Highlights
- Fallout franchise stands out for its antagonists, with some being pure evil and others morally gray, adding depth to players' choices.
- Characters like Allistair Tenpenny, Dixie, and Caesar showcase the franchise's evil villains, each with unique motives and characteristics.
- From genocidal tycoons to deranged gang members, the Fallout series offers impactful villains who elevate the storytelling and gameplay experience.
The Fallout franchise is one of the premier names in the RPG genre. The games all feature a post-apocalyptic version of the Earth where, depending on the game, players must leave their vault to search for a missing loved one, take revenge on the villains who wronged them, or to ensure the survival of their vault. On this journey, players are embroiled in an exciting story full of dozens of unique, fleshed-out characters.
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Despite the heroics of most Bethesda protagonists, some aren't afraid to be a little bad, providing wastelands and fantasy worlds with villainy.
What makes the franchise so good, beyond its core gameplay loop, is that it is littered with excellent antagonists. Some are pure evil, while others can be placed in a more morally gray category. Players' choices can also turn their characters into a sort of villain as well. However, this list focuses on the most organically evil characters in the franchise.
6 Allistair Tenpenny
The Genocidal Business Tycoon
Allistair Tenpenny is the stereotypical evil villain. Focusing purely on expanding his vision and amassing further wealth, most of the cruelty and villainy he illustrates is motivated purely by profit. His worst act was completely wiping out Megaton to fuel his ambitions, and because it was an eyesore.
Tenpenny is also shown to be initially bigoted towards ghouls, referring to them with extreme disdain. His "master plan" includes wiping them off the map entirely. While Tenpenny isn't a major player in the series, he's a memorable, cartoonishly-evil character that fans still discuss, particularly due to how easily he would dismiss the lives of others to fuel his own ambitions.
5 Dixie
A Brief Yet Haunting Impact
Fallout 4
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- November 10, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
Many villains in the Fallout series are "evil" or bad on a philosophical level, be it Caesar's outlook of the ends justifying the means, or these larger-than-life moguls condemning hundreds to their deaths. Dixie isn't like that. She's part of the Disciples, the most disturbing gang in Fallout 4. As a high ranking member, she enjoys murdering and dismembering people for fun.
Dixie collects corpses and mutilates them, and she enjoys documenting her process of marking her prey, getting their guard down, and then killing them. Dixie has no higher purpose attached to her murder sprees, and there's no political end either; she simply enjoys it. The personal connection and unique characteristics of every murder she commits, coupled with her holotape collection, make her evil feats a little more nefarious than they might be otherwise. She stands out as one of the most evil and disturbing characters in the series, and her dialogue displays that perfectly.
4 Caesar
Desperate Fragile Villain, Or Ruthless Autocrat?
Caesar from Fallout: New Vegas is an interesting character. He rules the Legion with an iron fist, based on the tenets of Ancient Rome. However, everything he's learned from history and used to shape his empire is hidden from his followers. The Legion believes Caesar has received divine revelations from Mars, and has crafted himself a persona where he is the son of the God of War. What makes him evil is the way he rules the legion. Children are taken away from their parents and subjected to his priestesses, anyone who questions his authority is executed on blasphemy charges, and he has engaged in a blood feud with the NCR to fuel his imperial Roman fantasies. Not to mention his sadistic and angry side, and how he clamps down on anyone who might threaten to reveal his secret.
Behind the masquerade of a charismatic deity, Caesar is a wicked and aggressive man with a fragile ego. However, to be fair to him, the reason he isn't in the top half of these rankings is that life in the Legion is a bit better than most of the alternatives in New Vegas. While he's undoubtedly a terror, there is an argument to be made about the citizens of the Legion being 'somewhat' safe.
3 Father Elijah
Elijah's Descent Into Madness Is A Highlight In New Vegas
Elijah was an elder in the Brotherhood driven by a pursuit of technology. He chased progress no matter the cost, and not only did his motivations slowly drive him towards lunacy, but they also resulted in his methods, and inventions becoming more and more questionable. While Elijah was ridiculously intelligent, his focus wasn't ever on helping others or using his skills to improve the living conditions of his followers.
At some point he did have the best interests of the Brotherhood in mind, but his pursuit of these interests, by any means necessary, slowly turned him into a depraved and unhinged character. Not only did Elijah run sadistic experiments and torture his test subjects, his ultimate plan was to essentially commit genocide and enslave anyone who was left alive. He's a compelling character, but one of the most evil in the franchise to be sure.
2 Cook - Cook
Cook - Cook Is Simply Pure Evil
Cook-Cook is easily one of the most evil characters in the entire Fallout franchise. He's known among the Fiends for excessively perverse and violent crimes. His evil feats, so to speak, include arson, slave-trading, and a host of other unsavory actions that are clearly depicted in Fallout: New Vegas.
Cook-Cook's depravity is shown perfectly through the interactions players have with other characters affected by his actions. He's easily one of the most evil characters in any RPG, and the quest in which players defeat him is very satisfying. His rampage if the players kill his attack dog is also quite interesting to witness.
1 Stanislaus Braun
The Perfect Stereotype Of The Evil Scientist
A common trend in most of the characters in the Fallout franchise is that they have been driven to do unsavory things and shift their ideals for the sake of their own survival, molded by their desolate environment or the circumstances they were born and raised in. For Stanislaus Braun, this doesn't really apply, and that is exactly what makes him a compelling villain, and one who is truly evil.
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Through their often misguided actions, these Fallout characters made the world a much worse place to live.
Braun's highlight moment is the simulation loop he has subjected Vault 112's dwellers to, wherein they are constantly tortured and killed with little reprieve. Beyond that, he's the mastermind of a myriad of ruthless experiments that the inhabitants of other vaults are subjected to as well. There isn't much to mitigate Braun's evil side. As one of the key architects of the Vault experiments, he's arguably the most evil character in the franchise.
Fallout New Vegas VS Fallout 4: Which Game Is Better?
Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4 are both amazing games in their own right but which one of them is better?
