Surely you have come across him while playing the Fallout saga. His name is Harold and he appears in five games in the franchise, even in its board game. Poor Harold has a truly tragic story, in the style of Bethesda’s science fiction RPGs. However, despite his story being a fascinating example of the characteristic dark humor that defines this developer, Harold may be unknown to many players. Let’s remedy that.
Introducing Harold
Harold is one of the most unusual characters in the series, not only for his mutant appearance, but for his long and tragic journey through the post-apocalyptic wastelands. He was born shortly before the Great War and survived by staying safe in a shelter. After leaving the safety of his Vault, Harold began to make a fortune as a merchant, allowing him to interact with some of the most powerful figures in the wasteland. In his travels through the devastated lands, he witnessed crucial events that would shape the future of humanity. Harold founded his own caravan company in the early days of the Hub, the great commercial metropolis of the west. However, constant attacks from bandits, raiders, and super mutants depleted his resources until, tired of the losses, he decided to finance an expedition to find the origin of the creatures attacking the caravans. It was on that expedition that his life changed forever.
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Harold led the search for the origin of the super mutants, which led them to the heart of the disaster: the Mariposa Military Base, home of the FEV virus, the Forced Evolution Virus, the greatest source of mutations in the Fallout universe and responsible for the horrible mutations plaguing the wasteland. Harold was gravely injured and exposed to the virus, which initiated his slow transformation into a mutant resembling a ghoul. Despite surviving that hell, Harold returned to the Hub only to discover that his mutation had turned him into an outcast. Rejected by his former partners and business associates, he was reduced to begging in the streets, trading information for the players’ benefit.
Harold in Fallout 2
Poor, poor Harold
This type of tragedy is something that Bethesda has masterfully incorporated into its Fallout titles. Harold, despite his suffering and apparent condemnation, maintains an ironic character and a surprising ability to laugh at his own situation. And this hallmark tone of Fallout not only adds depth to characters like Harold, but also makes the player complicit in this sinister sense of humor. Despite everything, Harold does not lose his spark, and the characteristic tree growing out of his head in Fallout 3 is perhaps one of the most surreal details in the whole saga.
Throughout his history in the games, Harold appears in key titles of the franchise, such as the original Fallout, Fallout 2, and has a very memorable role in Fallout 3. Additionally, he appears in the spin-off Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and, more discreetly, in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, the game most prefer to forget. But one thing is clear, his story evolves and deepens with each appearance.
A vegetal ending
His final appearance in Fallout 3 makes him a central point of one of the most impactful moral decisions in the game. The tree growing in his head has ultimately engulfed poor Harold, who has lost all mobility and, tired of his eternal existence, asks the player to free him from his misery. It is a choice that players still remember, because despite all his suffering, Harold has never lost his humanity, making the decision to end his life or allow him to continue in his strange state one of the most difficult to make in the entire game. And yes, it seems to be a direct nod to the album cover by Derek Riggs for Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark.
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