There are plenty of great characters for you to meet as you travel the Commonwealth inFallout 4. From witty Synth detectives and sarcastic mercenaries to paranoid merchants and mysterious strangers, there is no shortage of fun and odd NPCs to encounter. However, some characters are a little weirder than others, and a few absolutely wild oddballs are roaming the wasteland.
There are a plethora ofside characters inFallout 4that you should always make a point to talk to, with many offering quests with fantastic rewards. While it can be tempting to stick to the one you know,there are so many bizarre NPCs to findthat even almost a decade later, I’m still finding new ones. Some are funny, some are dangerous, but all of these characters are worth seeking out the next time you’re in the Commonwealth.
10Preston Garvey Impersonator Wants Your Caps
Con Man Met Through A Random Encounter
Everybody who has playedFallout 4will know Preston Garvey, the kind-hearted survivor of the Minutemen who will recruit the Sole Survivor to be the next General. However,there is a second Preston that can be metduring a random encounter, but all is not what it seems. As nice as it would be to have two Prestons, the second is a fake.
Disappointingly, Preston will have no dialogue if he is with you when you run into his double.
The second “Preston” will approach you on the road andeven use the real Preston’s line about impeccable timingbefore asking for caps. You can tell the impersonator that you know Preston or even clue him into you being the real General of the Minutemen. Either way, once this fake is found out, he’ll quickly run away.
9Cricket Has Some Great Stock
The Twitchy Merchant Hides A Secret
Cricket is a twitchy chem addictwho operates as a weapons merchant who travels around the Commonwealth. This can make her a little tricky to find, although good places to check are outside Diamond City, outside Vault 81, and the Warwick homestead. Cricket is worth locating purely for her wares, which include the awesome Spray n’ Pray, but her dialogue is also fantastically unhinged, making her great to chat to.
However, Cricket hides a shady secret and is one of several merchants inFallout 4who act asinformants for the Institute. In fact, if you have X6-88 with you as a companion,Cricket will make comments to him about why she hasn’t given the Institute any new information recently. Voiced by the always fantastic Ashly Burch, Cricket’s chaotic demeanor, combined with her deadly merchandise, makes her very memorable.
8Bosco Is A Danger To Himself & Others
Terrible Things Happen When This Raider Boss Connects To His Inner Beast
If you go exploring east of Diamond City, not too far from the Combat Zone and Mass Bay Medical Center, you’ll find D.B. Technical High School. The school is now home to a group of raiders led bya very strange individual who has assumed the identity of the school’s bear mascot, named Bosco. Bosco can be found in the basement of the school, along with a terminal that sheds light on his mental state.
Bosco wears a unique piece of headwear that looks like the head of the school mascot.
It seems that, to begin with, Bosco was a regular raider leader, brutal and well-respected by others, but nothing extraordinary. That all changed when he was bitten by a dog, which immediately affected Bosco’s ability to control his temper.Bosco’s mental health goes downhill from there, and it’s implied that he has been killing off his own men while the ‘beast’ was in control.
7Judge Zeller Has Horrific Methods Of Recruitment
Help Bunker Hill By Stopping His Madman
Another brutal raider leader with a twisted side can be encountered in the ruins of another Commonwealth school, this time north of Boston Airport in East Boston Preparatory School. The raiders here are under the control of the merciless Judge Zeller, who regularlykidnaps and tortures both other raiders and traders alike to recruit them. He can come to your attention after breaking his agreement with Bunker Hill and snatching several of their caravans.
Terminals around the school contain details of Zeller’s methods for breaking those he’d capturedand whether they had signed a blood contract to join his army. Zeller reminds me of the inquisitors of the Spanish Inquisition, who used various methods to find heretics; in this case, however, it is to find suitable recruits for his cult. A trip to the school is not for the faint-hearted, but a must for any good playthrough to stop Zeller’s horrific ways.
6Gilda Broscoe Can Charm Anyone
Gilda Brings Hollywood Glamor To Far Harbor
Far Harboris an amazingFallout 4DLC, with tons of brilliant new characters, quests, and locations. One place that should be a must-visit each playthrough is the Cliff’s Edge Hotel, where you’ll be able to help solve a murder mystery.The quest “Brain Dead” is one of the funniest and strangest in the entire game, due in no small part to Vault 118 residents like Gilda Broscoe.
Even in a group full of strong personalities, Gilda stands out, withher flirtatious nature making me smile each time. Once a Hollywood star, Gilda opted to swap her body for a robobrain chassis to live forever in the luxury of the vault. Gilda is in an open relationship with fellow resident Keith and is more than happy to go to bed with you if you can pass a Charisma check.
5Doc Crocker Has Blood On His Hands
Help Nick Valentine Solve A Missing Persons Case Involving This Terrible Surgeon
Doc Crocker is a highly skilled surgeon who operates out of Diamond City’s Mega Surgery Center alongside Doctor Sun. He can be spoken to for facial surgery throughout the game to switch up your Sole Survivor’s appearance for a fee. However, once theNick Valentine detective case“The Disappearing Act” begins,a different and terrible side of Crocker is revealed.
Looking into the disappearance of Diamond City resident Earl Sterling, you’ll discover that Earl went to Crocker for surgery. However, due to his chem addiction,Crocker accidentally killed Earl during the procedure, and in a panic, attempted to dispose of the body. After bringing him to justice, you can only hope that Earl was his only victim.
4Lorenzo Cabot Brings The Supernatural & Strange To Fallout 4
Alien Artifacts Should Not Be Put On Your Head
It’s difficult to know where to start when talking about Lorenzo Cabot. There is the time he spent exploring the Middle East in the 1800s, which resulted in him finding a strange artifact. Then there is the timehis family locked him in a basement for almost 400 yearswhile they used his blood to become immortal.
Lorenzo is an incredibly dangerous individual thanks to the alien artifact he wears as a crown, and when you meet him inFallout 4, you’ll have to choose whether toside with him or Jack.All traces of his humanity have slowly erodedthanks to a combination of the crown and his captivity. If you choose to free Lorenzo, it is clear that he will become an unstoppable monster for future generations to deal with.
3Erickson Is A Different Kind Of East Coast Super Mutant
Erickson Needed More Plot In Far Harbor
Erickson is a fascinating character that I would have loved to learn more about. Living in the ruins of a Horizon Flight crash onFar Harbor’s Island,Erickson stands out from the other Super Mutantsseen inFallout 4. It is clear when first meeting him that Erickson is much more peaceful, and he’ll comment on how he can’t stand how his brethren act towards humans.
It’s unclear whether this change in Erickson’s behavior is due to the weird fog on the Island or something mixed into the Vim that he had been drinking. Unfortunately, this is something that isn’t ever explored,leaving Erickson somewhat of a mysterythat makes me miss theWest Coast versions of Super Mutants. That said, Erickson is well worth seeking out for the dogs he breeds that can be purchased for your settlements.
2Sierra Petrovita Is The Ultimate Super Fan
I Get The Feeling She Really Likes Nuka-Cola
One of manyreturning characters fromFallout 3is Nuka-Cola super-fan Sierra Petrovita. Already well known to long-time franchise fans,Sierra has lost none of her oddness in the ten years since meeting the Lone Wanderer. In fact, she’s even more dedicated to Nuka-Cola and has made the long trip from the Capital Wasteland to Nuka World in Massachusetts all in the name of a pre-war children’s competition.
Sierra can be found in Nuka-Town USA in the theme park and will ask for your help to find 10 Cappys hidden around the park. Finding them will eventually bring you both face-to-face with John-Caleb Bradberton, the inventor of Nuka-Cola.Sierra is wonderfully unhingedand will even attempt to convince you to allow her to keep Bradberton’s head to take home with her to complete her collection.
1Motorcycle Grenade Man Is A Legend
Raider Dialogue Is The Only Way To Learn About This Oddball
The weirdest character in all ofFallout 4is, unfortunately, not someone you are actually able to meet. However, you can learn about this legend from two scripted raider dialogues that can be overheard if you’re careful. The raiders of Hardware Town and those living in the Back Bay area know ofthe man, the myth, that is Motorcycle Grenade Man.
Both groups of raiders will tell a story ofa man who will mime throwing grenades, before zooming away on his pretend motorcycle. According to the legend, this bizarre behavior has saved Motorcycle Grenade Man from raider traps and Super Mutants, with both groups too baffled to attack him. I love weird little details like this inFallout 4, and I’m genuinely sad I’ll never get to meet Motorcycle Grenade Man.
