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This page is about the non-player character. For the player character, see Sole Survivor. For other characters named Nate, see Nate (disambiguation). |
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Nate is a pre-War resident of Sanctuary Hills in 2077 and one of the two possible player characters available during character creation in Fallout 4. The player can customize his appearance and, if chosen as the player character, his name and SPECIAL stats.
Background
Nate is a former soldier and decorated war hero who served in the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army during the Sino-American War. At some point before the war, he married Nora.[2] The two had intercourse in a park[3] and several months later, they had a son, Shaun, in 2077. Nate and Nora once had a pet dog but it disappeared.
On the morning of October 23, 2077, Nate was preparing for an event at the Veteran's Hall in Concord[4] when a Vault-Tec representative visited the family to inform them that they have pre-approved admittance into Vault 111. Mere moments later, a news bulletin warned the family of an imminent nuclear attack, which forced Nate, Nora and Shaun to rush to the Vault, leaving their personal Mister Handy, Codsworth, behind. After entering the Vault, the family, along with the other admitted residents are placed in cryogenic sleep by the Vault-Tec scientists, under the guise of decontamination prior to entering the main Vault.
In 2227 he is disturbed from his cryogenic sleep by Conrad Kellogg and two unknown Institute scientists, whose intention was to acquire Shaun; as his DNA is the 'purest' source available to the Institute for their experiments.
If Nora was selected as the player character, he will be executed by Kellogg while attempting to stop the scientists from kidnapping Shaun. If Nate was selected as the player character he is forced to watch as Nora is executed.
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
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This character is involved in quests. | |
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| T-shirt and slacks (2077) Vault 111 jumpsuit (2287) Wedding ring |
Notes
- On the Executive terminal in Fraternal Post 115 is a speech memo mentioning Nate being a decorated war hero.
- According to the holotape "Hi honey!" given by Codsworth, Nora's mother says that Nate has the patience of a saint.
- If he is chosen to be Sole Survivor, there will be some instances in-game where his time in the military is referenced.
- When nearing the USS Constitution and is approached by the lookout, the lookout will mention his time in service with 108th Infantry Regiment in its 2nd Battalion.
- If one chooses to join the Brotherhood of Steel at the end of the quest Call to Arms, upon entering Cambridge Police Station to start the quest Semper Invicta, there will be a dialogue option in which the Sole Survivor can speak with Danse about his service in the army.
- When meeting Evan Watson in Institute Advanced Systems for the first time, there is a dialogue option to agree with Watson's rules "as a former soldier." However, Nora also has this same option available.
- His name in the E3 demo was Mr. Howard, which is the name of the executive producer of Bethesda Softworks, Todd Howard.
- Given the context of the narration, it may be interpreted that the soldier in the center foreground of a scene in the Fallout 4 intro is Nate during his military service. If this is the case, the specific combat armor pieces he and his unit wore were the sturdy legs, heavy arms, the standard chest piece, and a combat helmet. He is depicted wielding a scoped laser rifle with a beam splitter modification.
Notable quotes
- "War. War never changes."
- "In the year 1945, my great-great grandfather, serving in the army, wondered when he'd get to go home to his wife and the son he'd never seen. He got his wish when the US ended World War II by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world awaited Armageddon; instead, something miraculous happened. We began to use atomic energy not as a weapon, but as a nearly limitless source of power. People enjoyed luxuries once thought the realm of science fiction. Domestic robots, fusion-powered cars, portable computers. But then, in the 21st century, people awoke from the American dream. Years of consumption lead to shortages of every major resource. The entire world unraveled. Peace became a distant memory. It is now the year 2077. We stand on the brink of total war, and I am afraid. For myself, for my wife, for my infant son - because if my time in the army taught me one thing: it's that war, war never changes."
- "What do you think, hon? Beard or no beard?"
- "I clean up pretty nice."
- "Wow, your hair look great."
- "Shaun has your smile, you know?"
- "What do you think, hon? Roguishly handsome or handsomely roguish?"
- "Do I look nervous? I look nervous, don't I?"
- "He's fine. We're gonna be okay. I love you."
Appearances
Nate appears in Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter Online.
Behind the scenes
In April 2024, designer Emil Pagliarulo stated on Twitter that the leftmost American soldier depicted in the annexation of Canada during the intro of the first Fallout (not the shooter, but one who joins in the laughter at the execution) was Nate.[Non-game 1] Following polarized responses, Pagliarulo posted a follow-up thread clarifying that the connection was made as part of a discussion in early development about the framing of Nate's experiences as a pre-War soldier and not intended to be a part of the final story, with the details of Nate's military service instead left to the player's imagination. Pagliarulo added that "not every bit of Fallout info I share is automatically canon" and that "Nate is NOT a war criminal!"[Non-game 2]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Hi honey!
- ↑ Wedding ring
- ↑ Nate: "Is it gonna be like the last time we went to the park?"
Nora: "Right. The park. With you. Because I want to get pregnant again."
(Nate and Nora's dialogue) - ↑ Fraternal Post 115 terminal entries: Speech Memo
Non-game
- ↑ Emil Paglirulo on Twitter (archived): "Given the great vibes recently, and the millions of amazing Fallout fans (that's you!) I feel like the time is right to finally share an unknown link between Fallout 1 and Fallout 4. Remember the Fallout 1 opening movie? Annexation of Canada? SAME. GUY. (No, NOT the shooter!)"
- ↑ Emil Pagliarulo on Twitter (archived): "🧵(1/3) Oof. I wanted to share what I thought was a cool Fallout tidbit without realizing how divisive it might be. I should have. I get dumb when I get excited… and I get excited a lot. 😬 Not every bit of Fallout info I share is automatically canon. Nate is NOT a war criminal!
(2/3) When you're world and character building, you have a LOT of head canon. You're always sorting ideas. Early on, we talked about that being Nate, in that video. He had been through hell as a soldier. Every day was another unknown horror. This was one of them.
(3/3) So, internally, it was a cool nod to OG Fallout and a way to fictionally frame the character. It wasn't shared with the player because it was never meant to be who YOU think Nate is. For a player, Nate's soldier past is whatever you think it is. THAT is canon."
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