Fallout 4: 8 Best Character Designs

Highlights

• Fallout 4 introduces a diverse roster of Bostonian characters, from the corrupt Mayor McDonough to the relentless journalist Piper Wright.
• Tinker Tom, the eccentric repairman in the Railroad Faction, stands out with his unique appearance and nickname in Fallout 4.
• DiMA, the prototype Synth central to the Far Harbor DLC, presents players with a challenging puzzle quest and a mysterious past to uncover.

The Fallout series is known for its memorable characters and settings. As with each installment, Fallout 4 is no different and introduces an array of Bostonian characters, as well as the humanoid robots known as Synths, who are often indistinguishable from regular people. From villainous enemies central to the main questline to lesser involved NPCs, the world of Fallout 4 features a range of characters who players are sure to remember.

Throughout the Commonwealth, players will encounter various factions and settlements, each populated with unique individuals with their own styles and attributes. However, some individuals in Fallout 4 manage to stand out from the crowd thanks to how memorable their designs are. The following list takes into account the overall presentation and design of these characters, as well as how suitable their outward appearance is when compared to their personal temperament.

8 Mayor McDonough

The Crooked Mayor Of Diamond City Harbors Many Secrets Beneath His Hat

• Quests: Jewel of the Commonwealth, Getting a Clue, In Sheep’s Clothing, Political Leanings

Few characters in the Commonwealth are quite as corrupt and crooked as Diamond City’s mayor, McDonough. Like most characters in the game, there is more to the mayor than meets the eye. His appearance is, however, suggestive of the type of 40s-era capitalist that he is.

Players will encounter the mayor in several quests, including quite early on in the game’s story. The side quest “In Sheep’s Clothing” reveals more about his past, though, to access it, players will need to have completed the main questline first.

7 Piper Wright

The Diamond City Journalist Is A Popular Companion

• Quests: Jewel of the Commonwealth, Getting a Clue, Reunions, Story of the Century, In Sheep’s Clothing

Piper was an immediate hit with many fans and a favored companion, especially during the early game of Fallout 4. The Diamond City journalist also has a retro look that is immediately recognizable as someone involved in the printing and publishing industry of the 1940s-50s.

Piper’s relentless pursuit of truth and a good story lead her to join the Sole Survivor, should they wish to accept her offer. Piper is involved with several quests throughout the game, both as part of the main story and additional side quests in Diamond City.

6 Tinker Tom

A Repairman With An Eccentric Appearance And Personality

• Quests: The Molecular Level, Weathervane, Rockets’ Red Glare, The Nuclear Option

Tinker Tom is the main engineer and weapons expert in the rebellious Railroad Faction. Tom is a little unhinged, as all good inventors should be, and he can frequently be found absorbed in one project or another, usually tinkering with weaponry, hence his nickname.

The large magnifying glass modification to his flying hat is certainly unique. Aside from that, he possesses the appearance of an ordinary repairman. The combination of his eccentric personality, along with the suitable nickname and appearance, make Tinker Tom one of the more memorable characters in the faction.

5 Vault-Tec Rep

A Unique Character Who Appears Both Before And After The War

• Quests: War Never Changes, Familiar Faces

Fallout 4 gave players their first in-person look into pre-war life during the game’s prologue. One character who features here is the Vault-Tec Rep who comes to the door in order to advertize the Vault-Tec program.

He can later be found several hundred years later as a ghoul – ironically missing out on a place inside the vaults himself on the day that the bombs fell. To find him in the post-war setting, players can head to the Hotel Rexford in Goodneighbour. The Vault-Tec Rep sports a pretty ordinary design during the prologue of Fallout 4, but it becomes incredibly memorable later when he becomes a ghoul.

4 Elder Maxson

The Authoritarian Leader Of The Brotherhood of Steel

• Quests: Shadow of Steel, Tour of Duty, Show No Mercy, The Molecular Level, From Within, The Battle of Bunker Hill. Blind Betrayal, Ad Victoriam, The Nuclear Option, A New Dawn, Rockets’ Red Glare, Airship Down

Elder Maxson, who some players may recognize as a junior scribe from The Citadel in Fallout 3, is the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Commonwealth. His fierce and militaristic appearance is indicative of his harsh and remorseless approach to the conquest of the area.

As the chief quest-giver of the Brotherhood faction questline, Maxson features quite heavily in the story for players who choose this route. For those who choose to defeat the Brotherhood of Steel, Maxson’s unique Elder Power Armor and Final Judgment gatling laser can be obtained.

3 DiMA

This Prototype Synth Is Central To The Story Of Far Harbor

• Quests: Where You Belong, Best Left Forgotten. Cleansing the Land, Reformation, The Way Life Should Be

The synth prototype DiMA is one of the central characters in the Far Harbor DLC and serves as the leader of the citizens of Acadia. The soft-spoken experimentalist certainly seems to have good intentions, but further digging into his past will reveal that not all is as it seems – leading to one of the most challenging puzzle quests in the entire Fallout series.

DiMA’s design is a chaotic mix of wires and modifications protruding from a synth body, though his slightly ragged appearance also unmistakably identifies him as a refugee on the run. Players can ultimately choose whether to ally with him, attack him, or turn him over to the citizens of Far Harbor.

2 John Hancock

The Mayor Of Goodneighbour Has A Striking Classical Look

• Quests: The Big Dig, The Silver Shroud, Art Appreciation, Recruiting Hancock

The serving mayor of Goodneighbour, John Hancock, has held the post for approximately five years at the time of Fallout 4‘s events. Having been driven from Diamond City by Mayor McDonough, Hancock established his own settlement of outcasts a short distance away.

The drug-addicted ghoul is generally well-liked in Goodneighbour, and players can complete a variety of quests for him, even eventually recruiting him as a companion. Hancock’s appearance is styled in the classic Bostonian fashion with a tri-point hat and long red overcoat. In a crowd of ghouls, he’s impossible to miss.

1 Nick Valentine

A Synth Detective With A Pre-War Personality

• Quests: Unlikely Valentine, Getting a Clue, Reunions, Dangerous Minds, Long Time Coming

Nick Valentine is easily one of the most memorable and unique characters in Fallout 4. The synth detective lives in a town where his kind is generally despised, but thanks to the personality of a pre-war detective being installed in his system, Nick has endeared himself to the local community.

Donning the classic beige trenchcoat and fedora of a 40s cosmopolitan, it seems that Nick has been largely unchanged for the last 200 years. Though he is noticeably weathered, with some of his inner wiring revealed beneath the peeling shell of his face, Valentine makes for a friendly and useful companion.