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| “ | Looks like you could use some assistance. | „ |
| ~ Mysterious Stranger, 2161 |
The Mysterious Stranger is an individual that may appear to help the protagonists of the main Fallout games. He will appear if the player character has the Mysterious Stranger perk, and utilizes VATS in combat.
Apperances
Appearing suddenly if the player has picked the namesake perk, the Mysterious Stranger can be spotted throughout the wasteland in his trademark trench coat, hat, and .44 Magnum to lend a helping hand in battles. After the player character's VATS sequence finishes, he will vanish.
Fallout 1 and Fallout 2
Only in hostile random encounters, there is a chance that the character will gain a temporary ally in a leather jacket (male with a male protagonist, and female with a female protagonist). The unidentified stranger's details depend on the player character's level. There is a chance that the Mysterious Stranger will appear as a temporary ally during random encounters. To calculate, the chance of appearance is equal to % = 30 + (2 x Luck).
The inventory of the Mysterious Stranger is different at each random encounter. If attacked, the Mysterious Stranger will attack back, but he will be friendly again during the next hostile random encounter. If the Mysterious Stranger dies, he/she will never come back. The Mysterious Stranger perk in Fallout is stronger than in Fallout 2, since the Mysterious Stranger is already at their maximum statistics and their plasma rifle is more powerful in Fallout than the H&K G11 that the Fallout 2 equivalent has.
Since the Vault Dweller is canonically male, the Mysterious Stranger in 2161 would be canonically male also.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas
He appears as an Asian man in his late thirties to his early forties.
He circles around the enemy, shooting several times as he does so. A short guitar riff will play whenever he holsters or upholsters his weapon, as does the Mysterious Magnum. The Mysterious Stranger has a unique .44 Magnum called the Mysterious Stranger's .44 magnum that can only be obtained via console commands. It deals up to 9000 damage, making it one of the strongest weapons in both games.
His son, the Lonesome Drifter, is found north of El Dorado Dry Lake next to a Sunset Sarsaparilla billboard. If the Courier chats with the Lonesome Drifter, the latter remarks about his past when speaking to the Courier, mentioning that his father was a "mysterious" man, and a "stranger" to his own family. He can also be recruited for the quest "Talent Pool" as a paid guitarist in The Tops casino.
Aside from recruiting him, passing a 50 Barter check will enable the player to get the Mysterious Magnum from him. He carries a unique .44 Magnum that looks similar to the Mysterious Stranger's .44 Magnum, and can only be obtained if he is murdered. When the Courier draws it, the same guitar notes that are heard when the Mysterious Stranger shows up are played, and a chord is played when the weapon is holstered.
Fallout 4
In Fallout 4, the Mysterious Stranger is middle-aged and has a mustache. His coat is buttoned shut rather than being tied. His outfit is also no longer unique to him and can be found in the wasteland. The Mysterious Stranger uses the standard issue .44 pistol and possesses a unique perk, named "Mysterious Stranger Damage," which increases all the damage stats on all weapons except melee weapons. It can be obtained only through console commands.
The Mysterious Stranger is currently being investigated by the detective Nick Valentine, who has a short log containing everything he knows about them in his office. Nick will express incredulity when he appears, and frustration when he vanishes. The riff alerting to his upcoming presence is different from previous games.
Fallout 76
In Appalachia, the Mysterious Stranger appears middle-aged, clean shaven, with sunken cheeks, and short, cropped hair. He wears a tan, worn trench coat that is buttoned down the middle, on top of a collared white shirt and red tie. He has a fedora that matches his coat, with a darker brown band. He wears olive green pants and brown shoes. There are now two perks associated with him, one being his namesake perk and the other being Mysterious Savior, where instead of appearing in VATS to attack random enemies he may appear when a player with the perk is downed to revive them.
In Fallout Shelter, the Mysterious Stranger appears in vault rooms or elevators and a sound is played when he does so. He does not aid in battles, but may appear in the vault regardless of if the vault is experiencing an incident. When selected, he disappears and the vault is awarded a random amount of caps based on how quickly he is found. He must be tapped on to receive the caps. If any rooms are not powered he will not appear, even when the sound effect occurs.
Finding him two, four, and five times, respectively, are three of the objectives. He can spawn at anytime, appears with a smoke poof and leaves with one as well. He will spawn in intervals of at least 10 minutes.
Quotes
| “ | With this Perk, you have gained the attention of a Mysterious Stranger, who will appear to help you from time to time. If your ally is lost in combat, do not expect him or her to be replaced. | „ |
| ~ Fallout 1 & 2 |
| “ | Gives you your own personal guardian angel... armed with a fully loaded .44 Magnum. With this perk, the Mysterious Stranger appears occasionally in V.A.T.S. mode to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency. | „ |
| ~ Fallout 3 |
Drifter: Howdy there, partner.
Courier: What's your story, stranger?
Drifter: My story's a long one, friend, and I can't say as it's all that interesting.
Courier: Nevertheless, I'm interested.
Drifter: Well, I was born in a little town out Montana way. Me and Ma didn't have much, ever since my pa up and left.
Courier: Your father abandoned you?
Drifter: That he did. Never did know why. Ma always said he was a real mysterious feller, even when he was with her. Like he was a stranger sometimes.
Courier: I'm sure he had a reason for leaving.
Drifter: Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but that don't change the fact that it wasn't right.
Courier: Sounds like you miss him. Is that why you're out here wandering?
Drifter: Maybe. Maybe I just never felt like I belonged back home.
Courier: Let's talk about something else.
Drifter: Lookin' for a story, huh? All right, what can I tell you?
Courier: That's a mighty fine guitar you got there.
Drifter: Oh, this old thing? Why, thanks, friend. This here guitar is just about the only thing my daddy left me.
Courier: Have you been playing long?
Drifter: Just about my whole life, ever since my daddy left ma and me and went off to roam the wastes.
Courier: When did your father leave?
Drifter: Long time ago, now. I never even knew him. Ma always said he was a mysterious fella, always travellin' on in secret.
Courier: It must have been hard growing up without a father.
Drifter: It sure wasn't easy. Ma worked her fingers to the bone to make sure we had enough to survive, and I worked the coal mines from when I was fifteen.
Courier: You were better off without him. You became your own man, outside of his shadow.
Drifter: I suppose there's that, but a man oughta know his own Pa, and a woman oughtn't have to work herself to an early grave to provide for her family. After Ma died, I guess I wanted to find my Pa and get some answers from him. Been out here looking ever since, but he ain't an easy man to find.
Courier: And what will you do when you find him?
Drifter: Can't say as I really know. Maybe I'll just ask him why. Maybe I'll punch him right in the mouth.
Courier: He sounds like a scumbag. You should make him pay.
Drifter: Maybe I will. Or maybe I'll just ask him why he left. Hell, the more I talk about it, the more the whole damn thing sounds like a dumb idea.
Courier: Sounds like you should move on. Settle down, maybe.
Drifter: Maybe I should. Don't suppose you know anyplace a feller with a guitar might find a job, huh?
Courier: Can't say that I do, sorry.
Drifter: Ah well. It was worth a shot.
Courier: Goodbye.
Drifter: So long, friend.
| “ | CASE: The Mysterious Stranger Sightings of a man dubbed "The Mysterious Stranger" have been popping up sporadically across the old U.S. for years now. Best case, the man's an amoral lunatic. Worst case, a prolific serial killer. All anyne knows is his MO: appearing suddenly, killing without remorse, disappearing without a word. "The Stranger" has no known accomplices, no clear method for selecting his targets, no calling cards left behind. Sightings range from the NCR all the way to the East Coast, stretching back decades. Now he's come to the Commonwealth. Last thing this place needs is another psychopath running amok. Time to start putting together the pieces to put this one away. |
„ |
| ~ Nick Valentine's journal |
Gallery
Trivia
General
- The Mysterious Stranger perk was originally designed by Scott Bennie.
- The Mysterious Stranger in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 wields a revolver and wears a fedora and overcoat, like a protagonist of 1950s film noir.
- There were several unfinished drafts of a book by Mark Twain titled The Mysterious Stranger, in which the title character claims to be Satan's nephew and that he was actually good all along, and states that ".44" is Earth's other name. The character in this series is labeled a "Guardian Angel" (the devil is stated to be a fallen angel) and carries a .44 Magnum.
Fallout
- The Mysterious Stranger remains on the map of the random encounter even after the end of the fight, until leaving. The stranger can be spoken to, but won't say much.
Fallout 2
- If the game is saved during a random encounter when the Mysterious Stranger is still on the map and then reloaded, the Mysterious Stranger will remain in place.
- They can be encountered in any random encounter. This also includes simply stopping on the map and entering the map via the inverted triangle at the player character's location.
- The Mysterious Stranger will leave the map of the random encounter directly after ending combat. A few exceptions to this are caravan encounters and encounters with a cave included.
- The Mysterious Stranger with a hunting rifle actually spawns shotgun shells as ammunition instead of .223 FMJ. As such, the Mysterious Stranger only has the 10 shots already provided in the magazine.
Fallout 3
- The Mysterious Stranger will sometimes seek out other hostiles while in VATS, after he has killed the targeted one.
- His appearances have a counter ("Mysterious Stranger Visits") that is displayed randomly during the loading screens.
- The Lawbringer, Contract Killer, and Grim Reaper's Sprint perks will not grant their benefits if the Mysterious Stranger takes the kill.
- Mesmerizing NPCs with a Mesmetron in VATS will sometimes make the Mysterious Stranger appear, resulting in him killing the victim.
- In Mothership Zeta, when first arriving aboard Zeta, having the Mysterious Stranger perk opens up a new line of dialogue with Somah, with the option "Maybe, if we're lucky, a friend of mine will show up to help us."
New Vegas
- The Miss Fortune perk functions in the same way as this perk, but with different effects in combat.
- After the Mysterious Stranger or Miss Fortune appears 15 times, the Friendly Help challenge is completed, increasing the probability for them to appear in combat.
- When interrogating Silus at Camp McCarran, if he is being attacked by the Courier using VATS, Silus will be killed by the Mysterious Stranger should he appear. In this event, Carrie Boyd will not respond in any way to Silus' death.
- Both the Mysterious Stranger and Miss Fortune perks can be chosen by the player, but the characters will not appear together in the same VATS sequence. Taking both perks will not increase the chances of either one appearing.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas
- He can appear in water and swim around, though he will not shoot when this occurs.
- The Mysterious Stranger can be incapacitated by nearby explosions, sending him flailing about.
- His appearances have a counter that is displayed on the Pip-Boy under the "Stats tab - General".
- Unlike the other Mysterious Strangers, the ones in Fallout 3 and New Vegas are the same person.
- There is a chance for the Mysterious Stranger to miss all 6 shots from his .44 Magnum and the target will be completely unharmed.
- He may be seen reloading his weapon if he runs out of ammo. However, the Mysterious Stranger is never given the chance to finish.
- It is possible to attack and even cripple the Mysterious Stranger by accident in VATS, but this seems to have no consequence whatsoever.
- If the Mysterious Stranger (or Miss Fortune) appears in gas-filled area, his gunfire will ignite the gas and hurt everyone caught in the conflagration.
Fallout 4
- The appearance rate is 10% for the first rank, 12% for the second rank and 14% for the third rank. This does not change with higher Luck.
- Though the Mysterious Stranger is always depicted with a revolver, the death animation for the target will be based on the weapon the Sole Survivor is wielding, so they may be disintegrated if they have an equipped laser weapon or gooified if they have an equipped plasma weapon.
- Enemies will sometimes attempt (futilely) to attack the Mysterious Stranger during his brief appearances. This is most noticeable with feral ghouls, who will attempt to perform their flying tackle on him, only to end up passing through thin air and sprawling onto the ground.
Licensing
This article contains content derived from the "Mysterious Stranger" article on Nukapedia, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
