Speech (Fallout 3)

For a cross-game overview of this skill, see Speech.

“The ability to communicate in a practical and efficient manner. The skill of convincing others that your position is correct. The ability to lie and not get caught.”— In-game description

Speech is a skill in Fallout 3. It determines the chance to succeed in a speech challenge.

Initial level

{\text{Initial level}}=2+(2\times {\text{Charisma}})+\left\lceil {\frac {\text{Luck}}{2}}\right\rceil

Example: A starting Charisma of 5 and Luck of 5.

2+(2\times 5)+\left\lceil {\frac {5}{2}}\right\rceil =15

During dialog with characters, you may be presented with a Speech Challenge. A Speech Challenge is a response preceded by the word "[Speech XXX%]", 'XXX' being the percentage chance of success (e.g. [Speech 25%]). Speech Challenges open up additional possibilities in dialog with characters, such as getting them to reveal information they would otherwise keep hidden or pay larger sums of bottle caps for a task. Not every Speech Challenge will have the same chance of success, since some characters may be harder to persuade than others. If failed, a Speech Challenge cannot be repeated.

The percentage of success is determined by various factors. The primary factor is your Speech skill. The higher it is, the better the chance of success. Charisma itself has an effect on your percentage of success. A character with a 1 in Charisma and 100 in Speech will be less effective than one with a 10 in Charisma and a similar Speech level. Having a weapon drawn will have a slight effect on your possibility of success. Finally, succeeding in a Speech Challenge with a character will make future Speech Challenges with that character easier to pass, if applicable.

Certain Speech challenges are not checked against your Speech skill, but against other factors. These can include your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. statistics, certain perks (Lady Killer/Black Widow, Child at Heart, etc.), or your Karma. In these cases, "[Speech]" will be replaced with the relevant item being checked against ([Strength], [Karma], [Toughness], etc.). Such checks will occasionally override normal Speech Challenges. Note that these options, unlike a Speech check, will automatically succeed since you have met the requirement. Karma is an exception, as being evil or good will influence the response.

Speech success chance

The precise chance of success appears to be Charisma Bonus * Speech Skill / Difficulty, where "difficulty" depends on the particular Speech Check, but not on game difficulty level. Thus, doubling your Speech skill doubles your chance of success, and Charisma gives a non-linear bonus according to this table:

Charisma	Multiplier
1	100%
2	106%
3	114%
4	123%
5	133%
6	145%
7	158%
8	173%
9	189%
10	206%

Speech Challenge Difficulty	XP reward
Very Easy	5
Easy	10
Average	20
Hard	30
Very Hard	50

Sample difficulties for early Speech Checks are 215 to convince Lucas Simms to increase your reward, 147 to convince Gob to give you information, and 111 to convince Jericho to talk to you. Thus a 5 Charisma, 50 Speech character has a 66 base ability, and has a 31%, 45%, and 60% chance with these checks respectively. Having a weapon raised increases the difficulty by about 10%, so with a weapon up the chances would be 28%, 41%, and 54%.

Lucas Simms is actually a fairly hard sell; few Speech Checks are harder than about 170. The hardest Speech Check in the game involves the AntAgonizer or Mechanist, and is about 457.

Speech challenges

Place (or closest map marker)	Location in place	Person	Point in conversation
Various	(See Fallout 3 random encounters)	Mel	Convince Mel to leave you alone OR convince him to take 5 caps and leave you alone
Various	(See Fallout 3 random encounters)	Ghoul wastelanders/slaves with refrigerator of purified water	Convince survivors to split their water with you
Various	(See Fallout 3 random encounters)	Scavenger offering Nuka-Cola Quantum for 100 caps	Convince the scavenger to sell the Nuka-Cola Quantum for 50 caps (note: has been spotted near Girdershade and also in the northwest region, south Fort Constantine)
Vault 101	Outside of classroom before taking G.O.A.T.	Butch DeLoria	Convince the Tunnel Snakes to leave Amata alone
Vault 101	During escape in hallway close to Butch's apartment	Butch DeLoria	Convince Butch DeLoria to run from the radroaches OR to return to the apartment and fight them himself (two different choices)
Vault 101	During Trouble on the Homefront sidequest	Overseer	Convince Overseer to step down
Springvale	Silver's Ranch	Silver	Convincing Silver to pay you 400 caps
Megaton	The Clinic	Doc Church	Learn about Leo's Drug Habit
Megaton	The Clinic	Doc Church	Ask about locating a Lipoplasticator or Micro Dermal Graftilizer. Note: Must activate Replicated Man quest first.
Megaton	Craterside Supply	Moira Brown	Lie to Moira about scouting the Super-Duper Mart (Quest:Wasteland Survival Guide)
Megaton	Craterside Supply	Moira Brown	Convince Moira that writing the Wasteland Survival Guide is a bad idea. This will end the quest and give you the Dream Crusher perk.
Megaton	Craterside Supply	Moira Brown	Find any frag mine then lie to Moira about Minefield .
Megaton	Craterside Supply	Moira Brown	Lie to Moira about the mole rat repellant (Quest:Wasteland Survival Guide)
Megaton	Craterside Supply	Moira Brown	Ask her if she has info on the android. (Quest:The Replicated Man)
Megaton	Moriarty's Saloon	Colin Moriarty	Convincing Colin Moriarty to speak about dad
Megaton	Moriarty's Saloon or anywhere else you can find him	Jericho	Convincing Jericho to tell you what he knows about the Wasteland
Megaton	Moriarty's Saloon	Mister Burke	Convince Mister Burke to pay you 1000 caps for destroying the town
Megaton	anywhere you find him	Lucas Simms	Convince Lucas Simms to pay you 500 caps for disarming the bomb
Megaton	Moriarty's Saloon	Gob	Convince Gob to talk about your father
Megaton	Moriarty's Saloon	Nova	Convince Nova to tell you Moriarty's password
Megaton	The Brass Lantern, Water processing plant	Leo Stahl	Confront Leo Stahl about his drug problem
Grayditch	Outskirts of Grayditch	Bryan Wilks	Convince Bryan Wilks that everything will be fine
Grayditch	Outskirts of Grayditch	Bryan Wilks	Convince Bryan Wilks to give you the Grayditch dumpster key
Marigold station	Doctor Lesko's lab	Doctor Lesko	Convincing him to give his reward after killing the Marigold ant queen
Marigold station	Maintenance Room	Lug-Nut	Convince Lug-Nut to leave you with your naughty nightwear
Northwest Seneca Station	Home of Murphy and Barrett	Murphy	Convince Murphy to pay you 30 caps for Sugar Bombs instead of 15
Meresti Metro station	Home of The Family	Robert	Convince Robert that you are ok
Meresti Metro station	Home of The Family	Vance	Convince Vance that you don't need further explanation
Meresti Metro station	Home of The Family	Vance	Convince Vance to give you the access code to speak to Ian West
Various	(See Fallout 3 random encounters)	Escaped Slaves/Wasteland Settlers	Convince Escaped Slaves/Wasteland Settlers to share half the water they found
Meresti Metro station	Home of The Family	Justin	Convince Justin to give you the access code to speak to Ian West
Meresti Metro station	Home of The Family	Ian West	Convince Ian West to go home
Meresti Metro station	Home of The Family	Vance	Convince Vance to leave Arefu alone
Canterbury Commons	Main street	Uncle Roe	Convince Uncle Roe to pay you 200 more caps for stopping the feud between AntAgonizer and the Mechanist
Canterbury Commons	AntAgonizer's lair	AntAgonizer	Convince AntAgonizer to abandon her life as a super-villain
Canterbury Commons	Robot repair center	Mechanist	Convince the Mechanist to abandon his life as a super-hero
Dukov's Place	Inside	Dukov	Ask for Dukov's special key for Mister Crowley during the quest You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Dukov's Place	Inside	Dukov	Ask where Fort Constantine is after asking where Mister Crowley died (Part of You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head)
Dukov's Place	Inside	Cherry	Convince her to follow you to Rivet City
Paradise Falls	Main entrance	Grouse	Everyone has a price...
Paradise Falls	Eulogy's Pad	Eulogy Jones	Convince him to sell the child slaves for 1200 caps instead of 2000 caps.
Paradise Falls	In front of Eulogy's Pad	Forty	Convince him he's being paid too little during the quest Rescue from Paradise
Paradise Falls	Inside the child slave house	Squirrel	Convince him and Sammy to leave without Penny
Paradise Falls	Inside the child slave house	Penny	Convince her to leave without Rory Maclaren(Note: This speech challenge is unavailable if you already convinced Squirrel and Sammy to leave without her)
Arefu	Guarding the entrance	Evan King	Asking why he is so scared
Big Town	Walking around or in a building	Red	Ask for 200 more caps (results in negative Karma)
Big Town	Walking around or in a building	Red	Ask about Lipoplasticator. (note: Part of quest The Replicated Man... also available from Dr. Preston in Rivet City)
Big Town	Walking around or in a building	Pappy	You came here with Bittercup. After speaking with Bittercup.
Big Town	The Clinic	Timebomb	"It wasn't free" After saving him.
Underworld	The Chop Shop	Doctor Barrows	Asking about Mister Crowley
Underworld	The Chop Shop	Doctor Barrows	Asking Doctor Barrows to wake Reilly
Underworld	The Chop Shop	Doctor Barrows	Convince Doctor Barrows to reveal information related to The Replicated Man without paying.
Underworld	Walking around main concourse	Patchwork	Convincing Patchwork to speak about Mister Crowley
Underworld	Walking around main concourse	Quinn	Convincing Quinn to speak about Mister Crowley
Underworld	The Ninth Circle	Ahzrukhal	Convincing Ahzrukhal to speak about Mister Crowley
Underworld	Walking around main concourse	Winthrop	Asking Winthrop for information about The Replicated Man
Underworld	Walking around main concourse	Winthrop	Asking Winthrop for information about Mister Crowley
Underworld	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle)	Carol	Asking Carol for information about Mister Crowley
Underworld	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle)	Mister Crowley	Convince Crowley you killed Ted Strayer (if you did not) during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Underworld	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle)	Mister Crowley	Convince Crowley you killed Dukov (if you did not) during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Underworld	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle)	Mister Crowley	Convince Crowley you killed Dave (if you did not) during You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
Underworld	Carol's Place (Across from The Ninth Circle)	Mister Crowley	Ask Crowley for directions to Fort Constantine after giving him the last key in You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head
GNR building plaza	Galaxy News Radio	Three Dog	Convince Three Dog to tell you about Dad without first helping him
Tenpenny Tower	Front Gate Intercom	Chief Gustavo	Tell him you have an offer for Mr. Tenpenny and convince him to let you in for free.
Tenpenny Tower	Inside Tenpenny Tower	Chief Gustavo	Convince Gustavo that clearing out the ghouls is worth more than 500 caps.
Tenpenny Tower	Inside Tenpenny Tower	Mr. & Mrs. Wellington	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower	Inside Tenpenny Tower	Mr. Ling	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower	Inside Tenpenny Tower	Ms. Montenegro	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower	Inside Tenpenny Tower	Ms. Lancaster	Convince Tenpenny to let the ghouls move in, Tenpenny Tower.
Tenpenny Tower	Inside Tenpenny Tower	Security guard	The security guard on top of the Tenpenny Tower before the door to Mr. Tenpenny.
Oasis	Inside Oasis	Tree Father Birch	Ask who is requesting to see you.
Oasis	Inside Oasis	Branchtender Linden	Ask how he came to be at Oasis.
Oasis	Inside Oasis	Sapling Yew	Ask what Harold is afraid of.
Ranger compound	Inside the compound	Reilly	Offer to assist with collecting mapping data after completing Reilly's Rangers.
Republic of Dave	Capitol Building	Dave	Tell him you are an ambassador from the wastelands
Republic of Dave	Capitol Building	Dave	Ask for the key for Mister Crowley during "You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head" (quest)
Republic of Dave	Republic of Dave	Bob	Talk Bob into running for President
Republic of Dave	Republic of Dave	Rosie	Talk Rosie into running for President
Republic of Dave	Republic of Dave	Shawna	Convince Shawna that you have "Dave Relics" for the museum (she'll buy anything you want to sell if successful)
Temple of the Union	Somewhere inside the building	Hannibal Hamlin	During the quest Lincoln's Profit Margins(optional quest) you can sell the items to him for a speech check each time with an increasing difficulty. Note you can then pickpocket them back off him, but can only re-sell the hat back, and if you already did the speech check there will not be another speech check."
Lincoln Memorial	In the side Door on the left of the main stairs	Leroy Walker	During the quest Lincoln's Profit Margins(optional quest) you can sell the items to him for a speech check each time with an increasing difficulty. The speech check will be there even if you already did it to Hannibal.
Rivet City	Rivet City science lab	Madison Li	Convince Dr. Li to help you (gives you five stimpaks)
Rivet City	In Rivet City	Ted Strayer	Ask for the key for Mister Crowley during "You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head" (quest)
Rivet City	In Mid Deck	Abraham Washington	During the quest Lincoln's Profit Margins(optional quest) you can sell the items to him for a speech check each time with an increasing difficulty. Note that if you already did the speech check and sold the items to Hannibal then pickpocketed them back, there will not be another speech check."
Rivet City	In Rivet City	James Hargrave	Convince him to run away from home (Note: Results in Karma loss, part of unmarked quest The Runaways)
Rivet City	Bridge tower	Private Jones	Convince Private Jones of an incident on the Flight Deck (gets him out of the room, possibly to raid armory)
Rivet City	Weatherly Hotel	Vera Weatherly	Ask her about rumors (Note: Can be done at least three times. Possibly automatic chance for success on each.)
Rivet City	Rivet City Marketplace	Bannon	Ask about the history of Rivet City (Note: Possibly automatic chance for success)
Rivet City	Top of Bridge Tower	Mister Lopez	Convince him to not commit suicide by jumping off the tower
Rivet City	Capitol Preservation Society	Abraham Washington	Ask him how he knows so much about the Declaration of Independence
Agatha's house	Agatha's house	Agatha	Convince Agatha that finding the Soil Stradivarius is worth a reward
National Archives	National Archives Strongroom	Button Gwinnett	Convince him that you are Thomas Jefferson there to retrieve the Declaration of Independence
Girdershade	Outside Sierra Petrovita's shack	Ronald Laren	Convince Ronald to pay extra caps for the naughty nightwear (note: unmarked quest Grady's Package)
Girdershade	Outside Sierra Petrovita's shack	Ronald Laren	After accepting The Nuka-Cola Challenge from Sierra, convince Ronald Laren to pay double for the Nuka-Cola Quantum
Girdershade	Inside Sierra Petrovita 's shack	Sierra Petrovita	Convince Sierra to give you The Nuka-Cola Challenge without taking her tour.
Girdershade	Inside Sierra Petrovita 's shack	Sierra Petrovita	Convince Sierra to tell you the secret prize for completing The Nuka-Cola Challenge before accepting it.
Nuka-Cola plant	Factory Floor	Milo	Convince Milo you are a factory employee
Red Racer factory	Outside front door	Goalie Ledoux	Convince Goalie Ledoux to pay you 400 caps for the Nuka-Cola Clear formula (only during The Nuka-Cola Challenge)
Tranquility Lane	Neusbaum residence or lemonade stand outside	Timmy Neusbaum	Convince Timmy that his parents are getting a divorce, thus making him cry for Betty
Tranquility Lane	Rockwell residence	Janet Rockwell	Convince Mrs. Rockwell that her husband is cheating. This will break up their marriage for Betty
Little Lamplight	Front Gate area	Mayor MacCready	Convince the Mayor to let you into Little Lamplight for the first time
Little Lamplight	roaming	Mayor MacCready	After speaking to Eclair or Lucy about possible cave fungus trade, convince the Mayor (via threats) to give you his own supply (note: negative Karma, MacCready also warns not to expect any more 'good will' from Little Lamplight, unconfirmed what this entails.)
Little Lamplight	Front Gate area	Knock Knock	Convince Knock Knock that her joke was funny (Note: can do this challenge over and over again)
Little Lamplight	Murder Pass Gate area or roaming	Sammy	After Princess refuses to tell you how she got her nickname, convince Sammy to reveal the details. (note: Sammy is one of the children rescued from Paradise Falls in Rescue from Paradise)
Little Lamplight	Front Gate	Sticky	After accepting to escort him to Big Town get Sticky to shut up.
Raven Rock	Area 3B-right outside your cell	Enclave officer	Convince the guard that President Eden allowed you to leave your cell
Raven Rock	Area 1A	President Eden	Convince him to destroy himself
Citadel	Citadel laboratory	Knight Captain Gallows	Ask him his real name
Citadel	Citadel laboratory	Knight Captain Dusk	Insult her and then speak to her again to make up for it
Jefferson Memorial	Rotunda	Colonel Autumn	Convince him to give up (You will encounter this speech check regardless of whether or not you destroyed Raven Rock.)
Jefferson Memorial	Rotunda	Colonel Autumn	Convince him to walk away
Jefferson Memorial	Taft Tunnel	Dr. Madison Li	Convince her to give Garza Buffout instead of stimpaks
Jefferson Memorial	Taft Tunnel	Dr. Madison Li	Convince her that Garza should be left behind
Outcast outpost	Stairs	Defender Morrill	Convince him that you're an Outcast and outrank him (Only works while wearing Outcast power armor)
Operation: Anchorage	Simulation	General Jingwei	Convince General Jingwei to surrender.
Operation: Anchorage	Simulation	Quartermaster	Along with your requested gear you will also receive a scoped Gauss rifle
The Pitt	The Mill	Brand	Ask what he wants.
The Pitt	Train tunnel	Ramsey	Convince him that you are the guy from The Pitt.
Broken Steel	Underworld	Griffon	Convince him that you won't tell anything, if he cuts the share 50/50.
Broken Steel	Holy Light Monastery	Mother Curie III	Convince her that she should stop with the holy water.
Mothership Zeta	Cryo lab	Elliott Tercorien	Convince him to leave without waking up other members of his squad.
Point Lookout	Herzog Mine	Kenny	Convince him to let you stay.

Strategy

In addition to counting towards the Silver-Tongued Devil achievement, successful Speech Challenges in Fallout 3 can yield the player any number of benefits though experience is always rewarded for a successful Speech check and is influenced by Well Rested status and the Swift Learner perk. Other rewards may include: a significant increase in caps for completing quests, keys or passwords, Karma, additional items, or even the chance to peacefully resolve some quests without the need for violence.

Unlike Barter (which will affect a great many transactions in the game), Speech skill will only affect specific dialogue options for the non-player character's that present speech challenges in the game. Putting a large number of skill points into Speech, or selecting it as a Tag skill assures that your character will be very, very adept with a fairly uncommon occurrence in the game mechanics.

With Speech challenges, you only have one chance. Since even a high Speech skill will not guarantee success on harder speech challenges (it will guarantee it on easier challenges, however, as long as 100% is displayed), if you're serious about succeeding in a Speech challenge, you're probably going to be careful enough to save the game before rolling the dice anyway. Using this strategy, a higher Speech skill will only increase your probability of success, which translates to fewer game reloads until you succeed. Considering this, spending ten points to increase from a Speech of 30 to a Speech of 40 is likely to be completely unnoticeable in actual practice.

It is not difficult to save the game right before initiating dialogue with most non-player characters in the game. In circumstances where a non-player character will initiate conversations with you that can include speech challenges (such as Bryan Wilks, Lug-Nut, or Goalie Ledoux), these non-player characters will only appear under predictable circumstances (nearing Grayditch, obtaining the naughty nightwear, or arriving at the Red Racer factory); thus, saving the game just before encountering these non-player characters will allow you to use the same strategy listed above. For non-player characters who can present multiple Speech Challenges—such as Bryan Wilks or Vance—it is possible to choose the option to stop speaking to them after succeeding in the first Speech Challenge, save the game, and then talk to them again to attempt the second Speech Challenge.

Ways to increase Speech

Permanent

Leveling up (10+INT (+3 with Educated perk))
Bobblehead - Speech (+10)
Lying, Congressional Style (+1 or +2 with Comprehension)
Paradise Lost (+1 or +2 with Comprehension)
Survival Expert (+2, 4 or 6)
Scoundrel (+5 with each rank)
Tag! (+15)
Yew's bear charm (+10)

Temporary

Note: Only items adding +5 or more are included.

Impartial Mediation (+30 with neutral Karma)
Ant queen pheromones (+2-6 depending on current Charisma, a perfect Charisma of 10 will see no benefit.)
Grape Mentats (+2-10 depending on current Charisma, a perfect Charisma of 10 will see no benefit.)
Pre-War businesswear (+5, includes "Dirty" and "Grimy")
Naughty nightwear (+10)
Button's wig (+10)
Lincoln's hat (+5)
General Chase's overcoat (+5)
Paulson's outfit (+5)

Skills

Fallout		Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · First Aid · Doctor · Sneak · Lockpick · Steal · Traps · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter · Gambling · Outdoorsman

Fallout 2		Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · First Aid · Doctor · Sneak · Lockpick · Steal · Traps · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter · Gambling · Outdoorsman

Fallout 3		Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · Explosives · Medicine · Sneak · Lockpick · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter

Fallout: New Vegas		Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Explosives · Medicine · Sneak · Lockpick · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter · Survival

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game		Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · Explosives · Athletics · Medicine · Sneak · Lockpick · Pilot · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter · Survival

Fallout Tactics		Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · First Aid · Doctor · Sneak · Lockpick · Steal · Traps · Science · Repair · Pilot · Barter · Gambling · Outdoorsman · Speech