"Because misery loves company. And also dogs."
Tired of recruiting settlers one at a time? Does your settlement feel less like a bustling community and more like a lineup of identical, silent loners staring blankly at a mutfruit plant? You're building the future of the Commonwealth, but the future looks pretty lonely when it's just Settler and Settler (2) .
Enter Bard's Recruitment Booster. This isn't a mod that just adds a beacon. This is a mod that understands the nuclear family is just as radioactive as everything else around here.
What does this thing actually do?
It adds a new constructible terminal to your workshop menu (under Power → Miscellaneous, because where else would it go?). Build it, wire it up, and flip the switch. From that point on, whenever a new settler comes, there's a chance they didn't come alone. They brought the whole damn tribe.
When a new settler arrives, the Terminal runs the numbers (with Vault-Tec approved efficiency) and rolls for the following extras:
· A Partner (70% Chance): Someone to share the burden of hauling scrap and complaining about the bed situation. They'll even share a surname with the new arrival.
· A Kid (50% Chance): 50% less whining than Shaun, 100% more running around knocking over your carefully placed Nuka-Cola bottles.
· A Pet (30% Chance): A cat or a dog. Finally, someone in the settlement who appreciates you without asking for a job assignment.
· A Robot (10% Chance): Because why not? Even in the apocalypse, someone has to have a weird uncle that's a Protectron.
Yes, the math says you can get all five at once. If you roll a Partner, a Kid, a Pet, and a Robot at the same time... congratulations. You just won the Post-Apocalyptic Family Bingo. That's a full dinner table. Hope you planted enough Tatos.
Wait, Who Are These People?
We raided the Vault-Tec DNA Sequencer (it was just sitting there). This mod injects a whole new generation of faces into the recruitment pool so you don't see the same three mugs walking across the bridge at Sanctuary.
- 30 New Human Males
- 33 New Human Females
- 16 New Ghoul Males (They're smooth in their own way)
- 16 New Ghoul Females
- 23 New Male Kids
- 14 New Female Kids
- 23 New Male Ghoul Kids
- 14 New Female Ghoul Kids
The partner and the kid will intelligently share the settler's surname (or sometimes they won't, families are complex things). So if John Smith shows up, you might get Jane Smith and Timmy Smith. It's almost like they planned it or something.
Faction Fashion (The Terminal Controls)
Here's the fun part. You like dress code. You like uniformity. The terminal lets you pick the flavor of your new partner's outfit. By default, it's set to Random—which means the Commonwealth is a beautiful, chaotic mess of mismatched armor.
But if you're a control freak (and let's be honest, you're playing Fallout 4 settlements, so yes), you can set the partner's faction to:
Minutemen, Brotherhood of Steel, Railroad, Raiders, Gunners, Triggermen, The Forged, Vault Tec, Guards, Enclave. And, if you have the DLCs, Disciples, Operators, The Pack, Wildmen, Trappers, Children of Atom and other Misc from all of those.
How about robots? Oh yeah, pleanty from Automatron and the other DLCs, plus the usual Vanilla steel laborers.
The Fine Print (Compatibility & Jank)
· Soft References: This mod plays nice. It checks if you own Far Harbor, Nuka-World, or the Anniversary stuff. If you have a Husky creation, you might get a Husky pet. If you don't, you'll get a good old Commonwealth Mutt. It's smart like that.
· Performance: This is just a terminal and some scripts that fire when a settler arrives. It doesn't run a constant scan. It shouldn't tank your framerate any more than Preston's endless gratitude already does.
Disclaimer
Bard is not responsible for:
· Accidental incestuous family trees due to RNG naming pools.
· Arguments over who gets the robot's spot at the bar.
· The sudden, inexplicable need for more beds.
Go forth. Populate the Commonwealth. Make it weird.
- Bard
P.S. If you get a settler, their partner, their kid, their cat, AND a Swarm Bot all at once... please post a screenshot. That's legendary difficulty domestic bliss.
Instructions
- Build a terminal by going to Power -> Miscellaneous -> Bard's Recruitment Booster
- Access the terminal.
- Choose Set Default Faction
- Pick a faction, or leave it at Random
- Go back
- Activate Booster.
The next time a settler arrives at the settlement, the booster will work.
Bards Recruitment Booster
Main Mod File
