In a general sense, Fallout canon is the body of works considered to be an official part of the Fallout universe by its current rights holder (Bethesda Softworks since 2007).[1]
In the context of the Fallout Wiki, the term refers to the framework for authoring articles and resolving conflicts that may arise when covering topics spanning multiple franchise entries. The general idea is to provide a comprehensive overview of a subject drawing on all available sources, while clearly identifying their origin to allow users to identify what's binding for the current IP holder and what's not.
- Note that the topic is complicated, as much of the Fallout series was created by completely different teams with limited overlap and developers of one game may differ on their approach to certain topics.[2]
Summary
- Canon refers to all items in released franchise entries (games and TV series) that aren't otherwise struck from it. These are the only binding sources.
- Supplementary sources refers to non-binding, non-game sources that provide additional information on the subject.
- Dependent sources refers to non-binding, non-canon sources that can provide additional information on the subject, but cannot be reconciled with other sources or the involvement of game developers in their creation is unclear.
- Non-canon is a term used in a narrow sense, to refer to content explicitly removed from the continuity or those that have never been released.
All references that do not call upon released games that make up part of the canon should be grouped together according to referencing guidelines (see below), so that the origin of the information can be identified at a glance.
Sources in detail
Canon
Fallout canon overview |
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Canon sources encompass the 2024 television series and released video games, which are the only binding source for the current IP holder.
These are the point of reference for every other source and take absolute precedence over other sources, if they have not been otherwise declared non-canon by the IP holder. Everything else can be changed, revised, or retconned at any time. For the purposes of the wiki, they are referred to as canon.[3]
The Fallout canon includes:[3]
- Fallout (1997)
- Fallout 2 (1998)
- Fallout 3 and its add-ons (2008)
- Fallout: New Vegas and its add-ons (2010)
- Fallout 4 and its add-ons (2015)
- Fallout 76 and subsequent updates (2018)
- Fallout television series by Kilter Films (2024)[4]
Supplementary sources
Supplementary content is any material that expands on what is included in the games and provides additional information. These sources encompass content outside video game sources, such as development documentation, developer commentary, presentations, online responses, and so on and so forth. These may be used as reference materials or inspiration by developers.
However, released games, as the only canon, take absolute precedence in all cases, and can contradict supplementary content at any time. In some instances, the lore on a subject may have been much more developed than the lore in a released game. Even in such instances that the specific, authoritative developer expands on in-game lore, existing or subsequent game releases take absolute precedence.[5]
If supplementary sources conflict with each other, these should be resolved on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the age, context, and degree of conflict with canon sources, if any.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of supplementary sources. All should be noted, at minimum, as [Non-game] to distinguish them from game sources.
- Complementary materials
This refers to materials provided as part of a game's release:
- Vault Dweller's Survival Guide (Fallout manual)
- Fallout 2 manual, including Vault Dweller's memoirs
- Fallout 3 manual
- One Man, and a Crate of Puppets
- All Roads
- Fallout 4 manual and Pip-Boy Operational Instructions
- Fallout 76 manual
- Strategy guides
Strategy guides frequently contain additional information not released in the game, such as character biographies, behind the scenes information, or other miscellaneous lore. In some cases, this information is provided directly by Bethesda themselves from internal company documents.[6] However, the majority of their content is based on early game builds[7] and cannot be updated to account for changes implemented by patches or updates, which may lead to discrepancies between the guide and the game they cover. In these cases, the in-game information should be used instead.[6]
- Fallout Official Survival Guide
- Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets, including Book of the Elders
- Fallout 3 Official Game Guide
- Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide
- Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide
- Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide
- Developer commentary and documentation
Some Fallout developers have decided to share various pieces of information with the public, through blogs, forums, editorials, and other means. This can provide useful information regarding various topics and expand on the information already included in the game.
Examples of developer commentary include:
- Chris Taylor interview for Vault13.net (2001)
- Fallout Bible (2002): Commonly mistaken for a definitive guide to Fallout canon, the Bible is mostly a collection of "background material and hijinks" released on Black Isle Studios' front page, compiled by Chris Avellone with commentary from various developers.[8] While a majority of the publication is devoted to providing background "hijinks" and other development material, Chris Avellone made several definitive statements on lore and corrections that he wished to be reflected in future Fallout games. Examples include the fate of the wanamingos, as well as the meaning of the Vault door on the PMV Valdez. As such, while the Bible serves as one of several sources of inspiration[9][10] for Bethesda developers, they do not assume that everything in the Bible is canon and make judgement calls on what to include.[3][5] Numerous setting elements introduced in the Bible have been reintroduced in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76.[11]
- Joshua Sawyer's Formspring responses (archived here), Tumblr posts, and SomethingAwful.com forum replies (2011+): J.E. Sawyer was always an active poster and his replies provide a significant amount of behind the scenes information, expanding on the setting of Fallout: New Vegas.
- The Origins of Fallout (2012): A web article penned by Scott Campbell and released on No Mutants Allowed, the article goes into detail about the inspirations, the reasons, and the design decisions during the making of Fallout.
- Ferret Baudoin interview on CHAD: A Fallout 76 Story Podcast (2020): A behind-the-scenes live stream interview and Q&A session with the lead writer for Fallout 76: Wastelanders.[5]
- Cain on Games (2023)
Dependent sources
This category encompasses content that does not fall strictly into the non-canon category, but due to various reasons may not be compatible with the canon.
Unless referenced in canon, works in this category should be considered as existing within their own continuities. For distinguishing these works, the term dependent is used, as they depend on their inclusion in the canon (i.e. games). When used as a reference in articles, information sourced from these titles is to be marked [Non-canon] as a rule of thumb.
- Released video games and additional content
- Fallout Shelter, designed, directed, and currently updated by Bethesda[12] with developmental assistance from Behaviour Interactive, is considered a dependent source by the wiki. Its environment and gameplay features were designed "to fit within the aesthetic and storyline of the Fallout universe," though Bethesda have not explicitly commented on its canonicity status.
- Fallout Shelter Online, while published by Bethesda, was developed and distributed by outside companies (Shengqu Games and Gaea Mobile, respectively), and is also considered a dependent source. It has only officially been released for Asian markets, though its APK is available for download worldwide.
- The Atomic Shop for Fallout 76 generally emphasizes fun over absolute conformity with canon, leading to looser standards for inclusion.[13][14]
- Creation Club for Fallout 4 is distinct from the Atomic Shop and blurs the lines between canon and non-canon. Although Bethesda reviews all Creation Club content to ensure content works within the game and is consistent with the general setting of the game, they tend to prioritize the attractiveness of content and gameplay over absolute compliance with canon games. The situation has been described as "parallel to canon."[15]
- Other games
This category encompasses board and tabletop games that are created by third parties and may freely interpret the setting for the sake of gameplay. These include:
- Fallout: The Board Game (2017) - Although they received assistance from Bethesda during development, the game's setting can take place across the country in the Capital Wasteland, the Commonwealth, the Pitt, Far Harbor and New California at the player's discretion.
- Fallout: New California (2018) - Expansion of Fallout: The Board Game.
- Fallout: Wasteland Warfare (2018) - A Fallout-themed miniatures wargame from Modiphius Entertainment.
- Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Roleplaying Game (2019) - Expansion of Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.
- Fallout Shelter: The Board Game (2020) - A tabletop version of Fallout Shelter.
- Fallout: The Roleplaying Game (2021) - A tabletop role-playing game developed by Modiphius using a modified SPECIAL system and their 2d20 system.
- Official merchandise
Currently, it is not known how merchandise offered through licensed third parties is vetted, if any such process exists. All content based on merchandise should be marked as dependent canon and grouped separately.
Non-canon
This category includes content that is explicitly not part of the main narrative continuity. Released games may freely reference individual elements of said content as part of an homage or continuity nod, but only the exact content that appears in the released game is considered a part of the main narrative continuity.
- Released games
- Fallout Tactics (2001), its manual, strategy guide, and tabletop component, Fallout: Warfare[16][17]
- Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004), its manual, strategy guide[16][17]
- Cancelled games
- Van Buren
- Fallout 4 (Black Isle Studios)
- Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2
- Fallout Extreme
- Fallout Tactics 2
- Project V13
- Fallout (PlayStation)
- Original lore contributions unrelated to games
In certain instances, a developer might issue corrections and rulings on lore, rather than simply provide commentary and supplementary information on the game they worked on. For the purposes of the wiki, these original contributions are considered separate from supplementary sources, and strictly non-canon.
- CHAD: A Fallout 76 Story Podcast (2020): A behind-the-scenes live stream interview and Q&A session with Ferret Baudoin, the lead writer for Fallout 76: Wastelanders. When asked about the Brotherhood of Steel's lesser known Paladin Swafford, Ferret, who wrote the Brotherhood story, explained that he could not recall more than one Paladin (Elizabeth Taggerdy).[18] However, because Paladin Swafford is still mentioned in-game, Ferret's conflicting recollection is considered non-canonical.
Recycled elements
Released games may sometimes reference elements featured in Fallout Tactics, Van Buren, and other non-canon content either to pay homage or to re-use accepted concepts. These specific elements become part of Fallout canon, although their extent is limited specifically to elements as they exist in the canon release:
Fallout Tactics canonic elements |
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- Fallout Tactics was originally stated by Emil Pagliarulo to be "broad strokes" canon in correspondence with our founder.[23] The game has been referenced at three points in canon games (twice in Fallout 3 and once in Fallout 4), simultaneously rewriting all events in the game.
- Minor elements from Van Buren have been referenced or recycled, including the Chinese infiltration of Hoover Dam in Fallout: New Vegas,[24] New Canaan in Honest Hearts,[25] Big Empty in Old World Blues[26] the Ciphers in Dead Money,[27] and Vault 29 in Fallout 76.[28]
- Commonly mistaken for a definitive guide to Fallout canon, the Fallout Bible serves as one of several sources of inspiration for Bethesda developers, after accounting for its age.[29][30] However, they do not assume that everything in the Bible is canon and make judgement calls on what to include.[3][5] Numerous setting elements introduced in the Bible have been reintroduced in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76.[31]
In these cases, the content referenced should be placed in a separate article to help distinguish between core canon and non-canon incarnations, eg. the Chicago detachment and the Eastern Brotherhood. The non-canon incarnation is to be retired as a citable reference in favor of the canonical source.
Bugged, cut, and removed elements
Content that is not present in the game, but still located in its files, such as due to a bug, deliberately cut, or removal via patching should generally be considered non-canon. Exceptions may be decided on a case-by-case basis, with input from other editors. In all instances, if such a piece of content is referenced, it should be clearly marked. For example:
- Many Securitron lines are not played in Fallout: New Vegas due to improper implementation, while the Followers of the Apocalypse's good ending in Fallout is not implemented. Both of these should be marked as bugged.
- The Enclave Hellfire armor in Fallout 76 was originally identified as an X-02 power armor in a Vault 51 terminal, before the name was replaced with Hellfire. The page should reflect the change, noting the original name in the "Behind the scenes" section.
- The NCR drill sergeant with his trainees at Camp McCarran and the wounded NCR soldiers at the no-man's-land between Camp Forlorn Hope and Nelson were present in Fallout: New Vegas, but were later patched out due to memory management constraints on consoles. They can be referenced, but should be noted as removed content.
Conflicts
For the purpose of resolving conflicts, references from a more recent release will override information from an earlier release.[3]
For example, super mutants are stated to have a limited lifespan in Fallout. Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas establishes that their lifespan is functionally indefinite. Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas take precedence, as they are later releases.
A similar example is the Sierra Depot GNN transcript from Fallout 2. It claims that the Sino-American War began just 13 days before the Great War, an unrealistic timeframe for the events of the war as established by newer games. Fallout 3 explicitly contradicts this starting date, in addition to information about the United States annexation of Canada. Because of this, the transcript is a generally unreliable source of information. Furthermore, Chris Avellone disregarded the transcript in the Fallout Bible, which, although it is not a source from a game, it does gives a useful developer's perspective.
It is also important to note that not every narrator in a given source is reliable. Characters such as Myron and Ezra Parker are established as frequent liars, while others may have poor information, like Abraham Washington and his comedically inaccurate version of American history. Factions may have differing views on certain subjects - for example, the Brotherhood of Steel and the Railroad would disagree on the humanity of synths. It is generally good practice to attribute a source and present a character or faction's account as-is, and allow the reader to draw their own conclusions. Unusual situations may be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
Formatting guide
Non-canon and non-game (a supplemental or dependent canon source) references must be marked clearly using the following formatting. Anything that is not derived from Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 should be referenced in the following format:
Single citation | |
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Instructions | Code |
In front of a single citation, or a citation that will only appear once in an article, replace <ref> with: | <ref group="Non-game" > |
The code will look like this in the article: | A man named Angus founded the Hub.<ref group="Non-game" >''[[Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2093 ''The Hub is founded by a man named Angus''".</ref> |
The citation will look like this in the article: | A man named Angus founded the Hub.[Non-game 1]
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In the reference section, a single referenced article will appear like: | Fallout Bible 0: "2093 The Hub is founded by a man named Angus.
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Duplicate citation | |
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Instructions | Code |
In front of duplicate citation, or a citation that will be used more than once in an article, give a descriptive name and replace <ref> with: | <ref name="name" group="Non-game"> |
The code will look like this in the article: | The Mariposa Military Base was newly completed in January 2077.<ref name="BibleMariposa2077" group="Non-game">''[[Fallout Bible 0]]'': "2077 January 7 ''Major Barnett orders transfer of all FEV research to the newly-constructed Mariposa Military Base."''</ref> |
The citation will look like this in the article: | The Mariposa Military Base was newly completed in January 2077.[Non-game 1]
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For subsequent, identical references, instead of the full reference, replace it with: | <ref name="name" group="Non-game" /> |
The code will look like this in the article: | Barnett decided to move all FEV research to Mariposa.<ref name="BibleMariposa2077" group="Non-game" /> The scientists objected to the orders.<ref name="BibleMariposa2077" group="Non-game" /> |
The citation will look like this in the article, the same after each reference: | Barnett decided to move all FEV research to Mariposa.[Non-game 1] The scientists objected to the orders.[Non-game 2]
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In the reference section, a duplicate article will appear like: | 2.0 2.1 Fallout Bible 0: "2077 January 7 Major Barnett orders transfer of all FEV research to the newly-constructed Mariposa Military Base."
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End of the article | |
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Instructions | Code |
If there are only canon references in an article, the following is placed at the very bottom: | ==References== {{References}} |
If there are non canon references also, the following must be added: | ==References== {{References}} '''Non-game''' {{References|group="Non-game"}} |
The citations will look like this in the article: | References |
Reference box format | |||
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Instructions | Code | Instructions | Code |
Another option is to place all references in a scrolling reference box. | {{ref box}} |
To use the reference box with Non-game sources. | {{ref box|Non-game}} |
References
- Policy voted in: Forum:Vote: Fallout canon policy overhaul (2020)
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