Kiddie Kingdom stands as one of the main sections of the park that the player has to retake. As such, meeting Oswald is inevitably part of the Fallout 4 Nuka-World main questline. It’s also possible to learn about the ghoul magician and his friends through terminal entries and special dialogue that can be encountered throughout the area.
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When The Bombs Fell
Oswald Oppenheimer (or “Oz” for short) was hired as a performer in the year 2077 for King Cola’s Court, a theater in Kiddie Kingdom. He and his girlfriend, Rachel Watkins, along with the other performers were at Nuka-World when the bombs fell. To escape the chaos, the band of friends retreated to the employee tunnels underneath the facility and stocked up on resources. Soon, the group had plenty of food, seeds, water, tools, and even weapons to last a long time.
With basic needs taken care of, the group started barricading the entrance to Kiddie Kingdom. In the process, a radiation storm hit, infecting them with plenty of rads. This made everyone sick. While many died from the radiation poisoning, others, including Oz and Rachel, started changing into ghouls. They called this change “The Affliction.”
Despite turning into ghouls, Oz’s group led relatively peaceful lives in Kiddie Kingdom for over 50 years. Though as time passed, other wastelanders began to raid Kiddie Kingdom, and Oz’s group had to fend them off. Unfortunately, their band wasn’t as well-armed, even as they were using the park’s spray system to release irradiated mist to deter the hostile wastelanders. However, to their surprise, some of the Afflicted joined them to fend off the attackers.
Before they could celebrate, however, a stray bullet hit one of Oz’s friends and killed him. When things calmed down, Oz went to his friend. Somehow, he wasn’t sure how, he managed to heal his wounds, bringing their friend back to life. In Oz’s terminal entry, he writes that he felt energy flowing through him and theorized that his power might have been a mutation or even some form of magic. Thus, Oswald the Outrageous was born.
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The Ghoul Magician of Fallout 4’s Nuka-World DLC
Despite Oz’s newfound powers, the group still had no way of curing the Affliction. And time wasn’t on their side as more and more of their friends were falling prey to it, becoming feral. Meanwhile, the raiders that the Sole Survivor would find in Nuka-World moved into the park’s main section, giving Oz more to worry about. Finally, Rachel decided to head out into the wasteland to try and find a cure for the Affliction, so that they could turn themselves human again.
Before the bombs fell, Rachel had secured a degree in organic chemistry, making her the best candidate to find a working cure. She was able to travel to nearby settlements and towns, asking about a possible solution to their Affliction. Unfortunately, her search came to nothing. Everyone had told her the same thing: Ghouls turned feral eventually.
With no other choice, Rachel started traveling back to Kiddie Kingdom, but at this time, she was already becoming feral. Unable to fight the Affliction, Rachel settled in the nearby town of Bradberton, where she recorded her final message to Oz. In it, she admits that she doesn’t want to become a feral ghoul and mindlessly attack everyone around her. She would much rather end things on her own terms. Later, the player can find this holotape and Rachel’s body in one of the dilapidated houses in Bradberton.
A year after Rachel had gone, all of Oz’s friends succumbed to the Affliction. He was the only non-feral ghoul left in Kiddie Kingdom. When the player arrives to retake Kiddie Kingdom, Oz uses the same tricks to try and fend them off — irradiated mist, an army of feral ghouls, and his magical tricks. Was it really magical, though?
Is There Magic in Fallout 4?
No, Oswald’s ghoul-healing and resurrection abilities aren’t magic. In fact, it’s an ability common among all glowing feral ghouls in the Fallout 4. When in combat with any Glowing One, it can unleash a rad explosion around itself that deals damage to non-ghouls and reanimates fallen ghouls. Given that all of Oz’s friends had turned into ghouls, he would have easily been able to heal them. As such, Oswald’s “magic” was nothing but a mutation that came with his glowing status.
Still, that begs the question: How does that even work? How does unleashing a wave of radiation bring other ghouls back to life? What’s so special about the radiation emitted by a Glowing One? Overall, the ability seems just a tad farfetched. In any game that leaned heavily on fantasy, it’d be easier for players to suspend their disbelief. However, in a post-apocalyptic game that wants to stay at least semi-realistic, this is kinda pushing it.
But with that aside, it’s now understood that Oz wasn’t a magical ghoul, just a glowing one. His healing abilities were never magical, and he never possessed any magic powers — well, not exactly. Should the player choose to confront Oz in King Cola’s Court, he’ll bring ghouls back to life to help him and attack the Sole Survivor with a special sword. Strangely enough, he also has the ability to teleport, throwing a smoke bomb on the ground any time he does so.
Teleportation — that sounds pretty magical. There’s never been any instance of a Glowing One teleporting, so maybe this time Oz’s ability is magical. That would mean that magic in the Fallout universe is canon. Alternatively, maybe this can also be explained away by a unique mutation, much like how some ghouls can apparently live 200 years with barely enough food or water. Though note that this is all just speculation.
Perhaps the next entry in the Fallout series can elucidate the community on the complexities of ghoulification. Until then, Oz is probably out there in the Commonwealth, trying to find a cure that might not even exist. As amusing as his entire shtick is, it’s hard to deny that the ghoul magician has had it rough.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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