Hi Everyone! For a long time now, I've always felt that it would be awesome if somehow every Fallout protagonist could be traced back to the original Vault Dweller in some way or another. Ever since playing the TTW mod, which connected the characters of FO3 and FNV, this has always lurked in the back of my mind. I don't believe FO4's protagonist could be connected in any way but if anyone has any theories im allll ears!
Iv'e created my own theory linking every protagonist, and i'm really interested to hear everybody's thoughts on it, especially any criticism!
Im free to answer any questions and happy to indulge any conversations this might produce, so ask and comment to your heart's content!

My Working Theory:

Very very unlikely. Unless you trace all their lineages back to a common ancestor centuries before the great war, no. F1's protag was a vault dweller from a vault I think never opened their door after the bombs fell. So he's a descendant of the original vault dwellers there. F2 protag is related to f1's, but that's all there is for connected protags. F3's protag is all the way on the other side of the country. F4's protag was an original vault dweller from prewar. NV's protag wasn't even a vault dweller. Unless you reach so far back in all their family trees for a common ancestor, you're not going to find any relation.

I doubt it. Its not as easy at you would think to walk across America. Let alone the coincidence that everyone is related is pretty far out.

@Wertologist
Yeah when you separate it all out like that it makes it hard to believe they are all connected, so do you believe the FO3 protagonist is somewhere in the commonwealth? I know there's a lot of that speculation around Deacon. Thanks for the input, you make some great points!

@stoobygacks
I agree, it would be difficult to cross the entire US, but the BoS had to do it in order to establish the DC base, so it is possible, especially with some help from the Brotherhood
Thanks for your reply to my silly topic, I enjoyed your input!

stoobygacks wrote:

I doubt it. Its not as easy at you would think to walk across America. Let alone the coincidence that everyone is related is pretty far out.

Tell that to Bobby Bass he walked. Anyways lol, I agree that there's almost no way that the characters are related. Although it would make some sense because characters like the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One were able to pass down their ability to survive etc to their offspring. The end credit mentioning the Bishop child being one example in Fallout 2 and New Vegas.

"Bobby Bass:

CommunistDragon wrote:

stoobygacks wrote:

I doubt it. Its not as easy at you would think to walk across America. Let alone the coincidence that everyone is related is pretty far out.

Tell that to Bobby Bass he walked. Anyways lol, I agree that there's almost no way that the characters are related. Although it would make some sense because characters like the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One were able to pass down their ability to survive etc to their offspring. The end credit mentioning the Bishop child being one example in Fallout 2 and New Vegas.

"Bobby Bass:

Hmm very interesting, would you mind explaining the Bishop child thing you mentioned? or maybe post a link to some more information on that topic? I'd appreciate it if you did!

@ Waffles69Pandas

There is actually in game evidence that proves all player characters are connected in Fallout 4 Waffle. Nick Valentine has a case on the Mysterious Stranger. According to his files. The Mysterious stranger has been sighted in every location that a Fallout game that takes places, and the only person who as access to the stranger, is the player character. The locations are where Fallout 1 to Fallout New Vegas took place.

If the player chooses the right perk in Fallout 4, they too can have the Mysterious Stranger protect them. Further connecting the player characters. In fact, Nick Valentine will actually say unique lines if the Mysterious Stranger shows up while he is with the player as a companion. Next time you're at Nick's agency, look around for the case file. It's really interesting stuff.

Tekmon_Xonic wrote:

@ Waffles69Pandas

There is actually in game evidence that proves all player characters are connected in Fallout 4 Waffle. Nick Valentine has a case on the Mysterious Stranger. According to his files. The Mysterious stranger has been sighted in every location that a Fallout game that takes places, and the only person who as access to the stranger, is the player character. The locations are where Fallout 1 to Fallout New Vegas took place.

If the player chooses the right perk in Fallout 4, they too can have the Mysterious Stranger protect them. Further connecting the player characters. In fact, Nick Valentine will actually say unique lines if the Mysterious Stranger shows up while he is with the player as a companion. Next time you're at Nick's agency, look around for the case file. It's really interesting stuff.

That's really interesting! i'll be sure to look into that, thank you! I personally think that they could totally be connected, but i'll look into that case file and see if I can find any new developments concerning this topic!

Waffles69Pandas wrote:

CommunistDragon wrote:

stoobygacks wrote:

I doubt it. Its not as easy at you would think to walk across America. Let alone the coincidence that everyone is related is pretty far out.

Tell that to Bobby Bass he walked. Anyways lol, I agree that there's almost no way that the characters are related. Although it would make some sense because characters like the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One were able to pass down their ability to survive etc to their offspring. The end credit mentioning the Bishop child being one example in Fallout 2 and New Vegas.

"Bobby Bass:

Hmm very interesting, would you mind explaining the Bishop child thing you mentioned? or maybe post a link to some more information on that topic? I'd appreciate it if you did!

Yea no problem, I'll just post some quotes from the Fallout wiki that allude to this being most likely true.

"Fallout New Vegas Reference:

Bruce Isaac references Mr. Bishop with the description, "He knows the Wasteland like the back of his hand, and he likes to wander it." A possible reference to the "Bishop child ending" from Fallout 2

"Fallout 2 Ending Slide:

Not long after the destruction of the Enclave, the Bishop Family of New Reno was blessed with a child. This child seemed to have little in common with the Bishops, preferring instead to spend his days exploring the wastes. When he turned thirteen, he seized control of the Bishop Family and led them to victory over the remaining New Reno families. He died quietly in his sleep at the age of seventy-three, never having known his real father.

CommunistDragon wrote:

Waffles69Pandas wrote:

CommunistDragon wrote:

stoobygacks wrote:

I doubt it. Its not as easy at you would think to walk across America. Let alone the coincidence that everyone is related is pretty far out.

Tell that to Bobby Bass he walked. Anyways lol, I agree that there's almost no way that the characters are related. Although it would make some sense because characters like the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One were able to pass down their ability to survive etc to their offspring. The end credit mentioning the Bishop child being one example in Fallout 2 and New Vegas.

"Bobby Bass:

Hmm very interesting, would you mind explaining the Bishop child thing you mentioned? or maybe post a link to some more information on that topic? I'd appreciate it if you did!

Yea no problem, I'll just post some quotes from the Fallout wiki that allude to this being most likely true.

"Fallout New Vegas Reference:

Bruce Isaac references Mr. Bishop with the description, "He knows the Wasteland like the back of his hand, and he likes to wander it." A possible reference to the "Bishop child ending" from Fallout 2

"Fallout 2 Ending Slide:

Not long after the destruction of the Enclave, the Bishop Family of New Reno was blessed with a child. This child seemed to have little in common with the Bishops, preferring instead to spend his days exploring the wastes. When he turned thirteen, he seized control of the Bishop Family and led them to victory over the remaining New Reno families. He died quietly in his sleep at the age of seventy-three, never having known his real father.

Hmm so, correct me if i'm wrong, but this is suggesting that the FO2 protagonist impregnated a Bishop woman and the son of which becomes the new Bishop leader. And because the Courier has been to New Reno, this may suggest that the Courier could be related to the bishop child thus being related to the FO2 protagonist? Or are you not making that connection?

Possible but highly unlikely. Good theory though.

for all, I know the currier six have a child somewhere in new reno if you talk to the son of the mysterious stranger it will have a line about a child.
Six: Wait, Montana? You wouldn't happen to be 17, would you?
The Lonesome Drifter: No sir, I'm 28. Why?

but I don't think all the fallout chart are related by blood take a good look to the last fallout 4

I'd rather not entertain that theory personally, I'm still trying to get over how awfully it was forced in the New California mod.

I don't think they're all related to each other. Tbh i prefer it to be like that so that the stories are all told from different people and families. I got mixed feelings when I played F:NC because of the courier's relation to the vault 13 dude and being a mutant hybrid thing. It's interesting, but it doesn't fit the world anymore. You suddenly become a harry potter sort of guy, ordinary guy with a not so ordinary background and you're a very special person. It's a very high school character lol

Waffles69Pandas wrote:

I've always felt that it would be awesome if somehow every Fallout protagonist could be traced back to the original Vault Dweller in some way or another.

I once tried to do a long-term roleplay, with a lot of screenshots, where this was the theme. Clearly Fallout 1 & 2 were easy, because there is a direct family line. I squinted and decided that the Soldier of Fallout Tactics was the Elder of Fallout 2, who in her young and adventurous days had joined up with the Brotherhood after hearing stories from her dad, and after the 'war' was over she stole a jeep and enough fuel to get her home. New Vegas was pretty easy too; the Courier was the child of Mr Bishop (who is the son of the Chosen One) and just didn't advertise it.

Fallout 3 was of course where the issues began; but it wasn't impossible. James was clearly educated and trained in a way that wasn't Common in the wasteland, so I deduced that he was a sibling of Chosen One who had joined the Brotherhood, and been sent with Lyons, parting ways after the Pitt.

But, a hard drive crash the the release of Fallout 4 killed it entirely, because Nate or Nora was going to have to be an sibling of the ancestor of the Vault Dweller, which felt like too much of a tenuous connection. Little did I know we would be getting Fallout 76 which would have meant making the Resident the child of another sibling of that ancestor. The family tree I made was already getting pretty messy as it was.

Hi Everybody! Sorry for the very late reply to everyone's awesome feedback, unfortunately I've not only been dealing with college finals, I have also recently changed my major to my minor and taken up a major with a lighter math component. But i'm so glad so many of you have taken an interest to this topic!

Lilkrasdog wrote:

Possible but highly unlikely. Good theory though.

@Lilkrasdog
Thank you! I know it's a stretch, but after playing an ungodly amount of fallout, you gotta find new ways to spice it up every once in a while right?

Fujin92 wrote:

for all, I know the currier six have a child somewhere in new reno if you talk to the son of the mysterious stranger it will have a line about a child.
Six: Wait, Montana? You wouldn't happen to be 17, would you?
The Lonesome Drifter: No sir, I'm 28. Why?
but I don't think all the fallout chart are related by blood take a good look to the last fallout 4

@Fujin92
I completely forgot about that weird dialogue choice! But could it actually be alluding to this relationship, or could it just be the developers just having some fun, who knows! Either way, thanks for the input! Also, the FO4 and 76 story lines haven't been my favorite but I always rely on mods to morph my game into whatever story I want, which is why this games community and modding is my favorite!

IIHawkerII wrote:

I'd rather not entertain that theory personally, I'm still trying to get over how awfully it was forced in the New California mod.

@IIHawkerII
I'm sorry to hear about your disappointments with the New California mod story, I personally saw the storyline as a double edged sword myself; the ending provides valid evidence for the Couriers survival and ties in the loose knots that were left by the Lonesome Road DLC, but at the same time, leaving the couriers past up to the players imagination is part of the games appeal! Besides, many videos have already uncovered more rationally scientific reasons for the Couriers survival.

njmanga097 wrote:

I don't think they're all related to each other. Tbh i prefer it to be like that so that the stories are all told from different people and families. I got mixed feelings when I played F:NC because of the courier's relation to the vault 13 dude and being a mutant hybrid thing. It's interesting, but it doesn't fit the world anymore. You suddenly become a harry potter sort of guy, ordinary guy with a not so ordinary background and you're a very special person. It's a very high school character lol

@njmanga097
I can definitely see your side to things, but I can also see the appeal of explaining how a normal Courier can just naturally be such a badass and end an entire war and settle the Mojaves fate almost single-handedly. Although, I guess we don't need a reason, we can just create our own if need be, which is what makes it fun! All-in-all, the New California mod appealed to a specific group of players (most likely the developers themselves) but its undeniable that its content was equatable to an actual DLC and we all (probably) had a blast playing through this whole new adventure/prequel! Thanks for your awesome reply!

Alixen wrote:

Waffles69Pandas wrote:

I've always felt that it would be awesome if somehow every Fallout protagonist could be traced back to the original Vault Dweller in some way or another.

I once tried to do a long-term roleplay, with a lot of screenshots, where this was the theme. Clearly Fallout 1 & 2 were easy, because there is a direct family line. I squinted and decided that the Soldier of Fallout Tactics was the Elder of Fallout 2, who in her young and adventurous days had joined up with the Brotherhood after hearing stories from her dad, and after the 'war' was over she stole a jeep and enough fuel to get her home. New Vegas was pretty easy too; the Courier was the child of Mr Bishop (who is the son of the Chosen One) and just didn't advertise it.

Fallout 3 was of course where the issues began; but it wasn't impossible. James was clearly educated and trained in a way that wasn't Common in the wasteland, so I deduced that he was a sibling of Chosen One who had joined the Brotherhood, and been sent with Lyons, parting ways after the Pitt.

But, a hard drive crash the the release of Fallout 4 killed it entirely, because Nate or Nora was going to have to be an sibling of the ancestor of the Vault Dweller, which felt like too much of a tenuous connection. Little did I know we would be getting Fallout 76 which would have meant making the Resident the child of another sibling of that ancestor. The family tree I made was already getting pretty messy as it was.

@Alixen
Thanks for your reply! I have my own gripes with FO4 and 76's story lines, but luckily, modders supply us with the tools (like alternate start) that allow me personally to re imagine the entire story of the commonwealth. I personally played through FO4 as if my protagonist was directly related to this bloodline, and I had a blast, so at the end of the day, you can always mold your own story however need be with the power of mods and a little imagination! I am really glad that someone has shown the same interest in linking the protagonists together though, I always felt like the amazing feats of the protagonists must relate them somehow haha, but thank you for sharing your personal thoughts and experiences with me, I appreciate it!

Not really.

The Vault Dweller is related to the Chosen One as their grandparent, but other than that none of the Protagonists make sense to be related. The Vault Dweller's memoirs, which tie up what we know of the VD's canon life don't make any mention of other children elsewhere, which they would do if they had any. The memoirs do mention that they leave to wander the wastes' but also make it clear the VD is by this point a pretty old person. If the VD was a woman then it would be impossible for them to have another child. Even if they were a man it would still be pretty difficult.

Besides that, the events of FO3 and 4 take place so far away from 1/2 (not even taking into account why there's no way the VD could be related to the Sole Survivor outside of a very, very distant family tie from before the war that neither would be aware of) that it would just be silly that they were all related without the help of some time magic and wishful head canon. The only one that could believably be a descendant of the LW or Chosen One would be the Courier (depending on the age you play) and even then, that's all just head canon.

That said, I'm really not a fan of the idea of people being outstanding or brilliant because of bloodlines, or the people they are related to. If all the protagonists are related, I think if anything it does more to damage the series than help it. I get the notion of Fallout 1/2 being about the Vault Dweller and their legacy, but when you go all the way 3 on the other side of the country, or NV 40 years after the events of Fallout 2, I think it's time to move on. The story of the Vault Dweller's legacy is tied up pretty well in Fallout 2, IMO. The tribe of Arroyo reunite with their ancestors from Vault 13 and with the Geck build a flourishing society up north beyond NCR that under the watchful eye of the Chosen One grows into a major regional power that rivals the NCR capital. In my mind that works, it tells a complete story of seperation and reunification. There's no need to drag it out any further.

Here's a screen of Arroyo post Fallout 2, a flourishing city that rivals Shady Sands

Spoiler:

3, NV, and 4 all take the approach of same world, different problems. It's all about how these unique individuals face the world that matters, and how they help to shape it. Just making it a continuation of the same story, especially when that story has ended actually does more harm than good.

As cool as it could be for them to be related, it's not really likely. Honestly though, headcanons are a lot of fun anyway, so if you want to roleplay characters like that, then sick. I personally really like the idea of playing the same character from Fo3 through New Vegas and into Fallout 4, so all of them being related isn't that dissimilar.

Waffles69Pandas wrote:

thank you for sharing your personal thoughts and experiences with me, I appreciate it!

Quite welcome, it's always interesting to see the thoughts people have on roleplaying ideas like this. Concepts like it are one of the main way I play these games, crafting secondary multi-game narratives alongside each games, even is simple. My main one these days is playing one of the Fallout 'super heroes' each game. Mistress of Mystery in 76. AntAgonizer in 3. Miss Fortune in NV. The Shroud, with companions as others in 4. I even decided to bring in a 'default' Dragonborn from Skyrim to be Grognak in the latter.

It's an interesting idea, and I have no doubt there's enough in there to find connections to make it possible that all the main series protagonists are of the same bloodline...but if I were to weigh in my personal preference, I would much rather that none of them were related (even though the ones in Fallout 1 and 2 are). The idea that this series is more about a series of independent characters having their own adventures that help shape the wasteland feels a lot more interesting to me than the idea that it's one family playing such a significant role throughout the Fallout timeline.

I feel this gives a lot more agency to the players and the roles they make for their characters. You're making these big changes and being part of these important events not because of your family's legacy (which you may or may not be aware of), but rather because you are the right person at the right time. You are the man/woman of your age that shifts things in one direction or the other as it all progresses towards the future. You're not a Skywalker (to use a familiar franchise that takes this approach) whose bloodline is intrinsically tied to the fate of the universe, you're just the person that happens to be there when it was needed and were willing or just able to play that part.