History Characters / Fallout

* The Arroyo tribals in ''Fallout 2'' notably treated the G.E.C.K. being sought after as though it were a sacred relic, with both the Elder and Hakunin describing it with practically divine reverence. That said, they still retain some understanding of trade, basic engineering, and the outside world thanks to the Vault Dweller's teachings.
* The cancelled ''Van Buren'' featured The Ciphers, tribals descended from surviving scientists and soldiers from Los Alamos, who passed their pre-War knowledge about technology to their children and grandchildren similarly to religious tradition. As a result, The Ciphers became wasteland tribals with a very out-of-place understanding about repairing and maintaing tech, even though they barely even used it themselves, nor understood ''why'' any of it worked, just how to ''make'' it work. Even their cave paintings are actually copies of schematics for various technology.

* BeliefMakesYouStupid: ZigZagged. A common stereotype in "civilized" parts of the wasteland is how tribals are overly spiritual ignoramuses who can be easily manipulated. In practice, while some seem to embody that mindset, such as the Point Lookout tribals manipulated by Calvert to do his bidding, and has been exploited by Caesar to forge his Legion, this isn't universal. The devoutly Christian New Canaanites are shown to be as sharp and well-informed as anyone else, while the Followers of the Apocalypse include a number of tribals among their ranks, such as New Arroyo-born Emily Ortal in the Mojave.
* CargoCult: Some place a particular reverence towards Pre-War artifacts, even if they have a dim (at best) understanding of them. The Arroyo tribals in ''Fallout 2'' notably treated the G.E.C.K. being sought after as though it were a sacred relic. The cancelled ''Van Buren'' featured The Ciphers, tribals descendend from surviving scientists and soldiers from Los Alamos, who passed their pre-War knowledge about technology to their children and grandchildren similarly to religious tradition. As a result, The Ciphers became wasteland tribals with a very out-of-place understanding about repairing and maintaing tech, even though they barely even used it themselves, nor understood ''why'' any of it worked, just how to ''make'' it work. Even their cave paintings are actually copies of schematics for various technology.

* HillbillyHorrors: The degenerate Swampfolk of Point Lookout, who come off as a post-apocalyptic version of ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' - twisted by generations of inbreeding, radiation and [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane possibly something even more sinister and otherworldy]], considering the heavy Lovecraftian mood over the area.

* CargoCult: Some place a particular reverence towards Pre-War artifacts, even if they have a dim (at best) understanding of them. The Arroyo tribals in ''Fallout 2'' notably treated the G.E.C.K. being sought after as though it were a sacred relic.

* MotiveDecay: Once committed to just enabling safe, reliable trading, as well as doing the jobs no one else wanted, it has over time devolved into a corrupt MegaCorp concerned with keeping itself on top and getting as many trade routes under its control as it could.

* ApocalypseAnarchy: Tribals tend to be more prominent in regions where the breakdown of civilization was even ''more'' pronounced than other parts of the wasteland.
** The Midwest, as shown in ''Tactics'', is filled with raider clans, super mutants and heavily devastated ruins. Outside some organized settlements, a good chunk of the population is comprised of tribal villagers, many of which would join the Midwestern Brotherhood.

** Much of the Southwest, prior to the events of ''New Vegas'', was little more than a hodgepodge of tribes, with some frontier towns scattered here and there. At least, until Caesar's Legion brought Arizona and New Mexico too.

* ForbiddenZone: While reasons vary, certain tribes consider Pre-War ruins to be off-limits, viewing them as cursed in some manner. The Sorrows in particular fear such places due to how their "Father in the Caves" had punished them once for entering one of them. [[spoiler:In actuality, they lost one of their own to a trap left behind by Randall Clark in one of his cave hideouts, which over time morphed into part of the Sorrows' belief system.[]

* ForbiddenZone: While reasons vary, certain tribes consider Pre-War ruins to be off-limits, viewing them as cursed in some manner.

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Being skilled gunsmiths, the Gun Runners excel in not only manufacture weaponry to Pre-War standards but also in studying old schematics to create new models for sale. While they used to deal with EnergyWeapons, however, meddling from competitors like the Van Graffs forced them to stop making those.

* PlausibleDeniability: The founding Gun Runners weren't above just gunning down rivals and grabbing their firearms as merchandise, figuring that none of their clients could prove otherwise. This tendency would continue even as they evolved into a much more organized company. [[spoiler:In one possible outcome in ''New Vegas'', the Van Graffs and Mojave branch of the Crimson Caravan Company are wiped out by raiders armed with military hardware heavily implied to be Gun Runner proxies wiping out the competition.]]

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In-Universe. It is revealed in the [[Series/Fallout2024 TV Show]] that Vault-Boy is based on [[spoiler:Cooper Howard]]. Specifically, [[spoiler:Howard]] was hired by Vault-Tec to [[CelebrityEndorsement promote their brand]]. During a photo-shoot where [[spoiler:Howard]] does several poses in a Vault Suit, he improvises and does a pose where he holds out his thumb, smiles, and winks. Apparently, the Vault-Tec Marketing Dept. liked it so much that [[spoiler: after Howard severed his ties with the company]] they used it as the basis of the iconic thumbs-up pose for their new mascot, and thus Vault-Boy was born.

* StuffBlowingUp: Nuka-Cola Quantum is explosive, which is what allows the Nuka-Grenade and Nuka-Nuke to be crafted from it.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In-Universe. It is revealed in the [[Series/Fallout2024 TV Show]] that Vault-Boy is based on [[spoiler:Cooper Howard]]. Specifically, [[spoiler:Howard]] was hired by Vault-Tec to [[CelebrityEndorsement promote their brand]]. During a photo-shoot where [[spoiler:Howard]] does several poses in a Vault Suit, he improvises and does a pose where he holds out his thumb, smiles, and winks. Apparently, the Vault-Tec Marketing Dept. liked it so much that they used it as the basis of the iconic thumbs-up pose for their new mascot, and thus Vault-Boy was born.

* LivingIsMoreThanSurviving: They firmly believe that just as living a fulfilling life doesn't mean merely surviving day-to-day, there more to learn out there than coming up with new ways of killing one another. Thus, much attention is placed on cataloging and preserving knowledge aimed towards non-military ends.

* VillainousLegacy: Raiders that manage to survive for long enough tend to either become more like the Khans, reorganize into [[HiredGuns mercenary companies]] such as the Gunners or turn into [[TheSavageIndian some of the more violent tribals]] marauding the fringes of civilization, as seen with the White Legs.

* LostCommonKnowledge: Tribals tend to stick out like a sore thumb in organized settlements and more "civilized" regions due to their lack of familiarity with what other wastelanders take for granted. Follows-Chalk of the Dead Horses, for instance, is confused over bottlecaps as currency and couldn't grasp why the NCR and Legion are fighting over a "river dam."

* VillainousLegacy: Raiders that manage to survive for long enough tend to either evolve into factions like the Khans or turn into [[TheSavageIndian some of the more violent tribals]] marauding the fringes of civilization, such as the White Legs.

* LostCommonKnowledge: Tribals tend to stick out like a sore thumb in organized settlements and more "civilized" regions due to their lack of familiarity with what other wastelanders take for granted. Follows-Chalk of the White Legs, for instance, is confused over bottlecaps as currency and couldn't grasp why the NCR and Legion are fighting over a "river dam."