Speech (Fallout 3)

Speech is a skill in Fallout 3. It determines the chance to succeed in a speech challenge.
==Initial level==
:\text{Initial level}=2+(2\times\text{Charisma})+\left\lceil\frac{\text{Luck}}{2}\right\rceil
Example: A starting Charisma of 5 and Luck of 5.
:2+(2\times5)+\left\lceil\frac{5}{2}\right\rceil=15
During dialogue with characters, a Speech Challenge may be presented. A Speech Challenge is a response preceded by the word "[Speech XXX%]", 'XXX' being the percentage chance of success (e.g. [Speech 25%]). Speech Challenges open up additional possibilities in dialogue with characters, such as getting them to reveal information they would otherwise keep hidden or pay larger sums of bottle caps for a task. Not every Speech Challenge will have the same chance of success, since some characters may be harder to persuade than others. If failed, a Speech Challenge cannot be repeated.
The percentage of success is determined by various factors. The primary factor is the player character's Speech skill. The higher it is, the better the chance of success. Charisma itself has an effect on the percentage of success. A character with a 1 in Charisma and 100 in Speech will be less effective than one with a 10 in Charisma and a similar Speech level. Having a weapon drawn will also have a slight effect on the possibility of success. Finally, succeeding in a Speech Challenge with a character will make future Speech Challenges with that character easier to pass, if applicable.
Certain Speech challenges are not checked against the Speech skill, but against other factors. These can include S.P.E.C.I.A.L. statistics, certain perks (Lady Killer/Black Widow, Child at Heart, etc.), or Karma. In these cases, "[Speech]" will be replaced with the relevant item being checked against ([Strength], [Karma], [Toughness], etc.). Such checks will occasionally override normal Speech Challenges. These options, unlike a Speech check, will automatically succeed if their requirement is met. Karma is an exception, as being evil or good will influence the response.
==Speech success chance==
Every speech check is assigned one of 5 difficulty levels; higher difficulty implies the check is harder to pass but rewards more experience.
Difficulty Level	Difficulty Value	Difficulty Multiplier	XP reward
Very Easy 	10 	0.9 	5
Easy 	40 	0.6 	10
Average 	55 	0.45 	20
Hard 	70 	0.3 	30
Very Hard 	80 	0.2 	50
\begin{align}
CharismaCheck &= \frac{PlayerCharisma - PlayerWeaponDrawn + 2}{10} \\
KarmaCheck &= \frac{ActorBaseDisposition+\left(ActorResponsibility - 50\right)\times \frac{PlayerKarma}{500}}{100} \\
SuccessChance &= \left(CharismaCheck+KarmaCheck\right) \times \frac{PlayerSpeechSkill}{50} \times DifficultyMultiplier
\end{align}
The precise chance of success is based on the target actor's base disposition and responsibility values, as well as the player's karma, Charisma, and Speech. Having a weapon drawn is equivalent to losing a point of Charisma without impacting Speech level, and the impact of that portion of the check is such that if the weapon is sheathed when talking, Charisma 1 is worth 1/4 of Charisma 10. This is then added to a number based on player karma such that the overall effect is greater when karma is closer to 0 and lesser when karma is closer to 1000 or -1000).
Assuming player karma is 0 (truly neutral) and the actor has base disposition 35 (usually true), without any skill points put into Speech the odds of success are quadratic in Charisma, because Charisma will both modify the raw Charisma check and provide Speech points. 
===Difficulties===
Sample difficulties for early Speech Checks with 5 Charisma (and weapon sheathed), 50 Speech, and 0 Karma are a 31% chance (Average) to convince Lucas Simms to increase his reward, a 47% chance (Easy, BaseDisposition 9) to convince Gob to reveal information, and a 63% chance (Very Easy) to convince Jericho to talk to the player. With 100 Speech, the player has a 63%, 94%, and 100% chance with these checks respectively.
All checks that are 90% or higher will always succeed. However, he highest achievable success rates on Very Hard checks is 62%, assuming 10 Charisma and no target-based influence on the check, so it is not possible to automatically pass all Speech checks even at the highest Speech level.
==Speech challenges==
Place (or closest map marker)	Location in place 	Person 	Point in conversation
Various 	(See Fallout 3 random encounters) 	Mel 	Convince Mel to leave OR convince him to take 5 caps and then leave
Various 	(See Fallout 3 random encounters) 	Ghoul wastelanders/slaves with refrigerator of purified water	Convince survivors to split their water with the player
Various 	(See Fallout 3 random encounters) 	Scavenger offering Nuka-Cola Quantum for 100 caps 	Convince the scavenger to sell the Nuka-Cola Quantum for 50 caps (note: has been spotted near Girdershade and also in the northwest region, south Fort Constantine)
Vault 101 	Outside of classroom before taking G.O.A.T. 	Butch DeLoria 	Convince the Tunnel Snakes to leave Amata alone
Vault 101 	During escape in hallway close to Butch's apartment	Butch DeLoria 	Convince Butch DeLoria to run from the radroaches OR to return to the apartment and fight them himself (two different choices)
Vault 101 	During Trouble on the Homefront sidequest 	Overseer 	Convince Overseer to step down
Springvale 	Silver's Ranch 	Silver 	Convincing Silver to pay the player 400 caps
Megaton 	The Clinic 	Doc Church 	Learn about Leo's Drug Habit
Megaton 	The Clinic 	Doc Church 	Ask about locating a Lipoplasticator or Micro Dermal Graftilizer. Note: Must activate Replicated Man quest first.
Megaton 	Craterside Supply 	Moira Brown 	Lie to Moira about scouting the Super-Duper Mart (Quest: Wasteland Survival Guide)
Megaton 	Craterside Supply 	Moira Brown 	Convince Moira that writing the Wasteland Survival Guide is a bad idea. This will end the quest and give the Dream Crusher perk.
Megaton 	Craterside Supply 	Moira Brown 	Find any frag mine then lie to Moira about Minefield.
Megaton 	Craterside Supply 	Moira Brown 	Lie to Moira about the mole rat repellant (Quest: Wasteland Survival Guide)
Megaton 	Craterside Supply 	Moira Brown 	Ask her if she has info on the android. (Quest: The Replicated Man)
Megaton 	Moriarty's Saloon 	Colin Moriarty 	Convincing Colin Moriarty to speak about dad
Megaton 	Moriarty's Saloon or anywhere else he is located 	Jericho 	Convincing Jericho to tell the player what he knows about the Wasteland
Megaton 	Moriarty's Saloon 	Mister Burke 	Convince Mister Burke to pay the player 1000 caps for destroying the town
Megaton 	Anywhere he is found 	Lucas Simms 	Convince Lucas Simms to pay the player 500 caps for disarming the bomb
Megaton 	Moriarty's Saloon 	Gob 	Convince Gob to talk about the player's father
Megaton 	Moriarty's Saloon 	Nova 	Convince Nova to tell the player Moriarty's password
Megaton 	The Brass Lantern, Water processing plant 	Leo Stahl 	Confront Leo Stahl about his drug problem
Grayditch 	Outskirts of Grayditch 	Bryan Wilks 	Convince Bryan Wilks that everything will be fine
Grayditch 	Outskirts of Grayditch 	Bryan Wilks 	Convince Bryan Wilks to give the player the Grayditch dumpster key
Marigold station 	Doctor Lesko's lab 	Doctor Lesko 	Convincing him to give his reward after killing the Marigold ant queen
Marigold station 	Maintenance room 	Lug-Nut 	Convince Lug-Nut to let the player keep the naughty nightwear they found
Northwest Seneca Station 	Home of Murphy and Barrett 	Murphy 	Convince Murphy to pay the player 30 caps for Sugar Bombs instead of 15
Meresti Metro station 	Home of The Family 	Robert 	Convince Robert that the player is ok
Meresti Metro station 	Home of The Family 	Vance 	Convince Vance that the player doesn't need further explanation
Meresti Metro station 	Home of The Family 	Vance 	Convince Vance to give the player the access code to speak to Ian West
Various 	(See Fallout 3 random encounters) 	Escaped Slaves/Wasteland Settlers 	Convince Escaped Slaves/Wasteland Settlers to share half the water they found
Meresti Metro station 	Home of The Family 	Justin 	Convince Justin to give the player the access code to speak to Ian West
Meresti Metro station 	Home of The Family 	Ian West 	Convince Ian West to go home
Meresti Metro station 	Home of The Family 	Vance 	Convince Vance to leave Arefu alone
Canterbury Commons 	Main street 	Uncle Roe 	Convince Uncle Roe to pay the player 200 more caps for stopping the feud between AntAgonizer and the Mechanist
Canterbury Commons 	AntAgonizer's lair 	AntAgonizer 	Convince AntAgonizer to abandon her life as a supervillain
Canterbury Commons 	Robot repair center 	Mechanist 	Convince the Mechanist to abandon his life as a superhero
Dukov's Place 	Inside 	Dukov 	Ask for Dukov's special key for Mister Crowley during the quest You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Dukov's Place 	Inside 	Dukov 	Ask where Fort Constantine is after asking where Mister Crowley died (Part of You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head)
Dukov's Place 	Inside 	Cherry 	Convince her to follow the player to Rivet City
Paradise Falls 	Main entrance 	Grouse 	Everyone has a price...
Paradise Falls 	Eulogy's Pad 	Eulogy Jones 	Convince him to sell the child slaves for 1200 caps instead of 2000 caps.
Paradise Falls 	In front of Eulogy's Pad 	Forty 	Convince him he's being paid too little during the quest Rescue from Paradise
Paradise Falls 	Inside the child slave house 	Squirrel 	Convince him and Sammy to leave without Penny
Paradise Falls 	Inside the child slave house 	Penny 	Convince her to leave without Rory Maclaren(Note: This speech challenge is unavailable if Squirrel and Sammy were already convinced to leave without her)
Arefu 	Guarding the entrance 	Evan King 	Asking why he is so scared
Big Town 	Walking around or in a building 	Red 	Ask for 200 more caps (results in negative Karma)
Big Town 	Walking around or in a building 	Red 	Ask about Lipoplasticator. (note: Part of quest The Replicated Man, also available from Dr. Preston in Rivet City)
Big Town 	Walking around or in a building 	Pappy 	You came here with Bittercup. After speaking with Bittercup.
Big Town 	The Clinic 	Timebomb 	"It wasn't free" After saving him.
Underworld 	The Chop Shop 	Doctor Barrows 	Asking about Mister Crowley
Underworld 	The Chop Shop 	Doctor Barrows 	Asking Doctor Barrows to wake Reilly
Underworld 	The Chop Shop 	Doctor Barrows 	Convince Doctor Barrows to reveal information related to The Replicated Man without paying.
Underworld 	Walking around main concourse 	Patchwork 	Convincing Patchwork to speak about Mister Crowley
Underworld 	Walking around main concourse 	Quinn 	Convincing Quinn to speak about Mister Crowley
Underworld 	The Ninth Circle 	Ahzrukhal 	Convincing Ahzrukhal to speak about Mister Crowley
Underworld 	Walking around main concourse 	Winthrop 	Asking Winthrop for information about The Replicated Man
Underworld 	Walking around main concourse 	Winthrop 	Asking Winthrop for information about Mister Crowley
Underworld 	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle) 	Carol 	Asking Carol for information about Mister Crowley
Underworld 	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle) 	Mister Crowley 	Convince Crowley that Ted Strayer was killed if he is kept alive during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Underworld 	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle) 	Mister Crowley 	Convince Crowley that Dukov was killed if he is kept alive during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Underworld 	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle) 	Mister Crowley 	Convince Crowley that Dave was killed if he is kept alive during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Underworld 	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle) 	Mister Crowley 	Ask Crowley for directions to Fort Constantine after giving him the last key in You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
GNR building plaza 	Galaxy News Radio 	Three Dog 	Convince Three Dog to tell the player about Dad without first helping him
Tenpenny Tower 	Front Gate Intercom 	Chief Gustavo 	Tell him the player has an offer for Mr. Tenpenny and convince him to allow entry for free.
Tenpenny Tower 	Inside Tenpenny Tower 	Chief Gustavo 	Convince Gustavo that clearing out the ghouls is worth more than 500 caps.
Tenpenny Tower 	Inside Tenpenny Tower 	Mr. & Mrs. Wellington 	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower 	Inside Tenpenny Tower 	Mr. Ling 	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower 	Inside Tenpenny Tower 	Ms. Montenegro 	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower 	Inside Tenpenny Tower 	Ms. Lancaster 	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower 	Inside Tenpenny Tower 	Security guard 	The security guard on top of the Tenpenny Tower before the door to Mr. Tenpenny.
Oasis 	Inside Oasis 	Tree Father Birch 	Ask who is requesting to see the player.
Oasis 	Inside Oasis 	Branchtender Linden 	Ask how he came to be at Oasis.
Oasis 	Inside Oasis 	Sapling Yew 	Ask what Harold is afraid of.
Ranger compound 	Inside the compound 	Reilly 	Offer to assist with collecting mapping data after completing Reilly's Rangers.
Republic of Dave 	Capitol Building 	Dave 	Tell him the player is an ambassador from the wastelands
Republic of Dave 	Capitol Building 	Dave 	Ask for the key for Mister Crowley during "You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head" (quest)
Republic of Dave 	Republic of Dave 	Bob 	Talk Bob into running for President
Republic of Dave 	Republic of Dave 	Rosie 	Talk Rosie into running for President
Republic of Dave 	Republic of Dave 	Shawna 	Convince Shawna that the player has "Dave Relics" for the museum, opening trade with her
Temple of the Union 	Somewhere inside the building 	Hannibal Hamlin 	During the quest Lincoln's Profit Margins(optional quest) the player can sell the items to him for a speech check each time with an increasing difficulty. The player can then pickpocket them back off him, but can only re-sell the hat back, and if they already did the Speech check there will not be another Speech check.
Lincoln Memorial 	In the side door on the left of the main stairs 	Leroy Walker 	During the quest Lincoln's Profit Margins(optional quest) the player can sell the items to him for a speech check each time with an increasing difficulty. The speech check will be there even if the items were already sold to Hannibal.
Rivet City 	Rivet City science lab 	Madison Li 	Convince Dr. Li to help the player (gives five stimpaks)
Rivet City 	In Rivet City 	Ted Strayer 	Ask for the key for Mister Crowley during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Rivet City 	In Mid Deck 	Abraham Washington 	During the quest Lincoln's Profit Margins(optional quest) the player can sell the items to him for a speech check each time with an increasing difficulty. If the player already did the Speech check and sold the items to Hannibal then pickpocketed them back, there will not be another Speech check.
Rivet City 	In Rivet City 	James Hargrave 	Convince him to run away from home (Note: Results in Karma loss, part of unmarked quest The Runaways)
Rivet City 	Bridge tower 	Private Jones 	Convince Private Jones of an incident on the Flight Deck (gets him out of the room, possibly to raid armory)
Rivet City 	Weatherly Hotel 	Vera Weatherly 	Ask her about rumors (Note: Can be done at least three times. Possibly automatic chance for success on each.)
Rivet City 	Rivet City Marketplace 	Bannon 	Ask about the history of Rivet City (Note: Possibly automatic chance for success)
Rivet City 	Top of Bridge Tower 	Mister Lopez 	Convince him to not commit suicide by jumping off the tower
Rivet City 	Capitol Preservation Society 	Abraham Washington 	Ask him how he knows so much about the Declaration of Independence
Rivet City 	Various 	Paulie Cantelli 	Get location of his chem stash.
Agatha's house 	Agatha's house 	Agatha 	Convince Agatha that finding the Soil Stradivarius is worth a reward
National Archives 	National Archives Strongroom 	Button Gwinnett 	Convince him that the player is Thomas Jefferson, there to retrieve the Declaration of Independence
Girdershade 	Outside Sierra Petrovita's shack 	Ronald Laren 	Convince Ronald to pay extra caps for the naughty nightwear (note: unmarked quest Grady's Package)
Girdershade 	Outside Sierra Petrovita's shack 	Ronald Laren 	After accepting The Nuka-Cola Challenge from Sierra, convince Ronald Laren to pay double for the Nuka-Cola Quantum
Girdershade 	Inside Sierra Petrovita 's shack 	Sierra Petrovita 	Convince Sierra to give the player The Nuka-Cola Challenge without taking her tour.
Girdershade 	Inside Sierra Petrovita 's shack 	Sierra Petrovita 	Convince Sierra to tell the player the secret prize for completing The Nuka-Cola Challenge before accepting it.
Nuka-Cola plant 	Factory Floor 	Milo 	Convince Milo the player is a factory employee
Red Racer factory 	Outside front door 	Goalie Ledoux 	Convince Goalie Ledoux to pay the player 400 caps for the Nuka-Cola Clear formula (only during The Nuka-Cola Challenge)
Tranquility Lane 	Neusbaum residence or lemonade stand outside 	Timmy Neusbaum 	Convince Timmy that his parents are getting a divorce, thus making him cry for Betty
Tranquility Lane 	Rockwell residence 	Janet Rockwell 	Convince Mrs. Rockwell that her husband is cheating. This will break up their marriage for Betty
Little Lamplight 	Front Gate area 	Mayor MacCready 	Convince the Mayor to let the player into Little Lamplight for the first time
Little Lamplight 	roaming 	Mayor MacCready 	After speaking to Eclair or Lucy about possible cave fungus trade, convince the Mayor (via threats) to give the player his own supply (note: negative Karma, MacCready also warns not to expect any more 'good will' from Little Lamplight, unconfirmed what this entails.)
Little Lamplight 	Front Gate area 	Knock Knock 	Convince Knock Knock that her joke was funny (Note: can do this challenge over and over again)
Little Lamplight 	Murder Pass Gate area or roaming 	Sammy 	After Princess refuses to reveal how she got her nickname, convince Sammy to reveal the details. (note: Sammy is one of the children rescued from Paradise Falls in Rescue from Paradise)
Little Lamplight 	Front Gate 	Sticky 	After accepting to escort him to Big Town get Sticky to shut up.
Raven Rock 	Area 3B, outside the player's prison cell 	Enclave officer 	Convince the guard that President Eden allowed the player to leave the cell
Raven Rock 	Area 1A 	President Eden 	Convince him to destroy himself
Citadel 	Citadel laboratory 	Knight Captain Gallows 	Ask him his real name
Citadel 	Citadel laboratory 	Knight Captain Dusk 	Insult her and then speak to her again to make up for it
Jefferson Memorial 	Rotunda 	Colonel Autumn 	Convince him to give up (Check appears regardless of whether or not Raven Rock was destroyed.)
Jefferson Memorial 	Rotunda 	Colonel Autumn 	Convince him to walk away
Jefferson Memorial 	Taft Tunnel 	Dr. Madison Li 	Convince her to give Garza Buffout instead of stimpaks
Jefferson Memorial 	Taft Tunnel 	Dr. Madison Li 	Convince her that Garza should be left behind
Outcast outpost 	Stairs 	Defender Morrill 	Convince him that the player is an Outcast who outranks him (Only works while wearing Outcast power armor)
Operation: Anchorage 	Simulation 	General Jingwei 	Convince General Jingwei to surrender.
Operation: Anchorage 	Simulation 	Quartermaster 	The player will receive a scoped Gauss rifle alongside their requested gear
The Pitt 	The Mill 	Brand 	Ask what he wants.
The Pitt 	Train tunnel 	Ramsey 	Convince him that the player is from The Pitt.
Broken Steel 	Underworld 	Griffon 	Convince him that the player won't tell anything, if he cuts the share 50/50.
Broken Steel 	Holy Light Monastery 	Mother Curie III 	Convince her that she should stop with the holy water.
Mothership Zeta 	Cryo lab 	Elliott Tercorien 	Convince him to leave without waking up other members of his squad.
Point Lookout 	Herzog Mine 	Kenny 	Convince him to let the player stay.
==Strategy==
In addition to counting towards the Silver-Tongued Devil achievement, successful Speech Challenges in Fallout 3 can yield the player any number of benefits, though experience is always rewarded for a successful Speech check and is influenced by the Well Rested status and the Swift Learner perk. Other rewards may include significant increases in caps for completing quests, gaining access to keys or passwords, Karma boosts, additional items, or even the chance to peacefully resolve some quests without the need for violence.
Unlike Barter, which affects many transactions in the game, the Speech skill only affects specific dialogue options for the non-player characters that present speech challenges in the game, which are a relatively uncommon subset out of the whole.
==Ways to increase Speech==
;Permanent
* Leveling up (10+INT (+3 with Educated perk))
* Bobblehead - Speech (+10)
* Lying, Congressional Style (+1 or +2 with Comprehension)
* Paradise Lost (+1 or +2 with Comprehension)
* Survival Expert (+2, 4 or 6)
* Scoundrel (+5 with each rank)
* Tag! (+15)
* Yew's bear charm (+10)
;Temporary
Note: Only items adding +5 or more are included.
* Impartial Mediation (+30 with neutral Karma)
* Ant queen pheromones (+2-6 depending on current Charisma, a perfect Charisma of 10 will see no benefit.)
* Grape Mentats (+2-10 depending on current Charisma, a perfect Charisma of 10 will see no benefit.)
* Pre-War businesswear (+5, includes "Dirty" and "Grimy")
* Naughty nightwear (+10)
* Button's wig (+10)
* Lincoln's hat (+5)
* General Chase's overcoat (+5)
* Paulson's outfit (+5)
Category:Fallout 3 skills
de:Sprache
es:Conversación
fr:Discours
pl:Retoryka
ru:Красноречие
uk:Красномовство