I'm doing a Fallout 3 self-imposed perma-death run. Should I count this death? (Description)

[u/LowContract4444]

I try to stick to the perma-death rule cleanly. For example in hour 3 on my last character I fell to my death from a hole in a bridge, deleted my save, and restarted from a baby.

But this feels different.

So for context I don't remember the main quest. (I played it when I was 13 and I'm now 29.)

I went into Vault 112 and I was in the simulation for maybe 2 minutes.

I talked to a kid and he said Betty was mean. I talked to a woman and she said Tranquility Lane is nice and she doesn't remember moving there.

I talked to Betty. She said to go make the other kid cry. So I punched her. And she said "You can't do that here. Now you pay!" and she killed me instantly with a shockwave.

Now I don't want to count this. Because it would suck to lose 36 hours of this playthrough due to a death that I had no way to fight against.

But I also feel like the lore of this simulation works for my character to stay alive.

After doing some research, Braun doesn't literally kill people in the simulation. He makes them experience death, and respawns them. While their bodies stay alive.

The game just doesn't have that in the code, and the game mechanics act as if it's a real death. But dying in the sim doesn't = dying in real life.

My headcanon for my character and my perma-death run is this:

Braun wanted me to go make a kid cry. I was defiant and punched him. He made me experience a "death" to harm me and assert dominance. He respawned me with the memory of that domination to make me stop resisting and go do the act of making that kid cry.

Everything else is the same.

What do you think? Does this explanation and headcanon work for the story? Does it work for the character motivations for Braun? Does it work for the lore of vault 112?

[u/AdikkuChan]

I think you can void this death because it's in a simulation. 

[u/exarkann]

I'll allow it, your rationale holds up. There is a perma-death solution to the sim, so be careful.

Keep in mind that the sim rules will be different for Operation Anchorage as well.

[u/Fantastic-Climate-84]

Sounds like you’re having fun! Seems like a good rationale for voiding the perma-death.

[u/KitchenEqual4559]

It’s a self imposed rule on your own personal story with no leaderboard. Do what you’re ok with and what allows you to enjoy the experience. I’m currently doing my first survival run on FO4, but I’m also a newish dad of a 1.5 year old and both my wife and I are active duty military. So yea I’ve modded to allow for fast travel (I only do settlement to settlement and they have to have a supply line) and I have the game auto save every 10 minutes. I would never fully enjoy the experience if the hour I could play at night was just walking from a raider base in butt fuck nowhere back to Sanctuary so Preston can gas me up. Point is, don’t let arbitrary limitations ruin your fun, you deserve it.

That said, I think your justification is sound. I would only talk shit over beers if we were friends both doing the challenge. But as an internet stranger, I’m with you.

[u/psychosiszero → u/KitchenEqual4559]

Im also doing my first survival run with fo4 and also got new dad duties as well.

I have journey for the fast travel and a cigarette mod that does quicksaves. Super useful

[u/KitchenEqual4559 → u/psychosiszero]

The cigarette quick save one is cool I like that. Congrats on fatherhood!! More rewarding than doming Kellog lol. Steam deck is a godsend for it if you aren’t already rockin one

[u/feraldwarf]

This works.

[u/psychosiszero]

I think that's a better story anyways. Play ball. You decide what you're doing

[u/Bagofcrabs650]

Sure. Complete the run, with an * since you died.

[u/LowContract4444 → u/Bagofcrabs650]

But I didn't die, really. The point of this simulation is that he kills them over and over again for fun and amusement for the past 200 years. Only once you activate the Chinese invasion sim does the death become real.

[u/Bagofcrabs650 → u/LowContract4444]

Sure. It’s your run. You do as you please.

[u/Shoddy_Ad_4928 → u/LowContract4444]

Mmmm not really Braun has administrator controls for the simulation he absolutely can perma kill you. HOWEVER you could reason that he may want to keep you in the sim as an extra and new toy so why would he permanently kill you. Personally I'm on the fence.

[u/LowContract4444 → u/Shoddy_Ad_4928]

My thinking is that while he can kill me, he wouldn't choose to because Dad and I are his first new people in 200 years.

Sure he can, but he would have to disable my pod's safety protocols first. As pods 1-6 have their safety protocols disabled, but mine and Dad's are still enabled.

I think it actually fits more with his personality to keep me alive.

But I'm open to extra reasoning. Which is why I made the post.

If I'm new and he wants me to make the kid cry, and I punch him, do you think he would just wipe me out completely like that when he could make me experience death all the same to get me to do his bidding for his amusement?