Craig Boone

Craig Boone is a retired NCR 1st Recon sharpshooter and Novac's night-shift town guard in 2281. He is also a possible companion.

Background
Born in 2255, Craig Boone joined the New California Republic Army at an unknown date and served until some time after the Bitter Springs Massacre. He completed the majority of his Army service with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, an infantry unit which has a reputation for having the best marksmen in the NCR Army.

In 2278, Boone was present with the rest of the 1st Recon at the Bitter Springs Massacre. At the direction of the major in command, an NCR Army force surrounded Bitter Springs and took up positions to ensure no one could leave. The Great Khans occupying Bitter Springs were not the well-armed force of raiders and warriors that the major had anticipated. Many of the Khans were non-combatants, including women, children, the elderly, the wounded and the sick. Confused about what to do, NCR troops radioed command to confirm their orders. Command reaffirmed their order to fire upon everyone, and the NCR force followed those orders. Then-Captain Dhatri, the second-in-command of the NCR force, took command after the major froze up, and did what he could to stop the killings. Bad planning and poor communication from up-top, in Boone's view, caused the massacre.

Sometime after Bitter Springs, Boone was discharged from the NCR Army, but not before meeting a woman named Carla while on leave. Carla was the only thing in the world who made him feel calm and happy in life. When he listened to her, she made him forget about everything he did in the military. He left the military, married Carla, and moved to Novac at the invitation of his 1st Recon friend, Manny Vargas. It was apparent that Carla was not pleased with living in Novac and made her opinions known. Jeannie May Crawford describes Carla as a "cactus flower," in that she is pretty to look at, but hard to get close to. She was never content with the ordinary life of the small town. Carla's attitude toward the town caused distance between Boone and Manny, which continued after Carla's disappearance. She had been kidnapped by the Legion, and Boone suspected she was betrayed by one of the townsfolk.

When Carla was kidnapped, Boone tracked the slaving party to Cottonwood Cove in hopes of rescuing her, only to find her being auctioned off in a camp of hundreds of Legion soldiers. All Boone had was his rifle and the distance between them. Instead of subjecting her to the horrors of Legion slavery, he chose to take her life in a mercy killing, knowing that a rescue wasn't possible. As a result of the psychological trauma Boone endured, he has become suicidal. He has no goal, purpose, or desire in life but to slaughter legionaries until fate finally catches up to him.

When the Courier first meets him, Boone is bitterly whiling away the hours until he can find out who is responsible for the disappearance of his wife and killing them. Hardened and psychologically troubled from his time in the NCR military, Boone vacillates between being a stone-cold killer and a decent human being. Venturing out from the relative safety of Novac brings Boone into close contact with his old life until he is forced to deal with the tragic events that caused him to leave the military.

Craig Boone, despite being out of the NCR military, is still an NCR soldier at heart. He refuses to work with a terrorist against the NCR and will not tolerate the Courier working with Caesar's Legion. In fact, if the Courier enters the Fort with Boone, all Legion members will become immediately hostile, regardless of the one's previous standing with them.

Quests

 * One for My Baby: Help Boone take care of the person responsible for his wife's kidnapping. The successful completion of this quest makes him available as a companion for the Courier.
 * I Forgot to Remember to Forget: Help Boone deal with the psychological trauma still haunting him. The successful completion of this quest upgrades his armor.
 * Beyond the Beef: One can offer Boone, or any other human companion, as a substitute to Mortimer for the banquet.
 * You'll Know It When It Happens: Boone will tell the player character three ways in which president Aaron Kimball can be assassinated. Two of his suggestions are attempted by the Legion.

Effects of player's actions

 * If one has Boone kill Manny Vargas during One for My Baby and pass a Speech check to convince him that Manny was guilty, he will tell the Courier to "Never say that name again." when asked about Vargas again.
 * If one arranges for Boone to kill someone who is "responsible" for the death of his wife, he'll later ask you what gave them away. If the Courier responds with "I had a hunch," he will be hostile towards them and won't talk to them anymore. He will also do this if the Courier tells him that Jeannie May Crawford's story "just didn't add up" and then fail the Speech check.
 * If Boone kills someone during the aforementioned quest and then the player character tells him that they just wanted him to kill the assigned target, he will immediately turn hostile and attack.
 * If the player character has not yet recruited Boone, he will refuse to speak to them if their overall NCR reputation is significantly below neutral, or if they have a significant positive reputation with Caesar's Legion. The reputation can be temporarily swayed by wearing any NCR armor, enabling that faction's relations and reputation. Though, ironically, Caesar's Legion armor (or any other faction armor) works just as well.
 * Gaining NCR infamy with Boone as a companion will cause him to demand that "this stops now." One has the option of attacking Boone or persuading him to stand down and agree with him on stopping the killings. Afterward, if the player character again kills NCR troops, with Boone following them, he will immediately turn hostile.
 * Sneak killing NCR soldiers in Boone's presence without being seen by other non-companion NPCs won't cause his immediate hostility.

Other interactions

 * If asked if he ever takes off his beret, he will say "No."
 * If the player character takes his beret, Boone says "I would really like my beret back, please." However, not returning it causes no significant results. He will still say this even if it is traded back to him before closing the inventory window.
 * If the player character enters Boone's hotel room after sending him back to Novac, Boone says "You need to leave." However, staying in the room or stealing items while being noticed by Boone causes no hostility, but one will still lose Karma.
 * If the Courier travels near Cottonwood Cove or Nelson with Boone, he will mention his grudge against the Legion and the option will be given to continue on with him or not.
 * When near the boat in Cottonwood Cove, Boone will say that this would "probably be the last boat you take."
 * After killing Caesar, Boone will say, "Thumbs-down, you son of a bitch!", in reference to the gladiatorial games. He will also talk about the kill next time the player character speaks to him.

Appearances
Craig Boone appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * Craig Boone was written by Eric Fenstermaker.
 * Boone was voiced by Jason Marsden, but is incorrectly credited as his friend, James Marsden.
 * Content in the audio files of Fallout: New Vegas suggests Liam O'Brien was going to voice Boone at some point, as there are many of Boone's lines recorded in his voice.

Bugs

 * After applying patch 1.2.0.31x Boone may no longer move his head to track nearby targets, and will holster his weapon while in combat approximately every five seconds. This error is caused by a code added to his main dialogue script, which causes him to re-evaluate his current AI package every five seconds.
 * Due to a glitch regarding armor stats, every time Boone switches equipment, the PER bonus from his beret gets added again and again, which leads to Boone having over 10 Perception. This can be reset by taking his beret away, and then giving it back to him.
 * If the player takes Boone's beret, then give it back to him, it may disappear from his inventory. If you give him the one remaining in your inventory, it will disappear upon transfer.
 * This can be done by giving to him any apparel does not allow face or headgear. As such, he'll also take his sunglasses off.
 * Boone seems to occasionally switch to melee (or if unavailable, unarmed) without prompt. This can be fixed by changing his combat style to melee in the companion wheel, and then back to ranged.
 * If you fast travel after earning enough history points to unlock the quest I Forgot to Remember to Forget, but before Boone asks you to return to Bitter Springs with him, Boone will not fast travel with you. You may correct this by loading the auto-save file if you have not changed the game's default auto-save settings.
 * If Boone has NCR faction armor AND a better set of armor in his inventory, he will sometimes switch between them for seemingly no reason.
 * If Boone is a companion and you part ways with him, say to meet up at the Lucky 38, and eventually accept him as a companion again, he will repeatedly talk to you without prompt. On the Xbox 360, he won't leave the Presidential Suite either, and fast traveling also causes him to disappear from the game permanently. This can be fixed only by going to The Fort and killing Caesar, although Boone will not appear. Upon killing Caesar, fast traveling to Cottonwood Cove will fix the glitch, provided there are enemies nearby.
 * This may be caused by firing Boone and then gaining some fame with the Legion (to being Accepted, or a mostly positive mixed reputation) and then rehiring Boone seems to cause this bug.
 * After a fight Boone may get stuck at reloading his weapon endlessly and not following you anymore. Let him switch to melee and back to ranged gets him out of that loop. Yet only confirmed for PC, happened after fast traveling to Nevada Highway Patrol station and fighting 10+ Jackal gang members.
 * You can fix this bug by closing out of the game or turning off your console then back on.
 * Sometimes when giving Boone a pair of authority glasses they turn out misshapen on his face. His rifle also will glitch out, and either disappear off his back or be inside of him. This also causes him to switch equipment. This can be fixed by taking the glasses, completely leaving the companion wheel, then going back and giving them back.
 * If Boone is a companion while using the Mark of Caesar to boat your way to The Fort Boone may appear on the dock next to you even if asked to wait far away. He will spawn in water therefore unable to fight the boat guard.
 * If Boone is wearing gear that the player has given him, and then receives another set of apparel (not necessarily better than his current armor) he may remove his sunglasses and beret despite them being the only headwear he has.
 * Sometimes during combat, Boone will randomly stop attacking enemies and will turn around. Then he will run in a specific direction, not stopping unless if he runs into a wall. To counteract this, the player must catch up with him to open dialogue. tell him to keep his distance, and then tell him to keep close again.
 * If you give him armor like radiation suit, he will remove his headgear, but he won't wear the suit.
 * If Boone is following you and you are accepted with the Legion, Boone will comment on it. Afterward he will talk to you every 10 seconds, even if you did not engage him in conversation.
 * Sometimes, when the player enters the Ultra-Luxe, gives up his weapons and then steals them back from the locker, Boone will lose his rifle for the rest of the game.
 * Sometimes, the weapons you give to Boone may disappear after exiting a casino.
 * Boone may lose armor suits you gave to him after you reload a save. The armor simply disappears from inventory.