Throughout the Fallout franchise players have been able to create just the type of character they like thanks to the freedom of creativity Bethesda has provided. An immersive character creation system, paired with a long chart of perks is what has allowed the game to become so versatile over the years and to never bore its fanbase.
While many of the perks are interesting and extremely powerful, some of them are just a little bit crazy. They might introduce very niche gameplay mechanics that most players would probably never use anyway, or sometimes they're just plain inappropriate and strange in every possible way. Either way, they're worth a shot for players wanting to a very different and silly Fallout experience.
10 Wasteland Whisperer - Fallout 4
First introduced in Fallout 4 and included in Fallout 76, the Wasteland Whisperer perk is found in the Charisma tree and requires a whopping Charisma 9. It basically allows the player to pacify and command various creatures that would otherwise instantly attack the player in the wasteland. Yes, even Deathclaws, provided they're lower in level.
At its initial rank, the player can only pacify a creature by aiming at them with a gun. The second rank allows the player to make it attack a target and the third rank allows for general movement commands. It's very neat, but a bit niche, and putting away weapons will instantly make these critters attack the player, which is annoying.
9 Gecko Skinning - Fallout 2
Most of the perks in the series have often had a very general purpose, but others have been extremely niche or even useless in purpose. In fact, it's a wonder they even made it to the perk chart, other than as a nice little text box to prove that the player can now do something slightly bizarre, like skinning geckos.
In Fallout 2, following the rescue mission of Smiley from a set of toxic caves, they'll give the player this special perk. They can now skin geckos and sell the gecko pelts for profit, which is... cool? Aren't there any other ways to make money? It's still unclear why this funny detail deserved to be made into a perk of its own.
8 Child At Heart - Fallout 3
In Fallout 3, a very unique and semi-useful perk was introduced in the Charisma attribute tree. Child at Heart became sort of iconic due to how specific it was to children in general, as its sole purpose was to extend the various dialogue options the player would have when interacting with child NPCs.
While there are some NPCs and quests that can offer additional information thanks to this perk, as well as a whole location where this comes in handy (Little Lamplight), it's hard to see why this perk ever made it to the chart. In fact, it comes as no surprise to anyone that it was cut out of Fallout: New Vegas, probably because it wasn't that important in the long run.
7 Puppies! - Fallout 3
Unlike in Fallout 4 where the resident canine companion Dogmeat is an essential character and never dies, in Fallout 3 this wasn't the case at all. It would be heartbreaking to see a dog companion die, which is why the developers put it in this funny but somewhat silly little perk to prevent players from suffering a total meltdown.
Puppies! basically spawns a new puppy of Dogmeat where he last appeared, allowing the player to continue his legacy over and over again. While realistically it sort of makes sense, why not just make Dogmeat essential in the first place and save space for a better, more useful perk?
6 Whiskey Rose - Fallout: New Vegas
Cass is one of the more popular companions in Fallout: New Vegas, and it's easy to understand why. Perfect for traveling the wasteland of New Vegas, her rowdy personality is topped off with a deep love for alcohol, which is reflected in her special perk, Whiskey Rose.
If the Courier is traveling with Cass, they'll be under the influence of this perk. It allows the player to drink as much alcohol, whiskey and wasteland tequila as their heart desires without negative effects. Damage taken will be lowered by a few points whenever whiskey or tequila is consumed. There aren't any better or funnier alcohol-related perks in later games, which is why this one deserves its own mention.
5 Idiot Savant - Fallout 4
How about a perk that actually rewards the player for having an extremely low attribute? Look no further than Fallout 4's perk selection, which introduced the famous and iconic Idiot Savant perk, found under the Luck attribute tree. Keep in mind that unlocking this perk with high Intelligence is a waste of time, as Intelligence rating is taken into account.
Idiot Savants will receive absolutely insane amounts of experience points: three times the normal XP from any action. The chance of this happening increases the lower the player's Intelligence is. At rank 2, the XP is bumped to five times more, and at rank 3, this random occurrence might grant the player a triple XP for every kill they confirm in a brief time span. It's overpowered in its own regard, and very silly.
4 Terrifying Presence - Fallout: New Vegas
Back in New Vegas there's a Speech perk so powerful that the mere sound of words alone from the Courier will make even the strongest mob bosses tremble in their boots. Somewhat similar to Intimidate in Fallout 4, but sillier and funnier, Terrifying Presence is a perk best used in tense conversations.
It gives the player the ability to terrify NPCs so badly in dialogue, that they'll run away for about 5 seconds after leaving. Some might even attack the Courier out of fear. The utility of this is debatable, but it's definitely hilarious to see NPCs freak out to the point of running away from the situation.
3 Meat Of Champions - Fallout: New Vegas
Cannibalism has been a recurring theme in the Fallout franchise, but there's one hidden perk in New Vegas that really takes the cake above everything else. Meat of Champions is unlocked if the player already has the Cannibal perk, and if they cannibalize the corpses of President Kimball, The King, Caesar and Mr. House.
So is it worth it? It might be hard to get, but it definitely gives pretty cool bonuses to the player. It increases Luck, Intelligence, Charisma and Strength by +1 for one minute when consuming a human corpse, which is definitely nice. That being said, it's an oddly specific and disturbingly funny perk.
2 Quack Surgeon - Fallout 76
Sad but true, Fallout 76 doesn't introduce anything incredibly new or flashy in its multiplayer experience. Many of its perk cards are inspired by previous installments in the franchise, but luckily there's one gem among them all: the Quack Surgeon perk.
With this perk, the player can revive their friends with alcohol rather than using a stimpak on them. As long as they have any alcohol in their inventory, the perk can be used when reviving. It's both funny and weird to think something so harmful could actually be the one thing that keeps characters alive. Imagine curing someone with the power of vodka alone!
1 Kama Sutra Master - Fallout 2
In the series of inappropriate perks is of course this gem from Fallout 2, which would probably never make it into the franchise's current games given how young its player base can get. It's almost hard to believe Kama Sutra Master was actually once the name of a perk in Bethesda's ever popular game.
The perk basically allows the player to immediately have access to all dialogue options with romancable characters, as well as romance them. It also boosts the player's audition for adult content films at the Golden Globes by +2. Why was this in the game again, Bethesda?