Conrad Kellogg

Conrad Kellogg is a ruthless, highly skilled mercenary acting as the main surface operative of the Institute in the Commonwealth. He is the secondary antagonist of Fallout 4.
==Background==
Kellogg was born on the West Coast and raised in one of the settlements that would become a founding member of the then-infant New California Republic.Kellogg's memory radio broadcast In his youth, he lived in a dysfunctional and impoverished household with his abusive father, and his cynical, imposing but loving mother. Being an alcoholic and abusive parent, Kellogg's father was unreliable as a provider for the family. Instead, Conrad's mother turned to her son for support, while also teaching him that relying on others was foolishness and that the only things in the world he could depend on were himself, his gun and his will to survive in the wasteland. Kellogg eventually ran away from home believing it was for a better place and life when in reality, he was fleeing from the guilt and humiliation of being unable to protect his mother from his father's abuse. Due to being mentally scarred beyond repair and being left with a misguided sense of judgment, Kellogg chose the lawless and criminal way of life. He joined raider gangs in his teen ages to survive, fighting for every scrap he could find. This hard lifestyle also toughened up Kellogg with a strong sense of independence which is something he learned from his mother but it was not enough for him to protect her and stay which misled him to recklessness, impulsivity and becoming a sociopath.
Growing up to be a young adult after a youth of hopelessness and despair, he became a highly skilled mercenary and hitman who took dangerous contracts to kill people or complete any kind of task in return for large amounts of profit. Kellogg had made a name for himself shooting someone named "Valdez," and his reputation got him a job working for the Shi as a guard and enforcer that he accepted as a more stable and secure line of work.
He eventually met a woman named Sarah on a night in the Hub. They eventually married and moved to San Francisco, where they had a daughter, Mary. Some time later, his job became risky again which came at the cost of his family being murdered by unknown assailants from an unknown faction. Kellogg was devastated by the traumatic loss of his wife and kid and this fueled him with an insatiable bloodlust which led him to brutally kill the faction to avenge their deaths. This did not give him peace, and only left him more broken on the inside.
Kellogg traveled eastward, fleeing from bad memories. He became a mercenary again, but this time, he was more brutal and willing to do any job no matter how dirty, killing men, women or even children, though he claims to not enjoy the act of child murder. Eventually, he reached the East Coast and finally the Commonwealth, where he settled in Diamond City and came across rumors about the Institute. Kellogg's line of work interfered with the Institute's operations, prompting them to send a proxy to confront and eliminate him. Defeating this assassin, he tracked the Institute down in turn and convinced them to hire him by effortlessly eliminating several synths trying to kill him. Since then, he has been their primary surface operative; even though many in the Institute despised him for being a "dirty surface degenerate," his extensive experience working in the wasteland made him indispensable. Among the tasks he performed was acting as the main human contact for the attempted tech retrieval at University Point,University Point council meeting and later commanding a synth legion to destroy the settlement when they could not produce the preferred results. Kellogg's many bloody exploits put him at the top of the Railroad's hit list of Institute targets.Deacon: " "(Deacon's dialogue)
Kellogg was eventually tasked with leading a team of Institute scientists to invade Vault 111. The Institute required radiation-free test subjects, and the vault's cryogenically-preserved residents were perfect candidates. The Institute learned of an infant, Shaun, and dispatched Kellogg to retrieve him from the vault. After finding the pod containing the boy, in the arms of one of his parents (either Nate or Nora), the team opened it up to retrieve the child. Kellogg ended up killing the confused and defenseless parent of the infant after they refused to give up their son. Kellogg then turned to the surviving parent, remarking that at least the "backup" would be unharmed. Kellogg had the unharmed parent put back into cryo-stasis and was directed to not release the other residents and to keep their life-support systems deactivated, causing all of them to asphyxiate. Shaun's DNA was then used by the Institute to complete the generation 3 synths.
At some point, Kellogg was cybernetically enhanced by the Institute, which slowed his aging and extended his lifespan. By 2287, he is over 100 years old but physically appears to be less than half of that, looking much the same as when he kidnapped Shaun 60 years before. Kellogg was sent, against his better judgment, to Diamond City with a synth sharing the appearance of a ten-year-old Shaun. Kellogg described it as a "pet project" of the Old Man,Kellogg: ""(Kellogg's dialogue) although he realized later that he served as bait for the Sole Survivor.Kellogg: ""(Kellogg's dialogue) He eventually abandoned the house after X6-88 came to collect the synthetic Shaun on behalf of the Institute. He was then tasked with tracking down the rogue Institute scientist Dr. Brian Virgil, who had recently fled from the Institute. In preparation for this job, Kellogg set up a base of operations in Fort Hagen, though he became injured in several battles on his way from Diamond City, forcing him to take time to recuperate in Hagen.
With the help of Dogmeat, the Sole Survivor tracks Kellogg to his base of operations. They fight through Fort Hagen's synth detail as Kellogg taunts them, offering the Sole Survivor a chance to turn back. As the player character approaches, Kellogg takes note of their determination and allows them a chance to talk to him, revealing himself and ordering his synths to stand down. Kellogg informs the Sole Survivor that Shaun is no longer with him, but with the Institute. The conversation inevitably leads to a fight which results in Kellogg's demise. Kellogg suspected that this was the plan all along, to tie up a loose end.
The Sole Survivor can access Kellogg's memories with the use of his cybernetic brain augmenter, and the aid of Nick Valentine and Dr. Amari. After leaving Kellogg's memories, the last echoes of the mercenary's consciousness speak to the Sole Survivor through Nick's body, taunting them one last time.
==Interactions with the player character==
===Interactions overview===
===Quests===
* Dangerous Minds: The Sole Survivor must kill Kellogg and take his cybernetic chip to the Memory Den. Here, Dr. Amari and Nick Valentine will help them access Kellogg's memories to uncover the secret to accessing the Institute.
==Inventory==
==Notes==
* Kellogg is a strong opponent, with decent armor and (depending on player character level) generally more than twice as much health as an NPC companion.
* Biologically, Kellogg is one of the oldest characters in the Fallout series when not accounting for non-human characters (such as ghouls, super mutants or Harold) or humans who spent their lives in extensive cryogenic supports (such as Robert House, Sole Survivor or Stanislaus Braun). Kellogg's longevity is due to his cybernetic implants.
* In battle, Kellogg uses a Stealth Boy and, when damaged past a certain point, will use stimpaks to restore his health.
** Kellogg also uses grenades frequently and can throw multiple grenades at once.
* Kellogg's history makes numerous references to major locations and factions from previous Fallout games that take place in the west, such as the Hub, the New California Republic and working for the Shi.
* During the quest Dangerous Minds, Nick Valentine accesses Kellogg's memories through one of the mercenary's implants. After the quest, Nick speaks to the player character in Kellogg's voice, saying: "Hope you got what you were looking for inside my head. Heh. I was right. Should've killed you when you were on ice." Nick seems to not notice this, and when this is mentioned to him he will simply state that Dr. Amari mentioned that some mnemonic impressions may have remained.
* In some dialogue choices, Kellogg is shown to have some compassion despite his ruthless nature. He offers the Sole Survivor sympathy and expresses regret for murdering their spouse. He also mentions that he had grown attached to young Shaun during their time together, remarking that it reminded him of what his life would have been like if his family were still alive.
* It is revealed that Father never truly forgave Kellogg, and did deliberately send him to Diamond City to be located by the Sole Survivor. He will be surprised if the Sole Survivor tells him they pity Kellogg.The Sole Survivor: "After what I've seen, I pity the man. He was as much a victim as anything."Shaun: " I, for one, will never truly forgive him."(Shaun's dialogue)
==Notable quotes==
==Appearances==
Kellogg appears and .
==Behind the scenes==
* Kellogg is voiced by Keythe Farley, who was cast for a video game role in 2014. Because of the secretive nature of voice recording for video games at the time, Farley did not know what the game he was working on was. He did not even know he was going to be a major antagonist until he started reviewing the script. He recorded dialogue for Kellogg with a session every few months over a year and a half. Farley only figured out he was working on a Fallout game after talking with other actors working on the same project.The voice actor who didn't know he was working on Fallout 4
** In localized versions of the game, his voice is dubbed by Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese), Paolo Sesana (Italian) and Carlos Kaniowsky (Spanish).
* According to Emil Pagliarulo, a villain in the science fiction TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was the inspiration for Kellogg. Played by actor Frank Gorshin, Seton Kellogg is the leader of a group of assassins in parts one and two of "The Plot to Kill a City" from Buck Rogers.Emil Pagliarulo on Twitter: "(5/7) After that, there was this sort of post-Star Wars TV gold rush, and I couldn't get enough of (the original) Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers. In fact, in Buck Rogers, there was a bad guy character named Kellogg, and yes, he was the inspiration for Kellogg in Fallout 4."
* Although Kellogg is never given a definitive age in-game, the script notes for his dialogue indicate he was ten years old during his childhood memory in Dangerous Minds. This means he would have been born around 2179, and is at the age of 108 by the events of Fallout 4, due to the Institute cybernetics prolonging his life. The non-canonical Fallout Shelter Online confirms his date of birth in his character description.Fallout Shelter Online character description
* In Fallout Shelter Online, it appears to be a running gag for him to constantly call the player's party "kids," and he acts a bit condescending to them, as if they are naive because of them being younger than he is.
==Gallery==
===Fallout 4===
Young Kellogg (Fallout 4).jpg|Kellogg as a child
FO4 Kellogg & his mother.jpg|Kellogg with his mother
Kellogg and his mother.jpg|Kellogg with his mother
Kellogg and his wife.jpg|Kellogg and Sarah
Kells meeting.jpg|His meeting with the Institute
FO4 Kidnapping Shaun.jpg|Kidnapping scene
Conrad Kellogg.jpg
FO4 Shattered Kellogg and Shaun.jpg|Kellogg watching over Shaun
Kellogg icon.png|Kellogg's icon for Shattered
===Other Fallout games===
FSO UI C ShopIcon Kellogg.png|Kellogg's hero card in Fallout Shelter Online
UI C ShopIcon Kellogg.png|Kellogg's hero card in Fallout Shelter Online
FSO UITex YS C Bg HeroShare keluoge.png|Kellogg's hero card in Fallout Shelter Online
FSO Kellogg dialogue.png|Kellogg's dialogue icon in Fallout Shelter Online
FWW_Conrad_Kellogg.png|Fallout: Wasteland Warfare figurine
FOWW Conrad Kellogg unit card.png|Unit card
Fallout wasteland warfare Institute covert operations.jpg|
Fallout Magic Kellogg, Dangerous Mind.png|Magic: The Gathering card
Fallout Magic Kellogg, Dangerous Mind (Extended Art).png|(Extended Art)
Secret Lair x Fallout Anger.png|Anger
==References==
Non-game
Non-canon
Category:Antagonists
Category:Fallout 4 human characters
Category:Institute characters
Category:Fallout: Wasteland Warfare characters
Category:Fallout Shelter Online characters
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