Bear (Van Buren)

Bear is a member of the Rusty Hooks in 2253.

Background
Some within the ranks of the Rusty Hooks would say Bear is the true leader of the pack. Bear is the uncompromising tactician when it comes to violent caravan raids, the diplomatic liaison when it comes to settling disputes within the gang, and the enforcer of the law within the Rusty Hooks. This is all the more extraordinary considering the fact that Bear is a super mutant. Some would even say that the only reason Kyle the Hook gets any respect at all is because Bear seems uniquely loyal to him. In fact, Bear's loyalty seems to border on the submissive, like a regularly disciplined dog.

Bear has been with the Rusty Hooks almost since their inception. About a month or so after Kyle "established" the Rusty Hooks, Kyle and some of his raiders were out on a raid when they came across a Crimson Caravan Company caravan. Bear was the caravan protection leader and proved to be the most fearsome fighter of the bunch. So good, in fact, that Bear ended up killing six raiders with his unusual iron bear claw weapon, before taking several bullets to the chest which rendered him unconscious and nearly dead. When Bear had recovered from his wounds (seems the bullet wounds were not as fatal as everyone thought thanks to his super mutant hide), he was mysteriously loyal to Kyle; so much so that Bear "beat the living shit" out of a few "possible" dissenters as a message to anyone who might even think of betraying Kyle. Since then, Bear has been very close to Kyle the Hook, even offering him advice that kept Kyle in power.

The big mystery as to why Bear is so loyal to Kyle is that Kyle, despite all his apparent stupidity, is actually quite the expert at demolitions, almost idiot savant-like. Kyle instantly saw the potential of having a fierce super mutant like Bear under his command, so he created the heart bomb. Sid, the Rusty Hooks' part time medic and full time slacker, inserted the heart bomb with a radio trigger for Kyle, persuaded by a .44 pointed at his skull. After secretly placing the bomb and stitching Bear up away from prying eyes, Kyle told Sid that if he ever mentioned this device to anyone, he would make sure Sid was tied up and thrown into a den of hag snakes.

Kyle then made it known to Bear that he would always be in control of him as long as that device was nestled safely next to Bear's heart. Should Bear decide to break out on his own, he would become scorpion food. As long as Bear remained loyal, he would be treated as a second in command, especially since he showed such great physical and combat prowess. Bear, not being a stupid mutant, agreed to Kyle's terms in the secret hope that one day he could regain control of his own life and squash Kyle. That thought is Bear's driving force which allows him to wake up each morning with hope.

Relationships

 * Kyle's body guard.

Interactions overview
Bear is a huge, standing over 7'6" and weighing in at a muscular 440 lbs. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, and large guns, though he rarely uses guns. In fact, he's so good at beating things up that, legend has it, "Bear once beat the shit out of two super mutants with nothing more than his bare fists." However, despite Bear's physical and combat prowess, he is also very intelligent and well spoken. He conveys his thoughts intelligently and does not seek to belittle anyone who does not have as much brain power as he does. He is fairly easy to reason with and will happily help the player, should the player figure out Kyle's control over Bear.

When visiting the rocket assembly building in Bloomfield Space Center, there will be some tough bipedal security bots equipped with twin Gatling guns for arms. The Rusty Hooks will become alarmed by the bots suddenly coming to life, and will help the player destroy the bots. The completion of this scene will bring Bear up to the player to thank the player for helping destroy the bots (it's not apparent that the player is the target since the bots will respond to other threats shooting at them). This dialogue will put the player in the position of gaining information about the Rusty Hooks, the growing dissent in the ranks, what, exactly, Sid has been able to fix/activate, and launch the player into figuring out how to get the remaining Space Rocket working. In addition, the player could figure out how to get the communications satellite dish working to further their cause. Also, the player may get the opportunity to not only participate in raids against caravans, but possibly get Bear to overthrow Kyle, or have the player overthrow him and control the Rusty Hooks (the player would get the opportunity to rename the raiders to whatever they wanted and the raiders would refer to themselves by that new name).

If the player frees Jillian McKinley from her slavery at the Reservation and brings her back to Bloomfield before bringing her back to Tibbets Prison, it will be a devil of a time trying to convince Bear to let her leave again to go back to the prison. Aside from Jillian being an excellent mechanic and weapon-smith, Bear would become infatuated with Jillian. He does not let this be known, since he knows he's a super mutant and that someone as hot as Jillian would never go for him. However, he will exhibit a strong, protective posture to anyone he thinks might be threatening her well being. Even Jillian, who is fairly headstrong herself, will not be able to convince Bear to let her go back to the prison (she won't show resistance if the player explains why she needs to temporarily go back). A Charisma Boy would be able to explain the circumstances of Jillian needing to go back to the prison and convince Bear to let her go, but anyone else would have to earn Bear's trust before he will allow his secret love to brave the wasteland without him. And even after that point, Bear will insist on going along (he won't be forced on the player to be a companion, but he will make it known that he would feel a lot better if he went along).

If the player is able to free Bear from his predicament, Bear will be very grateful and perhaps become a companion. In addition, Bear actually knows all about Bloomfield Space Center and what the Hermes-13 was designed for and where it is programmed to go. He keeps this information secret because he does not think anyone in the Rusty Hooks is intelligent or responsible enough to know. He knows this information because he is one of the surviving super mutants from the Master's army. He is well versed in the New California Republic's undertakings, as well as the Brotherhood of Steel and Enclave, and is a good source of information, once the player earns Bear's trust. Alternatively, the player can figure out a way to control Bear's heart bomb and make him his very own slave.


 * Freeing Bear of his predicament
 * 1) The device may be removed if the player has a high Medic and Science skill, and a good quality doctor's bag.
 * 2) By fixing everything Kyle wants fixed, by defeating the turrets, and showing better leadership skills by exposing Kyle's elevated stupidity.
 * 3) By openly challenging Kyle to combat for the leadership of the Rusty Hooks. Kyle will choose Bear as his champion. If the player can beat Bear into submission via Unarmed or Melee combat (player's choice), Kyle would be forced to turn over leadership to the player.
 * 4) Same as above, but the player can work out a deal with Bear in which Bear takes a fall. Player will have to fight pretty effectively (Deception) in order to fool Kyle into thinking fight is real. If player succeeds, they become leader of the Rusty Hooks and can free Bear, demanding control of the radio detonator.

Quests

 * Convince Rusty Hook Guards to Allow Passage
 * Help Sid Complete the Mega-Flamer, initiates the quest.
 * Disable Bear's C4 Heart Bomb, a medic and science savvy player can offer to disable Bear's C4 heart bomb. If the player is successful, then Bear will not only kick the shit out of Kyle, but also volunteer to be a companion.
 * Disable Trigger of Bear's C4 Heart Bomb, instead of actually stealing the trigger watch from Kyle, the player could devise a way of disabling the trigger.
 * Rewire Trigger of Bear's C4 Heart Bomb to Explode, if the player has a high Mechanics skill, he can sneak up on Kyle while he's sleeping (preferably after he passed out from being drunk) and rewire his watch trigger to explode when used. So, the next day when the player tells Bear to be defiant to Kyle and Kyle pressed the radio trigger, it explodes and blows off his lone good hand.
 * Build Sid's Self-Esteem, initiates the quest.
 * Challenge Kyle to Fight for Rusty Hooks' Leadership, after getting to know the Rusty Hooks for a bit, the player can find out that he can challenge the current leader (in this case, Kyle) to a fight (unarmed only) and whoever wins becomes the new leader of the Rusty Hooks. The one caveat of the current leader is that he may choose anyone to be his "champion," and Kyle will always choose his favorite super mutant, Bear. After the challenge, the fight begins. Good luck! If the player wins the fight, he is the new leader of the Rusty Hooks. However, Kyle might be so pissed after Bear losing the fight that he triggers Bear's heart bomb – hopefully the player is not too close.
 * Convince Bear to Try and Take Over Rusty Hooks, if the player can do any of the non-lethal disabling the heart bomb quests, then the player can convince Bear to take over the Rusty Hooks. Bear will not attempt a takeover if he knows his heart bomb is still functional and Kyle has control of it. Having Bear as the leader of the Rusty Hooks gives the player the opportunity to convert the raiders from a criminal organization to a legitimate organization.

Other interactions

 * If Bear and his troop become an enemy of the player, Bear gives a +5% combat bonus to his buddies. This bonus disappears after he dies.
 * If the player beats Bear in a legitimate fight (and did not work out a deal to have Bear take a fall), the player gets Sting Like a Bee perk (+5% to critical with Unarmed only).
 * Fun note: heart bomb may explode if it comes in contact with electricity, like from a pulse rifle shot and hitting Bear in the chest. Result – pretty big BOOM!

Endings
If Bear becomes the leader of the Rusty Hooks;

Appearances
Bear was going to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.