Fallout 4/Characters/Commonwealth Residents

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Members of Main Storyline Factions

East Coast Brotherhood of Steel Members

Elder Arthur Maxson

The current leader of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel, and was previously a minor Squire-in-training during the events of Fallout 3. As the intervening decade was not kind to him, Maxson has expanded and "reformed" the East Coast Brotherhood, leading them on a crusade to save the world by exterminating all Synths & threats to humanity.

• Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain: For all of his racism and fanatical beliefs in the Brotherhood's mission, he only does this because he wants to help save the world and is never seen taking actual pleasure from any of the more morally dubious actions the Brotherhood engages in to complete their goals.
• Badass Longcoat: He wears a unique padded coat, which adds to his presence.
• Big Bad: Is one for the Institute's questline.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Forms one with Father for the Railroad's questline.
• Big Good: Is this for the Brotherhood of Steel's questline.
• The Chains of Commanding: The responsibilities that come with being Elder definitely weigh heavily on him.
• A Child Shall Lead Them: He is stated to have been in charge of the Brotherhood of Steel for ten years, which means he was an adolescent when he took over as Elder.
• Cynicism Catalyst: The death of Sarah Lyons is strongly implied to have been this for him.
• Expy: Of the God-Emperor of Mankind.
  • He's also one of King Arthur.
• Fantastic Racism: Openly dislikes Feral Ghouls, Super Mutants and Synths to genocidal levels, with the Brotherhood of Steel under his command not shying away from their opinion that all three should be wiped out completely.
• A Father to His Men
• Foil: To Colonel Augustus Autumn of the Enclave. Colonel Autumn was a more "liberal" member of President Eden's Enclave, while Elder Maxson is a reactionary member of Owyn Lyons' Brotherhood. They're also both conquerors who want to bring order to the Wasteland "for the good of the people" (although Maxson comes across as far more self-aware about the implications than Autumn ever did), and are easily recognizable by their signature Badass Longcoats. However, they differ by Maxson trying to maintain a positive relationship with Wastelanders - Unlike Autumn, who just shot at Wastelanders on sight for crossing his path. Maxson is also never cruel for cruelty's sake, keeps his word when he gives it, and can be sometimes convinced to be more compassionate by a charismatic Sole Survivor. Autumn, by contrast, randomly shot hostages to make a point and had a habit of pulling You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Is now the charismatic and fanatical leader of the East Coast Brotherhood, leading them on a crusade to cleanse the Wasteland of "abominations."
• The Good King: What he's largely seen as by the other members of the Brotherhood of Steel. This is actually somewhat literal given he's implied to be the ruler of the Capital Wasteland as well as leader of the entire BoS. Though it could also be subverted given how it's implied that he's taking his cues from the original Brotherhood Elders back in the Lost Hills.
• I Did What I Had to Do: For all of his more Jerkass moments, it's made clear that he takes no pleasure from all of the brutal measures the Brotherhood has deemed necessary.
• Irony: Despite him having taken the East Coast Brotherhood in a more conservative direction, his intentions for starting the war with the Institute (i.e., to prevent further loss of life and to help protect the locals) are actually based on liberal foreign policies.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • While it can be unthinkable to some to want to kill all Synths given the many good ones encountered — the vast majority encountered in the Commonwealth are Always Chaotic Evil monsters under the Institute's (a hostile foreign power) command.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite him being a far colder and crueler Elder than Owyn Lyons ever was, he genuinely means well and still has some kindness inside of him.
• Kick the Dog
• Last of His Kind: He's the last known descendant of the Brotherhood's founder, Captain Roger Maxson, US Army. And thus bears a significant burden.
• Miles Gloriosus: Cheerfully averted. While some of the reports given about him may sound exaggerated, his boss fight at the end of the game proves that he's actually quite the difficult opponent.
• Noble Bigot: Unfortunately deconstructed. While Elder Maxson would be a pretty fair and awesome ruler for most Wastelanders, many benevolent but non-human settlements like Goodneighbor, the Slog, and Acadia would likely get either wiped out to a man or "politely encouraged" to seek their fortunes elsewhere in a Wasteland under his control.
• Pet the Dog
• Puppet King: Subverted. It's implied that he's this to the Elders of Lost Hills, but otherwise wields considerable authority and respect.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: His status of royalty is sketchy but he's a direct descendant of the BoS' founder, is the ruler of the Capital Wasteland, and has been in charge since he was ten.
• Stop Worshipping Me!: He is put off by the accidental cult of personality that essentially deifies him and tries to squash it... to no avail.
• Took a Level in Badass
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Adult Maxson is noticeably more fanatical than he was in Fallout 3. Justified in that he has probably been indoctrinated over the last 10 years by the Brotherhood, as it's suggested the Lyons both died shortly after the events of Fallout 3.
• Trauma Conga Line: The ten years between Fallout 3 and 4 were...rough for him.
• Unwitting Pawn: It's implied that he's being manipulated by the Lost Hills Elders in order to reform the Brotherhood for their purposes.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Remember that sweet Adorkable kid who had a crush on Sarah Lyons and just wanted to prove Elder Lyons proud? He was Arthur Maxson - and he's lost virtually all of his idealism & innocence since then.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He will exterminate entire species if he thinks it's necessary to rebuild the world.
• Younger Than They Look: Is only 20 years old, despite his grizzled appearance.

Paladin Danse

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Danse's section.

Proctor Ingram

• Action Girl: Downplayed, but not because she can't fight, but instead because she's too valuable to waste on the battlefield.
• Deadpan Snarker: One of the few characters who can keep up with a sarcastic Sole Survivor.
• Hero of Another Story: In part because keeping the Prydwen comes across as a full-time struggle. She's also the only Brotherhood character apart from Maxson and the Cambridge Police Station squad that have their own stories - Everyone else just seems to stand around.
• Super Wheelchair: She uses a Power Armor frame for mobility.

Proctor Quinlan

• British Accent: A rather pronounced one. Rather odd given the game is set in America and very little travel happens across countries anymore.
• Hidden Depths/Not So Above It All: He's a huge Grognak the Barbarian fanboy.
• Kick the Dog: If the Sole Survivor takes out the Institute with the Minutemen, he refers to the organization as "cannon fodder" and never gets the idea that the Sole Survivor might have used them since they have faith in their abilities as their General.
• Nerd Glasses:

Paladin Brandis

The last living member of Recon Squad Artemis - a Brotherhood recon team sent to the Commonwealth in 2284 before the arrival of Paladin Danse's team (Recon Squad Gladius) - he is encountered at the end of the Brotherhood side quest "The Lost Patrol," and can be persuaded to either rejoin the Brotherhood or stay by himself in his bunker.

• Crazy Survivalist:
• Foreshadowing: When the Sole Survivor joins up with Paladin Danse in the Brotherhood main quest 'Call to Arms," Danse will offhandedly mention previous Brotherhood recon missions to the Commonwealth. The second group he mentions - the one with no reported survivors - is Brandis'.
• Had To Be Sharp:
• He Cleans Up Nicely: He looks much nicer after getting a haircut and shave if he rejoins the Brotherhood & is seen aboard the Prydwen.
• Killed Off For Real:
• Reality Ensues:
• Shell-Shocked Veteran:
• Trauma Conga Line:

Institute Members

Father

The Sole Survivor knows them by another name - Shaun I. The mysterious Director of the Institute, who has a very personal & hidden relationship with the Sole Survivor.

• Affably Evil: He's very polite and always cordial to the Sole Survivor, even when he's likely facing down the literal barrel of a gun in their first meeting.
• Alas, Poor Villain: His death is absolutely heartbreaking, and is practically guaranteed to make the Sole Survivor feel uncomfortable in any ending.
• Ambiguous Disorder: He shows off some mild traits of sociopathy during his reign as the Institute's Director.
• Ambiguously Evil: Easily one of the most morally ambiguous members the Institute has to offer.
• Antagonistic Offspring: An optional case.
• Anti-Villain: He's never seen taking that much pleasure from the Institute's more morally ambiguous actions, and genuinely thinks he's helping create a better world.
• Big Bad: Is one for the Brotherhood and Minutemen questlines.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Forms one with Elder Maxson for the Railroad questline.
• Big Good: Is this for the Institute questline.
• The Chessmaster:
• Complexity Addiction:
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In a twisted sense, as he still genuinely loves and cares for the Sole Survivor, his only surviving parent. Most poignantly, his final words with the Sole Survivor in .
• Everyone Has Standards:
• Fatal Flaw: His fear of the surface world.
• Foil: To Caesar/Edward Sallow. Both are elderly men with cults of personality formed around them, and have near-dictatorial control over the most villainous faction in each game. Both Father and Caesar are also geniuses slowly dying of cancer who see their factions' terrible actions as Necessary Evils for building a better world out of the hellish Wasteland. However, Caesar is not only more dangerous as a combatant than Father is, but is also pettier and more prone to fits of rage. Father, in contrast, comes across as far more professional and articulate, being more of a refined scholar than a barbaric warlord. Father also wants to close off the Institute from the surface for the time being so they can rebuild society as a utopia underground, while Caesar is obsessed with aggressively expanding the Legion's influence over all of the known Wasteland.
• Foreshadowing:
• Freudian Excuse: His racism towards Synths and dislike of cyborgs is due in part to his hated of Kellogg for killing one of his parents and leaving the other imprisoned in Vault 111.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: In-Universe, Father is a scientific genius, and he actually does prove himself to be very intelligent throughout the Institute's questline. However, his S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats aren't anything to write home about, with him only having an Intelligence score of 4 according to them.
• Innocently Insensitive: He's very casual and breezy when talking to the Sole Survivor about the death of their spouse at the hands of Kellogg, dismissing the event as "collateral damage." The Sole Survivor can express horror/disgust at Father's dismissive attitude, and he then defends himself by pointing out how he's had sixty years to come to terms with the loss of his mother/father, and they were also lost when he was only an infant.
• Jerk With A Heart Of Gold: Silver rather than gold, but it still counts. For all his flaws, Father still means well, is dedicated to making the world a better place, and still genuinely loves the Sole Survivor.
• Kick The Dog: The Institute's FEV experiments, despite not having produced any worthwhile data for almost an entire century, were continued at his orders.
  • And while Kellogg was the one who actually carried it out, the University Point Massacre was heavily implied to have been ordered by him.
• Knight of Cerebus: Fallout 4 wasn't exactly sunshine & rainbows even before Father showed up, but the huge Reveal around his identity is shockingly dark and has the story plunge into some truly uncomfortable places.
• Mad Scientist: Like all of the Institute.
• Manipulative Bastard:
• Nerves of Steel:
• Non-Action Big Bad: He's an elderly man slowly dying of cancer, so he's never going to be seen on the battlefield.
• Pet The Dog: After having reprogrammed Synth Shaun to see the Sole Survivor as their true parent, he leaves him with them so that the Sole Survivor can reclaim a part of their Pre-War life taken away by the Great War.
• Reality Ensues:
• Villain Has A Point: His near-pathological fear of the surface world is rather cruel and short-sighted...but isn't exactly unmerited, especially given just how much of a Crapsack World the Wasteland generally is.
• Walking Spoiler: To put this bluntly...Father will not at all be what you expect when you meet him for the first time.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He will massacre entire towns if he feels it's needed to make the world a better place.
• Younger Than They Look: Heavily downplayed. On the one hand, he still looks and acts like an elderly man regardless of his actual age. However, his cancer has prematurely aged him, to the point where looks more like a man in their late seventies rather than a sixty-year-old.
• Your Days Are Numbered:

S9-23

This Synth goes by another name - Shaun II.

X6-88

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for X6's section.

Dr. Justin Ayo

The current Acting Director of the Synth Retention Bureau, and is tasked with helping control the Commonwealth while making sure escaped Synths are returned "home" to the Institute.

• Ambition Is Evil: He's one of the darkest members of the Institute, and many other characters note he's just using his position to further his goals.
• Asshole Victim: As a named Institute character being killed by the Sole Survivor is one of the possible requirements for the "Banished From The Institute" quest, many players have used this as an excuse to bump off Ayo "on their way out the door," so to speak..
• Big Bad Wannabe:
• Call Back:
• Dark Is Evil:
• Faux Affably Evil:
• Frame-Up:
• Hate Sink: One of the most obnoxious and arrogant characters in the entire game. If you want a singular example of all the Institute's flaws and sins, look no further than Justin Ayo.
• Jerkass:
• Jerkass Has a Point: For all of his obnoxious flaws, his fretting about security risks can be vindicated by a non-Institute play-through of the main quest.
• Karma Houdini:
• Kick The Dog:
• Laser-Guided Karma:
• Manipulative Bastard:
• Number Two:
• Smug Snake: He's a pretty good manipulator...but still not a Chessmaster on the level of someone like Father or the Sole Survivor is.
• Stealth Insult:

Commonwealth Minutemen Members & Allied Settlers

Preston Garvey

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Preston's section.

Ronnie Shaw

• Badass: Your reputation as one is enough to get her attention, and if you are willing to work with her, she proves why she's so old yet still alive.
  • Never Mess With Granny: She might be an old lady, but she's very capable in a fight.
• Cool Old Lady: Regarded as such by the Minutemen.
• Old Soldier: She's been around since the early days of the Minutemen.
• Non-Action Guy: Zigzagged. She's plenty active enough in helping restore artillery support to the Minutemen, but afterwards she just hangs back and mans the commissary of the Castle, though she's arguably much more useful in the role given her selling of high end gear.

Trader Rylee

A former resident of Vault 81, Rylee left her Vault and became a successful Wasteland trader and caravan runner. She can be found as a random encounter across the Commonwealth, and can be recruited into one of the Sole Survivor's settlements.

Buddy

A modified Protectron found in the basement of the Shamrock Taphouse. Sent there in the side quest "Trouble Brewin'" by Rufus Rubins at the Hotel Rexford in Goodneighbor, the Sole Survivor can either send him back to the Hotel Rexford as their contract states, or send him to one of their settlements. There, he serves as a bartender if the Sole Survivor supplies him with unique holotapes, and he can create Nuka-Cola, Vim!, and Gwinnet Beer.

• Beware The Nice Ones:
• Escort Mission: A significantly less stressful one than usual.
• Just A Machine: Doesn't really have that much of a personality.
• Kill It With Fire:
• Nice Guy: He's programmed to be as polite and friendly to you as possible.
• Nigh Invulnerable:

The Scribe

A former member of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel, he quit in disgust when Elder Maxson reformed the organization after the death of the Lyons family. The Scribe can be found as a random encounter across the Commonwealth, and can be recruited into one of the Sole Survivor's settlements.

Railroad Members

Desdemona

• Reasonable Authority Figure: Part of the reason she was picked over Carrington to be the Railroad's current leader was this trope.
• Weapon of Choice: A Railway Cannon. Doubles as being thematically appropriate as she's the leader of the Railroad.

Deacon

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Deacon's section.

Tinker Tom

• Bunny Ears Lawyer: Why the Railroad puts up with him despite his quirks, he's that good at what they need him for, especially hacking, armaments,and sabotage.

Glory/G7-81

One of the Railroad's few remaining Heavies (one of their frontline operators). A female Synth rescued by the Railroad, she joined the organization instead of going through the standard memory replacement procedure.

• Action Girl: One of the Railroad's few remaining Heavies.
• Ambiguously Bi/Ambiguously Gay: Her snark with the Sole Survivor regardless of gender can be seen as flirting. However, her relationship with the brain-dead Synth G5-19 is implied to have been something more than just caring for a friend/protectorate.
• Androids Are People, Too: Even moreso than the rest of the Railroad, as Glory (and other unnamed Railroad members that don't really appear) considers Gen 2 Synths to be people - albeit more like Cro-Magnon folks.
• Badass: She's the only named Railroad Heavy encountered throughout the story, and is incredibly dangerous.
  • Badass Abnormal: She's a Synth, so this comes with the territory.
• The Big Guy: She's a Railroad Heavy who fights with a Gatling gun.
• Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: When siding with the Railroad, she will die trying to defend the HQ from the Brotherhood as she tries to Hold the Line against the front entrance of the Railroad HQ. A glitch will also say that she's dead when she's alive if you destroy the Institute with the Railroad.
• Blood Knight: She's nothing but civil to the Sole Survivor. However, Desdemona is still shown often chiding Glory, telling her that murder should be her last choice of action & not her first.
• Cessation of Existence: Due to being a Synth, she claims to have no reason to believe in the possibility of an afterlife for herself.
• Contralto of Danger: Has a very deep and husky voice while easily being Railroad HQ's most dangerous fighter.
• Deadpan Snarker: She comments that she's just as human as the Sole Survivor, but their parents just had more fun creating them than the Institute did making Glory.
• Early-Bird Cameo: It's possible to meet her before meeting the Railroad during Curie's personal quest to have herself downloaded into a Synth body.
  • There's Foreshadowing for her if the player takes out the Raider boss Cutty at Poseidon Energy before encountering the Railroad. More specifically, her name is written in the room Cutty's found in, and there seems to be some (unknown) connection between the two.
• Famous Last Words: A heartbreaking example - "Isn't there supposed to be a light?"
• Gatling Good: Her Weapon of Choice is a Minigun.
• Guest Star Party Member: She's one during the Railroad side quest "Memory Interrupted," as she and the Sole Survivor were coincidentally sent to the same location.
• Heroic Sacrifice: She confronts the Brotherhood soldiers attacking the HQ's main entrance, and gets mortally wounded while preventing them from passing through..
• Shout-Out: After completing the exceptionally dangerous Freedom Trail and becoming a member of the Railroad, she can compliment the Sole Survivor by remarking "Not bad. For a human, that is." That's based on a very similar compliment that the android Bishop gives Ripley in Aliens.
• Violence Really Is the Answer: Deacon and most of the other Railroad agents prefer the subversive approach since it keeps them hidden. Glory, however, is all about in-your-face violence, and encourages the Sole Survivor to follow the same tactic.

Members of Minor Commonwealth Factions

Vault 81 Inhabitants

Curie

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Curie's section.

Diamond City Citizens

Mayor McDonough

• Expy: Richard Nixon. One of his speeches has a line by line reference to one of Nixon's and like Nixon, he's also participating in illegalities and coverups. He's a synth infiltrator trying to discredit the idea of the same to protect himself.

Piper Wright

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Piper's section.

Nick Valentine

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Nick's section.

Ellie Perkins

• Girl Friday: To Nick Valentine.

"Crazy" Myrna

• Cloudcuckoolander: While everyone in Diamond City is a bit edgy of synths, she's so jumpy it borders on parody.
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: However, she not actually all that wrong, because there ARE synth infiltrators, just not who she thinks they are.
• The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: She will have special dialogue if Nick Valentine is with you, and he isn't spared her paranoia a dot even though he's been around long enough most of the town has gotten used to him.
• Fantastic Racism: She's not unique in her suspicion and paranoia of synths, but she is so on edge about them she lashes out at ANYONE she thinks is a synth, even though she winds up off the mark by quite a bit practically all the time.

Dr. Sun

• Asian and Nerdy: He's a very erudite Chinese man who certainly knows his profession, that's very obvious.
• Dr. Jerk: He's a bit curt, somewhat snide, and not all that friendly. On the other hand, you can understand why when you consider he's the only doctor in town and he's implied to be very overworked.

Pastor Clements

• Good Shepherd: His mentioned aspiration. Granted, he's not all that picky concerning whatever your faith is, but he's willing to show compassion and empathy to his parishoners regardless.
• Nice Guy: One of the genuinely kindest people in Diamond City.

Polly

• Jerkass: She's quick to anger and surly about her profession as a butcher.
• Hidden Depths: She's secretly a poet, but as her terminal reveals, a frustrated one.

Goodneighbor Citizens

Mayor John Hancock

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Hancock's section.

Robert Joseph MacCready

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for MacCready's section.

KL-E-0

• Camp Gay / Camp Straight: Could go either way really, as she uses the same husky, flirty voice for everyone.
• Ridiculously Human Robot: To the point she identifies as female and has obviously grown pretty far beyond their programming.

Bobbi No-Nose

• Punny Name: Say her last name pretty fast, sounds like "no-no's". Apt, given her history of getting into trouble.

The Mechanist and Associates

The Mechanist

They have another name - Isabel Cruz.

Ada

Look on the "Fallout 4 Characters - Companions" subpage for Ada's section.