Charisma

Charisma is one of the seven Primary Statistics in the SPECIAL character system.

Fallout
Charisma is tied to Speech and Barter, determining their initial starting level. It also affects the prices of other party's goods. The effect it has on the game is negligible.

Albert Cole is a charismatic pre-made character.

Related perks

 * Cult of Personality
 * Master Trader
 * Presence

Ways to increase

 * Patrick the Celt encounter (permanent +1)
 * Mentats drug (temporary +1)

Fallout 2
In Fallout 2, apart from prices, Charisma also determines party size. Your player character can recruit a number of followers equal to their Charisma divided by 2, rounded down. The minimal party size is 1, at Charisma 1.

Related perks

 * Cult of Personality
 * Master Trader
 * Presence

Ways to increase

 * Blue memory module installation (permanent +1)
 * Gain Charisma perk (permanent +1)
 * Mirrored shades item (temporary +1)
 * Mentats drug (temporary +1)

Charisma checks

 * Modoc: a Charisma of 8 is required to sleep with either Davin or Miria, or a Charisma of 7 if one has a good town reputation.
 * Vault City: a Charisma of at least 8 and a Speech of at least 75 are required to become Captain of the Guard.

Fallout Tactics
Charisma is an interesting statistic. Although Fallout Tactics is a combat-heavy game, Charisma plays a vital role in determining the player character's rate of advancement through the ranks of the Brotherhood. A Charisma of 5 guarantees a reasonable rate of progression, opening new recruits and gear to the player.

Charisma also opens up perks: Loner (CH 4 or less), Team Player (CH 4), Leader (CH 6), and Divine Favor (CH 8).

Related perks

 * Master Trader
 * Leader
 * Divine Favor

Ways to increase

 * Gain Charisma perk (permanent +1)
 * Mentats drug (temporary +1)

Fallout 3
The statistic affects Speech and Barter skills, as well as non-player character Disposition to a minor degree.

Charisma increases the disposition of all non-player characters, which makes speech checks easier. Disposition is also affected somewhat by karma (most non-player characters like good characters more), quests (doing a quest in a way a non-player character likes can dramatically boost disposition), and dialog options (being a jerk in conversations can lower disposition a little). Charisma also affects the Barter and Speech skills. Characters who use Speech will want at least a decent charisma, but adding points to the skill is almost always better than adding points to the score. Characters who do not use the Speech skill have little use for this SPECIAL score.

There are also general Charisma checks in dialogue with some characters, in addition to Speech checks.

Ways to increase

 * Charisma Bobblehead (permanent +1)
 * Intense Training (permanent +1)
 * Grape Mentats (temporary +5)
 * Ant queen pheromones (temporary +3)
 * Moonshine (temporary +2)
 * Alcoholic beverages (temporary +1 CH)
 * Eulogy Jones' suit (temporary +1 Charisma, +1 Small Guns)
 * Eulogy's hat (temporary +1 Charisma, +1 Small Guns)
 * Regulator duster (temporary +1 Charisma, +5 Small Guns)
 * Sexy sleepwear (temporary +1 Charisma)
 * Sheriff's duster (temporary +1 Charisma, +5 Small Guns)
 * Tenpenny's suit (temporary +1 Charisma, +2 Small Guns)
 * Vance's longcoat outfit (temporary +1 Charisma, +1 Perception, +10 Small Guns)
 * Three Dog's headwear (temporary +1 Luck, +1 Charisma)

Fallout: New Vegas
Charisma in New Vegas modifies Barter, Speech and Companion Nerve. Companion Nerve gives each companion in the party +5% to their damage and armor, up to a maximum of +50% at 10 Charisma.

Regardless of Barter or Speech level, some interactions will not be available if your Charisma is too low (eg. when talking to Corporal Betsy). These ultimately do not have any significant effect on game play, nor do they provide any special bonuses.

Ways to increase

 * Charisma Implant (permanent +1)
 * Intense Training (permanent +1)
 * Party Time Mentats (temporary +5, can stack with normal Mentats)
 * Ant queen pheromones (temporary +3)
 * Alcohol (temporary +1 to +3, depending on the player's Survival skill)
 * Mentats (temporary +1)
 * Sexy sleepwear (temporary +1)
 * T-51b Power Armor helmet (temporary +1)
 * Sheriff's Duster (temporary +1)
 * Bounty Hunter Duster (temporary +1)
 * Vera's Outfit (temporary +1)
 * Elite riot gear (temporary +1)

Fallout 4


Charisma is a bit more important in Fallout 4, as it controls the player's chances of becoming addicted to Chems, prices when bartering for goods, and the maximum number of settlers that can live in one of the player's Settlements.

The maximum number of settlers that can live in one of the player's established Settlements is equal to ten, plus the player's Charisma score. (i.e. between 11 and 20 settlers)
 * Settlements

The Barter Buy/Sell prices break down thusly:
 * Bartering

The price is further modified by Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor magazine, the Barter bobblehead, and the Cap Collector perk:

Charisma can be boosted beyond the 10 point cap, though the bonus/discount cap is reached at 16 Charisma (15 with Cap Collector 1, 13 with Cap Collector 2). If the player reaches a buying modifier of less than 1.2, the game will default to 1.2. Likewise, if they reach a sell modifier higher than 0.8, the game will default to 0.8. As such, the most an item can sell for is 80% of its base price, and the least it can be bought for is 120% of its base price.

To get the best prices:
 * Without any of the other factors above, the player will need 16 CHA for buying, 15 CHA for selling.
 * Cap Collector 1 Perk: 15 CHA for both buying and selling.
 * Cap Collector 2 Perk: 13 CHA for both buying and selling.
 * With Cap Collector 2 Perk, plus the Barter Bobblehead: 12 CHA for selling.
 * With Cap Collector 2 Perk, the Barter Bobblehead, and all 8 Jerky Vendor issues: 8 CHA for buying.

Ways to increase Charisma

 * Permanent
 * Charisma bobblehead (+1)
 * Charisma Training (+1)
 * You're SPECIAL! book (+1)
 * Temporary
 * Armor and clothing
 * Clean black suit (+2)
 * Orange shirt western outfit (+1)
 * Cowhide western outfit (+1)
 * Hubologist outfit (+2)
 * Western outfit & chaps (+1)
 * Nuka-Girl rocketsuit (+1)
 * Black-rim glasses (+1)
 * Fashionable glasses (+1)
 * Formal hat (+1)
 * Tuxedo (+1)
 * Western outfit (+1)
 * Chems
 * Grape Mentats (+5)
 * Day Tripper (+3)
 * X-Cell (+2)
 * Power armor modifications
 * Vault-Tec paint (+1)

Fallout 76
Charisma is your ability to lead and help others. It allows you to share higher point Perks and also affects your rewards from Group Quests and prices when you barter.

The Barter Buy/Sell prices break down thusly:
 * Bartering

These multipliers rely on curve tables, and while the selling curve table caps at 25% of base price the buying curve table doesn't have a minimum, so theoretically if you were to get 100 Charisma items would buy for their base price.

Lionheart
The character’s looks and charm are Charisma. The higher the character’s Charisma, the easier it is to deal with non-player characters (non-player characters). Magic Wielders use this attribute to influence their spirit, so Mana is partially determined by Charisma.