Agatha's Song is a Fallout 3 quest. It is also an Xbox 360/PC achievement and a PlayStation 3 trophy.
Retrieve the Soil Stradivarius from Vault 92 for Agatha, an old woman living alone in her house in the Capital Wasteland.
Quick walkthrough
- Meet Agatha at her house and talk to her to initiate the quest.
- (Optional) Locate Vault-Tec Headquarters.
- (Optional) Discover the location of Vault 92.
- Recover the Soil Stradivarius from Vault 92.
- Return to Agatha.
Walkthrough
Meeting Agatha
Agatha's house is northeast of Meresti Trainyard and west of the Scrapyard, and is surrounded by rock piles except for the small passage from the west over a wooden suspension bridge. This bridge is located just west of where the two sets of upraised monorail tracks become parallel to each other.
Agatha is an elderly violinist who broadcasts her music through her late husband's old radio gear. She wants you to find her great-great-grandmother Hilda's Soil Stradivarius violin, which she believes is still in Vault 92, where the nation's best musicians were housed. She offers you the frequency of her radio signal as a reward, but with an easy Speech check or a high Charisma, she'll also immediately give you the key to her husband's ammunition box if you promise to get the violin for her. You can also skip the Speech check if you have the Lady Killer perk, and use your wily charms to seduce the woman. She doesn't know the location of the vault, but if asked can give you the location of Vault-Tec Headquarters on your Pip-Boy 3000. At this point, going to Vault-Tec Headquarters is entirely optional considering you may obtain the location of all vaults in the Capital Wasteland while doing the main quest Picking Up the Trail.
Getting to Vault-Tec Headquarters (Optional)
To get to Vault-Tec Headquarters, you need to get to Vernon Square. Vault-Tec Headquarters is close to one exit of the Metro Junction tunnels: Vernon Square North.
- This station can be accessed from Chevy Chase East, the same region that has the GNR Plaza.
- Metro Junction can also be accessed from Dupont Circle.
- Vernon Square can also be accessed from Pennsylvania Avenue.
When in Vernon Square, you need to get to the northernmost part, Vernon Square North map marker. Vault-Tec Headquarters is just next to the Metro Junction exit.
Discover the location of Vault 92
Once inside Vault-Tec Headquarters, make your way to the Vault-Tec Mainframe. The building is divided into 3 sections. The Guest Relations (Lobby), the Corporate Offices and the Administration. The building is still protected by several automated units such as protectrons, robobrains, turrets, and depending on your level and the game difficulty level sentry bots. Sentry bots can be quite difficult to defeat if the game is on very hard or even hard difficulty. A good supply of pulse grenades should facilitate this. There are also a few remaining super mutants when you come in.
The Mainframe is located in the Administration section. To gain access to it, you will need to obtain permission from System Operation Station 1, 2 and 3. System Operation Station 1 can be found in the room at the top of the stairs that leads to the lower level in the administrations room. System Operation Station 2 can be found in the last room on your left after coming up the stairs leading from The Guest Relations. System Operation Station 3 can be found in a lower level room (near the door from Administration to Corporate Offices) on a desk next to another terminal. a Alternately if you want to skip most everything in Administration you can also pass by the System Operation Station 3 into the lower floor of the Mainframe room, in the Southwest Corner of the room the pipes are laid out in such a way that you can jump onto them then onto one of the server towers (the one with the red lights) under the path to the Mainframe. You can simply edge forward while standing on top of one of the server towers until you're touching the Mainframe itself. You can now download the vault locations. Once you gain access to the Mainframe, you'll be able to download the location of Vault 87, Vault 92, Vault 101, Vault 106, and Vault 108 on your Pip-Boy.
If you've already accepted the quest 'Picking Up The Trail' then the locations of all Vaults will be marked on your map by Scribe Rothchild in the Citadel Laboratory, during the start of the quest.
If you discover Vault 92 on your own, without having gone to Vault-Tec Headquarters, after accepting the quest, then the optional objective of finding Vault-Tec Headquarters is accomplished, and your new objective is to recover the violin from Vault 92.
Recover the Soil Stradivarius from Vault 92
Vault 92 is infested with mirelurks, mirelurk hunters, mirelurk kings, bloatflies, and radroaches. The Soil Stradivarius is located within the most southwestern room in the Sound Testing section of the Vault on a table.
Entering the Vault, go straight, the room should have 3 doors. The door in front leads to the Atrium, the door on the left has signs that say Classroom and Lab and leads directly to the Sound Testing section. The door on the right is unmarked and leads to the Living Quarters where you can find sheet music paper, which can be given to Agatha later for another reward.
You can move through the vault in at least two ways:
- If you can pick Average locks, you can go left, directly to the violin, and either ignore the sheet music book or get it after the violin. If you choose this path, enter the door straight ahead, which shortly leads to the Sound Testing area. Once there, if you're noisy, you'll have several mirelurks on you. On any difficulty you'll face 2 regular mirelurks and 2 mirelurk hunters. Once you've dealt with the mirelurks, take the corridor on your right. At the intersection, go right around a corner. On your left will be a staircase leading down with a sign saying Lab above it. Be careful, there are 2 mirelurk kings or mirelurk hunters (dependent upon your level).
- If you cannot pick Average locks, you'll need to go right, through the Living Quarters, to get the violin. Since you're already here, you might as well get the sheet music book, which can be found in the Male Dorm bathroom (straight ahead from where you entered) in a closed stall behind the toilet. The Woman's Dorm Security terminal, can be used to perform a noise flush and kill all the mirelurks in that area. Once you have the sheet music book, continue through the Living Quarters until you are on the upper floor of the Atrium. There should be a door to the Reactor section, which has a mirelurk hunter, and an unmarked door that leads to the Sound Testing section. Go through the unmarked door. Once there, immediately to your right should be a staircase with the sign Lab above it leading down. Be careful, there are 2 mirelurk kings or mirelurk hunters (dependent upon your level).
At the bottom of the staircase and around a corner is a 4-way intersection. In front of you is an Hard-locked storeroom with a Stealth Boy, ammunition boxes, medical supplies, and an average-locked safe. To your right is a room with the first mirelurk king (or mirelurk hunter), a juke box, a soda machine, a refrigerator, and a pre-War book. To your left is a T-intersection. The computer terminal that grants access to the music studio (and the second mirelurk king or mirelurk hunter) is to the left of the T-intersection. It also contains an energy weapons skill book: Nikola Tesla and You. The violin is to the right of the T-intersection, with a laser pistol and an Easy-locked safe with another Stealth Boy. If you didn't do so already, you may want to go to the Living Quarters section and get the sheet music book there. (see above)
Return to Agatha
Upon completion of this quest, Agatha will give you the frequency to her radio channel for your Pip-Boy. It plays violin music and can be heard across the entire Capitol Wasteland.
If you bring Agatha back a sheet music book, which can be found in Vault 92 and several other locations (see: Sheet Music Book), she will give you the Blackhawk, a unique .44 scoped magnum and 12 .44 magnum rounds that were her husband's. To get the Blackhawk, you must ask for the reward (second option). If you're rude towards Agatha your Blackhawk's condition will be somewhat facetiously halved. If you don't have a sheet music book when talking with Agatha again, she'll tell you that she needs music paper to write her music on and asks you to retrieve some for her.
Alternatives
- You can bring the Soil Stradivarius to Ahzrukhal at The Ninth Circle in Underworld. If you tell him it's one of a kind, he'll buy it off you for 200 caps (or Speech him for 300 caps) and you will get the achievement for finishing the quest. There is no Karma gain nor loss by selling it to Ahzrukhal. (If you don't start Agatha's Song before you give it to him, the game will think that you completed Agatha's Song and you will receive the achievement and in-game recognition of completion.)
- It's also possible to sell the violin for 200 caps (300 with speech check) to Abraham Washington in Rivet City. This ends the quest (although you may have never accepted it) and gives you the good Karma bonus. If you talk to Agatha after doing this, you can return to Rivet City and buy the violin, so you can still give it to Agatha when you want to or keep it (since it cannot be dropped until you've completed the quest).
Notes
- Returning the Soil Stradivarius to Agatha is such a kind act that it can add an extra video to the game's ending clip if the player has good Karma. It will not appear if you completed Head of State by siding with the slavers. The video shows clips of Agatha playing the violin.
- You can convince Agatha to give you the key to the ammunition box next to her at the beginning of the quest, which holds numerous types of ammunition including mini nukes and missiles.
- If the player picks the lock on the ammunition box Agatha will become hostile and will be attacked by any companions you have with you.
- Vault 92 is located near Old Olney, which is known to be a deathclaw nest. There are sometimes three or four deathclaws that wander around the town and one could end up near Vault 92.
- If you use the "Noise Flush" command on one of the security terminals in the Living Quarters of Vault 92 via hacking or passcode collection from collecting the notes in the area, it will kill all the mirelurks in the Living Quarters. However, this does not grant any experience for killing them. But you'll earn some experience for successfully hacking the terminal.
- After you give Agatha the violin, re-initiate conversation and give her the sheet music. Convince her that it's very valuable and she will give you her husband's "Blackhawk," a unique Scoped .44 magnum.
- You can kill Agatha after completing the quest, and she continues playing from the beyond... (Actually, she mentions that the radio equipment her husband left her allows her to record her performances and play them continuously.) Three Dog will state on Galaxy News Radio that "Suspect numero uno is you, vault-asshole."
- You can first get the Soil Stradivarius in Vault 92 and then go to Agatha's House. You should do this if you want to complete the quest very quickly.
- Speaking to Agatha rudely on your first encounter will cause her to cease speaking to you, making it impossible to take the quest.
- If you spoke rudely to Agatha on your first encounter it is possible for PC users to start the quest by typing in the command console resetquest 0x00014ea4. This will reset the dialogue allowing you to start the quest.
- If you sell the Stradivarius and reacquire it, the quest won't recognize that you have the violin in your possession and will only let you tell Agatha that you sold it.
- If you sell the Stradivarius, then inform Agatha that you did so, she will become very angry and accuse you of being a "back-stabber", even if you had no contact with her beforehand (and therefore no way of knowing that she was the instrument's rightful owner, or even that she wanted it).
- If you return to Agatha and kill her before you present the violin, the quest will update and tell you to find a buyer for the violin. Possible candidates are Ahzrukhal and Abraham Washington (see "Alternatives").
Bugs
After talking to Agatha and receiving the quest, but before visiting either Vault-Tec Headquarters or Vault 92 the quest sometimes skips ahead, giving you credit for discovering the location of Vault-Tec Headquarters. This does not seem to affect the quest in any other way.
When awaking Agatha to complete the quest, her head briefly turns upside down. When this happens just tap the talk button again to wake her up.- If you find alternate means of gaining the information contained in the mainframe, or complete the quest without it, then visit Vault-Tec HQ, the security door (locked) to the mainframe itself will remain locked with no way to open it, even if you gain access to it using all 3 administration terminals located in the building.
- After passing the speech check, Agatha will "give" you her ammunition box key, but the box will still be locked and the key won't be on your keyring. You can still open the box, but it has a Karma penalty and is considered stealing.
