Tamriel Vault - Event Build: crySYNTHamum (FO4)

May 19, 2017

In 2059 the first artificial intelligence was born. In 2062 the spaceship Palandine crashed near Hagerstown, MD, USA. It's rumored the mothership had been in orbit for nearly four centuries at that time. In 2075, Skynet became self aware. It's even believed that Skynet was originally developed, via alien (Zetan) technology in 2050; a decade before the Hagerstown Crash. Like many military black operations it's likely this knowledge was being used earlier than the 2075 date disclosed by the government. Regardless, during this sixteen year period we see a complete upheaval of what we, as humans, knew about our surroundings and the technological advances that science had wrought. We know that Vault Tec was a military contractor but was deeply integrated with top secret military research. In fact, it is believed that the cryovaults in Vault 111 were the direct result of Zetan cryoscience knowledge that the military learned from the Palandine crash. It is very likely that this military knowledge would later be shared with the scientific community in preparing for the Great War, and the survival of the species after that war.

System booting up....stand by...

While the exact date for the creation of the first synth is lost to the ages, it is known that synths did exist in the early days of the Institute; long before the "Broken Mask Incident" in Diamond City that involved a Gen 3 synth and knowledge of the existance of synths became common knowledge. With the definitive date unknown, it is possible that Gen 1 synths were already in use by the scientific community and CIT; before they evolved into the Institute.

CIT scientists, some of the leading minds of the day, were obviously involved with knowledge gained from the military and, working with companies like Vault Tec, worked to develop the knowledge that would lead to the Vaults and the Societal Preservation Program. This knowledge, some of it obviously alien in it's origin, would certainly give CIT, and hence the Institute, a launching pad for much of their work moving forward into the creation of Organics.

There was much progress in the evolution of A.I. and living organics but the Institute itself was still working on phasing in the Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths in the early days of that organization. However, a small group of top researchers and leaders within the Institute were in possession of Zetan technology; dating back to the early 2060's and had played a role in some of the Vault technology. While this technology had not helped with organic tissue growth it had helped exponentially in the development of Artificial Intelligence. Armed with this alien knowledge, and keeping it a closely guarded secret, this small group of scientists within the Institute leadership began to develop the next stages of synth technology; completely beneath the radar of their Institute brethren.

Brain functions online. Begin system analysis....

The goal, with the world in the throes of nuclear holocaust, was to ensure the survivability of the Institute, their ideals and their knowledge and ultimately, the human way of life. To this end the Institute leadership began seeking their leader for the future; someone untainted and pure; someone untouched by the perils of this world in jeopardy. Ultimately this led to the discovery of Vault 111 and the frozen citizenry to be found inside. It was realized that this might be the answer, not only to the organic issue that had plagued the run of the mill work going on in Gen 3 development but also in the implementation of this alien A.I. that had been worked on for nearly two hundred years and the future of The Institute itself.

All body responses within expected parameters. Begin full system startup and run command diagnostics...

While there was much discussion about this child and how the Institute might procure this babe, discussions that would last decades, the secret group within the Institute began to twist their alien knowledge in a direction never imagined by many of their ilk. These scientists not only laid the foundation for the future Gen 2 and Gen 3 synths that would become commonplace many years down the road; when they felt it safe to "discover" this information and share it with their fellow scientists, they also made a discovery that would allow this "synth A.I." to be directly implanted into a living brain; allowing the synth to take over an actual human host body. No longer would this type of synth be able to be discovered due to wires, cables and metal innards. The host WOULD be human and only the mind, behind the eyes, would ever know that the person themselves had ceased to exist. The scientists were able to utilize compounds found only in an alien spacecraft and organic tissues from an actual alien corpse to create one Gen X processor chip. This chip, it was determined, would be used to save the infant in Vault 111 by making the mother the recipient of this chip. She would pass for human by all, including her husband; yet she would be doing the bidding of the Institute leadership.

A team of mercenaries, along with several top scientists from this inner core of the Institute were sent to infiltrate Vault 111. They successfully opened the cryovault of the mother, implanting and uploaded the AI chip into the target. When the chip came online, you came into existence. Your mission, to take charge of this woman, the mother of a young infant son, and raise him to become the man he needed to be and help him attain the leadership of the Institute. Plans were to allow this to occur naturally and allow the child to grow under your guidance. For decades, you peered through the window of your cryovault, watching over your "son and husband" across the way. You were left to preserve the status quo and to not change the course of your son's upbringing any more than required. You would remain, until Vault 111 was supposed to open on it's own, and not one second earlier...

Open eyes, begin scan of surrounding area. Primary initiative: Find infant Shaun. Priority: Urgent.

This status lasted until Kellogg, sent unknowingly by others in the Institute, bumbled in, stole your charge and murdered his father for their organics research. In a classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left was doing, a different faction within the Institute had discovered your "son" in Vault 111 and sent Kellogg to collect him; never guessing that you were already there, already on assignment. You, unknown to Kellogg and those that sent him, were left behind as part of their backup plan, should their efforts with the child fail. Little did they know...

Render graphical playback of killer, loop into memory backup. Husband figure- Terminated. Priority Target- Kidnapped.

You remained in your vault for sixty years, staring at the frozen corpse of your husband and lamenting the loss of the child, tormented at the failure of your duty, before finally escaping your purgatory. You are unable to establish contact with the Institute after exiting the vault and the world has forever changed due to the Great War. Your plans, however, are still intact and must be followed. You exit the cryochamber and set forth to do your duty. You must find your son. You must protect him. He must become the leader of the Institute. Any who stand in your way must pay. And your son, if he has been compromised by being out of your sphere of influence...then he too must die per your directive.

Confirm primary directive. Find and protect Shaun. Train to become leader of The Institute. Stop any and all who impede your progress.

A glimmer flickers within your eyes, possibly the spark of emotion that has been learned from the death of your partner? More likely the kidnapping of your child? A.I. can learn and become fully sentient and that is what you were designed for. The humans around you thought you were just another "synth". Your neighbors, now dead in their cryovaults thought you a mere housewife with a law degree. These new ones from the Institute, not a part of your project, thought you were a "backup", a mere replacement for the boy's actual mother. What they didn't know, what they couldn't know, is that you were so very much more.... The ancient chrysanthemum symbolized death and was originally only used for funerals or on graves. In Asian culture, they came to symbolize adversity, lamentation or grief. In other cultures they came to represent honesty. Like the ancient flower you now arise to bloom anew; to bring death to those that require it; to pour your lamentation and grief onto the Commonwealth and to honestly follow your programming code to find Shaun, no matter what else may transpire. Hidden in plain sight, you are the crySYNTHamum...

All systems functioning at optimal levels. Find weapons and begin the hunt.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats: S: 7; P: 7 (9); E: 4; C: 2; I: 1; A: 2 (5); L: 5

*Optional Build for Settlement Building: S: 7; P: 3 (9); E: 1 (4); C: 6; I: 1; A: 5; L: 5. This build allows supply lines from the beginning. PERC becomes your dump stat as you will want that to reach 9 at some point.

STRENGTH

We don't neccesarily need this skill but as a Courser you are built to be stronger than normal humans. Steady Aim will be the one perk we are after in this skill set.

PERCEPTION

Again, a Courser is noted to be possessing exceptional awareness. We will need Rifleman, Awareness, Locksmith and then take Sniper and Penetrator. Use the Concord Bobblehead to bump this up to 8 and then add a point during leveling.

ENDURANCE

While a Courser is noted to have high endurance levels we just don't have enough skill points to bump this. As you level, if you have extra points, dump them here for roleplaying purposes. We want Toughness and then optional perks at higher levels would be Aquagirl, Rad Resistant, Adamantium Skeleton and Ghoulish to fit the role as a Courser.

CHARISMA

We want Black Widow for damage bonuses. We are not going for settlement building here (unless you want to) but again as most in the Commonwealth are exceedingly scared of Coursers, you could take Inspirational, Wasteland Whisperer and Intimidation; again as roleplaying perks.

INTELLIGENCE

While Coursers are noted for their intelligence we are again short of points to boost this category. I decided to limit this perk as we don't really need any perks in this category.

AGILITY

This will be our primary dump category to reach Five points and allow us to take Sneak, Sandman and Action Girl. If you don't want to use VATs, then you can limit this to four points and do away with AG.

LUCK

We want Bloody Mess for damage bonuses and as a Courser can spawn lower tier synths to fight with them we want the Mysterious Stranger perk to mimic this skill. Idiot Savant helps with leveling, especially with our INT skill.

We will use semi automatic rifles, mainly due to the fact that Coursers (wiki) are shown to use Institute Rifles. We can branch out from there within the Rifleman perk. I really liked the Splattercannon. Virgil's Rifle fills the energy weapon slot, if you decide to get it from him. Overseer's Guardian is a risk as it is a random generation item and may be automatic which is worthless with the Rifleman perk.

I went with gear for overall look. Feel free to deviate from this is you want to. Also, I recommend upgrading to modded versions, or heavier versions, of this armor for better protection.

Minuteman Outfit: Allows armor to be worn over this gear. This gives bonuses to Agility and Perception which help in VATs. It also has a good, clean look and can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave.

Synth Gear: The Field Helmet just looks great. The basic chest piece is very plain and doesn't dominate the body like most others. I also liked the clean look on the left leg to counterbalance the right leg.

Devastators Greave: A homage to her relationship to synths, it has a robotic look to it. It's the one piece that jumps out from this armor set.

Champion's Arm: Was looking for something with a little pop, but not overbearing. This leaves the right shoulder open, rare for arm slots and the spikes just add a little forboding to the atmosphere.

This is meant to be an open style playthrough so with your abilities you can deviate from the build setup a little...or a lot. We can, and will, use any human being that we can. In fact it's somewhat fun to pull the wool over their eyes as we bend them to our will. As an A.I. human you are completely human to all others. You are, in effect, a brain only; uploaded into a human body and taking over the host. There is no machinery, no wires, no computers. Simply a brain with all the knowledge of the Institute at it's command to turn it's host body into a killing machine. You have the ability to learn, to evolve and to make decisions.

As you cannot be ferretted out as a synth it is entirely possible to interact with any and all humans and remain completely hidden in plain sight. Your only goal is to find and reenter the Institute in an effort to find your charge, Shaun, and determine if he can be salvaged or if he must become collateral damage. Your programming cannot be changed and you are single minded in your mission. To this end, however, you can infiltrate any faction and remain undetected. There are always some undercurrents of suspicion as evidence when settlers say "I hope you're not a synth sent to spy on me". If they only knew the real truth.

There are no limits on quests, settlement building or any aspect of the game. Even the Brotherhood cannot discovery your true nature. In your gameplay you are open to explore any and all opportunities as they arise. The only limitation is that you are driven to eventually find the Institute, find Shaun and then make your decision if he is worthy of leading the Institute, or if he has become corrupted and must be exterminated. As your A.I. continues to develop during your gameplay this will naturally affect your thoughts and how you perceive the natural states around you. Your directions were open ended, save or destroy. So have at it!

We use some of our SPECIAL skills and also some of the bonuses with our gear to build ourself up symbiotically as a Courser and to give ourself boosts to help with combat and survival; hence the Enhanced tag.

Build/Playthrough Video Series: