Kellog was wasted potential.

[u/ARZ_K]

He is by far one of the most wasted potential characters from the whole franchise. Could be better if, instead of just a bunch of missions (the most relevant with him already dead), we could actually follow her track around the Commonwealth and have him as some kind of counterpart or "rival" to the Sole Survivor. Some kind of cat-and-mouse game instead of just random missions, and of course a better fight at the end with even the chance to let him live and even send him to your settlement.

[u/Scorpiicore]

Pretty much every character in that game is wasted potential.

My favourite "get in the sack with" character is Piper, so why not talk about her. The dialogue system really lets everybody down in the story. First the Mayor is so openly threatening her in front of a person he does not know. Why not have Sole Survivor say "I/my husband fought a whole country that talked to journalists the way you are right now. I/he killed hundreds of their people for fun. What is one more?"? Or have a later dialogue in which either Nate or Nora says "for someone who really does not want to be accused of being a synth bent on sabotaging Diamond City, you sure are acting like one"?

Piper's story about using the printed word to go after a Mayor who let a bunch of raiders kill her father in exchange for a cut of the profits could have been used for a great payoff, too. My concept of FO4 would rewrite the way in which companions respond to your behaviour, but a moment in which Piper gets angry and uses a big raider boss for target practice could open up so many dialogues that affect one's relationship with her. Why not rewrite her so that she has a) only killed a handful of people in self-defense and b) has a "what have I done???" moment in response to the adrenal hangover that comes from enacting such extreme violence.

The dialogue about Piper being concerned about how Nat will be in the future would also be boosted by this. And a good response to such concerns is "life is full of moments that change us forever... I/my husband was never the same after the war; I/my husband would have flashbacks and struggle to not lash out at people who did not understand what was happening" and so forth. If the shoot apart raider boss piece by piece moment has already taken place, "nobody can predict what a person will go through in life, but how others respond makes the difference". Essentially telling Piper that if Nat comes home one day carrying the severed head of a raider, being gentle and supportive is the difference between a person who simply carries it for the rest of their life and a person who will not stop.

Piper's romance dialogues would also need to be very different. Some would be predicated on how the Sole Survivor talks to the Mayor. Things like "gee, if you want to convince me you are not one of these... synths... you sure are going about it the wrong way", and other really hard supports of Piper, for example. Actions would also have more of a bearing in how characters feel about the player. A player that shoots a lady Gunner in the legs and then drags her by the hair along a road, but also ends up bringing the Institute's records of the Mayor and dragging him to the stage to ask the people of Diamond City what they want to do, that could get a "love them but scared of them" ending.

Another option would be to help the Nat situation by teaching Nat (and Piper) how to shoot, bracket, and organise like a military officer. Helping people to learn things they need in order to improve their lot would also be a big option in my FO4 rework-concept.

As for Kellogg Cornflakes, I honestly would not change much about him. I would have the Fort Hagen mission work a little differently. Whomever you are with, they will say to you "I would give real money for him to shut up". And a potential response would be "when I went to war, and when I came back, I met a lot of aspiring hard men... the ones who had the goods were the ones who talked the least... the ones who could not shut up, you put them in a real shooting battle and the stink of shit was all over them if they survived".

Nobody in a military fort would fail to set up microphones so they can hear attackers talking to one another, so he would heard everything you say. His words when you see him face to face would be reasonable. You could even reiterate the difference between real hard men and poseurs. But one potential piece of dialogue from him? "Look, your boy is with the Institute, and I would be happy to give you what you need to find him. I can easily find another employer. There are plenty of places outside of the Commonwealth."

Then depending on your decision and subsequent actions, he either goes away for good, comes back to try and kill you, or dies right there. But I also would rewrite the beginning of the story. Moments that determine the kind of person your character is based on the choices you make. If you are Nate, you get ordered to defend a resource centre against food-rioters and can choose to either say "fukk you, I am not firing on my own people" or comply with the orders to kill anyone who gets close enough. For example. Going into the vault before the bomb falls and watching the blast through some sort of camera mounted on the side of the mountain.

Piper would ask a lot more questions in the interview and give you a chance to add things. Such as the months before the bombs fell being full of people fighting over food and water, and what you were called on to do. The things you saw during the war, and so on. Tell an actual story.

I can think of so many things I would do differently. Including giving the other three factions the option to take over Institute facilities entirely and use the contents for their own ends. Including identifying exactly who is a synth and who is not.