Summary

• Each Fallout game features a unique protagonist with their own compelling backstory and impactful journey through the wasteland.
• The Vault Dweller, Chosen One, Lone Wanderer, Courier, and Sole Survivor have all left their mark on the Fallout franchise.
• Personal choices and actions define the experience for each protagonist, making the journey through these post-nuclear worlds memorable.

Despite every Fallout game being set in the same world on the same timeline, the developers have managed to make each protagonist feel unique. Fallout first launched only on PC in October 1997, and the game was an instant hit, being praised as one of the most immersive RPGs ever. This was due in large part to its main protagonist, the Vault Dweller, a trend that has continued through to the franchise's most recent (single-player) game, Fallout 4.

While Fallout 76 does have a story mode, the quests are more designed to help the player explore the world than further any kind of narrative. However, all other Fallout games from 1-4, including New Vegas, have a single-player campaign worth investing in and following. The protagonists become the most transformative characters in the Fallout franchise, but some undoubtedly have more rich backstories and compelling quests that make them stand out in comparison to their counterparts.

5 The Chosen One Is A Direct Descendant Of The Vault Dweller

Fallout 2

Roughly one year after the release of the original Fallout game was the hit sequel, Fallout 2. The second installment introduces a new protagonist, the Chosen One, who is directly related to the Vault Dweller from Fallout 1. However, just because the two are related doesn't mean their stories are at all similar, as the Chosen One had a much different upbringing than the protagonist to precede them.

As the Vault Dweller's grandchild, the Chosen One was trained to be the Arroyo tribe's war champion and elder from birth. Once they completed their training, the Chosen One ventured out into the wasteland to search for a Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.), which was believed by other of the village to allow the land to grow and sustain healthy crops. Fallout 2's Chosen One met many interesting travelers on their journey through the wasteland, including Marcus, who is regarded as one of the best characters in the Fallout franchise.

The Chosen One eventually locates the G.E.C.K. in Vault 13, the home of the Vault Dweller, but there are more complicated things at play than just returning the device to Arroyo. They discover a group known as the Enclave, a group of paramilitary extremists who planned to wipe out 95% of the Earth's population with a chemical agent known as FEV Curling-13. The Chosen One eventually reaches the oil rig serving as Enclave Headquarters, and kills both President Richardson and Frank Horrigan, ending their reign for good.

The Chosen One had such an influence on Marcus that they inspired him to found the city of Jacobstown, which he would later go on to become the Mayor of. While the Chosen One from Fallout 2 will always be an iconic character, they failed to reach the highs of the original Vault Dweller and other characters. There's plenty to appreciate about each Fallout protagonist, but the Chosen One is the weakest leading character in the franchise.

4 The Lone Wanderer Broke New Ground For The Series

Fallout 3

The Lone Wanderer is the first Fallout protagonist to debut under the Bethesda banner after the studio took over development from Black Isle Studios. While the stories have always been concurrent with each other, Fallout 3 is the first game in the franchise that resembles the modern RPG mold that most Fallout fans associate with the game. The previous games' protagonists, the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One, are related, but the Lone Wanderer takes the story in a new direction.

Everything changed for the Lone Wanderer when their father, James, suddenly disappeared

Fallout 3's Lone Wanderer may not be a blood relative to other protagonists, but they do share some similarities with the Vault Dweller. The Lone Wanderer was born on the surface but relocated to Vault 101, where they lived comfortably for 19 years. Everything changed for the Lone Wanderer when their father, James, suddenly disappeared from the vault without any clue as to where he'd gone. With no other option but to search for their family, the Lone Wanderer set out from Vault 101 to look for their father.

While the Lone Wanderer inevitably finds their father, the reunion is short-lived when James sacrifices himself to stop the Enclave. They then up with the Brotherhood of Steel to stop the Enclave and restore Project Purity, and end up being named a knight of the military faction. While not the weakest protagonist in the series, the Lone Wanderer lacks the same depth and rich lore and connections of Fallout protagonists past and future.

3 The Vault Dweller Is The Series' Original Protagonist

Fallout

The name "Vault Dweller" has taken on much more meaning than just being the name of the main protagonist in the first Fallout game. Vault dwellers are considered to be a group such as Ghouls or Super Mutants by the people of the Commonwealth, the Mojave Wasteland, and other iconic Fallout areas. Anytime someone on the surface sees one of those unmistakable, goofy, blue jumpsuits, particularly Ella Purnell's Lucy in Prime Video's Fallout Series, they are immediately identified as having come from a vault.

The Vault Dweller's story begins in Vault 13, where they were born in the year 2141 and raised by robots inside the vault. They lived a relatively boring, albeit safe, life inside the vault, until the water-purification chip, which everyone in the vault relied on for fresh water, broke. The overseer of the Vault gathered everyone well enough to travel to the surface world, and made them draw straws to see who would go find the replacement part; the Vault Dweller's life changed forever when they drew the short straw.

While the Vault Dweller ultimately found the part and returned to Vault 13, they were not met with joy or relief upon their return. The overseer then sent Fallout 1's Vault Dweller on another task, which they completed swiftly, only to return once more and be exiled for good. The main character eventually ends up encountering a group of vault dwellers who also hail from Vault 13, and helps show them the dangerous ways of the wasteland. The Vault Dweller ultimately finds love in the form of Pat and has a daughter who goes on to become an Elder in the village known as Arroyo.

The Vault Dweller paved the way for a new era of RPG protagonists. While the Arroyo villagers assume the Vault Dweller died, others insist they were either taken by the sky spirits, or left abruptly to allow a new generation of leaders to take control of Arroyo. Either way, their legacy lives on as a truly great Fallout protagonist, and one of the biggest heroes to ever inhabit the wasteland after the bombs dropped.

2 The Sole Survivor Is The Most Recent Protagonist

Fallout 4

As the most modern protagonist, featured in 2015's Fallout 4, the Sole Survivor is the second-best main character in the Fallout franchise, behind only the Courier. Their story is one of true tragedy, as the player first loads into the game living in the delightful town of Sancuary Hills with a beautiful family, only for disaster to strike in the form of nuclear bombs in 2077. Fortunately, the Sole Survivor has just finished securing their spot in Vault 111, which they rush to with their spouse and son Shawn.

Venturing on a journey to find their son and exact revenge on Kellogg.

The Sole Survivor is briefly awakened in 2277 to see an unknown assailant, later identified as the mercenary Kellogg, kidnapping their son Shawn and murdering their spouse in her Vault cryopod. 60 years later, in 2287, the Sole Survivor climbs out of the cryopod and emerges to the surface world for the first time in more than 200 years, venturing on a journey to find their son and exact revenge on Kellogg.

The Sole Survivor is an iconic Fallout character, and Fallout 4's story stands as one of the best in the franchise, and the main character is only bolstered by an incredible cast of side characters like Codsworth, Nick Valentine, and Dogmeat. There's a lot to love and appreciate about the main character, but it's compounded by the fact that they're usually surrounded by delightful allies there to help in the hunt for Shaun. There are plenty of choices that can affect the Sole Survivor's ultimate path in Fallout 4, such as deciding which faction to side with in the end, giving the protagonist a significant amount of sway in determining the Commonwealth's fate.

1 The Courier Scoured The Mojave Wasteland

Fallout: New Vegas

While not the most critically acclaimed Fallout game, New Vegas has a ionate fan base who are eager to see the game adapted into live-action after the end of Prime Video's Fallout series. The Courier's history extends long before the beginning of Fallout: New Vegas, where they traveled on long and dangerous journeys delivering packages for clients. One of their most infamous jobs came when they were hired to transport a package that turned out to be detonation codes for nuclear missiles that exploded underground, decimating a small community and creating the Divide.

Part of what makes the Courier such a great protagonist is the player can shape their past through different dialogue options. For example, in a conversation with the chem dealer Keith, players can choose to tell him that they were at one point a major con artist. Making other choices, such as noting to Craig Boone, another iconic Fallout character, that snipers are supposed to travel in pairs leads to him ing the player as a companion and remarking about the Courier's military knowledge.

Similar to Red Dead Redemption 2 and other games with numerous decisions to be made, the choices the player makes throughout inform the journey and the ending. Character customization is a common feature in games, but being able to pick the lore of a character through certain dialogue and action choices that are later reflected in the game is just part of why Fallout: New Vegas is so popular - it's this level of creative freedom that makes the Courier the best Fallout protagonist.

Every Fallout protagonist has their pros and cons, but the main characters from more recent installments such as Fallout 4 and New Vegas stand out as the best the franchise has to offer. Bethesda has yet to officially reveal the next entry, but new information may allude to Fallout 5 releasing sooner than people are expecting. Whoever the next Fallout protagonist may be, their spot among the greats will be determined by their actions, not their story cohorts or narrative excellence.