History Characters / Fallout4TheInstitute

* {{Jerkass}}: [[{{Understatement}} He's not the most pleasant person to be around]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: The Institute only cares about itself and will never spare a thought for surface dwellers. After the Broken Mask incident in Diamond City, where a synth massacred the other ambassadors due to a ''software glitch''. The Institute didn't apologise or care, the director was angrier about a prototype synth being sent out to the surface without her authorisation.

** The Institue has no respect for outsiders and they have a high opinion of themselves. The children believe outsiders are monsters, due to the fabricated stories of their ancestors and parents. Father is a sociopath because he was raised by scientists who believe in logic over love. This is why he has no value of others and promotes their ideology of treating outsiders as lab rats, coursers like X6-88 believe that the world will be better off once "the surface dwellers die out".

* ItsAllAboutMe: The Institute only cares about itself and will never spare a thought for surface dwellers. After the Broken Mask incident in Diamond City, where a synth massacred the other ambassadors due to a ''software glitch''. The Institute didn't apologise or care, the director was angrier about a prototype synth being sent to the surface without their authorisation.

** The reason why The Minutemen, The Railroad and The Brotherhood of Steel can defeat them so easily. The Institute is just a settlement of scientists who have been sheltered from the outside world and believe in science without limits. They've gone out of their way to avoid any kind of interaction with the wasteland, hence why they were so unprepared and outclassed in the final attack. Their weapons are actually weaker than pre-war laser rifles since they never went outside and adapted to it.

** The Institue has no respect for outsiders and they have a high opinion of themselves. The children believe outsiders are monsters, due to the fabricated stories of their ancestors and parents. Father is a sociopath because he was raised by scientists who believe in logic over love. This is why he has no value of others and promotes their ideology of treating outsiders as lab rats.

* RealityEnsues: Due to their facility having been created entirely after the Great War, they frequently struggle with resource issues. The primary reason why they're not able to be more active in the Commonwealth than they already are is their over-reliance on an obsolete nuclear reactor and a lack of suitable replacements for the time being. Despite having been around for far longer than the Brotherhood has in the Commonwealth, the latter already outpaces them by ''far'' in their activity on the surface.

-> '''Voiced by:''' Ellen Dubin

* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Played with. He was a bio-engineering specialist, but is able to draw up a [[spoiler:teleporter device that can hijack the relay teleportation signals the Institute uses to teleport yourself into the base]]. However, he emphasizes that kind of thing isn't what he knows; he's mostly building it based on guesswork and anecdotes from other scientists who knew more than him, and he isn't even sure it'll work. For that matter it starts to fall apart when you use it and will never work again afterward.

* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Subverted. While he flatly lets you know that he was specialized in the biomedical fields, he is still able to design a (pretty much) junk built teleporter transmitter. This would be more the forte of a experimental physicist or mechatronics engineer. Granted, he does say he struggled with the design and that he isn't totally sure that it will work, only that it should work in theory.

* ButThouMust: You can't actually influence the Institute's policy regarding destroying the Brotherhood of Steel, even when you're Director. To be fair, the Brotherhood is equally obstinate. What makes this count is you can voice all of your objections and get overruled. You also can't direct them away from doing the same to the Railroad, though this is ''before'' your directorship.
* TheConspiracy: Played with. They have the signs (an AncientConspiracy of usually faceless and always powerful individuals that manipulates events from behind the scenes), but their existence is publicly known to the Commonwealth, as the Institute had initially introduced themselves to the surface world ''first,'' and it was only later that the relationship went downhill.

* {{Foil}}: To the Commonwealth Minutemen. The Minutemen are a mostly low-tech military organization which works with local settlements to provide security as well as build-up the quality of life. The Institute is a mostly high-tech civilian organization which manipulates events from behind the scenes to make Wastelanders do what they say for their own good. Both groups are also fraught with infighting and rely on charismatic leaders to really get anything done in a unified fashion.

** If you side with the Brotherhood Of Steel to fight the Institute, [[spoiler:the organization that is heavily reliant on Synths ends up being destroyed thanks to the effort of a GiantMecha]].

* InternalHomage: They can be seen as one towards the Master's Unity, strangely enough. Both are mysterious factions with Cult-like undertones dedicated to creating a "{{Superior Species}}" (along with {{Super Soldier}}s) and want to sincerely guide the world into what they feel will be a utopian society.

** They also proceeded to send Kellogg [[spoiler:to kidnap Shaun, who wound up shooting the Sole Survivor's spouse dead before killing all of the other Vault Dwellers. Nothing prevented them from using a less overt and violent method - taking samples from the unconscious vault dwellers, for instance, or just plain unfreezing them and asking politely to borrow some of their DNA.]]

* StoneWall: To make up for their rather weak laser weaponry, they have the best armor in the vanilla game, and the laser's semi-automatic fire rate is faster than standard variants. And this is simply straight-on averted with the Coursers, who are full on [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]].

* SimpleYetAwesome: As the game shows, the Institute's development of Synths, while not as visually impressive as, say, the Think Tank's inventions, is amazingly versatile and can be used in damn near ''anything.'' By creating Synths, the Institute has an expendable & versatile workforce that allows every human to focus on creative pursuits and scientific endeavors. Synths are better than Assaultrons and Sentry Bots for the simple reason that they are easily capable of using human tools (perfectly mimicking human locomotion) and in the case of Gen 3s, self-healing with no requirement for spare parts. Thusly, they can serve in virtually any dangerous job that the Institute would need that would previously have been needed to be accomplished by humans. Furthermore, when going into battle, Synths are equipped with weapons that outclass the weapons of the average Wastelander by a wide margin, have no fear or morale to break, and will continue fighting as long as they keep running.

* VillainBall: They really handled the Vault 111 situation in the absolute worst manner possible. [[spoiler:For example, nothing prevented them from simply inviting the Vault Dwellers of 111 to the Institute, where as Pre-War humans they would have fit in fine. Or, hell, taken blood samples while they were out.]]
** There's really no reason [[spoiler:to not euthanize the Super Mutants rather than releasing them. Even for science's sake, that's pretty out there.]]

* VillainousUnderdog: The Institute's military is lackluster at best and paltry at worst. Despite legitimately having the tech and resources necessary that go to levels only the Enclave can dream of, the Institute flatly refrains from improving the arsenal and protection of their armed forces. They have laser weapons that are all-around inferior to the Pre-War military service laser weapons that the Brotherhood of Steel use, no more advanced weapons, and no Power Armor whatsoever. While their Coursers ''are'' OneManArmy [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Terminators]] rightly feared throughout the Commonwealth, their numbers are ''very'' low and can't even begin to be fielded in sufficient quantities to match the Brotherhood's many Power Armor equipped soldiers. Plus, Coursers are primarily intended as assassins and covert agents, poorly suited to pitched open battles, most notably on display should they choose to attack The Castle, where the ''[[RedShirt Minutemen]]'' are able to drop hundreds of early-gen synths and at least a dozen Coursers, without even using their artillery. Were it not for their subterfuge and ability to throw wave after wave of disposable minions at threats, they'd have nothing going for them. Admittedly, this is justified by the fact that, unlike the Brotherhood of Steel or other militaristic factions, the Institute's more interested in ForScience and building up their own facility than in building weapons or eliminating threats to humanity. Not to mention, prior to the Sole Survivor waking up and the Brotherhood arriving, the Institute had everyone in the Commonwealth running scared, and had the Railroad, the only group taking any action to oppose them, in near-total disarray. Still, the fact that their main goal is simply [[spoiler:building a functional nuclear reactor so they don't have to rely on the surface anymore]] can't help but paint them in a much less villainous light than most other ''Fallout'' villains in the past.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: A lot of their problem solving boils down to "Throw Synths at the problem until it stops!" For example: [[spoiler:In order to deal with the Brotherhood of Steel they upload a virus into a Gen 1 Synth and have you escort it to Liberty Prime. That Synth infects Liberty Prime with the virus causing it to recognize the ''Prydwen'' as an communist vessel. The airship crashes right on top of the airport blowing the entire place to kingdom come after Liberty Prime opens fire on it.]] Spying, combat, scavenging, mopping the floors, and basically anything involving the surface is done using Synths.

A returning character from ''Fallout 3''. She's scientist hailing from Rivet City in the Capital Wasteland, who has joined the Institute outright as one of the department heads to continue her work.

Head of the [=BioSciences=] division in The Institute.

* CallBack: He's only the ''Acting'' Director of the [=SRB=] since [[VideoGame/Fallout3 Dr. Zimmer]] is ''still'' personally taking care of a Synth "re-acquisition" back in the Capital Wasteland.

* {{Jerkass}}: [[{{Understatement}} He's not the nicest person to have around.]]

* VillainousUnderdog: The Institute's military is lackluster at best and paltry at worst. Despite legitimately having the tech and resources necessary that go to levels only the Enclave can dream of, the Institute flatly refrains from improving the arsenal and protection of their armed forces. They have laser weapons that are all-around inferior to the Pre-War military service laser weapons that the Brotherhood of Steel use, no more advanced weapons, and no Power Armor whatsoever. While their Coursers ''are'' OneManArmy [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Terminators]] rightly feared throughout the Commonwealth, their numbers are ''very'' low and can't even begin to be fielded in sufficient quantities to match the Brotherhood's many Power Armor equipped soldiers. Plus, Coursers are primarily intended as assassins and covert agents, poorly suited to pitched open battles, to the point where ''the [[RedShirt Minutemen]]'' can fell them if they have an advantage of numbers or an entrenched position (even before considering their artillery). Were it not for their subterfuge and ability to throw wave after wave of disposable minions at threats, they'd have nothing going for them. Admittedly, this is justified by the fact that, unlike the Brotherhood of Steel or other militaristic factions, the Institute's more interested in ForScience and building up their own facility than in building weapons or eliminating threats to humanity. Still, the fact that their main goal is simply [[spoiler:building a functional nuclear reactor so they don't have to rely on the surface anymore]] can't help but paint them in a much less villainous light than most other ''Fallout'' villains in the past.

** However, he's perfectly fine with wiping out the Warwicks once the Institute's experiment with their crops is done, which includes [[WouldHurtAChild a teenage girl and a young boy]].

* Jerkass: [[{{Understatement}} He's not the nicest person to have around.]]

* SkippableBoss[=/=]TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: If the Sole Survivor got his reset codes from Mama Murphy, they can say it aloud to him & have him shut down before the battle even starts.

* {{Hypocrite}}: She had a point in being weary of handing over the Capital Wasteland to the Brotherhood of Steel back in ''Fallout 3'', as they clearly TookALevelInJerkass once the Lyons were no longer in charge. Problem is, now she turns a blind eye to her current organization's KickTheDog moments, despite the fact that they've done ''far worse'' than anything she could have reasonably anticipated from Lyons' bunch. And all because the Institute lets her "comfortably do her research in peace"...

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: A lot of their problem solving boils down to "Throw Synths at the problem until it stops!" For example: [[spoiler:In order to deal with the Brotherhood of Steel they upload a virus into a Gen 1 Synth and have you escort it to Liberty Prime. That Synth infects Liberty Prime with the virus causing it to recognize the ''Prydwen'' as an communist vessel, it fires, and the airship crashes right on top of the airport blowing the entire place to kingdom come. The Synth also dies immediately after completing its mission.]] Other than that, spying, combat, scavenging, mopping the floors, and basically anything involving the surface is done using Synths.

* TragicVillain: Kellogg isn't malicious or sadistic, but is simply a man who was shown no kindness by the world, and sees no reason to show any in return. [[spoiler:In the memory lounger, you discover that he was born in dire conditions, to an abusive father and a tough mother who seemed then to be struggling not to succumb to despair. Then when he grew up, his brief episode of happiness with his family gets wiped out by Raiders, and the combined grief seems to have wrung all the fight out of him.]] The fact that he chose to become a wandering mercenary rather than RapePillageAndBurn, might suggest that he's not cruel or malicious by nature; he's simply a man broken by the sheer grief the world has put on him, and who chose to linger on until his personal tragedy resolved itself one way or another.

* ProfessionalKiller: Not just what Kellogg does, but what he ''is'' according to his own worldview. He would be lost if he tried being anything else. He will literally kill anyone for the right price, including children.

!!The Institute

!!!Division Heads

!!!Institute Military

[[folder:Z2-47]]

The first Courser that the Sole Survivor encounters at Greenetech Genetics during the Hunter/Hunted quest. After putting up a difficult battle he is killed and the Sole Survivor takes his Courser Chip to infiltrate the Institute.

* BadassLongcoat: His Courser Uniform of course.
* OneManArmy: He provides the player with their first Courser encounter and he DOES NOT disappoint. Even after [[MookHorrorShow wiping out an entire building filled with Gunners]] he manages to provide one of the hardest boss battles of the main questline and gives Kellogg, another OneManArmy, a good run for his money.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: If the Sole Survivor got his reset codes from Mama Murphy they can shut him down through dialouge before the battle even starts.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: He's a cybernetic super warrior who just got done clearing out a whole building of heavily armed soldiers with just his Institute laser pistol. Surely the wastelander who just walked in wearing improvised armor and holding some garbage rifle will be easy to take care of...

[[folder:X6-88]]

!!!Institute Scientists

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time you meet him is in the Robotics area, trying to no avail to convince his colleagues that Gen-3 Synths are, in fact, self-aware due to their ability to dream.

** Relatedly, the Sole Survivor is given four different options by Newton Oberly on how to punish Loken and Higgs if they surrender to be placed under house arrest: they can be [[TheExile exiled to the Wasteland]], [[YouHaveFailedMe executed]], [[KarmaHoudini sent back to work with no reprimand]], or carefully monitored but allowed to return to work. [[TokenEvilTeammate X6-88]] approves [[[[PragmaticVillainy of the lattermost option and disapproves of execution & exile, by the way]].

[[folder:Alana Secord]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Ellen Dubin

Second-in command of the Synth Retention Bureau.

!!!Others

[[folder:Brian Virgil]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brian_virgil_fo4.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Matthew Waterson

A former Institute scientist, who has turned himself into a Super Mutant and fled to the the Glowing Sea to hide from Kellogg.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:A-2018, [=XPN-20A=], and [=Z4K-97B=]]]

A trio of unique black-armored Synths that guard the reactor room of the Institute. They serve as a "final boss" fight of sorts for any of the 3 out of 4 main quest endings where you decide to destroy the Institute.
----
* CustomUniform: They wear a unique all-black version of the standard Synth armor, that has the unique attribute of breaking apart in sections when shot, much like Power Armor. It's impossible for the player to obtain this armor from them.
* EliteMooks: Besides being level-scaled along with all the other enemy Synths in the final mission, the three of them always appear as Legendary enemies.
* FinalBoss: Of the [[spoiler:Brotherhood of Steel, Railroad, and Minutemen]] endings to the main quest.
* FlunkyBoss: The reactor room also has a number of regular Synths fighting you in addition to the 3 of them. On the plus side, you'll be fighting alongside your fellow Minutemen/Railroaders/Knights.
* LuckBasedMission: Like other humanoid Legendary enemies, if they spawn with a Legendary weapon they will use it against you if its stats are higher than their default weaponry. While they're equipped with standard Institute firearms by default, and can end up with anything from an anti-mirelurk sniper rifle to a slightly faster-firing plasma gun; if the RandomNumberGod hates you enough, they can very well end up equipped with anti-personnel rocket launchers or explosive miniguns.
* WolfpackBoss: There's three of them, although they're spread out enough that you might not end up fighting all 3 of them at the same time.

!!The Institue

[[folder:Conrad Kellogg]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conrad_kellogg_fo4.jpg]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Keythe Farley

The chief surface operative of the Institute, who kidnaps your son and murders your spouse. You spend the first act of the game tracking him down to kill him in kind.

* AbusiveParents: His father was either always drunk or away from home and Kellogg suspects that he was a Raider. It got to the point that his mother gave him a gun to kill his father with... when he was ''ten''. No wonder he ran away.
* AffablyEvil: When Kellogg meets you, he does not taunt you, nor is he disrespectful to you in any way. In fact, it's clear that he holds you in high regard, and though he won't give ground, nonetheless respects your mission. He also seems to be actually sympathetic to your pain and anger, telling you that he "understands what that kind of revenge feels like".
* AffectionateNickname: His mother and wife called him "Connie".
* BaldOfEvil: His crew-cut balding head is one of his most distinctive features. Nick Valentine immediately pinpoints who he is when you mention that he's bald. According to his flashbacks, he became a reckless, merciless gun for hire after the death of his family, and went bald around the same time.
* TheBrute: Of the Institute.
* CombatPragmatist: When you finally catch up to him, he's holed up in a fort protected by ''over a dozen automated turrets'' outside and inside, along with a small army of synths. After you manage to smash through most of his defenses, he lures you into a room on the pretense that he wants to talk to you which, in most ''Fallout'' games, would give you the opportunity to [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talk him into giving up]]. As soon as your dialogue with Kellogg ends, you will find yourself in the middle of a crossfire between him and several Synths, and he will liberally employ Stealth Boys and frag grenades to flush you out of cover.
* {{Cyborg}}: One of the reasons why [[spoiler:he still looks like the same guy after 60 years]] and probably why he's [[MadeOfIron so durable]]. His loot contains a Cybernetic Brain Augmenter, Cybernetic Limb Actuator and Cybernetic Pain Inhibitor. The Sole Survivor [[LampshadeHanging even notes]] [[ShoutOut that he's]] [[Franchise/StarWars more machine than man]] upon searching his body.
* DeathSeeker: He honestly does not care if he dies by the Sole Survivor's hand when they face off, [[spoiler:and is even hoping they can do it, because being strong enough to take him down would mean they're also strong enough to put up a fight against the Institute]].
* DespairEventHorizon:
** One could not help but feel that poor Kellogg has long crossed this. Talking to him, seeing the matter-of-fact, resigned way he [[spoiler:talks about his past in the memory chamber,]] one gets the feeling that he no longer cares about anything in life, not the caps, not his past, not his cause... Nothing. There just doesn't seem to be a reason for him to care anymore.
** During his memories, he seems to be undergoing a second one of these as he tries to reconcile recent events. [[spoiler:This is because Shaun/Father, aka "The Old Man" as he calls him now, has decided to let his biological parent loose to kill him, despite Kellogg actually being fond of and even ''liking'' Shaun, and trying to fill in for the role he stole from the Sole Survivor. Kellogg immediately recognized this as soon as the Sole Survivor arrived at Fort Hagen, and his final thoughts are of how Shaun betrayed him]].
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Hunting down and defeating Kellogg marks the end of Act 1.
* TheDragon: Does things for the Institute which Synths can't.
* TheDreaded: A lot of people get scared when you mention Kellogg's name. Interestingly, Kellogg himself thinks it about the Sole Survivor, though in a somewhat subdued manner.
* EvilCounterpart: To the Sole Survivor, especially a male one. Kellogg is a [[spoiler:parent who lost his family to Raiders, only to go on a murderous killing spree]]. The difference is, rather than develop new bonds and pick himself back up to help the world, he succumbed to his grief and became an amoral mercenary willing to do anything, even things he doesn't really care for, for the right price. He seems to recognize this and actually makes note of the NotSoDifferent nature of his conflict with the Sole Survivor.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He has a deep, gritty voice, with the Sole Survivor describing it as "like rough sandpaper across your face."
* FeelNoPain: Upon death, a Pain Inhibitor can be looted from him. Could be a very good reason why he's so damn durable.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Benny from ''New Vegas''. Like Benny, Kellogg wronging your player character at the start of the game serves as your personal motivation for the first part. Unlike Benny, who has plans to usurp the person/group he's working for despite living the sweet life, Kellogg doesn't seem to have any personal ambition of his own aside from possibly making easy money doing what he's best at. Both carry a signature pistol that they use to commit a brutal crime.
*** To Caesar from ''New Vegas'' as well. Like Caesar/Edward Sallow, [[spoiler:Kellogg hails from the New California Republic and ran away from his past.]] But whereas Caesar eventually stopped "running away" and made himself the head of a mighty Legion in the Southwest while burying his past in the process, Kellogg ''never stopped'' running despite being aware that he could never fully escape the weight of it all.
** He bears some noticeable similarities with [[VideoGame/Fallout2 Frank Horrigan]] of the Enclave. Both of them are incredibly dangerous agents of the game's most villainous faction, have [[EvilSoundsDeep remarkably deep voices]], take a ''hell'' [[RasputinianDeath of a lot of effort]] [[ThatOneBoss to finally die]], and [[spoiler:[[WasOnceAMan were once baseline humans]] turned into {{Cyborgs}} by their respective factions]]. They also both [[AvertedTrope cannot be]] [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talked out of their villainy]] - [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall the series' habit of which they can even]] [[LampshadeHanging potentially lampshade]]. However, Horrigan was explicitly a [[KickTheDog despicable]] and monstrous {{Jerkass}} even ''before'' the Enclave turned him into a literal monster, while Kellogg was actually [[spoiler:[[UsedToBeASweetKid a pretty decent person]] [[TraumaCongaLine before his entire life fell apart]]]]. Also, Horrigan was motivated by his [[FantasticRacism racism against "muties"]] and [[AxCrazy reveled in causing violence]], while Kellogg is more of a {{Consummate Professional}} that [[PunchClockVillain doesn't take any real pleasure from his work]]. Additionally, Horrigan was [[PsychoSupporter fanatically loyal to the Enclave]] since they made him a nigh-immortal {{Super Soldier}} (which he was quite arrogant about), while Kellogg is both [[DespairEventHorizon heavily implied to be suicidal]] and ultimately annoyed/unhappy with the Institute's operations. Finally, Kellogg also shows [[WorthyOpponent a significant amount of respect]] for the Sole Survivor, and starts their fight to the death [[FaceDeathWithDignity with a fair amount of dignity]], while Horrigan [[EvilIsPetty pointlessly wiped out]] the Enclave's own ''oil rig'' (which was full of civilians at the time) in a last-bid attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe killing the Chosen One after he'd already been beaten]].
** Serves as an EvilCounterpart and NotSoDifferent to the Sole Survivor due to the similarities, and differences, in their pasts. Both are parents who lost their children, but while the Sole Survivor have had a more-or-less happy Pre-War life and eventually becomes a key leader of the Commonwealth, Kellogg grew up in the worst of conditions, and has had nothing but pain in his entire life, leading him to become an amoral gun-for-hire.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He has several scars over the left side of his face. It's one of his most distinguishing features to the point that Nick knows exactly who you're talking about when you simply mention that he's a bald guy with scars.
* HandCannon: Kellogg's signature weapon is a .44 Magnum, one of the most powerful non-energy handguns in the entire game.
* HellBentForLeather: Wears a very badass bomber jacket getup. It also offers some of the highest damage resistance out of any standard outfit, tempered only by how the base game doesn't allow it to be worn under armor or upgraded with ballistic weave.
* HitmanWithAHeart: For all his ruthlessness, he still seems to have some speck of humanity left. See PetTheDog below.
* InvisibilityCloak: Uses Stealth Boys during your fight with him.
* KickTheDog: There was no real reason for him to murder Nate/Nora, and even less to turn off life support for everyone else in Vault 111 save for the Sole Survivor except for orders from the Institute.
* MadeOfIron: Can survive ''huge'' amounts of damage. Even a CriticalHit missile aimed at his head does little to stop him.
* MercyKill: He considers his execution of Nate/Nora this, as he feels that was better for them to die than to live with having Shaun taken.
* NobleDemon: Along with being a PunchClockVillain, Kellogg has no illusions about redeeming himself and has made peace with the fact that he'll die a violent death, either on the job or as retribution from someone he wronged. He also sympathizes with the Sole Survivor's desire for revenge, and is prepared to fight them when they finally track him down.
* NotSoDifferent: Kellogg lost his wife and child to Raiders and became a scourge on the Wasteland as a result, just like the Sole Survivor. Kellogg, however, never bothers to use it to positive ends and just lets his grief eat him up. Notably, he's fully aware of the similarity and believes this is why the Survivor is the most dangerous man/woman in the Wasteland.
* OlderThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:Thanks to Institute technology, he's looked the same for 60 years.]]
* OneManArmy:
** The Institute recruited this guy for a reason. He is a highly skilled assassin, fully capable of putting down Synths, Assaultrons, Raiders and others by himself with nothing but his signature .44 Magnum and his cybernetic enhancements. He is easily one of the toughest opponents you will face in the early game.
** He managed to [[spoiler:cross an ''entire continent'', from San Francisco to Boston, in order to escape from his past. Not only that, but he did so well before both the rise of Caesar's Legion in the American Southwest, the inception of the Midwestern [=BoS's=] empire in the Great Plains, and Elder Lyons' exodus to the Capital Wasteland, meaning that the majority of that journey was likely taken through countless lawless, chaotic warzones by '''himself'''.]]
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: By his own admission. However, even his interest in money is debatable - see DespairEventHorizon above.
* PetTheDog: Seems to fulfill a father-like role to your son, whom he kidnapped [[spoiler:or more accurately, the synth of your son that the real Shaun created]]. Also, [[spoiler:the entire memory lounger sequence is one giant PetTheDog moment for Kellogg, showing his DarkAndTroubledPast, the few lingering connections he has with those he cared about in life, and generally showcasing his HitmanWithAHeart nature.]]
* ProfessionalKiller: Not just what Kellogg does, but what he ''is'' according to his own worldview. He would be lost if he tried being anything else. He will literally kill anyone for the right price, including children.
* PunchClockVillain: Despite being an amoral hitman for the Institute, Kellogg only kills if attacked or if paid to do so. He even attempts to convince the Lone Survivor to turn back since killing them wouldn't earn Kellogg any money and at most would be a chore.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[spoiler:Thanks to being augmented by the Institute's technology. It's shown he was a child when the New California Republic was formed in 2189, making him just over a century old by the time of the game. According to their notes, he could potentially live to be 200 years old.]]
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Carries a unique .44 Magnum revolver. Presumably, it was given to him by his mother, and modded over the years.
* SmokingIsCool: He smokes very often. In fact, the player gets Dogmeat to track him down via the scent of his unique cigars - "San Francisco Sunlights."
* StarterVillain: Tracking him down and making him pay for killing your spouse and kidnapping Shaun is one of the first goals of the game; after you deal with him, you move onto bigger things.
* SuspectIsHatless: Subverted; While the description of "Bald guy with scars" would sound like a common enough descriptor, it's enough for Nick to pinpoint that you must be talking about Kellogg.
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[spoiler:After you fight and kill him, you enter a virtual reality chamber to relive his memories and find out that he came from an abusive family and had a wife and daughter who were brutally murdered.]] Interestingly, this can be ''subverted'', as the Sole Survivor can actually be ''more'' angry over the similarities with their own story, with them pointing out how ''they'' stayed [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold a decent person]] while Kellogg [[FromNobodyToNightmare plunged into villainy]].
* TragicVillain: Kellogg isn't malicious or sadistic, but is simply a man who was shown no kindness by the world, and sees no reason to show any in return. [[spoiler:In the memory lounger, you discover that he was born in dire conditions, to an abusive father and a tough mother who seemed then to be struggling not to succumb to despair. Then when he grew up, his brief episode of happiness with his family gets wiped out by Raiders, and the combined grief seems to have wrung all the fight out of him.]] The fact that he chose to become a wandering mercenary rather than RapePillageAndBurn, might suggest that he's not cruel or malicious by nature; he's simply a man broken by the sheer grief the world has put on him, and who chose to linger on until his personal tragedy resolved itself one way or another.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Most of the rest of the Institute try to pass him off as this when they're trying to recruit you, claiming that they never liked him and are glad you killed him. Of course, the effect is somewhat diminished by the fact that they had absolutely no problem letting him do their dirty work [[spoiler:for over sixty years]] prior to that ([[LockedOutOfTheLoop although not that many members of the Institute know of their own crimes]]), in addition to the fact that Kellogg's far from the vicious monster they make him out to be.
* UnwittingPawn: Of the Institute. [[spoiler:When reliving his memories, he mentions that the Institute was ahead of him and managed to use him, their higher ups even knowing that "the backup" he spared (aka the player) would come to kill him]].
-->"Seems obvious right now that we were bait for our friend from the Vault. The timing couldn't have been an accident. That's not how the old man works. I wonder if he outsmarted me in the end. Another loose end tied up."
* WorthyOpponent: Kellogg never expected to see the Sole Survivor again after kidnapping their child but the moment they saw them reach his base, was the moment Kellogg realized the Sole Survivor weren't going to stop until they or Kellogg were dead. In his words, "I know what that kind of revenge feels like. None better."
* WouldHurtAChild: Kellogg notes that while he doesn't like to hurt children, he's done so if necessary.

[[folder:Brian Virgil]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brian_virgil_fo4.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Matthew Waterson

A former Institute scientist, who has turned himself into a Super Mutant and fled to the the Glowing Sea to hide from Kellogg.

* DangerousDeserter: To the Institute. He deserted them and now poses a potential threat to them.
* DidntThinkThisThrough:
** In his desperation to hide from the Institute, Virgil took a serum to turn himself into a Super Mutant, so he could become immune to radiation and hide in the Glowing Sea. He regrets this decision when the serum starts to affect his intelligence, and needs the Survivor to get the cure.
** He doesn't do much thinking about the cure, either. [[spoiler:If you chose to give him the antidote serum, he ends up ''trapped in the Glowing Sea forever'', because the radiation will ''kill him'' if he tries to leave his hiding spot.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: Virgil openly mocks the Railroad and has no problem with Synths being treated as slaves, but even he was horrified by the [[spoiler:FEV experiments performed on abducted Wastelanders, which prompted him to destroy the FEV lab and flee the Institute]].
* GeniusBruiser: He's a Super Mutant scientist. His IQ has taken a few hits from the mutation, but he's still a lot smarter than the average person. [[spoiler:He is able to draw you the plans for a teleporter from memory.]]
* MeaningfulName: In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy,'' Virgil is a poet who guides Dante through The Underworld to reach Heaven. In ''Fallout 4,'' Virgil is a scientist who ventures into the Glowing Sea -- a hellish landscape full of Ghouls and radiation -- and guides the Sole Survivor to the [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas seemingly-utopian]] Institute.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His very reasons for leaving the Institute was due to participating in a [[spoiler:FEV experiment that only produced the very Super Mutants that terrorize the Commonwealth]].
--> Everything that we've done, the lives we've taken... If there is a god, may he have mercy on us all.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Subverted. While he flatly lets you know that he was specialized in the biomedical fields, he is still able to design a (pretty much) junk built teleporter transmitter. This would be more the forte of a experimental physicist or mechatronics engineer. Granted, he does say he struggled with the design and that he isn't totally sure that it will work, only that it should work in theory.
* ProperlyParanoid: Averted, despite the great lengths Virgil went to to hide from the Institute, they knew exactly where he was and almost certainly would have killed him if the Sole Survivor hadn't intervened by killing the guy who was assigned to kill him.
* WhatTheHellHero: He'll be horrified if you blew up the Institute, stating that for all the horrible things they've done he can't condone mass murder on that scale ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation even if you issued the evacuation order, and you have no way of telling him, either]]). If you do this after curing him, he'll just coldly tell you to leave. If you did so before you cure him, he'll be furious enough to try and attack you.

[[folder:Liam Binet]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/liam_binet_fo4.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Finneas [=O'Connell=]

An Institute member who works with Synths.

* CodeName: [[spoiler:Patriot.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Completing the Railroad ending shows that he killed himself after you blew up the Institute, calling you an UngratefulBastard for killing his family after he helped you save the synths.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time you meet him is in the Robotics area, trying to no avail to convince his colleagues that Gen-3 Synths are, in fact, self-aware due to their ability to dream.
* {{Expy}}: Can be seen as one of Arcade Gannon from ''New Vegas''. Both are scientist who belong or once belonged to insular organization most regard as the enemy. However both of them are idealists with a good heart but can't have a really "happy" ending no matter what the player's choices are[[note]]Though Arcade is substantially better off in this department[[/note]]. Depending on the player's choices [[spoiler:they both may even commit suicide after the conclusion of the main story]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: See EstablishingCharacterMoment above.
* InternalReformist: When [[spoiler:he's not helping Gen-3 Synths escape the Institute,]] he tries to convince Father and his colleagues that Gen-3 Synths are truly self-aware.
* ReverseMole: [[spoiler:He's actually working for the Railroad.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler:He's the one who helps the Gen 3 synths escape from the Institute, allowing the Railroad to save them.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:Delivers one to the Sole Survivor via his suicide note after you destroy the Institute with the Railroad.]]

[[folder:Madison Li]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madison_li_fo4.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Jennifer Massey

A returning character from ''Fallout 3''. She's scientist hailing from Rivet City in the Capital Wasteland, who has joined the Institute outright as one of the department heads to continue her work.

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:Not very evident in-game but the G.E.C.K. reveals that if Li defects to the [=BoS=] and then the ''Prydwen'' is destroyed by your choice of faction at the end of the game, then Li survives, but is trapped in a room in Boston Airport that's buried under debris with her only escape being death by starvation or dehydration.]]
* BystanderSyndrome: She tries focusing on the Institute's pretensions and compartmentalizing its dubious actions as being not under her jurisdiction. [[spoiler:The Survivor can, however, convince her to stop acting like this and help the Brotherhood instead.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: The reason she left for the Institute, after watching James' and later The Lone Wanderer's HeroicSacrifice. She probably didn't know that the latter survived.
* FaceHeelTurn: In ''Fallout 3'', Dr. Li was opposed to even Elder Lyons' more benevolent methods. By ''Fallout 4,'' she's one of the leaders of the Institute despite the fact that they're doing a lot of things which are far worse than anything Lyons and his version of the [=BoS=] ever did. She (poorly) tries to justify this by focusing on the Institute's ultimate goals rather than their methods.
* EveryoneHasStandards: She immediately defects and helps to join [[spoiler:the Brotherhood if you show her Virgil's tape recordings of the ''horrific'' FEV Lab experiments that led to his desertion from the Institute.]]
* ForScience: Her justification for joining the Institute.
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:It's possible for the Survivor to make her finally open her eyes to the Institute's dark nature, shattering her view of them.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: She had a point in being weary of handing over the Capital Wasteland to the Brotherhood of Steel back in ''Fallout 3'', as they clearly TookALevelInJerkass once the Lyons were no longer in charge. Problem is, now she turns a blind eye to her current organization's KickTheDog moments, despite the fact that they've done ''far worse'' than anything she could have reasonably anticipated from Lyons' bunch. And all because the Institute lets her "comfortably do her research in peace"...
* MyGreatestFailure: She seems to treat Project Purity as this, [[spoiler:in addition to not getting over James' death in the events of ''Fallout 3''.]]
* TookALevelInJerkass: Not that her ''Fallout 3'' incarnation was ever that nice to begin with, but she's even more bitter now about what happened with Project Purity and ''especially'' the Brotherhood of Steel.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: She disappears from the game if you complete the main quest by siding with the Institute or the Railroad ([[spoiler:or potentially even the Minutemen]]) after initially recruiting her back into the Brotherhood. Presumably, she was killed during the destruction of the ''Prydwen''.
** Digging around in the G.E.C.K. reveals [[spoiler:she ''does'' actually survive the destruction of the ''Prydwen'', but was inside a room in Boston Airport that's [[AndIMustScream now completely sealed by all the debris.]] ]]
* WhatTheHellHero: She snaps at the Sole Survivor [[spoiler:if she's asked for help in reactivating Liberty Prime for the Brotherhood.]]

[[folder:Clayton Holdren]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clayton_holdren_fo4_9.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Caleb Moody

Head of the [=BioSciences=] division in The Institute.

* ForScience: This ''is'' the Institute's MO, but he's willing to spend time making synthetic gorillas.
* GreenThumb: One of the things he has [=BioScience=] doing is taking strides to make crops grow in the irradiated soil. He goes so far as to use cells from Super Mutants to try and splice them into his crops.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Probably one of the nicest people the Institute has to offer. One of the few who doesn't talk down on other groups in the Commonwealth and [[spoiler:will support Father's decision to name the Sole Survivor head of the Institute without hesitation.]]
** Rummaging through the trashbin in his quarter's bathroom reveals a [[spoiler:Join the Railroad holotape]], suggesting Holdren is [[spoiler:an undercover ally of the Railroad and/or {{Internal Reformist}} like Liam Binet]], or at the very least [[DummiedOut was intended to be one]] when the story was being developed.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: He has the appropriate reaction to seeing the countless arguments and outrage ensuing from Father [[spoiler:naming ''you'' as his successor]].

[[folder:Lawrence Higgs]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fallout4_lawrence_higgs.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Roger Jackson

A member of the Institute's [=BioScience=] division, he's one of the very few Institute scientists who isn't that impressed with their creation of Synths. Angry at [[spoiler:you for being named Father's successor]], he and Max Loken seal off the Institute's food supply, forcing the Sole Survivor to deal with them.

* AMillionIsAStatistic: A variant. He doesn't seem to be that concerned about the dangerous fallout that could result (both inside the Institute and in the Commonwealth itself) from infighting within the Institute if Father's successor doesn't have a peaceful transition of power. The Sole Survivor can even call him out on this.
* BerserkButton: [[IgnoredExpert Having his opinions ignored]]. He's already angry about his concerns about the over-proliferation of Synths falling on deaf ears, so the [[spoiler:Sole Survivor, a largely unknown outsider, being named Father's successor]] pushes him off the deep end to the point where he and Loken outright revolt.
* TheExile: If the Sole Survivor manages to peacefully defuse Higgs' and Loken's "rebellion," a possible punishment for them can be forcibly exiling them to the Wasteland.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Amusingly, it's implied that the Institute's scientists pretty much [[NotSoDifferent treat him the same way that]] the Railroad's members treat [[DrJerk Dr. Carrington]].
* IgnoredExpert: He feels that he's ignored by his colleagues for ''far'' too long.
* {{Irony}}: If the Sole Survivor agrees with him on the Institute's over-reliance on Synths when they first arrive in the Institute, he'll remark that "Maybe some fresh faces around here will do some good." His attempted revolt against Father and the Directorate is based around [[spoiler:''you'' being named Father's successor]].
** His rather extreme response to [[spoiler:the Sole Survivor being named Father's successor]] is implied by Newton Oberly to actually have ''increased'' the [[spoiler:Sole Survivor's support]] since the other scientists think Higgs' method goes too far in potentially starving them all to death.
* {{Jerkass}}: [[{{Understatement}} He's not the most pleasant person to be around]].
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Considering how the Sole Survivor ''is'' a dangerous outsider that very few within the Institute really know that much about aside from Father, he's not exactly ''wrong'' to be [[spoiler:mad about your quick ascension up the ranks]].
** He also makes some pretty good points to the Sole Survivor when he complains that Synths monopolize the Institute's work-load, as he feels it makes the scientists lazy and harder for them to properly innovate.
* KickTheDog: His EstablishingCharacterMoment is him yelling at a janitorial synth for doing a poor job, and threatening to have it scrapped for parts so that "Maybe ''something'' of value will come out of you!"
* MeaningfulName: It's likely not a coincidence that he's a notable scientist whose name is "Lawrence ''Higgs''."
* OnlySaneMan: Sees himself as this, considering how he's not that impressed with the Institute's greatest creation.
* PetTheDog: After [[spoiler:Shaun dies]], he offers his condolences to the Sole Survivor.
* RealityEnsues: If the Sole Survivor points out that the rest of the Institute doesn't entirely agree with his methods, he smugly responds that they don't ''have'' to agree with him, as he's seized control of the [[BoringYetPractical Institute's food supply]]: Now, if they want to be able to eat, the Institute will ''have'' take his opinions into account now - whether they actually want to or not.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He's right to be concerned about the Institute's [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer over-reliance on Synths]]. However, his fears are more based on it rendering the Institute's scientists [[CreativeSterility lazy and unimaginative]] (which ''is'' actually a pretty fair concern), rather than the possibility of Synths [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters revolting against the Institute]].
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: With enough Charisma, the Sole Survivor can convince Higgs to give them a chance at running the Institute, leading him and Loken to peacefully stand down.
* TakeAThirdOption: The Sole Survivor can either defuse Higgs and Loken's attempted revolt by either hacking a terminal so as to lift their lockdown and [[KillEmAll murder them both]], sneak through the [[spoiler:abandoned [=FEV=] lab]] so as to kill them in a ''different'' way, [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath peacefully talk Higgs and Loken down]] so that they will support you in [[spoiler:becoming the new Director]]...''or'' releasing the [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Synth Gorillas]] in the [=BioScience=] division, whereupon they immediately kill both Loken and Higgs.
** Relatedly, the Sole Survivor is given four different options by Newton Oberly on how to punish Loken and Higgs if they surrender to be placed under house arrest: they can be [[TheExile exiled to the Wasteland]], [[YouHaveFailedMe executed]], [[KarmaHoudini sent back to work with no reprimand]], or carefully monitored but allowed to return to work. [[TokenEvilTeammate X6-88]] approves [[[[PragmaticVillainy of the lattermost option and disapproves of execution & exile, by the way]].
* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: He lampshades this if you let him stay around the Institute, with him snarking that the Sole Survivor shouldn't gloat about letting him live & defeating him.

[[folder:Allie Filmore]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/allie_filmore_fo4.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Ellen Dubin

Head of the Facilities division of the Institute.

* BadassBookworm: She's not all that fond of going to the surface, but she will do it.
* GuestStarPartyMember: She offers to accompany you during the mission to get the Beryllium agitator to make sure the device is in safe hands. However, you can tell her to not come, though she'll be somewhat insulted.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Despite her distrust, she'll come around to the Sole Survivor if they work together well.
* HappilyMarried: To her husband Nathan.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: She doesn't trust the Sole Survivor initially. If you work with her, she grows out of it, and supports you.

[[folder:Justin Ayo]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/justin_ayo_fo4.jpg]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Matthew Yang King

Acting Director of the Synth Retention Bureau in the Institute.

* AmbitionIsEvil: He's one of the darker members of the Institute, and many note he's using his position to further his goals.
* CallBack: He's only the ''Acting'' Director of the [=SRB=] since [[VideoGame/Fallout3 Dr. Zimmer]] is ''still'' personally taking care of a Synth "re-acquisition" back in the Capital Wasteland.
* DarkIsEvil: His lab coat is black, and he's definitely one of the darker/more villainous members of the Institute.
* FrameUp: You can [[spoiler:frame Justin as a member of the Railroad instead of the guilty culprit]].
* NumberTwo: He was this, as Director Zimmer is technically charge. But Zimmer is down in the [[VideoGame/Fallout3 Capital Wasteland]], so Justin's in charge until he gets back.
* StealthInsult: Much of what he says insults the Sole Survivor's intelligence. You can call him on this and even X6-88 will admonish him on it.
-->'''Sole Survivor''': Don't patronize me, pencilneck.
-->'''X6-88''': Don't forget who you are talking to, doctor.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Father]]

See: [[Characters/Fallout4ProtagonistAndFamily Sole Survivor and Family]] for more details.

!!Institute Members