And we missed the chance to not notice the kid trying on the pretty bracelet while we were reading the instructions...
I think we are fine the pip-boy can fit around our arm so unless Diaz here has a arm as small as a malnourished slave girl I think we are ok.
They have adjustable straps. As long as they're older than about six it'll fit. These things are a life-long advantage for vault dwellers, after all!
You return to the doctor, first thing. You don't want to know what'll happen if that doctor is left alone with two people that would have trouble defending themselves. Not that you think he's anything other than harmless, but he might trip while holding something sharp or offer some drugs to the kid or the junkie. For one, you need them lucid, and two: you don't actually want the kid to get addicted to something as well. You're not some kind of pussy on that front, but... When you look at your shaking hands, you know that you need your little helper to not suffer the same thing. So, no recreational drug use.
If it's useful, though? Shit, she can go for as much as she'd like. Even one as small as her could probably tear some shit up with Psycho. Just have to make it clear to her not to speedball it with another booster, though. That's a good way to get heart attacks. You heard of some idiots just "combining" chems that really shouldn't be combined, like "psychojet". How would that even work? One's an inhaler, the other's a damned needle. Well, it doesn't matter.
When you enter the doctor's office again, you see that the junkie's already walking around. That's some quick recovery. The doctor is currently walking her through the steps to make sure that she doesn't fall over, from what you can tell. Seems like the injury still took a bit out of... Tenderloin. You think "Junkie" rolled off the tongue more, not to mention, was likely more accurate, but that's the way it is. Anyhow, the doctor quickly notices you and moves over to a very diry-looking desk. Somehow, they managed to find a desk that has water damage in this god-forsaken shithole. Honestly, it's impressive what people can manage. Guessing from the smell, though, it might not be water...
That's, uhh, 30... 30 caps, yeah!And the rad-away?Oh yeah... Uh, I already gave it to her, so, uh... I guess... f-forty... Forty... The doctor starts counting on his hands, his tongue sticking out as he does so. He bears the look of the most intense concentration you've ever seen, to the point that you were getting to ready to watch a man get a popped blood vessel from the effort, but eventually he comes to his conclusion.
Forty-five! Yeah... F-forty-five. Correct, against the odds. You shove the money towards him, and he happily takes it and places it in a drawer of the desk. You hear them jingle on top of others, meaning you're not the only customer.
Tell me, who IS your boss, exactly?W-who do you think? S-sodom of course. The guy runs this f-fucking town. B-b-but you didn't hear that from me. Alright. N-now get out of here, a-alright? P-people aren't interested to g-get fixed around a j--junkie. Business must be damned hard, then. I'm going.Despite the initial look, it rapidly becomes more and more clear that this really is a backwater of a city. Then again, it's not exactly fair to make that comparison. The only few cities that AREN'T horrible backwaters of bullshit are probably Vegas, Shady Sands (or do they still call their main city "NCR"?) and Rome. West coast is so much better off it's not even funny. People just sit on their fucking hands on the east coast like a bunch of ghouls.
You leave the office with the kid, but not before Tenderloin calls out to you.
Hey! Hotshot!Name's Diaz, Junkie.Ah... right. Ok. My name's Tenderloin. It's a nickname, don't worry about it. I have to ask: why the fuck did you help me out like that?Eye for an eye. But, uh, in a good way, I guess. You helped me out with the gecko and got screwed, so I helped you out. quid pro quo and all that.Whoa! You speak Legion? You from Rome or some shit?I had a... You briefly think about what to call Lupus. The guy was an asshole, so you can't call him friend. Yo decide to settle on:
Acquaintance that was ex-Legion. I don't know a lot of Latin.Latin? You just talked Legion-speak! Not some made-up word.Alright, whatever. See you around.Hey! Look... I know I didn't give the best impression, but the fume's wearing off and I'm pretty used to Med-X. Lemme come with you. You and the kid could probably use the help. I mean, these machetes aren't for show, you know. Alright. Follow me around for a bit, I guess. See how that goes. Right-on. You won't regret it, chief!You hear a sudden crackling click from your wrist as your pip-boy finishes calibrating and loading. When you look at the screen you see your STATUS button is lit up and that the whole screen in in a pleasant blue. While you are aware that this is kind of a primitive version of the pip-boy, this beauty of a device still has a lot of available comforts. The medical statistics are ready and available, proclaiming you to be in almost perfect health, with just one problem. A glowing ADDIC button is on the screen, and when you select that part (turning a knob to select the option is delightfully quick and easy! Rob-Co sure knew what it was doing.) it proclaims that you are suffering from an addiction. The Vault-boy is going through a very short, looping animation where he shivers a lot. It claims that you're suffering from some sort of addiction, but it knows nothing about the exact drug. Steady was made post-war, after all. You suspect it won't know anything about Jet, either. However, it does claim a few symptoms. You could apparently kick the addiction if you went cold turkey for about a month. You... are not ready for that. In the slightest.
You'd probably go crazy!
Furthermore, it allows you to take a few notes at your pleasure, such as a "to do" list. That'll be useful if multiple people start to ask things of you. The most useful part by far is the V.A.T.S. aiming system, however. You're not entirely sure how it works, but the pip-boy will assist your aiming in a way that allows you aim for more specific bits of people. Not to mention the ability to bank crits.
You don't know what that means, exactly, and the explanation that says:
Whenever you get a crit on something, you now have the ability to bank it instead of doing it. A successful crit will grant bonuses, but if you choose to bank said crit you can guarantee an action to succeed. Note that it says "succeed". It won't be flashy, as a matter of fact, it'll be fairly close! But it will always be a success. Encounter crits cannot be banked. It's up to you to choose if you don't want that bonus, because they can be really nice!
The ability to succeed with anything also means you get a guaranteed shot at the eyes, so using it in combat is always a boon, even though you can't use the ludicrous crit bonus you get from eyeshots. Seriously, that tone doesn't make sense! It's not some kind of magical device, it's just a solid piece of technology. You elect to ignore it as more old-world ramblings.
After that, you head back to the merchant. In order to avoid a diplomatic incident, you tell Tenderloin to keep hidden or something. You're not about to leave a useful idiot behind.
Ahhh! Welcome back. Now, will you be accepting that job?Sure, why not. But I have a few questions, first. What was the original pricing on the steady?Despite the innocuous question, the fat man instantly proceeds to bloat up like a toad. He grows red in the face as he yells at you:
Are you doubting my integrity!? I GUARANTEE you that SIXTY-FIVE caps is MORE than reasonable for a dose of this highly-valued, and VERY rare bit of chems, you distrustful lout!Cool your tits, man, I just wanted to know what my discount is. The merchant manages to turn his red into sheet-white, as he realized he just embarrased himself over nothing. He takes on a more reserved approach, and coughs nervously as he leans forward.
Well, that would have been. Ah... Eighty caps! Yes. Eighty caps if you weren't such a valued customer. Right... So a 15 cap discount, right? How about we bring that down to 20, to have a nice even number? You're a busy man, wouldn't you prefer an easy to count number.Trying to pull a fast one on ol' Bartholomew, are we... Well, to hell with it. I saw you've got a deal. 60 caps for one dose of steady. (
BARTER: 97!)
On the business of deals: I managed to collect a very fine golden gecko pelt. Hold on...You open your pack and take out the gecko skin. You unroll the gold-coloured piece of skin showing off the pretty side of it.
How much would you pay an average schmoe for this?Hmm, well, it's awfully pretty, and there's a few dames around here that'd pay a pretty penny. I'd say... 30 caps.And if I was the one asking, your humble employee getting ready to do some more well-paid work for my dearest boss?Ahh, come now. Old Bartholomew is a fair man, so... Ah, to hell with it. Fourty caps! But I'm cutting my own throat with this!But you gain a much more appreciative employee, I'm sure. (
BARTER:101)
Hopefully. Now, let's go over the details, shall we?Yes. Let's. So, how much am I getting paid for this?200 caps upon successful and confirmed delivery of my brahmin, with no missing cargo. Every lost piece of cargo will come out of your pay, and if you end up in debt to me... DON'T end up in debt with me. I'm working on the margin of bankruptcy here, you know!He laughs, his chins jiggling as he does so, holding his humongous gut as he does so.
Where am I bringing this hunk of beef?I told you, didn't I? Back to the cave where you took care of Tenderloin. Right, right right... That's just an hour's walk. And you're giving me 200 caps?It's high-value cargo, m'boy. Not to mention, Sodom is sure to send some boys after one of my caravans. You know how it is, don't you? But if you just remind them who has the gun, they'll back off. As I said, I can't send my usual boys. Don't worry, though, they won't have anything more dangerous than a lead pipe. Then, once you're at the cave, I need you to make sure that the buyer actually gets the product, and to help my respectable client load his most respectable collection of life-saving medicine. I'm sure you noticed there was some Med-X strewn around the cave? I suppose Tenderloin probably used it all, the rambunctious whore, but there's bound to be some empty syringes. If you help my client with that, I'll give you a bonus. Right. That's agreed upon, then. 200 caps upon a successful delivery, with a bonus if I help out. Easy enough. What's the cost for bullets around here? Haven't been careful with your guns, have you?I keep a varied stock. .357 and 12gauge. What's the cost?.357 is three caps to the bullet. You must know, this is rather rare ammo. If I had more I'd be more fair, but it cost me a fortune for what ammo I DO have! Shells are easier to come by, though... 2 caps per shell seems like a reasonable price, no? Right. I'm guessing no employee discount?If we worked with dollars and cents, sure. But we aren't in NCR territory, are we? Ahh, those were the days. No. I can't cut you slack on this one, player.Fair enough. When do I leave?The brahmin will be ready in an hour or so. Feel free to enjoy the town, in the meantime. Sure thing, chief.Hah! Tenderloin called me that, too. Don't take a dead woman's habits, would you?It's a pretty damn general expression, dumbass. You decide against vocalizing that thought. You feel like you need to roll in the ashes to get slime off you from dealing with that ballbag. You've got an hour to finish tinkering with your pip-boy, and to prepare on what bullets to buy.
You find Blitz and Tenderloin lounging around on a small staircase, the entrance to a particularly large and particularly dilapidated building. Tenderoin seems to be telling a story to Blitz, who is listening with rapt attention.
...And so then, I tell him that he couldn't take one more swig, or he'd be dead on the floor. Guess what the stupid galette did? He ACTUALLY drank it! He was so wasted he didn't even connect the dots that radscorp roulette ALWAYS ends at the last shot. Best part is, dude had a damned cold sore, so he got more than a tummy-ache. I told him, and there it was. Dead. In. Minutes. Anyway, that's how I won this here badge!She points to a badge attached to one of her machetes. It's a smiley face, with a strange little blood splatter to the side. Huh.
Alright ladies. We've got another job. But before we go, I've got a mighty damned thirst.You continue walking, after a quick gesture for them to follow you. They comply pretty quick, with Blitz sticking close to you. Tenderloin is behind you, resting her head in her hands.
When you arrive at the pump, there's a different punk standing guard. He looks older, tougher too. When he spots you approaching he crosses his arms and looks tough, but not dedicated to it. He's not looking for a fight, but he's damn well ready for one.
'sup homes. Five caps for the use of the pump. Wasn't it ten, last time?...I bet it was. But no, official price is five. Sodom 'ain't a monster, you know. Five caps per drink of it. Five caps per bottle, too, before you get... Fuck me, Tenderloin? The man looks over you, and looks at the thin woman with the scraggly hair.
Johnny... I thought you got out? Tenderloin says. She doesn't sound very excited about this guy, but not negative, either. She crosses her arms as she looks him over;
I tried, but Sodom is a hard guy to quit working for. Word around town is you got popped.Fine with me. I don't care about this shithole, anyway. You gonna help a girl out?Naturally. Right, fella, if you're with Tenderloin, free drinks. But keep that on the downlow, alright? I'm not technically allowed to give freebies to company. Sure thing. Thanks, fella. Yeah yeah. Try to look scared if somebody looks.You fill up your water bottles, leaving you sitting nice and pretty on the water side of things. Your whole party also enjoys a drink, and you leave without a single cap spent.
That was damned lucky, you feel. Well, you always did alright on the luck front, didn't you?
You take a look at your pipboy, and see that the maps look... weird. Glitchy, as a matter of fact. You're about to curse the busted machine, until you notice a small collection of letters below stating that it is "reformatting". Regardless, it doesn't look like there's a lot of map to begin with. If you remember correctly, the maps only work off what's around you.
Pip-boy Active! Would you like to change the color?Statistics and inventory.Combat Stats
HP: 215/215
Limb health: No issues
Weapons: .357 revolver (6 shots remaining) (requires 0.3 second to fire, 0.7 to cock the hammer for the next shot) (reloading takes 0.7 seconds per bullet) (Can be "aimed" for a bonus to hit and allowing you to hit specific parts of the body) (Loses accuracy beyond 10 meters, by 5 percent per meter) (60 percent chance to hit, not modified for range) (does 36 damage)
Sawed-off 12gauge (2 shots, fully loaded.) (requires 0.2 seconds to fire) (Reloading takes 2,5 seconds) (Cannot be aimed with precision, but you can still get a bonus to hit if you take care to aim) (Loses DAMAGE, not chance to hit, beyond three meters. 10 dmg per meter) (Does 70 damage) (70 percent chance to hit
Ammo:
1 .357 bullets
2 12-gauge shotgun shells
40 9mm bullets
Inventory
Bloodstained Raider Rags (1 DT) (equipped) (Light armor)
Scrap armguard (low quality)
Scrap Leg armor. (low quality)
One Water bottle
Seven empty bottles
1 Bread
Two stimpacks (Heal 30 HP)
Golden Gecko hide (tough, pretty and valuable, golden gecko hides are a sought-after luxury.)
Two units of Nuts and Bolts
Emergency Shank (unequipped, takes 0.3 seconds to take out. 0.5 seconds to stab something)
117 caps
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
STRENGTH 7
PERCEPTION 5
ENDURANCE 6
CHARISMA 7
INTELLIGENCE 4
AGILITY 5
LUCK 6
Skills
Barter: 33
Energy Weapons: 15
Explosives: 15
Guns:35
Lockpick: 30
Medicine:13
Melee weapons: 19
Repair: 30
Science: 13
Sneak:35
Speech:21
Survival: 27
Unarmed: 19
Perks
Iron Stomach: Your extended life as an outcast left you with a strong stomach. Radiation and general filth does not affect you nearly as much
Weird Wasteland: Maybe it's that blow to the head, but things seem a little more loopy and funny. Some things seem to happen that shouldn't. Well, it's nothing bad, at least.
Cold as Ice: You're not exactly the pinnacle of romance, and why would you be? You easily see through people trying to manipulate you, but you suffer a -15 to all convincing checks.
Tenderloin: Wield two machetes.
Heavy Machetes: Onehanded. Takes 0.2 seconds to swing from a readied position, almost a full second to swing again. Does 25 damage on a successful strike. Dual-wielding allows for attacks to be twice as fast, although the basic swing will not speed up.
Status: Healthy.
Blitz: wields 9mm pistol. Has 52 total bullets remaining. Magazine is 12 bullets. 13 with the chambered round.
9mm pistol (kind of alright) (12 bullets remaining) Requires 0.2 seconds to fire. (Reloading takes 1.5 seconds) (Can be aimed to a specific body part) (Loses accuracy beyond 12 meters) (70 percent chance to hit, not modified for range) (15 DMG) (Blitz' chance to hit is 60 percent)
Status: Healthy.
Brahmin Delivery:
Deliver the brahmin with chems to Broc Flower Cave.
Note: while you didn't ask to barter for steady, you threw him off guard by asking the old price. It was basically an automatic success, with the roll deciding how ok the merchant was with it.
You haven't actually bought the steady yet, you just brought the price down ahead of time.
Also of note: the pip-boy opens up a few more menus. Information is useful, don't you know!
And I think you all understand why I didn't feel like typing all THAT on a phone.
Author
Topic: Fallout: Raiders of Louisiana (Read 43285 times)