Actions have consequences, and Fallout reinforces that statement with every single decision players make across all Fallout games. Whether it's a minor dialogue choice or a direct action that involves violence or the push of a button, there are a multitude of things players can do that might seem small at first, but they all have varying degrees of consequence that impact the people around the wasteland.
Below, we've highlighted some memorable Fallout quests that change with just one choice, showcasing further failures of the wasteland for unethical decisions or even ones that seem fair, but result in a very different outcome, to which reloading to an old save might be the best option.
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The Power of the Atom — Disarm or Destroy Megaton
A Small Amount of Tinkering Can Go in an Explosive Direction
- Featured in: Fallout 3
One of the first stops the Lone Wanderer will make outside of Vault 101 is a trip to Megaton, an eyesore of a settlement, built upon scrap metal on the foundations of an undetonated nuclear bomb. The people here are somewhat friendly, aided by the good-natured sheriff, Lucas Simms. However, players new to Megaton will first be amazed by the live but undetonated atomic bomb, which can actually be tinkered with to change the fates of all in the radius.
If players approach the bomb with 25+ skill in Explosive, they can actually disarm it, even before being asked to by Lucas Simms. Doing so will see the Lone Wanderer shunned by Mr. Burke and Tenpenny Tower, locking a unique area and quest. However, deciding to aid Mr. Burke will instead see a quest to blow up Megaton with their own bomb, which results in the town becoming desolate and useless to the Lone Wanderer, all for caps and a room at Tenpenny Tower.
Et Tumor, Brute? — Diagnose, Cure, or Kill Caesar
Caesar of the Legion Reveals His Tumor, Leaving His Fate in Your Hands
- Featured in: Fallout: New Vegas
Siding with the Legion results in the destruction of the Brotherhood of Steel, but it will also accelerate the grand Caesar's demise. Caesar trusts the Courier enough to let them know of his ailments, and even without a proper diagnosis in 75+ Medicine or 65+ Speech, it's obvious that he's suffering from a brain tumor, which, in the Mojave Wasteland, is inoperable.
A quest begins to find the surgical tools necessary to save Caesar so that the Mojave Wasteland can bring about brutal civilization, but it's also an opportunity in which Caesar can be assassinated, intentionally or otherwise. Failing to complete the surgery due to a lack of Medicine skill or Luck can result in Caesar's death, which sees the Courier shunned by the Legion, and thus forced onto a different quest path to decide the fate of the Mojave, and changes the Legion's hierarchy of power forever.
Over and Out — Paladin Rahmani or Shin?
Make a Vital Decision on Empathy That Determines the Brotherhood of Steel's Chapter in Appalachia
- Featured in: Fallout 76
Steel Dawn provides players with the choice to pick between Paladin Rahmani or Knight Shin. While both characters have an allegiance to the Brotherhood of Steel, they're vastly different in their motives for the wasteland. It's a clash of empathy against tradition, and players are forced to pick a side that could determine what awaits the Brotherhood of Steel's Appalachia Chapter.
With Rahmani, there's an openness to communicate and aid the people of the wasteland, whereas with Shin, there's further hoarding for the Brotherhood of Steel. While choosing an ally here and now might not have detrimental consequences for the wasteland as of right now, or for the BoS, the surviving party will have much to think about moving forward.
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The Battle of Bunker Hill — Honesty with Father
Become Exiled from the Institute
- Featured in: Fallout 4
Synths are rather complex in terms of morality, especially when thrown into the mix of humans, super mutants, and ghouls. The wasteland is forever changing, so introducing self-aware synthetic humans into the mix just muddies the waters on who gets to live in the wasteland, and that's exactly why the Institute wants to ensure that they're kept under their control instead of breaking free into the desires of self. The perfect test for the Sole Survivor arises with The Battle of Bunker Hill, where Father sends out his parent to test their loyalty to the Institute.
A battle against the Brotherhood of Steel and the Railroad will see the Sole Survivor and their Courser companion infiltrate a group of rogue synths, and a decision has to be made to kill them, free them, or return them to the Institute. Deciding on their fate will have lasting consequences, as when players speak with Father at the roof of the C.I.T. Ruins, honesty can see Father disown the Sole Survivor, locking them out of the Institute where they will never see their son, Shaun, until his dying breath.
They Went That-a-Way — From Goodsprings to Boulder City
Track Benny, the Man Who Killed You, Across the Mojave, Or Go a Different Direction
- Featured in: Fallout: New Vegas
After being left for dead (ain't that a kick in the head?) By Benny and his gang for what package the Courier had, it's time to leave the town of Goodsprings after getting patched up to find the man who (nearly) killed you. The quest is a main one, so it's impossible to ignore, but it is possible to completely skip the in-between by going straight to The Strip and entering the Tops casino, meaning you've effectively ignored the adventures that could be waiting at other towns just for revenge.
While it's far more dangerous to b-line straight to the Strip, it does get results, even if those results come at the cost of never having interacted with the people at Primm, Nipton, Novac, and Boulder City. It's a small choice to simply take an alternate path, but it's one with lasting consequences because vital characters will never be met on the way.
Take it Back! — Fawkes Becomes a True Hero
An Obvious Choice to Make an Immune Super Mutant Absorb Radiation Takes Away Hero Status
- Featured in: Fallout 3
Project Purity is essential to the future of the wasteland, and the Brotherhood of Steel marches on with Liberty Prime with the desire to provide clean drinking water free of radiation for all. However, reaching the final destination reveals that activating the purifier provides a lethal dose of radiation, and whoever enters the chamber will surely die there, but they will still die as heroes.
Still, the Lone Wanderer didn't come all this way just to die at the end, and the fact that they have a super mutant companion, Fawkes, who is immune to radiation, makes him the perfect candidate to activate the purifier. It's an obvious choice to make to send Fawkes, who comes out unharmed, but one that results in a scolding. Despite coming all this way and losing their father, the Lone Wanderer isn't dubbed as "a true hero" because they didn't make a needless sacrifice, thus stripping their name from the records of heroism.
Kill Killian
Failing to Listen to Both Side With the Allure of Bottle Caps Results in Junktown's Demise
- Featured in: Fallout
Leaving Vault 13 in search of a Water Chip is harder than one might think, and it won't take long to grow accustomed to the surface world of the wasteland and how they operate. As such, a gullible Vault Dweller who desires caps to make trade might find themselves in Junktown, where the corrupt Gizmo will meet with the player and ask them to kill Killian, a decision that doesn't require much convincing, especially if they haven't heard Killian's side of the story first.
It's a brash decision, and since the wasteland is filled with death, it's a small choice that can be fulfilled for a nice chunk of bottle caps. Killing always seems to be the straightforward solution to problems in the wasteland, but this one changes the fate of Junktown with the loss of its important leader, who saw the settlement prosper.
Miria's Romance
Seduction and Fun Become a Lifelong Commitment After a Shotgun Wedding
- Featured in: Fallout 2
While not necessarily a lasting decision that will change the fate of the world, it's still a hilarious one that sees the Chosen One forever wed. If players venture to Grisham's house at Modoc, they can find and interact with Miria, a woman with a seductive attitude who will practically pounce on the Chosen One with the right dialogue choices. While some might desire this as a fun romantic encounter with no strings attached, Miria's father will catch the Chosen One and his daughter in the act, and saying the wrong thing results in a permanent companion.
If players fail to convince Grisham that this was just a medical exam, he will force the Chosen One into a shotgun wedding to marry Miria. There's no purpose that Miria serves as a companion, as there are no skills or stats that make her worth anything other than a divorce. Still, it's a hilarious quest that has lasting consequences on who the Chosen One spends their life with because of one encounter gone wrong.
The Glowing Sea — Forgetting to Cure Virgil
Giving Virgil the Super Mutant Cure, or Forgetting to Do So, Has Serious Repercussions for the Future
- Featured in: Fallout 4
Embarking through the Glowing Sea on a quest to find an exiled scientist from the Institute will have the Sole Survivor eventually meet with Virgil, a man who has turned himself into a super mutant in body, but not in mind. Virgil has survived the Glowing Sea's radiation thanks to his transformation, but he has one request: to be cured of this Forced Evolutionary Virus so that he can become human once again, in exchange for helping the Sole Survivor reach the Institute.
The only known cure is within the Institute itself, and if players are too concerned with meeting Shaun and investigating the Institute, they might forget to ever pick up the cure for Virgil. This honest mistake of forgetfulness can have lasting consequences on the wasteland, as the only man who knew how to cure super mutants is forever trapped in a cave in the Glowing Sea. It might not be a quest that greatly alters gameplay, but it could have future ramifications when one considers the mistake made.
Tenpenny Tower — Help the Ghouls
Negotiating Peace Between Humans and Ghouls Results in the Death of All Humans at Tenpenny Tower
- Featured in: Fallout 3
The Lone Wanderer is new to the wasteland, and as such, they want to believe that there's good in the dead world. So, when faced with the ghoul dilemma at Tenpenny Tower, the Lone Wanderer can choose to be diplomatic and use their words to try and convince the residents that the ghouls aren't evil and horrifying creatures, and they deserve a safe place to stay to help better society with human and ghoul kinship.
However, returning to Tenpenny Tower a few days after witnessing their combined harmony reveals that the ghouls killed the humans over a disagreement and left their bodies to rot in the basement. It's a quest that shows the two sides of selfishness in the wasteland, and how one small diplomatic decision can result in the weight of death following the Lone Wanderer just for trying to be a good person.
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