Fallout 3 Rivet City / Characters

Rivet City

Rivet City Guard: "Welcome to Rivet City, please wait while the bridge extends."

A large aircraft carrier ship that has become a relatively safe home for the many survivors who live there thanks to its location, thick steel walls, and retractable bridge. It has its own bazaar, hotel, science lab, and even church. They also have their own police force standing guard and patrolling the city, adding yet another blanket of safety for its civilians.

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Rivet City Council

Doctor Madison Li

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madison_li_fo3.jpg

Voiced by: Jennifer Massey (English)^note

A scientist working in Rivet City who helped James with Project Purity. Along with Bannon and Harkness she is a member of the city council and runs the science section.

Action Survivor: She doesn't have a weapon, or any fighting skills whatsoever, but she can dodge Enclave lasers well enough, and gain access to the Citadel just by raging at Elder Lyons over the intercom.
LYONS! I know you're in there, I know you can hear me! You open this goddamn door right now! (cue door opening)
Adults Are Useless: Forces the Lone Wanderer to take point during the escape from Project Purity, since despite being only nineteen and fresh out of a Vault, the Wanderer's the only one present with any combat experience.
All Love Is Unrequited: Word of God says she was in love with James, but put aside her emotions when he got married, instead deciding to put her focus on science. Thus James's Heroic Sacrifice and the subsequent occupation of the Purifier by the Enclave breaks her spirit. Her cold aloofness to the Lone Wanderer afterwards is presumably because she finds his death even harder to cope with because of the Lone Wanderer's remarkable resemblance to him.
Asian and Nerdy: Her name implies an Asian heritage, her character model uses the "Asian" race, and she's a brilliant scientist.
Chekhov's Gunman: She's first encountered during the first scene of the game's prologue (she helps Catherine to give birth to the Lone Wanderer), but she only enters the plot during a later part of the main quest (in "Scientific Pursuits").
Face–Heel Turn: In Fallout 4, she's one of the Institute's head scientists.
Hazy-Feel Turn: You can convince her to leave the Institute and return to the Brotherhood, but the Brotherhood have themselves gone bad come Fallout 4, so it’s more or less a moral lateral move at that point.
Heroic BSoD: After escaping the Enclave, all the insanity causes her to go into shock, and mentally collapses for a while.
Mood-Swinger: She has a habit of switching from angry and hostile to calm relatively quickly. Granted, players only see her through the eyes of the Lone Wanderer, who's basically a living, breathing reminder that she lost James to Catherine. By her voice you can tell she's near a complete breakdown after the escape through the Taft tunnels.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: How her raging at Lyons over the intercom likely got the escapees access: She openly distrusts the Brotherhood, and if she's yelling and begging/demanding sanctuary with them, then something really bad just went down.
Put on a Bus: In Broken Steel, she apparently decides to leave the Capital Wasteland during your coma, and moves to the Commonwealth to pursue her science in a safer environment. Specifically, she ended up joining the Institute.
Unbalanced By Rival's Kid: A possible explanation for her hostility towards the Lone Wanderer, considering that they're the child of James and Catherine.

Chief Harkness

Chief Harkness/A3-21

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harkness_fo3.jpg

Voiced by: Craig Sechler (in-game), Jeff Baker (pre-surgery audio logs) (English)^note

The head of the police/security force at Rivet City and a member of the three person council that runs the settlement (with the other two being Doctor Li, who runs the science section, and Bannon, who runs the merchant section). He's something of a Walking Spoiler for a major questline, so read on and consider yourself warned.

Artificial Human: He's actually an android/Institute synth.
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Zimmer assumes he's just malfunctioning, but he's perfectly functional. He just became self-aware, and is now capable of deciding his own fate free from his masters.
Disc-One Nuke: Completing the "Replicated Man" quest in his favor will cause him to give you a unique plasma rifle that does huge damage and can be obtained very early. Keep in mind you can only get it by completing the quest, if you kill him he'll just have a normal Chinese Assault Rifle.
Early-Bird Cameo: He's the first Synth seen in the Fallout universe. The Institute and synths become a central part of the plot of Fallout 4.
Heel–Face Turn: He was once an Institute Courser - a highly trained combat synth sent out into the wasteland to capture and reclaim wayward runaway synths. The Coursers are enemies you will face regularly in Fallout 4 explaining the initial "heel" characterization. But after one reclamation too many, Harkness decided to run away himself.
I Choose to Stay: Even knowing what he really is, he stays in Rivet City because it's his home now.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a bit rude when you first meet him, but he does just want to protect the people of Rivet City.
Ridiculously Human Robot: Zimmer made sure that every detail was covered. He even has synthetic blood.
Tomato in the Mirror: He's horrified when his true memories return and he realizes what he is. However, he eventually comes to terms with it.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: Revealing him to Zimmer and watching him get deactivated and dragged away.
Walking Spoiler: He's the escaped android everyone whispers about.

Bannon

Voiced by: Jeff Baker (English)^note

"The people that live on the Hangar Deck are the great unwashed masses. I read that somewhere. Do you like it? Anyway, they need true leaders, like myself."

Bannon is a snappy dresser and a shrewd businessman operating the clothing store in the Rivet City Market Place. He is also the civilian representative on the city counsel, but instead of looking out for the interest of all the people in market, he just looks out for his own. Much to the chagrin of at least one other merchant.

Blatant Lies: Tries to take credit for founding Rivet City.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Despite already being one of the most powerful and influential businessmen in the city he's only concerned about expanding his control and gaining more wealth for himself. When another resident decides to run against him for a seat on the council he hires the Lone Wanderer to find some dirt on him to keep himself in power.
It's All About Me: Not only does he use his power on the council only for his own benefit, instead of all the people in the market like he's supposed to, but if the player asks him the history of the city, as part of The Wasteland Survival Guide quest line, he tries to claim he is the one responsible for the city's success, despite it being founded long before he even got there. He even tries to get the player to find dirt on Seagrave Holmes, when the latter tries to take his place on the council, because he only used it for his own personal gain.
Small Name, Big Ego: He is just one of many merchants operating in Rivet City, yet he acts like he runs the place.

Dr. Li's Science Team

Janice Kaplinski

Voiced by: Shari Elliker (English)^note

"It was either this or wind up dead in a ditch someplace, y'know?"

A scientist working for Dr. Li in the Rivet City Science Lab who later helps with Project Purity.

Caring Gardener: She's the chief botanist of the Rivet City Science Lab and is working towards growing more edible plants for the people of Rivet City. Impressively, she has managed to help create a small sample of fresh fruits and vegetables free of contaminants.
Hidden Depths: Her tagged skills are Science, Medicine... and EXPLOSIVES?
Sacrificial Lamb: She is gunned down to show that Colonel Autumn is not screwing around.

Anna Holt

Voiced by: Karen Carbone (English)^note

"You should go. I don't want anyone seeing me talking to you."

A scientist working for Dr. Li in the Rivet City Science Lab who later helps with Project Purity.

Face–Heel Turn: After being captured by the Enclave she decides to willingly tell them everything about Project Purity in exchange for joining them.
Hidden Depths: Same deal as Janice. Why does a scientist need such a high skill in explosives anyway?
Karma Houdini: Killing her grants negative karma even after she reveals her betrayal. Luckily, the player can get around this by simply activating the Raven Rock self-destruct sequence which will kill her in the blast along with everyone else.
Nothing Personal: What she claims when confronted about betraying Project Purity.

Garza

Voiced by: Pete Papageorge (English)^note

"I am unsure of how useful I will be at this Purity Project, but I am happy to do whatever I can to help Dr. Li."

Garza is a quiet and mysterious man, who has devoted himself to helping Doctor Li in anyway he can. Mostly by helping move lab equipment and assisting with maintenance. When he is not helping out in the lab, he can usually be found on the flight deck. He is revealed to have a serious heart condition while attempting to escape the Enclave, after they arrive at The Jefferson Memorial. And it is left to the player, how to deal with the situation.

Dumb Muscle: He has a Strength attribute of 6 and an Intelligence attribute of 4, making him a downplayed example of this trope. He isn't stupid, but mostly takes care of the heavy lifting and leaves the actual science to the other members of the team.
Hidden Depths: Two of his tagged skills are Barter and Medicine, showing that he isn't quite the Dumb Muscle he first appears to be.
I Will Only Slow You Down: After his heart condition starts to act up, while escaping the Enclave. Though Dr. Li urges We Cannot Go On Without You and it up to the player to convince her otherwise, or if you happen to have five stimpaks or three Buffouts to spare, you can save him.
Mysterious Past: It's never elaborated on, who he is or how he came to work with Dr. Li, beyond "she's been good to me."
Non-Action Guy: He leaves fighting to the Lone Wanderer and hangs back with the rest of the science team. Justified, as he has a dangerous heart condition and the stress of battle would probably kill him.
The Stoic: He is very quiet. Only speaking when spoken to and even then, not very much.

Rivet City Merchants

Flak and Shrapnel

Top - Flak, Bottom - Shrapnel

Voiced by: Gus Travers and Pete Papageorge, respectively (English)^note

Flak: "Need to do some killin', eh?"

Shrapnel: "Don't know you, don't care. Keep it short."

Two merchants who run the city gun store together. Flak is a former slaver, and Shrapnel is a former raider. Depending on your morality, you can help the slavers in Paradise Falls get back at Flak for selling them out.

Arms Dealer: They run quite possibly the best weapon store in the entire game and stock lots of rare and high caliber goods such as mini nukes.
The Atoner: They both were horrible, horrible people in the past who did horrible horrible things. But the two both have put it behind them and are upstanding citizens in the town now, and drop ears to prove it.
Gayngster: The two both have this bit of flavor to them.
Heart Broken Badass: Comes up thanks to a bug. When Flak is enslaved and taken away, Shrapnel will leave Rivet City to travel to Paradise Falls and be with him.
Heel–Face Door-Slam: You can personally see to it that Flak doesn't get to have a happy new life, by being paid by Paradise Falls to either murder him or have him enslaved. Considering Shrapnel is almost always by his side, odds are good you'd have to take him out too.
Permanently Missable Content: Due to an AI glitch, enslaving Flak causes Shrapnel to wander out into the wastes, making their stock pretty much impossible to access.
Straight Gay: There's no indication when talking to them, but the two are a couple, and share a bed together in the room they share. Plus a slaver in Paradise Falls refers to Flak as "an old queen".
Walking the Earth: Shrapnel will do this if Flak ends up enslaved.

Seagrave Holmes

Voiced by: Gregory Gorton (English)^note

"Welcome to Rivet City Supply. I've got a little bit of everything here."

A junk merchant who has a strong rivalry with Bannon and desires his spot on the city council since he believes that Bannon isn't doing a very good job.

The Atoner: He used to be a prominent slaver working for Eulogy Jones himself but his note implies that he is done with that life and seeks to move on from it.
Mr. Fixit: He likes to tinker with the junk he has and even developed a chronic case of "red-lung" from inhaling rust particles while helping out on repairs around the ship.
Retired Monster: Much like Flak he used to be a slaver for Paradise Falls until turning over a new leaf. The note that the player finds in his room shows that he has already refused Eulogy's offer of expanding into Rivet City twice.

Cindy and Paulie Cantelli

Top - Cindy, Bottom - Paulie

Voiced by: Shari Elliker and Jeff Baker, respectively (English)^note

Cindy: "Nice to see you again. Are you looking for a quick fix?"

Paulie: "Wanna do some Buffout? Maybe a little Psycho?"

Cindy runs A Quick Fix and sells chems at the Rivet City bazaar while her husband Paulie spends most of his time using up their product, something that aggravates his wife to no end.

Addled Addict: As noted by practically everyone living in Rivet City, Paulie is a complete mess.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Cindy is friendly enough to customers, but there are several big hints that she isn't nearly as nice as she first seems. She has a crush on Bannon and will be extremely happy if her drug addict husband dies, allowing her to earn more money and free her up to pursue a relationship with him. She also sells Ant Queen Pheromones, which could be considered a form of date rape drug. Most damningly of all, she is listed as having evil karma and drops a finger upon death.
Getting High on Their Own Supply: The main reason their marriage is so strained is that Paulie wastes a large portion of their chem supply on himself and makes it nearly impossible for Cindy to actually turn a profit with their business (although given that he seems to dial it down if Cindy dies and he takes over running the story, it is possible that he's in a feedback loop of getting high to avoid the stress of his strained marriage which in turn puts further strain on his marriage). Ironically, this isn't what finally ends up killing him. He can die from an overdose, but from drugs given to him by the Lone Wanderer, not his own.
Henpecked Husband: Paulie gets zero respect from his wife as well as the rest of the city. If he dies his wife will actually be glad since her store can now turn a profit without him wasting their stash.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: If the player has drugs on them when talking to Paulie they can give him some which results in a hit to their karma and Paulie ending up dead from an overdose. Also, if players completed "Strictly Business", an unmarked and repeatable quest is unlocked "Strictly Profitable" where players can pretty much enslave almost every named and unnamed NPC which includes Paulie.

Gary and Angela Staley

Top - Gary, Bottom - Angela

Voiced by: Jeff Baker and Jan Johns, respectively (English)^note

Gary: "Ah! I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away from my cuisine for long."

Angela: "Have you heard? I'm getting married!"

A father/daughter team who run a diner called Gary's Galley. While Gary himself seems content to run his restaurant his daughter Angela wants more out of life... like a romantic relationship with Diego, a local priest.

Everyone Loves Blondes: Angela is one of the more popular women on the ship. Unfortunately, the guy she wants to marry can't have anything to do with her without losing his job.
Fourth-Date Marriage: If you help Angela seduce Diego, and you return a few days later, she mentions that they will get married the next day.
It's All About Me: While Angela does genuinely care about Diego she never really seems to consider his own feelings and is perfectly willing to use drugs to get him fired from his job so that they can get married.
Married to the Job: Checking the terminal in Rivet City's medical clinic has the doctor comment on Gary's obsession with his work.
Exhaustion. The man really needs to take a rest at some point. But then again, who doesn't?
Nice Guy: Gary comes off as one of the most genuinely polite and friendly people on the ship. Most of the other merchants are either putting on a friendly face for the customers or are just plain rude.
Supreme Chef: Gary is a pretty good cook by wasteland standards and gets lots of customers every day. He can make a decent mirelurk cake at the very least.

Other Residents

Sister

Voiced by: Gregory Gorton (English)^note

A slaver sent by Eulogy Jones to join in on the hunt for the missing android, in order to capture it for use of the Paradise Falls slavers. He decided he liked Rivet City though, and chooses to stay there indefinitely.

Gender-Blender Name: He refuses to talk to you about his name.
Going Native: To an extent. He was sent to Rivet City for a job, but comes to like the place and moves in.
Retired Monster: Unlike Flak, Sister is not sorry about his job as a slaver, and is still evil and drops a finger if killed. If you help him enslave Mei Wong, then he'll leave his retirement and go back to the slaving business without question.

Horace Pinkerton

Voiced by: Gregory Gorton (English)^note

An odd man living in the broken bow of Rivet City who plays a major role in the missing android sidequest. As it turns out he is the one who gave the android his reconstruction surgery, and will even modify the Lone Wanderer's looks after the quest is done.

Cool Old Guy: He's pushing over 60, but he carries an assault rifle and has the guts to make his home among mirelurks, relying on assorted booby traps for safety. His computer terminals mention he infiltrated Vault 112 once, so he's likely a Retired Badass too.
Everyone Has Standards: Curmudgeonly and arrogant though he may be, Pinkerton is absolutely revolted by Braun's activities in Vault 112, even referring to them as "robbing people of their souls." As such, he didn't feel too bad about stealing a memory chip from one of the machines there.
For Science!: Why he did the facial reconstruction for the android. He wanted the chance to get a look at some of that much-vaunted Institute tech up close. Which is ironic, as he's an android himself, considering he drops a component if he is killed via console command.
Foreshadowing: If you played "The Replicated Man" before "Tranquility Lane", his notes regarding his activities in Vault 112 contain a great deal of this.
- He mentions stealing a memory chip from one of the machines there. When you visit Vault 112 later, you find that the machine in question was a virtual reality lounger - specifically, Old Lady Dithers'. Thanks to this theft, Braun can no longer wipe Dither's mind, allowing her to finally realize that she's trapped in a simulation and ultimately prompting her to assist the player when s/he arrives in Tranquility Lane.
- Pinkerton also hints at the nature of the experiments in the Vault when he disgustedly compares it to stealing people's souls and mentioning a "simulation."
- Finally, he jokingly remarks that stealing the chip from Braun was like "stealing from a little girl." Within the virtual reality scenario he's been operating, Braun has taken the form of a little girl.
Insufferable Genius: He's one of the most brilliant men in the wasteland, and he will let you know it if you ask, and will anyway if you don't.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a moody old bastard, and very bitter towards Rivet City. But once you get to know him and express interest in the genuine history of Rivet City, he warms up to you a bit more.
Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He's a surgeon, a computer programmer, and judging from the mountains of crafting materials and other junk in his room is also a tinkerer and inventor.
Magic Plastic Surgery: He can give this to the Lone Wanderer if they want, and with only a 35% chance of fatal infection!
Shrouded in Myth: Most people in Rivet City think he's just a legend and/or long dead.
Trap Master: The path to him has grenade bouquets, explosive decoy computers, rigged shotguns, the old standby frag mines, and a hallway full of flammable gas so anyone who fires a gun there (say, fighting the mirelurks) will be set on fire. This guy does not want visitors.
Ungrateful Bastard: He sees Rivet City as this, he was the leader of the scientific expedition that founded the city and was once effectively its leader. Then James and Doctor Li came around with Project Purity, and most of Pinkerton's researcher team left to work with them. It was his anger over this slight that prompted his self-imposed exile to the broken bow.

Mei Wong

Voiced by: Shari Elliker (English)^note

Mei Wong is an escaped slave who managed to flee and find refuge in Rivet City. Because of this she is very paranoid that the slavers will come after her.

Driven to Suicide: If the player reveals her to Sister.
Fate Worse than Death: She considers returning to slavery as this and will kill herself to prevent it.
Properly Paranoid: She thinks Sister is out to get her. He was actually after Harkness, but will gladly try to take her back given the opportunity.
Sex Slave: What she used to be for Alister Tenpenny.
Video Game Caring Potential: The Lone Wanderer can give her some caps to buy a gun and put her mind at ease. The only reward for doing so is good karma and the location of the Temple Of The Union, an escaped slave outpost.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: Or, you can out her to Sister and force her to kill herself to avoid being enslaved again, or you can enslave her yourself with the Mesmetron and force her back into slavery for Eulogy Jones.

Abraham Washington

Voiced by: Paul Eiding (English)^note

"Abraham Washington's the name... curator of this little slice of American history."

An old man and curator of "capital preservation society," a museum/his private collection of American artifacts and documents in Rivet City. Upon meeting him, he will offer a substantial reward for bringing him a missing piece of his collection: The Declaration of Independence. He will also buy the Bill of Rights, the Soil Stradivarius, the Magna Carta, and various Lincoln related things, including his the Lincoln Repeater. (Though you may want to keep some of those.)

Fan of the Past: Obviously, as he's built his own personal museum to Pre-war America and is willing to pay hundreds of caps for various historical artifacts and documents. But...
Future Imperfect: Though understandable giving the setting, his ideas on what the stories of these various artifacts are can be pretty off. Case and point; He thinks the U.S. Declaration of Independence was flown to Britain. Just pray, future archaeologist will figure out the truth.
It Belongs in a Museum: Inverted if you sell him the Soil Stradivarius before you get the quest to find it from Agatha. He'll let you buy it back and give it to her because he thinks it has more historical value in the hands of someone capable of playing it.

Characters / Fallout 3 Rivet City

Rivet City

Rivet City Council

Doctor Madison Li

Chief Harkness/A3-21

Bannon

Dr. Li's Science Team

Janice Kaplinski

Anna Holt

Garza

Rivet City Merchants

Flak and Shrapnel

Seagrave Holmes

Cindy and Paulie Cantelli

Gary and Angela Staley

Other Residents

Sister

Horace Pinkerton

Mei Wong

Abraham Washington

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Characters / Fallout 3 Rivet City

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Rivet City

Rivet City Council

Doctor Madison Li

Chief Harkness/A3-21

Bannon

Dr. Li's Science Team

Janice Kaplinski

Anna Holt

Garza

Rivet City Merchants

Flak and Shrapnel

Seagrave Holmes

Cindy and Paulie Cantelli

Gary and Angela Staley

Other Residents

Sister

Horace Pinkerton

Mei Wong

Abraham Washington

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Index

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