Character

Characters are individuals appearing throughout the Fallout series.

Non-player
A non-player character (NPC) is any AI-controlled character. While some of these NPCs may interact with the player, others may be hostile mutants or critters that pay no mind to combat. In the Gamebryo games, NPCs are pre-programmed via "packages" in the G.E.C.K. editor. Non-player character records within .esm data files use an NPC_ record signature.

Mentioned-only
A mentioned-only character is any person that does not actually appear in a game, and is mentioned in conversation with NPCs, on holotapes, notes, terminals, or any other source in the specific game.

Player character
The player character is a player's avatar in the game world. These can be designed by them, or some games offer pre-designed player characters to choose from. Character creation is the process of defining one's strengths and weaknesses represented by a set of statistics and includes customization options for physical appearance and personality traits.

The player character can only embody a human in most of the games. Exceptions to this are Fallout Tactics, where recruits can include other races, and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, where one can choose a ghoul as their player character.

Doctors
Doctors are a source of healing throughout the wastelands, and at times serve as vendors. Doctors can be encountered in various places within the wasteland, and can restore HP as well as cleanse those with radiation poisoning. Some also offer other services, such as curing addictions, selling chems, or giving special bonuses. When a player character is injured, doctors may have different opening dialogues, varying based on injury.

Merchants
Merchants or vendors are the primary source of items and equipment in the world of Fallout, aside from scavenging or looting. Merchants usually specialize in a certain area such as weapons and ammunition, food, armor, and clothing. Merchants operate out of either fixed stores or are part of traveling caravans.

Some merchants offer medical aid, rent beds, and repair equipment. To discover which of these are available, the customer needs to interact with each using dialogue choices. Merchants may also give discounts to them as a result of Karma, perks, or sometimes in return for personal favors. Killing a merchant gives one access to the store's wares through a key or directly on the body, however, this is not always the case as often they will just have default loot.