Addicted to a variety of drugs,[2] to describe Tinker Tom as eccentric would be an understatement. However, his engineering talents are second to none and he is the only person in the entire Commonwealth who can apply unique ballistic lining modifications to armor, as well as decode the courser chip. He joined the Railroad in 2279, after his family farm was hit by The Institute. Though recovering from the attack, Tom's engineering talents quickly came to the fore as he provided the Railroad with proper armor and weapons, replacing the makeshift guns they were using.[3] By 2280, he became absolutely indispensable to the Railroad's operations, despite his growing eccentricity.[4] He also has quite a few theories on various things in the world, ranging from "Nano-Blood" to mutating water,[5] though several of his own theories had since been disproved.[6] The largest of his theories is that of the Institute starting the Great War in an attempt to terraform the land afterwards, later utilizing Synths to clear out those who had survived.[7] His skill with constructing and improving weaponry is also to be noted, as he had worked on what would become the Railway rifle,[8] a Railroad hunting rifle, as well as restoring Old World weaponry, such as the Deliverer.[9]
After completing Tradecraft, he will teach the player how to apply ballistic weave mods, allowing for basic clothing to be upgraded with additional protection.
↑The Sole Survivor: "Why would the Institute terraform the Commonwealth?" Tinker Tom: "It goes back to the Big War. Who set off the first A-bomb? The Institute did. They started the whole war to kill everyone except their own diabolical scientists. Everything, man. You see humanity didn't kick the bucket like they planned. We're still hanging on. So first step - artificial people come to infiltrate, spy, and salvage the metric tons of gizmos they need. And once they get all the parts they need, whammo! The big atmospheric converter inside Blake Tower starts spewing poison into the stratosphere to kill every last one of us." (Tinker Tom's dialogue)
↑The Sole Survivor: "What's so special about the gun?" Deacon: "Tinker Tom restored it, you'll meet him later. It's cutting edge Old World tech. It's powerful and more importantly quiet.You'll never find another weapon like it. Grab Carrington's prototype. You turn that over to Desdemona and she'll have to let you into our merry band. The elevator's at the end of the hall. Should be easy to power up and get out since we already cleared the path, right?There's an elevator at the end of the hall. It should be a hell of a lot easier fighting the chrome-domes on this side of the minefield." (Deacon's dialogue)
