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Oasis

	20
Location(s)	Oasis
Received by	Harold
Reward(s)	Killing Harold Barkskin Perk Yew's Bear Charm (Speech succes/Child at Heart perk) Help Harold Grow Outcast Power Armor Poplar's Hood Stop Harold's Growth 2 Missiles Maple's Garb
Related Quests	N/A

Quest Objectives

The Oasis Quest can be found within the Oasis which is located at the very top, center of the map, it's also directly west of Vault 92. The Oasis is the only place on the map where plants and trees can still grow but from the outside you couldn't tell as it's surrounded by a huge cliff and the only entrance is a small gorge on the west of the cliff. As you reach the Oasis you'll be stopped by two Treeminders guarding the gate, they tell you that "he" is waiting for you. Upon entering you'll have to take part in a purification ceremony to cleanse you from diseases the Wasteland has brought, once you've been cleansed you get to meet "him", who turns out to be Harold; a reoccurring character throughout the Fallout Series. Harold is an FEV mutant (Forced Evolutionary Virus) and in the past games he's had a small tree growing from the side of his head which he calls Bob, well it seems by Fallout 3 that tree has grown to big for his body and has rooted him to the ground. Harold will tell you that the Treeminders worship him as a God and that he is the reason plant life has been able to grow in the Oasis. After explaining himself Harold asks you to do him a favour... he wants you to kill him, he's says he's been rooted to the ground for two decades and is now eager for death to come. He tells you there's a cave under the Oasis where you can find his heart, as you make your way there you'll be stopped by two Treeminders, Birch and Laurel. It seems the Treeminders have been ignoring Harold's wish for death and they both present you with two different paths. Birch believes the Oasis should be kept hidden from the rest of the Wasteland and gives you a liniment which will stop Harold's growth. Laurel on the other hand believes that the rest of the Wasteland can benefit from Harold's growth and gives you a liniment that can expand the plant life through-out the Wasteland in mere decades instead of centuries.

Meet Harold

Once you enter the cave follow the tunnel until you get to a large space filled with radioactive water, in this space you'll have to fight off a few Mirelurks and a Mirelurk King, from here you'll have to swim underwater to reach another tunnel. Here you'll have to fight more Mirelurks, Mirelurk Hunters and another Mirelurk King before reaching the Heart where you have a choice to make.

Killing Harold

If you choose to destroy Harolds heart you'll gain the Barkskin perk which increases you Damage resistance by 5%. You can also speak to Sapling Yew where you can get Yew's Bear Charm if your Speech skill is high enough or you have the Child at Heart perk. Yew's Bear Charm permanently increases you Speech by 10.

There's also another way to kill Harold without going into the caves, if you have a fire related weapon (Shishkebab, Flamer, etc)) you burn Harold from the outside. This will result in Bad Karma and the locals will become hostile towards you.

Help Harold Grow

If you choose Laurel's path and expand Harolds growth, you can go back and talk to Harold and he'll accept that the people need him and will thank you for your help. You can also get gifts from Sapling Yew, Branchtender Linden and Bloomseer Poplar. Sapling Yew will give you Yew's Bear Charm , Linden will give you his old Outcast Power Armor and Bloomseer Poplar will give you a Poplar's Hood (Sneak + 10, Agility + 1).

Stopping Harold's Growth

If you choose to side with Birch, you'll get 2 Missiles from Branchtender Cypressa and Marple's Garb from Branchtender Maple which increases you Agility and Perception by +1 and has a Damage Resistance of 12.