#contreras

Notes: As with the grading series this is just characters from films that's I've seen. Unlike with the grading series I'm basing the characters worth solely on how much they make me go "aww", which tbf was always one of-if not the most important factor for me, but eh, when you remove all the other factors it does make some difference and I'm kind of curious to see how much

S: Louie "The Dope" Monteau, Polo, Editor Stix

A: Dr. Herman Einstein, Ugarte, Felix Gillie, Colonel Gimpy/Baron Rudolph Maximilian Taggar, Janos "Johnny" Szabo, Himself in Hollywood Canteen

B: Joel Cairo, Abbott

C: Contreras, Dr. Arthur Lorentz

D: Mr Kentaro Moto, Roderick Raskolnikov, The Hairless Mexican

E: Professor Karl Fenninger, Paul Hyde

Here’s one of my full pieces for the fallout pinup zine, accompanied by @yesjejunus ' Gun Runner’s piece. Now, you all may have various theories about why our horny asses even wanted to do a pinup zine and let me clear the air. We needed you all to look at these two fuckers specifically. I am not kidding.

I cannot DIG BACK far enough where we had talked about how much we love obscure side characters but that it sucks that you have to fight against the current to even get them on people’s radars, never mind that you are basically the only ones making content for them.

Anyway, It would have been super easy to fill one Pinup zine with the fave ladies and men of the series, but we wanted to showcase some lesser known characters in each respective one, and know that these two are specifically the reason for going that route. 

So feast your eyes, the cats out of the bag. YJJ and I dove head first into something we had absolutely no idea how to moderate (outside of a general idea of how to do it, anyway) and grabbed a few willing friends to help just so that like, 100+ people willing to see their faves in a l00d mag would now also have to see our obscure faves in a l00d mag, and that l00d mag would be on their bookshelf.

Somewhere, the guy who wrote Dealing With Contreras has absolutely no idea what that one off side quest sparked, and its a damn shame because the end product was beautiful.

Okay sure, he’s a canon NPC but I called dibs.

Link to the template here!

General

Name: Daniel Contreras

Location: Camp McCarran supply shack

How to obtain: Finished the quest Dealing With Contreras without turning him in to NCR.

Art by @yesjejunus​

Companion Wheel

I think we should travel together: “Sure, just have me home before 9.” / “Yeah I think I got a lunch break comin’ up.”

Use Melee: “Are you serious right now?” / “I’d prefer not.”

Use Ranged: “Were you expecting me to use something else?” / “Yeah, that’s what I’m trained in.”

Open Inventory: “You still have to pay for that.” / “I ain’t a charity, kiddo, you’re not getting anything for free” 

Stay Close: “You’re not gonna hold my hand are you?” / (if the Courier is female) “You making a pass at me?”

Keep Distance: “Fine by me.” / “What, you don’t want to be seen with ol’ Contreras?”

Stealth: “Not exactly my specialty” / “You’re askin the wrong guy for this”

Back Up: “Yeah, I like my space too.” / “Oh-kay, damn. No need to be pushy.”

Be Passive: “No complaints here.” / “Good, you handle the fighting.” / “That’s all you, kid.”

Be Aggressive: “Yeah I’m gonna have to pass....no? Damnit!” 

Use Stimpack: “Aaah that’s good.” / “Shit you couldn’t have used that sooner??” / “Think I might need another one....or three.”

Wait Here: “I can’t just sit here all day. MPs seem me loitering alone they’re gonna start asking questions.” 

Follow Me: “Yeah, that was the plan.”

Send to the Lucky 38: “Alright, paid vacation!.” / “You know, an empty casino is actually pretty boring.”

Send Home: “Good idea, Boyd’s probably wondering where I’m at.” can be found in Camp McCarran’s supply shack

Injured: “Aaah SHIIIIIT!!” / “Fuck this, fuck that, and fuck you.” / “I told you I was a noncombatant damn it all!” / “This is outside my pay grade!” 

Death: “Goddamnit--” / “This wasn’t...part of the plan--” 

Aggression: not aggressive

Confidence: cautious

Assistance: helps friends and allies

Karma: neutral

Perks

Contreras has a starter perk that will be built upon depending on how the Courier handles his quest line.

Man About Town: Contreras has connections all over Vegas, taking him with you now allows you to access them! Some NPCs with shops will now allow you to access special items they do not usually sell, while some non-merchant NPCs now have an accessible shop.

Should the Courier convince him to be more careful and selective on who he does business with, Contreras will gain the Customer Loyalty perk.

Customer Loyalty: Regulars are the basis to any good business. Not only do you get special shops from certain NPCs, you now earn a loyal customer’s discount and can request that special items be ordered in bulk.

Should the Courier convince him that business is inherently risky, and that taking chances is just part of the job, Contreras will gain the Traveling Merchant perk.

Traveling Merchant: Barter checks are now easier to pass and earn better bonuses when Contreras is in your party. All vendor NPCs can be negotiated with, lowering their prices on items. 

Drops

Big Book of Science, or one copy each of La Fantoma and Grognak the Barbarian, or Programmer’s Digest

One 9mm bullet - a single 9mm bullet. Why does he have this? Why doesn’t he have more....(becomes a miscellaneous item when looted)

Half the amount of caps he had before recruitment 

Quests and Recruitment

To recruit Contreras, one must first complete his main quest Dealing With Contreras in a way that doesn’t get him arrested. After this, he trusts the Courier enough to take on larger jobs. Recruiting Contreras also starts his companion quest, as he will request to join the Courier on the strip. Because his quest is tied in with How Little We Know, the Courier must NOT have completed any of Troike’s quest line.

Note: To keep Contreras as a companion you must maintain some good reputation with the NCR. Anything too low and Contreras will say you are too controversial to be seen with.

Contreras can and will leave the party if his health drops below 50%. To re-recruit him, just go back his supply shack.

Risky Business

“It’s the worst kept secret that Daniel Contreras is dealing arms on the side, however no one really knows just how far his business goes. You’ve helped him in the past, and now he’s asking for your help again. Take Contreras to Gomorrah and talk with his contact.”

When the Courier talks to Contreras after completing Dealing with Contreras, he will ask them if they are interested in another, bigger, deal. If the Courier says no, they can accept the quest at a later time by choosing the “So about that job...” dialogue option when talking with him again.

If the Courier says yes, Contreras will tell them about his business in Gomorrah with the Omertas, and that his contact requested that he comes to talk with them regarding their last shipment. If the Courier has exceptionally good reputation with the NCR at this point, he will mention that being seen with them will make the operation look like a regular night around the strip. If the Courier has the Black Widow perk, they may flirt with him.

When the Courier agrees to help him, the quest Risky Business will be activated and Contreras will join your party. Upon entering Gomorrah, Contreras will stop the Courier to talk with them, telling them that they need to find Troike and where he can be found (he will be located in the Brimstone party rooms.) The Courier can ask about Troike, in which Contreras will reveal how Troike was blackmailed into being the shipment runner between Contreras’ operations and the Omertas. The Courier can question him further, or wait til they meet up with Troike, and learn that Contreras was recently contacted about their most recent shipment not coming in. 

Upon meeting up with Troike, Contreras will ask him what happened to their last shipment and that he doesn’t appreciate being contacted by clients with complaints. Troike will then explain that it wasn’t his fault, and that he’s been working on getting it back. He will explain what happened to the Courier, in which they can ask him more detailed questions about the Fiends responsible for the shipment loss. When the Courier exits dialogue with him, Contreras will then talk to them, asking if they can do him another favor, and that caps would be included for a job well done. The Courier can agree, in which How Little We Know will engage if it hasn’t been started previously, or they can disagree, prompting Contreras to get frustrated, or they can say that they will think about it. If the last option is chosen, the Courier can proceed with How Little We Know in any way they chose. Any option taken will prompt Contreras to leave your party and wait back in his shack.

If the Courier agrees to get the shipment back, the location of the shipment will be marked and they can retrieve it or destroy the shipment. If the shipment is retrieved, the Courier can return to Contreras and he will thank them for their help and give them a hefty amount of caps. If they destroy the shipment, they can lie and say that it was destroyed when they found it. Contreras will be angry upon hearing this, and say that Troike’s luck is running thinner with each deal. He thanks them regardless, and give a small amount of caps for the trouble.

Although the Courier can ask Contreras about his dealings with the Omertas after they deal with the shipment, the quest will not continue until the Courier learns that the Omertas are working with the Legion. They can then ask him if he knows this, to which he will reply that once the weapons are out of his hands, he doesn’t care where they end up, and that business is business. The Courier can either agree with him, saying that he is right to take any business opportunity he can get and he will reply positively, reassuring the Courier that even if he wasn’t giving them the guns they would still find a way to get them. If the Courier disagrees with him, saying that he needs to be selective about who he deals to and be more careful about where his supplies end up, he will get irritated with them saying that they’re the dumb muscle of this operation and not the guy in charge. If the Courier has completed I Put A Spell On You, they can use this as an example of why he shouldn’t be giving the Legion any advantages in the war. Contreras will hesitate before admitting he had sold explosive ingredients to Curtis a few weeks prior. The Courier can also cite Clanden’s plans in How Little We Know to convince him that he should be more cautious. Either option will make him reconsider his business practices. 

Depending on what the Courier chooses, Contreras will gain a new perk to add onto Man About Town. If the Courier tells him to play it safe, he will gain Customer Loyalty and will indirectly thank the Courier for helping him see his recklessness. If the Courier tells him that he should take business wherever it crops up, he will gain the Traveling Merchant perk and tell the Courier that he appreciates having an agreeable business partner. 

Ending Slides

Contreras’ ending slides are based not only on how his quest is completed and which route the Courier takes with Vegas, but also depends on how the Courier handled Clanden in How Little We Know.

If his personal quest is never completed…

He does not get an ending slide, however he will default to whatever the NCR does.

If Contreras is killed after his quest is completed

Contreras, feeling hopeful that he had found another reliable business partner was betrayed in the end. Though he had seen many people come and go through his business deals, he had only placed such confidence in few. The sergeant was found dead in his bunk, and investigations into his murder turned up his own betrayals. With no family to inform, Contreras was dumped outside Freeside, forgotten by his unit.

If the Courier sides with Legion and…

Convinces Contreras to be more careful about who he sells to...

and DOES kill or make Clanden leave

Contreras, falling back with the NCR, put in to be transferred further west. Although the eastern front of the NCR’s territory brought good opportunity in illegal trade, the threat of Legion outweighed any benefit. Knowing that he could keep up his work in California, Contreras continued to live comfortably as quartermaster. 

and does NOT do anything with Clanden 

The Omertas, working for Legion, had devised a plan to spread the NCR’s attention before the Dam battle. Contreras, getting one last look at Vegas, became one of the many casualties in an attack on the Strip. He suffocated in the streets, dying without ever knowing what role he played in losing the eastern front.

Agrees that Contreras should sell to anyone...

and DOES kill or make Clanden leave

Not letting the NCR’s defeat deter his work, Contreras continued to do business indiscriminately. With weapons now harder to smuggle, he focused his efforts on moving chem supplies to the fleeing Fiends. Not keeping their demands in check, he was killed in a raid by an upcoming gang, the Coyotes.

and does NOT do anything with Clanden

The Omertas, working for Legion, had devised a plan to spread the NCR’s attention before the Dam battle. Contreras, getting one last look at Vegas, became one of the many casualties in an attack on the Strip. He suffocated in the streets, dying without ever knowing what role he played in losing the eastern front.

If the Courier sides with NCR and…

Convinces Contreras to be more careful about who he sells to...

NCR’s annexing of Vegas and its surrounding territories created a new wave of clientele for Contreras. Although he sold contraband to many rioters and Fiends none proved to be too large a threat for the Republic, and in turn kept his side business moving. Contreras continued his work, earning enough caps to live more than comfortably. 

Agrees that Contreras should sell to anyone...

Following the Courier’s advice, Contreras continued to sell to clients indiscriminately. Eventually his recklessness had gotten him noticed, and due to selling NCR resources to their enemies he was charged with treason and executed via firing squad. 

If the Courier sides with House and…

Convinces Contreras to be more careful about who he sells to...

and DOES kill or make Clanden leave

Despite NCR’s loss of Vegas, Contreras’ business continued to thrive. Where weapons became harder to smuggle, chem movement was at an all time high. With Fiends and junkies no longer welcomed in the city, Contreras made his living off them, exploiting their addictions for a comfortable life. 

and does NOT do anything with Clanden

The Omertas, tired of living under House’s rule, had devised a plan to take back the Strip. Contreras, getting one last look at Vegas, became one of the many casualties in the attack. He suffocated in the streets, dying without ever knowing what role he played in their rebellion.

Agrees that Contreras should sell to anyone...

and DOES kill or make Clanden leave

Contreras continued his business in arms and chem peddling. Though he reaped the benefits of a larger clientele, they could not protect him from the consequences: over confident, he didn’t expect an assassin hired as a result of a deal gone wrong. Contreras was murdered in his bunk, and though his death caused alarm among the troops, he was quickly forgotten.

and does NOT do anything with Clanden

The Omertas, tired of living under House’s rule, had devised a plan to take back the Strip. Contreras, getting one last look at Vegas, became one of the many casualties in the attack. He suffocated in the streets, dying without ever knowing what role he played in their rebellion.

If the Courier makes New Vegas independent and…

Convinces Contreras to be more careful about who he sells to...

Contreras, falling back with the NCR, put in to be transferred further west. Although the eastern front of the NCR’s territory brought good opportunity in illegal trade, the loss of Vagas meant business opportunity was elsewhere. Knowing that he could keep up his work in California, Contreras continued to live comfortably as quartermaster.

Agrees that Contreras should sell to anyone...