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About this mod
WARNING! SPOILERS! This mod adds a side quest to Fallout 4 that will allow you to obtain the character known as "Father" as a companion after the end of the game. As providing more information here will inevitably spoil, please read the full description for details on what this mod does exactly. Compatible with Nora Companion and Project Valkyrie.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
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Translations
- Spanish
- Russian
- Portuguese
- Mirrors
- Changelogs
- Donations
WARNING! There will be end-game spoilers below for Fallout 4! Continue reading this only if you've finished the game or you don't mind being spoiled. You can play this mod even if you are a new player or never finished the main quest, but you should avoid reading the description if you don't want spoilers.
The short version is that this mod opens up the possibility of an alternate happier ending, at least if you play your cards right. Everything else remains unchanged.
To support my work, subscribe to my BitChute channel (older videos). Also, subscribe to my new YouTube channel which includes the newer videos. Let's reach a wider audience. It's all free.
I started making this mod back in 2018 and since then I found new stuff to add to the mod and imperfections to fix through regular updates and volunteers helping out with various aspects. It's probably time to shorten the description and only include the information relevant as of the last update 5.3.5. For details check the changelog page but basically, the dialog has been greatly improved and many new features and compatibility patches have been done.
Section 1: The Main Features
- several new immersive quests
- all new dialog is voiced and lip-synched (and no, we don't use text-to-speech anymore)
- new companion and settler (Father) that can be taken alongside other companions at the same time
- new commentary from some of your companions and faction leaders if Father is your companion
- an indestructible Institute power armor for your companions (works on Father and others)
- you don't have to side with the Institute
- new game ending cinematics made in the style of Fallout 3 and New Vegas (they don't replace the vanilla cinematics, they play a while after them)
- new rewards for successfully completing the mod
- mod settings are available through holotapes at the chem station (because mods can't really edit the game menu as easily), you can turn cinematics on/off, enable the killing of essential NPCs, deactivate features that might cause issues with other mods and much more
Section 2: The Background Story
Has it ever bothered you that there was no way to save Father and cure his cancer? As far as Fallout lore goes, this is 100% possible but unfortunately, the vanilla game did not explore those options.
Forget the fact that an organization that's mastered teleportation, the creation of fully grown adult humans in a lab, and biological immortality (Kellogg's cybernetic enhancement) should have conquered cancer by now. Biological immortality itself is quite common in Fallout lore. Ghouls can live forever (or at least nobody has ever seen one die of old age), same with the super mutants created by the Forced Evolutionary Virus, same with Gen-3 synths, same with pre-War people who kept their brains in jars, and the Cabot family in Boston found an alien artifact that allows the user to live forever (and any blood derived from him also allows others to live forever) when you meet them they are all over 400 years old. Ironically, X6-88 himself recommends giving Jack Cabot's Mysterious Serum to the Bioscience team but this is never an option in the game. There's also the possibility that either Vault 81's hidden section or Med-Tek Research had extensive medical research done.
Anyway, this mod will give you a few options to save Father, it won't give you every possible option, but I think you'll be pleased with the result. If you want to discover this yourself, stop reading and download the mod. If you want to know more read below.
Section 3: Getting Started
From the time Father reveals he's dying from cancer at the Directorate meeting till the end of the main quest, you will get the opportunity to save his life.
There are really only two main "happy endings" to Father's story. You either use a modified version of Jack Cabot's Mysterious Serum to cure him as a human or you use the Forced Evolutionary Virus to save him as a super mutant.
To save him as a human, you must work with Dr. Dean Volkert, which means you must have access to the Institute on friendly terms. He will usually be found in the Institute infirmary during work hours. Bring him one sample of the Mysterious Serum (Valkyrie's Serum from the Project Valkyrie mod works too) and one copy of Vault 81 Medical Research (new item found in Vault 81's hidden section in 3 copies). If you give him these two items, he will be able to make a single-dose cancer cure. A speech check must also be passed as Dean is reluctant to use the serum given Father's unfavorable view of biological immortality and his shutting down the program that allowed Kellogg to live for over 100 years.
To save him as a super mutant, you must use the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). One sample is found in Virgil's former lab, the other can be given to you by Dr. Volkert if you can convince or coerce him to share it.
In both cases, you can also kill or pickpocket Dr. Volkert if he refuses to part with the cure or FEV.
Whichever option you pick, you must administer the cure on his deathbed which is right before the end of the game's main story.
Section 4: The Impact of Faction Choice
The mod allows you to save Shaun and get him as a companion even if you side against the Institute, but choices do have consequences so consider them very carefully.
For example, consider your agreement with Lorenzo Cabot that the Mysterious Serum is for your personal use only. Consider the fact that the Mysterious Serum itself comes in limited supply if you side against Lorenzo. Also consider the fact that there is no way to even interact with Dr. Volkert if you reject the Institute straight from the beginning, leaving you with only one option to save Shaun, the FEV.
Section 5: Finding and Recruiting Shaun After
If you side against the Institute, Shaun will get out of his bed and get to the molecular relay. After the final chat with Sturges/Ingram/Tom, you'll get an opportunity to secure safe passage for him out the Institute when your faction teleports out.
If you side with the Institute, Shaun will fake his death and you will still become the Director. This happens regardless if you tell him the truth about the cure/FEV, lie or say nothing.
You can later find him in Vault 111. He will also send a courier for you with instructions on where to go if you forget, but meeting the courier isn't necessary.
Keep in mind that if you blow up the Institute, you will need to pass a hard speech check to recruit Father. You will only get one chance.
Once this is done the new ending cinematics will play.
Section 6: Modded Alternate Endings
There are mods out there that give you entire alternate endings to the game such as:
Project Valkyrie
Nuka-World Reborn
Subversion: The Institute-Railroad Alliance Alternate Ending
Galac-Tac Retribution
Conquer the Institute
There is support for the Project Valkyrie ending (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) and some (limited) support for Conquer the Institute and Galac-Tac Retribution. If you opt for these endings while keeping Father alive, he will escape the Institute, although the final cinematic is Project Valkyrie-centered with footage from the reformed Sinstitute. You can find him in Vault 111 after the game ends.
Since these endings don't include the Nuclear Family quest, you'll only be able to cure Father after he has already left the Institute. At this point you no longer interact with Dr. Volkert, instead, you can give Shaun the serum and Vault 81 papers directly. Any previous progress done with Volkert carries over so you may be able to just cure him on the spot or only require one item of the two. Shaun will not accept the FEV, but you can restrain and force him to take it.
The mod is also compatible with Subversion, there are no problems here because you have to follow the vanilla quest Nuclear Family anyway before you can reform the Institute. Father does not play a role in this reformation.
I'm afraid there is no support for any other alternate ending mods, but you can force the game to spawn companion Father in Vault 111 using a cheat holotape which will simulate the outcome of the Project Valkyrie ending regardless of which mods you have installed or not.
Section 7: Other Outcomes
There are several other ways to conclude Father's story with matching cinematics.
1. You can disown Shaun after saving his life (even if you side with the Institute), or simply decline to have him as a companion. If this option is chosen he will forever inhabit Vault 111 wandering around like he owns the place. You can also opt to disarm and imprison Shaun in Diamond City's jail.
2. You can offer him a mercy kill through lethal injection on his deathbed. Keep in mind, this is murder and you will become hostile with the Institute.
3. You can use a special holotape to give up looking for Shaun if you haven't reached the Institute yet, triggering what I call the "Vice Ending" cinematic, depicting the Sole Survivor's lack of faction choice, descent into despair, and failure to find Shaun.
4. Another hidden cinematic, the "Overboss Ending" (raider faction choice) is available and now plays automatically if you meet the following requirements:
- Power Play completed
- hostile with the Railroad (doesn't need to be destroyed)
- hostile with the Brotherhood (doesn't need to be destroyed)
- Preston Garvey and Sturges both dead (basically the Minutemen can no longer help you reach the Institute)
- all of this must be done before reaching the Institute
5. You can destroy all 4 factions and trigger another special cinematic called the "Psychopath Ending". The requirements aren't too strict:
- the Brotherhood is considered destroyed if Maxson is dead or if the Prydwen is destroyed
- the Railroad is considered destroyed if Desdemona is dead
- the Minutemen are considered destroyed if Preston Garvey is dead (Sturges is optional for this one)
- the Institute is considered destroyed only if you nuke it, regardless if Father is saved, murdered, or simply left to die
One possible pathway to this ending would be using the Railroad to destroy the Prydwen, killing Desdemona, using the Minutemen to destroy the Institute, and finally killing Preston Garvey, dooming the Commonwealth Minutemen. A reminder that the mod allows you to enable the killing of essential NPCs using one of the option holotapes so you won't need other mods to do this. Apart from kids, no NPC is safe anymore.
6. If you recruit Shaun with Project Valkyrie / Galac-Tac Retribution / Conquer the Institute / cheat holotape, you can opt to give up looking for a cure. You can then say your final goodbye and Shaun will shut off his power armor's life support and... die. You can also cancel this at the last second, keep Shaun alive indefinitely (while continuing searching for a cure in vain) and still trigger the ending. This is the only way to trigger an ending cinematic if you have no Mysterious Serums or FEV left to give him. There isn't a time limit to save him, but you simply won't get his perks.
7. It is entirely possible to revise an ending after an ending cinematic has already played out. Let's say you save Shaun with the Brotherhood and destroy all other factions, but then you destroy the Brotherhood and kill Shaun. Upon replaying the ending cinematic through the use of holotapes, you will get different outcomes.
Section 8: Companion Mechanics
Companion mechanics for Father differ slightly from most other companions. Here are the differences:
1. He doesn't override other companions. This means you can have Father + other companions following and fighting for you at the same time. Wanna install Nora Companion and do a family outing to the Glowing Sea? Go for it. Want to have double super mutant companions with Shaun and Strong playing smashy smashy on your enemies? That's a thing too.
2. Unlike other vanilla companions, Father doesn't have a true dynamic affinity system, his feelings towards you depend entirely on how you completed the game (saved Institute vs. destroyed Institute vs. organized a coup to oust him in Project Valkyrie ending). There is one thing and one thing only that he truly hates, being shot at by you, but he will "forgive" your abuse after a while. Otherwise, you can engage in whatever degenerate crimes you want with him around. There are also a few actions he likes/dislikes, for example, he dislikes resorting to cannibalism however this has no impact on your relationship with him, he will never leave you. There are also no extra rewards to gain from him after the ending. You will unlock the companion perk once you have both recruited and cured him.
3. Assigning him to a settlement works a bit differently. Once assigned, you can only reassign him using the workshop interface directly. You cannot reassign him through dialog.
4. (Human) Shaun wears an indestructible custom-built Institute power armor. You can get him out, but only through a speech check as he is very reluctant to travel the wastes without it. If the Project Valkyrie ending is chosen, he will completely refuse to get out of his power armor until he is cured of cancer.
5. (Super Mutant) Shaun can only equip stuff that super mutants can. If Strong can't use it, neither can he.
6. There is no romance option. No, don't even ask! It is not happening.
Regular Abilities:
1. Can be commanded to do specific things like stay in a post, walk to a spot, inspect stuff, loot stuff, etc.
2. Can become a settler.
3. Can trade items with.
4. Can dismiss.
5. Has a lot of idle chit-chat dialog and you'll get a chance to find out a bit more about his past. You can also talk with him about your pre-war life and whether or not you liked or hated it.
6. There is an option to track his whereabouts similar to vanilla companions, see one of the new holotapes at the chem station.
Other Abilities:
1. His companion perk provides a 1% bonus to all experience gained and he can restore several lost items such as Broadsider and Deliverer. It also allows you to make Institute and underground (vault) themed clothing, hazmat suits, and also craft the controversial Kells' coat which was cut from the vanilla game. Rewards are available at the chem station.
2. His genius-level IQ allows him to hack any terminal. (Note, sometimes he might get stuck walking to the terminal, but you can talk to him to unstuck him.)
3. His power armor will provide audio warnings about his HP levels/radiation, parodying Half-Life 1 and 2. (Disclaimer: No audio from Half-life 1 or 2 is used.) Keep in mind that trying to use his power armor will not get you the same audio warnings. The power armor is designed to detect unauthorized use and disable medical systems. Only Shaun will be able to make full use of it.
4. He will scavenge stuff (usually tech items but not exclusively) and share them with you once a day if you talk with him.
In addition, many faction leaders, companions, and Virgil himself will notice that Father is your companion and will say... stuff.
Section 9: Other Mods and Compatibility
The mod is compatible with most mods unless maybe there are fundamental changes made to the ending, particularly lore unfriendly mods or mods that make radical modifications to the way the ending scripts work. Since a series of specific things need to be done to save Father, radical alterations of the Institute quests or locations can have unexpected results. For example, minor/medium alterations of the FEV lab might be okay, but a full transformation of the FEV lab might block the pathway to the FEV vial. Modifications to Dr. Volkert might be okay, but deleting Dr. Volkert will obviously lock you out of some paths to curing Father.
If you have the Start Me Up, Galac-Tac Retribution, Recall Code: Railroad, or Fusion City Rising mods active under certain parameters, Father's dialog may be slightly altered. Some of these mods for example retcon your status as Father's parent, making you a stranger or a synth to him. Fusion City Rising mentions a biological child of his own. All of these things are taken into account.
No vanilla forms are edited, believe it or not, I prefer to add new things and use new scripts rather than modify old ones. For example, the FEV is added to the FEV Lab using a teleport script when you first load the game, the FEV Lab cell isn't edited directly. Still, there's no 100% guarantee of compatibility with all mods.
Mods that you might want to consider using along with this mod:
Subversion: The Institute-Railroad Alliance Alternate Ending
Nora Spouse Companion (if playing male)
Dual Survivors - Nate Companion Mod (if playing female)
Project Valkyrie
Genetical Father
Marked For Termination: A Terminator-Inspired Manhunt in the Commonwealth
Super Mutant Milk Armor (Super Mutant Shaun can wear this if you don't like the lab coat)
If you'd like to see more mods here, let me know.
A saved game to use to skip most quests and get to Father faster:
Fallout 4 Vanilla 99-Percent Completed Savegame
Section 10: Known Issues and Common Questions
Q: What the hell is the "Talk Like Arnie" holotape? What happens if I activate this option?
A: No longer relevant. This was permanently disabled in 6.0 and the item in question was replaced with a "Damaged Holotape" that can safely thrown away.
Q: Trying to cure Shaun crashes my game or the chem station doesn't work properly with Father's Lab Coat. What do I do?
A: It might be a compatibility issue with another mod, so try disabling some things using the new compatibility holotape.
Q: All these holotapes break the 4th wall / immersion don't they?
A: So does the game menu. But I discreetly place weird things like this in the chem station. It's better to have the experience somewhat customizable. They can be disabled completely by typing "set zzBlockAll to 1" and "0" to cancel.
Q: Why are the new cinematics not playing?
A: It's worth keeping in mind that they don't actually replace the vanilla cinematics, the new cinematics will play a short while after the vanilla ones.
Also, have you accidentally disabled them? If you missed the cinematics, use the chem station items to replay the ending.
Q: Where should I put this mod in my load order?
A: The mod doesn't edit any vanilla forms, so it really doesn't have an impact. The only exception is never place it after Talk Like Arnie. Talk Like Arnie plugins always go last in the order they were given, no exceptions.
Q: Father is a complete monster who even put his own father/mother in harm's way for an "experiment". Why would I ever want this horrible human being as a companion? He is literally cancer!
A: He hacks terminals...
Seriously, what kind of answer were you expecting?
Q: What is the safe way to uninstall this mod? I already started the game.
A: There isn't a safe way to uninstall any mod without corrupting your save. You should ignore it instead. Everything this mod adds to the game is entirely optional and I really mean everything. It is entirely possible to play through this mod to the final quest without even realizing you have it installed. If you must remove it, start a new game or reload an older save before you activated the mod.
Q: Does Father retain his memories/intellect as a super mutant?
A: Yes, he does. He will not be a dumb Strong clone. He doesn't even like eating people. In fact, he may actually be the smartest super mutant in Falloutlore fan fiction.
Q: Why can't the Mysterious Serum alone cure cancer? Why do I need some research from Vault 81?
A: I thought about it for a while and in all fairness, it's unlikely to stop cancer unless Father took unlimited regular doses which isn't an option. There is a limited supply and Lorenzo won't give you more if you don't use it on yourself only. (Although you can use one dose to save Father before you meet Lorenzo and that won't piss Lorenzo off.)
To cure him using only one dose would likely require some modifications. Anyway, it's all fanfic speculation on exactly how the serum actually works. Nobody really knows, I doubt even Bethesda knows.
Q: The game crashed when I tried to modify Father's power armor at my power armor station, why?
A: Known issue, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it, you should avoid doing that plus the original pieces are hidden and cannot be modified anyway, only changed by trading new ones to Shaun.
Q: Can I use the FEV on myself to become a super mutant?
A: No, the FEV will kill you instead. If you somehow have a ridiculous amount of health, consider yourself an "asymptomatic" FEV carrier. Either way, you won't be able to become a super mutant with this mod.
Q: I ordered Father to hack a terminal, he stopped moving. What do I do?
A: Father may bug out on some terminals, especially when inside his power armor, if this happens, you can talk to him and either force him to try an alternate path to the terminal or abandon hacking. The hacking also cancels automatically if you leave the area, making Father follow you again.
Q: I sent Father to a settlement. How do I reassign him to another?
A: Reassignment is only possible using the workshop interface using "Move".
Q: Will Father follow me back to the Institute?
A: No. As Father fakes his death for the Institute ending, he will not be returning. He will however follow you to the reformed Institute of Project Valkyrie.
Q: I already completed the main quest. Can I still get Father as a companion?
A: No, but you may get some brand new (but kinda sad) cinematics the minute you load up the mod.
Q: Do I need to have any DLC/mod/etc. installed?
A: No, this works on a vanilla Fallout 4 with no DLCs, no Creation Club content, no mods, no script extenders. Just keep your game updated and don't pirate. Father Companion does interact with other mods through a series of clever scripts and keywords, but doesn't require any mods.
Q: Will Dr. Volkert still heal me?
A: Because this mod adds new dialog to Volkert and I can't be bothered to be blamed for a vanilla bug, I decided to add a Volkert cure fix into this mod. If you're injured or irradiated, Volkert should now ALWAYS offer you free healthcare. He won't cure addictions, but he never did, not even in vanilla. He also won't bother with extremely trivial injuries, you must be lower than 99% HP. You're welcome.
Q: How did you get all the original voice actors to reprise their roles as Nate/Nora/Father?
A: Well... I didn't. I simply took other lines from the game files along with cut content and rearranged them so the characters say what I want them to say. This doesn't always work perfectly, but it's the best option. The mod was created before deepfakes became widespread in the Fallout 4 community. No deepfakes or AI-generated voice content is being used here.
Q: But saving Father ruins the game!
A: That's not really a question, and saving him is optional.
Q: How is it possible to get Father as a companion if you destroy the Institute? Father would never join you! OMG so lore-unfriendly!
A: There is a fine line between something being lore-unfriendly and being a work of fan fiction. Technically, all quest mods are lore-unfriendly because they're non-canon. The question is, would they be possible in the Fallout universe? Many of them, yes.
Q: Sorry but there's just no way Father would ever join you! This mod breaks the lore!
A: This coming from people who joined the Institute while having no true loyalty to it... Okay, boomer/zoomer. How do you know that Father's true long-term agenda isn't to infiltrate your Minutemen or rebuild the Institute using Vault 88? Let's remember that Father worked with and tolerated Kellogg for years while plotting his downfall.
So to answer your question, Father would join the Sole Survivor if his agenda required cooperation with the Sole Survivor. We can only speculate what that might be should the Institute fall.
Q: So... I'm confused. Did Father actually have any children or family of his own or not? Other than synths who share his DNA I mean... Is he lying?
A: This is being kept purposely vague as we don't really know. He will normally deny it, but if you're using the Fusion City Rising mod, his dialog will hint otherwise.
Q: I saved Father but nothing happened. He still died. Why?
A: As I explained many times, if you do the Institute ending, Father fakes his death. I'm not going to revamp the entire Institute so Shaun can continue being Director. Also, nobody would respect a super mutant Institute leader, so faking his death is definitely necessary if you go with the FEV option.
Q: How will the other faction leaders/Virgil/other companions react to seeing Father?
A: Well, that's for you to discover really, but many definitely won't be silent about it.
Q: Why won't the mod work for me?
A: How should I know if you're not specific enough? Consider this, if it works for almost everyone else, then the problem is likely on your side. Unless you're specific about it, I cannot help you. Keep in mind that most bug reports are evidently bogus and it's usually the user doing something wrong. I'm happy to research credible, detailed bug reports though.
Q: Why do I have to download the entire package with every patch? 1.2GB is pretty big and most of that consists of ending cinematics that haven't changed...
A: Two reasons:
1) Too many people will only download the core file and assume everything else is optional (even when it's not) so rather than deal with 100 comments "OMG why doesn't this mod work?" it's simpler to just put the entire thing up.
2) Because it's the current year. Seriously, you're probably not on dial-up anymore.
Section 11: Contact Information
[email protected]
Do not contact me if you pirated Fallout 4 asking for tech support regarding this mod. Here's my standard answer to that: "Buy the damn game and have Steam update it, no I'm not going to release a pirate-friendly version!" Generic messages like "the mod doesn't work" with no details or "how do I install mods" will be ignored.
I'm currently working on making more quest mods in whatever free time I have left, if you're interested in what I do, let me know.
Like/subscribe/comment and all that jazz.
AI Disclaimer: As AI becomes increasingly problematic, it is necessary to clarify a few things for legal and moral reasons. Unless otherwise stated in the Credits, please bear in mind that the player character as well as the NPCs are not voiced by real people. This is an evident work of fiction expanding upon another work of fiction (a video game) and does not impersonate people or make it appear as if real people said things they never said. Such claims are evidently without merit to any reasonable person. That said, this mod does not use deepfakes either to bring the dialog to life. The player dialog is voiced by recycling or manually editing/re-arranging voice files found in the vanilla game using Audacity. The same is true for NPC dialog. The mod was created a few years before AI really took off. For a while, regular text-to-speech software was used, but that is no longer the case.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
The short version is that this mod opens up the possibility of an alternate happier ending, at least if you play your cards right. Everything else remains unchanged.
Father Companion: Alternate Ending Option for Fallout 4
Version: 6.0B
Version: 6.0B
To support my work, subscribe to my BitChute channel (older videos). Also, subscribe to my new YouTube channel which includes the newer videos. Let's reach a wider audience. It's all free.
I started making this mod back in 2018 and since then I found new stuff to add to the mod and imperfections to fix through regular updates and volunteers helping out with various aspects. It's probably time to shorten the description and only include the information relevant as of the last update 5.3.5. For details check the changelog page but basically, the dialog has been greatly improved and many new features and compatibility patches have been done.
Section 1: The Main Features
- several new immersive quests
- all new dialog is voiced and lip-synched (and no, we don't use text-to-speech anymore)
- new companion and settler (Father) that can be taken alongside other companions at the same time
- new commentary from some of your companions and faction leaders if Father is your companion
- an indestructible Institute power armor for your companions (works on Father and others)
- you don't have to side with the Institute
- new game ending cinematics made in the style of Fallout 3 and New Vegas (they don't replace the vanilla cinematics, they play a while after them)
- new rewards for successfully completing the mod
- mod settings are available through holotapes at the chem station (because mods can't really edit the game menu as easily), you can turn cinematics on/off, enable the killing of essential NPCs, deactivate features that might cause issues with other mods and much more
Section 2: The Background Story
Has it ever bothered you that there was no way to save Father and cure his cancer? As far as Fallout lore goes, this is 100% possible but unfortunately, the vanilla game did not explore those options.
Forget the fact that an organization that's mastered teleportation, the creation of fully grown adult humans in a lab, and biological immortality (Kellogg's cybernetic enhancement) should have conquered cancer by now. Biological immortality itself is quite common in Fallout lore. Ghouls can live forever (or at least nobody has ever seen one die of old age), same with the super mutants created by the Forced Evolutionary Virus, same with Gen-3 synths, same with pre-War people who kept their brains in jars, and the Cabot family in Boston found an alien artifact that allows the user to live forever (and any blood derived from him also allows others to live forever) when you meet them they are all over 400 years old. Ironically, X6-88 himself recommends giving Jack Cabot's Mysterious Serum to the Bioscience team but this is never an option in the game. There's also the possibility that either Vault 81's hidden section or Med-Tek Research had extensive medical research done.
Anyway, this mod will give you a few options to save Father, it won't give you every possible option, but I think you'll be pleased with the result. If you want to discover this yourself, stop reading and download the mod. If you want to know more read below.
Section 3: Getting Started
From the time Father reveals he's dying from cancer at the Directorate meeting till the end of the main quest, you will get the opportunity to save his life.
There are really only two main "happy endings" to Father's story. You either use a modified version of Jack Cabot's Mysterious Serum to cure him as a human or you use the Forced Evolutionary Virus to save him as a super mutant.
To save him as a human, you must work with Dr. Dean Volkert, which means you must have access to the Institute on friendly terms. He will usually be found in the Institute infirmary during work hours. Bring him one sample of the Mysterious Serum (Valkyrie's Serum from the Project Valkyrie mod works too) and one copy of Vault 81 Medical Research (new item found in Vault 81's hidden section in 3 copies). If you give him these two items, he will be able to make a single-dose cancer cure. A speech check must also be passed as Dean is reluctant to use the serum given Father's unfavorable view of biological immortality and his shutting down the program that allowed Kellogg to live for over 100 years.
To save him as a super mutant, you must use the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). One sample is found in Virgil's former lab, the other can be given to you by Dr. Volkert if you can convince or coerce him to share it.
In both cases, you can also kill or pickpocket Dr. Volkert if he refuses to part with the cure or FEV.
Whichever option you pick, you must administer the cure on his deathbed which is right before the end of the game's main story.
Section 4: The Impact of Faction Choice
The mod allows you to save Shaun and get him as a companion even if you side against the Institute, but choices do have consequences so consider them very carefully.
For example, consider your agreement with Lorenzo Cabot that the Mysterious Serum is for your personal use only. Consider the fact that the Mysterious Serum itself comes in limited supply if you side against Lorenzo. Also consider the fact that there is no way to even interact with Dr. Volkert if you reject the Institute straight from the beginning, leaving you with only one option to save Shaun, the FEV.
Section 5: Finding and Recruiting Shaun After
If you side against the Institute, Shaun will get out of his bed and get to the molecular relay. After the final chat with Sturges/Ingram/Tom, you'll get an opportunity to secure safe passage for him out the Institute when your faction teleports out.
If you side with the Institute, Shaun will fake his death and you will still become the Director. This happens regardless if you tell him the truth about the cure/FEV, lie or say nothing.
You can later find him in Vault 111. He will also send a courier for you with instructions on where to go if you forget, but meeting the courier isn't necessary.
Keep in mind that if you blow up the Institute, you will need to pass a hard speech check to recruit Father. You will only get one chance.
Once this is done the new ending cinematics will play.
Section 6: Modded Alternate Endings
There are mods out there that give you entire alternate endings to the game such as:
Project Valkyrie
Nuka-World Reborn
Subversion: The Institute-Railroad Alliance Alternate Ending
Galac-Tac Retribution
Conquer the Institute
There is support for the Project Valkyrie ending (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) and some (limited) support for Conquer the Institute and Galac-Tac Retribution. If you opt for these endings while keeping Father alive, he will escape the Institute, although the final cinematic is Project Valkyrie-centered with footage from the reformed Sinstitute. You can find him in Vault 111 after the game ends.
Since these endings don't include the Nuclear Family quest, you'll only be able to cure Father after he has already left the Institute. At this point you no longer interact with Dr. Volkert, instead, you can give Shaun the serum and Vault 81 papers directly. Any previous progress done with Volkert carries over so you may be able to just cure him on the spot or only require one item of the two. Shaun will not accept the FEV, but you can restrain and force him to take it.
The mod is also compatible with Subversion, there are no problems here because you have to follow the vanilla quest Nuclear Family anyway before you can reform the Institute. Father does not play a role in this reformation.
I'm afraid there is no support for any other alternate ending mods, but you can force the game to spawn companion Father in Vault 111 using a cheat holotape which will simulate the outcome of the Project Valkyrie ending regardless of which mods you have installed or not.
Section 7: Other Outcomes
There are several other ways to conclude Father's story with matching cinematics.
1. You can disown Shaun after saving his life (even if you side with the Institute), or simply decline to have him as a companion. If this option is chosen he will forever inhabit Vault 111 wandering around like he owns the place. You can also opt to disarm and imprison Shaun in Diamond City's jail.
2. You can offer him a mercy kill through lethal injection on his deathbed. Keep in mind, this is murder and you will become hostile with the Institute.
3. You can use a special holotape to give up looking for Shaun if you haven't reached the Institute yet, triggering what I call the "Vice Ending" cinematic, depicting the Sole Survivor's lack of faction choice, descent into despair, and failure to find Shaun.
4. Another hidden cinematic, the "Overboss Ending" (raider faction choice) is available and now plays automatically if you meet the following requirements:
- Power Play completed
- hostile with the Railroad (doesn't need to be destroyed)
- hostile with the Brotherhood (doesn't need to be destroyed)
- Preston Garvey and Sturges both dead (basically the Minutemen can no longer help you reach the Institute)
- all of this must be done before reaching the Institute
5. You can destroy all 4 factions and trigger another special cinematic called the "Psychopath Ending". The requirements aren't too strict:
- the Brotherhood is considered destroyed if Maxson is dead or if the Prydwen is destroyed
- the Railroad is considered destroyed if Desdemona is dead
- the Minutemen are considered destroyed if Preston Garvey is dead (Sturges is optional for this one)
- the Institute is considered destroyed only if you nuke it, regardless if Father is saved, murdered, or simply left to die
One possible pathway to this ending would be using the Railroad to destroy the Prydwen, killing Desdemona, using the Minutemen to destroy the Institute, and finally killing Preston Garvey, dooming the Commonwealth Minutemen. A reminder that the mod allows you to enable the killing of essential NPCs using one of the option holotapes so you won't need other mods to do this. Apart from kids, no NPC is safe anymore.
6. If you recruit Shaun with Project Valkyrie / Galac-Tac Retribution / Conquer the Institute / cheat holotape, you can opt to give up looking for a cure. You can then say your final goodbye and Shaun will shut off his power armor's life support and... die. You can also cancel this at the last second, keep Shaun alive indefinitely (while continuing searching for a cure in vain) and still trigger the ending. This is the only way to trigger an ending cinematic if you have no Mysterious Serums or FEV left to give him. There isn't a time limit to save him, but you simply won't get his perks.
7. It is entirely possible to revise an ending after an ending cinematic has already played out. Let's say you save Shaun with the Brotherhood and destroy all other factions, but then you destroy the Brotherhood and kill Shaun. Upon replaying the ending cinematic through the use of holotapes, you will get different outcomes.
Section 8: Companion Mechanics
Companion mechanics for Father differ slightly from most other companions. Here are the differences:
1. He doesn't override other companions. This means you can have Father + other companions following and fighting for you at the same time. Wanna install Nora Companion and do a family outing to the Glowing Sea? Go for it. Want to have double super mutant companions with Shaun and Strong playing smashy smashy on your enemies? That's a thing too.
2. Unlike other vanilla companions, Father doesn't have a true dynamic affinity system, his feelings towards you depend entirely on how you completed the game (saved Institute vs. destroyed Institute vs. organized a coup to oust him in Project Valkyrie ending). There is one thing and one thing only that he truly hates, being shot at by you, but he will "forgive" your abuse after a while. Otherwise, you can engage in whatever degenerate crimes you want with him around. There are also a few actions he likes/dislikes, for example, he dislikes resorting to cannibalism however this has no impact on your relationship with him, he will never leave you. There are also no extra rewards to gain from him after the ending. You will unlock the companion perk once you have both recruited and cured him.
3. Assigning him to a settlement works a bit differently. Once assigned, you can only reassign him using the workshop interface directly. You cannot reassign him through dialog.
4. (Human) Shaun wears an indestructible custom-built Institute power armor. You can get him out, but only through a speech check as he is very reluctant to travel the wastes without it. If the Project Valkyrie ending is chosen, he will completely refuse to get out of his power armor until he is cured of cancer.
5. (Super Mutant) Shaun can only equip stuff that super mutants can. If Strong can't use it, neither can he.
6. There is no romance option. No, don't even ask! It is not happening.
Regular Abilities:
1. Can be commanded to do specific things like stay in a post, walk to a spot, inspect stuff, loot stuff, etc.
2. Can become a settler.
3. Can trade items with.
4. Can dismiss.
5. Has a lot of idle chit-chat dialog and you'll get a chance to find out a bit more about his past. You can also talk with him about your pre-war life and whether or not you liked or hated it.
6. There is an option to track his whereabouts similar to vanilla companions, see one of the new holotapes at the chem station.
Other Abilities:
1. His companion perk provides a 1% bonus to all experience gained and he can restore several lost items such as Broadsider and Deliverer. It also allows you to make Institute and underground (vault) themed clothing, hazmat suits, and also craft the controversial Kells' coat which was cut from the vanilla game. Rewards are available at the chem station.
2. His genius-level IQ allows him to hack any terminal. (Note, sometimes he might get stuck walking to the terminal, but you can talk to him to unstuck him.)
3. His power armor will provide audio warnings about his HP levels/radiation, parodying Half-Life 1 and 2. (Disclaimer: No audio from Half-life 1 or 2 is used.) Keep in mind that trying to use his power armor will not get you the same audio warnings. The power armor is designed to detect unauthorized use and disable medical systems. Only Shaun will be able to make full use of it.
4. He will scavenge stuff (usually tech items but not exclusively) and share them with you once a day if you talk with him.
In addition, many faction leaders, companions, and Virgil himself will notice that Father is your companion and will say... stuff.
Section 9: Other Mods and Compatibility
The mod is compatible with most mods unless maybe there are fundamental changes made to the ending, particularly lore unfriendly mods or mods that make radical modifications to the way the ending scripts work. Since a series of specific things need to be done to save Father, radical alterations of the Institute quests or locations can have unexpected results. For example, minor/medium alterations of the FEV lab might be okay, but a full transformation of the FEV lab might block the pathway to the FEV vial. Modifications to Dr. Volkert might be okay, but deleting Dr. Volkert will obviously lock you out of some paths to curing Father.
If you have the Start Me Up, Galac-Tac Retribution, Recall Code: Railroad, or Fusion City Rising mods active under certain parameters, Father's dialog may be slightly altered. Some of these mods for example retcon your status as Father's parent, making you a stranger or a synth to him. Fusion City Rising mentions a biological child of his own. All of these things are taken into account.
No vanilla forms are edited, believe it or not, I prefer to add new things and use new scripts rather than modify old ones. For example, the FEV is added to the FEV Lab using a teleport script when you first load the game, the FEV Lab cell isn't edited directly. Still, there's no 100% guarantee of compatibility with all mods.
Mods that you might want to consider using along with this mod:
Subversion: The Institute-Railroad Alliance Alternate Ending
Nora Spouse Companion (if playing male)
Dual Survivors - Nate Companion Mod (if playing female)
Project Valkyrie
Genetical Father
Marked For Termination: A Terminator-Inspired Manhunt in the Commonwealth
Super Mutant Milk Armor (Super Mutant Shaun can wear this if you don't like the lab coat)
If you'd like to see more mods here, let me know.
A saved game to use to skip most quests and get to Father faster:
Fallout 4 Vanilla 99-Percent Completed Savegame
Section 10: Known Issues and Common Questions
Q: What the hell is the "Talk Like Arnie" holotape? What happens if I activate this option?
A: No longer relevant. This was permanently disabled in 6.0 and the item in question was replaced with a "Damaged Holotape" that can safely thrown away.
Q: Trying to cure Shaun crashes my game or the chem station doesn't work properly with Father's Lab Coat. What do I do?
A: It might be a compatibility issue with another mod, so try disabling some things using the new compatibility holotape.
Q: All these holotapes break the 4th wall / immersion don't they?
A: So does the game menu. But I discreetly place weird things like this in the chem station. It's better to have the experience somewhat customizable. They can be disabled completely by typing "set zzBlockAll to 1" and "0" to cancel.
Q: Why are the new cinematics not playing?
A: It's worth keeping in mind that they don't actually replace the vanilla cinematics, the new cinematics will play a short while after the vanilla ones.
Also, have you accidentally disabled them? If you missed the cinematics, use the chem station items to replay the ending.
Q: Where should I put this mod in my load order?
A: The mod doesn't edit any vanilla forms, so it really doesn't have an impact. The only exception is never place it after Talk Like Arnie. Talk Like Arnie plugins always go last in the order they were given, no exceptions.
Q: Father is a complete monster who even put his own father/mother in harm's way for an "experiment". Why would I ever want this horrible human being as a companion? He is literally cancer!
A: He hacks terminals...
Seriously, what kind of answer were you expecting?
Q: What is the safe way to uninstall this mod? I already started the game.
A: There isn't a safe way to uninstall any mod without corrupting your save. You should ignore it instead. Everything this mod adds to the game is entirely optional and I really mean everything. It is entirely possible to play through this mod to the final quest without even realizing you have it installed. If you must remove it, start a new game or reload an older save before you activated the mod.
Q: Does Father retain his memories/intellect as a super mutant?
A: Yes, he does. He will not be a dumb Strong clone. He doesn't even like eating people. In fact, he may actually be the smartest super mutant in Fallout
Q: Why can't the Mysterious Serum alone cure cancer? Why do I need some research from Vault 81?
A: I thought about it for a while and in all fairness, it's unlikely to stop cancer unless Father took unlimited regular doses which isn't an option. There is a limited supply and Lorenzo won't give you more if you don't use it on yourself only. (Although you can use one dose to save Father before you meet Lorenzo and that won't piss Lorenzo off.)
To cure him using only one dose would likely require some modifications. Anyway, it's all fanfic speculation on exactly how the serum actually works. Nobody really knows, I doubt even Bethesda knows.
Q: The game crashed when I tried to modify Father's power armor at my power armor station, why?
A: Known issue, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it, you should avoid doing that plus the original pieces are hidden and cannot be modified anyway, only changed by trading new ones to Shaun.
Q: Can I use the FEV on myself to become a super mutant?
A: No, the FEV will kill you instead. If you somehow have a ridiculous amount of health, consider yourself an "asymptomatic" FEV carrier. Either way, you won't be able to become a super mutant with this mod.
Q: I ordered Father to hack a terminal, he stopped moving. What do I do?
A: Father may bug out on some terminals, especially when inside his power armor, if this happens, you can talk to him and either force him to try an alternate path to the terminal or abandon hacking. The hacking also cancels automatically if you leave the area, making Father follow you again.
Q: I sent Father to a settlement. How do I reassign him to another?
A: Reassignment is only possible using the workshop interface using "Move".
Q: Will Father follow me back to the Institute?
A: No. As Father fakes his death for the Institute ending, he will not be returning. He will however follow you to the reformed Institute of Project Valkyrie.
Q: I already completed the main quest. Can I still get Father as a companion?
A: No, but you may get some brand new (but kinda sad) cinematics the minute you load up the mod.
Q: Do I need to have any DLC/mod/etc. installed?
A: No, this works on a vanilla Fallout 4 with no DLCs, no Creation Club content, no mods, no script extenders. Just keep your game updated and don't pirate. Father Companion does interact with other mods through a series of clever scripts and keywords, but doesn't require any mods.
Q: Will Dr. Volkert still heal me?
A: Because this mod adds new dialog to Volkert and I can't be bothered to be blamed for a vanilla bug, I decided to add a Volkert cure fix into this mod. If you're injured or irradiated, Volkert should now ALWAYS offer you free healthcare. He won't cure addictions, but he never did, not even in vanilla. He also won't bother with extremely trivial injuries, you must be lower than 99% HP. You're welcome.
Q: How did you get all the original voice actors to reprise their roles as Nate/Nora/Father?
A: Well... I didn't. I simply took other lines from the game files along with cut content and rearranged them so the characters say what I want them to say. This doesn't always work perfectly, but it's the best option. The mod was created before deepfakes became widespread in the Fallout 4 community. No deepfakes or AI-generated voice content is being used here.
Q: But saving Father ruins the game!
A: That's not really a question, and saving him is optional.
Q: How is it possible to get Father as a companion if you destroy the Institute? Father would never join you! OMG so lore-unfriendly!
A: There is a fine line between something being lore-unfriendly and being a work of fan fiction. Technically, all quest mods are lore-unfriendly because they're non-canon. The question is, would they be possible in the Fallout universe? Many of them, yes.
Q: Sorry but there's just no way Father would ever join you! This mod breaks the lore!
A: This coming from people who joined the Institute while having no true loyalty to it... Okay, boomer/zoomer. How do you know that Father's true long-term agenda isn't to infiltrate your Minutemen or rebuild the Institute using Vault 88? Let's remember that Father worked with and tolerated Kellogg for years while plotting his downfall.
So to answer your question, Father would join the Sole Survivor if his agenda required cooperation with the Sole Survivor. We can only speculate what that might be should the Institute fall.
Q: So... I'm confused. Did Father actually have any children or family of his own or not? Other than synths who share his DNA I mean... Is he lying?
A: This is being kept purposely vague as we don't really know. He will normally deny it, but if you're using the Fusion City Rising mod, his dialog will hint otherwise.
Q: I saved Father but nothing happened. He still died. Why?
A: As I explained many times, if you do the Institute ending, Father fakes his death. I'm not going to revamp the entire Institute so Shaun can continue being Director. Also, nobody would respect a super mutant Institute leader, so faking his death is definitely necessary if you go with the FEV option.
Q: How will the other faction leaders/Virgil/other companions react to seeing Father?
A: Well, that's for you to discover really, but many definitely won't be silent about it.
Q: Why won't the mod work for me?
A: How should I know if you're not specific enough? Consider this, if it works for almost everyone else, then the problem is likely on your side. Unless you're specific about it, I cannot help you. Keep in mind that most bug reports are evidently bogus and it's usually the user doing something wrong. I'm happy to research credible, detailed bug reports though.
Q: Why do I have to download the entire package with every patch? 1.2GB is pretty big and most of that consists of ending cinematics that haven't changed...
A: Two reasons:
1) Too many people will only download the core file and assume everything else is optional (even when it's not) so rather than deal with 100 comments "OMG why doesn't this mod work?" it's simpler to just put the entire thing up.
2) Because it's the current year. Seriously, you're probably not on dial-up anymore.
Section 11: Contact Information
[email protected]
Do not contact me if you pirated Fallout 4 asking for tech support regarding this mod. Here's my standard answer to that: "Buy the damn game and have Steam update it, no I'm not going to release a pirate-friendly version!" Generic messages like "the mod doesn't work" with no details or "how do I install mods" will be ignored.
I'm currently working on making more quest mods in whatever free time I have left, if you're interested in what I do, let me know.
Like/subscribe/comment and all that jazz.
AI Disclaimer: As AI becomes increasingly problematic, it is necessary to clarify a few things for legal and moral reasons. Unless otherwise stated in the Credits, please bear in mind that the player character as well as the NPCs are not voiced by real people. This is an evident work of fiction expanding upon another work of fiction (a video game) and does not impersonate people or make it appear as if real people said things they never said. Such claims are evidently without merit to any reasonable person. That said, this mod does not use deepfakes either to bring the dialog to life. The player dialog is voiced by recycling or manually editing/re-arranging voice files found in the vanilla game using Audacity. The same is true for NPC dialog. The mod was created a few years before AI really took off. For a while, regular text-to-speech software was used, but that is no longer the case.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.