History Fallout4 / TropesJToP

** [[AbsoluteXenophobe The East Coast Brotherhood of Steel]] under [[AFatherToHisMen Elder]] [[NobleBigot Maxson]] have a rather unnerving streak of {{Fantastic Racism}} a mile wide towards [[ProudWarriorRace Super Mutants]], [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Ghouls]], [[ArtificialHumans Synths]], and [[AIIsACrapshoot intelligent A.I.]]. However, the vast majority of [=BoS=] members (most notably Elder Maxson himself) are shown to hail from [[VideoGame/Fallout3 the Capital Wasteland]], one of the most hostile [[DeathWorld Death Worlds]] seen in the entire series. Further elaborating on that, the reason why the Capital Wasteland is such a {{Crapsack World}} is because it's been constantly run roughshod over (until the [=BoS=] arrived) by [[TechnicallyLivingZombie Feral Ghouls]], [[ImAHumanitarian Vault 87 Super Mutants]], and [[KillerRobot malfunctioning robots]] for the last two centuries. Considering all ''that'', it's not a surprise they have no love for mutated humans and self-aware [=A.I.s=].

*** There was an NCR-like organization called the Commonwealth Provisional Government, which was going to help the various groups rebuild. Each group sent a representative. [[spoiler: The Institute sent a [[KillAndReplace synth]] to represent themselves... and it [[http://fallout.gamepedia.com/Massacre_of_the_Commonwealth_Provisional_Government killed the other representatives]]. Possibly subverted since the Institute claims the deaths were due to infighting, and due to too many [[UnreliableNarrator Unreliable Narrators]] [[WrittenByTheWinners on both sides]], [[AmbiguousSituation we don't really know which one is right anymore]]]].

* [[invoked]] LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition:
** The Pip-Boy Edition, which comes with a wearable Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV, a stand for said Pip-Boy, a Pip-Boy Pocket Guide, a Vault-Tec Perk poster, the game itself in a steelbook case, all in a [=RobCo=] capsule case. Similar to what happened with ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'', the Pip-Boy Edition completely sold out: the sheer number of people ordering the damn thing caused ''[[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fallout-4-studio-cannot-make-any-more-pip-boy-coll/1100-6429223/ the factory making them to hit their production limit]]''!
** There's a very limited ''Fallout 4''-themed Xbox One appropriately named the "Pip-Box". It looks like the Pip-boy ''2000'' from the original games.

** Settlements. They can be a huge investment in time, resources and perks that could be spent on more direct character upgrades. But if you make that investment, what you'll have is a vast network of heavily defended hubs filled with traders and settlers, continuously producing vast supplies of food, scrap and caps. The former of which can be used to create an unlimited supply of [[CommonplaceRare adhesive]], or simply used to swamp vendors in huge piles of Mutfruit so you can [[SubvertedTrope laugh maniacally in]] [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts Adam Smith's]] face. During the Minuteman quest line you gain access to producing artillery for each settlement. Having each settlement have an artillery piece means you can safely shell hardened positions at a distance and with the maxed-out Explosive Expert perk, you can tell where your flares are going and have the shells hit twice as hard. [[spoiler: This also means that the Minutemen are also the ''only'' group with anti-air capability ''and'' the command structure to make good on it as the Brotherhood learn with the fall of ''The Prydwen''.]]

** [[invoked]] The mole rats in Vault 81 are diseased, and if they hit the player ([[GameBreakingBug or their companions, or the Protectron if activated]]), they transmit the disease. It permanently reduces the player's max health by ten points unless cured, and there's only one cure. [[SadisticChoice If you use it, you have to let a child who's also infected die.]]

* MiniGame: [[invoked]] There are some holotapes hidden in the game that contain minigames playable on computer terminals and your Pip-Boy, including ''Red Menace'' (which is essentially ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''), ''Atomic Command'' (''VideoGame/MissileCommand''), ''Pipfall'' (''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}'', [[SerialNumbersFiledOff natch]]), ''Zeta Invaders'' (''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders''), and ''Grognak & the Ruby Ruins'' (an old computer RPG in a similar vein to ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland}}''). The ''Automatron'' DLC adds another game of the same name, which plays like ''VideoGame/{{Robotron 2084}}''.

* MonsterAndTheMaiden: Female [[PlayerCharacter Sole Survivor]] can travel with a robot named [[BattleButler Codsworth]], a ghoul [[TheCasanova Hancock]], a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy supermutant]] [[DumbMuscle Strong]] or synths [[CulturedBadass Nick Valentine]], [[SuperSoldier X6-88]] or [[spoiler:[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Paladin Danse]].]]
*** In the "Far Harbor" [=DLC=], Sole Survivor and the synth Nick Valentine work together to solve the case of a missing girl.

** [[FortuneTeller Mama Murphy's]] [[FunctionalMagic psychic visions]] tell her that Dogmeat has a habit of finding worthy soldiers and leading them where they're needed. Given that every Dogmeat in the series is (somehow) a direct descendant of the first Dogmeat, Mama Murphy probably knows how important his lineage is.

** The character generation starts with a Pre-War rush to get to a Vault, like the tech demo for ''VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren''.
*** On the note of ''Van Buren'', it was supposed to reveal that the earliest versions of Power Armor originally ran on small energy cells, but ended up draining them ridiculously fast. Just replace "small energy cell" with "fusion core", and you have your ''Fallout 4'' Power Armor.
*** Acadia in the ''Far Harbor'' DLC, and the associated quest to find more memory storage for [=DiMA=], both resemble ''Van Buren's'' [[http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Boulder_Dome Boulder Dome]] and its quest to find the ZAX computer more memory.

** [[AffablyEvil Porter]] [[TokenEvilTeammate Gage]] calls Mirelurks "Mudcrabs" in a reference to ''Fallout's'' sister series, ''[[Franchise/TheElderScrolls The Elder Scrolls]]''.
** [[invoked]]The [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure relationship]] between the [[WeHelpTheHelpless Commonwealth Minutemen]] and the [[DeterminedHomesteader Settlers]] they protect is heavily based after that of the Desert Rangers from the original ''{{VideoGame/Wasteland}}''. The ''Fallout'' series was created as a {{Spiritual Successor}} to ''Wasteland''.

* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Averted if you have Power Armor. In some of the skyscrapers, players often amuse themselves by jumping off the top. Or waiting for a band of Raiders and Feral Ghouls to pass through down below and do a DynamicEntry on the rabble.
** Reading terminals on the ''Prydwen'' will mention that the Brotherhood [[NotSoAboveItAll has turned this]] [[MundaneUtility into a game]], involving jumping off said airship.

** A [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Super]] [[SuperSoldier Mutant]] companion: [[NobleDemon Strong]], a Super Mutant [[DefectorFromDecadence Defector From Decadence]] [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext redeemed through the works of William Shakespeare]], [[TokenEvilTeammate but]] [[BloodKnight who]] [[DumbMuscle still]] [[ImAHumanitarian has]] a ''long'' ways to go before he's truly civilized. [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Granted]], he's at least ''trying''...
** A [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Ghoul]] companion: [[DeadpanSnarker John]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer Hancock]], the [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure mayor]] of [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters Goodneighbor]] who has a liking for both [[PayEvilUntoEvil cutting would-be tyrants down to size]] and [[FunctionalAddict taking enough chems at once to be able to smell colors]].

** A [[TheOrder Brotherhood of Steel]] companion: [[NobleBigot Paladin]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Danse]], who was originally sent as part of a scouting mission to the Commonwealth several years beforehand, and now serves as the [[PlayerCharacter Sole Survivor's]] sponsor into the Brotherhood.

* ParanoiaFuel: In-Universe. The constant fear over family members and friends being [[KillAndReplace replaced]] with [[TheConspiracy Institute]] [[ArtificialHumans Synth]] infiltrators keeps the Commonwealth in a state of paranoia. [[OhCrap This also]] [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration counts the player's/Minutemen's Settlements]]. It gets worse when you start poking around through Institute terminals and find that they've made synthetic ''birds'', which they use as living spy drones. The Institute, literally, has eyes and ears everywhere.

** While [[NobleBigot Elder]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Maxson]]'s [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech vicious rant]] [[spoiler: when confronting [[TomatoInTheMirror Paladin Danse]] is at first a straight-forward [[KickTheDog Kick The Dog]] moment]], he can be talked down and [[spoiler: convinced to simply [[TheExile exile Danse]] from the Brotherhood instead of having him executed]].

-->'''Protagonist:''' Ready to ''fuck some shit up?'' (to their trusty CanineCompanion in the pre-release trailer)
-->'''Protagonist:''' Fuck you, [[spoiler:Kellogg]]!
-->'''Protagonist:''' Where the fuck is my son, you bastard?! (also to [[spoiler:Kellogg]], [[ClusterFBomb in the same conversation]])
-->'''Protagonist:''' RAAAAGH! ''Fucking kill!'' (when taking [[DrugsAreBad Psycho]])
* PreferableImpersonator: One quest revolves around [[ForScience The Institute]] [[KillAndReplace Killing and Replacing]] a homesteader with a Synth. The original homesteader was a belligerent drunk who beat his wife and kids, and although they don't know the reason why, his kids will tell you that he suddenly became a lot nicer a short time ago.

Fallout4/TropesAToC | Fallout4/TropesDToI | '''TropesJ to P''' | Fallout4/TropesQToZ]]]]-]

[[Fallout4/TropesAToC Tropes A-C]] | [[Fallout4/TropesDToI Tropes D-I]] | '''Tropes J-P''' | [[Fallout4/TropesQToZ Tropes Q-Z]]
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!!!''VideoGame/Fallout4'' provides examples of the following tropes:

** [[spoiler: Leaving the Sole Survivor in Vault 111 even after they had human-looking Synths by 2229, only two years after taking Shaun. Even Father admits there was no reason for keeping them there for so long.]]

*** All the ingredients for Jet Fuel can be purchased in Diamond City, and the Jet Fuel can then be sold for more ingredients, so MontyHaul also applies to levelling up.

* MontyHaul: The ''Vault Tec Workshop'' DLC, which adds Vault 88 to the game. A short questline has you aid the Overseer in recruiting residents to the Vault and then conducting a variety of experiments on them. Each experiment mission follows the pattern of "build an experimental object, set a parameter on it, and test it on a resident". Only one of the four experiment missions even requires that you leave the Vault, while all four pay out a base of 350xp upon completion. (An experience payout comparable to ''main quest missions'' which are all far more involved.) In addition to the experience rewards, Vault 88 has an epic amount of settlement salvage which will leave you wanting for very few building materials for the rest of the game (including rare Nuclear Material due to the Vault's plentiful uranium deposits). Additionally, after completing the experiments, you can build new happiness-increasing technology at all of your settlements. (If you chose the least reprehensible experiment options for each, there is literally no downside to building them either.) Finally, upon taking over as Overseer at the end of the quest line, you can use the Overseer's Terminal to gain a semi-permanent +1 increase to your Intelligence.

* MolotovCocktail: One of the available grenades (and the only one that can be built without taking ranks of the Demolitions perk), and unlike in ''New Vegas'', it will detonate on impact and will burn the ground for a short time. It's also far more realistic in regards to making them; you need to use actual oil to make it rather than alcohol. Still no regards to characters reaction to the heat of the bottle, though...

** In Survival, old bugs (such as companions teleporting and falling off buildings due to pathfinding errors) become a lot harsher, because their results are a lot harder to deal with. For example, companions love to fall into inaccessible locations, and in Survival, this means they cannot be revived and continue tralelling with the player. They will eventually teleport home - often carrying important equipment away, so the player is forced to break off whatever they were doing, and stomp across the map to get their companin (and loot) back.
** In survival, new bugs (such as VATS occasionally freezing the game solid) require fixing with mods. If playing vanilla, no mods, the player is forced to play a zero VATS game, which deprecates all the related perks (most of luck, perception and agility).

** In Survival, old bugs (such as companions teleporting and falling off buildings due to pathfinding errors) become a lot harsher, because their results are a lot harder to deal with. For example, dogmeat loves to fall into an inaccessible locations, and in Survival, this means he cannot be revived and continue tralelling with the player. He will eventually teleport home - often carrying important equipment away.
** In survival, new bugs (such as VATS occasionally freezing the game solid) require fixing with mods. If playing vanilla, the player is forced to adopt completely different gameplay, which deprecates all the related perks (most of luck, perception and agility).

* NintendoHard: Besides the five main difficulties of Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard, there's Survival, which a recent patch has transformed from a HarderThanHard difficulty level into a downright ''brutal'' new mode. In Survival mode, you can only save by sleeping in a bed, fast travel is disabled, carry weight is harshly reduced (and ammo now has weight), enemies no longer show up on your compass, you have to regularly eat/drink/sleep or else face severe stat penalties, companions will return home if they're downed and not healed, you must contend with a slew of all-new infections and sicknesses (which chems and Stimpaks make you even ''more'' susceptible to), and damage from all sources - including you - is greatly amplified. Old bugs, like companions teleporting due to pathfinding limitations, then falling off buildings, become a lot harsher, because their results are a lot harder to deal with. For example a companion may fall into an inaccessible location, where they cannot be revived, and ten will teleport home, carrying important equipment away. New bugs (VATS simply freezing the game solid) require either mods or for the gamer to adopt completely different gameplay. ''New Vegas'''s Survival mode is an absolute cakewalk in comparison.

* NintendoHard: Besides the five main difficulties of Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard, there's Survival, which a recent patch has transformed from a HarderThanHard difficulty level into a downright ''brutal'' new mode. In Survival mode, you can only save by sleeping in a bed, fast travel is disabled, carry weight is harshly reduced (and ammo now has weight), enemies no longer show up on your compass, you have to regularly eat/drink/sleep or else face severe stat penalties, companions will return home if they're downed and not healed, you must contend with a slew of all-new infections and sicknesses (which chems and Stimpaks make you even ''more'' susceptible to), and damage from all sources - including you - is greatly amplified. ''New Vegas'''s Survival mode is an absolute cakewalk in comparison.

** Survival Mode (particularly if playing vanillam, no mods) destroys some attributes and elevates others. e.g. VATS has is game-freezing bugs, so all related skills become useless. Chemist is boosted to being nearly-essential, since you character requires more frequent dosing, and fast-travel to doctors is no longer possible.

* Survival Mode (particularly if playing vanillam, no mods) destroys some attributes and elevates others. e.g. VATS has is game-freezing bugs, so all related skills become useless. Chemist becomes near-essential, since you character becomes a lot more frail, requires more frequent dosing, and fast-travel to a doctor is no longer possible.

* PlayingPossum: Feral Ghouls can often be found pretending to be corpses, often lying near actual corpses, only to get up when the player approaches. This has he benefit of allowing a fast or sneaky player to kill one before it can retaliate. However, where there's one there's usually two or three more, and you usually won't catch all of them in time. This becomes a lot easier to deal with if you have power armor fitted with a targeting HUD mod for your helmet, since the ghouls playing possum will be glowing red and you can easily pick them off.

* PowerupLetdown: The second level of the Sniper perk gives you a chance to knock down enemies when you hit them with a scoped, non-automatic rifle. Not bad in theory. However, when using VATS, a knockdown on one of the first shots can cause the enemy fall out of sight, meaning the remaining shots will all miss. Worse, the third level of the perk gives a whopping +25% accuracy to headshots in VATS, encouraging its use. It's incredibly frustrating when you could easily drop a powerful foe with a couple of headshots only to knock it down, causing the rest of th shots to miss, wasting your AP, and causing it to aggro.

* OffscreenTeleportation: Your companions will do this to catch up to you if you wander too far away from them. Hilariously they can also spawn in mid-air if you're exploring the roof of a tall building, and fall to the ground, though thankfully this doesn't kill them. Keep in mind enemies and NPC's are capable of this as well, if you're far enough from them, and not looking at them at the moment, which may allow enemies to bypass some of your defenses in your settlements.

* LastDayOfNormalcy:it begins with the PlayerCharacter, their HappilyMarried spouse and their baby son Shawn, going through the motions on a typical morning for a suburban American family. The morning in question is October 23rd 2077, the day the People's Republic of China declared war on America with a massive co-ordinated nuclear bombardment.

* NightmarishNursery: Trinity Church has an nursery in the basement; it's long since abandoned by human occupants, with filthy furniture, an empty crib, and a hole in the ceiling. Given the fact that there are no humans in sight, and the only living beings in the church are Supermutants, one can only speculate about [[ToServeMan what happened to whoever lived there]]. All of your companions will comment about the place being sad or grim, with the young father [=MacCready=] even shedding a tear.

** Using mods on the console versions of the game disables Achievements/Trophies. Fair enough. However, because all three versions are essentially the same build, having mods installed on the PC version disables Steam achievements. That said, there is a [[http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/12465 mod]] that re-enables them for people with mods installed, but it's PC version only due to requiring the ''Fallout 4 Script Extender'' to function.
** This is averted for PC console commands, however, where spawnig items, {{One Hit Kill}}ing enemies, and activating GodMode does not disable achievements for the current session. That said, [[HarderThanHard Survival Mode]] has some coding that prevents access to the console alongside disabling commands used before turning it on, so that players can't get bragging rights for "surviving" by cheating the "survival" part.
* NoEndorHolocaust: Blowing up the Institute will leave a huge irradiated crater where the C.I.T. ruins and its surrounding buildings used to be, but neither the Cambridge Police station nor the civilians right on the other side of the river will be affected by the nuclear detonation at their doorstep.
* NoEntrance: Despite most of the Commonwealth looking for signs of one for decades, an entrance to The Institute was never found, and the only remnants of the original Commonwealth Institute of Technology are bombed-out ruins. [[spoiler: That's because The Institute has no physical entrances. Getting in requires teleporting in and out several hundred feet below ground.]]

* NoFairCheating: Using mods on the console versions of the game disables Achievements/Trophies. Fair enough. However, because all three versions are essentially the same build, having mods installed on the PC version disables Steam achievements. That said, there is a [[http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/12465 mod]] that re-enables them for people with mods installed, but it's PC version only due to requiring the ''Fallout 4 Script Extender'' to function.
** This is averted however, when it comes to console commands on the PC version. Of course, New Vegas attempted to block achievements whenever console commands were used, but as it only applied to the current session, there was nothing stopping a cheater from using the console to make their character a virtual god, saving, then closing the game, only to open it up, load the game, and continue on from there.