One of the best things about Fallout 3 is how there is a bunch of little societies all over the wasteland. As such, you probably won't meet some of them during your travels. However, it's worth going out of your way to link up with the people of Big Town.
This is because they provide you with the Big Trouble In Big Town quest, and you earn an achievement or trophy for completing it. The mission revolves around helping the people of the town in their conflict with a nearby gang of Super Mutants. This is everything you need to do to lend a hand.
Start The Quest
This quest can be started in either of the following ways:
- Go to Big Town, which is directly in the center of the map. Then talk to the residents there to learn about their missing people.
- Speak to Sticky, who is on the map's east side at Little Lamplight. You then head to Big Town to speak to the residents about their missing people.
- Talk to Red at the Germantown Police HQ, which is a bit north of Big Town.
Find Red's Cell
Regardless of how you begin the quest, you have to head to the Germantown Police HQ to rescue Red. The place is north of Big Town, the Merserti Trainyard, Hollowed Moors Cemetary, and Agatha's House. Plus, it's slightly west of a minefield that gets marked on the map.
Once you're there, you must watch out for any Super Mutants that are roaming around. Red is being held inside the main building, which has two entrances.
North Door
One option is to use the door on the north side of the area. To reach it, you must climb up the stairs of a ruined building. Once you're inside, you need to find your way to the ground floor while watching out for any Super Mutants or mines.
If you don't know how to get there, you can follow this path:
- Head forward, down to the end of the first hall.
- Turn right and take the first left.
- Continue forward until you reach another wall.
- Turn right to find the door to the ground floor.
Now that you're on the ground floor, you must locate the room with Red's cell. To do that, follow this route:
- Walk down the stairs and head left.
- When you reach a fork in the road, take the path to the right.
- Continue forward until you reach a broken light fixture that's hanging from the ceiling.
- Enter the room to your right, which contains all the cells, including the one holding Red.
West Door
Alternatively, you can use the door on the west side of the Police HQ. However, your lockpick skill needs to be at least 100 to unlock the thing. If you can get through it, though, you can simply enter the first room on your left to locate Red's Cell.
Rescue Red
Red's cell is on the left as you enter the room. There are three ways to let her out.
- Pick The Lock On The Door - It is not a difficult lock to open.
- Use The Terminal To Initiate An Emergency Cell Release - There's a terminal next to her cell. If you're a good enough hacker, you can hack the terminal. Otherwise, you can use the password that's contained on the holotape upstairs. The said holotope is on a desk in the room on the southeast side of the top floor. It's next to a large safe.
- Use The Germantown Jailor's Key - The key to Red's cell is held by the leader of this Super Mutant crew. The beast roams the rooms nearby. Kill him to loot the key from his body.
When you let her out, you will engage in a conversation. If you ask her if anyone else is here, she will inform you of Shorty, but she doesn't have much faith that he's still alive. You can return to Big Town with her or fetch Shorty.
Rescue Shorty (Optional)
Shorty is in the basement kitchen. You can get there from the ground floor by heading down the stairs to the north. Once you're down there, head into the first room on your right. Then leave that room through the door on your left.
At this point, you can simply stroll down the hallway into the kitchen to find a Super Mutant with Shorty. You must kill the mutant before it does the same to the man you're trying to rescue. Once the beast is down, speak with Shorty, then leave the building with him and Red - if she's not already left. Either way, you must go back to Big Town.
Conversation In Big Town
When you're back in Big Town, speak to Red and either ask her for a reward or say that you don't need one.
Alternatively, if Red died at any point earlier, you will need to return to Big Town and let the people know what happened. You will fail the quest, but you still get some caps.
Prepare For The Attack
Technically, the Big Trouble Big Town quest is already complete by this point, but Red asks for another favor. She knows another Super Mutant attack is coming and she wants your help in stopping the beasts.
If you decide to help, you can either say that you'll stay to kill the Super Mutants or you can teach the residents a few things. Here's what you can teach them:
|
Requirement |
What You Teach Them |
How You Teach Them |
|---|---|---|
|
50 Points In The Explosive Skill |
Set Up A Minefield |
Place a mine on the bridge into town |
|
50 Points In The Science Skill |
Create Robot Defenders |
Reactivate the nearby sentry bot and Protectron |
|
50 Points In The Small Guns Skill |
Use Guns |
Shoot some cans at the firing range in town |
|
50 Points In The Sneak Skill |
Hide From Mutants |
Go into sneak mode and have them follow you around for a bit |
If you have the Lawbringer perk, you can also have the Regulators come and help.
Defend The Town
Whether the citizens of Big Town are trained or not, they will have to contend with a horde of Super Mutants on their doorstep.
If you give them a few pointers on stealth, they will all hide before the beasts arrive. Therefore, the Super Mutants will just look around for a while before leaving forever.
If you pick any other option than stealth, the mutants will turn up, and you'll have to help the townspeople take them out. No matter how well you train your allies, you will have to do the heavy lifting. Yet, you can make your team more formidable by sneakily putter better gear in their pockets using the game's pickpocket feature.
Once the invaders are dead, the town will be safe and you will be considered a hero. Plus, your business with Big Town will be done.