Allistair Tenpenny

Allistair Tenpenny is the founder and owner of Tenpenny Tower, appearing . He is one of only nine named characters in the base game to have "Very Evil" Karma. He is also a Legendary dweller , coming with a unique rifle and suit.
==Background==
===Entrepreneur===
Originally born around in the post-nuclear wastelands of former Great Britain,Fallout 3 loading screen: "Tenpenny Tower is the brainchild of Allistair Tenpenny, a British refugee who came to the Capital Wasteland seeking his fortune." Tenpenny crossed the ocean to seek his fortune in the Capital Wasteland. He does not like talking about himself or his past, preferring his achievements to speak for themselves.The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about yourself, Mr. Tenpenny."Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue)
As such, little is known about him before the founding of Tenpenny Tower. What is known is that with his fake aristocratic accent, he managed to amass a significant wealth. This fortune was large enough that, by , he was hiring entire mercenary crews to recover high value equipment. One such expedition was an attempt to recover power armor from Fort Constantine. It failed, with nearly half of the team wiped out and a Mister Crowley left bitter and vengeful over being left behind. Tenpenny paid little attention to the mercs, and even less to Crowley, on account of him being a ghoul.The Lone Wanderer: "Do you remember a Mister Crowley?"Allistair Tenpenny: "The Ghoul? He's dead. Died twenty years ago. Good riddance too. I hate those shufflers."The Lone Wanderer: "How did he die?"Allistair Tenpenny: "Who cares? I hired some mercenaries to get me some equipment from Fort Constantine. He was one of them. Of the five, only three survived. You'll have to ask one of them if you want the gory details."(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue)
Shortly after this botched job, Tenpenny met a man who changed his life: Mister Burke.The Lone Wanderer: "Have you ever heard of a Mister Crowley?"Mister Burke: "Never heard of him. Wait. I think I do remember Allistair Tenpenny mentioning him once. Something about a job. It was before I met him."(Mister Burke's dialogue) Burke made the restoration of the future Tenpenny Tower (then just a husk of a derelict resort, jutting up from the horizon in southwestern Capital Wasteland) a plausible endeavor, establishing himself as Tenpenny's right-hand man, capable of doing "what needs to get done."The Lone Wanderer: "Indeed! I'm extremely impressed!"Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) A lot of work went into restoring the tower to a fraction of its former glory, and then securing the right kind of tenants to enjoy its security and luxuries.The Lone Wanderer: "You didn't build this tower, you just found it and moved in. Big fucking deal."Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) 
The end result is one of the only places in the Capital Wasteland where residents can enjoy a quality of life approximating pre-War conditions, thanks to Tenpenny's wealth and Burke's skills.The Lone Wanderer: "Eh. It's okay here."Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) It is also protected by a crack mercenary team that is always paid on time, a rarity in the wastes.The Lone Wanderer: "What's it like living at Tenpenny Tower?"Chief Gustavo: ""(Chief Gustavo's dialogue) Less rare is the fact that Allistair used to own slaves at Tenpenny Tower: Mei Wong is one of his victims, who managed to free herself and flee to Rivet City.
===Recluse===
While Tenpenny believes the tower to be the beginning of something great, rather than his crowning achievement,The Lone Wanderer: "Quite a tower you have here, Mr. Tenpenny."Allistair Tenpenny: "Some might say that Tenpenny Tower is my crowning achievement. But no! No no! My dear girl, it is just the beginning!"(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) he has allowed himself to rest on his laurels and largely retired to his penthouse suite. He is happy to extract rent from those living inside its walls. Since Tenpenny Tower is a most desirable location after all the renovations, he has no trouble amassing enough caps to pay caravans to ship supplies or foot the bill for his substantial security force.The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about Allistair Tenpenny."Lydia Montenegro: "He stays in his penthouse suite most of the time. So long as we pay the rent, he lets us live here."(Lydia Montenegro's dialogue) He rarely ever leaves his chambers, sometimes not even bothering to dress,The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about Allistair Tenpenny."Anthony Ling: "A very well dressed gentleman, when he bothers to get dressed. He hardly ever leaves his penthouse suite."(Anthony Ling's dialogue) and leading a generally decadent lifestyle. Doctor Julius Banfield had to treat him once for "bed sores,"The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about Allistair Tenpenny."Doctor Banfield: "He's the landlord, although you hardly ever see him. I had to treat him once for bed sores, if you know what I mean. Wait...don't tell him I said that."(Doctor Banfield's dialogue) likely caught from Susan Lancaster, his mistress and the tower's prostitute. The two openly flirt whenever they happen to be in proximity.Allistair Tenpenny: ""Susan Lancaster: ""Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny and Susan Lancaster's dialogue) He greets each evening with her with glee.DialogueTenpennySusanSleepWithStartTopic:Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) His other favorite, relaxing pastime is "wasteland safari," or randomly shooting anything that moves around the tower with a high-powered sniper rifle.The Lone Wanderer: "What are you shooting at out there?"Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) It helps stave off his boredom, at the very least.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.60: "Allistair TenpennyAn 80-year-old Englishman turned American entrepreneur, the man who discovered the tower saw it as an opportunity to provide residents with a standard of living enjoyed by the affluent in the days before the nuclear Armageddon. A rich eccentric who's bored with life and looking for new challenges, he enjoys sniping at Wasteland creatures, Ghouls, and the occasional visitor from his suite atop Tenpenny Tower."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
Beyond sex and wanton violence, the octogenarian also carefully nurtures his alcoholism, boasting that he "[has not] been dry in years,"Mister Burke: ""Allistair Tenpenny: ""Mister Burke: ""Allistair Tenpenny: ""Mister Burke: ""Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny and Mister Burke's dialogue) and maintains a habit of eating an iguana bits sandwich with no salt and a peeled pear on the side for lunch, day after day, with zero tolerance for change. Margaret Primrose is frustrated at such waste of her culinary talents,The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about Allistair Tenpenny."Margaret Primrose: "Every day it's the same thing. The man has no imagination with his meals. "(Margaret Primrose's dialogue) but remains at her landlord's mercy. Whenever he bothers showing up downstairs to eat at the table reserved specifically for him,The Lone Wanderer: "Whatever you say."Margaret Primrose: "Well. Like I said. Take a seat anywhere, except at Mister Tenpenny's table."(Margaret Primrose's dialogue) she shows deference and tries to suggest alternate meals, but Tenpenny remains loyal to his sandwich,Allistair Tenpenny: ""Margaret Primrose: ""Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny and Margaret Primrose's dialogue) and viciously points out any shortcomings, such as adding salt.Margaret Primrose: ""Allistair Tenpenny: ""Margaret Primrose: ""(Allistair Tenpenny and Margaret Primrose's dialogue)
===Visionary?===
In fact, by 2277, it is Mister Burke who is in real control at Tenpenny Tower, with the eccentric Allistair a shut-in figurehead attracting attention with his antics, suffering from madness reserved for the obscenely rich.Fallout 3 loading screen: "Allistair Tenpenny now rarely leaves the comfort and safety of his penthouse suite. His is a madness reserved for the obscenely rich."
Burke is agreeable and proactive, and has taken over so many aspects of the tower's functioning that Tenpenny barely needs to think about things anymore, as Burke is always there to take care of everything, anticipating his needs. Tenpenny does not know how he got along without him. One such instance of Burke's proactiveness is him seizing the chance to wipe Megaton out and pin the blame on Tenpenny, by reacting to Allistair's comment about it being a "bit of an eyesore."The Lone Wanderer: "I've been wondering... why blow up Megaton?"Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) Alcoholic and likely senile, Tenpenny was easy to convince that Megaton must be sacrificed, as the bomb was unstable regardless and could explode at any time, Burke would tell people to vacate, and it was all just natural selection in the end.The Lone Wanderer: "You don't have a problem with killing all those people?"Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue)
Burke spent weeks putting the plan in motion,The Lone Wanderer: "I've disarmed the bomb, Burke. That thing will never explode now."Mister Burke: " Weeks of preparation, destroyed. No words of mine can express my utter contempt for you. You have made a very poor error in judgment, my friend. One day... one day it WILL come back to haunt you."(Mister Burke's dialogue) careful not to arouse suspicion or give the denizens of Megaton any reason to flee.The Lone Wanderer: "We're talking a lot of innocent lives here, Burke. Can I warn them?"Mister Burke: "Absolutely not! The place, the people, they're one and the same! Sacrifices for a nobler future. I assure you, they are worth ten times as much in death, as they are in life."(Mister Burke's dialogue) The destruction of Megaton, one of the only significant trading outposts on the left bank of the Potomac, would help the unfolding of Tenpenny's "Master Plan," which includes using Tenpenny Tower as a staging area to remedy the blight that plagues the Capital Wasteland.The Lone Wanderer: "What's it like living at Tenpenny Tower?"Mister Burke: " "(Mister Burke's dialogue) Clearing out the past to make room for the future is part of that plan,The Lone Wanderer: "You've got to clear away the past to make room for the future."Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) which is supposed to bring upon a pure and stainless future, which does not necessarily include ghouls.The Lone Wanderer: "How would you feel about having a few Ghoul neighbors?"Mister Burke: ""(Mister Burke's dialogue) In fact, should Tenpenny's project come to fruition, ghouls and other aberrations of nature would become a thing of the past, but that glorious future requires seeing the tower as a crucible for it, and any sacrifices as necessary to achieve it.The Lone Wanderer: "Tenpenny seems rather heartless."Mister Burke: " "(Mister Burke's dialogue) 
While Burke passes this off as Tenpenny's sole vision, portraying the aged and demented Allistair as a pam of passion, ideals, and an antithesis of the apathetic, blighted men inhabiting the Capital Wasteland, it is not clear how much of that plan is actually Tenpenny's own invention.The Lone Wanderer: "Whatever."Mister Burke: ""(Mister Burke's dialogue) One huge difference between what Burke says and what Allistair actually thinks is the issue of ghouls. While Tenpenny generally refers to them with a certain degree of contempt (when reminded of Crowley, he notes that "those zombies" are hard to kill),The Lone Wanderer: "Mister Crowley is alive. I'm here to kill you because you hate Ghouls."Allistair Tenpenny: "He's alive? I should have known. It's hard to kill those zombies. You gotta shoot 'em in the head. Whatever he's paying you, I'll double it."(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) he does not actually hate them. Once he deals with the shock of someone proposing ghouls moving into the tower,The Lone Wanderer: "There are some Ghouls who want to live here. What do you think about that?"Allistair Tenpenny: ""(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) he turns out to be largely indifferent. If the residents of the tower are fine with ghoul residents, he will happily permit them to settle over Chief Gustavo's objections. In fact, he will even relish the opportunity to hunt them down should they misbehave.The Lone Wanderer: "What if the residents are okay with Ghoul neighbors?"Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue) Ultimately, what matters is that they follow the rules and pay the rent on time. It does not even matter if they displace existing residents; caps are caps in the end.The Lone Wanderer: "Your other residents are gone. Might as well let the Ghouls live here."Allistair Tenpenny: " Let the Ghouls move in here. But I expect them to pay and obey the rules like everyone else. "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "The bigots have all been taken care of. So the Ghouls can move in now. Right?"Allistair Tenpenny: " "(Allistair Tenpenny's dialogue)
==Daily schedule==
Tenpenny rarely leaves his penthouse suite, but for the rare occasion he does, he has a seat reserved in Margaret Primrose's cafe.Margaret Primrose: ""(Margaret Primrose's dialogue) Generally, he has his meals delivered to the penthouse, always ordering an "iguana bit sandwich, no salt, with a peeled pear on the side" for lunch.
==Interactions with the player character==
===Interactions overview===
===Quests===
* The Power of the Atom: If the player agrees with Burke's pitch and installs the fusion pulse charge, they will join Tenpenny and Burke to witness the destruction of Megaton in a nuclear explosion. The player will be rewarded with a suite in the tower in return for their services.
** The quest can still be completed even if Roy Phillips had his way with Tenpenny.
* Tenpenny Tower: The Lone Wanderer can convince Tenpenny to give his permission for the ghouls to move in. After the ghouls are allowed to move in, Roy Phillips and Tenpenny will have a "disagreement" and Tenpenny will have an "accident," which results in Tenpenny's body being stuffed in a storage closet.The Lone Wanderer: "What happened to Mister Tenpenny?"Roy Phillips: ""(Roy Phillips' dialogue)
* You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head: Mister Crowley wants someone to kill Tenpenny. If the player accepts the task and confronts Tenpenny, Allistair will make a counter-offer, hiring the Lone Wanderer to kill Crowley instead (the player can negotiate a higher wage).
** Killing Tenpenny with a blow to the head will result in Rivet City inhabitants commenting on his death,Speaker: "You know Tenpenny Tower, right? Well, Allistair Tenpenny was killed."Target: "I heard about that! He was shot in the head like he was some sort of zombie. They say that's how you kill a Ghoul too."Speaker: "That's just a myth. I bet some deranged Ghoul did it though. Well, I gotta run."(Rivet City conversations) and Chief Gustavo assuming command over Tenpenny Tower.The Lone Wanderer: "How would you feel about having a few Ghoul neighbors?"Chief Gustavo: " "(Chief Gustavo's dialogue)
* Slave Hunt: Mei Wong used to be enslaved by Tenpenny, and mentions it in the quest. This has no impact on the unmarked quest and cannot be brought up with Tenpenny.The Lone Wanderer: "Yes. I'm one of them. Have been for years. <lie>"Mei Wong: "No! Don't take me back! I would rather die than be a slave for that awful Allistair Tenpenny."(Mei Wong's dialogue)
===Other interactions===
* He sits on his balcony, enjoying the view from his tower, bothered only by Megaton, which he calls an eyesore on the horizon. Nearby are items such as empty whiskey bottles, shot glasses, a cigarette pack, an ashtray and a chessboard. He carries a sniper rifle, and will randomly shoot at things in the wasteland when outside, as part of his "wasteland safari."
* Tenpenny will not acknowledge Burke's demise should it occur.
==Inventory==
==Appearances==
Allistair Tenpenny appears and .
==Behind the scenes==
* In a 2009 Fallout 3 afterthoughts feature, Emil Pagliarulo mentions Allistair Tenpenny, saying that he traveled to the Capital Wasteland from Great Britain in order to seek his fortune. Pagliarulo stated that by mentioning small details about the state of the rest of the world, characters like Tenpenny can "serve as a catalyst" for players' imaginations.Fallout 3 Afterthoughts:Emil Pagliarulo: "Allistair Tenpenny came to the Capital Wasteland from Great Britain to seek his fortune, so that alone tells you that the U.K. was also hit in the war. And if he came to U.S. to succeed, that says a lot about how screwed up Europe must be. So we just allude, a little bit, to the state of the rest of the world. We like to leave a lot to the players' imaginations, and somebody like Tenpenny serves as a catalyst for those thoughts."
* In a 2022 interview with Pixel.tv, Emil Pagliarulo said that Tenpenny's accent is fake and is him pretending to be more sophisticated.Pixel.tv interview with Emil Pagliarulo (reference starts at 13:46):Emil Pagliarulo: "Whereas people don't know this, but, Allistair Tenpenny from Fallout 3. Who, he has a British accent - that's fake, actually. He's pretending to be this dude..."
===Cut content===
* Tenpenny was conceptualized as a younger man, with slicked-back hair and a well-trimmed mustache, characteristic of British male fashion among aristocrats in the early 20th century. While his suit was created close to how Adam Adamowicz envisioned it, Tenpenny became much more wrinkly, corresponding to his age.
* Allistair would have hosted his own radio station at the tower, called Tenpenny Tower radio. He would have pretended to be a radio celebrity, offering various motivational phrases and truisms, apparently as encouragement, coupled with a tinge of megalomania: "On that vast plain of dust we will raise new cities, and like the Phoenix spread the wings of new life and take flight!"
* Tenpenny's involvement with mercs at Fort Constantine was covered in more detail in an early version of You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head, which featured several cut notes (Mister Crowley's hit list; Trapped, trapped, trapped; Dave's note; Dukov's note; Strayer's note and Tara's note).
==Gallery==
FO3 atomic bomb endslide 2.jpg|Allistair Tenpenny in an endings slide
FO3 atomic bomb endslide 3.jpg
Tenpenny Safari.jpg|Tenpenny aiming his .308 rifle into the wasteland
==References==
Non-game
Category:Tenpenny Tower characters
Category:Fallout 3 human characters
Category:Fallout Shelter characters
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