One of the most beloved NPCs in Fallout’s history is a pile of bones in the sand. The story of the Survivalist, Randall Clark, is not the biggest nor the flashiest told in the Fallout series, but it’s remembered as one of the most moving and tragic. It maybe also doesn’t hurt that getting to know this guy post-mortem can get you kitted out with his sick armor and custom rifle—Bethesda even made a limited run of statues of the character.
Scattered throughout New Vegas’ Honest Hearts expansion, Clark’s journals are an autobiographical account of the bombs falling and his experiences (and eventual death) in the world that followed. It includes the loss of his family, his adventures as a solo survivalist, and run-ins with various others, like a group of children that he becomes caretaker for in his old age, unwittingly laying the groundwork for a new tribal culture you meet in the present day, the Sorrows.
“I remember—it’s like you discover this as you’re writing it—but the moment there’s this elderly couple that saw the explosion, and so they’re blinded, and he shoots them through the head simultaneously,” Gonzalez recalled.
“It’s a very calculated act. It’s a practical act, but he actually does it in a way that is intended to not have anyone experience shock or horror or loss, so that they die simultaneously, which also, in some way, echoes the loss that he’s had,” said Gonzalez. “He’s trying to spare a couple the loss that he’s experiencing, knowing that his family has just been killed. God, you’re going to get me emotional if I talk about it.”
.jpg?width=1200&height=630&fit=crop&enable=upscale&auto=webp&w=360&resize=360,270&ssl=1 "How I learned to stop worrying and love the anime horse racing game")
