Deathclaw: Deathclaws were engineered before the Great War, for use as cheap replacements for humans during close-combat search-and-destroy missions. The project was successful in creating a ferocious predator capable of surviving on its own in the wild, though no references exist to them ever being used in combat against the Chinese. After the Great War, deathclaws escaped into the wild through unknown means and gradually spread throughout the continent. The initial spread was limited to isolated nests on the East and West Coasts, leading some to believe that it was just a rumor, a tale to scare children with, though the population of Boneyard was keenly aware of their existence, as a single pack mother and her offspring claimed the area between Downey and Norwalk around 2161, keeping the Gun Runners in checkmate and terrorizing other communities in the region. A lone deathclaw was also living near the Hub, with an unknown number of deathclaws experimented on and refined by the Master.
Their gradual spread throughout the wasteland raised awareness of their existence until they entered common consciousness as a lethal predator – but a myth no longer. As stated above, the Enclave eventually continued the research project started before the war, developing intelligent deathclaws for use in hostile environments around 2235. On May 17, 2242, the first successful pack was dropped into Vault 13 to cloak the presence of the Enclave and their abduction of the dwellers within. Following their first combat test, the deathclaws broke free of their Enclave masters, far more intelligent than anyone could foresee. They began developing a unique culture, as the first non-human sentient beings in history. Unfortunately, their intelligence was discovered by Doctor Schreber of Navarro, whose report led to the extermination of intelligent deathclaws with extreme prejudice. Subsequent experimentation involved the aforementioned domestication units, although by the end of the 23rd century.
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What is the Deathclaw mutated from?
Deathclaws are a large, agile, and strong species of mutant Jackson’s Chameleon created through genetic engineering, with the addition of DNA of various other species. However, due to mutation, most of them have lost their color-changing ability.
What was a Deathclaw before the bombs?
The deathclaws were originally created before the Great War by the United States military, in order to replace humans during high-risk close-combat search-and-destroy missions[1]. They were Jackson’s Chameleons[2] genetically modified with DNA of various other species.
How much health does a Deathclaw have?
They have less health than alpha, but more than a normal deathclaw. Their horns curve out and down, compared to the alpha’s forward and up. They start to appear when the player is around level 35 and will replace some randomly encountered deathclaws in the wasteland.
Deathclaw Fallout 4
It’s VERY hard to say, for one in only ~130 years (~6 generations) the deathclaws went from a myth in California to an apex predator in nearly every state. While no specific measurements are given, it’s likely Deathclaws weigh in excess of 1,700–2,000 pounds (~770–900 kilograms) and is made to be both incredibly strong, and impossibly agile. Due to their massive size and musculature, Deathclaws would need to eat HUGE amounts of food, probably around 5x the amount of a male lion, which is 5,600 pounds of meat a year for a 400-pound lion. Multiply by our 5 and we get 28 THOUSAND pounds of meat a year for ONE Deathclaw.
There is only one place in our world today where a few hundred Deathclaws could survive without A) being hunted down by humans because of their invasive nature, B) destroy the environment to their own extinction, or C) eat enough food to support their packs of 6–20 individuals. That place is the African Savannah.
Due to their size, intelligence, and pure ferocity, I believe that Deathclaws could become the world’s only non-human Elephant hunters. An African Bush Elephant weighs in at around 11,000 pounds and a single Deathclaw at around 2,000. If we assume a Deathclaws pack averages around 11 adults (the presence of a Mother Deathclaw and an Alpha Male Deathclaw who do all the breeding and the multiple adults who protect and hunt implies a large pack overall) then we have a VERY capable hunting’s team of massive reptilians.
Fallout Deathclaw
Deathclaws have a hunchbacked, bipedal reptilian build with long humanoid arms. They stand roughly nine to ten feet tall, with a thick and resilient hide, powerful muscles, and twelve-inch-long, razor-sharp claws that can kill almost any other creature in only a few swipes; hence their name. They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, though their eyesight is poor. Their build gives them incredible speed, agility, and strength in close combat, making them an extreme threat. Though they were originally mutated chameleons, most have lost the ability to change color with their moods.
Deathclaws are very aggressive, territorial, and carnivorous. They typically live in packs of around eight to twenty members led by an alpha male, who is the only one allowed to mate with the females. Deathclaws are oviparous, with the eggs typically laid in dark, sheltered locations and fiercely guarded by their mother. Young deathclaws reach maturity under the care of their parents, following them closely until they are old enough to fend for themselves.
Although they do not have vocal cords, they can growl and shout, and some seem to be able to mimic human speech much the same as a parrot does. However, normal deathclaws aren’t intelligent enough to be capable of real speech.
Deathclaws do not sharpen their claws on nearby objects, instead preferring their own nails to do the sharpening. The Lone Wanderer or Courier can witness this behavior while sneaking up on a deathclaw, though the Sole Survivor can witness deathclaws sharpening their claws on the ground instead.
Fallout 4 Deathclaw Gauntlet
Deathclaws have a hunchbacked, bipedal reptilian build with long humanoid arms. They stand roughly nine to ten feet tall, with a thick and resilient hide, powerful muscles, and twelve-inch-long, razor-sharp claws that can kill almost any other creature in only a few swipes; hence their name. They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, though their eyesight is poor. Their build gives them incredible speed, agility, and strength in close combat, making them an extreme threat.
Deathclaws are very aggressive, territorial, and carnivorous. They typically live in small packs of around eight to twenty members led by an alpha male, who is the only one allowed to mate with the females. Deathclaws are oviparous, with the eggs typically laid in dark, sheltered locations and fiercely guarded by their mother. Young deathclaws reach maturity under the care of their parents, following them closely until they are old enough to fend for themselves.
The Deathclaw is a terrifying animal, that can easily kill every living thing it comes across. Considering that in the Fallout series Deathclaws inhabit seemingly every environment possible, from arid deserts to swampy marshlands and temperate plains they’d be everywhere. Most, however, would probably be centered in more desert-like environments, due to the fact that they seem to like the climate based on the prevalence of them in Fallout: New Vegas. As for where they stand on the food chain, the Deathclaw would be right up there next to humans in terms of resilience and lethality; at least until we hunt them to extinction.
Deathclaw Sanctuary
Deathclaws are a 6 meter (20 feet) long carnivorous bipedal reptile species, designed for maximum lethality. The choice to make them bipedal was natural, as bipedalism raises the head, providing a greater field of vision and thus improving the ability to detect targets and resources. The upper limbs were also freed by this choice and could be fashioned into extremely dangerous weapons. The caveat is that the deathclaw is not as fast as a quadrupedal animal, though this is a largely academic concern. The rippling musculature of the deathclaw provides it with superior strength, excellent speed, and incredible resilience in most combat situations.
Of course, their strength is magnified by their claws. Owing to their lineage, the deathclaw has opposable thumbs, though an additional two fingers were coded into the genome, for a total of five fingers in each palm. Each terminates in a sharp talon that allows the reptile to wound and kill with frightening efficiency – a single swipe is capable of bisecting an unarmored human in seconds. Deathclaw hide is extremely tough, providing excellent defense against blunt and edged weapons. Firearms and energy weapons are reliable tools for killing a deathclaw, though lower-powered variants are very likely to have trouble penetrating it. The defense is enhanced by horns and dorsal spikes, making melee combat a very dangerous proposition. The deathclaw is an apex predator of the finest sort – and the advice for fighting in close quarters would be: Don’t.
However, while they are difficult opponents, their keen senses can be used against them. Loud noises and bright light, such as that emitted by flares, can be used to keep a deathclaw at bay or even deter its advance.
Chameleon Deathclaw
Female deathclaws, also called mothers or matriarchs, are fewer in numbers. Only one female is the pack mother at a given time, with another female taking her place when she dies. Mother deathclaws can be distinguished from males by their dark blue color, barbed tails, and backswept horns. They also seem to have a bloated abdomen, presumably from eggs and are generally larger in size than normal deathclaws. If her young are killed, she will go into an uncontrollable rage, killing anything nearby, excluding other deathclaws.
In 2235, the Enclave captured many deathclaws and exposed them to FEV. This boosted their intelligence, giving them the ability to talk with varying degrees of erudition and articulation. This subspecies was highly intelligent, about the equivalent of an eight-year-old, with some even being on par with average adult humans. Their learning capacity was very high and they were capable of abstract thought and reasoning. Although they did not have vocal cords, the deathclaws seemed to mimic human speech in the same way a parrot does. Socially, they had a rigidly hierarchical, peaceful, pack-based ethical code. They were extremely loyal to the pack as a whole, treating it as a family unit rather than having individual families. Fights within a pack are unheard of, and the pack’s leader controls many aspects of life, such as choosing and matching female and male deathclaws for reproduction. Oddly enough, deathclaws are not subject to sterility from FEV exposure; this trait is not explained.
Fallout New Vegas Deathclaw
Deathclaws, if they really existed, would be concentrated around radiation zones, including former nuclear test sites and the locations of major nuclear reactors. Now, according to the Fallout wiki, Deathclaws are mutated from the Jackson’s Chameleon. This animal is native to Africa but has been introduced to Florida, Hawaii, and California. Therefore, the Deathclaws would most likely exist near old bomb test sites in the New Mexico Desert. They would lord over the nature in the area, and have no real predators.
However, it being a desert, food would be somewhat scarce, assuming they can’t just live off radiation. Also, when they inevitably started causing trouble for humans, they would probably be hunted down and exterminated, with any survivors taken into captivity. Perhaps a conservation effort would be started since Deathclaws do seem to be capable of natural reproduction, there could be communities set up in maximum security zoos of sorts, or portions of the desert could be sectioned off as Deathclaw reserves.
So, Deathclaws would be at the top of the desert food chain but would remain below us humans on the global food chain, and we would wipe them out if we had to. Given modern society, that probably wouldn’t happen and we’d try our best to respect this new species of animal.