Little Lamplight is a pre-War underground cavern tourist attraction made into a settlement in the Capital Wasteland in 2277, run and populated entirely by children under the age of 16.[1]

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Background Edit

Discovered in the late 19th century, Lamplight Caverns was converted into a tourist attraction during the 1920s. Due to the location's strong government ties, Vault-Tec achieved ownership of several portions of the caves, for the purpose of Vault 87's construction.

On October 23, 2077, 82 students from Early Dawn Elementary went on a field trip to Lamplight Caverns with a couple of teachers (including the fourth grade teacher, Carrie Delaney and a few parent chaperones). There the group spent many hours touring the deep caverns. Just as they were packing up to leave, the caverns began to shake. The kids began to scream as the lights went out, and one man from the group went out to see what was going on. Upon his return, he informed those within that the entire Washington, D.C. area was covered in mushroom clouds.

The adults slowly died off or left, some leaving the cavern, others being injured by accidents inside. Eventually, Carrie Delaney, being the last of the adult survivors, decided to go scavenging and never returned--leaving the kids to fend for themselves. One of the older kids, Jason Grant, assumed the position of mayor after no one else would step forward. Within the next month of exploring the caves, the children came upon Vault 87, where they pounded on the door for hours, pleading for assistance.

Finally, one of the adults inside Vault 87 told the children to go away (saying that they were "already dead"). This was likely Peter Stevens, a vault technician stationed near the door to Little Lamplight, who thought that the children were hallucinations of his dead son. As a result, the kids turned against all "mungos," kicking out residents once they turned 16. Most, if not of all, of these adults then head to the settlement of Big Town, after being told that a "good life" awaits them there.

Out of the remaining kids, Joseph teaches the kids classes. According to him, a few scavengers brought back holotapes for basic schooling, such as reading, basic math and encyclopedias from vaults.

As of 2287, the settlement's fate is unknown, although MacCready is alive for the events of Fallout 4, meaning he would have been forced to leave by 2281 when he turned sixteen. Considering the age of MacCready at the time the Sole Survivor meets him most, if not all, of the children who had appeared in Fallout 3's Little Lamplight would have likely been kicked out.

Layout Edit

Lamplight caverns Edit

A small cave descends to the town's entrance area, which is protected by a fence with a large front gate. Beyond the fence, a small area with the Little Lamplight office building, the town's medical office and school, opens into two small corridors. The first corridor leads to the restaurant Spelunkers, situated in a cave with pools of water, and the Great Chamber beyond. The second tunnel leads to a medium sized cave which contains the Lamplight restrooms, and the souvenir shop, the town's store. Another access to the Great Chamber can be found here, as well as a small path to the town's back gate, leading to Murder Pass.

The Great Chamber Edit

The Great Chamber area is a huge cavern, with wooden walkways connecting various suspended rooms. It serves as the main living area for the Little Lamplighters, containing a number of beds. The floor of the cave is partially filled with rubble and slightly-irradiated water. Besides the two exits leading to Lamplight caverns, there are two cavities in the chamber's wall; one contains a workbench, and the other leads to Vault 87's Reactor Chamber.

Buildings / sections Edit

Inhabitants Edit

Notable loot Edit

Related quests Edit

Notes Edit

If the Lone Wanderer has the Child at Heart perk, they may play an impromptu game of tag with some of the unnamed Little Lamplighters. When engaged in dialogue the lamplighters will say, "try to catch me, new kid" and run away. When caught and selected/talked to, they'll say things like, "that didn't count" or, "man, now I'm it." The Child at Heart perk will also grant the Lone Wanderer an easier time gaining entrance to the caverns.

The children don't mind if the Lone Wanderer kills Sticky during his going-away party, and some may even remark, "Do it again!"

Sticky comments that only people "under 18" can occupy Little Lamplight, though it is clearly stated in several other places that the age is 16.

If the player character has bad Karma, dialogue with the kids in Little Lamplight will say, "I bet you're so bad because your mom didn't love you."

Some kids mention sending raiding parties into the vault, but several doors in the vault are locked, and a lot of loot still remains.

The cave fungus found in the caverns (or received from trading it for strange meat) has the highest quantity of consumable items found in one static location than all other consumables combined.

On the topside of Little Lamplight, level dependent creatures may spawn near the entrance, including super mutants, deathclaws and hostile military robots.

It is possible to encounter Mister Crowley in Little Lamplight.

The question of how Little Lamplight's population of children is replenished is left unaddressed.

Followers accompanying the Lone Wanderer in the Great Chamber can easily fall off the walkways to their death.

When the children cross the pools of water on the floor of the Great Chamber, they sink to the floor and swim.

Appearances Edit

Little Lamplight appears only in Fallout 3 and is mentioned in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes Edit

In an interview with 1UP.com, Emil Pagliarulo stated that Little Lamplight's location was loosely based on Luray Caverns in Virginia. [2]

Nathan Purkeypile, who designed much of Little Lamplight's layout, lighting and cluttering, stated on Twitter in October 2019 that the inspiration for the settlement's circular light sources came from glass floats, which were once used by fishermen to keep nets and other items afloat.[3][4][5]

unverified behind the scenes information and has not been confirmed by The following is based onand has not been confirmed by canon sources.

The inspiration for Little Lamplight may have also come from Vault 29, which was due to appear in Van Buren . They share similar qualities, such as sending the residents out to the wasteland once they mature and having no adults.

. They share similar qualities, such as sending the residents out to the wasteland once they mature and having no adults. The Little Lamplight settlement may be an homage to the children's colony that Max encounters in the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

End of information based on unverified behind the scenes information.

Bugs Edit

PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 [verified]

PC Playstation 3 [verified]

Playstation 3 Mayor MacCready will talk to the player, with the only option available being the Speech check asking to be admitted. MacCready no longer mentions Paradise Falls or gives such a quest option. [verified]

Gallery Edit

References Edit