Fallout is a diverse franchise with entries ranging in multiple decades and genres. Although certain aspects of their stories form a common thread, each game features the option to create a character unique to the player, including their gender, stats, and appearance. Additionally, most of these characters hail from one of the many underground Vaults built across the United States by Vault-Tec to survive a post-war world, but with Vault-Tec's sinister experiments at the helm, not all is what it seems for the protagonist's arrival.

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The origin stories for each Fallout protagonist vary in importance, with some characters having elaborate and important backstories that cause certain choices from previous entries to be considered a part of the franchise's official canon. Other times, the backstories are not as important as the current events, and so only serve to flesh out the world in smaller ways.

7 Vault 76's Vault Dwellers

Pre-War Citizens Hand-Selected To Enter Vault 76, And To Leave 25 Years After The Great War

Fallout 76

Platform(s)

PC , PS4 , Xbox One

Released

November 14, 2018

Developer(s)

Bethesda

Genre(s)

Action , RPG

Vault 76 was one of a small number of designated control Vaults, where experiments would not take place. Instead, the residents were carefully selected by Vault-Tec to live inside for 25 years, before going out into the remnants of West Virginia and reclaiming the world for their corporate saviors. Some citizens were graduates of the nearby Vault-Tec University, while others were experienced lawyers and military veterans.

The specific backstory of the player characters does not impact the story and is therefore up to the player if they want to create one in their own minds. However, the unique nature of having an entire Vault emptied to the surface at the same time gave Fallout 76 the ability to make all of its players feel like part of the actual story since the game was designed to be multiplayer, making it so that their co-op companions, and enemies, were all former neighbors from within Vault 76.

6 The Vault Dweller

Vault 13's Isolation Ends When A Dweller Is Sent Out To Find A Replacement Water Chip

Until December 2161, the Vault Dweller lived a typical life within the confines of Vault 13. That was when they drew the short straw and were tasked with leaving the Vault to find a replacement for the water purification chip. Since the character and player were both new to a post-war life on the surface in the world of Fallout, the relatively blank slate that the Vault Dweller started with serves as a great way to introduce all the elements of the universe.

By starting as a character who does not know what's going on, the player ends up learning and growing alongside the Vault Dweller, which makes the story more immersive and compelling. The Vault Dweller's origin also set the stage for future games in the series, since Vault-Tec has nearly always been front and center in the franchise.

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4 The Courier

An Employee Of The Mojave Express, Shot Twice In The Head, Waking Up With A Vengeance

In 2281, Mr. House hired six different couriers from the Mojave Express to deliver the Platinum Chip (and 5 decoy packages) to New Vegas, which he could use to unleash an army of upgraded Securitrons and take over the Mojave Wasteland. Courier Six, Fallout: New Vegas' protagonist, Courier Six, was intercepted by a gangster named Benny along with some Great Khans and shot in the head. Surprisingly, the Courier survived this encounter and began seeking revenge once they had recovered.

Prior to these events, the Courier traveled across the wasteland, and players can select various options during conversations with NPCs that solidify some of these journeys into their particular canon. For instance, the player can mention their character's familiarity with the Brotherhood of Steel or go in the opposite direction and tell their companion Cass that they don't know what a fish is. While much of the backstory is left to the player to decide, the Courier's unique job traveling the surface informs the way that the game plays out.

3 The Sole Survivor

A Pre-War Veteran and Lawyer, Cryogenically Frozen In Vault 111

• Fallout 4

Like other player characters in the series, Fallout 4's Sole Survivor can be male or female. However, this character's story is slightly different based on that choice. The male character, Nate, is a veteran of war for America, whilst his wife, Nora, is a lawyer. The couple loved their lives in 2077's Boston with their newborn son, Shaun, but then, the bombs began to fall. Nate and Nora take Shaun and head for Vault 111, a mysterious Vault designed to protect them as the world they know is atomized. When starting as either of these characters, the established backstory of a lawyer or a veteran aids in their immersion and roleplay due to thinking how these characters would.

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The fact that the Sole Survivor is a pre-war human, and not a ghoul, is extremely fascinating. Yet, the journey doesn't begin until the player character and the Vault residents are cryogenically frozen, only for the player to wake up early, witnessing the murder of their partner and the kidnapping of their infant son, with everyone else frozen to death, over 200 years into the future in an unrecognizable world.

2 The Lone Wanderer

A Resident Of Vault 101 Who Escapes To Find Their Dad In The Capitol Wasteland

Fallout 3's protagonist, the Lone Wanderer, was led to believe that they were born in Vault 101. In reality, they were born on the surface whilst their parents were working on Project Purity. Unfortunately, the Lone Wanderer's mother died shortly after giving birth, and so their father moved into Vault 101 with his newborn baby.

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Players don't learn any of this until later on in the story, which makes for an interesting reveal. Instead, the beginning of the game is full of snapshots of childhood within Vault 101, including a birthday party in which they received their PipBoy. Witnessing the Lone Wanderer's childhood adds a great deal of depth to the character, and even more tension when it comes to escaping the Vault to find their father on the surface.

1 The Chosen One

A Descendant Of The Vault Dweller From Vault 13, Set Out As A Champion To Find The Garden Of Eden Creation Kit

At the end of the original Fallout, the Vault Dweller was canonically exiled from Vault 13. They left and founded a village called Arroyo out in the wasteland. Another Vault Dweller named Pat eventually followed him and the two were married and had children together. Fallout 2's protagonist, The Chosen One, was the Vault Dweller's grandchild. They were selected by the village elder to find a G.E.C.K (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) which could terraform the area and save the dying village.

Alongside New Vegas' Courier, the Chosen One is the only main entry protagonist who was born and raised on the surface. Their story also serves as an indirect continuation of the Vault Dweller from the original game, and that connection helps the story to be as much about the broader world of Fallout.

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