Fallout 4/Characters/Companions

Main Game
Like Fallout New Vegas, companions are a lot more than just expendable meat shields and many have their own greater or lesser connections to the story at large.


 * Arc Welding: While they all are met at various points of the game, their own arcs tie into the overall story to some greater or lesser degree, with a few exceptions.
 * Ada from Automatron doesn't really have a greater impact on the larger story, her arc being mostly self contained to the DLC plot, but the abilities she unlocks can have a great impact on certain quests, since the robot building can greatly influence settlement defense and even make certain quests like the Minutemen "Defend the Castle" Quest much easier.
 * Old Longfellow is mostly confined to relevance in Far Harbor and its associated DLC quests, though he does have some commentary for the Commonwealth in general, and his arc intersects with Nick Valentine's own plot arcs, which have implications for the Commonwealth in general.
 * Porter Gage is mainly Nuka-World centric, but his designs and intentions, should the player go full raider boss, will have a big impact on the Commonwealth, and will be one of the very few ways to make an open enemy of Preston Garvey and the Minutemen.
 * Strong has the least impact on the overall plot in general, but does show that the Brotherhood of Steel's blatant racism against his kind is not entirely merited, while at the same time highlighting Super Mutants are largely victims of their creators, which does tie back into the Institute plotline and can affect how the player decides to deal with them.

Dogmeat
Can be met as soon as you step outside of Sanctuary Hills, just down the road at the Red Rocket station. Like his predecessors in the other Fallout games, he's a loyal canine companion who will travel and fight alongside you.


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Codsworth
The Mr. Handy that was intended to be the family butler for the Sole Survivor's family, but who comes to view their family as his own. Can join you as soon as you return from Concord.


 * AI Is a Crapshoot: He laments this about other, simpler robots with more rudimentary programming, though it ranges from sympathy, such as in the case of the broken Takahashi in Diamond City, to annoyance, such as with Deezer in Covenant, who tries to offer him, of all beings, lemonade.
 * American Robot: Is quite proud of his US producer, General Atomics, even makes snide remarks about communists in certain areas.
 * Badass: Downplayed. He admits he's no Mr. Gutsy, but will fight alongside you anyway, and while useful in the early game, other companions quickly outclass him him without the Automatron DLC.
 * Badass Automaton: With the Automatron DLC, you can upgrade Codsworth to being a robotic One Man Army.
 * Submissive Badass: He IS a Mr.Handy after all, it's what they do.
 * Crutch Character; Falls into this without Automatron. While initially a strong melee fighter and a decent ranged fighter due to the built in buzz saw blade and flamethrower, he drops off in power very quickly. Averted with the Automatron because you can keep upgrading his arsenal.
 * Moral Myopia: While his morality is easily mistaken for that of a Lawful Good type, Codsworth has some odd deviations from this norm:
 * Unlike most other companions with a similar code of morals, he's rather indifferent to cannibalism, though since Codsworth doesn't consider this a crime to a living, innocent being, he doesn't view it with anything other than dispassionate indifference.
 * While he approves of helping organizations like the Minutemen, he has reservations about the Brotherhood of Steel, which makes sense since the Minutemen define their role as selfless servants of others like Codsworth himself, while the Brotherhood defines itself as guardians who enforce their rules on others.
 * Nice Guy: By default, he's unerringly polite to anyone who isn't hostile.
 * Pride: In regards to his own machine nature, he's quite proud of his own robot type and the company that made him. He tends to be scornful of RobCo derived machines most of the time, but he does show them occasional sympathy, like in the case of the broken Takahashi in Diamond City.
 * Pungeon Master: A standard feature of his robot type is to offer these sorts of jokes when he doesn't have anything else to say, also a Call Back to your Mr. Handy servant in Fallout 3.
 * Robot Buddy: Quite proud of this status, though he considers himself just as much a friend and ally to the player as those who look humanoid. And the player can tell him they feel the same way.
 * Sliding Scale of Robot Intelligence: Fairly high up on the scale, rather surprisingly since he's a mass produced model of robot easily purchasable before the Great War, but it's implied he may have learned to grow beyond his limited programming in the interval since the prologue. He still adheres to many basic principles of his stock programming, and thus even at zero trust he will not turn hostile and attack the Sole Survivor, but he will become disgusted enough with them he refuses to actively aid them in combat.

Preston Garvey
Met in Concord, trying to defend a bunch of settlers from some Raiders. One of the the last Minutemen after their organization started to fall from its heyday, he hopes you can turn their fortunes around.


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Deacon
Met in person when you try to join the Railroad, but you've run into him several times before and likely didn't notice, so he knows quite a bit about what you've been up to when you are trying to gain entrance to the Railroad, and organization whom he is a leading intelligence officer for.


 * Badass: He's a member of an organization the Institute would love to wipe out and even has several bounties on his head from several raider groups even before he teams up with you.
 * Badass Bookworm: He's a reader of William Shakespeare and Marcel Proust, according to his battle quotes.
 * Badass Normal: Despite some of the BS he spews about being a ghoul or even a synth, it's pretty clear all he has going for him is being a very resourceful human. One that is just as good at kicking ass as most other companions.
 * Cool Shades: One of the few things that remain constant despite all his disguises.
 * Consummate Liar: Quite good at it, though it's easy to tell when he's lying most of the time. In fact, if called on it, he compliments your ability to notice and tells you it's training for when people less nice than him will lie.
 * Nice Guy: To the point even at zero trust he parts ways rather amiably.
 * The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: His disguises will change automatically depending on the area you are in, even if you did not put any other clothing in his inventory.
 * Spy Speak: Comes with being a member of the Railroad.

Piper Wright
A reporter who runs a newspaper in Diamond City, met at the Diamond City Gate where she's trying to get back in after getting temporarily kicked out for angering the mayor.


 * Affectionate Nickname: Gives the player the appellation 'Blue", either due to the vault suit, or, if they aren't wearing it, their apparent demeanor.
 * Badass: Is willing to piss off all sorts of people in the pursuit of getting a story, including the Children of Atom, all sorts of Raiders, and even the entire Institute.
 * Badass Normal: Even points this out about her herself, chalking her own survival up to being very resourceful.
 * Cool Big Sis: To her own sister, but she herself is worried about this, as she doesn't want her little sister taking after her.
 * Deadpan Snarker: It's easier to count the comments she makes when she NOT snarking.
 * Hot Scoop: Enough so even Cait wanted to have a threesome with her.
 * Intrepid Reporter: Has been shot, kidnapped, and poisoned, all for the sake of getting a story done.
 * Promotion to Parent: After their dad died, she became her little sister's parental figure.

Cait
A cage fighter at the Combat Zone, a notorious den of raiders and other thugs who engage in prize fights, where Cait reigns as their current champion, but after losing to you, her manager, Tommy Lonegan, asks you to take her with you since her skills are getting rusty, despite Cait's initial protests, though his intentions seem to be more benevolent than they seem.


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Paladin Danse
A Paladin in the Brotherhood of Steel, met in Cambridge at the Police Station trying to fight off a horde of feral ghouls with the remains of his squad. Tries to convince you of the Brotherhood's merits and is a respected field officer of their reigning Elder.


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Curie
A Ms. Nanny found in Vault 81, she wants to explore the Commonwealth and add to her store of learning about the world.


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John Hancock
The ghoul mayor of Goodneighbour, a Wretched Hive he keeps running smoothly despite its reputation, by being the toughest yet fairest Ultimate Authority Mayor they've ever had. Can join you after doing some work for the local mob bosses of the city, mostly because he figures it will help him avoid becoming Orcus on His Throne.


 * Badass: Definitely when you first meet him, as he shanks a guy in the gut who just tried to mug you, especially after the guy wouldn't take a polite request to knock it off.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: Earned his way to this after deposing the previous tyrant who ran Goodneighbor, and is beloved for it because unless his predecessor, he's not a dick about it.
 * Badass Longcoat: The red frock coat he wears, based on the one worn by the original John Hancock.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Pissing Hancock off is a really stupid idea. He's a really nice guy most of the time, but making him mad is an easy way to wind up bleeding out in the street from a shank he just buried in your ribs.
 * Good Is Not Soft: His policy is to protect the innocent and hurt the hell out of the guilty.
 * Foil: To Mayor McDonaugh of Diamond City. Both men are the respective leaders of their towns, but while Hancock runs a town of societal dregs, they are genuinely happy with each other and have a much better handle on the paranoia of the Institute. By contrast, Diamond City may be the town of the "decent people", but it's a paranoid place that tried to pretend synths don't exist and has a lot of societal backstabbing going on under the surface.
 * Functional Addict: Even though he's a Ghoul and they have a built in resistance to most chems anyway, he still takes an unreal amount of them even for a Ghoul, but it doesn't seem to diminish his capabilities or judgment very much.
 * Kavorka Man: For a ghoul he's not especially bad looking, but it's a mystery just how he manages to get half as much action as it's basically confirmed he still gets in Goodneighbor, especially since he doesn't flex his authority to get things like that, which can only mean he must be one incredibly charming guy to score that much tail.
 * Named After Somebody Famous: The ORIGINAL John Hancock. Even wears the appropriate outfit for it.
 * Neighborhood Friendly Gangsters: The boss of them, given he runs the resident Vice City of the Commonwealth, but he's generally chill about it, and he ignores most of the crap the others pull so long as they don't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it and they keep any shit that crosses that line out of Goodneighbour.
 * It's worthy of note he's good friends with Nick Valentine, who otherwise has little good to say about Goodneighbour itself given his take on the subject of crime and criminals, but despite that he and Hancock hold one another in high regard. It helps that they share considerable overlap on what justice should ultimately be like for the innocent.
 * Nice Guy: Show him common courtesy and do right by the people of Goodneighbour, and he's the nicest guy around.
 * Ultimate Authority Mayor: If he wanted to, he could exert almost god-like power over the people of Goodneighbor, but he refuses to, as that's why he helped depose the last guy who did that. Instead, he merely serves to make sure everyone in Goodneighbor doesn't screw each other over (at least, within the town), and otherwise let's everyone do their thing. He still enjoys the knowledge of knowing everyone in Goodneighbor would die for him at his request regardless.

Nick Valentine
Nick Valentine is met in Vault 114, a prisoner of a Post-War mob boss. On top of being Diamond City's resident detective, he's also a second generation synth prototype, the only synth Diamond City has ever willingly tolerated and even come to like.


 * Androids and Detectives: He happens to be both.
 * Badass: His very first feat of badassery was faking Why Am I Ticking? to scare the piss out of an entire raider gang. It worked, and since he's happy to tangle with the various scum of the Commonwealth if he has to.
 * Badass Automaton: He was a prototype second generation synth with memories of a police detective as well as all the advantages of being a synth. The combination makes him a forensic genius with the ability to make all sorts of hoodlums regret trying to catch him in a firefight.
 * Heartbroken Badass: By proxy of the original Nick Valentine, the synth version has all the memories of finding the dead body of the original Nick's girlfriend, and he still wants to put the original Nick's soul to rest by avenging her murder.
 * Tomato In The Mirror: Happened twice over. He originally woke up in a trash heap in the Commonwealth with no memory of who he was save the last memories of the original Nick Valentine, and coming to terms with being a synth was pretty harrowing for awhile..

Robert Joseph MacCready
Better known to Fallout 3 players as the incredibly foul mouthed Mayor MacCready of Little Lamplight, he has grown up into an adult now. Met in Goodneighbour's Third Rail Club being threatened by members of the Gunners, a mercenary outfit he recently cut ties with, he still works as a gun for hire for his own reasons, but can be convinced to work for you.


 * Badass: He was already pretty capable even as a kid, is quite the marksman as an adult, enough he's able to fend for himself as a mercenary.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Is prone to dry humored commentary on some of the places you visit.
 * Hitman With a Heart; He's a merc, but he has standards. He left the Gunners because they didn't. Specifically, they will take any job, no matter how brutal or depraved, and some of the depths they'd sink to he didn't have the stomach for. Doesn't mean he won't kill people for a living, but he wants to be reasonably sure you're an Asshole Victim first.

X6-88

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Strong
Strong is a Super Mutant who can be rescued from the Trinity Tower, where he was almost killed by his fellow mutants for basically being somewhat more intelligent than the rest them and coming to the conclusion he could be slightly more than a murderous monster.


 * Token Heroic Orc: To a degree. He has not abandoned being willing to engage in cannibalism or murder, and still enjoys raising hell in general, but this is tempered by a rudimentary morality based on similar species having an imperative to look out for one another, not to mention an odd fascination with those who use clever speech and conversational guile as opposed to constant violence.

Ada

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Automatrons

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Old Longfellow

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Porter Gage
Porter Gage is the former raider lieutenant of the Overboss of Nuka-World, a man named Colter who Gage helps you bump off in the hopes you'll be a worthier successor. The ultimate plans he has for the Commonwealth in general are visionary, but it's up to the Sole Survivor to either disappoint him or help Gage fulfill his dreams.


 * Affably Evil: H's a pretty nice guy for a raider, to the point it's occasionally hard to remember he's a Raider, with all the brutality and ruthlessness that implies.
 * Badass: Given how long he's stayed alive despite his profession in life, most definitely, especially since he's street smart enough to take notes on the finer points of this trope to stay alive.
 * Ambadassador: Serves as this for the various raider factions, all of which he manages to finesse into a loose confederation for mutual gain for the benefit of his own superior. He's recognized as tough enough in his own right each of the factions at least has enough respect for his ability to agree to the loose alliance, so long as he continues to adhere to the usefulness this trope implies.
 * Eyepatch of Power; Has yellow metal patch over his right eye, which doesn't seem to ding his badass cred any. Apparently, he has no depth perception in that eye either, but he's no less effective in combat without it.
 * Handicapped Badass: Has no effective combat use of one eye, which as mentione above doesn't really slow him down.
 * Submissive Badass: By choice. Being the number one guy in any organization makes them a fine target, which is why he's prefers to be a merely an assistant, which means his chances of getting shanked for his position are a lot lower.
 * Combat Pragmatist: He was the one who provided the squirt gun needed to defeat Colter, even pointing out it might have been silly looking, but it was the smartest way to screw up his defenses. He also advocates solutions in general that lean towards pragmatism over those that are moral or emotionally based, in combat and otherwise.
 * Evil Genius: By raider standards he's the brightest bulb in the box by a wide margin, and his advice is tailored to help his boss succeed, and his counsel is very on point.
 * Jerkass: He's a raider, being a dick comes with the territory.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: For a given value of this. He's still a raider, so this doesn't mean he's in any way an altruistic sort, but he does shown the Sole Survivor genuine respect and even concern for their well being, especially if romanced.
 * Pragmatic Villainy: He's a raider, though a very clever and forward thinking one, hence why he frowns on chem abuse, which he feels makes raiders sloppy. He's also a big picture thinker, with clear goals for long term prosperity as a raider as opposed to immediate short term gains.