Thomas "Tom" Weatherby, also known as Tinker Tom is the quartermaster and primary repairman for the The Railroad, operating in the Commonwealth in 2287.
Background
Tinker Tom is the engineer, inventor, weapons expert of and also holds the third-highest position of leadership in the Railroad. As the quartermaster of the organization, he is in charge of maintaining the equipment of field agents as well as researching new weapons and gadgets for agents to use in field operations. Tom joined the Railroad under the leadership of Desdemona in 2279 after an Institute grenade wiped out his family farm. Given his intellect, he was assigned to the HQ and became an essential member of the team.
As time passed, he became increasingly eccentric and developed severe psychological problems, suspected to be caused by the extreme stress he was under. When the DIA facility, named "Switchboard," was discovered in 2281, Tom was reassigned to it. It was there he discovered P.A.M.. During his time there, Tom also restored an old handgun for use by newly-promoted heavy agent, Tommy Whispers.
In 2283, an Institute informant "PATRIOT" began attempting to communicate with the outside world. Tom was assigned the task of decrypting the encoded holotapes that were being sent out with escaped synths. Initially unsuccessful, Tom eventually made a breakthrough in 2284 when the coded message was simply two words, "Mass Fusion." He is brilliant and energetic, but also paranoid and constantly fabricates conspiracy theories about the Institute, its synths and their machinations around the Commonwealth.
He is also the only known individual in the Commonwealth who can decode a Courser chip, a requirement for entering the Institute.
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
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This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. | |
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This character is a permanent companion. They grant the - perk. | |
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This character is a temporary companion. | |
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This character starts quests. | |
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This character is involved in quests. | |
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This character is a doctor. |
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This character is a merchant. |  -Sells: Stealth Boy Grenades Tinker Tom Special Combat armor Military fatigues |
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This character can repair items. | Max Repair condition: - |
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This character can modify weapons. |
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This character rents beds. | -.
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Quests
- The Molecular Level: Tinker Tom will decipher the courser chip and optionally can help build the platform.
- Rockets' Red Glare: Tom will accompany the Sole Survivor and Deacon as they lead an assault on the Cambridge Police Station and later pilot the Vertibird.
- The Nuclear Option: Tom will be helping the Railroad in their push into the Institute, working on the teleports.
- Weathervane: Tom will give the Sole Survivor one of his MILAs to be placed at a random location in order to attempt to prove one of his theories.
Other interactions
By progressing the Jackpot missions, Tinker Tom will begin to sell unique armored clothing items and also unlock the ability to add ballistic weave thus drastically increasing their defensive stats.
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Utility coveralls Tinker headgear |
- | - |
Notes
- If deciding to take Tinker Tom's serum the Sole Survivor's health will significantly drop. If one accepts the shot, Deacon will like it while Piper, MacCready, Cait, Curie and Strong will dislike it. If you refuse the shot, Deacon, MacCready, Strong, Curie and Cait will like it.
- He believes the Institute fired the first bomb during the Great War.
- He suspects Deacon to be a time traveler as noted in one of his terminal entries.
- He strongly believes that aliens exists, according to what Deacon says if he accompanies the Sole Survivor during the alien ship crash and to what Tom himself has it written down on his personal computer in the Railroad headquarters. However, there is no dialogue option or other possibility to tell Tom about the crash or even the encounter with an actual alien, should the player character have been able to track it down afterwards.
- Tinker Tom appears to be working on a prototype railway rifle. It explodes while a generic Railroad Agent and Tom are testing it and if looting the weapon, it weighs the same as a normal one. It only does 1 damage and is not upgradeable.
- Tinker Tom may be using drugs, as he can be heard saying that "Everyone's all, 'You've been hitting the chems way too hard.' But I got my eyes wide open, I see." If true, they could be causing, or at least increasing, his paranoia.
- Whenever one finishes one of the Weathervane missions (except the last), he will automatically give a MILA for the next randomized location. When bartering with him, he will have a number of MILAs for sale, but this number does not reflect how many incomplete MILA missions remain.
Appearances
Tinker Tom appears only in Fallout 4.
Bugs
Upon completing the first DIA cache mission for P.A.M., Drummer Boy will tell the Solve Survivor to speak to Tinker Tom. Tinker Tom should mention ballistic weave and have some armored under-apparel for sale but doesn't. This bug will prevent one from applying ballistic weave modifications. [verified]- If the Weathervane missions aren't complete and the Sole Survivor sides with the Institute during End of the Line, the mission will still be active, but reporting back to Tinker Tom won't allow the player to turn in the mission.[verified]
Gallery
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