Mentats

Mentats are a brand of nootropic chems in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout Tactics, Fallout: The Board Game, and Van Buren.

Background
The chalky red pills manufactured by Med-Tek Laboratories were a popular recreational drug before the Great War, favored by consumers for their effect on creativity. The active ingredient is a powerful nootropic that increases memory-related functions, and speeds other mental processes. Students and those in other fields requiring intensive thought would also take Mentats for its mental benefits, but Mentats would gain a reputation as being a drug for beatniks and armchair philosopher. The effect of Mentants is temporary, leaving the user tired and sluggish once it wears off. The drug seems to have a profound effect on a developing adolescent mind, which results in a permanent and noticeable intelligence increase. Mentats can further be used by those suffering from Alzheimer's disease to curb the degeneration of mind and keep the user sharp and lucid when they would otherwise be delirious and unattentive. However, excessive consumption could also result in health complications, including recurring migraines from withdrawal and even worsening or developing debilitating neurological disorders. Coupled with a high addiction rate, Mentats were and still are a double-edged sword.

The high addiction rate of Mentats was of no concern to Med Tek and was designed as such. Med Tek would practice pre-seeding areas it planned on selling to with free drugs to further drive sales of Mentats brand (as well as Fixer). The seeding of areas predominantly targeted school districts, such as Shaw High School, where Principal Ronald Tanner would use both Rusty Burton and the book return system to distribute Mentants around Shaw High school. To further target children, Med Tek started developing enticing fruit-flavored varieties and offering them as prizes to win at the National Archives after completing a basic history quiz.

Mentats packages (available both as cardboard packs and tins) sold well, with their popularity surviving the Great War and making them a popular drug across the wasteland. Some chemists even figured out how to iterate on the design and create special blends of Mentats. The professor from Broken Hills allegedly developed an easy method to mass-produce Mentats, likely owing to its ubiquitous nature across the country, even years after production ceased.

Mentats


Mentats are most useful for characters with low Intelligence and Perception, as they grant a useful bonus for both these SPECIAL stats. The downside however, is that they are addictive.

Grape Mentats


These Mentats do not increase Intelligence and Perception; instead, they only increase Charisma.

Berry Mentats


Berry Mentats do not have the Perception bonus that normal Mentats bring, only increasing Intelligence and in Fallout 4 provide enemy highlighting.

Orange Mentats


Orange Mentats do not have the Intelligence bonus that normal Mentats bring, as they only increase Perception.

Party Time Mentats


Party Time Mentats are a crafted variant of Mentats made by the Courier, requiring a Science skill of 50 and can be produced at any campfire.

Behind the scenes
The name "Mentats" is a reference to Frank Herbert's novel Dune, as in the wake of humanity rejecting artificially intelligent computers and robots, "Mentats" are humans trained for computer-like mathematical and logical computations. The pills are colored red. Red-stained lips are a distinguishing characteristic of a Dune Mentat.