Fallout: New Vegas - Settlements / Characters

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Goodsprings

A community inhabiting an old Ghost Town, where the Courier wakes up at the start of the game. It is habitable thanks to three nearby wells, containing one of the few fresh water supplies in the area. Unfortunately, the town has run into some trouble with the recently formed Powder Gangers, and it is up to the player to either help them or betray the people that saved their life.

In General

Beware the Nice Ones: Goodsprings is arguably the friendliest settlement in the game, being willing to offer an entire furnished household to a robot that doesn't even need it (could be argued it belonged to a human who moved or passed away), and shelter both an injured courier with little prospect to live and a caravaneer fleeing enemy bandits. As the "Ghost Town Gunfight" quest shows, they are not afraid to put their guns to good use to defend their home and livelihood either.
Bittersweet Ending: Three out of their five endings are this. If the NCR takes over, they experience increased trade but struggle under higher taxes, forcing a lot of the older residents to vacate their homes. Mr. House has Victor permanently stationed in the town to protect and watch them. In the Legion ending, they abandon the town to the advancing hordes.
Curb-Stomp Battle: If you get all the people to help, the town will annihilate the Powder Gangers, often without the player having to fire a single shot.
Downer Ending: If you side with the Powder Gangers, almost the entire town's population is slaughtered in a gunfight by the very Courier that Doc Mitchell had saved. Only Chet and a handful of citizens are spared, who are all either enslaved or at least stuck under the Powder Gangers' rule. Eventually, after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the town is abandoned entirely and only visited by prospectors and tourists who come to see the grave where the Courier "rose from the dead".
The Farmer and the Viper: Becomes this with a Powder Ganger–aligned Courier, where their kindness in taking them in and nursing them back to health is repaid with betrayal and a slaughter of the townsfolk.
First Town: Goodsprings is where the Courier starts their journey and where they can get a handle on several of the game's basic mechanics.
Karmic Jackpot: If the player helps them fight off the Powder Gangers. First, Doc Mitchell saves the Courier's life without asking for anything in return, and after that Sunny Smiles shows him/her how to survive and fight. In return, the Courier saves them from the gang wanting to attack their hometown and, if an Independent-aligned Courier wins the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the town goes on to thrive as being one of the few stable trading locations with reliably clean water.
Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: How most of the town sees Victor, seeing him as simply a friendly and harmless robot who hangs around.

Doc Mitchell

Voiced by: Michael Hogan

"You're awake. How 'bout that."

Goodsprings' resident doctor. He is the man who removes the bullet from your head at the beginning of the game. He is actually from Vault 21 beneath New Vegas.

Embarrassing Nickname: "Molebutt", according to Sarah Weintraub from Vault 21.
The Farmer and the Viper: You have the opportunity to thank Doc Mitchell for saving your life by killing the Powder Gangers who were planning on conquering Goodsprings... or you can stab him and the rest of the town in the back by joining the Powder Gangers and killing almost everyone in town, becoming the metaphorical viper. Similarly, helping Mr. House (the man who forced him out of his home) can also be considered this.
Frontier Doctor: Doc Mitchell is a former vault resident/traveler, who eventually settled down here with his wife.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: A doctor talented enough to stitch you up after you got doubletapped has only 33 in Medicine (and 4 Luck). When a lategame quest forces you to perform a brain surgery, you need 75 Medicine or 9 Luck to not kill your patient at the operating table.
Karmic Jackpot: It's possible to repay him for saving your life by defending his home from the Powder Gangers.
The Lost Lenore: Doc Mitchell's wife died years before the game begins. If the Courier speaks to Sarah Weintraub and then go back to Goodsprings to tell the Doc that he visited his former vault, he will reveal that his wife was also a fellow Vault 21 Dweller who, due to a lack of antibodies (she spent her whole life in the vault) for the wasteland diseases, ended up dying near Goodsprings, when they were travelling to California. Doc Mitchell abandoned his travel plans and stayed in Goodsprings to be close to her.
Nice Guy: Not only does Doc Mitchell preform brain surgery on you for free, he even gives you valuable supplies, including weapons, Stimpaks, and his incredibly valuable Pip-Boy.
Noodle Incident: He'll mention that he, like most people in the wastes, has lost something dear to him, but if you try to question him further on this, he'll brush off the question. Until you visit Vault 21 and talk to Sarah Weintraub, and mention it to him. He'll reveal that after being thrown out of Vault 21, which he feels Mr. House had no right to do, his wife died due to her lack of immunity to wasteland diseases.
The Shrink: He does a Rorschach test on you as part of his medical evaluation. It determines your tagged skills.
Super Doc: Not for nothing, he helps the Courier recover from a terminal case of shot-in-the-brain, apparently without any futuristic medical equipment.
Unwitting Pawn: An evil Courier can trick him into giving the Powder Gangers some Stimpaks for their raid on Goodsprings.
What the Hell, Hero?: During his personality test, if you give answers that are obviously violent and malicious, Doc Mitchell passive-aggressively voices his disgust towards you.
"Hmm. Sometimes when you give tests like this, you learn more than you was hoping for, and I reckon that ain't always the best thing. But I guess maybe it explains a thing or two about your predicament."

Trudy

Voiced by: Lora Cain

The local mayor and bartender of the Prospector Salon.

"It" Is Dehumanizing: Unlike other Goodspring residents who address Victor as "Him", she refers to Victor as "It".
Ms. Exposition: She gives you a basic rundown of the major factions as well as tell you how the Alliance Meter works.
Properly Paranoid: She is the only person in Goodsprings to be actively suspicious of Victor, believing that there is more to him than just the goofy smile. As it turns out, Victor is House's eyes and ears. In a House ending (the only ending that Victor survives), Victor returns to Goodsprings as House's "reward", acting both as a town protector and as House's spy.
Team Mom: She is regarded as this by the town's people, who will join in defending the town if the player convinces her to help out.

Sunny Smiles

Voiced by: Katherine Pawlak

A local hunter and town guard of Goodsprings.

Canine Companion: Owns a dog named Cheyenne that helps Sunny hunt and protect the town.
Good Is Not Soft: Good? Very Good, if her karma is any indication, and she's genuinely helpful and heroic. Not Soft? Perfectly willing to command a militia to repel an assault of convicts on her town.
Justified Tutorial: Provides one: Doc Mitchell recommends asking her for help in surviving in the Wasteland, which she's happy to provide. She takes the Courier/player to shoot bottles (weapon controls), hunt geckos (combat tutorial) and make things by the campfire (crafting, which she notes works the same way whether it's food, ammo or making weapons and medicine). However, after the first part the rest can be skipped.
Nice Girl: She's a friendly sort, and offers to help both the Courier and Ringo without hesitation. She's also one of the few characters (ten in the whole game) with Very Good karma.
Precision F-Strike: One of her lines reacting to an NPC's death is a sharp "Fucker!".

Easy Pete

Voiced by: Peter Reneday

A retired prospector that settled down in Goodsprings and now helps tend the bighorner cattle.

Cool Old Guy: A very friendly former scavenger who happens to have access to a wealthy supply of dynamite and promotes keeping a firearm on hand when exploring old dangerous ruins.
Explosive Stupidity: Averts this, both for himself and for a Courier with an Explosives skill lower than 25, in which he refuses to let them use his hidden stash of dynamite to defend against the Powder Gangers since he's not keen to hand off dangerous explosives to just anyone.
Meaningful Name: It's not really clear if "Easy" is his actual name or a nickname, but it definitely reflects his desire to "take it easy" in his retirement.
Prospector: Pretty much fits the trope to a T, though in the post-War wasteland, a "prospector" is a fancier name for a scavenger picking apart old ruins for scrap, guns, and chems to sell off.
Terse Talker: He speaks in short simple sentences.
The Artifact: Thinks this of Victor, considering him a "broken-down relic with no place to go" which is why he is much less skeptical of the robot than Trudy.

Chet

Voiced by: Ari Rubin

Goodsprings' resident merchant.

Dirty Coward: Only looks out for himself, as shown how when the Powder Gangers attack, he sits out to guard his merchandise.
Karma Houdini: If Chet helps the Courier supply the Powder Gangers to defeat the Goodsprings militia, he is never punished for it and continues to operate as a trader.
Les Collaborateurs: If the Courier chooses to side with the Powder Gangers, Chet can be convinced to provide them armor for their siege on Goodsprings.
Mr. Exposition: As the first weapon trader you're likely to encounter, he'll explain the differences in ammo types and other such gun mechanics, if asked.
Non-Action Guy: Chet refuses to fight the Powder Gangers, even though almost everyone else in Goodsprings is willing to.
Only in It for the Money: Chet refuses to help in any way against the Powder Gangers unless he is paid 1000 caps as "an investment" or passing a Barter skill check to convince him he'll improve his business prospects by helping the militia.
Pet the Dog: A Courier with a "Mixed" reputation can receive a significant discount at his store supposedly because they remind him of himself when he first came to Goodsprings.
Sole Survivor: If you help the Powder Gangers take over Goodsprings, he'll be the only named NPC in the town not killed since he stayed out of the gunfight and kicked up supplies to the gang.

Sloan

A mining camp located along the I-15 south of the Vegas area, Sloan and Quarry Junction are the foundations of the NCR's construction efforts in the Mojave. Recently, Sloan has experienced a considerable slowdown in business when the Powder Gangers attacked the camp and stole the entire cache of dynamite. The resulting lack of explosions and activity drew in a pack of Deathclaws that took over the quarry and forced the workers out. Being put on forced leave with a barely functioning generator and no prospects for relief, the morale at Sloan has been slowly deteriorating.

Chomps Lewis

Voiced by: Jude Ciccolella

The foreman of Quarry Junction.

Hands-Off Parenting: The Great Khans are a tough gang, a historic enemy of his employers, and their initiations are no picnic, but that's the path his daughter Melissa has chosen and he's fine with that. He doesn't even try to police her drug-running operation either, feeling that it's a choice made by an adult with consequences she must shoulder herself.
NPC Roadblock: Downplayed. While he won't technically stop you from heading north past Sloan, he's scripted to automatically discourage you the first time you pass by the area, citing the local Deathclaw population. On the other hand, if you're strong enough to get past the Deathclaws and enter Sloan for the first time from the north, he will flat-out admit that you'll likely not face much trouble clearing out the quarry if you choose.
Parent-Child Team: He's the father of Melissa, the Great Khan camped out at the other end of Quarry Junction. He's also the middle-man for her under-the-table chem dealings between the Great Khans and Sgt. Tyrone in Primm.
Sensing You Are Outmatched: If you're below Level 15 when suggesting you can try getting rid of the Deathclaws, he'll outright tell you you're too weak and won't give you the quest (or the supply of stimpaks that would help). Not that this stops you from actually taking the creatures down, of course.

Jas Wilkins

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Voiced by: Courtenay Taylor

Sloan's resident chef who runs the mess hall.

Call-Back: Jas' great-aunt Rose was a side character in Fallout 2, and Jas herself will mention the outcome of the "Kill the 'chicken'" quest from that game, in which the Chosen One slaughters her egg-laying pet Deathclaw seemingly for shits and giggles.
Not Afraid to Die: Downplayed, but Jas implies to like to live dangerously, since the reason she moved to the Mojave Wasteland is because California has become too safe and too boring.
Supreme Chef: She can prepare the Wasteland Omelet, one of the most powerful food items in the game which is made with ingredients including a deathclaw's egg. She also teaches you the recipe.

Snuffles

A friendly mole rat living in the town.

Team Pet: To the miners.
Token Heroic Orc: The only mole rat in the game that is passive even without taking the Animal Friend perk.
Video Game Caring Potential: If your Medicine skill is appropriately high, you can fix his broken leg for no other reason than to help out, prompting him to be extremely happy every time you interact with him afterward. Of course, if you tell Chomps about it, he will praise you and offer a small reward and some NCR fame.

Primm

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"Often the first place NCR travelers stop after the Mojave Outpost, Primm is also where a lot of folks realize they left New Vegas with barely enough money to make the long trek back to The Hub."

— Loading Screen

A tiny town on the border of California and Nevada, it is one of the first and last stops for travelers in and out of the Mojave. In pre-War times, Primm was a "poor man's Vegas": a place to gamble and have fun without spending too much money. Post-War, Primm's prospects are not much better. By the present, the town sheriff is dead, and dangerous escaped convicts have taken over the Bison Steve Hotel while Primm’s citizens have to shelter in the Vikki & Vance Casino. With no law enforcement and the nearby NCR soldiers lacking the reinforcements to take the town back, the people of Primm are in desperate need of a helping hand.

Johnson and Ruby Nash

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ruby_nash.jpg

Voiced by: Jude Ciccolella (Johnson), Marianne Muellerleile (Ruby)

"Well, you can call Beagle a deputy so long as you don't harbor too high an opinion of the word. Boy was 'bout as useful as tits on a radscorpion. Only qualification he ever had was to be brother to the wife of the sheriff. Still, I s'pose he don't deserve what's befell him. We would've considered paying the ransom, if we'd had caps to spare."

"My specialty is a radscorpion venom casserole. It's a more appetizing than it sounds! The venom has a sharp, smokey flavor, and it numbs your mouth so fierce you'll forget you ever had a tongue! It's perfectly safe, long as you don't have sores in your mouth for the venom to find your blood. 'Cause that'll kill you dead."

An elderly couple living in Primm who run the local branch of the Mojave Express.

Reasonable Authority Figure: Johnson Nash. Best shown if you ask him for information on the NCR's plan to attack the Powder Gangers' base at the NCRCF and you've already helped return law and order to Primm. At first, he'll try to get you to pay for the information, but if you threaten to just storm in there yourself, he'll give it to you for free:
Hold on there! With everything you already done for this town, I'd feel ungrateful as hell if I let you risk yourself for no good reason! He made me swear not to say a word to no one, but an NCR deserter passed through some days ago and traded for supplies. According to him, the NCR's decided enough's enough and's going to send in a mess of troops to take back the prison any day now.
Supreme Chef: It takes a special kind of woman to figure out how to make a delicious meal out of highly deadly radscorpion venom, but Ruby's managed just fine.

Deputy Beagle

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Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

"Why, I am Deputy Beagle, and I am being held hostage. Can you imagine?"

Deputy Sheriff of Primm, and brother-in-law to former Sheriff McBain through McBain's marriage to his sister. He's also one of the people vital to finding the people who attacked the Courier and stole their package.

Clueless Deputy: It's pretty clear that he's way in over his head. When Sheriff McBain got killed by the convicts, Beagle was sleeping in the office and was himself captured quite easily. Neither Meyers nor Primm Slim nor the NCR let him keep his position as deputy if they become sheriff.
Dirty Coward: Incredibly so and completely unashamed of it. He'll run off to let you deal with the Powder Gangers alone once freed, repeatedly expresses hesitation to fight if your Speech is high enough to talk him into staying, and explicitly expresses disinterest in being made the new Sheriff.
Gentleman Snarker: He's quite sarcastic, but very polite and even-toned while doing it. To boot, a lot of his dialogue has the script note "gentlemanly" accompanying it.
Guest-Star Party Member: He can be talked into helping you fight the Powder Gangers in the Bison Steve Hotel and becomes a temporary companion, including the ability to give him superior armor and equipment. For the level you get him, he's an okay hand to have, but the Power Gangers can kill him quickly if he gets too close to ones with dynamite.
It's All About Me: Sheriff McBain was his brother-in-law through marriage to his sister. He doesn't seem too concerned with the fact the both of them were killed, instead worrying about his own skin, and gets annoyed if you find a new sheriff since he no longer gets to have power.
Malaproper: He has a comparatively advanced vocabulary to the average wastelander, but mispronounces a lot of words at the same time.
Nepotism: According to Johnson Nash, the only reason he got his position was because he's the brother of the late sheriff's wife.
Ungrateful Bastard:
- After you rescue him, unless you pass a Speech check to make him help you, he'll run off and leave you to finish off the Powder Gangers. He also claims credit for running them out of town "with your assistance."
- Likewise, no matter how you end the quest to give Primm a new sheriff, he will blame you for losing his job in the process since the NCR doesn't need a civilian to help them and both Primm Slim and Meyers can handle the job themselves. He'll always greet you after with annoyance and sarcasm even if you saved him.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can sneak into the room he's being held in, talk him into telling you about Benny in exchange for release, then leave him at the mercy of the Powder Gangers. Being that he's tied up and helpless on the floor, you can kill him with all the dignity of an execution if you tire of his cowardice.

Primm Slim

Voiced by: Dante Reid

"Loading public appeasement oration. Complete. Howdy, citizens. How about a Yee-Haw for law and order in the fine town of... error. Token not found."

A Protectron guard robot, historian, and caretaker for the Vikki and Vance Casino. Primm Slim is also a huge source of information for the Courier and will speak at great lengths about Primm, Vikki, Vance, the Bison Steve Hotel, and the casino. He is also one of the options for restoring law and order to Primm by being made the new Sheriff.

Chekhov's Gunman: He has a corrupted memory block that prevents him from accessing certain data regarding Vikki and Vance. With a high-enough Speech skill, he will access said memory, which reveals a general location for where the thieves who stole Vance's gun fled to.
By-the-Book Cop: If he becomes sheriff of Primm, Beagle notes that "the law to him is a set of logic," in contrast to the Cowboy Cop Meyers and the expansionist NCR.
Cowboy: At least this is what he's meant to invoke.
Mighty Glacier: If he becomes sheriff of Primm, it's noted that while mostly competent at his job, the Protectron's slow walking speed makes it easy for a lot of criminals to get away.
Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: He's a cowboy robot tour guide, and depending on your actions, he can become a cowboy robot tour guide sheriff.
No Indoor Voice: He hollers every other sentence.
Non-Standard Character Design: With regards to vocal direction: In stark contrast to the Machine Monotone of almost every other Protectron, Primm Slim has a very distinct Southern accent, and notably raises his voice and tone.

Nipton

"Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, as long as they paid. Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself. The people here didn't care. It was a town of whores."

— Vulpes Inculta

A town near the southern edges of the Mojave close to the NCR outpost back to their territory. It was one of the last stops in California before crossing into Nevada and a popular stop for booze, women, and gambling for people heading to New Vegas or for those who wanted a taste but couldn’t pay for the full trip. The New Reno of California, Nipton was full of corruption and vice, with Mayor Joseph B. Steyn adding more fuel to the fire. With the NCR troops in the night and Powder Gangers in the day, Nipton stayed profitable. In October 2281, Mayor Steyn tried selling out to the Legion, only for its residents to be massacred. By the end of the "lottery," the citizens were either dead or enslaved save for two very lucky Powder Gangers.

In General

Asshole Victim: It was a Wretched Hive full of thieves, prostitutes, and gamblers, with no loyalty to anyone. While what the Legion did to the townsfolk was awful, no one is really going to mourn them, and the drama of the town being ruined is less the people and town, and more that Legion was able to do so.
Backstab Backfire: After months of putting up NCR troops and Powder Gangers behind the others' back, they made a deal with Vulpes and the Legion to capture members of both sides and sell them out to the Legion. Instead, Vulpes captured them as well.
Cloudcuckoolander: Judging by their houses and the notes left behind inside it, some inhabitants were really weird. For instance, one filled his use with traps because he though the other townsfolk were trying to steal his "vital essence" and another thought that he could impress women with the Mr. Gutsy he fixed.
Defiant to the End: Despite Vulpes's claims that the town went without a fight, poking around town finds you three dead Legionaries and several corpses that imply Nipton's citizens did try to fight back.
Eviler than Thou: They tried to pull it on the Powder Gangers, then got it pulled on them by the Legion.
Lottery of Doom: Vulpes held a lottery for the lives of the people in Nipton. Oliver Swanick wins and gets to leave with his life (which he will gladly tell you about). Boxcars gets second place and gets his legs smashed. The third- and fourth-place "winners" are enslaved, the "Lucky Losers" got quick deaths by beheading, and the rest were killed slowly and painfully by either burning or crucifixion.
Posthumous Character: The whole town has been wiped out by the Legion prior to the start of the game.
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Joseph Steyn, the mayor and implied pimp, sold out the off-duty NCR troops being serviced in his town to the Powder Gangers, then sold out the Powder Gangers to the Legion. Unfortunately for the town, he didn't seem to suspect that just maybe the self-righteous Vulpes would betray him as well, and ended up receiving an almost karmic end, involving a burning pile of tires.
Vulpes Inculta: For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught inside it, too. [...] I told them their sins, the foremost being disloyalty.
Wretched Hive: Before the Legion hit the town, it was populated by gamblers, thieves, and prostitutes under the leadership of Mayor Joseph B. Steyn; the town would service NCR soldiers in the night and Powder Gangers in the day.

Novac

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"Novac? Nice enough place, I suppose... but between you and me - when I rolled into town my skin started to itch. Watch yourself."

— Victor

Named after the "No Vacancy" neon sign of the motel, this hamlet serves as a rest stop for anyone traveling on Highway 95 both before and after the Great War. Novac especially relies on the water merchants going up and down the highway. Its most famous/only attraction is Dinky the Dinosaur and "The World's (2nd) Largest Thermometer", which also serves as a sniper nest and general store. Other landmarks are the small Brahmin farm and the local "doctor store" (in the loosest sense of the word). Small and sleepy, most of the folk in Novac are friendly but aren't the most trusting of people, and some of them have nasty skeletons in their closet.

Jeannie May Crawford

Voiced by: Marianne Muellerleile

"I take care of folks here at the motel. Long as they aren't troublemakers."

Owner of the Dino Dee-lite Motel and de facto mayor of Novac.

Affably Evil: She's almost always polite towards the Courier (except if s/he insults her hotel) and was perfectly willing to sell Boone's wife and unborn child to Caesar's Legion over the woman's perceived discontent with living in Novac.
Asshole Victim: Considering what she did, no one sheds a tear if the Courier helps Boone blow her brains out. The act even nets Good Karma to boot. Even if the Courier hilariously asks Briscoe if he can still give a discount after killing Jeannie, Briscoe will only feel uneasy and nervous, and if the Courier said she had it coming, Cliff is surprised that she must've really pissed somebody off to get killed and later shrugs it off.
Cliff Briscoe: Lord almighty. I can't for the life of me imagine her doing anything that'd make someone want to kill her. Not that I'm saying you're a liar, of course! I'm just surprised, is all. Will there be anything else?
Berserk Button: Criticizing the tranquil living of Novac. She will tell the Courier to jump out a window if they do, and has no remorse in selling a pregnant woman into slavery because she wasn't happy in the town.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Acts very welcoming and expresses concern for Boone about his reaction to his wife going missing, although she thinks Carla just ran off. However, she is also a racist against Ghouls and lied right through her teeth about what really happened to Carla.
Evil Is Petty: It's heavily implied, and reinforced by her Berserk Button, through the investigation that the whole reason Jeannie sold Boone's pregnant wife and unborn baby to the Legion was because Carla critiqued her hotel and her town, and was annoying/rude.
Fantastic Racism: Glaldy asks the Courier to wipe out the ghouls at REPCONN, despite the fact they are not bothering the town aside from occasional ferals that are easily taken care of. Should the Courier help the ghouls instead and tell her that they left, Jeannie refuses to pay them and is concerned they could come back asking for handouts, unlike Manny who makes the same request, but is fine with the outcome being peaceful.
Karmic Death: If you choose to help Boone investigate his wife's disappearance, it culminates in Jeannie's abominable actions being rewarded with a bullet right through her head, fired by Boone from the mouth of the Dinky the Dinosaur statue that provided her beloved Novac with some small-town notoriety. It also was the manner in which Boone "saved" Carla from being enslaved, so doubly Karmic to perform the same on the one who ultimately caused him to do the deed.
Posthumous Narration: Jeannie narrates the ending(s) for Novac even if she's dead, something very likely to happen if the Courier successfully completes Boone's request to uncover the truth of Carla's disappearance.
Too Dumb to Live:
- Jeannie willingly agrees (without the need for a speech check, even) to stand directly in view of the town's sniper tower just because the player vaguely tells her that she’s needed there. She never even asks what’s happening, even when she arrives at the destination and observes the Courier putting on a familiar First Recon beret to signal Boone to take the killing shot. Jeannie May Crawford quite literally walks straight into her own demise without a hint of worry or concern.
- She still held onto the bill of sale from the Legion for Carla Boone and her unborn child. Granted, it was to make sure she would still get the promised bonus for when Carla's baby was born, but she clearly didn't think about the possibility that the husband of her victim, a member of a renowned sharpshooter squadron, might be looking for answers about his missing wife.
Would Hurt a Child: She never even gave a thought about Carla's unborn baby likely to end up being enslaved by Caesar's Legion, since it would end up netting her an extra 500 caps on top of selling Carla herself into slavery.

Cliff Briscoe

Voiced by: Gregory Alan Williams

"Darn it. No one ever buys the T-rexes."

Owner of the Dino Bite gift shop. He is bummed out that nobody is interested in buying the Dinky the T-Rex souvenirs. He is also a Caravan player.

Extreme Doormat: Played for Laughs. He will be shocked to hear that the Courier has killed Jeannie May, but gets over it surprisingly quickly and says he hopes they can still be friendly even if he considered her a friend.
Nice Guy: A meek and friendly person who unlike some other residents don't have any particular darker traits.
Room Full of Crazy: His house has Dinky the T-Rex souvenirs all over the place, though it's less an obsession and more that he's got nowhere else to put them thanks to a pre-war surplus.
Shaped Like What It Sells: He sells souvenirs based on the town's landmark, a giant dinosaur.

No-Bark Noonan

Voiced by: Peter Renaday

"Them quack doctors can say what they want about all the radscorpion stings that done pierced my skull. I know what I seen!"

Novac's resident expert in all things unexplained. Most residents quite rightly view him as a nutjob, though there is often a grain of truth to his ramblings.

Affluent Ascetic: Is rich enough to wager a thousand caps on a single Caravan game, yet still wears rags and lives in a shack on the outskirts of town.
Cloudcuckoolander: Big time.
Conspiracy Theorist: His craziness works this way.
The Cuckoolander Was Right: He is actually very perceptive of the more low-key and shady goings-on in and around Novac, and while most of his theories may be wildly off the mark, some are rather close to the truth, just not in the way he imagines them.
Courier: Why do they call you No-bark?
No-Bark: 'Cause they know I ain't just barking here. What I say's got bite, 'cause it's the truth.
- He claims the Bright Brotherhood are "commie ghosts" who want to steal rockets to fly to the moon, paint it pink and draw a Lenin face on it. He's right in that the Brights do want to use rockets to fly off, just not to space. After the Courier completes "Come Fly With Me", Radio New Vegas will "interview" him about what happened (actually he was talking to a teddy bear and one of their mics just happened to pick him up), and he gives a completely accurate summary of events for once. However, since "religious ghouls in rockets looking for a land to call their own" sounds just like his usual insane ramblings, nobody believes him.
- On the topic of whatever is killing the McBride Brahmin, No-Bark is eventually paid no mind when he claims it is the work of the Chupacabra, due to the fact that the holes in the dead Brahmin are in fact bullet holes. No-Bark simply responds that this means the Chupacabra has an automatic weapon, a comment to which no one openly protests since it means, Chupacabra or not, something that is both invisible and in possession of heavy firepower is shooting up their Brahmin. It turns out to be a Nightkin instead of a Chupacabra.
- He's the only person in Novac to recognize the local Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Jeannie May Crawford, reasoning that everyone has something weird going on about them, so anyone who seems perfectly normal must be hiding it, and if they're hiding it, then it must be really bad. While several people in No
- In a more downplayed example, he fully recounts meeting Benny and seeing Legionaries abduct Boone's wife, though he isn't aware of the significance of what he saw. For instance, he believes the Legionaries were mole rat men who kidnapped Boone's wife to make wigs out of her hair.
Hidden Depths: No-Bark claims to be a scientist, which sounds crazy considering how...well crazy he is, but considering his advanced vocabulary (suggesting some sort of higher education, see his description of the happenings at the REPCONN factory for an example) and the amount of caps he has to bet on a game of Caravan, it's possible that he may have been one before losing his mind. It's heavily implied that he was fine until he was repeatedly stung in the head by radscorpions.
Hypocritical Humor: His initial theory regarding REPCONN.
No-Bark: Folks'll tell you that they seen ghouls up near the rocket factory. Sensationalist hooey, cooked up by superstitious yokels seeing phantoms of their own imagining.
The Courier: Who do you think is actually at the factory?
No-Bark: Ghosts. Commie ghosts what don't know they're dead, hoping to steal our rockets so they can fly up and paint the moon pink, and draw a Lenin face on it.
King of Games: Challenge him to a game of Caravan sometime. You'll be surprised to see that this crazy old man is one of the richest players in the game, and is capable of putting up more than a thousand caps a game.
Only Known by Their Nickname: According to Alice McBride, No-Bark is a nickname someone gave him based on the expression "not all his dogs are barking" and nobody in Novac remembers what his real name is, not even himself it seems. However, No-Bark thinks his nickname is due to the townsfolk knowing that he is not "just barking" and what he says "has bite" in it.
Properly Paranoid: At the very least, he's right in thinking that there are some mighty suspicious things going on, even if the conclusions he jumps to are rather strange.
Room Full of Crazy: Natch, his shack is this. Nothing overtly dangerous; the rigged shotgun trap doesn't even have a trigger mechanism.
No-Bark: How did you get past the guards?

Ranger Andy

See New California Republic.

Craig Boone

See Courier and Companions.

Manny Vargas

See New California Republic.

Ada Straus

Voiced by: Katherine Pawlak

"That's not so bad. I'll have you looking as good as new. I mean, what are the chances of me botching another routine procedure in the same day?"

Novac's resident "doctor," who hangs out near the edge of town with her mercenary bodyguards. She isn't tied to any major quests or factions and doesn't have too much to say, but there is a very good reason she has a spot here anyway.

Back-Alley Doctor: She is nowhere close to being a legitimate medical professional and has an absolutely abysmal score in medicine. The only real reason to visit her is to hear the hilariously messed-up things she has to say to people seeking treatment from her. (Well, that and the fact that she sells stuff at a discount.)
Black Comedy: Her complete lack of medical training and casual disregard for the Hippocratic Oath is played for some dark laughs.
Courier: I need medical supplies.
Ada Straus: Yeah, and I need sterile medical supplies. But let's see what I have with me.
Dr. Feelgood: She unabashedly sells hard drugs like Jet in addition to medical supplies. This makes for some hilarious dialogue when the Courier comes to her seeking to fix their chem habit.
Courier:: I think I might be addicted to something.
Ada Straus: Hey, pipe down, we can't talk about that here, out in the open! Oh, you mean you want a cure. Oh.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Despite her abysmal medical skill, the medical services you request from Straus work just as well as any other doctor in the game. Plus, she's cheaper than most other doctors in the game, so it may actually be more beneficial going to her for help, if you want to save some caps.
Irony: Despite being horrible at her job, her services are cheaper than other doctors and work the same, meaning she’s a superior choice to the doctors who know what they are doing.
Meatgrinder Surgery: Heavily implied. She also casually tells you that she doesn’t think she can botch the same routine medical procedure in the exact same way multiple times in a row.
Mundane Utility: She thinks up some pretty interesting ways the Courier could use their advanced radiation poisoning.
Courier: Can you heal my radiation?
Ada Straus: Are you sure? You won't be able to read in the dark as well.
Courier: No, thanks.
Ada Straus: In that case, stand just like that for a second. I want to make some toast.
Violation of Common Sense: Despite being a walking Back-Alley Doctor joke, her services work the exact same as other doctors and are cheaper to boot. Visiting the least qualified doctor in the Mojave is an objectively better choice than everyone else.

Old Lady Gibson

Voiced by: Marianne Muellerleile

"Hi there. I'm Old Lady Gibson, or so they tell me. I've got odds and ends for sale, and I'm pretty good at fixing things, too."

Old Lady Gibson is a friendly old former scavenger, trader, and repairwoman living in a scrapyard just outside of Novac with her dogs.

Canine Companion: She has a small pack of them named Audaz, Basura, Colmillo, Reina, and Rey, the last of which is one of the options for a replacement brain for Rex.
Captain Obvious: If you ask her why people call her Old Lady Gibson:
Gibson: Let me give you a hint; They used to just call me Gibson, I hope you can figure out the rest.
Cool Old Lady: She is one of the more pleasant characters in the game.
I Call It "Vera": Her unique shotgun is named Big Boomer.
Never Mess with Granny: She might be a friendly old lady, but if you anger her, she'll pull out her shotgun and attack you, along with all five of her dogs. Worth noting is her tagged skills are guns, melee weapons, and sneak.
Retired Badass: Downplayed; she and her now late husband used to be scavengers, but now she has resigned herself to the quiet life of a trader. But don't think she can't still fight...
Shoot the Dog: If you choose Rey's brain as the replacement brain for Rex, she will be the one to kill him.
Shotguns Are Just Better: She carries a unique sawed-off shotgun called Big Boomer.
Shout-Out: She is likely one to the Mad Max franchise: her name and the name of the scrapyard she lives in is Gibson, the surname of Mel Gibson, the star of the first three movies; she's an old lady with a shotgun, which is a Running Gag in those movies; she lives in a post-apocalyptic Scavenger World; and she also lives with only the company of her canine companions, like how Max only lived with dog at the beginning of the second movie.
Wrench Wench: Can repair your items with a 79 repair skill, and one of her projects in the garage is a motorcycle.

188 Trading Post

"Local, local, the here and now... little of interest... things to buy, false hopes, and regrets watered down, washed down in dirty glasses..."

— The Forecaster

A small outpost made up of makeshift shacks and tents. Veronica Santangelo, a potential companion, can be recruited here. The trading post is located directly north of El Dorado Dry Lake, west-northwest of Boulder City, and south of Camp Golf. Established by Michelle and her father Samuel after the Powder Gangers' break-out down at Primm forced traders northward, the 188 Trading Post is now a bustling trading spot, catering to the NCR from Boulder City and Hoover Dam, as well as offering good connections down Highway 95. Its name comes from the actual spot it's in; it is situated at the intersection of Highways 93 and 95 — the two numbers add up to 188.

A great deal of travelers pass through the trading post. As I-15 was shut down due to deathclaws overrunning Quarry Junction, Highway 93 became the only way for NCR citizens to safely reach New Vegas. Coming, people casually spend the money they had conserved for gambling at the casinos. Going, the same people (now completely depleted of all their money) also go through the 188, this time willing to literally give the shirts off their backs to avoid starving before making it back to their homes in the NCR.

General

Merchant City: Downplayed; it's a very small community, made entirely of merchants.

Veronica Renata Santangelo

See Courier and Companions.

The Arms Merchant

See New California Republic.

The Forecaster

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forecaster_fonv.jpg

Voiced by: Anthony Crehan

"Bull and Bear over the Dam, at each other's throats... but a light from Vegas? Ball spinning on the wheel, more than two at the table. Placing bets. All lose in different ways. A dam of corpses, towns of corpses, scattered across the sand. But whose in what shares? Even the dealer doesn't know. Forecast: A rain of blood will flood the desert and not purify it."

A young lad living under the bridge at the 188 Trading post. He survives by "selling thoughts" — specifically, he "takes off his headache medicine" and "thinks" about whatever his customers ask. As one can tell from his incredibly detailed and disturbingly accurate speeches, he's a psyker — a rare breed of mutant with mental powers some would call supernatural, not seen since The Master's days.

All There in the Script: His real name, Clay, is only revealed through programmer notes in the game files.
Foreshadowing: The Courier can pay him to think about certain concepts ("You", "Here" or "Everywhere") and speak about it. Each of his speeches may foreshadow future events in metaphorical ways.
Fortune Teller: His profession.
Mad Oracle: He comes across as this when not wearing his nullifier — his cheerful and childlike tone of speech drops and he begins talking in creepy metaphors, and after he's done he doesn't remember what he said, only that saying it makes his head hurt to varying degrees.
Mysterious Past: Little to nothing is revealed about his past or how he became a psyker.
Mythology Gag: Psykers and the nullifiers they wear appeared in the first game, as byproducts of the Master's genetic experiments. How this kid attained the same type of mutation over a century later is a mystery.
Power Nullifier: He wears a psychic nullifier to keep his mental powers from overwhelming him. Being a little kid who doesn't understand his own abilities, he calls it "medicine" for his "headaches".
Psychic Children: He is one.
Wisdom from the Gutter: He's just an orphan kid living under a bridge... that happens to have powers of prediction that grant him insight into the goings-on of the entire Mojave.

Alexander

Not pictured: Representative material.

Voice by: Liam O'Brien

Am I selling? Yeah. Am I selling to you? No. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but you're small time. Move along.

A trader affiliated with the Gun Runners.

Hate Sink: Possibly the least liked merchant in the game as despite his adequate display of weaponry and ammunition in his inventory, his grating Small Name, Big Ego, Jerkass personality makes players want to put the asshole into his place, lethally. Unfortunately, he is somehow programmed to respawn a few days later even after you kill him due to a programmer's oversight, though there are game mods that exist to fix that so that he can finally stay dead.
Jerkass: There's no other way to describe his personality. Call him out on it, and he'll tell you to fuck off.
Small Name, Big Ego: When he refuses to sell to you because "you're small time", it's safe to say that his opinion of himself (and his employers, to an extent) is inversely proportionate to his reputation. Granted, he's a member of a reputable arms dealing organization but it doesn't excuse him to act like a petty asshole to anyone he comes across just because he feels like it, especially not towards someone who has potentially traveled all over not only the Mojave but even more deadly locations such as the Divide, the Sierra Madre casino, etc. and lived to tell the tale. He's just asking for a bullet to his face doing so.

Aerotech Office Park

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aerotech.jpg

"This here's where folks go when their luck runs out. Drifters up from the Republic, locals who can't turn a dime, drunken reprobates from all around."

— Captain Parker

A small refugee camp on the outskirts of New Vegas near Camp McCarran. It's a place where people who have lost everything, be it at the tables on the Strip or at the end of a bandit's gun barrel, inevitably end up. As if living conditions weren't bad enough, the whole place is sorely understaffed and afflicted with a large number of problems ranging from drug addiction and gambling all the way up to missing persons.

Captain Parker

See New California Republic.

Burt Gunnarsson

See Other Factions.

Keith

Voiced by: Gregory Alan Williams

"Name's Keith. You feeling lucky? I got games of chance, games of skill, games of you-name-it. Want to win a little cash?"

A former Legion slave who spends most of his time selling chems and conning other residents out of their hard-earned money.

Asshole Victim: As noted by Captain Parker himself after he guns him down for breaking the law and mocking him over his wife leaving him.
Card Sharp: Passing a speech check has him admit to marking cards with extra ink to swing things in his favor. A set of marked cards can also be found among his belongings.
Dirty Coward: Captain Parker calls him a cowardly son of a bitch who might do something desperate if cornered.
Faux Affably Evil: He has a perfect Charisma of 10 and is polite and friendly to potential marks and customers, but drops the act when Captain Parker confronts him over his illegal activities. This gets him filled full of lead when he pushes one too many of the captain's buttons.
Too Dumb to Live: Selling drugs and scamming the other refugees was bad enough, and so was telling the Courier that he marks cards, but insulting the military officer pointing a loaded service rifle at him about his failed marriage? That wasn't too smart, Keith.

Frank Wheathers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frank_weathers.jpg

Voiced by: Emerson Brooks

"My name's Frank Wheathers. I'm a farmer, got a few hundred acres near Junktown. Well, I was a farmer. I guess I'm not much of anything now."

A cowardly man who lost his family to Legion slavers while attempting to cross the river near one of their camps. He feels enormous guilt over abandoning his family, and asks the Courier to save them.

The Alcoholic: He apparently turns into a pretty mean bastard when he gets drunk, which is one of the reasons his family wants nothing to do with him.
The Atoner: The player can convince him to get himself cleaned up in the hopes of one day earning his family's love and respect back.
Dirty Coward: He abandoned his own family to Legion slavers and made a run for it while they all got captured, though he at least feels immense shame over this and tries to have them rescued.
Domestic Abuse: His mistreatment of his family caused them to resent him even before he left them to be captured by the Legion. If they are rescued, they quite understandably want nothing to do with him.
Driven to Suicide: If the player feels he is unworthy of redemption, he can be convinced to commit suicide.

Freeside

"People in Freeside generally fall into one of two categories. Those who've been here all their lives call themselves Locals. They're both right to some extent, and violent outbreaks between the two are all too common these days. The Locals blame the Squatters for the scarcity of resources in Freeside, and the Squatters blame any act of violence against them on the Locals. When people from the NCR and other places started pouring in, the Locals began referring to them as Squatters, and the name stuck."

— Rotface

Dirty, broken down, and seen better days two centuries ago, Freeside is the slums of New Vegas. Lacking the glitz, glamor, and safety of the strip, Freeside is the home to both locals that have lived there all their lives and NCR squatters that took over parts of the town, leading to conflict between both. Freeside is also the only way in and out of the Strip to any NCR citizen rich enough to get to the shining city, so the demand for a bodyguard is high. Freeside's major gang is the Kings, though the Van Graff family owns a significant hold due to their ties to the NCR's politicians and having firepower that rivals the Brotherhood of Steel. Finally, the Followers of the Apocalypse have taken over the Old Mormon Fort as their base to aid anyone that needs them.

Important Factions

The Kings, Van Graffs, and Followers

See Other Factions.

Atomic Wrangler

James and Francine Garret

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_garret_fix.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/francine_garret.jpg

Voiced by: Liam O'Brien and Cindy Robinson

"We've got liquor, chems, and whores a plenty. Pick your fix and we'll oblige."

The Garret twins are the owners and proprietors of the Atomic Wrangler casino in Freeside, making them the pushers of alcohol, drugs, and prostitutes to the region. Francine handles the business end of things, while James concerns himself with public relations and image.

And There Was Much Rejoicing: If you kill Caesar, Francine gives you a free drink on the house for killing the leader of an army of rapists. If you kill Benny, James mentions how he only regrets that he wasn't there to see it.
Armored Closet Gay: James is an Armored Closet Robosexual.
Anti-Villain:
- True, they openly admit that they like getting their customers drunk or drugged so it'll be easier to shake them loose of their caps, but that's the limit of their misdeeds. In the Fallout world, prostitution and drugs are acceptable business to most, and the Garrets otherwise aren't looking to cause any trouble or get anyone killed.
- There are limits to how much they're willing to get people addicted to alcohol or chems, because having addicts running around in Freeside destabilizes the area and is generally bad for business (see Pragmatic Villainy below).
Even Evil Has Standards: If you have a bad reputation in Freeside, James will refuse to sell to you, disgusted with you. He'll spread a good word on your behalf for the right price, but if you get really bad enough to need it, he'll only do it once, then it's on you.
Fetishes Are Weird: He definitely doesn't have a robot fetish, why would you think that?
Friendly Enemy: With the Followers of the Apocalypse, on account of the Followers constantly taking in the drunks and druggies the Garrets are churning out. However, the Garrets appreciate their efforts to make Freeside a better place, and are willing to supply them with medical chems if the Followers will help them out in kind. The Followers, in turn, reluctantly admit that against the increased relief the support will let them provide Freeside, helping the Garrets is worth it.
Good Counterpart: To the Omertas and Gomorrah. Both are sleazy casinos that cater booze, drugs, and prostitutes, but the way they go about it is rather different.
- The Wrangler doesn't abuse their prostitutes at all. Francine mentions that right up front if the Courier expresses an interest. They also have no qualms about letting the workers choose their own clients, and they never force them to work for someone they'd rather not. Gomorrah actively works to get their sex workers addicted to keep them in a state of pseudo-slavery. They routinely abuse their own workers, give them no say in who they're forced to serve, and they even let Clanden torture and murder some of the girls, because he provides them with other services.
- Francine sends the Courier to non-lethally shake down some indebted customers, and they only ever resort to murder in the case of McCaffery, who actually robbed them. The Omertas are... less kind, as both Henry Jamison and Ranger Lenk will immediately panic if the Courier even implies they might mention it to the Omertas.
Half-Identical Twins: Both share the same facial structure as one another.
Pet the Dog: The Wrangler as a whole is pretty seedy, but if talked into working with the Followers, James will level with you that despite their reputation, they do care about their customers, and aren't actively seeking to get anyone addicted.
Pragmatic Villainy: They're in the business of making money, not murder. Sure, some folks are being stingy on their tabs, but they prefer their debt collectors get the debtors to (more or less) willingly hand over their money rather than looting it from their corpses, because corpses don't come back for more. Additionally, despite their dealing in the booze and drug trade, they prefer people not becoming violent addicts, because Freeside is on hard enough times without a bunch of chemheads running around.
Robosexual: James hires you to track down a sexbot. For a client, that is! He isn't into that kind of shit, those sick fucks. Ew. If you actually hire the sexbot, his reactions are priceless.
Transparent Closet: James attempts to hide his robot fetish are hilariously bad, he doesn't even tries to hold on his excitement when you tell him that you "hired" Fisto.

Caleb McCaffery

Voiced by: Alex Mendoza

"Heh, so the Garrets sent you to track me down? What a joke."

Caleb McCaffery is the Garret's old debt collector, before he robs them, for letting the Courier do some of his work.

Evil Is Petty: He betrays and robs his former employers, just because they let someone else handle a few of the jobs he normally does.
Shotguns Are Just Better: His weapon of choice.
Small Name, Big Ego: He's just a hired gun who keeps the drunks and bums in line in Freeside, yet acts like he's some sort of famous wasteland bounty hunter or mercenary.
Suicidal Overconfidence: As shown in his above quote, he disregards the Courier during their confrontation, despite the fact that at that point in the game, the Courier is very likely to be leagues above him in terms of skill and weaponry. Big mistake.

Fisto

Voiced by: Dante Reid

"I am programmed for your pleasure. Please assume the position."

A protectron found by the Courier in Cerulean Robotics that is reprogrammed to work for the Garret twins at the Atomic Wrangler... as a sex worker. Despite being a basic model of what is essentially a utility and security robot Fisto is apparently quite... "skilled" in its prime operations and makes a welcomed addition to the casino. Fisto can be hired by the Courier for 10 caps.

Sex Bot: Hilariously, Fisto manages to serve this role even though it's just a simple Protectron with a program upgrade. James Garret certainly seems to like it, though...
Single-Task Robot: Its programming allows it to simulate intercourse with human clients. More specifically, its name and primary method of attack indicates how it most likely... accomplishes this task...
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Being named "Fisto" is awfully convenient for a robot destined to be a sexbot.
Fisto: Fully Integrated Security Technotronic Officer active and reporting for duty.
The Courier: That is a mouthful. Let's shorten that to Fisto.
Fisto: Yes, ma'am. Fisto reporting for duty. Please assume the position.
The Courier: What!? No! / I suppose I should test you out before I hand you to the Garrets...

Street Vendors and Merchants

Rotface

Voiced by Sam Riegel

"Hey, buddy, spare a cap?"

A homeless ghoul who spends his time sitting at the gates of Freeside by Mick and Ralph's shop. He hears a lot of things, and in a dangerous place like Freeside, knowledge is security. And Rotface is willing to tell you all he knows, one tidbit at a time, if you've got the caps. As detailed under Demoted to Extra, Rotface was originally a more complex character that had his story considerably sliced down.

Demoted to Extra: He was originally going to have an ongoing storyline, where the player's continued donations allowed Rotface to buy things, and the player's comments on his purchases would influence his ultimate fate in different ways. Most of it was cut, and now he just buys a hat after you pay him enough caps. However, fan mods exist that piece together the subplot from script notes and leftover voice clips to mostly restore the subplot to full working order, sans some incomplete bits that were planned but not given voice acting.
Disproportionate Retribution: In one of the "bad" endings to his story, he decides to mug the player because they made fun of his outfit.
The Dog Bites Back: One ending for him was that the player could tell Rotface that now that he's rich and has a gun, he doesn't need to be pushed around anymore. Rotface decides to confront some of the people who were mean to him in the past, and gets killed for his courage.
Golden Ending: In the optimal ending to his subplot, he would have joined the Followers of the Apocalypse to rededicate his life to something better.
Gonk: Even for a ghoul, Rotface looks rough, with flaps of skin hanging from flesh that's gone a greenish-black color reminiscent of putrefaction, hence the moniker.
Knowledge Broker: He knows a lot of what goes on around Freeside, the Strip, and some of the Vegas outskirts, seemingly just by keeping an ear out. Talking to him hints at dozens of questlines and enables some optional objectives in others now that you've heard something from Rotface about the characters involved.
Meaningful Name: He's a ghoul, so "Rotface" is rather literal.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: In one ending to his subplot, he would have saved up his money and left Freeside.
Too Dumb to Live: Numerous "bad" endings to his subplot would have gotten him killed due to Suicidal Overconfidence; either he tries to mug the player, he tries to push around some thugs, or he flashes his wealth around too much and is mugged and killed.
Ungrateful Bastard: As told under "Disproportionate Retribution," in one potential ending, he would mug the player after they donated enough caps.
Wisdom from the Gutter: As noted, he's been around to know a lot about the local area for ghoul hobo.

Mick and Ralph

Mick

Ralph

Voiced by: Shane Johnson and Liam O'Brien, respectively.

"A polite society is an armed society!"

"He might not look it, but Ralph from Mick & Ralph's is no slouch with a keyboard. I've heard he's helped reprogram several robots in his time."

— Rotface

Mick and Ralph are a pair of merchants operating from their store in Freeside by the east gate. Mick sells guns, and Ralph sells food and supplies. Ralph also provides some specialty items, namely fake passports into the Strip for 500 caps (or for free, if you cash in The King's favor).

Arms Dealer: Mick is one, though to access a good portion of his inventory, you'll have to pass a thirty speech check to convince him he can trust you, at which point he'll open a secret door to the rest of his inventory.
Everyone Has Standards: Ralph finds the idea of sexbot reprogramming off-putting.
Friend in the Black Market: Despite running a mostly legitimate shop, both men dabble in illegal side businesses. Ralph sells counterfeit passports to The Strip, and Mick has a secret stash of high-end weapons that can only be accessed with a speech check. This seems to be a bit of an Open Secret in Freeside, with the duo actually using this trope to advertise and attract more customers.
Mick & Ralph Crier: We've got stuff we're not even allowed to sell, people! Only at Mick and Ralph's!
Master Forger: Ralph makes and sells passports good enough to fool the robot security guards at the gateway to The Strip. He charges a pretty steep fee for one, but they're the only way around the 2,000-cap credit check that the player has to meet to enter normally.
The Smart Guy: Ralph is not only capable of forging documents, but he's also the one that can help you program a robot for the Garrets' ...use.

Dixon

Seven of Spades

Voiced by: Liam O'Brien

"Yeah, man. Those cats are out of their domes addicted to my shit. They can't get enough. Pretty hilarious to watch."

Dixon is a drug dealer operating just outside of Mick and Ralph's shop, supplying Bill Ronte and Jacob Hoff with cheap but highly addictive chems and alcohol.

The Aggressive Drug Dealer: Subverted; while he's definitely not a pleasant person, he's generally pretty laid-back and unaggressive.
Asshole Victim: While you can get him to stop selling his stuff to Bill and Jacob non-violently, no one will mind if you just blow his head off.
Evil Is Petty: He enjoys watching NCR citizens slowly kill themselves on his drugs.
It Works Better with Bullets: He carries a Varmint Rifle, but doesn't have the proper ammo to go with it (5.56mm), instead carrying .22LR, so he'll default to his knife in a fight. This is a remnant of an earlier state of development when the Varmint Rifle used .22LR instead of 5.56mm.
Jerkass: Not only is he a drug dealer, he's a drug dealer that enjoys watching people destroy their lives because of the chems and alcohol he sells.

Genaro

Voiced by: Alex Mendoza

"Typically, I find it goes down better if I leave people guessing."

A street vendor selling various cooked critters at a small food stand near the Freeside main gate. He cooks pretty much anything his child helpers can catch, from roasted squirrels to giant rats. He's not a master chef by any means, but in Freeside it's better to be fed than picky.

Brutal Honesty: He is extremely up front that his food is barely edible and not very good quality. It is cheap and filling, though, which is more than most of the folks living in Freeside could ask for.
Genaro: You won't regret it. At least until an hour or so from now.
Lethal Chef: He fries up and serves whatever his assistants can catch, be it giant vermin or mutated bugs. His food probably hasn't killed anyone, but it's definitely not something anyone buys for the taste or health benefits.

Debtors

Santiago

Voiced by: Liam O'Brien

"How are you today? Santiago is fabulous!"

Santiago is a smooth-talking con artist from Freeside who puts on a Spanish accent to get out of paying for his drinks, a practice that has led to him racking up hefty tab with the Garrets.

Con Man: When The Courier tries to collect the debt he owes the Garrets, he will try to sell you a phony password for a non-existent discount at Mick and Ralph's.
Dirty Coward: He immediately gives The Courier the money he owes after the latter lets him know that they aren't messing around.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: He's supposed to be a smooth talker. His in-game Charisma stat? 2.
Latin Lover: He uses a Spanish accent to sound more charming, and it's a trait that can make him a worthwhile "Smooth Talker" for the Atomic Wrangler. If you threaten him enough, he'll drop the accent and speak with a regular American accent.
The Oldest Profession: Like Old Ben, Santiago can be recruited as a prostitute for the Garrets, but unlike the former, Santiago jumps at the opportunity.
Small Name, Big Ego: Despite his grandiose personality, he is just a bum trying to smooth talk others into giving him what he wants.
The Smart Guy: Like Old Ben, he has surprisingly high intelligence, barter, medicine, and science skills.
Third-Person Person: He will do this while trying to play himself up.

Lady Jane

Voiced by: Andrea Thompson

"Hello. Lovely to meet you."

A woman who has fallen on hard times ever since she lost her caravan near a cave filled with giant rats on the far side of the Mojave. Racking up a debt at the Wrangler has only complicated matters, and now she is stuck in Freeside with barely a cap to her name.

Insufferable Genius: Along with her heavily inflated sense of self-importance, she also has a 98 in her Science skill. For comparison, a Courier with at least a 90 in their Science skill can do such things as calculate a 12.5% improvement to the REPCONN rockets' trajectory, successfully defuse a Legion bomb on the McCarran monorail, and even successfully trick the Securitron greeter (who is mere feet away from where Jane is, matter of fact) to bypass the 2000-caps credit check and let them onto the Strip.
Small Name, Big Ego: She's very self-important and sees herself as a high-class woman despite being a street bum who can't even afford a return trip to her home in California. One way to collect her debt is appealing to her vanity with Lady Killer and convincing her that not paying what she owes will damage her reputation.

Grecks

Voiced by: Chris Ciulla

"Hey man, can you spare a few caps?"

An alcoholic ghoul who hangs out near the outer wall of the Old Mormon Fort asking for caps to pay off his debt at the Atomic Wrangler. He's very submissive and easily intimidated into paying what he owes. Just... don't insult his eye.

Berserk Button: Making fun of his eye will cause him to fly into a rage and attack the player.
Courier: Yeah, and your eye! That shit is hilarious!
Grecks: My eye? A scum-humping water baron did this to me. No one talks trash about my eye.
Courier: Seriously, zombie, are you looking at me or someone off that direction?!
Grecks: That's it! No one insults the eye!
Butt-Monkey: The Courier can be extremely abusive to him compared to the other two debtors. This includes insulting him, beating him, extorting him, literally taking the clothes off his back, and making fun of his weird eye.
Extreme Doormat: As long as you don't press his Berserk Button, then it won't take much to collect on his debt because he'll cower to the smallest threat.
Facial Horror: Courtesy of a thorough beating, his face is deformed.
Gonk: Being a ghoul hasn't done any favors for his looks as it is, but the deformity around his eye makes him hands down the ugliest character in the game. Just don't say anything about it.
Suicidal Overconfidence: If thoroughly angered, he'll attack the Courier even if they're armed to the teeth while Grecks only has his fists and the clothes on his back.
Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Killing him, however, will yield you negative karma and substantial Freeside infamy.

Local Color

Beatrix Russell

Voiced by: Karen Strassman

"Feed a man for free. He'll be back asking for more. Feed a man a bullet. You won't hear from him again."

A ghoul with a cowboy look who is working for the Followers of the Apocalypse as a guard at the Old Mormon Fort, Beatrix can be convinced by the Courier to go to work for the Garrets as a prostitute.

Action Girl: Being a ghoul mercenary means she has had a rather long and successful career in the wasteland, and she has some rather high stats to show for it.
Dominatrix: She has a taste for domination.
Beatrix: Longing makes the heart grow fonder, but I've always been a fan of hogtying my lovers to make sure they can't escape.
Fan Disservice: When you recruit her to work as a dominatrix at the Atomic Wrangler, she dons a Stripperiffic outfit consisting of a black bra and (leather) panties, a corset, cowboy hat, and chains. Only problem? She's a ghoul. You can sleep with her as well. The screen fades to black out, and you don't see anything but you can hear... sounds...
Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: One would think that the quest for a "real ghoul cowboy" willing to be a kinky prostitute would far too specific to find in the wasteland, but Beatrix fits the bill. (Even so, James Garret's client was hoping they would be male.)
Only in It for the Money: Most of the staff at the Old Mormon Fort, including guards, see the work as a noble calling. For Beatrix it's just a stable and decently-paying job with good people. She's experienced enough to know that's nothing to sniff at, but not hard to draw away to the Atomic Wrangler.

Old Ben

Voiced by: Shane Johnson

"I've worked as a butcher, a caller, an escort, a hired gun, and a courier."

One of the older and more experienced gentlemen in Freeside, Old Ben is first encountered by the gate into The Strip and is one of the people that can be recruited as a prostitute for the Garrets.

Hand Cannon: He wields a .44 Magnum revolver.
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: He was a well-known male escort known for being a "smooth talker" and one of the few characters with Very Good karma. You can convince him to come out of retirement out of the fact that he offers people comfort.
Insistent Terminology: Lampshaded. He prefers the term escort, because it sounds better than whore.
Jack of All Trades: As his quote implies, he's held almost every job you could have in New Vegas.
Nice Guy: He's a very friendly gentlemen, who's even introduced warning the player of the dangers of trying to go into The Strip without talking to the robot gatekeeper. And like Sunny Smiles above, he's got Very Good karma.
The Smart Guy: Oddly enough, he has an intelligence stat of seven and almost has a hundred in medicine, barter, and science, despite there being nothing in his interaction with the player that would imply he's that knowledgeable.
Silver Fox: He used to be a male prostitute and can optionally be convinced to get back to the job despite his age.

Orris

Voiced by: Liam O'Brien

"Er, noticed that, did you? I keenly aimed one of the shots through some soft tissue of one of them to hit the man behind him."

Orris is a popular bodyguard for hire in Freeside, who for some reason has been getting a lot of repeat business despite the fact that he charges twice as much as the other bodyguards, a fact that has earned The King's suspicion.

But Thou Must!: Even if you accept his bribe, you still have to expose his scam in order to finish the mission.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Orris wears decent armor and wields one of the best pistols in the game. If he decided to do his job properly, he would probably excel at it.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: You can take this quest even if you are wearing good equipment, carrying a good weapon, and accompanied by one or two companions. So Orris will blindly believe that you are a client who needs protection, even if you are wearing armor and carrying a weapon that are much better than the ones he uses, as well as being accompanied by a Nightkin that is 2.5 meters tall.
Engineered Heroics: He's revealed to have been staging attacks on his customers so he can play hero and use his fake exploits to drum up better business.
Revolvers Are Just Better: His weapon of choice is a hunting revolver.

Westside

"Westside is a part of New Vegas, just as much as it's a part of the Wasteland. In the end, stranger, we need them both to continue making our fate."

— Red Lucy

The west side of Las Vegas, this post-War settlement is one of the poorer places to live in the city, though not as much as North Vegas Square. Despite its lack of funds, Westside is self-sufficient and has more than enough food and water to trade, with the Westside Co-op pooling the community's resources and workforce to benefit everyone. The locals are fiercely independent and have their own active militia to defend against the Fiends and hostile animals that randomly attack. Currently, the town is in conflict with the NCR over water being siphoned from the local sharecropper farm and sent to Westside farms. As with every problem, there's more than water at stake.

In General

Can't Catch Up: The militia is, to a man, equipped with weak armor and the worst shotgun in the game. They're easily torn apart by Fiends by the time the player reaches Westside.
Close-Knit Community: They are one.
Home Guard: There's no full-time military, just regular people defending their home from gangs of drugged-up rapists and murderers.

Red Lucy

Voiced by: Lora Cain

The owner of the Thorn, a combat arena located in the sewers underneath Westside where warriors can test their skills against captive creatures or bet on fights between them.

All Amazons Want Hercules: (Or Xena, she'll swing both ways.) Fittingly, as she was probably named after Red Sonja. You can sleep with her, but only after you've brought back eggs from the most dangerous creatures in the Mojave, which typically means raiding their nests.
Blood Knight: She has a quasi-religious reverence for her gladiatorial operation, and she's only willing to sleep with people who prove themselves to be unflappable badasses.
Cold Ham: She speaks with an indoor voice, but is nonetheless extremely theatrical with her word choice and affectation.
Romance Sidequest: Her quest "Bleed Me Dry" involves the Player Character gaining her affection by killing various dangerous creatures throughout the wasteland. It ends with the two of you consummating your relationship and her giving you the title of her "hunter", making that quest the closest thing to this trope in the game.
Shotguns Are Just Better: If you manage to impress her enough, she gives you the Dinner Bell, a very powerful unique Hunting Shotgun.

Mean Sonofabitch

Voiced by: Marc Graue

A first-generation Super Mutant who acts as one of Westside's protectors. He has a speech impediment due to NCR soldiers mutilating his tongue.

Because You Were Nice to Me: He came to Westside seeking out Klamath Bob, who had tried to free him from the NCR by purchasing his freedom after he witnessed soldiers torturing Mean Sonofabitch.
Beware the Nice Ones: He is extremely amicable and polite. He is also part of the reason why the Fiends took over Vault 3, since Motor-Runner notes that Mean Sonofabitch kept killing them while they were out in the open near Westside.
The Big Guy: Of the Westside militia. As a Super Mutant, he's the biggest person in town.
Deathbringer the Adorable: Despite his vicious-sounding name, he has Good Karma and is generally a nice if simple mutant.
The Dreaded: For the Fiends, who took over Vault 3 just to hide from him.
Gentle Giant: A very kind and very loyal Super Mutant.
Good Thing You Can Heal: He is the only non-DLC NPC that actually regenerates health.
I Call It "Vera": Carries a unique weapon, the "Mean Super Sledge," which boasts a damage per attack that's higher than even the Super Sledge unique variant ("Oh, Baby!"). However, it cannot be looted by the player, and can only be summoned via console commands.
One-Man Army: Single-handedly ran the Fiends, who the NCR can barely handle, out of Westside.
The Unintelligible: Good luck understanding what he says. The NCR soldiers who captured him did a real number on his tongue.
Token Non-Human: The only Super Mutant in Westside.
Tongue Trauma: NCR soldiers cut out his tongue, which has left him with a permanent speech impediment.

Tom Anderson

See Other Factions.

Casa Madrid

Marco

Voiced by: Emerson Brooks

"Welcome to the Casa Madrid - cheapest, cleanest whores in all New Vegas. If you want to know the rates for poon, talk to the whores."

The landlord of the Casa Madrid apartment complex, which he runs as the local whorehouse. He can be found sitting outside the main building welcoming in potential customers.

Black Comedy Rape: He seems to think so, given the rather mocking comments he makes about Jimmy and Pretty Sarah's experiences.
Cranky Landlord: He'll chew the Courier out for killing Dermot and Saint James, since he has now lost their business and has to clean up the bodies. Never mind that both men were scum-of-the-earth slavers that would happily sell out him and his entire building off to the Fiends if there was a pile of caps in it for them.
Jerkass: He's reasonably polite to the Courier, but runs his apartment complex like a whorehouse and is more worried about losing profits than watching out for his tenants.
Pet the Dog: Mentions he cuts Tom Anderson a deal on his rent out of gratitude for the help he's done for Westside.
Slimeball: Marco is not only greedy and selfish as stated above, but he also makes several rude or inappropriate remarks about his tenants if you talk to him about them, mocking Jimmy's and Pretty Sarah's traumatic pasts and objectifying Sweetie. No wonder Jimmy says that "he's a pig".

Pretty Sarah

Voiced by: Lora Cain

"Welcome to the Casa Madrid. If you got an itch needs scratching, you came to the right place. Just watch how you treat the merchandise."

A woman covered in burn scars who works as a pimp for Marco and keeps an eye on the prostitutes working for him.

Action Girl: She serves as a hired gun who deals with troublemakers in Casa Madrid and carries a .44 Magnum Revolver.
Berserk Button: Bringing up her burn scars, though she'll happily give the Courier a reward if they kill the man who gave them to her.
Covered with Scars: Her body is covered from head to toe in nasty burn scars.
Informed Deformity: The game doesn't actually have a unique texture for burn scars, so under her armor, Sarah has the same body as generic female raiders.
Irony: She claims that she retired from prostitution to become a pimp because her body is covered with burn scars and "nobody would want to fuck that" while, depending on your actions, the Atomic Wrangler in Freeside may have a ghoul prostitute.
Ironic Nickname: Pretty Sarah is a pretty ironic name for someone who's visibly dirty and covered in burn scars. Likely an Artifact Name as well, considering she used to be a prostitute.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She works as a madame and can be a little unfriendly, but is upfront with the Courier, and if shown evidence of Dermot and Saint James's human trafficking, she will be completely disgusted and promises to take care of them. She will also be very grateful to the Courier if she's told that Cook-Cook's dead.
Made of Iron: She survived being burned alive by Cook-Cook and has an Endurance stat of 8, almost as much as the fabled Burned Man himself.

Sweetie

Voiced by: Debra Wilson

"I'm called Sweetie because I'm the sweetest piece you'll find anywhere outside the Strip. I could work in those casinos if I wanted."

A prostitute working for Pretty Sarah and Marco at the Casa Madrid. Sweetie's the house favorite due to being the most attractive, but is also the most expensive. She can be hired by a Courier of either gender for 300 caps.

Brainless Beauty: She has a very impressive 9 in Charisma... along with a very unimpressive 3 in Intelligence. She did have the good sense not to work for the Omertas, though.
Ms. Fanservice: An in-universe example. Sweetie is the house favorite at Casa Madrid and seems to earn the most business out of all of their whores despite her very high rates. She even mentions that Saint James is one of her regular customers and will be disappointed if he is killed.

Maude

Voiced by: Marianne Muellerleile

"Old but spry, honey. So long as my back don't give out, I can make a living lying on it. May not be as fresh as Sweetie or Jimmy, but Pretty Sarah keeps me around for a good reason - experience!"

An elderly prostitute found working at the Casa Madrid alongside Sweetie and Jimmy. She isn't as young as her competition, but charges a much lower rate, which manages to earn her enough business to get by. She can be hired by a male Courier for 75 caps, though this isn't recommended.

Incompatible Orientation: She'll refuse to sleep with a female Courier and looks down on Sweetie for swinging both ways as well as Jimmy for being gay.
Racist Grandma: She makes some disparaging comments about the other prostitutes for sleeping with both men and women (Sweetie) or being homosexual (Jimmy). Given that she herself is just a little old to be whoring herself out, she really shouldn't be one to talk.
Silver Vixen: Amazingly, she manages to keep her job despite looking like she could be pushing a hundred years old and seems to earn plenty of business. Interestingly, she has a perfect 10 in Charisma, which is one point higher than even Sweetie, the house favorite.

Jimmy

Voiced by: Jesse Burch

"Sorry, ma'am, but ain't enough caps in all of New Vegas to make me do that. Nuh-uh."

A male prostitute who works at the Casa Madrid. Formerly a Legion slave, he managed to escape his captors and eventually found himself residing in Westside where he has been living ever since. He can be hired by a male Courier for 200 caps.

Born Unlucky: Had his home razed by the Legion, lost both his parents in the attack, spent time as a Legion Sex Slave, and now works as an escort in a run-down slum on the edge of Vegas. Yeah, he hasn't had the easiest life so far. His Luck stat of 3 might have something to do with that.
Camp Gay: In his way of speaking, at least.
Incompatible Orientation: He's gay and will turn down a female Courier's advances no matter how many caps she offers him.
Sex Slave: When his home was destroyed by the Legion, he was taken in by a Centurion who kept him as a sex slave and apparently treated him fairly well, protecting him from the others and even occasionally giving him gifts. Unfortunately, the other Legionaries soon grew suspicious of their relationship, and the Centurion was forced to take him out of camp and attempted to murder him. Jimmy managed to surprise the guy with a kick to the nuts and ran for it, eventually making his way to Westside, where he now works as a prostitute.

Dermot and Saint James

Dermot

Saint James

Voiced by: Emerson Brooks and Jesse Burch, respectively

A pair of slavers who live in Westside and claim to be scavengers and prospectors. They sell refugees to the Fiends by pretending to be coyotes who can get the refugees to safety.

Asshole Victim: If the Courier wastes the both of them, the only person with even a slight problem with it is Marco, and only because it means he can't collect rent from them anymore. Pretty Sarah even rewards the Courier for offing them.
Even Evil Has Standards: Dermot is not a big fan of Saint James, noting in his ledger that it is difficult to keep him from raping their female victims and calling him "sick" after he takes a seven-year-old girl's teddy bear as a trophy. He is also extremely disturbed by Cook-Cook burning alive one of the slaves they just sold him before they had even left.
Hate Sink: Rude, evil slavers with few redeeming qualities. The game even gives the player an opportunity to off them out in the open without making Westside hostile.
Ironic Name: Saint James is a very ironic name for a slaver and serial rapist.
Jerkass: Both are thoroughly unpleasant and unrepentant assholes. Even before you find out that they're slavers, they are both incredibly rude to you and will tell you to fuck off whenever you end a conversation with them.
Pædo Hunt: It's hinted that some, if not many, of Saint James' victims were underage.
Pragmatic Villainy: Dermot doesn't like Saint James raping the slaves they capture... because "used goods" go for a lower price.
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: They're the only non-Legion-affiliated slavers in the game, and they somehow manage to make the Legion look better by comparison.
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Saint James is a serial rapist. Even Dermott has a problem with that.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Dermot is the more composed, unemotional and businesslike of the two, whereas Saint James is loud and aggressive at all times with a childishly emotional streak.
Would Hurt a Child: They have no problem selling children into slavery to the Fiends.

North Vegas Square

The slum of the slums, North Vegas Square is the home of anyone too poor to live anywhere else. There is little to note except for The Grey, a local apartment building, and a manhole cover that leads to the North Sewers. The locals are cold, xenophobic, and not willing to talk to anyone else. The Grey is the biggest building that still stands in relatively good shape and is the home of most of the citizens, in particular Andy Scabb, a ghoul gang leader. The closest thing the Square has to a "leader" is Crandon and his group, who make sure the shantytown is run as smoothly as possible.

The North sewers are the storm drains and, well, sewers that crisscross beneath Las Vegas and connect the different surface settlements together. Relatively safe, with only the local Greaser gang and giant rats being a threat, it offers a refuge to those who need a place to live but can’t find anywhere else to go.

In General

Close-Knit Community: They are a poor but very proud and close community.
Home Guard: If you stretch the definition to two guys, you could count Crandon and Jules as this for the town.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though they are abrasive to outsiders, most of them^note are just trying to look out for each other, and if you can prove you have some grit, they'll start showing you more respect.
Wrong Side of the Tracks: Even compared to Freeside and Westside, North Vegas is in bad shape.

Crandon

Voiced by: Jude Ciccolella

"Name's Crandon, stranger. I keep an eye out for trouble around here."

An older man who watches over the North Vegas Square alongside Jules. He's the closest thing the town has to a mayor, and tries to make sure the walls don't (possibly literally) come tumbling down around him or the townsfolk. With the Fiends and local troublemakers causing no shortage of problems in addition to all the wasteland unpleasantness bleeding in through the cracks, he really has his work cut out for him.

Berserk Button: Downplayed. He gets slightly offended and chastises The Courier if asked if the NCR helps the people in North Vegas.
Cool Old Guy: He's a bit rough around the edges when you first meet him but quickly warms up to the Courier once they help him put out a few fires and make sure the North Vegas Square civilians are being protected. Notably, he has a perfect 10 in Charisma.

Jules

Three of Spades

Voiced by: Emerson Brooks

"Listen, warrior, there are two kinds of folks. You load your gun like an ordinary man, or you load it like a devil."

A survivalist who once roamed the Mojave from place to place before finally settling down in North Vegas Square. He helps Crandon keep the order and can teach the Courier a few things about ammo if their gun skill is high enough.

Badass Bystander: He has enormously high S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats for an ordinary NPC (including a perfect 10 in Charisma just like Crandon). His Intelligence stat is the only one that isn't above average, and it is still a very respectable 5.
Dark and Troubled Past: A lot of his dialogue hints that the Mojave was less than kind to him during his traveling days. His trust in his fellow man has dropped so low that he'd even consider a Radscorpion better company than an unfamiliar stranger.
The Gunslinger: He has very high Perception and uses both a .44 revolver and hunting rifle in combat. If the player proves that they know a decent amount about the subject, he'll even teach them a few new tricks when it comes to making ammo.
Large Ham: If the player impresses him by passing his speech checks, he'll really excitable while speaking.

Andy Scabb

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d218e26e_30b0_45ed_b2a8_1d01f419c507.jpeg

Voiced by: Sam Riegel

A gang leader working in North Vegas Square.

I'm a Humanitarian: Implied. Human meat can be found in his hotel room.
Toxic Friend Influence: To Alice Hostetler.

Jacobstown

"Travelers from the northern NCR have been whispering about a small community of super mutants located high in the snow-capped mountains west of New Vegas."

— Loading screen

Before the bombs fell, Mount Charleston was a popular ski resort for visitors to Las Vegas. After the bombs fell, the site became abandoned as the lack of materials to salvage didn't justify the climb up the road for scavengers and prospectors. Only sometime around 2267 was the site actually inhabited permanently when Marcus, a former Super Mutant soldier of the Master's Army, discovered the resort and made it the home for mentally ill Nightkin, a place where they could get the help they needed while staying away from society. The name came from Marcus's old friend Jacob, a Brotherhood of Steel Knight that fought Marcus to a draw after three days and became best friends with him afterwards. Unfortunately for Marcus, Davison and Tabitha refused to submit to Marcus’s rules, splintering off and making their own communities at the REPCONN test site and Black Mountain, respectively. The Nightkin still at the resort aren’t much better, as Keene’s influence on the other Nightkin threatens to break apart what Marcus has built.

General

Beware the Nice Ones: The super mutants in the town are peaceful, thanks to Marcus's teachings, but they are still hulking mutants.
Hidden Elf Village: It is an entire town of mostly super mutants, nestled in the forested snow-capped mountains, that is very rarely visited by humans.
Martial Pacifist: Marcus will insist on resolving the standoff with the mercenaries peacefully, but if it comes down to violence, he and the other mutants will fight to defend their home, even if he's not happy about it.
Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Marcus and the rest of the super mutants just want to live in peace, and Marcus would be happy to work with humans, but most people would react to them with either fear or violence.
The Scapegoat: Politicians in the NCR try to make them this to the attacks made by other groups of super mutants in the Mojave and send a squad of mercenaries to forcibly move and/or kill them from the area. Marcus sends the Courier to inform them that that's a bad idea, peacefully or not.

Marcus

See the Fallout 2 character page.

Keene

Voiced by: Marc Graue

"My request is perfectly reasonable. Give us the Stealth Boy specs, and there will be no need for us to splatter the room with your insides."

The de facto leader of the Nightkin in Jacobstown, who has very reluctantly agreed to let Marcus and his human friends try to help them.

Berserk Button: Do not stare at him... or try to talk to him... or be in his vicinity.
Fantastic Racism: He hates being around humans, especially ones that stare.
Keene: Another human? One was enough.
Jerkass: He's very abrasive and doesn't even try to hide his disdain for humans or his impatience with Marcus's attempts to help them. Not to mention that after Doc Henry finishes work on the prototype for the Mark II Stealth Boys, Keene tries to take them by force so he and his fellow Nightkin would be done with Marcus and his ways.
Jerkass Has a Point: While threatening to kill Doc Henry and anyone else in his way so he can take the Mark II Stealth Boy specs and go may have been a dick move on his part, he does bring up one valid point: it's the Nightkin's lives that are at stake and they have a right to choose how to deal with their illness. The player can convince him to change his mind, or concede to his point.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Relatively speaking, Keene is this for the other Nightkin. While he is definitely not happy with Marcus's ways of trying to help him or having to rely on help from humans, he does at least (reluctantly) give him and Doc Henry a chance. Plus, after he tries to take the Mark II Stealth Boy specs by force, he at least gives Doc Henry a chance to give them what they want so they can leave without hurting anyone, unlike many other residents of the wasteland would and can even be talked into changing his mind, if the Courier has a high enough speech skill.

Lily

See Courier and Companions.

Doc Henry

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctor_henry_fonv.jpg

Voiced by: Peter Renaday

"Because Marcus asked me to and because it's a reason for me to get up in the morning. I'd like to get one more grand accomplishment done."

Doctor Henry is an elderly former Enclave scientist in Jacobstown researching a potential cure for the Nightkin's schizophrenia, brought on by prolonged Stealth Boy use. He's also the doctor that the Courier can get to help save Rex's life, by transplanting a new brain into the dog.

The Atoner: It's implied that he feels this way over his involvement with Enclave.
Because I'm Good At It: His entire reason for helping Marcus is because he was asked, and he'd like to achieve one last scientific accomplishment before dying of old age. No greater purpose than that.
The Bus Came Back: Like Marcus, he was first introduced in Fallout 2.
Cool Old Guy: One of the brightest scientist in the Wasteland, whose work helped humanity. During the ending he'll run into battle with a Tri-Beam Laser Rifle.
Defector from Decadence: He left the Enclave because his ideas on dealing with the mutant problem in the country were not popular with the rest of the Enclave.
Energy Weapon: Henry's default weapon is a laser pistol, and if you convince him and the rest of the Enclave Remnants to join in at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, he will come in with a tri-beam laser.
For Science!: According to Arcade, he has saved countless lives by developing new medical treatments, but he is completely fine with nobody knowing about him. Apparently, the man simply enjoys solving difficult problems within his field of expertise. This doesn't mean he is completely unconcerned with the moral implications of his work — Fallout 2 indicates he worked on the modified FEV, and his reaction to seeing his super-mutant cure failing lethally was simply to note that means it still needs work, but on the other hand it's implied that he genuinely disagreed with the idea behind the modified FEV virus and that seeing the Enclave leadership wanting something like that was a major reason for his defection from the Enclave.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's not a people person, but he genuinely wants to help humanity with his work. A high-intelligence, science-focused Courier who does his quests will impress him and he'll warm up to him/her.
Mythology Gag: In Fallout 2, the Chosen One could acquire a cyberdog companion with him. In New Vegas, he cures (fixes?) the Courier's cyberdog companion.
Old Soldier: Just like the rest of the other Enclave Remnants, he is an elderly man by the time of Fallout: New Vegas, but he and the rest them will still hold their own in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, if the Courier convinces them to.
Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He worked on *deep breath* canine and human neuroscience, the modified FEV virus, cyberdogs, a serum to reverse super mutants back to humans which backfired and just melted them alive, Nightstalker mutations, Nightkin schizophrenia, the effects of prolonged exposure to the Stealth Boy Mark II prototype, and he also ran a clinic in the NCR's capital.
The Remnant: Along with the rest of the Enclave Remnants.
What You Are in the Dark: He doesn't care about recognition. He's perfectly fine with remaining obscure or otherwise unknown. He just wants to get science done.

Calamity

Voiced by: Karen Strassman

"With Doctor Henry off to rejoin his Enclave friends, he's left it up to me to carry on with the research here."

Doc Henry's ghoul research assistant, who takes over for him if the Courier convinces Henry and the rest of The Enclave Remnants to aid in the upcoming battle for Hoover Dam.

Deathbringer the Adorable: Her name is associated with loss and suffering. The lady herself is rather pleasant.
Discard and Draw: How she staves off the boredom that comes with being a functionally immortal ghoul; she changes names and professions every decade or so. This time through, she's "Calamity" and "a scientist".
Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed, but she chose "Calamity" because she "thought it sounded nice".
Instant Expert: Downplayed. Calamity has apparently never worked in the field of science before taking her current job as Doc Henry's assistant, but apparently has enough natural talent in the field that she's still a confidant lab assistant, despite her inexperience.
Jack of All Trades: She serves Jacobstown as a scientist, a repairman and a merchant. This is apparently just a meager showing of her various skillsets, considering how many she claims to have held in her long life.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Apparently, she's so old she changes her name every once in while, out of boredom. Calamity is just her current name.
Shout-Out: Calamity Jane.
Wrench Wench: She serves as the repairwoman for Jacobstown and can repair the Courier's gear up to 76%.

Vault 11

"Vault 11 has been abandoned for decades, though few people know the story of its terrible past."

— Loading screen

Vault 11 is one of several Vaults located in the Mojave, though it's been deserted for decades by the time the Courier comes along and pieces together its dark history.

General

All for Nothing: Vault 11 was sealed up and its inhabitants were told a yearly Human Sacrifice was required or else the vault mainframe would kill everyone. After decades of sacrifices, a war broke out in the Vault, leaving only five survivors who decided to refuse the annual sacrifice and face death rather than postpone the inevitable. In response to their refusal, Vault 11 was unsealed and the survivors were rewarded with a message from Vault-Tec, saying their "commitment to human life is a shining example to us al.l" Finding out the sacrifices and war were all for nothing drove all but one of the survivors to suicide.
The Coup: The majority of Vault 11 was wiped out thanks to the Justice Bloc launching an armed coup after Overseer Katherine Stone robbed them of their power to influence overseer elections.
Democracy Is Bad: Vault 11 used democratic elections to elect overseers, not to lead the Vault, but to serve as yearly Human Sacrifices so the Vault mainframe wouldn't wipe everyone else out. The voting blocs that nominated overseers were rampantly corrupt institutions looking only to preserve their own power or further their own interests via bribery, smuggling, and drug trafficking. Meanwhile, voters were encouraged to send neighbors to their deaths with propaganda like slanderous rumors and libel-ridden posters. When the voting blocs' power was taken away, they took up arms to reclaim their power and engaged in a coup that killed nearly everyone in Vault 11.
Human Sacrifice: The "social experiment" for Vault 11 was ordering the inhabitants to sacrifice one person every year under the threat of everyone being killed by the Vault's mainframe. Because the original Overseer of Vault 11 was the only one who knew about the human sacrifice requirement going in, he was the first to be sacrificed, with it becoming a tradition afterward for all future overseers to be "democratically elected" as sacrifices. When the few survivors of Vault 11 finally refuse to make a sacrifice, the mainframe rewards them with the ability to leave the Vault and commends them for their commitment to human life.
Lottery of Doom: Whoever is elected overseer has really just been democratically elected as a Human Sacrifice. Katherine Stone, the last Overseer of Vault 11, replaced the voting blocs with a random number generator to make the process of choosing sacrifices truly impartial.
Sole Survivor: Only five people survived the fighting in Vault 11. After finding out their annual sacrifices were completely pointless, the survivors couldn't live with the guilt and made a suicide pact. The Courier finds a tape along with four bodies at the entrance to the Vault, revealing one of the survivors didn't go through with it after gunning down their fellows. The Courier never finds out who the survivor was or what happened to them.

Katherine Stone

"They have to pick somebody and live with their reasons."

The final Overseer of Vault 11.

Affectionate Nickname: Her husband is the only one allowed to call her Kate. To everyone else, it's Katherine.
Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if Katherine's gambit to replace the way overseers are elected was only meant to take away power from the corrupt voting blocs to make the election truly impartial, or if she expected a war to break out as a result.
Captured on Purpose: Katherine fully intended to be caught for murdering members of the Justice Bloc's leadership. Doing so ensured the other residents of Vault 11 would elect her as overseer, since their consciences would be assuaged by nominating a convicted murderer as their yearly sacrifice. Katherine then used her new power to permanently change elections, robbing the voting blocs of their power and replacing them with the Vault mainframe's random number generator, creating a truly impartial election for overseer.
Death Is the Only Option: Katherine knew being an overseer meant being executed as a sacrifice to so the Vault's mainframe wouldn't kill the rest of its inhabitants, however she chose to be elected anyway because it was the only way to take away power from the corrupt voting blocs that wronged her and her husband.
Happily Married: By all accounts, Katherine was happily married to her husband, Nathan. He was the only one allowed to call her Kate instead of Katherine, and she loved him enough to perform sexual favors to the Justice Bloc leadership to prevent them from nominating him as overseer in exchange. When they nominated Nathan anyway, she killed as many members of their leadership as she could and allowed herself to be caught on purpose so she could be elected overseer in her husband's place to save his life.
Posthumous Character: Katherine has been dead for a long time prior to the events of New Vegas. It's unclear if she was sacrificed as was tradition with overseers or died in Roy Gottlieb's coup attempt that killed most of the vault.
Rape and Revenge: She was extorted by Roy Gottlieb to provide sexual favors to him, other members of the Justice Bloc leadership, and their friends in exchange for them not nominating her husband as overseer. Roy nominated her husband anyway and Katherine responded by killing as many of her rapists as she could, intending to be caught so she could take away her rapists' political power when she was elected overseer as a result of her crimes.
Scarpia Ultimatum: Roy Gottlieb, head of the Justice Bloc, threatened to nominate her husband for overseer, aka annual Human Sacrifice, unless Katherine provided sexual services for himself, his fellow Justice Bloc leaders, and their friends. They nominated her husband anyway and Katherine brought about their downfall in revenge.
Sympathetic Murderer: She killed several people, all of them corrupt members of the Justice Bloc who raped her and nominated her husband as a Human Sacrifice. They all had it coming.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: She murdered several members of the Justice Bloc leadership who tried to get her husband elected as a human sacrifice, then took her husband's place as sacrifice just so she could rob the corrupt voting blocs of their power permanently.

Roy Gottlieb

Voiced by: Avery K. Waddell

"Laws don't outlast their governments."

The head of the Justice Bloc.

Corrupt Politician: He was head of the Justice Bloc, the most powerful and corrupt of Vault 11's pseudo-political voting blocs that nominated candidates to be overseer, aka annual human sacrifices. In general the voting blocs were known for bribery, drug trafficking and backroom politics, and Roy in particular was guilty of sexually extorting Katherine Stone under threat of nominating her husband as overseer and attempting a coup when robbed of his power over the electoral process.
Disproportionate Retribution: It's implied the entire reason why he nominated Nathan Stone as overseer is because Nathan was on a winning streak during his regular poker games with Roy and other Justice Bloc leaders.
Evil Is Petty: Roy is someone who threatened to nominate a man as a Human Sacrifice because the man repeatedly got lucky during their poker games, extorted the man's wife to provide sexual services in exchange for his safety, then, after getting what he wanted, went back on his word and nominated the man as a sacrifice anyway.
I Lied: Roy promised Katherine that if she provided sexual favors to him, the Justice Bloc's leadership and all their friends, they wouldn't nominate her husband Nathan for the position of overseer. She agreed to their demands for a month. Roy nominated Nathan as overseer anyway.
It's All About Me: The only thing Roy ever cared about is himself and the power his position grants him. When Katherine became overseer and instituted a policy that robbed him of that power he led an armed coup that ended up killing all but five members of Vault 11.
Posthumous Character: Roy is dead prior to the events of the game, though the exact circumstances of his death are left vague. He does possess an in-game model, implying he may have been originally intended to survive the vault's downfall.
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Roy forcing Katherine Stone to perform sexual favors for him and other members of the Justice Bloc is a crime meant to portray him as irredeemable scum.
Villain of Another Story: Roy is the face of the corruption permeating the voting blocs of Vault 11 and his actions directly led to the vault's downfall, yet not only is Vault 11 completely optional but Roy himself is long dead by the time the Courier enters the area, with only terminal entries detailing his crimes.

Characters / Fallout: New Vegas - Settlements

Goodsprings

Sloan

Primm

Nipton

Novac

188 Trading Post

Aerotech Office Park

Freeside

Important Factions

Atomic Wrangler

Street Vendors and Merchants

Debtors

Local Color

Westside

Casa Madrid

North Vegas Square

Jacobstown

Vault 11

Previous

Index

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Characters / Fallout: New Vegas - Settlements

Edit Locked

Goodsprings

Sloan

Primm

Nipton

Novac

188 Trading Post

Aerotech Office Park

Freeside

Important Factions

Atomic Wrangler

Street Vendors and Merchants

Debtors

Local Color

Westside

Casa Madrid

North Vegas Square

Jacobstown

Vault 11

Previous

Index

Next