A provisioner is a special settler type encountered in the Commonwealth in Fallout 4. Associated with the supply line mechanic in the settlement system, provisioners are tasked with hauling cargo between allied settlements, allowing for sharing resources and inventory items.
Characteristics[]
With rank 1 of the Local Leader perk, the player character has the ability to appoint a chosen settler to become a provisioner and link the workshop inventories of two allied settlements, allowing the number of junk components stored in them to be combined and used in both of their buildable areas.
Once appointed, the provisioner will travel in real-time between the connected settlements regardless of distance (i.e. a provisioner linking Sanctuary Hills to the Murkwater construction site will still travel between both locations), usually accompanied by a pack brahmin.
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
  |
This character has no special interactions. | |
Effects of player actions[]
- The player character must appoint settlers from owned settlements to provisioner by tasking them to run supply lines between two settlements. Like any other settler, a provisioner's inventory can be modified by initiating dialogue and trading items with them, they can be also equipped with specific armor and weapons. A provisioner may elect to wear unoccupied power armor if caught in combat near an unoccupied suit.
- A well-armed/armored provisioner can also double as a patrol if they are given the proper gear to engage enemies in battle. If the player character is in combat, nearby provisioners will rush to their aid, and will even fight any enemies that obstruct their routes and fight alongside members of factions allied to the Sole Survivor, such as Minutemen or the Brotherhood of Steel.
- If a provisioner is within a settlement's boundaries they can be reassigned to another activity within that settlement using the workshop interface. If the provisioner was sent from another settlement they will effectively move to the new settlement, their name will not change back to 'Settler' but their pack brahmin will disappear.
- For the purposes of radiant settlement quests, one settler in each settlement is designated a 'settlement leader' who must be spoken to in order to start the quest and to allow it to be handed in. If this leader is assigned as a provisioner, it can be problematic to start and finish radiant settlement quests whenever the leader is not present at the settlement.
Inventory[]
Notes[]
- A map of the currently active trade routes can be found by selecting "SHOW SUPPLY LINES" when looking at the Map tab of the Pip-Boy.
- If a named character (not a generic settler) is designated to be a provisioner, then they will not be renamed provisioner, and will keep their existing interactions.
- Provisioners have immunity to radiation damage so long as they are assigned the role.
- It is possible for a provisioner to die in an attack while traveling between settlements (only if hit by an attack from the player character).
- Provisioners have been found wandering in non-settlement locations (e.g. Diamond City) having a little bit of downtime without their pack brahmin.[verification needed]
- Once provisioners are assigned to travel the Commonwealth, they may engage enemy-held locations in combat, which can draw settlers from nearby settlements over to help as well.
- If a provisioner is reassigned to a different duty, they retain the title of provisioner.
- Provisioners do not use up ammo and grenades in their inventory, similar to settlers.
- As they retain the standard NPC AI package to locate stronger weapons dropped nearby, if the player character does not equip them, provisioners can independently pick up and equip weapons from enemies they kill along their route.
- A provisioner does not have to be at the particular location to set up a supply line there. After assigning a settler to another settlement, they can be selected in workshop mode at the current settlement and made a provisioner that connects their newly assigned settlement to another.
- Example: After choosing to send a Sanctuary settler to Abernathy Farm, and before they leave the workshop area, they can be selected and set as the provisioner to Red Rocket, immediately creating a link between Abernathy and Red Rocket before they have left Sanctuary.
- A settler (or companion dismissed to a target settlement) can be temporarily assigned to supply line duty to allow construction of items requiring raw materials available elsewhere, then assigned to another local duty before they leave the area to keep them local.
With the Automatron add-on and a well-supplied robot workbench, it is possible to assign an automatron as a provisioner. Their ability to be upgraded with stronger weapons and defense far surpassing a human provisioner, as well as given a custom name that can reflect their assigned route, allows for effective armed patrols running supply lines.
- Automatron provisioners with Mr. Handy thrusters are especially practical due to the ability to move quickly, easily overcoming difficult surfaces, including water and less likely to get stuck in narrow pathways where humanoid and bulkier automatron provisioners do.
- One downside of an automatron provisioner is that, when and if they are defeated in a fight, they may lose all their upgrades and revert to an unarmored basic model, contrasted by humanoid provisioners who will keep all equipment they have after being restored, and thus one may have to rebuild and repair automatron provisioners with settlement resources.
- With the appropriate add-ons installed and steps taken to obtain them, it is possible to assign provisioners to allied settlements located on Mount Desert Island and in Nuka-World, which will retain the sharing of resources from Commonwealth settlements.
Appearances[]
Provisioners appear only in Fallout 4.
Bugs[]
- Provisioners and their brahmin can become stuck on top of the Mass Fusion building and will remain there indefinitely.[verified]
- [platforms tag needed] Sometimes, when changing the home city of a provisioner, a robot provisioner may keep their old route as a "ghost" provisioner. As a result, when they become a provisioner at their new location, the old supply route will stay active as well as the new one. It's also possible for a robot provisioner to die and have their route stay active. This does not always happen, as the route may also collapse and need a new provisioner assigned. A possible fix is giving the provisioner a new job at the home settlement before reassigning them to a new home city. [verification overdue]
Gallery[]
A provisioner with their pack brahmin making up a supply line