History Fallout4 / TropesJToP

** The Institute Gen 1 and 2 Synths, [[KillAndReplace along with the Gen 3s]]. As a focused example, the [[OneManArmy Courser]] class Synths are basically Terminators: they are different from the other Synths as they have sophisticated human disguises (not that they're really ''meant'' to hide, since they're MadeOfIron {{Super Soldier}}s that live ''pretty'' far in the [[UncannyValley Uncanny Valley]]). They're also hunters that are dispatched by the Institute if they need someone dead or something goes wrong for them.

* NecessaryWeasel: Like the Capital Wasteland, the entire Boston area has no real greenery in it 210 years after the Great War because it's a staple of ''Fallout'' games to be set in barren brown wastelands full of dead trees. Most other forms of plantlife, however, like grasses and corn, have adapted pretty well to the post-apocalyptic world.
** However, if you look around, this is actually averted. While most of the trees in the Commonwealth have no leaves, dead leaves on the ground show that the trees ''do'' grow, it just doesn't look like it since the game starts out in autumn and engine limitations wouldn't allow the trees to change over the year's course.

* NuclearNasty: ''Fallout 4'' features many of the same grotesquely mutated creatures from previous games, such as giant Mole Rats, Yao Guai, Deathclaws, Radroaches, Bloatflies, Ghouls, and Super Mutants. It also introduces two ''new'' creatures - the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Bloodbug]], a monstrous insect mutated from the common mosquito, and the Stingwing, a giant, mutated, actually venomous scorpionfly.

** A quest in ''Far Harbor'' will make you fight a [[UpToEleven Legendary Mirelurk Queen]]. There is also Shipbreaker, a Legendary Fog Crawler.

* LightningBruiser: Wearing upgraded Power Armor with a heavy hitting weapon will turn you into this. Unfortunately the reverse is true, as enemies wearing Power Armor will generally be tougher to deal with, especially early on. Fitting the legs with overdrive actuators drives this trope UpToEleven, as it makes a power armor suit frighteningly fast while sprinting.

** The Big Boy is a unique Fat Man launcher which fires two mini nukes at the cost of one. And if you combine it with the MIRV mod, the Big Boy MIRV fires '''[[UpToEleven 12]]''' nukes at once, it is in doubt if anything can survive that. (Including you. It sets them off at about half of the maximum flight distance, far too close for comfort.)

** If you mod a weapon in Creation Kit, you can decide how many projectiles to fire from your original weapons, if it happened to fire 12 missiles per shot, be it with a standard Missile Launcher, Broadsider, or a [[UpToEleven Minigun]]...

** Taken UpToEleven at the [=HalluciGen, Inc=] location, where chemical leaks have caused a group of Gunners looting the place to hallucinate and turn on each other. You can hear their terrified gibbering as you move throughout the building, and can even come across a living Gunner so out of it that he's not hostile - because he's far too horrified by whatever he's seeing in his mind.

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Many radiation and energy weapons, such as the Gamma Gun and Gauss Rifle respectively, will ''appear'' to have massive damage, but so many enemies are resistant to those damage types and their resistances are so high that there's little point. They also tend not to benefit from sneak bonuses to base damage and crit, as most weapons of these types cannot be modified with silencers.

* MakeSureHesDead: Encouraged with Feral Ghouls, as some of them play dead or lie under objects to pop out as you pass by. Confirmation shots on any suspicious looking bodies can trigger or kill them from a more manageable distance, preventing them from getting the drop on you. Pulling up VATS will also target ghouls just playing dead.

* NiceHat: While there are plenty of nice hats, there are none quite so nice as that of the captain of the U.S.S. Constitution, a Sentry Bot with a period naval hat befitting the ship he commands.

** The game's Vault jumpsuits are closer to the tight spandex design of the first two games, rather than the baggier boilersuit designs of ''Fallout 3'' and ''New Vegas''.

** 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 is generally seen as the {{Spiritual Successor}} to ''Wasteland''.
** [[invoked]] Looking at The Art of Fallout 4 will show that the design of the [[DemonicSpiders Fog Crawler]] in ''Far Harbor'' is based on a DummiedOut design for the [[GiantMook Mirelurk Queen]].

** John Hancock wants Sinjin to "take a [[DeadlyEuphemism dirt nap]]", referencing [[VideoGame/Fallout1 Set]] trying to establish his own [[PardonMyKlingon ghoul subculture]].

* NotCompletelyUseless: Subway tokens can't be used for crafting and aren't even very good ShopFodder thanks to their 1:1 exchange rate, but they can be used to placate the Protectrons found in the tube system, saving you some ammo from having to blow them away.

* NotCompletelyUseless: Subway tokens can't be used for crafting and aren't even very good ShopFodder thanks to their 1:1 exchange rate, but they can be used to placate the Protectrons found in the tube system, saving you some ammo from having to blow them away.

** [[AbsoluteXenophobe The Brotherhood of Steel]] fancy themselves the wasteland's BigGood, the Commonwealth's only bastion against evil, and humanity's last hope for survival. In reality, they can't even figure out how tons of supplies manage to disappear from their stockpiles without anyone being the wiser. Hell, many of them refuse to believe the supplies actually ''are'' vanishing; [[SarcasmMode those inspired individuals]] blame sloppy accounting for the discrepancies. [[AllUpToYou It again needs an outsider]] to uncover that [[spoiler:one of their own initiates is nicking food by the pallet to feed some Feral Ghouls below the airport they use as their main base, right under their collective noses.]]

* OnlySaneMan: While they can be sarcastic, questioning, or pleasant, the Sole Survivor tends to act in a very calm and subdued manner compared to just about everyone else around them. Likewise, their complaints and insults tend to be right on the money for how bizarre and idiotic a lot of the post-Great War stuff around them is. For example, one of the player characters responses is to call Moe a dumbass after Moe explains that baseball used to be played by teams beating each other to death with "swatters." When not making a choice, they tend to be a calm and pleasant person, offput by the utter weirdos surrounding them. Given they're the only survivor of the Pre-War era except for ghouls, [[BrainInAJars Brains In Jars]], Mister House, [[spoiler: the Cabot family, John-Caleb Bradberton]], and Stanislaus Braun, this shouldn't be surprising.

** A new [[IconicOutfit Iconic Outfit]] (two, actually - [[BadassLongcoat The Silver Shroud costume]] In-Universe, and the Vault 111 jumpsuit on a meta level) and model of [[PoweredArmor Power Armor]] (the T-60) make their first appearances.

* OnlySaneMan: While they can be sarcastic, questioning, or pleasant, the Sole Survivor tends to act in a very calm and subdued manner compared to just about everyone else around them. Likewise, their complaints and insults tend to be right on the money for how bizarre and idiotic a lot of the post-Great War stuff around them is. For example, one of the player characters responses is to call Moe a dumbass after Moe explains that baseball used to be played by teams beating each other to death with "swatters." When not making a choice, they tend to be a calm and pleasant person, offput by the utter weirdos surrounding them. Given they're the only survivor of the Pre-War era except for ghouls, Mister House, [[spoiler: Cabot]], and Braun, this shouldn't be surprising.

* 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.]]

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Downplayed, but part of in-game lore is that [[ArtificialHuman Synths]] can't age (or at the very least age incredibly slowly in comparison to "normal" humans). Due to both the limits of the game engine and the fact that the game's events likely only take place over the course of a few years at the most, ''no'' characters in the entire game -- Synth or otherwise -- visibly age [[spoiler:[[GameplayAndStoryIntegration with the possible exceptions]] of Jack and Emogene Cabot after the loss of their [[SuperSerum immortality serum]] with Lorenzo's death]].

** Reading terminals on the Prydwen will mention that the Brotherhood has turned this into a game, involving jumping off said airship.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81zfu3d1jYs Your companions almost universally]] freak when confronted with an Assaultron:
-->'''Hancock:''' Hey there [[{{Fembot}} beautifu]]... Oh shit! Assaultron!
-->'''[=MacCready=]:''' Assaultron! Take cover!
-->'''Danse:''' Assaultron! Watch for heavy fire!
-->'''Cait:''' Who built shite like this?!
-->'''Deacon:''' Assaultron... not good.
-->'''Piper:''' Hey, Assaultron over here! Watch yourself!
-->'''Preston:''' Look out for the eye laser, it packs a punch!

* PersonalSpaceInvader: Bloodbugs can grab ahold of people from the front and then suck out blood through their probosces.

** Diamond City Security, though well-meaning and not really at fault themselves, is incapable of handling anything worse than a bar brawl. They're forbidden from investigating the numerous counts of missing citizens by order of the mayor himself ([[spoiler:both because he's [[TheMole an Institute agent]] and an all-around {{Jerkass}}]]), so if one of your loved ones suddenly disappears, you're on your own. If one of your loved ones suddenly shows even the ''slightest'' bit of odd behaviour, chances are either him/her or yourself get shot dead by DC guards in their attempt to maintain the illusion of normalcy. These guys don't fare much better [[RedshirtArmy against open assaults on the city either]], seeing how the territory around Diamond City is held by [[TheBrute Super Mutants]] and a couple of [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Raider]] gangs. In fact, an important part of the game's backstory involves the "Battle of Diamond City," where the [[WeHelpTheHelpless Commonwealth Minutemen]] pulled a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Heroes]] moment and saved the whole city from a huge horde of Super Mutants, putting themselves on the map largely due to the DC guard's incompetence. DC guards only carry weak pipe guns at best and rely on ancient baseball gear for protection, so while they can hold their ground in the beginning, they invariably get slaughtered in droves once the more powerful enemy types show up.

-->'''Protagonist:''' Where the fuck is my son, you bastard? (also to [[spoiler:Kellogg]], [[ClusterFBomb in the same conversation]])

* {{Prequel}}: Subverted. The game appears to be this way for the first half-hour (just before the Great War nukes obliterate the world). However, once you're brought into a cryogenic stasis chamber for purification, you remain stuck in there till 10 years after ''Fallout 3.''

* 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.
** As you progress through the main quest, [[spoiler:you have to have Nick Valentine probe through Kellogg's memories. After you finish, the first thing Nick says to you is "I should have killed you when I had the chance" in Kellogg's voice. It's never brought up again, but for the rest of the game you'll be left wondering if the psycho who murdered your spouse is lurking somewhere within the Synth detective's mind, waiting for his chance to get revenge from beyond the grave...]]

* LamePunReaction: [=MacCready=] elicits one next to Henry David Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond.

** The Institute ''[[NotSoDifferent also]]'' believe Synths are just machines, albeit ones that should remain under ''their'' [[ManipulativeBastard control]].

* NotSoDifferent:
** The Brotherhood of Steel under Elder Maxson's command have since reverted to their old traditional beliefs utilized by the original West Coast chapter (though they still recruit Wastelanders much like their counterparts from both ''Tactics'' and ''3'') and, with their heightened FantasticRacism towards non-humans as well as their newly acquired technology after the events of ''3'', are getting [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope dangerously close]] to becoming another Enclave.
*** More specifically, Elder Arthur Maxson shares numerous similarities and differences with Colonel Augustus Autumn. 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 [[BadassLongcoat Badass Longcoats]]. However, they still differ by Maxson [[PetTheDog trying to maintain a neutral relationship with Wastelanders]] instead of Autumn [[KickTheDog just shooting them on sight for crossing his path]]. Maxson is also never [[StupidEvil cruel for cruelty's sake]], [[IGaveMyWord keeps his word when he gives it]], and [[TookALevelInKindness can be sometimes convinced to be more compassionate]] by a [[GuileHero charismatic Sole Survivor]]. Autumn, by contrast, [[ShootTheHostage randomly shot hostages to make a point]] and had a habit of pulling [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]].
*** The main difference between the two is the Brotherhood is against any non-human that threatens the life of humans - and especially if the non-human is the result of humans playing God. Their belief that it was the irresponsible use of technology that nearly led to the extinction of the human race, is a huge factor in this. It comes as no surprise that they view Super Mutants and Synths as crimes against nature. While feral Ghouls are acceptable targets - due to how dangerous they are, the FantasticRacism can be played straight on an individual basis, with normal Ghouls. The Enclave, on the other hand, took this human purity UpToEleven. Not only did they hate anything that wasn't human, they even hated humans who have had their "purity" altered by only two or three generations of ambient radiation.
*** The Enclave is made up of the descendants from the same lovely government that thought the vault experiments, FEV, and Robobrain projects were a great idea. So, not only do they believe they're the rightful rulers and citizens of what used to be the United States, but they also believe that everybody currently living there, is just as disposable. The Brotherhood on the other hand, basically believes that it's their duty to clean up the results of The Great War and the FEV experiments, and to prevent any further irresponsible use of technology that could threaten humanity. Most of the time, this is considered pretty noble. Nobody's going to shed a tear over fewer super mutants and ferals. However, the Brotherhood doesn't really put much effort into telling the difference between ferals and sentient ghouls, and Synths simply illustrate the one major flaw in their beliefs. After all, they're both a case of science going too far, and a threat to humanity. But they're also basically human beings themselves.
** Of all things, this can happen between the player ''and a Deathclaw''. [[spoiler:The Museum of Witchcraft contains a leveled Deathclaw, which, after it's probably killed by the player, has an unhatched Deathclaw Egg nearby. If the player chooses to return the egg, they're put in a similar situation to the Deathclaw at the nest- having their spouse killed and their child kidnapped (and found again).]]
** Likewise, potentially between you and [[spoiler:Kellogg, who also suffered the loss of his wife and child after being helpless to protect them; the key difference is that instead of bouncing back, he let his depression get the best of him and became a completely cold-hearted killer. One of the dialog options after seeing this is to lampshade it and decide whether or not you want to cut him a little slack.]]
** The East Coast Brotherhood of Steel and the Institute themselves are more similar than either faction would be comfortable to admit. Both factions rely on superior technology and limiting interaction with the locals (In the Institute's case they're the Commonwealth's boogeymen, in the Brotherhood it is mentioned that unauthorized fraternizing with Wastelanders is a ''punishable offense''), both believe they're the best hope for the Commonwealth (and by extension, the rest of the post-apocalyptic world}, and both see Synths as less than human - though in the Brotherhood's case they see them as abominations to be exterminated while the Institute sees them as mere tools with no actual free will.
** The Institute bears a worrying amount of similarities to [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Caesar's Legion]]. On the one hand, they're at complete opposite sides of the tech spectrum (the Institute are a cabal of {{Mad Scientist}}s and the Legion are textbook {{Evil Luddite}}s), and the Legion is happier with [[TheEmpire naked military conquest]] while the Institute's [[WeakButSkilled lack of resources]] means [[TheConspiracy they have to rely on more subtle methods of control]]. On the other hand, both societies are heavily reliant on slave labor, with their military and work forces being [[WeHaveReserves seen as expendable]]. Both also display a [[SmugSnake high-minded contempt for both outsiders]] [[FantasticRacism and those they deem as "primitive"]], and are fans of [[LetThePastBurn annihilating the past and cultural identities]] of the [[YouWillBeAssimilated peoples they conquer/rule over]]. They also [[PragmaticVillainy incorporate the more useful elements/peoples of the societies they conquer]] - Caesar recruited numerous members of the Denver Hangdog tribe for use as hound-masters, and the Institute will accept skilled Wastelanders into their organization. Finally, they both have the capability of [[TheSpymaster infiltrating and subverting enemy organizations]] [[ManipulativeBastard with a disturbing amount of ease]].
** [[TheParagon The Commonwealth Minutemen]] share many similarities with [[TheFederation the New California Republic]]. Both are ([[ALighterShadeOfGrey largely]]) benevolent organizations [[MugglePower made up of ordinary Wastelanders]] that evoke [[PatrioticFervor optimistic and benevolent memories]] of the Pre-War United States. Both are also handicapped by [[ObstructiveBureaucracy awkward command structures]] that impede their progress in important regions (the Commonwealth and Mojave, respectively). They also started out as [[ButtMonkey the weak alliances of a few small settlements]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare that become something much more powerful over time]].

** The presence of the Brotherhood of Steel, and a different interpretation of their organization: Here, not only is the East Coast Brotherhood, but they've become [[PrinciplesZealot Principles Zealots]] and are getting [[NotSoDifferent dangerously close]] to [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Enclave]] in levels of [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racism]]. However, they still have [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]] and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything recruit Wastelanders in a style similar]] to medieval apprenticeship.