Old Ben

Old Ben is a local living in Freeside

Background
Old Ben was born in Freeside and has lived there since birth. Ben's father ran a butcher shop in Freeside, which Ben worked at for a time. Business suffered when a vendor started selling "strange meat" at half the prices, resulting in the butcher shop shutting down and his father passing away "from the loss". Shortly after the shutdown, residents began suffering the "shakes", which Ben suspected was the result of human meat being sold by the other vendor, though no one believed him. After the vendor "gradually went insane and passed away", a new vendor moved into his place and discovered half-buried human remains "in the crawlspace".

After a while, Ben earned enough money to obtain a passport to enter New Vegas, which were cheaper to purchase at the time. On The Strip, he began work at The Tops as a crier, advertising the local talent performing there. He was also granted a casino apartment. As a crier, he interacted with some of the ladies "from time to time", including one of the manager's girls, who took a liking to Ben. He states that the manager decided it was his time to go and framed Ben by saying he stole from the casino vault. When the casino vault was checked, a "few grand" was found to be missing and Ben was promptly fired, stripped of his casino apartment with his belongings and booted back into Freeside.

With very few career options left and his reputation "destroyed" as a result, Ben took to becoming an escort to "make ends meet". He mentions that he excelled at it, but after a while, he started to feel like a "piece of meat" and "empty inside", prompting him to quit. After quitting the escort job, Ben became a gun-for-hire. He used his earnings to purchase a pistol belt, along with some miscellaneous gear. He states that bodyguards make a "good honest living" and that he had enough wits and strength to handle "most thugs". His reputation improved after saving a few tourists and he ended up working as a bodyguard for a decade, managing to save up enough to retire.

Ben also used to work as a courier, though quit the line of work due to an excess of "shifty characters" wanting hot items to be moved. While Ben is retired, he "does [his] best" to help around Freeside when needed, though states his life has been dull without "some kind of action" in it.

Appearances
Old Ben appears

Bugs

 * He can sometimes, after you talk to him, run to the Strip's gate where he will be obliterated by the securitrons.
 * If you recruit Santiago and go to the Atomic Wrangler to tell James, then go back to Ben and pass the Speech check, you will be awarded 50 XP and he will run to the Atomic Wrangler. Then when you go back to the Wrangler, you can speak to Ben again to pass the Speech check infinitely, earning 35 XP per check. You can also still use the Black Widow/Confirmed Bachelor perk. Speaking to James will not bring the option to recruit Ben.