Constance Blackhall was an ancestor of Obadiah Blackhall.[1]
Background[]
The Blackhall family took their name when they arrived generations before the Great War.[Non-game 1] They were highly influential in the intense commercialization of Point Lookout, which led to the creation of its boardwalk and subsequent tourist attractions. When Constance was left widowed by the New Plague in 2058, she became the head of the Blackhall estate and opened talks with Isla Negra Holdings, which eventually led to the modernization of Pilgrim's Landing.[Non-game 2]
Continuing a familial obsession with the occult, Constance used her inherited wealth as a way to obtain archaic texts and artifacts such as the Krivbeknih, which managed to remain within the family's grasp even long after the bombs dropped. Constance became something of a cult leader in Point Lookout, recruiting an inner circle of followers and declaring herself a priestess, focusing on the teachings of the Krivbeknih.[Non-game 3] Her brother, Richard Dunwich, the head of Dunwich Borers LLC, was more ambitious and leveraged his company's position to expand the cult's operations, unearthing multiple sites tied to the forgotten gods under the guise of corporate activity. One such site was the obelisk of Ug-Qualtoth, intimately tied to the Krivbeknih owned by his sister.[2]
Some time after the Great War, a messenger for Blackhall and Dunwich in Atlantic City, New Jersey, attempted to alert the two to words being spread by Nate, an influential speaker who was spreading information that was, although partly speculative, rooted in some fact, and thus dangerous to them.[3]
Constance lived an unnaturally long life, but according to local legend, the Krivbeknih was stolen from her, and without it, she finally passed away and left her cult in shambles. Without a leader, the structure of her cult fell apart, although her legacy had been firmly planted in the minds of the marsh's inhabitants. What was once a strong faith has devolved over time into a "collection of incoherent chants and rituals, their meanings long forgotten."[Non-game 3]
Obadiah Blackhall, Constance's last remaining descendant, aims to re-establish the Blackhalls' power in the region, and influence over the swampfolks' minds.[Non-game 3] The missionary Marcella is aware of Constance's legacy due to her occult studies.[1]
Notes[]
- Constance Blackhall was first mentioned by name on Marcella's terminal in Point Lookout (2009) and given a small amount of lore in the Fallout 3 Official Game Guide. Richard Dunwich was originally only mentioned in cut lore from Point Lookout.
- Constance was established as the sibling of Richard Dunwich in Fallout: The Roleplaying Game (2021), produced by Modiphius Entertainment.
She is referred to as "C. Blackhall" in the upcoming Fallout 76 note Urgent message for R. Dunwich and C. Blackhall, seen in the Public Test Server (2024).
Appearances[]
Constance Blackhall is mentioned in the Fallout 3 add-on Point Lookout, as well as Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part two, America's Playground. She is also mentioned in the Fallout 3 Official Game Guide and Fallout: The Roleplaying Game.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the original, cut version of the Point Lookout quest The Dark Heart of Blackhall, Obadiah Blackhall affirms that Constance had an obsession with the occult, but rather than leveraging its power for his own benefit, he wanted to destroy the book. This obsession was shared with her brother, Richard Dunwich, owner of the company that built the Dunwich Building.[Cut 1][Cut 2]
- In the first edition of Fallout: The Roleplaying Game, Constance was referred to as Dunwich's brother,[2] despite being gendered female in the Fallout 3 Official Game Guide.[Non-game 2] This has been acknowledged as an error. In light of this, mentions of "the Dunwich brothers" elsewhere in the book inadvertently suggest the existence of a third sibling, unless this wording is adjusted in a future edition.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Disaster relief outpost terminal entries; Marcella's terminal, Obadiah Blackhall
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fallout: The Roleplaying Game: "Richard Dunwich’s Washington, D.C.-based company made rock-tunneling drills. These mammoth engines of industry made possible the mining and resource extraction necessary for companies like Poseidon to thrive, for societies like pre-War America to be built, and for weapons like those used in the Great War to be produced. Although a favorite of its industrial clients, Dunwich had a more sinister reputation among its workforce. They had an abysmal record of safety, keeping employees on through a combination of high paychecks and “morale-building” events that sought to sweep their accident rate out of the public spotlight. This neglect frequently claimed lives of employees and family members.
A persistent, but likely ridiculous rumor, holds these deaths were not as accidental as Dunwich claimed. Richard Dunwich, and his brother Constance Blackhall, were known for an obsession with the occult. A marble quarry where they tested their drills was known to cover the site of an ancient temple to dark gods, whose adherents routinely practiced human sacrifice. Some say the poor safety protocols at Dunwich facilities, and especially at the quarry, were a modern form of sacrifice intended to bring eldritch attention and supernatural powers to corporate leadership. None can say for certain, as Dunwich Borers, LLC and nearly all their records were destroyed in the Great War." - ↑ Urgent message for R. Dunwich and C. Blackhall
- Non-game
- ↑ Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.636: "Use Charisma skill to ask about Blackhall Manor, specifically the age of the place; and the Blackhall family (who took the name when they arrived generations before the Great War)."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.87: "Obadiah Blackhall
The last descendant of the Blackhalls, a famous (some say infamous) family of wealth in the history of Point Lookout, Obadiah is stubborn and is still entranced by an old book his family once lost. The Blackhall family was deeply involved in the commercialization of Point Lookout in the early 21st century. Constance Blackhall, head of the estate after the New Plague made her an unexpected widow in 2058, cooperated with entrepreneurs from the Isla Negra Realty Company, who had been trying to acquire family real estate unsuccessfully for years. Despite overwhelming local cultural resistance, Isla Negra persistently attempted to bring tourism and modernization to Point Lookout and St. Mary's County."
(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.662: "[1.02] Blackhall Manor (LAT 02/LONG 07)
Constance Blackhall was obsessed with the occult. She turned her newfound wealth into a means of acquiring archaic texts and artifacts. The most notorious of these was the Krvibeknih. Constance drew a small circle of devotees to herself, styling herself a priestess of an obscure sect based around the book. Constance lived an unnaturally long life, even in the radiation soaked marshes of Point Lookout. Local legend states that the Krvibeknih was stolen from her, and without it the woman succumbed to a death that should have found her generations before. Her legacy, having permeated the provincial culture of Point Lookout, persisted, but what little structure existed within that group deteriorated with no form of leadership. Theirs is not so much a faith as a collection of incoherent chants and rituals, their meanings long forgotten.
The Blackhalls have stubbornly clung to existence, but Obadiah appears to the last of their line. He knows that the Krivbeknih has found its way back to Point Lookout, and intends to reclaim it, with the hopes of restoring power over the swampfolk to his family."
(Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition Tour of the Capital Wasteland)
- Cut content
- ↑ The Lone Wanderer: "There must be something we can do. We have the book."
Obadiah Blackhall: "I fear the Blackhalls are lost. The only thing left to do is to destroy this evil book, and spare the world further harm. I've got to do what Constance should have done in the first place. There's a way to destroy the damned thing, though I will not survive it."
(Obadiah Blackhall's dialogue)
- ↑ The Lone Wanderer: "That can't be the only way to destroy it."
Obadiah Blackhall: "There is... another option. I could never make the journey myself, though. North, far to the north. Constance had a brother, Richard Dunwich. He was a wealthy businessman outside of the city to the north, had a company building there. His obsession with the occult was as great as her own, and there's an object of great evil in that building. The book has been drawn to it before. To take the book there would destroy it. You would have to take that journey, though, and you must not fail if you attempt it."
(Obadiah Blackhall's dialogue)
