The Fallout Series is known for it's storytellig and amazing settings. Characters within the games are sometimes more than just cannon fodder for the protagonist. You learn their backstories from conversations, notes, and other forms of narration.

Enemies range from contract killers to deranged raiders hyped up on pyscho. Mainy of these people, however, are not evil in the basic sense of the word. Some were subjected to too much radiation and/or toxins that has corrupted their minds. Others are victims of circumstance and only fight for survival. Even worse, there are those that were tested upon for nefarious purposes. The reason for these characters in the Fallout lore is simply to make you ponder on the morality of killing these people/ creatures.

It is not back and white with enemies in these games, rather it is a tragic tale that requires many of them to be killed by the protagonist. Feel free to list which enemies you think are tragic and why you think this. Have Fun!!!

There's a few I can think of, such as the Master. The mutie genuinely believed what he was doing was for the better of all mankind. Even if that twisted belief meant killing those who won't conform and turning others into grotesque super mutants.

And all it takes to destroy his otherwise master plan, is to inform him muties are sterile and can't breed. Gets so depressed about it he destroys himself and the work which he had built. I always did get some chills when the Master's female voice chimes in that you should leave while you still have hope.

Kellog immediately comes to mind. At first I wanted to kill the guy after what he did in the vault, but when I started learning about what he went through earlier in his life that turned him into the person he was, it was strikingly similar to the player’s journey in the game. I wish we had been give. A chance to spare him. Learning all about his troubled life only to be forced to kill him in the end seemed like a waste.

Another one would be the president from fallout 3. While he did some bad stuff, when you talk to him you can see that he was truly doing what he believed to be right. He was also being manipulated to an extent by colonel autumn, who had his own priorities.

@Calder_Wren I'm sure forcing you to kill Kellogg, then showing you his rather tragic past, was the plan. I'm sure everyone felt the same way after witnessing Kellogg shoot your spouse and steal yo baby.

And, from the character's point of view, why would you spare him? Your last memory before you woke up was of him, shooting your spouse. Stealing your child. Sort of taunting you, maybe, in a way, when he called you "the backup". It takes a truly Godly amount of forgiveness to spare him afterwards. Or, at least, without beating him halfway to death with a rolling pin or some other extremely humiliating weapon.

In the words for Final Fantasy Dissidia's Gabranth, "Hatred is what drives me". Or, in this case, the Sole Survivor.

...just sayin'.

@Dmitri2033 Now that's just ridiculous, that's exactly the kind of RPG elements that 4 lacked of! in fact, there was an extension to the Danse's quest where you or Danse can become Elder, but nooooooope, bethesda has to dumb down all the shit. Fallout first of all, is an RPG, a game that gives you the choice of who you can be, or what you can become on the road.

For me it'll be the Feral Ghouls, Obsidian made you gain karma sometimes when you kill them in NV, not because they're evil, but is because you free them from their misery and pain to be a wondering corpse, hopeless.

I think a few of the raiders in Fallout 4, like Red Tourette could be seen in a way as sympathetic, specifically if you go into the story of what happened with her sister. Though I wish the story played out through more than just terminal entries. Like if the different raider clans weren't hostile at first and the player could work with them. They'd only be hostile if yo were actively wiping out the other major gangs, or were general of the Minutemen or something.

I think as far as enemies, there are some real tragic ones. Ranger Stella and Sergeant Andrews are both captured NCR troops who are forced to fight for the legion's enjoyment in the arena. You cut short any hope they have of freedom. In a way, Benny is quite a tragic character, as well. He's convinced himself that he's a big time player, and that he can take over the strip. Mr. House was even grooming him to fill the position he eventually gives to the Courier, but instead he winds up being a very minor character in the overall story, merely a conveyance to get the chip from Goodsprings to the Strip/Fort. And if the player leaves him to his fate, he is crucified by the legion, the worst fate he could imagine. Ultimately, Benny is nothing and all his schemes were a waste of lives and potential. Now this is all his own fault, but that doesn't mean it's not tragic.

The Master is an obvious one, but I also think of the Trogs in Fallout 3. Trogs are probably some of the worst mutants ever to emerge from the post war world alongside Tunnelers. Super mutants are made using FEV, but FEV is not an unlimited resource and can be destroyed. Ghouls emerge from radiation, but that will eventually become far less frequent as radiation levels decrease naturally. Trogs on the other hand are born of a disease born of the radiation and post war waste that can persist long after both of those things are gone. It is also been spread even further by the fact that the pitt raiders will feed trog meat to slaves, which is a vector of the disease. Trogs first degenerate into psychotic, inhuman wildmen, and then into trogs. Every single trog you face was once a resident of the pitt, possibly a slave. Looking at the majority of those in the pitt, raider or slave, you can see that the majority of those you come across seem to be infected by the disease. Which means that all of them will at some point become trogs. It's a pretty vicious circle of life in the pitt, especially considering that many who wind up their, slaves, were taken there from places like the Capital Wasteland or the Commonwealth by slavers. They will succumb to the disease and become mindless creatures. It's undoubtedly one of the cruellest fates in Fallout.

@Calder_Wren
Yeah, I kind of felt bad for Kellogg after finding out what happened to him earlier in his life.
Although I think FO4's writing was a bit weak compared to other Fallout games, Kellogg is one of the few NPC I was interested in.

Also, depending on how you play the game, Dance can be a kind of villain with a tragic twist, if you know what I mean ! I won't spoil it here, though

Frank Horrigan was an Agent for the Enclave. During the excavation of Mariposa or reestablishment of it he got exposed to FEV. Instead of the Enclave putting him out of his misery, they encased him in power and used him as their own twisted super weapon. All while touting that they needed to kill all Mutants, which would end up killing one of their most loyal agents. He even considered himself above the people outside the oil rig because he would call the Chosen One a Mutie, even though Horrigan was a mutant himself.

The Spore Carrier's they're are some really tiny one's you can find in vault 22 next to baby stroller's.

Probably the Commonwealth Raiders because of the backstory that you read from terminals and notes and because of scenes like the raider mourning a dead comrade. It humanizes them and makes me think that they are not just xp and loot bags.

But the most tragic character would have to be the Master from Fallout 1 because of reasons stated above.

@ElMaldito yeah that’s true... it’s a linear open-world game, I Guess.

I guess enemies that I truly feel bad for would be the marked men or the lobotomites. Those people did not wish to become monsters. Instead forces outside their control changed them to a point where humanity is no longer within their grasps.

Barton Thorn, poor sucker thought he could get one over on me and steal that loot cache. Tragic part was the loot was mediocre at best, and then I had to kill him for his insolence.

Dmitri2033 wrote:

@"Calder_Wren" I'm sure forcing you to kill Kellogg, then showing you his rather tragic past, was the plan. I'm sure everyone felt the same way after witnessing Kellogg shoot your spouse and steal yo baby.

And, from the character's point of view, why would you spare him? Your last memory before you woke up was of him, shooting your spouse. Stealing your child. Sort of taunting you, maybe, in a way, when he called you "the backup". It takes a truly Godly amount of forgiveness to spare him afterwards.

I’m not suggesting everyone would have. Just mentioning that it would have been nice to at least have the option.

It would have made follow up playthroughs a little more interesting if you killed him in one and then after learning about his past decided to spare him in another.