Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Like many video game protagonists, Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor manages to shape the world around them. The fate of the entire Commonwealth is left in their hands. But what would have happened if the Sole Survivor died in Vault 111?
If you enjoyed this Fallout video, check out some of my other Fallout videos:
6 Saddest Fallout Creatures: youtube.com/watch?v=dDfS2kqEjhg
6 More Sad Fallout Creatures: youtube.com/watch?v=3emYWJv3lOI
7 Scariest Fallout Creatures: youtube.com/watch?v=Gxdkkn4R_sQ
Every Fallout Vault: youtube.com/watch?v=HTXKL85lG4w
5 Happiest Fallout Vaults: youtube.com/watch?v=PhJ_veoNxR8
6 Most Fucked-Up Fallout Vaults: youtube.com/watch?v=KZXEXLyTD2w
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What if The Sole Survivor Died in Vault 111? (in text form)
Several events still play out the same way if the Sole Survivor becomes an expired popsicle in Vault 111. Some residents of Sanctuary Hills still make it to Vault 111. Kellogg still gets inside the vault, kills your spouse, and kidnaps Shaun. Whether Kellogg just decides to kill the Sole Survivor too or he just never makes it out of the cryopod is irrelevant. Either way, the Sole Survivor dies.
The Institute synths are created, perfected even, and rumors and speculation run amok all over the Wasteland. With no Sole Survivor to help them, the Minute Men suffer heavy casualties in Lexington at the hands of the raiders. Even if they’re not completely wiped out, they won’t have a place to call home. Maybe the few who made it out of Concord head to Sanctuary. They don’t have the numbers to really make it a place worth living in. It’s only a matter of time before the Minute Men become nothing more than wasteland myth.
The Railroad continue to rescue synths as best they can. Without the help of the Sole Survivor, it seems unlikely that they would be able to get Carrington’s prototype from the Switchboard, as it was viewed as a risky mission even with the Survivor’s help. The biggest thing they have going for them is their secrecy. They operate in private, but not at the same scale as the other two remaining factions. Secrecy isn’t enough, though. When the Survivor finds them, they had just lost the Switchboard, their high-tec headquarters. They’re living in the basement of an abandoned church. They’ve lost safe houses. Every day is another defeat. Eventually those add up, and the Railroad fades away.
The Brotherhood of Steel arrive in the Commonwealth to deal with the Institute, synths, and mutants without the Sole Survivor. Ignoring the Institute for a moment, the Brotherhood wouldn’t really change that much. The Sole Survivor was just a Paladin for a while. They can still get things done. They can take out the Super Mutant Behemoth on the island near the Prydwen. They can secure the nukes. They can send initiates out to get a steady supply of food from local settlements. Where things change is with their war against the Institute. No Sole Survivor means they can’t get insider information about them, they have a much harder time getting Liberty Prime operational again, if they can at all.
Now, there’s the Institute. They were the dominant force in the Commonwealth before the Sole Survivor, and they will continue to be without him, or her. Kellogg never has to die at the Survivor’s hands. The Institute, despite Father not being fond of Kellogg, uses him to get things done. There’s nothing that the Institute really needed the Sole Survivor for, he merely took Kellogg’s place.
Who claims the Commonwealth really comes down to one thing, who gets the beryllium agitator first, the Brotherhood of Steel or the Institute. It is essential for getting Liberty Prime operational again, but it’s just a helpful advantage to the Institute. Between the Coursers and Kellogg, there’s no way the Institute doesn’t get it first.
Without the Sole Survivor, The Minute Men fade away. The Railroad, now going up against a more powerful Institute, face ever increasing resistance when trying to rescue synths. The Brotherhood fail in their campaign to “purify” the Commonwealth. The Institute takes control of the Commonwealth.
That’s looking at the big picture, but there are smaller stories being told. Like the companions. No Sole Survivor changes things for all of them.
Codsworth: Codsworth lives his life assuming his owners were killed, which they were. He’ll do what he did before the Sole Survivor found him post-war, which is just surviving. He traveled to Concord once, maybe he’ll explore what remains of the Commonwealth until he’s killed or he begins to break down.
Piper: When we first meet Piper she had been locked out of Diamond City. With no Sole Survivor to vouch for her, she’ll likely find another way back into the city.
Like many video game protagonists, Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor manages to shape the world around them. The fate of the entire Commonwealth is left in their hands. But what would have happened if the Sole Survivor died in Vault 111?
If you enjoyed this Fallout video, check out some of my other Fallout videos:
6 Saddest Fallout Creatures: youtube.com/watch?v=dDfS2kqEjhg
6 More Sad Fallout Creatures: youtube.com/watch?v=3emYWJv3lOI
7 Scariest Fallout Creatures: youtube.com/watch?v=Gxdkkn4R_sQ
Every Fallout Vault: youtube.com/watch?v=HTXKL85lG4w
5 Happiest Fallout Vaults: youtube.com/watch?v=PhJ_veoNxR8
6 Most Fucked-Up Fallout Vaults: youtube.com/watch?v=KZXEXLyTD2w
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/mittensquad
SUBSCRIBE! bit.ly/MittenSquad
Twitter: bit.ly/MittenSquadTwitter
What if The Sole Survivor Died in Vault 111? (in text form)
Several events still play out the same way if the Sole Survivor becomes an expired popsicle in Vault 111. Some residents of Sanctuary Hills still make it to Vault 111. Kellogg still gets inside the vault, kills your spouse, and kidnaps Shaun. Whether Kellogg just decides to kill the Sole Survivor too or he just never makes it out of the cryopod is irrelevant. Either way, the Sole Survivor dies.
The Institute synths are created, perfected even, and rumors and speculation run amok all over the Wasteland. With no Sole Survivor to help them, the Minute Men suffer heavy casualties in Lexington at the hands of the raiders. Even if they’re not completely wiped out, they won’t have a place to call home. Maybe the few who made it out of Concord head to Sanctuary. They don’t have the numbers to really make it a place worth living in. It’s only a matter of time before the Minute Men become nothing more than wasteland myth.
The Railroad continue to rescue synths as best they can. Without the help of the Sole Survivor, it seems unlikely that they would be able to get Carrington’s prototype from the Switchboard, as it was viewed as a risky mission even with the Survivor’s help. The biggest thing they have going for them is their secrecy. They operate in private, but not at the same scale as the other two remaining factions. Secrecy isn’t enough, though. When the Survivor finds them, they had just lost the Switchboard, their high-tec headquarters. They’re living in the basement of an abandoned church. They’ve lost safe houses. Every day is another defeat. Eventually those add up, and the Railroad fades away.
The Brotherhood of Steel arrive in the Commonwealth to deal with the Institute, synths, and mutants without the Sole Survivor. Ignoring the Institute for a moment, the Brotherhood wouldn’t really change that much. The Sole Survivor was just a Paladin for a while. They can still get things done. They can take out the Super Mutant Behemoth on the island near the Prydwen. They can secure the nukes. They can send initiates out to get a steady supply of food from local settlements. Where things change is with their war against the Institute. No Sole Survivor means they can’t get insider information about them, they have a much harder time getting Liberty Prime operational again, if they can at all.
Now, there’s the Institute. They were the dominant force in the Commonwealth before the Sole Survivor, and they will continue to be without him, or her. Kellogg never has to die at the Survivor’s hands. The Institute, despite Father not being fond of Kellogg, uses him to get things done. There’s nothing that the Institute really needed the Sole Survivor for, he merely took Kellogg’s place.
Who claims the Commonwealth really comes down to one thing, who gets the beryllium agitator first, the Brotherhood of Steel or the Institute. It is essential for getting Liberty Prime operational again, but it’s just a helpful advantage to the Institute. Between the Coursers and Kellogg, there’s no way the Institute doesn’t get it first.
Without the Sole Survivor, The Minute Men fade away. The Railroad, now going up against a more powerful Institute, face ever increasing resistance when trying to rescue synths. The Brotherhood fail in their campaign to “purify” the Commonwealth. The Institute takes control of the Commonwealth.
That’s looking at the big picture, but there are smaller stories being told. Like the companions. No Sole Survivor changes things for all of them.
Codsworth: Codsworth lives his life assuming his owners were killed, which they were. He’ll do what he did before the Sole Survivor found him post-war, which is just surviving. He traveled to Concord once, maybe he’ll explore what remains of the Commonwealth until he’s killed or he begins to break down.
Piper: When we first meet Piper she had been locked out of Diamond City. With no Sole Survivor to vouch for her, she’ll likely find another way back into the city.
