Vault 11

Vaults & Shelters · Source: Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Obsidian Entertainment — in-game world, holotapes, and terminal entries

Overview

Vault 11 is the site of one of the most infamous Vault-Tec experiments, featured in Fallout: New Vegas: each year, the vault's residents were forced to vote to sacrifice one of their own — or the vault's computer would kill everyone.

History & Background

For decades, the residents dutifully elected a sacrificial victim each year, believing refusal meant death for all. In truth, the computer was programmed so that the first refusal would end the experiment and free the vault. The last residents to realize this refused, the doors opened, and the survivors — unable to live with their guilt — took their own lives, leaving behind a haunting holotape and an automated message for whoever found the vault.

Geography & Layout

The vault is buried beneath a hillside in the Mojave, its austere interior dominated by the voting chamber where each year's choice was made; the final resident's body and recording lie near the exit.

Wasteland Significance

Vault 11 is widely considered the most powerful piece of storytelling in Fallout: New Vegas, a searing indictment of complicity and groupthink, and a destination every player should experience.

Notable Appearances

Fallout: New Vegas (2010).

Tags: vault-11, sacrifice-experiment, fallout-new-vegas, voting, morality, holotape, groupthink, final-survivor, vault-tec, memorable-story