Vic

Vic the Trader is a wasteland trader who works among the tribes of northern New California and the first person the Chosen One is sent to track down in 2241.

Background
An older man with a prominent gut, Vic is one of the traders who makes his livelihood trading with tribes on the Oregon/California border. He hails from Klamath, where he has a small home built out of scrap, and specializes in pre-War technologies. His reputation among the tribes makes him a popular point of contact for those in need, such as Sulik. However, Vic's information on the whereabouts of Sulik's sister proved to be outdated, making the tribal view the merchant with wariness bordering on hostility.

Vic's rounds took him as far as Vault City, where he had an affair with a Vault City Citizen. Valerie was born of it, though the relationship was not built to last. Vic eventually started to refer to Val's mother as the Desert Viper and started traveling outside Vault City, until he eventually disappeared altogether from their life. Yet it seems there was a bit of passion left between them, as should Vic learn of her death, he is still saddened, a bit.

That remnant of a feeling did not stop him from seeking solace in the arms of Jenny, a prostitute from the Dunton-run "Bathhouse" in Klamath. Just before he ran afoul of Metzger in the Den, by selling him a faulty radio, he sold a number of Vault 13 water flasks to the tribals of Arroyo. Little did he know that this would kickstart an epic quest that would culminate in the saving of humanity.

Quests

 * Find Vic the Trader: The Chosen One may either buy or bust him out. Once freed, he tells them what he knows and then offers to join. Low-intelligence characters are given a dialogue choice to recruit Vic but without results from the choice. If Metzger and his slavers are killed without freeing Vic, he will somehow escape the locked room and take refuge at Mom's Diner.
 * Free Vic from his debt by getting his radio from his house in Klamath and paying Metzger.

Appearances
Vic appears only in Fallout 2 and is mentioned in the Fallout Bible.

Behind the scenes
Vic, being a trader, is likely a reference to the chain of Tiki bars named Trader Vic's, the first of which opened in Oakland near San Francisco in 1934.