Fallout Ideas For a New Game or Mods(PS4/5 and XBOX): The Strawman

🧍 CHARACTER OVERVIEW: The Strawman

Role: Enigmatic wandering figure or semi-mythical boss
Faction Affiliation: None (possibly tied to rogue agricultural tech or a dark cult)
Reputation: A ghost story in some settlements, a demon in others. Some say he's a man turned into a husk. Others whisper he’s a prototype scarecrow gone rogue.

🎨 VISUAL DESIGN

1. Silhouette & Shape

Tall, gaunt, elongated limbs
Lurching or hunched walk—spindly like a broken scarecrow
Straw protrudes from joints: wrists, ankles, spine
Wears a stitched-together coat or cloak that flutters unnaturally in the wind

2. Head & Mask

A sackcloth mask with faded paint markings (smile, frown, or stitched mouth)
Buttons, welding glass, or blood-covered bottle caps for eyes
A noose still hangs loosely around his neck, dragging rope behind him

3. Armor and Fabric

Old pre-war farmer overalls fused with rusted armor plating
Farming tools turned into weapon grafts (e.g., rusted sickle arm, embedded hoe blades)
Barbed wire wrapped around his forearms or chest
Tattered Vault-Tec material stitched into his cloak (hinting at a twisted origin)

4. Environment Interaction

Carries a small cloud of insects (flies, crows, or radroaches)
Wherever he stands too long, crops die or mutate grotesquely
Crows flock to him—or flee in terror, depending on lore path

🧠 ORIGIN OPTIONS (Pick One or Use All as Myths)

A. The Experiment Gone Wrong

Created by Vault-Tec in Vault 74B as a psychological terror deterrent—part of a project to study fear conditioning using mythological constructs. He escaped during the vault breach.

B. The Ghoul Farmer

A peaceful farmer turned ghoul, crucified by raiders and left in a cornfield. Something unnatural brought him back—but now he only remembers vengeance and fear.

C. The Folklore Entity

Settlers whisper that The Strawman is summoned when a town betrays its own—especially when they scapegoat someone innocent. He's vengeance embodied.

🔊 AUDIO DESIGN

Voice: Muffled, warped whispers—his voice echoes like someone speaking through a radio buried in straw.
Idle Sounds: Windchimes made of teeth, creaking ropes, crow caws
Combat Growl: He speaks only in nursery rhymes, folk verses, or ominous riddles.

🧨 ABILITIES AND COMBAT STYLE

1. Crowstorm

Summons a wave of radioactive crows that peck and blind enemies for a short duration.

2. Straw Decoy

Creates a burning straw dummy to distract or draw fire. It explodes on contact.

3. Fear Gas

Releases an agricultural pesticide mix that causes hallucinations in players or NPCs (screen distortions, false enemies).

4. Harvester Slam

Slams his sickle-arm into the ground, creating a shockwave that causes bleeding effects and knocks down weaker targets.

📜 QUEST HOOKS

❖ “Burn the Field”

Settlers claim their crops are cursed. Investigating reveals signs of old Vault-Tech tech and a strange figure watching from the fields at night…

❖ “The Strawman Cometh”

A seasonal event where Strawman sightings increase around harvest time. Entire caravans vanish. A traveling cult worships him as a protector against hypocrisy.

❖ “Ashes to Straw”

Betraying a companion or failing to protect settlers may randomly cause The Strawman to start stalking the player—he becomes a personal haunting mechanic.

🕯️ SYMBOLISM AND THEMES

Element	Meaning
Straw	Hollow men, false heroes, fallibility of memory
Scarecrow Mask	Hidden identity, forgotten pain, dehumanization
Farming tools	Twisted productivity turned into violence
Noose	Betrayal, scapegoating, injustice
Crows	Harbingers of truth, death, or manipulation

OPTIONAL VARIANTS

The Burning Strawman – Appears engulfed in flame during a firestorm event or near certain irradiated zones.
The Wooden Strawman – Built by cultists, possessed by tech-ghosts or AI fragments from old farming robots.
The Feral Strawman – A primal variant who stalks the woods or Deadcorn Fields, only appearing at night.

🧩 IN-GAME FUNCTIONALITY & INTERACTIONS

🔻 1. World Presence Types

Type	Location Type	Frequency	Behavior
Wandering Myth	Farmlands, ruined silos	Rare (low spawn rate)	Non-hostile unless provoked; watches silently
Boss Encounter Variant	Deep in Vault 74B ruins	One-time event	Combat-focused, fear-based powers
Phantom Variant	Night-only ghost form	Chance after betrayal	Cannot be damaged; disappears if stared at
Cult Effigy	Seen near cult shrines	Static environment	Emits passive radiation or hallucinatory fog

🗨️ 2. DIALOGUE SYSTEM: Strawman's Riddles & Broken Mind

Strawman’s dialogue should be cryptic, poetic, and reactive. Depending on player choices, some lines may subtly change meaning.

🗨️ Sample Dialogue Snippets:

🟫 “The wheat bows when it knows... treason grows.”
🟫 “I was the bones beneath the bread. Now I break the ones who fed.”
🟫 “Scapegoat? No. Straw. I carry the weight of your guilt.”
🟫 “The soil remembers. The harvest never forgets.”

🔀 Dialogue Tree Outcomes

If you try to apologize:
“Forgiveness is for the living. You buried me too deep.”
If you try to join his cause:
“Then be hollow like me. Burn your name and follow the crows.”
If you mock him:
“The fire that lit your smile will feed my field tonight.”

🌾 3. SETTLEMENT RUMORS AND NPC DIALOGUE

Strawman’s legend should ripple across the Wasteland, with NPCs in various towns offering contradicting tales:

👥 NPC Rumor Examples

Region	NPC Quote
Dry Husk Town	“My granddad said the Strawman comes when you sell out kin. That’s why I keep my rifle pointed at family too.”
Harvest Vale	“We leave a plate of blood corn every red moon. Just in case.”
Shale Gulch	“I saw 'im! Standing right by the silo! Didn't move till I blinked.”
Brokenfield	“They say he was made by Vault-Tec… others say we made him. With our lies.”

These rumors may trigger dynamic “Strawman Sighted” mini-events.

🔮 4. CULT MYTHOLOGY AND FACTION (THE CROOKED ROW)

🏚️ Faction Name: The Crooked Row

Beliefs:

The world ended because of betrayal: family turned on family, politicians lied, Vault-Tec sowed false hope.
The Strawman is not a monster—he’s a judge.
Every lie adds straw to his body; when he’s full, the world burns.

Practices:

Wear sackcloth masks to "purge ego."
Build effigies and sacrifice crops to avoid "The Harvest."
Indoctrinate children with twisted lullabies and agricultural metaphors.

📜 Cultist Chant Example:

“The stalk bends to the blade, the liar to the flame.
We plant truth and reap ash. So let it be.”

Unique Equipment:

"Huskhood" (mask armor)
"Scarecrow Staff" (flaming pitchfork weapon)
"Whispers of the Hollow" (perk: enemies lose AP in fear radius)

🧩 5. QUEST OUTCOMES & ENDINGS

The Strawman should be a thematic mirror. Whether you confront him, ally with him, or reject him, the outcome reveals something about your own sins or loyalties.

🧪 Quest Outcomes:

Outcome	Trigger	Result
🔥 “The Harvest Burns”	You side with him and betray key settlements	The Strawman torches whole fields, disabling food production across the region
🧍 “The Strawman Stands”	You let him go, never fighting	He stalks raider camps, leaving only feathers and silence
🧠 “The Hollow Truth”	You uncover his origin and deactivate his neural core	He collapses silently into dust—crow feathers and static whisper a final warning
💀 “The Scapegoat’s End”	You kill him in battle	He curses you with nightmares—Strawman visions appear randomly while sleeping or resting

🎭 6. VISUAL THEMES & SYMBOLIC SCENES

A field of mannequins that mirror player choices
A silo with a breathing sound—turns out to be built on top of a long-dead Vault entrance
A field of crows, frozen like statues, all facing the player
A memory replay device showing past betrayals reenacted with straw figures

🧠 7. LORE ENTRIES & TERMINALS (Vault 74B or Cult Temples)

📄 Terminal Log Example:

Vault-Tec Experimental Log 74B-12
"Subject STR-012 has begun speaking in nursery patterns. Neural cohesion stable. Purpose of myth-fusion conditioning is yielding results. Overseer recommends ‘Strawman’ as codename."

📄 Cult Scroll Fragment:

“The Hollow Man walks when a truth dies. He was not made. He was bound in lies. Burn the fields. Salt the roots. He listens.”

⚙️ 8. DYNAMIC EVENT TRIGGERS & WORLD INTERACTIONS

The Strawman isn’t just a static boss—he lives within the world’s psychological and thematic systems. Players may trigger his presence through actions, location, or moral choice.

🧠 Dynamic Triggers

Trigger Type	Details
Betrayal	If the player betrays a companion, sells a settler into slavery, or fails a loyalty mission, there’s a % chance the Strawman begins stalking them.
Lying	Dialogues where you lie to allies, especially to protect yourself, stack "Hollow Points" — a hidden Strawman meter.
Wandering Fields	Entering farmlands at night, especially with scarecrow props nearby, might cause hallucinations or vision-based events.
Cult Provocation	Destroying a Crooked Row shrine or killing masked pilgrims triggers a roaming version of the Strawman to begin tailing the player.

🧍‍♂️ 9. COMPANION REACTIONS & STRAWMAN'S EFFECT ON YOUR PARTY

Companions will have individualized reactions to The Strawman based on their backstories, fears, or sins.

🤝 Sample Companion Reactions

Cipher (ex-spy):
“He knows what I did in Anchorage. That… wasn’t a war crime, was it?”
Grub (former raider):
“Man, I’ve seen ghouls stitched with wire, but that thing? He’s like guilt with a grin.”
Darla (settlement leader):
“It’s not a man. It’s a message. I buried the wrong man once. He must know.”

📣 Fear System

When Strawman appears, companions might:

Lose AP temporarily from fear
Refuse to enter certain fields or barns
Attack shadows during hallucinations
Enter a panic loop (if untrained in "Mental Fortitude")

You can use “Companion Willpower Modifiers” or perks to reduce or counteract this.

🧱 10. ENVIRONMENTAL STORYTELLING

Without even showing himself, The Strawman leaves an impact through the world:

🏚️ Setpiece Locations:

The “Field of Names” – Dozens of makeshift crosses and scarecrows, each labeled with a name from a local town. One is the player’s name if triggered late-game.
Burned Effigy Town – A whole farming village burned down in a perfect circle. Straw dummies hang from every doorway.
Vault 74B Nursery – A child's learning room. Strawman's mask painted on a chalkboard with the words: “He watches who watches others.”

🌾 Creepy Details:

Corn that bleeds.
Scarecrows that twitch when stared at too long.
A bed where a companion wakes screaming—"I saw him in the mirror!"

🛠️ 11. STRAWMAN-THEMED GEAR & PERKS

Defeating or aligning with the Strawman unlocks rare psychological or scare-themed equipment.

🧤 Unique Equipment

Name	Type	Effect
"Cloak of Crows"	Chest Armor	+10 Sneak, enemies occasionally panic and flee when you enter combat
"The Crooked Blade"	Melee Weapon	Sickle that applies Terror Bleed – enemies hallucinate for 10s
"Strawmask"	Headgear	Increases Charisma by 1 during intimidation, reduces trust from companions
"Rope Memory"	Aid Item	Psychotropic toxin that reveals one lie spoken by a named NPC
"Crooked Crop Seed"	Placeable Object	Plant in settlements—attracts Strawman cult followers, boosts defense, but reduces morale unless faith is high

🧬 12. POST-ENCOUNTER WORLD CHANGES

The Strawman encounter should change the world depending on how the player handled him.

🌍 Regional Consequences

Outcome	World Effect
Strawman killed publicly	Crooked Row cults become hostile across the Wastes; Strawman becomes martyr-legend
Strawman absorbed or controlled	You gain the “Voice of the Hollow” perk: occasional random hallucinations, but enemies hesitate to attack you
Strawman ignored	Strawman randomly appears during foggy weather, sometimes just to watch—even at major towns
Strawman converted	He becomes a Wandering Ally, only appearing when the player faces betrayal, heavy odds, or is near death

📻 13. RADIO BROADCASTS (IN-GAME LORE DELIVERY)

In true Fallout fashion, the Strawman should be heard through cryptic radio signals:

📡 Wasteland Radio (Static Interference Messages):

“In today’s news: scarecrows walked in Shale Gulch again. Must be the wind… or regret.”
“Remember, kids. Tell the truth. Or the Strawman’s gonna wear your face to church.”

🕯️ Cult Channel (Findable Frequency):

Low chants, field recordings, phrases like:
“He was made of what you left behind. Straw, shame, sin, and silence.”

🧠 BONUS: PLAYER NIGHTMARE SYSTEM (IF CURSED BY STRAWMAN)

If players trigger a curse or hallucination effect, sleeping or resting may randomly launch nightmare sequences:

Nightmare Type	Description
Mirror Dream	You wake up as the Strawman in first-person, committing actions you can’t control
Field Dream	You’re surrounded by whispering mannequins, all reciting lines you’ve said in lies
Guilt Dream	Your companions appear lifeless, crucified with straw limbs replacing their own

🧪 14. VAULT 74B — ORIGIN DUNGEON DESIGN

📍 Overview:

Location: Buried under a ruined agro-combine silo complex
Theme: Psychological experimentation + agricultural automation
Vault Purpose: Vault-Tec project to test fear-based population control using mythological avatars

🧱 Layout:

Zone	Description
Entrance: The Cornlock Silo	Aboveground silo with sealed hatch, blocked by mechanical vines (hacked with agri-terminal)
Level 1: Reclamation Floor	Broken robotics, dead scientists, flickering “Grow Clean, Fear Clean” signs
Level 2: Nursery Wing	Indoctrination rooms: children were shown scarecrow avatars as discipline tools
Level 3: Observation Hall	Terminals show psychological test logs. Chambers full of “patient tapes” where settlers describe dreams of “him.”
Level 4: Growth Chamber	The true body of the Strawman grew here—an amalgam of straw, tech, human remains, and AI subroutines
Final Zone: Mirror Field	A hallucination sequence where the player walks through a holographic field of past lies they’ve told; culminates in a boss or surrender option

👥 15. COMPANION STRAWMAN TRANSFORMATION ARC (OPTIONAL PATH)

If the player mistreats or betrays a companion, there’s a branching arc where that companion becomes “The New Strawman”—not as a villain, but as a tragic justice vessel.

🔁 Quest: “You Left Me Hollow”

Trigger: Betrayal, failure to rescue, or emotional rejection
Quest begins with a nightmare message:

“You said I mattered. Then you left me in the dirt.”

📘 Sequence:

Act I: Companion disappears.
Act II: Strawman sightings increase—his voice sounds like the missing companion.
Act III: Find companion in a corrupted Crooked Row ritual.
Final Choice:
- Save Them (requires max empathy/speech): They regain themselves, unlock “Warden of Hollow” perk.
- Let Them Go: They become a roaming neutral Strawman entity.
- Kill Them: Final line: “At least you didn't lie this time.”

🏚️ 16. CROOKED ROW STRONGHOLD — CULT BASE DESIGN

📍 Overview:

Hidden deep in a mutated apple orchard, this twisted monastery is the home of Crooked Row fanatics.

🔀 Entry Options:

Stealth: Use “Mask of the Hollow” disguise + navigate fruit fermentation tunnels
Combat: Assault through front gate—guarded by hallucinating zealots and straw-based traps
Diplomacy: Bring them a Strawman artifact or betray a town publicly to earn trust

🧱 Key Areas:

Room	Description
The Root Chapel	Central altar, sacrificial field, choir of masked children humming scarecrow hymns
Hall of Harvest	Museum of "traitors" turned into effigies; includes one with your face if reputation is low
Cider Pits	Mutated fermentation tanks; high-radiation stealth zone
The Loom of Lies	Weaving machines that spin straw into ceremonial clothing while spouting false headlines and quotes from terminal logs
The Hollow Chamber	Final inner sanctum: ritual seat of the current cult leader, surrounded by Strawman parts and mimicry tech

📜 17. FULL QUESTLINE — “The Hollowing Harvest”

📖 Main Narrative Arc:

Summary: A sequence of interconnected quests where the player must face the consequences of their lies, betrayals, and silence—culminating in the confrontation or acceptance of The Strawman.

ACT I: Seeds of Silence

Talk to whispering NPCs about "someone watching from the corn"
Investigate fields with dead crops and distorted scarecrows
Discover Vault 74B blueprints in old AgroRobotics terminals

ACT II: Truths Buried Deep

Descend into Vault 74B
Survive hallucinations, memories, and guilt-echoes
Learn about the "Myth-Fusion Avatar Program" and failed prototypes
Confront a Strawman projection that speaks in your companion’s voice

ACT III: The Crooked Row

Cult makes contact: they view you as a “Prime Liar”
Choose whether to ally, infiltrate, or destroy them
Recruit an ex-cultist companion: Sheaf, a defector who’s stitched her past to her coat
Learn the final Strawman was meant to be a collective conscience trigger—now corrupted

ACT IV: The Hollowing

Strawman begins appearing dynamically
Whole town vanishes overnight—leaving only masks
Dream-walking begins unless player confesses past lies to companions

ACT V: Harvest’s End

Final confrontation options:

Path	Description
Destroy	Strawman dies; you hear children laughing in static. Cult splinters.
Embrace	Absorb his memory; gain “Scarecrow Soul” perk (enemies hesitate, but trust is harder to earn)
Replace	You become the new avatar; fast travel now has hallucination events and moral changes
Unravel	Reveal the truth to the Wasteland; lies now carry public consequences (reputation system upgrade)

🎁 OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

Settlement Defenses Perk: “Field of Fright” – Install Strawman effigies in your town; increases fear-based defense bonus but lowers morale
Mini-DLC Expansion Title: “The Hollow One” – features full voice pack, animated dream sequences, and Strawman as a potential Dark Ending companion
Audio Journal Series: "Voices in the Straw" – 10 collectible tapes scattered across the Wastes, chronicling the spread of the Strawman myth

The Strawman in Fallout 5 should be a complex Antihero with dynamic alignment potential, shaped by player actions, faction alliances, and thematic decisions.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the Friend–Foe–Antihero framework for The Strawman, tied to gameplay, narrative depth, and moral systems.

🧭 CORE ALIGNMENT: The Strawman as Antihero Judge

The Strawman is not inherently good or evil. He is:

“The consequence of silence. The avatar of repressed guilt. A reaction, not a revolution.”

Instead of being a static villain or savior, he functions like Fallout’s version of the Grim Reaper—delivering judgment based on how the world fails its own morality.

🩸 OPTION 1: FOE — The Harvester of Hypocrisy

Trigger:

Player lies frequently in dialogue
Betrays or sells out companions
Aligns with exploitative factions (e.g., Slavers, Corrupt Merchants)

Strawman’s Behavior:

Stalks the player in fog-heavy areas or farms
Haunting events escalate (hallucinations, crow attacks, effigies of your allies appear at campsites)
Eventually launches an ambush boss event

“You planted your words like seeds… now reap what you’ve sown.”

Endgame:

A final battle deep in the Hall of Lies (cult’s corrupted orchard)
You can kill, banish, or consume him via experimental Vault-Tech chair (dark ending)

🌿 OPTION 2: FRIEND — The Silent Ally of the Lost

Trigger:

Player protects innocents, resolves conflicts peacefully, tells hard truths
Refuses to scapegoat others during key quests
Sides with settlements against corporate factions or exploiters

Strawman’s Behavior:

Appears passively during storms or attacks
May save you silently in battle: enemies explode in crow swarms or drop dead with straw in their mouths
Can be summoned with special ritual totems made from burned lies (items acquired through quests)

Companion Variation:

He becomes a non-verbal summon in critical moments
Will not follow you like a traditional companion, but helps when justice is required
Whispers in your sleep if you begin straying from your values

⚖️ OPTION 3: ANTI-HERO — Mirror of Your Morality

Trigger:

Mixed alignment: you've done good, but also compromised or manipulated others
You engage in moral gray zones (e.g., lied to save a life, betrayed for the greater good)

Strawman’s Behavior:

Speaks only in mirrored versions of your own past lines
Appears in dreams and moral choice moments
Gives you a choice of reflection—he becomes a waking conscience mechanic

Antihero Outcome:

You can merge with him via Vault ritual or Crooked Row rite:
- Gain "Hollowed Insight": enemies hesitate before attacking; companions become wary
- Dialogue options gain a new category: "Echo" (lets you invoke guilt, fear, or empathy)

🗨️ “You made me. I’m your silence, stitched and set aflame.”

🎭 IN-GAME CONSEQUENCES BY ALIGNMENT

Player Path	Strawman Role	Outcome
Ruthless Liar	Foe	Becomes your executioner
Honest Protector	Friend	Becomes your savior from the shadows
Moral Gray	Antihero	Becomes your fractured mirror and intermittent guide

🧠 DESIGN INTENT

The Strawman elevates player morality into gameplay stakes. He is:

A shifting mirror of what you've done
A consequence, not a cause
A legend who becomes truth only if you fit his myth

Think of him as Fallout's answer to:

The Nameless One (Planescape: Torment)
The Wraith (Shadow of Mordor)
Red Hood (Batman lore: not villain, not hero—just consequence)