Bounty Hunter

A bounty hunter is a character who is hired to find criminals, enemies or lost persons. What the bounty hunter does when they find their target depends on many factors, not least of which being whether it is a legal practice or not.

Fallout and Fallout 2
Sometime in 2161, a bounty is placed on President Tandi's head among the Khan raiders; it was almost certainly set by Garl Death-Hand, leader of the Khan raiders.

See: Rescue Tandi from the Raiders for details

By 2161, Chris Avellone has become the most feared bounty hunter across the Wastes, hunting down transgressors for profit and thrill with his entourage. He appears in Fallout and is still remembered by people during the events of Fallout 2.

Becoming a childkiller creates a bounty on the Vault Dweller/Chosen One's head, initiating a hunt among bounty hunters who will appear in random encounters in Fallout and Fallout 2.

Vasquez is a mercenary working in Junktown. He claims to be a famous desperado and that there is a bounty on his head.

Fallout 3
The most prominent bounty outfits present in the Capital Wasteland are the Talon Company and the Regulators. Talon Company is a ruthless mercenary organization that, though hostile to all, are also motivated by the rewards of bounty hunting, most notably taking down the Lone Wanderer if they have good Karma. A private contract is taken out by an unknown antagonist causing Talon Company mercs to have a greater presence around the wasteland.

The Regulators are a vigilante group dedicated to "bringing the evil to justice" and are also motivated by the rewards of bounty hunting. They may also hunt the Lone Wanderer if they have bad Karma. A bounty notice is set up among the Regulators, that causes them to have a greater presence in the wasteland.

See: Fallout 3 Karma-related encounters for details

The Lawbringer perk allows the Lone Wanderer to become a bounty hunter by rewarding the killing of 'bad' characters, a reward can be claimed from Sonora Cruz providing a finger from each of those killed is turned in. It also enables the Lone Wanderer to hunt down Junders Plunkett, a hostile outlaw who only appears after getting this perk.

The opposing perk is Contract Killer, which opens up bounty rewards for the killing of 'good' characters, a reward can be claimed from Daniel Littlehorn, the head of Littlehorn & Associates, providing an ear from each of those killed is turned in.

Fallout: New Vegas
The most notable bounty hunting quest in Fallout: New Vegas is given by Major Dhatri, he will extend the task of hunting down some of the most notorious and feared Fiends among not just the NCR but to many inhabitants of the Mojave Wasteland. Dhatri will ask the Courier to hunt down Driver Nephi, Violet and Cook-Cook and retrieve their heads, preferably in good condition. These bounties became open when Little Buster, a bounty hunter, decides to get out of the game after only two successful hunts, Night Terror and Jackson, also Fiends.

In addition to this Colonel Hsu will present the task of dealing with Motor-Runner, the leader of the Fiends located in Vault 3. Hsu requests Motor-Runner's helmet as proof. See: Three-Card Bounty and Bounty Killer respectively for details

Private James Sexton initiates an open bounty hunt that offers a reward for the killing of Legion soldiers, he only asks that the ears of those killed are turned in as proof, the reward scheme for this however is limited to thirty trade-ins.

The flipside to this is given by Aurelius of Phoenix who effectively places a bounty on the killing of NCR soldiers when asked to by the Courier. Aurelius asks that the dog tags of those who are killed are turned in as proof. The reward scheme does not have a limit.

See: An Ear to the Ground and Arizona Killer respectively for details

Should the Courier decide to work for Eddie, leader of the Powder Gangers at the NCR Correctional Facility, they will learn about his suspicions of a traveling merchant hanging around Jean Sky Diving. When the Courier investigates, and if they have the required Intelligence or Speech, the merchant will reveal himself to be a bounty hunter, who, although knowing there is no bounty on Powder Gangers, hopes that someone will pay him when they see his work.

See: I Fought the Law for details

Caleb McCaffery is the only other character established as a bounty hunter in the Mojave, but he is either working as a guard or on the run with a bounty on his own head, set by Francine Garret, with the request of his hat as proof.

See: Debt Collector for details

Van Buren
The most established bounty hunter in Van Buren is Bob. Since the early days of Hoover Dam as a settlement he built up his reputation and eventually runs a bounty hunting business offering bounties to those he deems can handle their own, which potentially includes the Prisoner. One of these bounties includes El Diablo, a serial killer referred to as the "Vampire Killer".

See: Do Bob's bounty hunter jobs for details

In 2253, Caesar's Legion are paying handsomely for the live capture of super mutants. Alexandra, a bounty hunter, is after Blackjack, a super mutant who was travelling alone and has been cornered by the time the Prisoner finds him.

See: Resolve the Alexandra-Blackjack situation for details

If the Prisoner 'buys some time' with Mary-Joe, a hooker at Dusty's Desires, she will become impregnated. Around three game months later the Prisoner will randomly encounter bounty hunters, if he chooses not to investigate why they are hunting for him, he will begin randomly encountering trogs. After nine months it revealed that Billy-Bob, Mary-Joe's father, put a bounty out the Prisoner for avoiding his responsibilities to Mary-Joe. If the Prisoner cannot talk his way out, Billy-Bob will have to be killed.

Phil the salvager in Burham Springs spent plenty of time as a bounty hunter tracking down his old comrades instead of getting involved in a powder gang.