 if want Toughness and AG 10 if want Silent Death).

AG is the most important attribute by far, as it dictates how much what can do on our turn in combat (how far we can move, how many times we can attack).

CH is not needed for companions, and most social checks are Speech-based. Dump it.

Best Trait is Gifted. Second best is Fast ShotFinesse can be Mutated into Fast Shot post-Slayer/Sniper acquisition. I don't recommed Fast Shot on maiden runs. Why? Because then you can't target body parts. Go for the eyes!!!

The best skill is Small Guns. Later, go with Energy Weapons. Good initial Tags would be Small Guns, Speech and Energy Weapons. Never Tag or waste skillpoints on Science and Repair. Purchase textbooks from Hub instead (raises related skill up to 91%).

Stats go up to 10, skills 300. Some perks go up to 3 (effects stack).

There is no need to raise Small Guns, Energy Weapons, Unarmed or Melee Weapons skills >150. The max chance to hit is 95%.

Maximum possible HPs on a 21st level build is 265 (Max ST and EN + Lifegiver x3). The build takes Toughness x3 as well (for DR 30%), and can fit Slayer in. The ultimate damage sponge. Also, Jet.

The best armor is Hardened Power Armor.
The best weapons are Alien Blaster, .223, BB LE, Turbo Plasma Rifle, Power Fist (unarmed), Super Sledge (melee).
Small Gun progression: 9mm, .44, Hunting Rifle, Irwin's .223, Sniper Rifle
Unarmed progression: Brass Knuckles, Sipked Knuckles, Power Fist
Melee progression: Whatever, then Super Sledge or Ripper
Energy Weapons: it's all about Alien Blaster and Turbo Plasma Rifle

The best companion is Tycho (BB LE) followed by Ian (.223). Companions cannot wear amor, limiting their late-game survivability. However, their collective attack rate can be useful in early- and mid-game even though their AI is lacking (move out of their Line of Fire).

Maximum companions is 6. Employ companions for muling.


Get Barter skill to 100 and you're quartering the price of goods. 200 isn't worth it. Bartering through "button" is cheaper than bartering through dialogue.

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Baldur's Gate for Neverwinter Nights

Of interest to veterans of Baldur's Gate is that some campaigns built in the Aurora Toolset are notably inspired by it and/or "Baldur's Gate-esque". Given a rundown in this post are the ones that I have personally played and heartily recommend to Baldur's Gate fans. I'll likely build on this list as I continue to explore the jungle of NWN community content, but for now this is it. Now, to save repeating myself in each entry, these are award-winning campaigns that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, so it goes without saying that they are of professional-level polish and worth the trouble to download and install.

Newbies should note that you will eed BioWare's Neverwinter Nights to play these campaigns, the Diamond version of which can be picked up from GoG for chump change. But the following campaigns are free to download and play.

      S w o r d f l i g h t      
by Rogueknight 333 (2008-2019)

The beginning of an epic series, you begin this tale as a novice adventurer looking for work in the bustling city of Calimport. A chance meeting in a tavern may provide more than you bargained for, leading to a dangerous journey through desert and dungeon. - DM Rogueknight.


Rogueknight's Swordflight (overview) is a highly reactive campaign. What does that mean? It means that the campaign reacts to the character that you have chosen to role-play; for example - and to put it quite crudely - it frequently checks your gender, race, class, stats, alignment and the decisions you make over its course, thereby determining what you can and can't do. So, whichever character you choose to play, you are going to be made to feel that you are that character, which is quite a feat when you consider the build options offered by the D&D ruleset. Now, in respect to reactivity Swordflight leaves our treasured Baldur's Gate 2 in the dust. The only RPGs that I know of which are as reactive as Swordflight are Planescape: TormentArcanum of Steamworks & Magick Obscura and Mask of the Betrayer. That's the sort of company it's in.

Swordflight is mostly set in and around the desert city of Calimport but also takes you to the far-flung Marching Mountains and Forest of Mir: regions known to those who have played Throne of Bhaal. Three chapters have been so far released to the public, with the series projected to six or perhaps even seven, all told. They seem to come out every four years but Rogueknight has hinted at quicker releases in the future.

Now, the first chapter is the shortest but features a grueling multi-level dungeon crawl and lots of reactivity. The second chapter raises the bar in that it has you exploring the quest-dense urban hub of Calimport and its outskirts in non-linear fashion, similar to how Athkalta can be explored in Shadows of Amn. And in the third chapter the protagonist breaks into epic levels and stops over in exotic lands en route to the citadel library of Candlekeep, where the Bhaalspawn Saga began!

Visual highlight (Babylon tileset):




Swordflight is as good as it gets, guys! If you fancy yourself a hardcore BG player then look no further than this masterpiece. Download it now!

by Savant (2003-2007)

In the Kingdom of Aielund, trouble is brewing. While the king leads an army against enemies in the far west, the poorly-protected realm is under attack from brigands, goblinoids, and barbarians from the east. And rumors of a conspiracy are growing as the remaining military forces do little to stem the tide. Into this vacuum of power steps a small band of daring individuals, who must try to keep the region intact while tracking down the conspirators who seek to divide the land for themselves. - DM Savant.


Savant's Aielund Saga is an epic high fantasy D&D campaign consisting of four sprawling Acts, with Act IV broken up into three Parts. It is THE flagship heroic adventure for the NWN platform and a great showcase for community custom content. If you're just beginning to explore the jungle of NWN campaigns and adventures then I don't think there is a better introduction than this epic, especially if you grew up with classics such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.

The "Fairloch" theme is an uplifting, optimistic and unforgettable orchestral piece (especially when it kicks in at key moments!)

The saga takes you from first to about 37th level: from humble beginnings in a rainy backwater town, the protagonist gets caught up in local problems that turn into political intrigue - and then it goes epic, just like Baldur's Gate. Notable features include companion romances, siege warfare and mounted combat. The Aielund Saga has it all.

One of the many visual highlights (Stoneguard Mountains):


(Savant has also recently updated TAS to v.3.0. There are new skyboxes among other new things that are detailed here.)

Savant has since gone on to write nine novels and design his own role-playing system.


To many, the town of Daggerford is of little consequence. To others, however, it is of immeasurable value. The nearby great cities of Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate would do well to look over their shoulders at what is brewing in this once sleepy town. Prepare to delve into the dark mysteries surrounding Daggerford... - DM Ossian.
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Ossian's Darkness Over Daggerford (2006) is an EZ, polished adventure that employs sidequests very similar to those found in Baldur's Gate. By far and away its standout feature is the incorporation of a custom World Map System complete with random waylays, just like in Baldur's Gate. In fact, to my knowledge it is the only NWN campaign that employs one! (Which, to my mind, is a tragedy.)

DoD's "Daggerford" theme has soothing brass and soft drumming interspersed with cello (the latter of which takes the prize: wow). That track is probably my fave custom track on Aurora. The low-key tracks are also well-chosen/composed: "Rural" theme features banjo strumming and cello. The music was composed by David John and the solo cello performed by Alfred James.

The writing is entertaining (you'll get giggles out of it) and there is a staggering amount of attention given to Realmslore and item/object descriptions. It's pretty evident that the devs had a lot of fun building the campaign, too! I was a lil' critical of DoD in my write-up but only because I compared it directly to Swordflight. And I can't deny that new players, and those who just want to have some casual fun, will enjoy the adventure immensely.

Visual highlight (Daggerford):


• My commentary in five parts • Official Neverwinter Vault entry • Ossian's Official Site. Update: Developer Damian B, aka Luspr, has posted insights into DoD's development beginning with this comment. He also commented here a while back, too.

      C r i m s o n  T i d e s  o f  T e t h y r      
by Alazander/Luke Scull (2005)

After many years of war, Tethyr is finally enjoying a period of relative peace. Despite this, problems still continue to plague the realm. Beasts roam the countryside, pillaging and slaying at random. The Knights of the Black Gauntlet, an order led by the priest Teldorn Darkhope and dedicated to the evil deity Bane continue to plague Tethyr's eastern border. However, the greatest threat of all has arisen recently in the form of the huge monstrous coalition known as the Sythillisian Empire. - DM Alazander.

"Old friend, I fear that Tethyr's future is once again in the balance. The Sythillisian Empire has turned its gaze towards us for reasons I cannot fathom. How can this recently healed nation hope to defend itself from the untold thousands of goblins, orcs, ogres and giants that lurk on its northern border?" - Excerpt from a letter by Royal Court Sage Gamalon Idogyr to Elminster of Shadowdale, 1372 DR.


Realmslore. If you want to play a campaign built by someone who knows their Realmslore and can match the tone of FR literature, then you can't go wrong with Crimson Tides of Tethyr, a four-part epic that starts you off questing in the city of Darromar before marching you north to the Forest of Tethir and tree city of Suldanessellar, where you will meet Queen Ellesime of Shadows of Amn fame and explore Irenicus' Tower! This was the first notable BG-esque module to come out and one of the first NWN campaigns that I played, so I'm pretty nostalgic for it.

AL2: CToT was a cancelled premium module that was preceded by AL1: Siege of Shadowdale and followed up by AL3: Tyrants of Moonsea, which was also a cancelled premium module. Of course, AL4: The Blades of Netheril never came out.


These setbacks did not faze Alazander, who subsequently went to work on Darkness Over Daggerford (2006), Mysteries of Westgate (2009) and Shadow Sun (2013); and also publish three novels.

One notable but largely unmentioned aspect of CToT and TotM is that they feature the odd gory or horrific scene. Don't be surprised if you come across projectile-vomiting and skulls stuck on the end of pikes, for example. They are also a little more gritty in tone than traditional Realmslore adventures.

Lastly, a strong argument can be made for CToT and TotM featuring the best custom music of any campaign on the NWN platform. "Valor" almost makes CToT: Trumpets and percussion! Trumpets and percussion is where it's at. They are perfect for battle-heavy campaigns. "Assault" and "Action" are also solid. In addition, there is a track that plays in the Barracks of which I could not find the name; it's excellent (does anyone know its name?).

Visual highlight is Suldanessellar (Elven City Tileset):


• My commentary in four parts • Official Neverwinter Vault entry.

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Next post: Bedine Commentary.