La Squadra: Fallout 2 Edition
After finishing the original Fallout, I started the sequel and it's amazing. Not for everyone perhaps, but I found it a fascinating case study of how a sequel might have you think that the original has prepared you for what's coming, and then you start the game and realize that you have more questions than answers and you walk around constantly bewildered. Anyone on the fence: give it a shot, but be prepared. (I'm struggling even on easy mode.)
Some of the characters here will have alternative versions based on my first Fallout post, since they could feasibly live on in Fallout 2 as mutants or ghouls.
RISOTTO: He was born and raised in Redding, and so witnessed first hand how the influx of Jet led to his fellow miners succumbing to addiction. He refuses to touch the stuff, and he hates New Reno with a passion for dealing poison to his hometown, so he decided to embark on a mission to sway the tide. The Chosen One will find him in the Great Wanamingo Mine, injured and resting in a corner because he fought several aliens in search of the Excavator Chip, figuring he would retrieve it to either give it to Marge LeBarge or at least prevent Dan McGrew from getting his hands on it. The Chosen One can heal him and if they tell him they came on behalf of the Kokoweef Mine, he'll join as a temporary companion to fight the Wanamingos. If they side with Dan McGrew, Risotto will turn hostile.
RISOTTO alternative (continuing from Fallout): He remained the guardian of his hometown for several decades, but being a mutant with an exceptional lifespan, he lived to see his family die of old age, and eventually drifted away because he had no ties to the newer generations. Not knowing what to do with himself, he journeyed back to the Mariposa Military Base, but found it sealed off, and after trying in vain to remove the debris and gain entry to see what happened, he settled for staying outside. When the Chosen One arrives there, the map will suggest a new area to the right side, where they will find Risotto in a makeshift tent, sitting by himself and contemplating life. If the Chosen One appeals to his desire for friends and (found) family, he can be recruited as a companion.
FORMAGGIO: He is a member of the New Khans, who joined after Darion had successfully reestablished the tribe. Due to his easy-going yet ruthless nature, he quickly fell in with them, made some good friends, and helped them occupy Vault 15. Because of his charisma, Formaggio was chosen to act as a "diplomat" for the New Khans; he soon gained the trust of the Squatters, and managed to send the NCR away empty-handed every time. When the Chosen One arrives, he will be friendly and speak well of both the New Khans and the Squatters. If the New Khans are wiped out, Formaggio will appear by the exit as the Chosen One tries to leave and confront them about killing the only family he had. Unless he is convinced to join the Squatters, he will block the exit until he is killed.
PROSCIUTTO: If the Chosen One is given the quest to help guard a secret transaction in the desert, just as they turn away to leave, a figure will be seen emerging from behind the crates and sneaking on board the Enclave Vertibird. Only when the Chosen One reaches the Enclave will they learn that it was Prosciutto, a member of Bishop's gang, who was originally sent to find out where the Salvatores get their "lightbringers" from, but in the process learned too much about the Enclave and chose to infiltrate them. If the Chosen One initiates combat at the Oil Rig, there will be one Enclave soldier who will always seem to shoot his fellow soldiers by accident, and any attacks aimed at him will miss. When combat ends, Prosciutto will initiate dialogue and can be recruited to take down the Enclave.
PROSCIUTTO alternative (continuing from Fallout): He left Necropolis when he got bored and started his journey through the wasteland, doing his best to avoid settlements since people kept trying to hunt him for sport. With his Plasma Pistol, he managed to keep safe for a while, but he was eventually captured by the Enclave, who were both repulsed and intrigued by the fact that he had absorbed so much radiation. They transported him to Navarro, where scientists decided to build a small-scale radioisotope power system underground, using Prosciutto as a living nuclear battery. If the Chosen One finds him, his dying wish is for them to "rewire" the system to cause a nuclear meltdown. This triggers a countdown, after which Navarro will be wiped off the face of the earth.
PESCI: He can be encountered up to three times before reaching San Francisco, once randomly on the world map and twice in different locations. By engaging him in conversation, the Chosen One will learn that Pesci is a starry-eyed Hubologist (AHS-1), and he was sent on a pilgrimage by the AHS-5 who had recruited him to find people sympathetic to the cause. Pesci will tell the Chosen One about Hubology and his various failed attempts to convert anyone, and they can tactfully argue with him that maybe being a Hubologist isn't all it's cracked up to be. Pesci will eventually appear at the Hubologist Compound in a side-room, brooding over his failures, and if the cult is destroyed, he can finally be persuaded to move on, but he will first beg to join the Chosen One if they have room for an NPC.
PESCI alternative (continuing from Fallout): He was away on a scouting mission when the Military Base was destroyed, and upon their return, his Unity patrol unit decided to search the area. That was how Pesci happened upon the ruins of his former village, and for a while he remained there despite the other patrol members leaving him, relearning how to fish and hoping against hope that someone would show up in the village again, but it was all in vain. It took him over a decade to give up on his home, and he traveled up the coast until he came across San Francisco. He now lives on the shore by the Tanker, making his living by fishing and preparing his catch in various ways he had learned from his village days to help vary the locals' diet. Despite being different, he is loved by many.
GHIACCIO: He was born three pounds of tribal whoop-ass and it is almost admirable how he managed to make it everybody else's problem, to the point where the high elder exiled him. He started roaming from town to town, always getting into trouble and being forced out eventually, until he reached Broken Hills. He was prepared to fight everyone there, but Marcus managed to overpower him and talk to him long enough to find out that rather than being racist, Ghiaccio was simply an overly defensive misfit, and offered to let him stay as a regular resident. He dislikes his fellow humans for being "weird", but gets along with the mutants and ghouls just fine, and if you confront Francis about the missing people and make him go away, Ghiaccio will have to be talked down or he'll turn hostile.
MELONE: He first appears at the Stables as a scientist minding his own business in a corner a few rooms away from Myron. When spoken to, he will reveal that he is on the verge of being thrown out because he has lost interest in researching and developing Jet and is now dreaming of having his own laboratory where he could do something different. The Chosen One can help him by 1) giving him 2000 gold to help him get his own place in New Reno; 2) finding him 2 pieces of Junk to outfit the old Auto-Doc at his new place. Melone will then offer the Chosen One gender-affirming surgery for a fee (or in exchange for a Bio Med Gel). This will change the player's avatar, and if they chose to have no traits or have only one trait, Melone will also bestow the Sex Appeal trait on the Chosen One as a bonus.
MELONE alternative (continuing from Fallout): After meeting the Vault Dweller at the Glow and having a conversation with a real person for the first time in decades, he began to yearn for society and eventually, armed with his faithful Robobrain Baby Face, he said goodbye to his home and headed north. He first came across Necropolis, where a ghoul named Lenny spoke to him of the Vault Dweller, prompting Melone to share his story and journey onward (causing Lenny to follow suit soon after). He made it as far as the infamous Ghost Farm near Modoc and settled down with the Slags. If the Chosen One tells him that Gecko could use a scientist to keep the Reactor running smoothly, Melone can be sent off to become a supervisor there, which earns the player positive karma in Gecko.
ILLUSO: The Chosen One will first come across him in the courtyard of Vault City, and learn that Illuso came here in the hopes of a comfortable city life and has been striving for citizenship ever since, but by now he is out of money to buy a Day Pass and continue his studies for the citizenship test. The player can either have him tag along as a temporary NPC while in Vault City or give him the False Citizenship Papers acquired from Skeev, and Illuso will take it from there. Within three calendar days, he will become a Citizen and the biggest bitch after Joanne Lynette, and if he is made a Citizen before the Chosen One, he won't even talk to them anymore. If the Chosen One gets made first, they can ask him about his history with the Raiders and enable the well as a point of entry into their hideout.
SORBET: He first appears as a resident of Modoc hanging out at the bar of Rose's Bed and Breakfast. If the Chosen One treats him to a meal there (he will always choose the omelet), he will offer to share all sorts of "rumors" about the major residents of the town, especially Grisham and his children. For each question asked, he will ask the Chosen One to flip a coin (Gambling check) and if it's Heads, he will answer the question and award 25 experience points for each successful coin flip. He knows what "type" of chicken Rose uses to make her special omelets and will warn the Chosen One not to meddle. If the Chosen One has been to the Den, Redding, or New Reno, they can recommend their casinos to Sorbet, and he will randomly appear in one of those locations, playing a slot machine.
SORBET alternative (continuing from Fallout): He is one of the Easter Eggs waiting to be found in the special encounter involving the Maltese Falcon. Seated at a table in the corner well away from everyone else, he is the only character that can be engaged in conversation, and if the Chosen One treats him to Beer (other types of booze will also work, but only Beer will unlock every speech option), he will have some fun trivia to share about the others in the bar. If the Chosen One asks him about Dogmeat, Sorbet will give them an Iguana-on-a-stick to feed and thus recruit it, and he will drop some hints that Iguana-on-a-stick is people. (He kept blackmailing Bob over that secret till his dying day.) If asked about Set, he will remark that some ghouls are more rotten than others.
GELATO: He was an NCR Ranger who was eventually recruited at the Westin Ranch to serve as a guard during brahmin drives. He made many a successful venture that way, but one night, at a time when caravans kept getting ambushed, he saw something move in the distance and decided to investigate. That was how he happened upon the intelligent Deathclaws, and after gushing to them about how he had always admired them, they took him along to Vault 13. He proved his love of the species so thoroughly that he was allowed to spend his days at the hatchery with the Deathclaw mother and her babies. If the Chosen One returns to Vault 13 after the massacre, they will find that Gelato risked his own life to save two eggs, and Goris can no longer be recruited so he can help raise the babies.
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