Disability representation in the Fallout series

Disabled people and disabilities have been represented in various Fallout games. These representations may be explicit, subtextual, allegorical or even unintentional.
==Series==
* The epithet "mutant" is commonly applied to people who exhibit mutations which make them visibly different from pre-War humans. Mutants, including ghouls and super mutants, are generally disabled in some way.
==Fallout==
* The Vault Dweller can be mentally disabled; if their INT stat is low, the player will experience great difficulty speaking and understanding what is happening around them. Most people will refuse to converse with such a player character, but some NPCs like Harold display concern and sympathy. This functionality is overall played for novelty and comic relief.
* Max Stone, one of the three pre-made player characters, is said to be mentally handicapped due to having suffered a cranial injury at birth.
* The player character can become addicted to specific chems, and must visit a doctor to cure the addiction, or wait several days for the condition to pass. Withdrawal is a gameplay mechanic that lowers certain stats whenever the player character is not currently high on the substance. This mechanic is carried forward into all future Fallout games, and has never been significantly expanded upon.
* Greg at the Boneyard constantly hears voices, which terrify him. He has access to a medication which dulls the voices, but he distrusts it and refuses to take it.
* The Children of the Cathedral are a cult in the ruins of L.A. who mutate and torture their congregants and captives to various ends, forever changing their bodies and minds. Some are transformed into pliable servitors through torturous consecration, an honor second only to baptism, the metamorphic birth of super mutants through the transformative FEV vats at Mariposa to the north.
** Most super mutants are mentally impaired, but generally capable of reason. They are infertile due to their quad-helix DNA, which factors heavily into the main plot. All super mutants encountered in Fallout are slaves to the Master, so they are generally inclined to attack the player, but almost (if not) all of them can be spoken to under specific circumstances. 
*** Harry is a voiced mutant with a simplistic, childlike manner of speaking. If the Vault Dweller kills the various super mutants in the area, he will avenge each of his friends by name in combat, and mourn one as his brother.Harry: "{147}{Harry_18}{You hurt Harry's friends! I...hurt...you!}"(Harry's dialogue)Harry: "{168}{Harry200}{Not have to tell you anything!}""{169}{Harry201}{You kill Larry!}""{170}{Harry202}{You kill Gary!}""{171}{Harry203}{You kill my brother, Barry!}""{172}{Harry204}{You kill Terry!}""{173}{Harry205}{You kill Sally! He did have lousy name. But not reason to kill him!}"(Harry's dialogue) If the player has already destroyed the vats, he will only ask to be left alone.Harry: {160}{Harry_26}{Hey, Harry hear about you. You break the Vats!}The Vault Dweller: "{162}{}{Yes, I'm the one. What are you going to do about it?}"Harry: "{164}{Harry_27}{Uhh, me let you go. OK? You not show face here again? Please?}"The Vault Dweller: "{165}{}{Not good enough.}"(Harry's dialogue)Harry: "{174}{Harry26}{Not bother me. Leave alone!}"(Harry's dialogue)
*** When the Master is killed, super mutants flee the region out of fear.Fallout endings; super mutants: "You managed to destroy the Vats, then you killed the Master before he could realize his twisted plans. With the Master gone, his armies flee to the east in fear of retribution from the remaining normals." According to New Vegas lore, for decades thereafter, baptized survivors of the Cathedral remained shunned from human society. Even those living in far-away rehabilitory seclusion are subjected to harassment, defamation, displacement and genocide, engineered by the NCR government.The Courier: "What do you want with Jacobstown?"Norton: "Just doing what I'm paid to do - harass the muties until they leave or attack us. If they leave, we let 'em go. If they attack, we wipe them out. Either way, the job's not done until they've cleared out of the town."The Courier: "Who are you doing this for?"Norton: "Won't name names, but some important folks in the NCR are sick of muties attacking their Brahmin herds. They want them gone from NCR territory. Maybe this group had something to do with attacking Brahmin, maybe not. Doesn't matter. We're getting paid to make them go away."(Norton's dialogue)
*** These details contrast some later depictions of super mutants as interchangeable and inherently hyper-violent creatures incapable of peace.
** Super mutants derived from prime normals (unirradiated humans) tend to exhibit hyper-intelligence, or at least normal cognitive function.
*** The mutant Lou Tenant speaks with a highly sophisticated and dramatic voice due to his hyper-intelligence. No other super mutant in the setting has exhibited this affected style of speech.
** Some adherents are altered in a chemical process called "consecration."The Vault Dweller: "{166}{}{What did they do to you?}"Dane: "{198}{}{Dumped me in chemicals, filled me full of holes, played loud noises for me. That sort of shit. Tried to make me into something I'm not. Parents do that all the time.}""{199}{}{I hurt real bad.}""{206}{}{I used to hurt people bad, too. I was a stud! Hell, I was a god! A tough god son of a bitch! But it wasn't enough! I was a goose-stepping fighting machine! But now I'm . . . I'm . . . help me . . .}"(Dane's dialogue)Lasher: "{131}{}{My quarters are not open to those who have not been consecrated. I must ask you to leave at once.}"The Vault Dweller: "{134}{}{I wanted to ask you about consecration.}"Lasher: "{138}{}{That is a privilege reserved for only the most faithful servants. Only baptism is a higher honor.}"The Vault Dweller: "{139}{}{And how does one earn baptism?}"Lasher: "{183}{}{By the endurance of pain, by the acquisition of wisdom, and the performance of service. Pain is knowledge, Wisdom is obedience, and Service is courage. }"The Vault Dweller: "{184}{}{[More]}"Lasher: "{185}{}{You must reject the Light that nearly destroyed us all, and pledge yourself to the Darkness in which all are equal. Now that I have told you this thing, go seek it. Seek the Master and his wisdom.}"(Lasher's dialogue) The survivors of this process, though apparently human, are rendered insane.Dane's character description: "{100}{}{You see a big, strong, burly man.}"(Dane's dialogue)The Vault Dweller: "{163}{}{What's this place used for?}"Dane: "{170}{}{This is the baptismal. They make Servitors here. When acolytes have been indoctrinated, they bring them here and they go through the process. A few of them survive . . .}""{171}{}{Most lose their minds, but they're still useful. They throw them downstairs, rant at them about the Master and walk around in a stupor. You've seen the zombies. Great slave labor -- and soldiers . . .}""{172}{}{John Brown's body is molderin' in the Grave. John Brown's body is molderin' in the Grave, John Brown's body is a-molderin' in the Grave, and the Master's screwing us overrrrr . . .}""{173}{}{Stop that. It's getting real difficult to hold myself together.}""{179}{}{Ooops! I can't keep myself together anymore! Whee! Whee! Whee!}"(Dane's dialogue) The cult honors them as the "servitor" class, but non-believers pejoratively refer to them as "zombies" for their inability to think normally. Most of these "zombies" zealously espouse the cult's propaganda and show little individuality.
***The servitor Dane is kept in the Inner Sanctum. He suffers terribly from disturbing hallucinations as a result of his consecration. He converses with himself at length in two distinct intonations. At one point, he derides himself as a "schizo bastard."Dane: "Aren't you tired of talking with yourself, you schizo bastard?"(Dane's dialogue) He also experiences periods of lucidity, and begs the Vault Dweller to kill Father Lasher for his abuse of Calder the Flower Child. In one line, he trails off mid-sentence to say "help me."
**Nightkin are the most exalted of the Cathedral's castes. Psychically inclined, they serve as high-level guards and military officers. They use Stealth Boys to stay invisible at all times, even when alone in their private quarters at night. A small library at the Cathedral is occupied only by nightkin, and a computer can be found in the nightkin barracks. The Master is able to communicate with them telepathically. Dane claims to hear the nightkin crying.Dane: "{156}{}{Master! I shouldn't have said anything. I heard the Nightkin crying and I felt sorry for it.}"(Dane's dialogue)
*The ghouls of Necropolis have the appearance of corpses, but are undying. 
**Some ghouls lose the ability to speak, and will attack any non-ghouls who approach them. All of these "mindless ghouls" live at Necropolis.
**All glowing ones in Fallout are under the protection of Set's regime at Necropolis. They will only fight in self-defense.
***The glowing ones who dwell within Vault 12 are able to speak articulately, but have been driven mad.Glowing one: "{102}{}{The liquid clear no longer flows. Without the flow we all take final rest.}"(VALTGLO.MSG) Unless the player attempts to murder them, they will not engage in violent behavior. 
***Those seen in cages at the Hall of the Dead are only known to mutter to themselves.{The glowing one mumbles something and is then silent. He is drooling uncontrollably}(GLOWONE.MSG) 
*Harold is a unique FEV mutant who suffers from a degenerative condition. He is often categorized as a ghoul for his decomposed appearance, despite being born from FEV like a super mutant. Skin has grown over his right eye.
**Harold is one of the only NPCs who expresses empathy and care for mentally disabled player characters.
*Little people, referred to as "dwarves," are commonly seen. All dwarf characters are represented by the same generic male sprite. Their inclusion is generally considered an allusion to the sort of medieval fantasy imagery common to RPGs. It was also reasoned that many people in the wasteland would be small as a result of commonplace malnutrition and radiation. 
**Mitch and Zack are dwarf characters.
**Gretch is a mentally disabled little person.
==Fallout 2==
*The player character can once again be mentally disabled.
*Myron is a slaver, chem cook, shit farmer, and potential player companion. He may call the Chosen one "retarded."
**A female Chosen One with low INT may be drugged and assaulted by Myron.
*Torr Buckner is the mentally disabled son of Ardin Buckner, who is given the job of watching the brahmin.
**If the player character is mentally disabled, they can converse with Torr in a normal manner.
*Most super mutants live peacefully at Broken Hills, a settlement where all sorts of humans and mutants are welcome.
*Harold is now the mayor of Gecko. He experiences a voice in his mind, which he attributes to the tree growing out of his skull.
*Hostile ghoul enemies are called "ghoul crazies," and limited to random encounters. They may say "make the pain stop" during combat.
*The only glowing ones in the game are technicians at a nuclear power plant in Gecko. 
*The Slags are a culture of mutants who live together underground because they are sensitive to sunlight and they chronically fear falling into the sky.The Chosen One: “{Why don’t you send one of your own people to deliver the message?}”
Vegeir: “{Since the Sealing, we, as a people, have changed. Few can bear to be on the surface because they are not used to having a black sea of nothingness above them. The sensation of falling upward is so great for them that they lie frozen, clutching the ground.}” (Vegeir's dialogue)
*Only "pure" unmutated humans are allowed to enter Vault City. All visitors must submit to invasive medical screening. Outside the city, the player can speak with individuals deemed unfit for entry. 
*The Sierra Depot experiment log explains that H. Lector fed a diet of Mentats and his special enhancers to a person with a functional IQ of 39 (severe mental disability), which rose to a quotient of 200 in just a few weeks, accompanied by an enlargement of the cranium. His remains are represented by an asset originally seen in the "UFO crash" special encounter in Fallout, depicting an abnormally small body with an oversized skull.
*This is the last game where little people are seen. Buster, Duppo, Micky and Stuart Little are characters who use the generic dwarf model. None are depicted as apparently mentally disabled.
**One of Stuart's descriptions calls him a "midget," a term common in transgressive media from the 90's and '00s, widely considered pejorative then and now.
==Fallout Tactics==
*Nanuk, a tribal person who must be rescued by the player, is a survivor of torture who lives with chronic pain.
**Like some other tribal characters in Fallout Tactics, his speech is written in cartoonish broken English, similar to a mentally disabled player character in Fallout.
**He was kept as an unwilling sex slave by the raider inquisitor Daisy-May Gomer.MIS 03 Speech.txt: "Name: Nanuk.Role: A good-looking prisoner.Background: An unfortunate tribal prisoner who is kept as an unwilling sex slave for Daisy-May. Nanuk has developed a nasty rash and a burning sensation while he urinates. He longs for release." Noted to be strikingly attractive, Nanuk is presented as a comedic inversion of the archetypical damsel in distress.
**Nanuk's script consists of jokes pertaining to his assault, sexual dysfunction, painful infections and difficulty speaking English. 
*Injured characters encountered on missions, including Nanuk, can often be spoken to later in the Brotherhood's infirmary.
*Small factions of ghouls and super mutants can be encountered in the Midwest.
*This is the only game where a chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel is shown to accept ghouls and super mutants. The Midwest Brotherhood are so open-minded, they may even recruit Mother, a talking hairy deathclaw. However, some soldiers and commanding officers within the Brotherhood still express complete contempt for mutated people, as well as anyone who rejects "freedom" by resisting Brotherhood rule, and the tribal cultures of the area in general.
*A ghoul named Harold with a tree in his head can be recruited. However, Harold's previously established lore is not invoked elsewise, and the recruit's character bio seems to establish him to be a different character.
**A cut tape titled Prophecy would have pertained to Saint Harold of the Leafy Scalp.
==Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel== 
*Jesse is missing his left arm.
*The ghoul population seen in the game are Vault 12 diaspora who exist on a spectrum of composure, as opposed to a binary of feral/non-feral. The concept of feral ghouls would not be codified until Fallout 3.
**They suffer from a wide variety of disfiguring injuries and afflictions which would obviously be fatal to a normal person, and most behave intensely. Some people such as Mayor Richard are terrified of all ghouls, presuming them to be cruel and violent.
**Cain is a playable ghoul who is visibly misshapen and bloody. His teeth and brain are exposed, and parts of him are held together by scrap metal bolted to his body. In a trailer voice-over, he mentions that his guts are leaking out.
**The ghoul city of Los hosts three territorial subcultures.
***"Crazies," named for the FO2 enemy, control the docks. 
***High Priest Blake leads the Church of the Lost. Outsiders know them as the "ghoul fanatics" who hold the city itself. 
****Blake's innards are visibly hanging out of his abdomen.
****He speaks in a poetic, obtuse manner, based on the poetry of William Blake. It's unclear if his affect is involuntary or performed. In practice, his speech pattern evokes the glowing ones of Vault 12.
***A community of reasonable ghouls live on the bridge.
****Harold is among them. He experienced sexual dysfunction while employing Ruby when part of him sloughed off. He is missing body parts such as an eye and an arm. They may be found and returned to him. He also expresses a sense of camaraderie towards the ghoul Cain and offers him specific encouragement.
**At one point, a ghoul casually declares to a peer that his balls have suddenly fallen off and requests help looking for them.
*All the super mutants, such as Attis, are infertile. This is a key aspect of the game's plot, as the Attis Army are seeking a cure for their infertility.
**Most super mutants are mentally disabled.
**Several potential health and ability issues are indicated by a scene which depicts a super mutant relieving himself while flailing his arms above his head and screaming, as he blasts the back tank of a closed toilet from several feet away with an unthinkable procession of urine too visually graphic to further describe.Super mutant takes a super piss. - YouTube
==Fallout 3==
* Low intelligence dialogue functionality is no longer present.
* Breadbox, an elderly enslaved man at Paradise Falls, is hard of hearing and will respond nonsensically to the Lone Wanderer.Breadbox: "What... huh? Me? You're talking to me? Yes? What do you need?"The Lone Wanderer: "I said: Are you all right?"Breadbox: "I don't know where the clinic is, they don't let us out of the pens, you know?"The Lone Wanderer: "I said: Are you all right?"Breadbox: "Oh? Him? No, I have no idea where he is."The Lone Wanderer: "I said: Are you all right?"Breadbox: "Oh, I don't know. I don't wear a watch, they're pretty rare you know. Ask someone else."The Lone Wanderer: "Never mind, you crazy old bastard."Breadbox: "I still can't hear you!"(Breadbox's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "The gate's open. Run for it!"Breadbox: "What? No, I never said that."The Lone Wanderer: "The gate's open. Run for it!"Breadbox: ""(Breadbox's dialogue)
* Star Paladin Cross was severely wounded while protecting Owyn Lyons in the past and Scribe Rothchild saved her life by augmenting her with cybernetics. She is never seen outside of her power armor while acting as a player companion.
* Companion Butch DeLoria suffers from acute agoraphobia, coping poorly with the concept of the sky after being forced to leave Vault 101.
* Bumble, a young orphan living at Little Lamplight, is noted to be exceptionally clumsy.
* Biwwy, another child living in Little Lamplight, is shunned by the other children there due to having a speech impediment.
* Zip, another child living in Little Lamplight, has a hyperactivity disorder.
* The Roach King is nonverbal and covered with bugs. In his entry in the Wasteland Census, his speech patterns are very simplified and intermixed with insectoid onomotopoeia.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.93:"Roach King: Kheee! First, build throne. Then take rocket. Kheee! Some of my shiny friends help me. What time is it? Scuttle-and-bustle time. Kheee! The sun is hot. But the throne is cool. Khee-akaahhh-kuhhh... oh, me insides don't feel right. Sleepy time. Kheee!"
* In the slave collar instructions note, the slaver Grouse writes "If you have any questions, piss off. I don't have time for retards."
* In previous games, ghouls were only textually known to come from the Vault at Bakersfield. Beginning with Fallout 3, they exist throughout the setting.
** The term "feral ghoul" is coined in this game. The concept of a distinction between non-feral and feral ghouls is introduced. They can be encountered throughout the game world, especially in places that are imperfectly sheltered from radiation. Feral ghouls are depicted as completely incapable of speech and attacking based on instinct rather than malice.
*** This is also the first game in which glowing ones are depicted as incapable of speaking. The Sun of Atom, added in Broken Steel, attempts to say the name of Atom."Arrrr-taaahm." (Sun of Atom's dialogue)
*** Ethyl, Meat, Atom's Champion and the Sun of Atom are nonverbal ghouls with the appearance of "feral ghouls" who live peacefully among their communities.
*** Cut combat sound effects would have depicted feral ghouls saying very simple phrases such as "Stop you!" and "Pain!".
** Underworld is a ghoul settlement founded within the Museum of History.
** Discrimination against ghouls drives the conflict at Tenpenny Tower.
* Harold makes another appearance from previous games and now, years later, has become unable to move due to the tree attached to his head having completely grown over him save for most of his face. The natural settlement of Oasis has sprung forth from his roots, and a cult called the Treeminders worship him as a god. He still claims to hear a voice coming from "Bob." Harold's condition causes him chronic pain and when he meets the Lone Wanderer, he asks for them to carry out an assisted suicide and end his life. The Treeminders treat his requests to die as metaphors or tests of faith and refuse to perform the act. The Lone Wanderer may carry out the task by entering the tunnels beneath Oasis and destroying his heart; he cannot be damaged by most firearms and he will request his death not come from immolation. The tunnels are infested with mirelurks, which causes Harold further discomfort. The situation of Harold and Oasis can be resolved in several ways.
** Harold can be convinced to endure his surreal life for the good of the wasteland. His heart can be treated, under the direction of Tree Father Birch or Leaf Mother Maple, so that his trees will either spread out across the wasteland or remain contained in the valley at Oasis.
** Harold can be euthanized by damaging his heart as he has requested.
** Harold's request for a painless death can be ignored and he can be set on fire, causing him to scream and writhe for some time, later left a charred husk.
* All super mutants in Fallout 3 except for Fawkes and Uncle Leo are portrayed as ravenous cannibals barely capable of speech. Fawkes in particular is ostracized by the super mutants of Vault 87 for displaying complex thought, including destroying a terminal he used to study and gain knowledge. If the player eavesdrops on super mutant enemies, they seem to be constantly confused and angry.
* The occultist Obadiah Blackhall uses a wheelchair; oxygen canisters and crutches can also be found nearby. He is able to walk normally in-game, and has no unique animations relating to his apparent disability.
* The Swampfolk are physically grotesque and hostile to all outsiders. This is attributed to "poor breeding"Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition pp.44-45: "SwampfolkAlthough Point Lookout did not suffer a direct hit during the Great War, the radioactive fallout can be seen in the indigenous population that have slowly devolved over the decades, and now sport the 'Point Lookout look.' Sporting sinewy, pockmarked bodies oozing with strength and pus, the Swampfolk are a violent and stupid bunch, and they don't take well to strangers. They have a rudimentary belief system, and mark their territory (which is everywhere north and west of Point Lookout Township) with fetishes: straw dolls hanging from trees and bone totems. Anthropologists have speculated the Swampfolk have a belief in the occult, and some postulate they pray to a hitherto unknown entity named Ug-Qualtoth. Frighteningly strong, and ferociously territorial, they are among the most dangerous adversaries you may face."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles) and inbreedingThe Lone Wanderer: "Marcella's dead, you callous prick."Obadiah Blackhall: "Forgive my indiscretion. Still, with her death I see no reason for you to keep hold of that book. For all you know, the same fate may befall you. Ah, Marcella. A religious fanatic in her own right. Don't believe anything the woman says; her mind is as addled as those inbred swampfolk."(Obadiah Blackhall's dialogue) as well as their historic poverty. They speak with stereotypical Appalachian accents and are known to capture and torture outsiders to death.Ritual site 
** Conceptually, the Swampfolk drew inspiration from The Hills Have Eyes and "an ironic take on Deliverance,"Exclusive Fallout 3 Point Lookout Interview: The new enemies share, in my opinion, a strong resemblance to the Boomers from Left 4 Dead. Am I imagining things or…?Jeff Gardiner: "Lot of folks here play Left 4 Dead – but the inspiration for the new 'Hillfolk' found in Point Lookout is more 'The Hills Have Eyes,' or some ironic take on 'Deliverance.' " as well as the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
** The varied appearances, and varied degrees of mutation, of the Swampfolk was the result of a production mistake, as the developers only meant to commission one interchangeable model instead of three.Fallout 4 Point Lookout Mod with Joel Burgess and Nate Purkeypile (48:17)Joel Burgess: "We knew we were probably only going to get one swampfolk and... so we basically said, so 'let's have...' We did very little outsourcing, right? So this was sort of like an experiment for us almost, to do the outsourcing support? So since we're not really sure which size we want, let's kind of have them do a small-medium-large and then we'll pick one. And that baton got handed off and never got handed back until all three of them - so we had received the paintings or whatever, we're like 'uh, I dunno, maybe we should do the big guy, maybe we should do the little guy.' And later all three of them showed up, and... It's like getting extra pizza, you can't return it to the store, right? So we just had three guys and I assume we paid for three guys, but hey, I dunno, it's not my problem, so..."
* Bingo is an elderly member of the Pitt raiders who is nonverbal, only saying his name.
* Trouble Man is a member of the Pitt raiders who abuses chems and alcohol as a coping mechanism for his constant waking nightmares.
* Abominations are a grotesque crossbreed of human and Zetan DNA, resulting in a nonverbal berserker with unnaturally elongated arms and discolored skin that will attack anything in front of it, human or alien.
==Fallout: New Vegas==
*Low-INT dialogue returns as occasional unique dialogue options. 
**Most dialogue checks function as a pass/fail stat check. As such, the available dialogue option will change based on its effectiveness. Failed INT checks involve the Courier saying something foolish, and picking those dialogue choices is always optional.
** At an Intelligence of 3 or lower, several interactions involve the Courier thinking hyperliterally (such as asking about real snakes when someone metaphorically calls an enemy a "snake"), or even speaking in a stunted fashion (such as "I IS SCIENTISTIC!"). Some NPCs will respond helpfully out of sympathy for their mental condition. Often, these interactions result in benefits to the player that would otherwise require more difficult skill checks.
***Arcade Gannon will agree to travel with low-INT players out of concern for their wellbeing.
*If the Four Eyes trait is chosen, either at during character creation or by using the Sink Auto-Doc to gain it, the Courier is described as being nearsighted, gaining +1 to Perception when wearing any type of glasses and losing -1 without them; Perception governs the range of one's ability to detect nearby NPCs, both friendly and hostile, so a character with Four Eyes is essentially unable to notice others from a distance without glasses and has to get closer.
*Jacobstown functions as a haven and rehabilitation center for super mutants, especially the nightkin who are suffering from schizophrenia due to prolonged Stealth Boy usage. Two doctors reside here, hoping to find some way to help them medically with their mental struggles.
**Lily Bowen, a nightkin herself and resident of Jacobstown, is an elderly woman with dementia. She frequently mistakes the Courier for her grandchild (Jimmy or Becky depending on the gender) and also suffers schizophrenia like most nightkin. Taking damage may cause her to lapse into violent behavior, similar to mood swings, during which she claims to be guided by a voice she calls "Leo." Her companion quest focuses on getting Lily to either take her medication consistently (to help control her psychosis and silence "Leo," but also leading to her losing memories of her grandchildren and past) or stop taking it altogether (later resulting in "Leo" completely taking over and Lily becoming violently psychotic, perhaps permanently).
*The mutant separatist Tabitha suffers from mania. She also seems to have some degree of dissociative identity disorder. A robot named Rhonda helps her manage the symptoms of her mental conditions. With Rhonda disabled, Tabitha's mental condition is deteriorating. She aspires to found a mighty State of Utobitha, where mutants will reign.
**Tabitha's Black Mountain mutants are presented as a violent parallel faction to the peaceful community of Jacobstown. 
***A super mutant named Neil guards the pass to Black Mountain and warns people to stay away for their own safety, especially at night.The Courier: "What makes this a 'dangerous place?'"Neil: "You must've heard her radio broadcasts? Though why a human would follow her invitation here is beyond me... unless you didn't listen very closely. The voice on the radio belongs to Tabitha, the 'supreme commander' of Black Mountain - or, as she calls it, the 'State of Utobitha.' She took control of this place almost two years ago. The Super Mutants here do whatever she says - and she says humans are to be killed on sight."(Neil's dialogue)The Courier: "Tell me about the Nightkin."Neil: "The Nightkin are vicious in combat, and that's if you see them coming. Most don't. They were created to be soldiers, and given devices to camouflage them in battle. Unfortunately, the devices drove most of them mad over time. They spend most of their time at the top of the mountain, but patrol the roads after dark as well. You'd do well to avoid the mountain at night."(Neil's dialogue) He maintains his post simply because he is in a position to prevent violence on a significant scale. Neil is not mentally disabled, and will not tolerate microaggressions pertaining to his condition, both out of self-respect and respect for differently abled metamorphic people.The Courier: "You seem friendly, for a mutant."Neil: "Keep saying things like that, and I won't be so friendly. Not every Super Mutant is a brain-damaged brute. Many of us are just as intelligent as basic humans - and the rest don't really have any choice in the matter, do they?"The Courier: "Sorry about that. No offense intended."Neil: "And none taken... since you apologized."(Neil's dialogue) He is quick to forgive those who apologize, but any other option will result in him terminating the conversation.The Courier: "Spare me the 'poor mutants' rap, all right?"Neil: "Of course. Sorry I bothered you. Enjoy your travels."(Neil's dialogue)The Courier: "Moving on..."Neil: "Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you to do. Move on."(Neil's dialogue)
**The presentation of Tabitha as a violent nightkin with a comedic low-detail blond wig and loud star-shaped glasses has been criticized as falling into cheap, antiquated tropes related to disabled and queer people. However, this common criticism of the work itself should not be taken as a rejection or indictment of the character, who is not generally considered controversial or hateful. Conversely, the depiction of Gail in Fallout 76 as a relatively benevolent and dignified female super mutant with mental disabilities has been more favorably received as well-considered representation.
* The Forecaster suffers from migraines, as well as hallucinations which grant him insight. The same can be said of the nightkin who reside in Black Rock cave.
*Somewhat similarly, No-bark Noonan is a highly manic conspiracy theorist who suffers from delusions. The content of his ramblings often reflects obscure knowledge, albeit expressed extremely poorly.
*If the Courier gains Caesar's trust, he will confide that he is suffering from a brain tumor that may kill him if not operated on. Symptoms include minor headaches that became debilitating over time, motor malfunction such as one of his legs dragging when he walks and feeling stiff and hard to move, and moments of listlessness where he stares at nothing in particular, unaware of his surroundings until it ends.
*There are various depictions of drug addiction via chems in the game.
**Casual drug use is common on the Strip and in Freeside.
***The Followers of the Apocalypse distribute free doses of Fixer to people experiencing chem withdrawal. Fixer is a pre-War drug which alleviates symptoms of chronic addiction.
****If the Courier agrees to help the Followers' leader Julie Farkas, she asks them to help two important members of the Freeside community, Bill Ronte & Jacob Hoff kick their alcohol and drug addictions caused by using sub-par Jet and whiskey supplied by Dixon. She wants to cure them specifically because they would be able to help improve the community by repairing the water pump and producing detox chems for the Followers, respectively.
**The Great Khans tribe are presented as casual chem users. Openly cooking and trading chems is tolerated among their society.
***One member, Chance is shown to rely heavily on chems in order to cope with his mental trauma (most likely PTSD) caused by witnessing the Bitter Springs Massacre. Said trauma has left him a mute and prone to impulsive, violent action, especially when around fire as a triggering factor.
**The Fiends are presented as hyperviolent savages fueled by drugs; their name is directly derived from the moniker "drug/chem fiend." It's commented by several characters that their extreme drug abuse eliminates any sense of self-preservation, to the point they willingly charge against armed NCR patrols and, in certain endings, stage a full-scale attack against the NCR's headquarters during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. 
***Violet, a high-ranking Fiend, has a simplified manner of speaking and isolates herself away from other Fiends, instead preferring the company of dogs.
** The pre-War scientist-turned-robotic think tank, Doctor Mobius is characterized as an eccentric, amphetamine-addled old man; there is a dialogue option to request a sample of the brain-altering Mentats drug that he can fulfill repeatedly and both the bedroom of his former home in Higgs Village and a storage room in his Forbidden Zone contains an excessive amount of Mentats. The super-villainous persona he puts on when talking to the Think Tank is also put down as being the result of using Psycho.
*Raul Tejada suffers from arthritis and chronic pain as an elderly ghoul at 200+ years old. His companion quest deals with helping him come to realize that elderly people can still be valuable and important in other ways than just physical effort.
*Boxcars' legs were broken by the Legion during their sacking of Nipton, his prize for "winning" second place in their sadistic "lottery."
*Andy, a former Ranger, experiences difficulty walking and has to use crutches after his leg was wounded by a grenade exploding during an operation against Legion slavers.
*Mean Sonofabitch's tongue was cut out, greatly hindering his ability to speak.
*10 of Spades speaks with a stutter.
*Ranger Ghost, an NCR Ranger stationed at the Mojave Outpost and serving as lookout from the roof of the barracks, has albinism, which inspired her name due to her pale skintone from lack of pigmentation.
*Craig Boone demonstrates signs of suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression, brought on by the things he witnessed and participated in during the Bitter Springs Massacre and the loss of his wife Carla.
*Corporal Betsy suffers from PTSD and frequently demonstrates aggressive behavior mixed with hypersexuality (also called compulsive sexual behavior) towards other women, believed to have been brought on as a result of her rape by Cook-Cook. Her First Recon squadmates ask the Courier to convince her to seek psychiatric help.
*Corporal Sterling is a former NCR Ranger who was disabled after being captured by the Legion near Malpais. His Legion captors broke the bones in his hands and feet with hammers, permanently crippling them, though he managed to escape and was rescued. He has since transferred to the NCR Army's First Recon sharpshooter regiment, as while his injuries prevented him from continuing as a Ranger, he wanted to continue serving and his injuries do not impair his ability as a marksman.
*Anders, a Great Khan, is seen walking with a limp following his rescue from the Legion. As a result of the physical trauma acquired from being crucified he is unable to perform his usual duties as a Khan drug runner. He is later seen living at the Red Rock drug lab.
*It is possible to encounter blind deathclaws in the wasteland. In the game files, they are shown to have a Perception attribute level one point higher than normal deathclaws, seemingly indicating that, as a result of their lack of sight, their other senses like smell and/or hearing may have improved to compensate.
* The three companions of the Courier in Dead Money are disabled in different ways: 
**The nightkin Dog and God has been called a portrayal of dissociative identity disorder. Both identities are aware of the other. Each desires complete control over the body and refers to losing agency to the other as being "put in the cage/basement." The nightkin's story ends with either an act of suicide that kills the body and both identities with it, one identity taking over permanently, or the Courier helping to create a new unified identity.
***This new identity is, in turn, struck with amnesia, unable to recall any details of that which transpired before its synthesis.
***Fans with similar conditions have expressed that the presentation of efficaciously "resolving" the nightkin's conflicting identities into a single unified identity to "unlock their good ending" is a simplistic and clichéd character arc. It presents the character's mind and identity as something to be immediately "solved" by a manipulative stranger, in the form of a life-changing ego death triggered by a single violent and traumatizing event. Comparatively, the relatively complex presentation of fellow nightkin character Lily has been praised.
**Christine Royce was rendered temporarily nonverbal by an invasive procedure in an Auto-Doc that performed a transplant on her vocal cords, courtesy of Dean Domino, and she could only communicate in sign language and pantomiming while the wound healed. It is also eventually revealed that being trapped in a medical facility in Big MT (involving ECT (electroconvulsive shock therapy)) prior to reaching the Sierra Madre left her partially mentally disabled as well; she retains her higher faculties and the ability to do complex math, but reading and writing are very difficult, if not impossible for her to do.
**The ghoul Dean Domino could be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder and antisocial tendencies, along with severe paranoia. Before the War, he sought to ruin Frederick Sinclair because Domino could not fathom nor accept that another man could be happier than him, and so he convinced himself that Sinclair, who was genuinely happy and comfortable in life, was in reality a selfish, arrogant upstart, leading Domino to trick him into falling in love with Vera Keyes as part of his plan to rob the Sierra Madre out of petty spite. When the Courier interacts with him, expressing irritation, aggression, contempt or challenging his sense of self-importance will earn his ire. Domino will double-cross able partners simply because he perceives their competence as a personal insult. Over the last 200 years, he has littered the Villa with traps and hidden supply caches to ensure his own safety over others. If Dean survives the events of the story, he eventually learns the truth about Sinclair and Vera and admits that he "felt sad for a moment, and he had no idea why."
* Joshua Graham admits to experiencing chronic pain when he has to re-apply his bandages daily to prevent infection, where exposing his burned flesh to the air causes a sensation very similar to being set on fire, drawing a comparison to how the Legion covered him in pitch that was ignited before throwing him into the Grand Canyon after the First Battle of Hoover Dam. As a Mormon of New Canaan, Graham views his trauma through a religious lens.
* The Think Tank's Dr. 8 can no longer speak coherently due to damage sustained to his voice module as the result of an attack by a previous visitor to Big MT. A Courier with a high Intelligence can understand Dr. 8's "codespew" due to their knowledge of RobCo code.
* Ulysses suffers from PTSD due to the things he witnessed such as the destruction of his tribe, the Twisted Hairs, and the community that formerly inhabited the Divide being wiped out by nuclear devastation.Ulysses log: Y-17.23
==Fallout 4== 
*Low INT dialogue does not return in any form. However, a LCK stat of 5 allows one to take the Idiot Savant perk, which grants bonus experience occasionally. When the perk activates, the Sole Survivor will be heard giggling childishly or saying something like "doy."
*Proctor Ingram lost the use of her legs during a prior combat encounter and has to use a modified power armor frame, akin to the use of a wheelchair or walker, to retain her mobility and continue to perform her duties.
*Jun Long suffers from chronic depression following the loss of his home in Quincy and the death of his son Kyle when the Gunners attacked the town. His wife Marcy is also experiencing mental illness due to this traumatizing event.
*Cait suffers greatly from PTSD due to being a former slave and cage fighter in the Combat Zone, and prominently suffers from drug addiction, Psycho in particular.
**As the only character in the game with a prominent Irish accent, it is unavoidably implied that she and her parents may have been trafficked to the Commonwealth when Cait was young.
**After raising her Affinity, she eventually confesses to the Sole Survivor that they are the first true friend she has ever had in her life, revealing deep-seated feelings of self-loathing and loneliness.
** Further raising Affinity with Cait prompts her to ask to be taken to Vault 95 for help with her addiction.
***In Vault 95, researchers conducted an experiment in which drug addicts were rehabilitated, then exposed to a hidden stash of drugs to see their reaction; the result was most either killing others for the drugs or killing themselves to prevent relapse. Cait intends to use a specialized "extractor chair," which is allegedly capable of cleansing a person of even a long-term addiction. The treatment consists of injecting a powerful anti-addiction drug via two large syringes inserted into the neck for an extended time. Close observation shows that something unspecified is also extracted as well.
***During the quest, Cait will speak negatively about the concept of addiction support groups when shown the scene in the overseer's office.
***A bespoke animation for Cait using the chair depicts her writhing in pain as her fatal general drug addiction is cleansed from her body.
**Fans have called the premise and execution of these story elements as being insensitive to the real struggles of drug addicts that cannot rely on a one-shot "miracle cure."
*Preston Garvey struggles with depression and will admit to previous bouts of suicidal ideation, after the player raises his Affinity.
*Nick Valentine was a prototype synth designed to be imbued with a neural scan of a real human mind with all that person's memories and personality traits. Raising Affinity with him will have him admit to feeling a strong disassociation due to acknowledging that his memories not really being his own. One of DiMA's, another prototype synth like him, memories of the time just after Nick gained his current memories has Nick call DiMA a plastic-skinned freak, possibly revealing a low view of his own situation. When found in Vault 114, Nick is missing patches of "plastic skin" torn due to wear and tear but he never expresses any strong reaction to pain, indicating a limited sense of touch and possibly also a lack of taste or smell.
* Deacon seems to suffer from PTSD and perhaps also severe paranoia; he never lets anyone know anything about him, not even his comrades in The Railroad, and constantly projects a wise-cracking personality to keep others away. He also regularly goes to have facial reconstructive surgery. From what he does say of his past, he was part of a violent anti-synth gang until he met his late wife, who he later discovered was a synth herself that ended up being killed by the gang; Deacon retaliated and slaughtered them. Perhaps out of survivor's guilt, he devotes himself to helping the Railroad and rescuing other synths.
*Hancock, the ghoulified mayor of Goodneighbor suffers from chem addiction, and presumably deals with PTSD from witnessing the forced migration of ghouls from Diamond City and the ensuing deaths. In the script, his drug use is generally treated as a source of comic relief.
*The con man Parker Quinn's last words to the Sole Survivor will be calling them a "retard" to their face if they listen to his charge card scam sales pitch, regardless of whether they end up agreeing to buy the card or not.
*Super mutants are once again depicted as disorganized cannibals who live only to pillage as in Fallout 3.Super mutant's orders
**A certain type of super mutant called a "suicider" is demonstrated impulsively carrying out suicide bombings using handheld mini nukes, despite super mutants (outside of the Unity) canonically lacking any sort of ideology or even any form of internal hierarchy apart from leadership by strength.
**The only conversant super mutant characters in Fallout 4 (aside from the isolated case of the scientist Virgil) are Strong and Erickson. In both their cases, they were othered by their immediate social groups for expressing different and/or complex thought. 
***Strong developed an interest in a line from Macbeth when Rex Goodman came to read it to the super mutants at Trinity Tower, though it's demonstrated that he simply became fixated on the notion that when describing "the milk of human kindness," it refers to a literal physical liquid that Strong believes he can find and drink it to gain "the secret power" of humans and uplift mutantkind. For the act of "lowering" himself to listen to a human instead of killing, he was imprisoned by his leader Fist, with the intent to be thrown to his death from the top of the tower. If rescued by the Sole Survivor, even with his Affinity raised later, Strong never expresses any deeper comprehension of the literary themes of Macbeth past his obsession with finding "the milk of human kindness."
****Rex himself is presented as a comic relief character and several characters remark on and consider him foolish for attempting to reintroduce human culture to super mutants.
*** Erickson became a survivalist after splitting from his group on the Island. He claims the Fog helped him "think straight," which made him unable to continue working for his brutal leader. He is the only super mutant in Fallout 4 to be seen speaking with proper syntax except for Virgil.
***Virgil is a former Institute scientist who deliberately turned himself into a super mutant to survive in the irradiated Glowing Sea and hopes to reverse his condition by requesting the Sole Survivor recover his experimental serum from the Institute. He retains his intelligence but suffers from anger issues. His terminal entries also indicate that he has difficulty articulating the use of his larger hands and digits.
**The unique enemy Dead Eye residing in Fraternal Post 115 is a super mutant who is blind and covers his eyes with a cloth.
*Racism towards ghouls is present in the Commonwealth as well, prominently found in the case of the mass eviction of ghouls from Diamond City under the anti-ghoul decree of 2282 upon the inauguration of Mayor McDonough. The Brotherhood of Steel consider ghouls filthy and non-human.The Sole Survivor: "Hey, you know you could head back to Sanctuary. I'll come visit. I promise."Vault-Tec rep: " "Danse: ""(Vault-Tec rep and Danse's dialogue)Danse: ""(Danse's dialogue) The members of the Children of Atom chapter residing in the Nucleus on the Island consider ghouls "unfit for Atom's grace."
*Goodneighbor, after being taken over by Hancock, became a haven for the disenfranchised, both ghouls and humans, though the mayor's "devil-may-care" attitude has resulted in chem use still running rampant.
*The methadone analog Fixer that cures chem addiction through a gradual process does not return from New Vegas, though it is mentioned on a terminal. Fallout 4 instead introduces a drug called Addictol which somehow cures addictions instantly.
*Sheffield seems to experience full medical withdrawal without access to Nuka-Cola. He says that he tried drinking it as an alternative to alcohol after a doctor presumably diagnosed him with cirrhosis of the liver but ended up developing an addiction to the soft drink instead.
* Mama Murphy suffers from chronic pain and chemical dependence due to allegedly needing chems to fuel her premonition ability called The Sight. She also seems to have some trouble walking. Her concept art portrays her in several customized wheelchairs, including one with tank treads, and one which levitates by means of a modified Mr. Handy jet. It is possible for the player to supply her with chems and gain knowledge via "the Sight" until she dies of an overdose.
* The Archemist struggles with breathing difficulties after being injured when the Children of Atom were forced out of Far Harbor by the Harbormen.
* Teddy Wright is hard of hearing, something that is reflected throughout his dialogue.The Sole Survivor: "I want to resolve this with the least amount of collateral damage."Teddy Wright: ""(Teddy Wright's dialogue)The Sole Survivor: "I want DiMA to pay for what he's done."Teddy Wright: ""(Teddy Wright's dialogue)Harborwoman: "Meaning no disrespect, doc, but if he ain't getting better... Andre promised me his gun. I got a writ for it here. All official."Teddy Wright: ""(Teddy Wright's dialogue) Ann Codman in Diamond City is similarly hard of hearing and will respond with confusion when the player mutters an insult at her.The Sole Survivor: "Bitch."Ann Codman: " "(Ann Codman's dialogue)
* Oswald the Outrageous cares for his friends who have degenerated into feral ghouls and refers to their condition as a sickness he calls "the Affliction." He and his girlfriend Rachel Watkins believe a cure exists for it, which she set out to find while he protected their home at Kiddie Kingdom.
==Fallout 76==
*Several characters are shown to use wheelchairs. However, no animations related to wheelchairs have been implemented. 
**Wise Charles the Forewarned has possibly been a wheelchair user since before the Great War.The events of the game begin in 2102, at which time a wheelchair was already present in the church beneath the Mothman Museum, where Charles had his vision. During the Mothman Equinox, he can be seen in a wheelchair on top of the Mothman Museum. It was he who led the Enlightened through the hazards of the surface world to their new home, the Lantern, past the hills of West Virginia. In his old age, he has gone blind, and lost the ability to converse with those around him. Interpreter Clarence is one of his caretakers, and reveres him greatly.
***Reaching the rooftops of Point Pleasant once required the player to solve a jumping puzzle. In Night of the Moth, the rooftops were made wheelchair accessible.
**Old Nate was an elderly wheelchair user who initially survived the Great War, then opted to end his life on his own terms.Old Nate's farewell
**Ray Gary became wheelchair reliant after encountering, and being injured by, a Sheepsquatch before the Great War. He was left dependent on his wife Laura, and eventually died after the Great War due to his difficulty caring for himself.
**The existing wheelchair model was made available for use in player C.A.M.P.s, following a request posted to Reddit's r/fo76 board which received popular support.
*The super mutant merchant Grahm was arguably the only non-robotic NPC in the game at launch. He travels with a brahmin he calls "Chally the moo-moo," apparently unable to pronounce the name "Charlie."
*Gail is a super mutant woman who lives among the Core crew of the Crater Raiders. She is singularly concerned with protecting the human child Ra-Ra. She casually admits to not understanding some events which happen around her. Gail believes some of her human peers make up excuses to avoid helping her, apparently due to her temperament. Their lack of support frustrates her, compounding the problem. 
** Gail has a disparaging opinion of other super mutants, but believes they could all benefit from caring for someone as she cares for Ra-Ra.
**The raiders Lev and Surge express discriminatory attitudes towards Gail.
**Ra-Ra mentions that she wants to grow up to be like Meg and Gail, suggesting that she sees both as powerful and dignified women.
** Her design has no elements which might frame her masculine physicality as comedic, or imply she is "crazy."
*Maul is a super mutant who exhibits the typical simplified speech and love of mayhem, but concerns himself with intellectual pursuits such as video games and comics. He wears a small pair of glasses, and he may respond to dialogue prompts with nonverbal scoffs. Maul is an archetypical "comic book guy" character, and accordingly resembles an autistic RPG fan. Like Gail, Maul finds humans and their interests to be obnoxious and inscrutable, and makes no attempt to hide his contempt for the player character. 
**Maul infodumps about his special interest fictions. 
***His favorite IP seems to be Grognak the Barbarian. He delineates between different canons."But comic Grognak not same as Game Grognak, and Game Grognak not same as you Grognak." (Maul's dialogue) At times, his descriptions of the video game adaptation evoke discussions of soulslike games."Snake boss and Stormlord both tough bosses, but Maul never skip." (Maul's dialogue)
***He is also interested in The Unstoppables, a team of superheroes which includes Grognak. He exhibits hyper-literality in discussing them: "Even if unstoppable, Maul will stop,""Even if unstoppable, Maul will stop." (Maul's dialogue)
***Some of his analysis of fictional situations reveals a difficulty understanding social cues. For example, he does not understand why Grognak cuddles with Femme-Ra instead of eating her,"Maul point to Grognak romance with Femme-Ra. Femme-Ra is villain, but Grognak no eat. Instead, he cuddle with villain, and make friend." (Maul's dialogue) and he thinks the Silver Shroud is Grognak's dog."Fine. Maul had friend once. Stupid dog friend. When Maul try to kill humans, dog get in way, and lick their face. Maul ask him, 'Dog, human too puny to live. Too puny to hunt. Why let live?' But one day, stupid dog dig up book. Grognak book. And Maul see, human can be strong. Even stronger than Super Mutant. And Grognak have dog too, named Silver Shroud." (Maul's dialogue) He also believes Grognak's motivation is to "kill everything.""Some day, Grognak kill everything. Everything except Maul, who kill him." (Maul's dialogue)
**Contrasting his vocal misanthropy, he expresses great affinity for animals.
***Maul has many dogs. They are all good dogs, and they are all best friends."Maul have many dogs. All good dogs. All best friends." (Maul's dialogue)
*** Maul named his first dog Bloppo, after a character from Grognak & the Ruby Ruins."Good name, for good dog. Maul name Bloppo after Bloppo, friend of Grognak." "Bloppo named after strong loyal warrior in Ruby Ruins." (Maul's dialogue) To Maul, the name Bloppo was fit for a strong warrior, a loyal companion, a friend to orphans and the lost, a caregiver to the weak, and a good name for a good dog."No. Bloppo is name of strong warrior, and friend to orphan." "Bloppo is name of strong warrior, and friend to lost." "Dog is loyal, like Bloppo. Dog care for weak, just like Bloppo." (Maul's dialogue)
***He considers himself a dog person, because "cat require more patience than Maul prepared to give."
***If Maul had cats, he would name them Bramble and Zil."If Maul had cats, he would name Bramble and Zil." (Maul's dialogue) His script notes clarify these are characters in the Grognak video game.
**Despite his tendency to omit or simplify words and speak in third person, Maul constructs fairly complex sentences, and frequently expresses introspective thoughts."Maul…Maul does not deny this. It slip his mind, somehow." "If Grognak can lose pet and still live, perhaps there is hope for Maul." (Maul's dialogue) He experiences difficulty speaking, unable to pronounce "Appalachia.""Human say Grognak is king. Strongest in all Appa...Appala...Appalach-ch-ch..." (Maul's dialogue)
** "Maul get tired easy.""Maul get tired easy. Human weak, but so many. Killing all humans is hard." "Maul kill everything, but he do it tomorrow. Today, he rest." (Maul's dialogue)
**Maul wants to become strong enough to kill Grognak so he can protect his dogs from anything. Maul has PTSD."When he bury friend, Maul know he weak. He know, because Grognak never let friend die, and Maul did." "Maul think, if he strong enough to kill Grognak, maybe he strong enough to save friend." (Maul's dialogue)
*Allegheny Asylum was a mental ward which closed in 2061. A considerable Brotherhood force once briefly resided in a part of the building, but it is conspicuously infested with ghouls. 
**Herald editorial on Allegheny Asylum describes the inhumane conditions of the asylum. Patients were unnecessarily restrained and underfed.
** In its ruins, a tin foil hat can be found near a ham radio. An apparent altar can be found down the hall, where "NOTHING is real" has been scrawled on the wall. Another altar with these words was built at a pylon in the Ash Heap.
*The Scorched are beings who have been infected with an incurable plague which reduces them to crazed aggressors in constant pain, and compels them to serve scorchbeasts. Ultracite deposits form across their entire body, especially in the abdominal cavity. The plague can generally affect any creature. When human scorched become inactive, they petrify and crumble into dust, leaving only the ultracite deposits. They are never seen communicating with each other, but they may groan short phrases such as "Not us..." or "Warm... again" when distressed.
*Mole miners are sentient, organized mutant humans who can no longer speak intelligibly. They can understand one another, and their society has domesticated mole rats. They are never seen without gas masks and layers of clothing, but they seem to have large claws, or clawed gloves.Mole miner: "muffled: 'Gotta keep the claws sharp...'"(Mole miners' dialogue) 
**Purveyor Murmrgh, a shady arms merchant, is the only mole miner character. She was the second organic merchant added to the game, after Grahm. She has a unique voice. In the Wastelanders update, she was apparently retconned to be very small, or else somehow physically shrank. She also received a unique colorful appearance, and moved her operation from Berkeley Springs to the Rusty Pick, a bar in the Ash Heap.
**All other mole miners are hostile to the Vault Dwellers. However, they can be seen quietly maintaining equipment at the Rusty Pick, in inaccessible areas.
**Mole miners' lines can be read in their script. Aside from some groans of physical exertion, all of their unintelligible voice clips correspond to English sentences or interjections. For example, when a mole miner or mole rat is killed, they may react by saying "She's dead. Now you're dead!" Their lines range from casual remarks such as "Heh. That all?" and "Annoying..." to a series of profound threats such as "Go ahead! Try to run!", "I'll drag you into hell!", "Break every fucking bone you have!", "Line the tunnels with your bones!", etc.
**Since the game launched, mole miners could be heard (unintelligibly) discussing Vault Dwellers. In light of this, it is distinctly plausible they had negative experiences with other Vaults in the region before Vault 76 opened.
**Arguably, the dwellers of Vault 76 are all hostile to mole miners, and hunt them for sport."Kill 10 mole miners" Daily Challenge Mole miners overwhelmingly reside within the ruins of their neighborhoods and places of employment.
*Blood Eagles are chem-addled raiders whose entire culture revolves around torture and cannibalism. They generally dress like greasers. Idle Blood Eagle NPCs often sit near the radio or play the banjo. Their lines emphasize their drug use and mental illness. When idle, they say things such as "... I hate my thoughts ... I hate my thoughts ... I hate my thoughts ...", "... how did I get to this point ...", "... I miss my momma ...", etc.
**Like other categories of enemy, the player may be abstractly incentivized to kill Blood Eagles by SCORE challenges.
*Mothman Cultists are presumably victims of cult leaders. Their lore implies they are under the influence of something psychic or naturally psychoactive. Chems are commonly found in their domiciles and places of worship. The Enlightened acknowledge different sorts of hallucinatory voices, and attribute them to various metaphysical phenomena. These plot elements are directly related to psychic influence, ceremonial use of psychoactive substances, and psycho-spiritual matters.
**These Mothman sects are implied to have several populous, insular communities outside of the state. Cultist characters are generally hyperviolent zealots.
**The player may be incentivized to kill cultists by SCORE challenges.
**Observer Marlon is effectively schizophrenic, and hears voices. The other Enlightened respect and envy this ability, but Marlon seems to find it highly distressing, and constantly bargains with the voices out loud. He is the least violent of the cultist characters.
*Lucky Lou has failed several suicide attempts. As a ghoul, he was terrified of going feral. He has since been convinced to continue living.
*Weasel had her voice box burned by the Blood Eagles, and now speaks with the use of a device intended to translate the thoughts of animals.
*Clyde's tongue was forcibly removed and he now communicates through gestures.
*Dontrelle Haines is a terminally ill man living at the Morgantown Airport. He developed cancer after being exposed to radiation.
*The ghoul Xerxo, previously a pre-War actor, seems to lead a happy life despite apparently believing he is an alien. He once played the protagonist in a sci-fi film featuring a character named "Xerxo," and he now only speaks as the character.
*Billy Beltbuckles suffers from chronic anxiety and paranoid mania due to being forced into a life of organized crime. He was once pantsed on-stage in front of the factions of Atlantic City, and has since become obsessed with securing his pants to his body with many belts. He also expresses that he is unable to perform the math required by his job.
*In 2022, developer Carl McKevitt once replied positively on the Bethesda Softworks Discord server to fan speculation that Aries, a character he developed, may be autistic.
==Fallout TV series==
*Siggi Wilzig gets his left foot shot off at the shin by the Ghoul in Filly, forcing him to use a prosthetic limb made by Jim's Limbs. Its "meatgrinder" design ends up contributing to his rapid decline before he uses the Plan D suicide pill to end his own life instead.
*In the TV series, when a ghoul transitions into becoming feral, they are shown as suffering from convulsive seizures, gradually losing their sense of speech, and having violent episodes towards others.
==Fallout Shelter Online==
*The Mechanist's Hero Bio states that she has autism spectrum disorder.
*Mama Murphy is depicted as a wheelchair user.
*Kevin is portrayed as a depressed and suicidal Mister Handy who yearns for someone to destroy him. He appears repeatedly in many quests as the team tries to alleviate his mental illness.
==Fallout: The Roleplaying Game==
*In Winter of Atom, the player can visit the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
*The Last Son of Atom captured a deaf wastelander named Minnie “Muse” Mabee because he wanted someone who could teach his cult American Sign Language, which they use to control the Gigapede.Winter of Atom, p. 126:"Maxwell Kantor made a deal for Mirage’s safety with the Last Son of Atom’s sect. In exchange, he sent Murray’s daughter Minnie to the Church. The Last Son was most interested in her ability to speak American Sign Language. Murray’s sick with grief and desperately wants to reunite with his daughter but cannot until Mirage is safe again." The players can also persuade Muse to teach them ASL.
==Fallout comics==
*One specific Vault dweller was locked alone with a box of puppets for over a year, causing him to develop problems.
==Fallout Extreme==
UberDan is an experienced revolutionary guerilla fighter who displays symptoms of chronic anhedonia.Fallout Extreme design document - Characters - UberDan: ...Steady hands, steady nerves, can't get excited about anything, even when the extra adrenaline really would be appreciated... This typically stems from more serious conditions such as depressive disorders or PTSD, and can also predispose the individual to future disability.
==Van Buren==
*Devon Hill was part of a Brotherhood special ops team who all developed paranoia, delusions and eventually schizophrenia due to their prolonged use of Stealth Boys. The discovery of their condition led to a ban on Stealth Boys in this chapter.Maxson bunker design document/2 - Cast Of Characters - Devon Hill: Devon was chosen to participate in a covert stealth team using untested devices... ...Devon was the unfortunate victim of the stealth devices known as StealthBoys. Prolonged use caused the user to suffer paranoia, delusions, and eventual schizophrenia. Prolonged use caused the user to suffer paranoia, delusions, and eventual schizophrenia. When this was discovered, the devices were banned and the team disbanded...
** The lack of clear debriefing, treatment and monitoring of the victims fueled Devon's delusions. He ultimately became radicalized and formed a covert sect known as the Circle of Steel.Maxson bunker design document/2 - Cast Of Characters - Devon Hill: ...However, it was not known that the team had already begun to suffer the effects of the device. Thinking the disbanding of their team to be a conspiracy, they decided to steal the StealthBoys and form a new covert operation called the Circle of Steel. Devon was left at the base as an undercover operative to cover up the theft of the StealthBoys.
*Hecate developed a "god complex," a literal belief she was divine, after suffering from starvation, severe heat stroke and perceptual isolation while wandering the desert. This psychological shift was inadvertently triggered by Diana Stone, the cyborg overseeing the Nursery.Ouroboros design document/2 - Cast of Characters - Hecate, the Dark Mother: Hecate is quite insane. She truly believes herself to be the goddess Hecate, the Dark Mother, the goddess of death and rebirth. She believes that she died in the desert of the wasteland, was reborn, and elevated to the status of a god. She has no memory of her past or who she was... ...When she awoke she found herself in paradise, brought back from the dead by the goddess Diana. The goddess named her Hecate, blessed her with divinity, and passed her knowledge onto her. When Hecate asked to return to the world of men, her request was granted. Now, she is a goddess incarnate.Ouroboros design document/1 - Overview - Area history: The wasteland consumed her. All that she was was lost to the unforgiving sun and the burning sands. Her mind left her and she forgot who she was. She felt parts of herself drifting away day by day until nothing remained. She fought to hold on to herself but to no avail... ...Diana did not realize that Hecate had sunk into madness. In her loneliness and innocence she continued to teach her everything that she asked for, and Hecate absorbed it all and twisted it to suit her own needs and desires...
*Jack is a survivor of the great fire at Burham Mines and has since developed terminal cancer. Despite being just a child and having many cancerous lesions, he has an impressive fighting spirit.Boulder design document/4 - Main Quests - Heal Helen's Kids: Jack can't be cured, he has cancer.Boulder design document/3 - Generic NPCs - Helen's Sick Kids: Jack, who wears a big jacket. Small, has cancerous lesions. A refugee/orphan from the great fire of Burham Springs. Fights like a mad dog.
*Jeremiah Rigdon, the "living prophet" of the Mormons, suffers from seizures after surviving a life-threatening fever in his twenties. During these fits, he experiences visions that he interprets as messages from God. The physical and mental stress of these episodes, as well as the responsibility he has taken on as an ostensibly divine messenger, have caused him to appear much older than he is.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - Living Prophet Jeremiah Rigdon: When Jeremiah was in his twenties, he suffered a severe fever from which no one thought he would ever recover. While he was in his fever, he started babbling strange words that no one in New Canaan could understand. After coming out of his fever, he claimed that God had spoken through him and told him that he was the living prophet to replace Judah Black... ...From time to time, Jeremiah suffers fits similar to the one he experienced while in his fever. During these times, he frequently has visions of spirits speaking to him.
*Joshua is a child who was exposed to Jet during gestation. His lungs are poorly developed, which has made even crying too much of an effort, despite his distress at his circumstances.Boulder design document/3 - Generic NPCs - Helen's Sick Kids: Joshua, the crazy kid with glasses. Used to cry all the time, now he's all cried out. Raised by the FOA. A Jet-baby, has poorly-developed lungs. The Prisoner can help him alleviate his condition and arrange for a doctor to assist Josh and his guardian, Helen, in the long term.Boulder design document/4 - Main Quests - Heal Helen's Kids: Joshua has a lung problem; treatment can be started by you and the upkeep done by another doctor (such as Agnes or a CNPC). Will require mutated fruit, Buffout, Jet, and bio-med gel.
*Larsen is a member of an NCR unit known as the Baggers, who are all addicted to RadAway. Withdrawal symptoms include irritability and paranoia, leading to violent frenzies if pushed.Boulder design document/3 - Cast of Characters - Baggers/Larsen (Leader): ...Succumbing to radiation poisoning and radaway addiction ("seeing red," from the addiction)... ...IF someone steals his Geiger counter and radaway, he freaks out and starts killing his own men, thinking they did it...
**There is no other mention of RadAway addiction in the Fallout setting.
*Miguel Vargas suffered from unknown, but evidently severe, mental stressors, and finally snapped one day after someone stole his hat. Within hours he had killed multiple people and adopted the name "El Diablo." This new identity was fueled by the intense delusion that he was a vampire, going as far as avoiding daylight and biting his victims' necks.Denver design document/3 - Cast of Characters - Bounty/El Diablo: The guy's name is Miguel Vargas, but he calls himself "El Diablo." He went crazy one night and killed six people in two different homes. They call him the "Vampire Killer" because he bit his victims on the neck during or after killing them... ...El Diablo is insane. He really thinks he's a vampire. He refuses to come out during the day (he's only findable at night) and says he started killing that night in Hoover Dam because "some bitch stole his hat," which is a Cat In The Hat-type hat.Hoover Dam design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Bob (Male –Human): The guy's name is Miguel Vargas, but he calls himself "El Diablo." He went crazy one night and killed six people in two different homes. They call him the "Vampire Killer" because he bit his victims on the neck during or after killing them.
*Milko has dwarfism. He also suffers from delusions due to excessive consumption of untreated water, although it is unknown if this is a chronic condition.Hoover Dam design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Milko (Male – Human midget): Milko is the midget owner of the General's Store, and he does not realize he is small. In fact, he thinks he's about 6'7" and weighs in at a muscular 360 lbs. Come to find out from the locals that Milko drank too much of Hoover Dam's filtered and processed irrigation water before anyone could tell him it was not for human consumption. It's best if the player just plays along with Milko's delusions, especially if the player wants to do repeated business.
**Milko is referred to as a "midget" several times in the Hoover Dam design document.
*Mike O'Connor has a stutter, which often leads to people to mistakenly assume he is unintelligent.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - Sheriff Mike O'Connor: Mike stutters a bit when speaking, which often leads people to think that he is unintelligent. In fact, he is quite intelligent, though humble...
*Murphy was tortured by the NCR while in prison; his permanently disabled arm serves as a constant reminder of this. He lives with chronic pain and self-medicates by abusing alcohol, going so far as to set up a personal still.Denver design document/3 - Generic Traitor Salvagers - "Bean" Murphy: One of his arms is ruined because of NCR torture. Runs a still, which annoys Porter but Bean claims it's so they can make Molotov cocktails. He drinks a lot to numb the pain of his arm.
*Paul is a Mentat addict who also appears to have Charcot–Wilbrand syndrome, a condition primarily characterized by the inability to dream, as is specifically indicated.Boulder design document/3 - Generic NPCs - Other Scientists: There's Paul, addicted to Mentats. Physics, programming. Energetic, willing to work 36 hours straight if necessary. Doesn't understand the concept of blame and never takes stuff personally. Has never dreamed in his life. He's not social and always tries to Sneak away. He's in love with one of the Sleepers. It has many potential causes ranging from brain damage to genetic and psychologically degenerative conditions. Paul will readily delay sleep in favor of work, but has also requested to be put in one of the sleeper chambers; experimental life-extending pods that send the user into a comatose sleep. This would effectively leave Paul in a uniquely profound limbo state at the cost of a potentially suicidal act.Boulder design document/3 - Cast of Characters - Sci/Xian: Paul: Xian has always treated Paul like one of the orphaned younger brothers she used to have. She doesn't think he's smart, he's just a little crazy - and she doesn't understand why he wants to be alone all the time. She's really worried about the fact that James goes down and sits with the Sleeper spheres. She was a little scared because Paul asked her one night if she could put him to sleep, and she told Agnes because she was worried he might do it on his own.
*Radian is a Cipher who suffers from a nervous disorder colloquially referred to as High Desert Fever (possibly Parkinson's), which causes severe shakes, especially in the hands. He is frustrated by his difficulty with day-to-day life.Mesa Verde design document/1 - Cast of Characters - Radian: A Cipher suffering from a nervous disorder. Shakes a lot, especially in his hands. The PC can use medicine to cure him or make him a slave to the PC's will. If he becomes the PC's puppet, he'll eventually get banished from Mesa Verde and appear in the slums of Hoover Dam.Up at the greenhouses, 'helping'. His float texts will be lots of curses at his clumsiness, but this will change if the PC cures him.Mesa Verde design document/2 - Quests - 8. Cure Radian.: Radian is suffering from High Desert Fever. A doctor PC can either cure him, or get him addicted to painkillers and turn him into a PC slave. 
**With a high enough medical skill, the Prisoner can help him effectively manage his conditions.
**Alternatively, they can get him addicted to painkillers and enslave him. If he is set loose or simply abandoned, he will become a social outcast and spiral into poverty.Mesa Verde design document/2 - Quests - 8. Cure Radian.: Radian is suffering from High Desert Fever. A doctor PC can either cure him, or get him addicted to painkillers and turn him into a PC slave.
*Sparky is an ex-Powder Ganger that survived the sabotage of Burham Mines by the 5th Engineering Company. The explosions caused severe hearing loss and impaired cognition. While he is still able to make a living as a scavenger with help, he now has great trouble focusing his thoughts, which affects his ability to talk, manifesting as a stutter. Additionally, loud noises may trigger him to fly into a violent frenzy.Burham Springs design document/2 - Cast of Characters - Sparky: He is a twitchy guy, but usually only responds to Phil or to extremely loud noises (which cause him to attack, erratically). Sparky can't talk well, and stutters a lot. He also mis-hears things a lot. His hearing range is dramatically reduced from what it should be, given his PE. He more than a little frazzled, often unable to think about what he's saying.
*Stan Lowery had a fall, suspected to be a deliberate push off a building, and sustained significant neck and back injuries. He now needs constant support from an intrusive brace and is also unable to walk. He is a bus driver, on which he stays for the most part, overcompensating for his disability through punctuality and helpfulness. He would leave the Salvagers but lacks the confidence that he could do better elsewhere.Denver design document/3 - Generic Good NCR Salvagers - Spineless Stu: Back/neck brace, apparently from a fall. Seems either worried or constantly in pain. Drives a bus around town.
Overcompensates for his injury out of feat he might get let go, so he's always on time and helpful.... ...Afraid to leave Denver because he's not fit for travel. Afraid his claim may be taken away from him. He can't walk and stays in the bus most of the time... ...He may have been pushed off the building.
*Tanner and Tyler are albino children, both exposed to Jet during gestation, and especially prone to hyperactivity and disorientation.Boulder design document/3 - Generic NPCs - Helen's Sick Kids: Tyler and Tanner, two albino kids that look like twin's but they're not. They're kinda hyperactive and disoriented all the time. They're Jet-babies.
*Trogs are humans that have a hereditary melanin deficiency acquired through many generations of cave-dwelling and exposure to mild radiation. They have yellowy-white hair and thicker than average skin, and are very sensitive to direct sunlight so must take precautionary measures if they venture out.Hoover Dam design document/3 - Monster Roster - Trogs - #~15, Lvl: 6-9: Since the hillbillies were far removed from a lot of the nuclear blasts and subsequent fallout, especially being holed up in caves, the hillbillies fared pretty darned good. In fact, the hillbillies took to cave dwelling so well, they made caves their permanent home. Over the course of a couple of centuries, the isolation from the light, combined with ever so slight radiation that drifted over the world and managed to seep into caves, caused the hillbillies to change a slight bit. Their skin became a dull yellow/white, as well as their hair, as a result of the loss of melanin. The trade-off was that their skin got a tad thicker, which made them more resilient to cold and hardships.
**Mary-Joe is a hypersexual trog being exploited by Dusty Heart as a prostitute; she doesn't realize this and is unable to recognize the transactional nature of the sex she is having, believing the money to be friendly gifts for her and Dusty.Hoover Dam design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Mary-Jo (Female – Trog {Human}): ...However, she does not think of herself as a prostitute. She thinks that men are just real nice-like and give here and Dusty money as a gift. The sex part is just a fun bonus (she's a bit of a nympho and not all that bright). She spends most of her time in Dusty's Desires flirting with the men, and occasional woman (if she swings that way), and is very approachable.
***Mary-Joe is described as "a bit of a nympho and not all that bright" in the Hoover Dam design document, "nympho" being a potential pejorative in some contexts.
*Victor was tortured in an NCR prison and now has a severe speech impediment; it was to be assumed that he has some some sort of mental handicap, but this deliberately is left unclear, and the Salvagers show a distinct lack of respect for him because of it.Denver design document/3 - Generic Good NCR Salvagers - Victor: Seems like a retard. When he speaks, it's really hard to understand him.He has trouble speaking because NCR branded and tortured him.Gets no respect from the other scavs.
**Victor is likened to a "retard" in the Denver design document.
*Wahl has a permanently crippled hand; smashed, branded and his trigger finger cut off by the NCR as retribution for shooting a soldier during an attempted prison escape.Denver design document/3 - Generic Traitor Salvagers - Wahl: Because he shot an NCR soldier hostage during a prison escape, they cut off his trigger finger and his hand was smashed and branded.
*Dr. Sebastian is a ghoul that has developed an obsession with the concept of "born ghouls"; or the deliberate conception, gestation and birthing of ghouls through humans.Reservation design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Dr. Sebastian (Male – Ghoul): ...However, his grotesque features perfectly match his twisted obsession with finding a repeatable and successful way to procreate ghouls. He savagely goes through human hosts like a butcher through a slaughter house, but with far more verve... ...Through extensive research and experimentation, they concluded that the smooth skins would have to serve as catalysts of some sort for any ghoul procreation process. From then on, Dr. Sebastian made it his life's mission to find a successful and repeatable way to procreate ghouls... For all his cruel experimentation he has achieved a 2% success rate with only four individuals surviving, Measles, Belle and two unnamed individuals.Reservation design document/1 - Sub-Level 3 Locations - Born Ghouls Quarters (D): These three rooms belong to Born Ghouls; ghouls, like Measles, who were not created through exposure to the FEV virus, but ghouls who were actually born into ghoul-dom. Through cruel experimentation on humans by Dr. Sebastian, these ghouls gestated and were birthed. Reveling in their infrequent success (the ghoul procreation experiments have a 2% success rate)...Reservation design document/3 - Monster Roster - Born Ghoul- #~2, Lvl: 8 – 10: These are two of the four Born Ghouls; the others being Measles and Belle. Unlike regular ghouls, these ghouls were conceived and birthed. At first glance they look like any other ghoul, but a closer inspection reveals that their lesions, exposed bone, and hair patches are very uniform and look like they even serve some kind of purpose. On top of that, these ghouls are a little tougher, a little stronger, and a little faster. They are formidable opponents and have a definite air of superiority about them.
**Dr. Sebastian and Dr. Willem Clark believe ghoulification to be a superior evolutionary path in humanity's survival in the wasteland. Dr. Clark would go on to develop a "god complex" through his overzealousness.Reservation design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Dr. Willem Clark (Male – Ghoul): ...He then explained to the survivors at the Reservation were given a gift; the gift of life and the ability to adapt to this new, Promised Earth. It became clear to Willem that becoming a ghoul was an evolutionary process in which the ghoul body could withstand, and in fact even prosper in this scorched, radioactive Earth. He declared that he would guide his fellow ghouls into the next age of man; the age of ghouls. The Children of the Wastes would inherit the Promised Earth, and Dr. Willem Clark would guide them the entire way, protecting them form the cruelty of the smooth skins, but training them for their eventual uprising against their oppressors... ...Willem reveled in his little kingdom, and his ghouls began to look upon Willem as their lord and savior. They worshipped him in such a way as to deify him. Soon, Willem eventually began to think of himself as a deity, and became more reclusive over the last fifty or so years. He finally came to a point where he never left his room on Sub-Level 3 and only communicated to his fellow ghouls through computer screens placed throughout the facility. When he communicated, he would only reveal his mouth over the screen, for he felt should any of his followers look into his eyes, they would burn under his magnificence - such was his ego. When one did get the chance to speak with Willem, he would often refer to himself in the third person and put his sentences together in such a way as to sound like he was reciting scripture. Due to his high intelligence, no one was able to convince him otherwise of being a holy savior, and nobody probably could. He would continue to lead his people to the Promised Earth until his dying day, but no one knows when that will be, if ever.. 
***Born ghouls grow and mature rapidly, and are slightly faster, stronger and more robust than typical ghouls, indeed seeming more healthy and even potentially able to become pregnant.Reservation design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Belle (Female – Born Ghoul): Belle is unusually attractive for a ghoul. In fact, if it weren't for her lesions and symmetrically exposed bone, she would look like a pretty, though pale, human. Even her hair is fairly full and long. And thanks to the Born Ghoul's ability to rapidly grow into adulthood within a month, she is also very curvy and fit looking... ...Major side-effect from the player's amorous affair with Belle – Belle becomes pregnant! Measles does, however, have at least two prominent cancerous growths on his neck. All born ghouls also have lesions, exposed bone, and hair patches that are very uniform; it is implied these could serve a hidden purpose.Reservation design document/2 - Generic NPCs - Measles (Male – Born Ghoul): Measles is one of a very few (can-be-counted-on-one-hand few) ghouls who was conceived rather than transformed by radiation. At quick glance, Measles looks pretty much like any other ghoul; scabby, gray-green skin that is pealing away from the bone on certain parts, little to no hair, yellow eyes, etc. But upon closer examination, Measles' scabs, lesions, hair patches, and teeth gaps seem very uniformed, almost as if they were meant o be there and serve a function. Maybe this is the result of the breeding process, maybe Measles just got lucky, no one really knows for sure... ...Measles gets his strange name from his two large, bulbous-like tumors that stick out from his neck like a severe case of measles... well, that and his strange fascination with children's diseases...
* Endless walkers are ghouls that have been banished from the Reservation by its religious officials, doomed to endlessly wander the surrounding desert. Most will die, potentially within hours, but the intended punishment is to survive, forced into becoming feral either through extreme radiation and/or suffering severe brain degeneration through heat and hardship, none being able to stave it off longer than a year. Endless walkers are solitary, vicious, and unable to ever truly satisfy their hunger.Reservation design document/3 - Monster Roster - Endless Walker - #~2, Lvl: Due to their prolonged, open exposure to the desert sun, high radiation, and other hardships of the wasteland, these unfortunate ghouls, who were banished, naked, from the Reservation, look like walking, sun bleached chunks of beef jerky. Their minds are almost completely gone and they react mostly on instinct. They will attack the first thing they see moving in a vain effort to quench an appetite that can never be quenched... ...Fortunately, endless walkers do not travel in groups...Reservation design document/3 - Random Encounters Surrounding the Area - Endless Walker Encounter (rare): On those rare occasions when one survives more than one year in the wasteland, they turn into wandering, voracious creatures on an endless quest for flesh. Their constant exposure to the hot sun and high levels of radiation has caused their skin to toughen into natural, hardened leather, but at the same time, their brain has completely cooked. Endless Walkers who have been in the wastes for so long become a creature of instinct and will attack anything that moves...
*Marshall is a glowing ghoul Mormon who is slowly turning feral, forced into the outskirts of New Canaan to protect its human population. Apostle Jude is tending to him, but unless he can be supplied with Rad-X and RadAway he will develop terminal cancer, and visibly deteriorate, through his exposure to the radiation Marshall emits.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - Apostle Jude: ...He volunteered to tend to Marshall the glowing ghoul after the more biased Mormons of New Canaan pressured Jeremiah into the area new Union Station. Jude is slowly gaining dangerous amounts of radiation in his body. If he continues to care for Marshall, he will eventually develop cancer and die. In the third and second month prior to his death, Jude switches to a regular character model, then a thin character model in the last month.New Canaan design document/1 - Emotional Porn - Moral Dilemmas: Kicking Marshall the glowing ghoul out of New Canaan and/or killing him is intolerant and somewhat cruel. Leaving Marshall at New Canaan will eventually result in the death of Apostle Jude and two other New Canaanites when Marshall's mind finally fails and he wanders next to a house, where he dies. Jude dies of cancer from repeated exposure to radiation. Marshall has trouble communicating it, but is prepared to commit suicide, or rather die without guilt in the desert, if Jude would allow it.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - Marshall the Glowing Ghoul: The glowing ghoul Marshall is allowed to live in the extreme southeast corner of New Canaan's Union Station district. As with most glowing ghouls, Marshall is both radioactive and losing his mind... ...Apostle Jude volunteered to tend to Marshall, but now Jude is taking on increased doses of radiation. Though Marshall has difficulty communicating it, he really just wants to go out into the desert to die far away from everyone else...New Canaan design document/2 - Quests - Deal with Marshall
**The Prisoner also has the option of smuggling Marshall out of New Canaan altogether allowing him to die on his own terms, convincing the community to cast him out indignantly, or simply murdering him; any of which will also prevent Jude developing cancer.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - Marshall the Glowing Ghoul: A character with a high Deception or Persuasion skill may be able to get Marshall past the south gate during the day. A character with a good Lockpick skill can get Marshall out at night, since it is unmanned during that time. Killing Marshall certainly solves the problem, but the PC will acquire a small amount of negative Karma because Marshall doesn't want to die, he just doesn't want to hurt anyone.
*Jericho has a subterranean paranoid ghoul population; survivors of the Great War that sought refuge in the towns sewer system. They are not feral, but have developed extreme paranoia as they never returned to the surface, fearing what they assumed was a Chinese victory; they refuse to entertain attempts to convince them otherwise and are hostile to anyone who ventures in.Jericho design document/1 - NPCs - Paranoid Ghouls (10): Much of the group chose to remain and use the sewer system as a permanent home, fearful of the Commies they're certain are still running around all over the surface. They're not rational any more, and will attack the PC and his crew on sight.
*Revelation John is a nightkin that, like many of his kind, is schizophrenic; he also has many false memories and has visions often. The local Mormon community, not understanding his condition, believes he may be a prophet. While John is not a convert, he respects their religion; however, he does not really understand it and their reverence of him and the expectations of his visions frequently distresses him.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - "Revelation" John the Super Mutant: Unfortunately, he also remembers a lot of stuff that never happened. John's mind has been adversely affected by prolonged usage of Stealth Boys. His brain chemistry has been permanently altered, resulting in schizophrenia. John now sees visions often. Though he has not officially converted to Mormonism, he respects the beliefs and rules of Jeremiah. Unfortunately, some of the Mormons believe that John may be a prophet. John isn't sure what's going on, but it makes him very nervous.
**With a high enough medical skill the Prisoner can diagnose his schizophrenia and provide advice on how to manage it, greatly improving his quality of life while also educating some of the Mormon community.New Canaan design document/1 - Cast of Characters - "Revelation" John the Super Mutant: A player with a high Medic skill can diagnose that John is schizophrenic, and recommend things he can do to lessen his symptoms. Doing this solves John's problems, but instills even more doubt in the people of New Canaan about the legitimacy of Jeremiah.
** Revelation John is the only super mutant across all of the cancelled games explicitly mentioned to suffer from a severe disability. In fact, apart from the the typical deficits in cognition and indifferences to social norms, many are organised, employed, and/or even of above average intellect; although this could just be due to limited development.
*The mutant cannibals are humans that have suffered from the long lasting effects of the environmental disasters caused by pre-War uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. It is an endemic and recurrent, if not hereditary, mutation and is characterized by macrocephaly and elongated fingers with nails-turned-claw;Cannibal concept artVan Buren leaks at the No Mutants Allowed forumNo Mutants Allowed posts on Van Buren macrocephaly is a high risk condition for both intellectual and physiological disabilities.
*Harold is seeking a cure for an illness which has befallen his tree.Nursery design document/2 - Cast Of Characters - Harold, Mister Tree Head (Ghoul Male): Harold the ghoul was ill. The tree in his head developed and unknown disease and was dying. Much to his surprise, Harold found himself affected as well. He didn't think he was going to die, mind you, but still... he just didn't feel right in the head. The tree would have also ultimately helped Diana create a cure for the New Plague.Information acquired from the developers by Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski:"Yes, him being the source of Diana's cure was indeed our intent." It would also come to light that she induced Harold's memory loss.Information acquired from one of the developers by Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski: ”Yes, we actually remembered about him coming from Vault 29 originally. The story was that he was taken by a robot to the Nursery. There he was given the choice of staying with Diana, or exploring the outside world. However, if he chose to explore, she would have to 'condition' him, so that he could not reveal anything about her, or the nursery to the world. He agreed to stay, but escaped eventually. Afterwards, he kept the nursery a secret because he felt it was his duty to the world to keep such a future gift intact until the world was ready for it. His later return to the nursery was a moment of joy for Diana and a 'new experience' to him, as much of his early memories faded with age.”
==Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2==
*Scarlet is an albino woman that was universally rejected by her community at birth and left to die in the desert, but was soon rescued and adopted by Harold.Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2 design document – Page 11: Scarlet was born an albino, and her fellow citizens immediately left her out to die in the desert. An old mutant named Harold found her, and took her in...
*Super mutants play a key role in the story arc and are portrayed as much more organized and social than in many other games.
==Project V13 and The Armageddon Rag==
*The promotional newsletter The Armageddon Rag featured a character named Fast Eddie who has no legs and uses a makeshift wagon as a mobility aid.Fast Eddie concept art/Fallout Online newsletter 01 He is described as having reduced cognitive abilities and talks very fast.The Armageddon Rag, Vol. 1 - One 'guy' in TS recognized the Menkey Butte Mine name. A Ragskin called 'Fast Eddie'. He isn't, but his mouth is. His instructions are pretty crazy - maybe eyen useless - but if you saw him, you'd think this was the sanest thing he's ever said.
*The Armageddon Rag featured a pamphlet from the Church of Harold, which deifies Harold and his tree. Some devout followers partake in reckless rituals to mimic his condition, such as practicing trephination to plant a seed in one's skull, in the hopes that they might nurture it to be a full tree. This routinely leads to infections and brain damage.The Armageddon Rag, Vol. 2 - Trephinery for Acolytes.: Safely taking the final step to being a Vessel. (88 pages, 50 caps.)
:Includes additional chapters on things like:
:Proper fertilizer ratios.
:Water charts for a variety of locations. Don't over water - avoid the dreaded dribbles!
:The difference between incubation and infection.
:!!Includes a free depth gauge to avoid the gray gusher!!
*Super mutants are depicted in visual materials related to Project V-13 and mentioned in The Armageddon Rag.
==Notes==
*In all main Fallout games beginning with Fallout 2, albino creatures may be encountered. Albinism commonly involves impaired vision and other health complications. Goris and Ghost are albino characters.
*The super mutant Francis is sexually active, indicating that while all super mutants are infertile, they are not without sexual ability. 
**Providing deeper insight into the matter (super mutant sex), Francis is widely known to be a bisexual power-top who "wins" sexual favors in unfair contests of strength, and leaves his "gimps" "stained."Broken Hills citizen: "{187}{}{Francis sure seems happy lately.}{188}{}{Francis has quite a glow. Did he get laid?}""{189}{}{Hey there, gimp!}""{190}{}{Still walking straight?}""{191}{}{Did Francis hurt you?}""{192}{}{You got a little stain, there.}""{193}{}{How could you be stupid enough to wrestle Francis for those odds?}""{194}{}{I hope you enjoyed it as much as Francis did.}"(Female and male Broken Hills citizens' dialogue) His reputation for foul and extreme sexual behavior has spread from Broken Hills to San Francisco.Punk: "{120}{}{So how was it, taking it from a mutant?}""{121}{}{Did that big strong mutie Francis hurt you?}""{122}{}{I'm surprised you can walk after what Francis did.}""{123}{}{I'd guess you'd still be bleeding after Francis.}"(Punks' dialogue)
**For these reasons, it is considered advisable for most players to avoid Francis.
*The Vault Dweller does not seem to be depicted as mentally disabled in the Vault Dweller's memoirs or Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.
*In Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure, the planned precursor to Fallout when it was still using the GURPS system, the player would have been able to select Hard of Hearing in the Advantages and Disadvantages system.
*Fans speculated that Hancock was scripted to commit suicide by overdose when dismissed under certain conditions, because he would sometimes unexpectedly say his death line and drop dead while walking through the game world alone. This behavior was found to be the result of a bug.
==Behind the scenes==
*Fallout creator Tim Cain and co-creator Leonard Boyarsky would later direct The Outer Worlds at Obsidian, the studio which developed New Vegas. The game was marketed as a spiritual successor to New Vegas, and similarly features unique, optional dialogue choices for characters with a low Intelligence stat.
*Fallout For Hope is a charity which organizes Fallout community events to raise money for causes such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The charity initiative is organized by podcasters, and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Bethesda. However, figures such as Pete Hines, Emil Pagliarulo, and Mark Hamill have participated in Fallout for Hope streams. Several Fallout 4 voice actors have reprised their roles for the project, including Paul Eiding and Stephen Russell. Wes Johnson participates prominently in the organization.
==References==
;Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
;Non-canon
;Non-game
;Videos
Category:Fallout setting