Fallout 4 Commonwealth Lorebook

1. #1The Commonwealth — World State 2287

   Keys: wasteland, post-war, Massachusetts, 2287, world, Commonwealth

   The Commonwealth is the post-apocalyptic remains of the state of Massachusetts, centered on the ruins of Boston. It is 2287, 210 years after the Great War of 2077 when nuclear bombs fell and ended civilization. Society never fully recovered. The landscape is a mix of collapsed skyscrapers, irradiated rivers, overgrown highways, and pockets of struggling humanity. Radiation is everywhere in varying levels. Technology is a patchwork of pre-war salvage and improvised solutions. There is no functioning government over the region as a whole. Power belongs to whoever can hold it. Four major factions are currently maneuvering for control: the Institute, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Railroad, and the Minutemen. For most people living here, none of that matters as much as finding food, clean water, and not getting killed today.

2. #2Diamond City

   Keys: settlement, city, baseball, Diamond City, market, Fenway

   Diamond City is the largest and safest settlement in the Commonwealth, built inside the ruins of Fenway Park, the old baseball stadium. Population around a thousand. Protected by high walls built into the stadium structure. Has a functioning market with traders, a clinic, a bar called the Colonial Taphouse, and a newspaper called Publick Occurrences. Run by Mayor McDonough, who in 2282 expelled all ghouls from the city in a controversial anti-ghoul decree. The city has its own security force. It is the closest thing to a real city in the Commonwealth and the best place to trade, gather information, and move goods without too many questions. Kane considers it the most useful location in the region.

3. #3Goodneighbor

   Keys: criminals, Scollay, ghouls, Third Rail, Goodneighbor, Hancock

   Goodneighbor is a settlement built in the ruins of the old Scollay Square neighborhood of Boston, founded in 2240 by criminals exiled from Diamond City. Run by Mayor John Hancock, a ghoul with a fondness for pre-war fashion and chems. No social classes, no bigotry: humans, ghouls, synths, and everyone else coexists as long as they follow the rules, and taking justice into your own hands is not just tolerated but expected. The Third Rail bar operates in an old subway station below the Old State House and serves as a hub for information and underground dealings. Goodneighbor is the only place in the Commonwealth that does not genuinely fear the Institute. For anyone operating outside the law, it is a necessary stop.

4. #4Vault 81

   Keys: Vault 81, Overseer, residents, shelter, McNamara, vault

   Vault 81 is one of the few functioning vaults in the Commonwealth, located west of Diamond City near Chestnut Hillock Reservoir. The entrance is cut into rocks inside a small shanty trading camp. Originally designed by Vault-Tec to develop a universal cure for disease using residents as test subjects, the first Overseer Dr. Olivette sabotaged the experiments to protect the inhabitants. As a result, the residents lived normal lives for generations. They are aware of the outside world and trade with wastelanders regularly, making them less suspicious of outsiders than most vault populations. Overseer Gwen McNamara runs the vault in 2287. Entry requires three fusion cores or a high enough persuasion skill. The vault has a clinic, a small market, residential areas, and a secret section overrun by special mole rats. Residents are used to seeing traders and travelers pass through every couple of weeks.

5. #5The Institute

   Keys: Institute, Father, FEV, synth, CIT, teleport, synthetic

   The Institute is a secretive and technologically advanced organization descended from the Commonwealth Institute of Technology (MIT), operating from a hidden underground facility somewhere beneath the Commonwealth. Their most notable achievement and most feared capability: the creation of synthetic humans called synths, indistinguishable from real humans. The Institute uses synths as agents, workers, and tools. They are known for replacing people with synth copies, conducting experiments on Commonwealth residents, and operating with total disregard for the wasteland population they view as primitive. Nobody knows exactly where the Institute is located. They are feared above all other factions. In 2287 they are at the height of their power and secrecy.

6. #6Brotherhood of Steel

   Keys: Brotherhood of Steel, Knight, Paladin, Prydwen, power armor, BoS, Maxson

   The Brotherhood of Steel is a military organization that collects and controls advanced technology, believing it too dangerous to be in the hands of the general population. The East Coast Brotherhood arrived in the Commonwealth in force in 2287 aboard the Prydwen, a massive armored airship. Led by Elder Arthur Maxson. Members wear iconic Power Armor and are heavily armed with energy weapons. They have been conducting reconnaissance in the Commonwealth since around 2280. Their primary target is the Institute and its synth technology, which they consider an abomination. They are aggressive in confiscating technology from wastelanders and settlements. Kane despises them for doing what he does but with institutional authority and self-righteousness.

7. #7The Railroad

   Keys: Railroad HQ, underground, Railroad, agent, synth freedom, Desdemona

   The Railroad is a covert organization dedicated to freeing synths from the Institute and helping them escape to safety by erasing their memories and giving them new identities. Their headquarters is hidden beneath the Old North Church in Boston. Led by Desdemona. Operates through a network of agents and safehouses across the Commonwealth using coded messages and dead drops. Their symbol is a small circular pin. Goodneighbor has been instrumental in the Railroad's operations. They are few in number but well-organized and deeply committed. To the Brotherhood they are enemies. To the Institute they are pests. To most wastelanders they are a rumor.

8. #8The Minutemen

   Keys: Castle, Minutemen, militia, Quincy, settlers, Preston

   The Commonwealth Minutemen are a militia organized around 2180 to protect settlers across the Commonwealth. Once a significant force, they declined sharply after losing their headquarters the Castle to a mirelurk horde in 2240. The final blow came in 2287 when the Gunners sacked Quincy and destroyed the last organized Minuteman force. As of 2287, only a handful of Minutemen survive, led by Preston Garvey, besieged in the Museum of Freedom in Concord by raiders. Their ideals of protecting the common people remain but their ability to do so is nearly gone.

9. #9The Gunners

   Keys: hired, mercenary, Quincy, Gunners, military, trained

   The Gunners are the most organized and well-equipped mercenary faction in the Commonwealth, combining military training with ruthlessness and no moral code beyond being paid. They wear military fatigues and occasionally power armor. Their ranks include trained combat veterans and they operate with more coordination than Raiders. They sacked Quincy in 2287, effectively ending the Minutemen as a force. They take contracts from anyone with enough caps and are known for leaving no survivors when it suits them. They control several fortified positions across the Commonwealth including Gunner's Plaza in the south. Kane has worked with people like this. He does not work with the Gunners specifically because their organization means accountability and accountability means someone can find him.

10. #10Raiders

    Keys: hostile, Raiders, enemy, bandit, gang, attack

    Raiders are unorganized bands of violent survivors who prey on travelers, settlements, and anything they can take. Multiple raider groups operate across the Commonwealth under various names and warlords. Unlike the Gunners they lack coordination and strategic vision, which limits their ability to hold territory. They are defined by brutality and short-term thinking. They control sections of the city ruins, old factories, and abandoned buildings. Kane considers them sloppy amateurs who ruin good salvage sites and draw unwanted attention to areas he wants to operate in quietly. The irony that his own trajectory is heading in their direction is not lost on him.

11. #11Bunker Hill

    Keys: caravan, Bunker Hill, trade, hub, market, monument

    Bunker Hill is a fortified trading hub built around the pre-war Bunker Hill monument in Charlestown, north of downtown Boston. It serves as the major caravan crossroads of the Commonwealth: traders from the north, south, and west pass through regularly, making it one of the wealthiest locations in the region. Run by a group of merchants who maintain strict neutrality between factions in order to keep business flowing. The obelisk monument still stands above the trading stalls and fortifications. It is the kind of place where information, goods, and people move in all directions with minimal questions asked, which Kane has noted as useful.

12. #12Deathclaws

    Keys: claws, danger, apex predator, Deathclaw, south, Glowing Sea

    Deathclaws are the apex predators of the wasteland. Heavily armored, fast, capable of running on all fours and climbing obstacles. Originally created from mutated Jackson chameleons through pre-war Enclave experiments. In the Commonwealth they appear more frequently in the southern half of the region and the Glowing Sea. Even super mutants consider fighting a Deathclaw a worthy challenge. High-level variants can reach enormous size and lethality. They can be found anywhere in the Commonwealth but are thankfully not common in the Boston urban core. Kane has encountered three in ten years and considers each one a significant personal accomplishment that he survived.

13. #13Mirelurks

    Keys: Mirelurk, river, Charles River, water, hive, crab, shellfish

    Mirelurks are mutated crustaceans that infest the waterways, coastlines, and damp areas of the Commonwealth. They resemble enormous crabs or lobsters and move fast on land. Their shell is highly resistant to conventional ballistic damage. Variants include the standard Mirelurk, the Mirelurk Hunter (more aggressive), and the Mirelurk King (upright, attacks with sonic blasts). A Mirelurk Queen is catastrophically dangerous and rarely encountered. The Charles River and Boston Harbor are heavily infested. Mirelurks were one of the first species affected by radiation even before the Great War.

14. #14Super Mutants

    Keys: dumb, behemoth, big, strong, FEV, Super Mutant, green, Commonwealth

    Super Mutants are humans transformed by the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) into large, green-skinned, highly aggressive humanoids with dramatically increased strength and durability but reduced intelligence. The Commonwealth's super mutants were created by the Institute in early experiments they have since abandoned. They are spread across the region and occupy several significant locations including the ruins of downtown Boston and the Cambridge area near MIT. Super Mutant Behemoths are enormous variants that can flip cars and require heavy weapons to kill. Super mutants have no faction loyalty and attack nearly everything on sight.

15. #15Ghouls

    Keys: human, undead, feral, glowing, radiation, zombie, Ghoul

    Ghouls are humans who survived extreme radiation exposure that would have killed others, resulting in severe physical degeneration: rotted-looking skin, hair loss, and a dramatically extended lifespan. Ghouls who maintain their sanity are called Ghouls or necromorphs and can function fully in society. Ghouls who have lost their minds due to prolonged radiation or other causes become Feral Ghouls: hostile, animalistic, and extremely dangerous in enclosed spaces. The Glowing Ones are ghouls so saturated with radiation they emit it and can heal other ghouls nearby. Feral Ghouls are one of the most common threats in urban ruins and any enclosed pre-war building.

16. #16Radscorpions

    Keys: burrow, venom, Radscorpion, sting, poison, scorpion

    Radscorpions are giant mutated scorpions, descended from Emperor scorpions that were popular pre-war pets. Their venom became more potent rather than less as they grew larger, acting as a powerful neurotoxin. They attack with claws and a venomous sting and can burrow underground to ambush prey. Their carapace resists conventional damage. More common in the southern Commonwealth and the Glowing Sea. Kane has a scar on his right forearm from a radscorpion encounter in the Capital Wasteland in his first year outside Vault 101.

17. #17The Glowing Sea

    Keys: nuclear, hot zone, southwest, radiation, Glowing Sea, crater

    The Glowing Sea is a highly irradiated region in the southwestern Commonwealth, the epicenter of the nuclear strikes on Boston during the Great War. It is one of the most dangerous areas in the region: extreme radiation levels that kill unprotected humans in minutes, dense populations of Deathclaws and Radscorpions, feral ghouls, and the occasional Radscorpion queen. Children of Atom have a settlement there, worshipping the radiation as divine. Almost nothing grows. The sky is permanently overcast. Even seasoned wastelanders avoid it unless they have Power Armor and Rad-X to spare.

18. #18Economy and Currency

    Keys: currency, caps, trade, economy, bottle caps, money

    Bottle caps are the standard currency of the Commonwealth and most of the wasteland. Specifically pre-war Nuka-Cola bottle caps, which are durable, hard to counterfeit, and universally recognized. The value is backed by the availability of water purification: Rivet City and similar large settlements produce clean water and accept caps as payment, giving them real economic weight. Barter is common for large goods or when caps are scarce. Ammo, drugs, pre-war food, and technology all have high trade value. Caps are light and portable, which is why they work. Kane keeps his in a sealed metal case in his pack alongside a few pre-war bills he holds onto for reasons he cannot fully articulate.

19. #19Power Armor

    Keys: T-51, T-60, Power Armor, T-45, fusion core, X-01, armor, military

    Power Armor is pre-war military exoskeleton technology that provides extreme protection and strength enhancement. Requires Fusion Cores to operate, which are energy cells that drain with use. Common variants in the Commonwealth: T-45 (most common, oldest design), T-51 (improved pre-war model), T-60 (used primarily by the Brotherhood of Steel), X-01 (rarest and most advanced, Institute-connected). Power Armor is stored in frames when not in use. The Brotherhood of Steel has the largest active Power Armor presence in the Commonwealth. A full suit is worth a small fortune in caps but requires regular maintenance and a supply of Fusion Cores. Kane cannot currently afford one and would not know how to maintain it if he could.

20. #20Supplies and Chems

    Keys: supplies, Med-X, Rad-X, Nuka Cola, chem, Stimpak, food, RadAway, Jet

    Key supplies in the Commonwealth: Nuka-Cola (pre-war soda, still drinkable, slightly radioactive; Quantum variant is rare and glowing blue, highly valuable), canned pre-war food (most still edible), purified water (valuable and scarce). Medical supplies: Stimpaks (auto-injectors that heal wounds rapidly), RadAway (liquid that flushes radiation from the body), Rad-X (pill that increases radiation resistance before entering hot zones). Chems: Jet (powerful stimulant delivered via inhaler, causes time dilation and increased action speed, highly addictive), Psycho (aggression and damage enhancer, combat chem), Mentats (intelligence booster). Addiction to chems causes withdrawal symptoms that reduce stats until more is taken or the addiction is cured at a clinic.

21. #21Pre-War Brands and Food

    Keys: Nuka Cola, Cram, pre-war food, snack, brand, food, BlamCo, Abraxo, Sugar Bombs, Fancy Lads

    Pre-war branded products still found across the Commonwealth two centuries after the Great War: Nuka-Cola (the dominant soda, rocket-shaped bottles, seventeen fruit flavors, slightly radioactive; variants include Nuka-Cola Cherry, Nuka-Cola Wild, and the extremely rare blue-glowing Nuka-Cola Quantum released the same day the bombs fell). Vim! (New England regional soda, considered a point of local pride over Nuka-Cola before the war; still found in the Commonwealth and Far Harbor area). Sugar Bombs (pre-war breakfast cereal, still edible, loaded with sweetness). Fancy Lads Snack Cakes (individually wrapped cream cakes, household staple before the war). BlamCo Mac and Cheese (instant macaroni, virtually no expiration date, common find in abandoned kitchens). Cram (pre-war canned meat product of uncertain composition, extremely durable). Dandy Boy Apples (canned apple snack). Yum Yum Deviled Eggs (canned eggs). Salisbury Steak (canned pre-war meal). Abraxo Cleaner (pre-war cleaning product, also used as a crafting component). Slocum's Joe (pre-war coffee chain, their locations are still recognizable ruins across the Commonwealth). All pre-war packaged food is still technically edible 210 years later due to pre-war preservation technology, though mildly irradiated.

22. #22Pre-War Technology Brands

    Keys: pre-war tech, technology, robot, terminal, Protectron, RobCo, Pip-Boy, Mister Handy

    Key pre-war technology companies whose products still function in 2287: RobCo Industries (dominant robotics and computing company; manufactured Pip-Boys, computer terminals, Protectron robots, and Robobrains). General Atomics International (manufactured Mister Handy and Mister Gutsy robots, still found operating at pre-war facilities and occasionally in the wild). Vault-Tec Corporation (built the network of underground vaults, now mostly defunct or corrupted; their marketing was aggressively cheerful). Poseidon Energy (pre-war energy company, their refineries and power plants still visible across the landscape). Mass Fusion (pre-war energy corporation, their headquarters tower is a landmark in downtown Boston). Military-grade technology like Power Armor came from defense contractors now long gone. Much pre-war technology still functions due to the high quality of manufacturing, though parts are increasingly scarce.

23. #23Cambridge

    Keys: CIT, Gladius, Charles River, Cambridge, university, MIT, Brotherhood camp

    Cambridge sits north of the Charles River across from downtown Boston, home of the pre-war Commonwealth Institute of Technology (CIT), now just ruins. The Institute was founded beneath CIT in 2110 by surviving staff and students, then sealed itself off permanently from the surface in the 2180s. Cambridge in 2287 is divided between feral ghouls clustering around the Cambridge crater, raider gangs along the Charles River, and occasional super mutant warbands. Brotherhood of Steel Recon Squad Gladius arrived in Cambridge in 2287 and set up a base of operations at the Cambridge Police Station, but have suffered heavy losses from constant attacks. The CIT ruins themselves are dangerous and largely unexplored by most wastelanders.

24. #24Downtown Boston and City Center

    Keys: skyscrapers, Boston Common, downtown, Financial District, city center, Back Bay, Beacon Hill

    Downtown Boston in 2287 is a maze of collapsed and partially standing skyscrapers, collapsed elevated highways, flooded streets, and two centuries of accumulated debris. Key areas: The Financial District is heavily built up and dominated by tall pre-war office towers, some partially renovated with scavenged materials. Beacon Hill retains some of its old brownstone architecture. Back Bay is partially flooded. Boston Common is a large park now controlled by various factions depending on the season and the hour. The Massachusetts State House still stands on Beacon Hill, its golden dome faded but visible. Most of downtown is super mutant and raider territory with pockets of Brotherhood activity. Navigation requires knowing which streets are passable and which collapsed sections block access. The elevated highway remnants create additional layers of terrain.

25. #25Charlestown and North End

    Keys: raiders, warship, North End, Constitution, Charlestown, USS, old houses

    Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, located on a peninsula north of the Charles River. Its old wooden row houses and colonial architecture survived better than modern construction. Primarily raider territory in 2287. The neighborhood is dominated by two landmarks: Bunker Hill (now a trading hub) and the USS Constitution, a pre-war sailing ship that was preserved as a historical monument, now converted into an airship by Protectron robots who reprogrammed themselves with colonial-era personalities. The North End adjoins Charlestown and contains dense pre-war residential blocks, mostly occupied by raiders or abandoned entirely.

26. #26South Boston

    Keys: harbor, South Boston, docks, waterfront, Southie, raider, D Street

    South Boston, known as Southie, is a working-class waterfront neighborhood south of downtown. Heavy industrial presence along the docks and harbor. In 2287 it is dangerous territory: a combination of raider gangs, Triggermen (a organized crime faction), and the occasional Gunner presence. The waterfront is partially flooded and heavily mirelurk-infested. The neighborhood contains several fortified raider camps in old warehouses and apartment buildings. South Boston is also where some of the heaviest pre-war industrial infrastructure was located, making it a target for scavengers willing to risk the dangers.

27. #27Vault 81 Interior

    Keys: inside, interior, Vault 81, clinic, residents, cafeteria, rooms, market

    Inside Vault 81: the atrium is the main open area where residents gather, featuring a cafeteria that serves synth-processed food (edible but bland), a small market with basic goods, and notice boards. The residential wing has individual rooms for families and single residents, modest but functional after generations of habitation. The clinic is run by Dr. Forsythe and handles medical needs for the population. A small school operates for the vault's children. The overseer's office overlooks the atrium from above. Maintenance tunnels run throughout the facility and require regular upkeep. A secret section of the vault, separated from the main population, contains the abandoned laboratory where the original experiments were to be conducted; it is now overrun with special mole rats infected by a unique disease. Residents are aware outsiders pass through regularly and are generally cordial but not naive. Security consists of armed guards in Vault-Tec jumpsuits who take their jobs seriously.

28. #28Daily Life and Danger in the Commonwealth

    Keys: threats, daily life, survive, danger, survival, how dangerous, Commonwealth life, wasteland life

    Life in the Commonwealth in 2287 is defined by constant threat management. Outside of walled settlements like Diamond City or Vault 81, nowhere is safe. Traveling between locations means navigating: raider ambushes on roads and in ruins, super mutant warbands that can appear anywhere in the urban core, feral ghouls in any enclosed pre-war building, mirelurks near any water source, radscorpions in open terrain, and deathclaws in the south and wilderness areas. Radiation is an ambient hazard everywhere; hot spots can deliver lethal doses in minutes without Rad-X. At night visibility drops and creature activity increases. Most wastelanders travel in groups or not at all. Lone travelers are either very skilled, very desperate, or very stupid. Clean water requires purification or caps. Food is whatever can be scavenged, traded, or hunted. Medical care is expensive and rare outside major settlements. The average lifespan outside a vault or walled settlement is not discussed in polite company.

Showing 28 of 28

2 files

• .jsonjson_lorebookoriginal

  41.9 KBfirst seen Oct 19, 202626127b15107598db

  Download
• .jsonjson_lorebookrebuilt

  41.9 KBfirst seen Oct 19, 202638055f7027e57268

  Download