A Mission Cut From Fallout 4 Featured Skyrim’s Magic

Crowdfunded documentary makers Noclip have recently released a new documentary about the history of Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Made in conjunction with Bethesda, the documentary included numerous behind-the-scenes revelations about Fallout 4. One of the strangest revelations is that a mission which was cut from the game actually featured something akin to Skyrim’s magic system.

Fallout 4 Originally Featured a Mission That Included Skyrim's Magic

The Witches of Salem

Speaking in the documentary, Fallout 4’s Design Director, Emil Pagliarulo explained where the idea came from. During development, the team working on Fallout 4 had the idea to include a conflict between the inhabitants of Salem and Danvers. Of course, by featuring Salem, they planned to heavily lean upon the theme of witchcraft; “So, what’s the theme of Salem?” asked Pagliarulo, “It’s witches. So, what if we have people with mutations that have weird powers? They’re kind of X-Men-ish but they’re caused by radiation, and they’re viewed as witches by the people of Danvers.”

Apparently, the developers used code taken from Skyrim as a base for the “magic” which they planned to give to the inhabitants of Salem. However, the mission wasn’t to last, and sadly, it never made it to the finished game. As development continued, the world was forced to reduce in size. “One of the issues was our world was compressed,” explained Pagliarulo; “Danvers ended up being right next to Salem. It was so close that we ended up combining the two. So there were no two towns that could compete against each other.”

The Salem Quest Eventually Became the Mission Devil's Due

Although the magic system was cut entirely, a very bare-bones version of the quest does appear in Fallout 4. The quest “Devil’s Due” was written by Liam Collins, who turned the Salem storyline into a smaller side-quest. This mission is certainly very thematic and creepy, ending with a confrontation with a deathclaw in the Salem Museum of Witchcraft. However, it sadly isn’t anything as interesting as the cut content sounds.