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What makes a good RPG? What makes players of all shapes, sizes, and ages fall in love with a video game and keep coming back to it years after its initial release, even after completing the main quest numerous times? Well, if I knew the definitive answer to this question, Todd Howard would be blowing up my phone and asking for an interview.
However, as an avid player of these RPGs, I can speculate and add my five cents. In Fallout 4, there is no one thing that keeps pulling me back into the game and the Commonwealth wasteland; for me, it is more of an overall design approach that I just adore and can’t get enough of.
Fallout 4, unlike Bethesda’s previous and first attempt at a Fallout title, Fallout 3, is full of humor and hilarious moments. These moments come as you stroke through the massive wasteland map and slog your way through main and sidequests, littering the game with moments of lighthearted joy to break off the monotony of looking for your son in this desolate land you now call home.
This is where Fallout 3 failed; the overall atmosphere and ethos of the game were far too serious for my liking. This is why I loved New Vegas: the same engine but more comedy.
The Silver Shroud quest in Fallout 4, which we are looking at today, is one of the best examples of the Fallout 4 developers remembering not to take themselves so seriously and pushing themselves to inject some much-needed life and variability into the game.
So, with all this being said and my love for the quest already outlined, why don’t we jump right into the good stuff? Welcome to the Silver Shroud guide.
Getting Started
One of my favorite things that good RPG developers will do is set up their quests in the background, allowing the player to discover the existence of the quest or its key elements almost accidentally, either through excellent world design, NPC dialogue, or other more creative means.
While Bethesda may have been slightly more heavy-handed here than I usually appreciate, I still have to give them credit for not having a small child NPC run up to the player and exposition dump the entire quest onto us as soon as we reached Goodneighbour. A low bar, I know, but subtle storytelling is not something I give Bethesda too much credit for.
Finding and Entering Goodneighbour
So, as I have already mentioned, to get going with this quest, you are going to have to head on over to Goodneighbour, a settlement located just to the northeast of Boston Commons, relatively close to Diamond City, assuming you can handle all the super mutants dotted around the route that is.
Once you make your way to Goodneighbour, you will have to get quickly accustomed to the odd settlement, including the possible follower, Hancock, who, for reasons only known to the writers of the game, is a ghoul who insists on dressing like a 17th-century pirate, tricorn hat and all.
Of course, you could have already found Goodneighbour if you have progressed enough through the main quest. Either way, once inside the settlement, listening to Silver Shroud Radio will help guide the player toward the Memory Den, another location visited during the main quest.
Meeting Kent Connolly
Once you enter the Memory Den building, the player will need to locate an NPC named Kent Connolly, the man behind Silver Shroud Radio. It is through Kent that the player gets to know a little bit more about this Silver Shroud character and what he used to mean to the people of Boston and the Commonwealth before the Great War.
The Fictional Silver Shroud
After meeting with Kent, he will tell the player all about the Silver Shroud. Through this conversation and other clues dotted throughout Fallout 4, you gather that The Silver Shroud was a fictional comic book character created by Hubris Comics prior to the Great War, the same company that published the Grognak the Barbarian series.
In short, The Silver Shroud was a vigilante hero who prowled the streets of Boston in search of criminals in a noir-esque style, complete with a trench coat and Tommy gun. It would seem as though this hero was a massive success in Boston and the greater Commonwealth area; however, outside of this, the trench coat maverick did not reach the heights of its competitors.
Regardless, the series did prove popular enough to warrant a series of radio plays to be produced based around the adventures of the great vigilante. To this day, the only radio play to survive the great war intact is the six-part drama depicting The Silver Shroud’s battle with the Mechanist. Yes, that Mechanist.
Resurrecting The Silver Shroud
After meeting Kent and getting the entire Silver Shroud oeuvre downloaded into your brain space, Kent will then continue his rambling by talking about his plan to resurrect the pre-war hero.
After some dialogue, Kent’s plan is actually rather simple; he wants to use the symbol and legend of the Silver Shroud in order to breathe some fresh life back into the Commonwealth, giving the people of the wasteland something to believe in. Of course, Kent cannot do this himself as he is not only too old and lacking the martial capabilities to take on the undesirables of the Commonwealth, but he is also the victim of some severe radiation burns and scars, leaving him totally incapable of presenting himself as the vigilante from the comics.
Kent will tell the player that he has already recreated the Shroud’s famous machine gun and only needs the actual costume to complete the look. Assuming you will take up the mantle once all the gear is assembled.
Thankfully, the quest required to actually become the Silver Shroud is rather simple, if not a little by the book, for such a unique story. Kent explains to the player that the only surviving shroud costume that he knows about should be located in the Boston offices of Hubris Comics, as this is where the Silver Shroud film was being shot before the Great War shut down production.
Just Another Fetch Quest?
Without much pause, the player will then be directed toward Hubris Comics. While you will have a map marker pointing you to this quest destination, Hubris Comics can be found in the Back Bay section of Boston and just to the west of Swan’s Pond, the place where the giant mutant behemoth throws stones at you from.
Once the player makes their way to Hubris Comics, you will need to head inside and deal with the feral ghouls who inhabit the building. The building consists of four separate floors, each with its own pieces of unique loot. However, keeping focused on this quest, you will need to reach the fourth floor to get your hands on the Silver Shroud costume.
However, on your way to this location, you may as well pick up some more Silver Shroud memorabilia for Kent on your way, such as the Silver Shroud Script and photo located on the second and third floors of the building. Kent will reward you with some extra caps for providing these pieces.
Once you have picked up these items, head back to good old Kent and give him the good news. The lovable NPC will be delighted with the news and subsequently offer you the armor and weapon, asking you to take up the mantle of The Silver Shroud, conducting missions as the vigilante as and when needed to protect the people of the Commonwealth.
The player can refuse Kent’s offer; however, this will stall the quest, leaving you with the quest target of “Talk to Kent” until you eventually take him up on his offer. After all, you are only ever provided with the allusion of choice in Bethesda-made Fallout titles.
Once you either agree with Kent or give in to your OCD and take up the mantle purely to clear the quest target from your Pip-Boy, you will be directed to wear the Shroud armor to ensure you can use the “Speak as the Shroud” dialogue options during your missions as the vigilante.
Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It
After you get all of the prerequisite gear from our good friend Kent, you will need to hang about Goodneighbour for a while, listening to the Silver Shroud Radio station. As you listen, you will eventually be given your first target, as The Silver Shroud, and your hero’s journey can truly begin.
Wayne Delancy
In true noir style, your first target, Wayne Delancy, will be found behind Hotel Rexford. Here, as you are dressed as the Silver Shroud, you can question Wayne about why you have been sent after him and the murder accusations that are currently following him around.
The player character must drive this conversation and find out whether or not the murder he is accused of committing was done by his hands. You can do this by speaking as the Shroud and either persuading him or threatening him. Eventually, Wayne will admit to the murder and almost accept his fate, knowing why you have come to find him.
Whether the admission is drawn via intimidation or persuasion, the player must kill Wayne and leave the Silver Shroud Calling Card on his corpse to begin the spread of the Silver Shroud legend.
AJ
Your next target is then revealed to be an older gentleman who goes by the name AJ. after hearing about and talking to AJ; it is pretty easy to understand why he must be eliminated. First of all, he is a drug dealer who prays on the weakest members of Goodneighbour, turning their minor chem addictions into life-ruining circumstances, forcing them to steal and kill to get their next fix.
Through the Silver Shroud quest, you will also discover that AJ has started a new drug-selling initiative similar to the IRL cigarette companies of the early 20th century, pushing his products on kids in a scheme he calls “Chems for kids.” This advertising push targets the children of Goodneighbour and surrounding areas to get them hooked young, creating a lifelong customer and revenue stream in the process.
The player can find AJ near Bobbi No-Nose’s house. However, as you make your move to eliminate the drug dealer, you will find out that he rolls pretty heavily, protecting himself with two armed bodyguards at all times. Apparently, it pays to be the drug-dealing version of Epic games.
AJ can be handled in two ways: you can kill him and his two bodyguards, leaving the calling card on his corpse, or you can accept the bribe that the dealer pushes on you, ranging from 50-200 caps, depending on the player’s persuasion abilities.
Either option allows the player to proceed to the next target. However, I would suggest that you kill AJ, considering that leaving him alive simply does not fit with the rest of this quest and is kind of a plot hole moving forward.
After all, if Kent knows enough about Goodneighbour to send the player after targets like this, he is going to also know that AJ is still breathing.
Kendra
It was at this point during the quest that I realized that my targets were all, in some way, related to the Sinjin gang, a powerful organization operating throughout Goodneighbour. Kendra, our next target, is a working assassin for the gang and is, therefore, next on the chopping block. Of course, I’m sure more observant gamers may have caught this trend much earlier on.
While Kendra is known as a killer and assassin in Goodneighbour, nobody has managed to bring her to justice, most likely because they either fear her or the gang she works for. She is either suspected of or directly linked to the murder of four different Goodneighbour visitors and a bombing or two by the time she reaches the player’s radar. Regardless, something like that isn’t going to scare off the Silver Shroud.
To find Kendra, you will have to do a little of that Nick Valentine-like detective work, first venturing down to the Third Rail and chatting with Whitechapple Charlie. Charlie will tell the player that she can be found in the Water Street Apartment complex, located to the south of Goodneighbour. This information can either be bribed out of Charlie or garnered via persuasion checks.
When the player reaches this apartment complex, they will have to fight their way through Kendra’s raider crew, eventually making their way to the top floor, discovering a hallway laced with explosives and traps. Kendra is located at the end of this hallway, and therefore, the player must act like the bullet sponge they are and pick their way through all the damaging inflicting obstacles.
When you manage to come face to face with Kendra, you will find that she is no mere raider; she is part of the Gunner commander template of character spawns, making her a formidable opponent even for leveled characters.
Before the fight between the player and Kendra breaks out, there is not much chance for dialogue or persuasion; Kendra simply tells the player that they are “in over their head” before attacking. Of course, she will lose this fight as the Silver Shroud cannot be defeated.
Once dead, leave the calling card on her body. While looting, you will also find that Kendra is currently planning out her next hit, the assassination of Shelly Tiller. The player can take this contract for themselves. However, it falls outside of the Silver Shroud quests scope.
Becoming Mainstream
After the player manages to rid Goodneighbour of Kendra, it seems like you have got the attention of Goodneighbour’s mayor, Hancock, the pirate ghoul I mentioned earlier. After Kendra’s death, listening to the Silver Shroud Radio station will allow the player to hear Hancock’s invitation to a sit-down meeting.
When I first played through this mission, I expected the common vigilante story trope wherein the city or settlement leadership try to crack down on vigilante crime. So, when Hancock asked me to continue my killing spree by targeting two other members of the Sinjin gang, Northy, and Smiling Kate, I was quite surprised and relieved that the writing wasn’t so predictable.
During this conversation with Hancock, the player can remain in character, answering only as the Shroud, or you can break character slightly to get a little bit more compensation for your services. While breaking character has no repercussions, I recommend sticking with the Shroud options to get the full noir vibe. After this conversation, the quest markers will point you toward your next two targets.
Northy and Smiling Kate
Sadly, unlike the previous entries in your killing spree, these two are rather simple find-and-destroy targets, lacking any real story development or exposition.
For both targets, simply head to their marked locations and let loose; in my opinion, you may as well start shooting right away and ask questions later.
However, once the last of the two is dead, you will be able to find a holotape on their body; this holotape contains an order from Sinjin, the head of the gang, instructing his cronies to take out Kent. Yes, our Kent!
Saving The Main Man
Forget Shaun; nothing is more important from this point on than finding and protecting our good friend Kent. Once the player finds this holotape from Sinjin, you must head back to Goodneighbour and the Memory Den to look for Kent. However, by the time you get there, only Irma will be present, and she will inform the player that you are too late and that Sinjin has already taken Kent.
If you tune in to Shroud radio, it will become apparent that Kent has been taken to Milton General Hospital by Sinjin’s cronies and that you must walk right into his trap to save him. It is clear that Sinjin has decided that the Silver Shroud is too much of a problem and must be killed. Of course, even if it is a trap, you must still go there to save Kent. You are a hero, after all.
The Final Showdown
After you learn of Kent’s location, you must head to him, simply travel to the hospital, and battle through the raider and super mutant population that surrounds the location. This should be simple enough by this point in your character’s life cycle; however, you can always sneak through if need be.
After you make your way into the hospital, fight through the expected waves of raiders and Sinjin gang members until you reach the elevator in the building’s basement. When you exit the elevator, you can take on Sinjin and his surviving goons via stealth, direct assault, dialogue options, and straight-up killing Kent yourself.
If you go for the direct, fire and brimstone approach, ensure that Kent is not immediately killed when you enter the fray, and make sure and use VATS to target Sinjin; if he drops before they can kill Kent, his crew will attack the player and ignore Kent. all other options have several nuances that must be monitored if saving Kent is your goal. Play around with these.
If you manage to save Kent, the player will receive a better version of the Silver Shroud Costume armor. However, killing Sinjin, regardless of Kent’s condition, will complete the quest and earn a reward from Hancock.
After this, your life as The Silver Shroud in an official capacity is pretty much over, with no further contracts being issued via the Shroud radio station or through Hancock. However, this does not mean that you have to remove the fedora.
For example, if you play the Automatron DLC, you will eventually face off against the Mechanist again. If you do this wearing the Silver Shroud armor, a unique dialogue option will trigger wherein the Mechanist recognizes you as his nemesis from days past. A nice little touch if you ask me.
Unique Items
As mentioned, the player character will receive several unique pieces of loot to pass as the real Silver Shroud during this quest. However, the only real items of note are the armor and weapon given to the player at the quest’s beginning.
Silver Shroud Costume
This unique armor is one of my favorites in the game. In classic noir style, the regular trench coat is turned black with the lapels in a silvery grey finish, completed with a cravat in the same color. If Kent is saved by the player in the final act of the quest, you will also be given a version of the armor with an additional 15 points in DR.
Armor Stats:
- DR: 0-87
- ER: 15-87
- RR: 15-0
- Effects: +1 Agility, +1 Perception, Damage from humans reduced by 15%.
Silver Submachine Gun
This weapon is a call back to the Tommy guns from 20th-century noir movies, featuring the classic circular drum. This weapon is darker in color than normal submachine guns. However, outside of this, it is no different than other submachine guns in the game.
Weapon Stats:
- Damage: 10
- Ammo: .45 Round
- Clip Size: 100
- Fire Rate: 127
- Value: 121 Caps
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How do I get rid of the Silver Shroud quest?
Answer: Sadly, as Bethesda only offers the player an illusion of choice in regard to the Silver Shroud questline, you cannot get rid of the quest line simply by refusing Kent’s offer to pick up the Silver Shroud mantle. Instead, you just have to complete the quest in its entirety to remove the quest log.
Question: Is the Silver Shroud Armor good?
Answer: When you compare this armor to pieces of power armor or other such pieces, it simply cannot compete, but we aren’t expecting it to. When compared with other pieces of lightweight armor, the Shroud costume is amazing, coming with high DR and a 15% buff against human attacks.
Question: What happens if you continue wearing the Silver Shroud costume after completing the quest?
Answer: If you continue to wear the armor, the player will come across a couple of dialogue options unique to the Silver Shroud when face to face with other comic book characters such as the Mechanist, Manata Man, and several others in the Nuka World DLC.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it, a detailed guide to one of the best side quests in Fallout 4 and possibly the entire Bethesda Fallout canon. The Silver Shroud quest is everything I look for in a silly side quest in an RPG. Not only does it reward the player with cool loot, but it also incentivizes you to RP along with your character, allowing you to play as The Silver Shroud for the rest of the game if you so desire, creating an entirely new reason to play through the game again, allowing us die-hard Fallout fans more game time.
I really do hope you enjoy this quest as much as I have during my numerous playthroughs and that you found this guide helpful and insightful. Regardless, I hope to see you again soon and wish you luck in your wasteland adventures going forward.