Nick Valentine

Nick's personality is an evolution of the pre-War Nick Valentine's: A hard boiled detective with nerves of steel and a strong moral sense. Valentine believes in being kind to your fellow man, in giving second chances, but is also unyielding in his pursuit of vengeance against those who wronged him or people he cared about. Nick doesn't quite know how to interpret the original Valentine's memories. Although he believes in pursuing his vendetta against Eddie Winter, to put things to rights, he also wants to be his own man, rather than merely a ghost of the past brought back from the dead by the Institute's machinations. Until he figures out what to do with himself, he remains a staunch, loyal ally to his friends, an implacable foe to his enemies, and a charming artificial detective to all prospective clients

With cracked synthetic skin torn in spots which expose the metallic structures underneath, Valentine is a type of sophisticated biomechanical android called "Synths". Valentine is a private investigator whose speech and mannerisms echo the archetypal detective protagonist from hardboiled fiction.

Valentine's mannerisms and personality was envisioned to be a firmly "noirish vibe", with concept art depicting him smoking a cigarette, and wears a trilby hat and trench coat. He is presented with yellow glowing irises and cracked white skin with a rubbery texture. A large hole exists where the side of his face and neck once was, with visible pistons and wires behind the exterior.

Originally intended to be discarded, Valentine survived his decommissioning in the institute, a large hidden group of scientists who the people called the 'boogeymen' of the common wealth. Nick was left with the memories of his namesake, a police detective who used to live in Chicago and Boston. Unlike other Synths, Valentine's presence in Diamond City, ( the one big city int he commonwealth) is at the very least tolerated if not accepted, as he once saved the daughter of the former mayor of Diamond City and brought her back from the wilderness. Initially concerned only about his own survival, Valentine soon found out that helping others was his true calling, and it took him months before he started charging for his services. His benevolent reputation grew as more residents approach him to assist with private investigations or to locate missing people. Valentine eventually came to terms with who he is, accepted the role his memories played in shaping his own personality, and decided to work as a professional private investigator. He started dressing up like an archetypal "gumshoe", a slang term for a stereotypical private detective who wore street shoes with a thick, soft and quiet rubber sole.