Robert Joseph MacCready

Robert Joseph "RJ" MacCready is the former mayor of Little Lamplight in 2277 and a mercenary operating in the Commonwealth in 2287.

Early life
Born in 2265 in the Capital Wasteland to parents he never knew, MacCready became the head of the Little Lamplight children’s colony in 2274, when he was only ten years old. His ascension was simple: After Princess declared herself the new Mayor and renamed the position after herself. Her rule lasted about five minutes, until MacCready punched her in the face and stated that Little Lamplight needed a leader, not a princess. MacCready’s coup resulted in him becoming mayor. The other residents respected him for his smarts, toughness, and the juvenile lack of fear of anything – be it monsters, adults, or using his rifle on anything that looked at him funny, not to mention the ability to maintain Little Lamplight as a viable community.

However brazen and foolhardy he might have been in his young years, MacCready was not devoid of imagination. Children are always at a disadvantage in the wasteland, so he chose a sniper rifle as his weapon of choice, teaching himself marksmanship from the ground up. Engaging targets at long range means you don’t take too many chances and in the treacherous Capital Wasteland that meant staving off death for another day.

Adult life
In 2281, MacCready hit sixteen and left Little Lamplight. He took to wandering the wastelands as a gun for hire. In the course of his travels, he met a woman named Lucy. The two fell in love. Lucy always had MacCready's back and helped him through the darkest of nights in the wasteland. With her at his side, he could press ahead no matter the horrors that faced him. He told her that he was a soldier, out of fear that he might lose her if he revealed that he was a stone-cold killer. She never learned the truth. She gave him a carved toy soldier in return, something he always kept on himself regardless of where he went.

However, the Capital Wasteland was still a treacherous place and didn't take kindly to an absence of misery. Lucy and MacCready were nomads and their son, Duncan, was born on the road. Their happiness was bluntly interrupted by tragedy one fateful night, when they set up camp in an abandoned metro station. They didn’t know the place was infested with feral ghouls who set upon them in the darkness. Lucy was ripped apart before MacCready could get a shot off. However, her death bought enough time for him to make a fighting retreat out of the station, with Duncan in his arms. The sight of Lucy torn apart by the clawed, rotted hands would plague him for years to come.

It shifted MacCready's perspective on life and himself. Up until then, he was a killer, shooting people for a living, but now he was determined to change himself. He made a promise to Duncan to clean up his act and be a better person… Starting with swearing off cursing. He settled down and built a homestead. Everything was peaceful for a time as MacCready worked the land and Duncan grew. His almost idyllic life came to an end when his son was exposed to something in their fields and the next day developed a fever accompanied by blue boils all over his body. The disease sapped his strength and by the time he decided to hit the road and find a cure, he was almost too weak to walk. He entrusted his child to the care of his friends and departed. Every doctor he talked to never heard of the disease and was at a loss as to how to help the child.

The Long Road Ahead
Leads and job opportunities proved scarce in the Capital Wasteland, with the Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel becoming a potent force in the wake of Arthur Maxson's rise to power. Around 2286, MacCready took his rifle and headed north, making a name for himself and searching for a cure. When he arrived in the Commonwealth, the Gunners were recruiting sharpshooters into their ranks and MacCready joined up to amass money for his ultimate goal. Though the caps were plentiful, the Gunners' lack of scruples and indiscriminate approach to collateral damage were at odds with MacCready's personal code and the promise he made to his son. MacCready broke ties with them in summer of 2287 and resumed his career as a freelance contractor.

Shortly after ditching the Gunners, MacCready met Sinclair, a fellow contractor who was looking for the same thing: A cure for the mysterious blue boils for his partner. He found information that indicated Med-Tek Laboratories was experimenting with a universal cure at its Medford facility and MacCready joined his exploration party. Equipped with security codes to breach pre-War security, they only made it a short way in before feral ghouls pushed them back. They never made a second attempt, as Sinclair's friend died before they regrouped. MacCready clung to the codes in case he found someone he can trust and who would help him get through the facility's defenses and hordes of feral ghouls.

He set up shop in Goodneighbor, unwilling to tangle with Diamond City's security force or wandering the wastes alone. Hancock proved willing to bargain and so MacCready started trolling for clients. However, Winlock and Barnes weren't willing to let a former Gunner operate in their territory and for three months they've been hounding MacCready and driving off his customers. Nobody was willing to work with a former Gunner, no matter how talented or soft-spoken. Robert MacCready: "Nice to be on the open road. Goodneighbor was starting to wear out its welcome." The Sole Survivor: "What makes you say that?" Robert MacCready: "Goodneighbor was a good place to look for work, but a crappy place to hang your hat. Let's put it this way. Can't get much rest when you're sleeping with one eye open. Still, it was the best place for me to set up shop. Diamond City's goons would have run me out of town and wandering the Commonwealth alone isn't the brightest plan when you're hard up for caps." The Sole Survivor: "Setting up shop? What do you mean?" Robert MacCready: "I needed somewhere to hang out so that people could find me when they required my services. The folks in Goodneighbor tended not to ask too many questions which suited my needs. So, I made a deal with Hancock and started waiting for the caps to roll in." The Sole Survivor: "Caps aren't worth risking your life." Robert MacCready: ''"Easy for you to say. But right now, I need every cap I can get." The Sole Survivor: "Are caps really that important to you?" Robert MacCready: "I don't have much of a choice. I don't usually go around sharing stuff like this, but you've been pretty straight with me, so I'm going to be straight with you. It's those two assh... those two idiots you saw me talking to at the Third Rail, Winlock and Barnes. They've been hounding me for months and it's been driving off clients. No one wants to touch me once they learn I used to run with the Gunners. And I figured if I could get enough caps together, maybe I could buy them out." (Robert MacCready's dialogue (Fallout 4)) One of the few people willing to overlook his former affiliation was Daisy, the ghoul proprietor of the general store in Goodneighbor. MacCready helped her manage unfriendly customers on repeated occasions and the two became fast friends. Daisy: "MacCready! I haven't seen you in a while. You haven't been avoiding me, have you?" Robert MacCready: "Now how could I stay away from someone as cute as you, Daisy?" Daisy: "You're a lousy liar, but I'll just play stupid and pretend I don't know that. So, what did you need?" Robert MacCready: "I got it, Daisy. I found the cure to Duncan's disease." Daisy: "Oh my god! That's wonderful news. How did you do it? Last time you tried, the ferals almost chewed you to bits." Robert MacCready: "I didn't do it alone. My friend here got me through Med-Tek. Now all I need to do is get the cure into Duncan's hands. Can you help me?" Daisy: "Of course, MacCready. You've saved my behind more than once, it's the least I can do. It's okay, you can trust me. I swear I'll get the cure to Duncan." The Sole Survivor: "What did MacCready do to help you out?" "Running a business in a town like Goodneighbor is a challenge. Let's just say I've had my share of unfriendly customers and MacCready's been there to help me handle the situation." The Sole Survivor: "If MacCready trusts you, that's good enough for me." Daisy: "I appreciate that. He's actually not so bad, once you get to know him. I'll get the sample on the first caravan leaving the Commonwealth. The driver owes me a few favors and he's reliable. It will arrive at your homestead in no time, MacCready." Robert MacCready: "Thanks, you're a doll." Daisy: "Hey, do me a favor. Take care of MacCready for me. He's one of the good ones."'' (Robert MacCready's and Daisy's dialogue)

However, the Gunners never let up. In the end, they confronted him at the Third Rail, demanding that he cease doing business in their territory or suffer the consequences. Winlock: "Can't say I'm surprised to find you in a dump like this, MacCready." Robert MacCready: "I was wondering how long it would take your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlock. It's been almost three months... don't tell me you're getting rusty. Should we take this outside?" Winlock: "It ain't like that. I'm just here to deliver a message." Robert MacCready: "In case you forgot, I left the Gunners for good." Winlock: "Yeah, I heard. But you're still taking jobs in the Commonwealth. That isn't going to work for us." Robert MacCready: "I don't take orders from you... not anymore. So why don't you take your girlfriend and walk out of here while you still can." Barnes: "What?! Winlock, tell me we don't have to listen to this shit..." Winlock: ''"Listen up, MacCready. The only reason we haven't filled your body full of bullets is that we don't want a war with Goodneighbor. See, we respect other people's boundaries... we know how to play the game. It's something you never learned." Robert MacCready: "Glad to have disappointed you." Winlock: "You can play the tough guy all you want. But if we hear you're still operating inside Gunner territory, all bets are off. You got that?" Robert MacCready: "You finished?" Winlock: "Yeah... we're finished. Come on, Barnes."'' (Barnes, Winlock's, and Robert MacCready's dialogue (Fallout 4)) MacCready found himself in a bind: If he tried to pay them off, they'd likely take the caps and kill him with the small army of Gunners they had at their disposal. If he ran, there was no guarantee they'd relent. And alone he took no chance at wiping them out to send a message to the Gunners to back away… Until the Sole Survivor came along. With their help, he could make enough of a dent in the Gunner bottom line to force them to back away.

Personality
Though notoriously foul-mouthed and belligerent in his younger years, the 22-year-old MacCready is far more reserved and polite. Years of hard living turned him into a hardened warfighter, coping with adversity through liberal use of sarcasm and humor. That's not to say he's completely immune: Witnessing the horrors of the Old World still gets to him and he's not too thrilled about the pre-War folk either, on account of them bringing the nuclear holocaust down on Earth.

MacCready isn't averse to violence but doesn't revel in it either. If possible, he'll bluff his way through to minimize danger to himself and others. The latter includes eating fish, which tends to make him less-than-pleasant company.

On a more personal side, MacCready misses a lot of features of living in the Capital Wasteland, including Galaxy News Radio with Three Dog and the monuments of downtown D.C. He also collects old Grognak the Barbarian comic books, picking through the ruins in search of issues to complete his collection. As of 2287, it's almost complete, only missing the issue where Mastadonald and Skullpocalypse teamed up to fight Grognak.

Quests

 * Picking Up the Trail/Rescue from Paradise: When first met, MacCready will threaten to shoot unless leaving the Little Lamplight cavern entrance. The Lone Wanderer has to pass a difficult speech check, use the Child at Heart perk, or complete the Rescue from Paradise quest in order to gain entrance to Little Lamplight. After gaining entrance to Little Lamplight, the Lone Wanderer will have a new dialogue path with MacCready which reveals the entrance to Vault 87 through Murder Pass.
 * Fungus Deal: After speaking with either Eclair or Lucy, the Lone Wanderer can convince MacCready to enter a trade agreement: swapping either strange meat (to Eclair) or Buffout (to Lucy) for cave fungus.
 * Those!: The Lone Wanderer can convince MacCready (using the Child at Heart perk) to accept Bryan Wilks into Little Lamplight.

Effects of player's actions

 * Speaking to MacCready in quick succession too many times will raise his ire. Eventually, he'll refuse to talk and will tell the Lone Wanderer to leave Little Lamplight. Although one can still talk to him later on, they must wait twenty-four hours to end the silent treatment.

Quests

 * MacCready for Action: This unmarked quest consists of convincing MacCready to join the Sole Survivor.
 * Long Road Ahead: MacCready asks the Sole Survivor to help him take care of the Gunners who were harassing him and later, to help him find a cure for his son. NOTE: MacCready's affection gains will cap at 499 (stopping just short of "MacCready likes you") until the Gunners portion of this quest is completed.

Effects of player's actions

 * When the Sole Survivor meets MacCready in The Third Rail, he is in an argument with his old commanders, Winlock and Barnes. After they leave, he can be hired as a companion for 250 caps (can be persuaded down to 200 or 100, depending on the size of the player's caps purse). The amount paid will be given back to the Sole Survivor after completing one of the parts of his quest. After becoming good friends with him and completing his quest, he will give the Killshot perk, which grants a 20% accuracy boost for head shots in V.A.T.S.
 * When he is the companion, he will occasionally give some random ammo, ranging from 10mm rounds to a fusion core.
 * If the player character reaches highest Affinity with MacCready he will give the perk Killshot, which boosts hit percentage for heads in VATS by 20%.
 * Once idolized, MacCready gives the player a wooden soldier toy, a gift from his wife, Lucy. Lucy made the toy soldier for him after he told her that he was a soldier when they first met.
 * He will steal when commanded to do so by the Sole Survivor. He is able to steal items undetected right in front of people.
 * If the player character attempts to steal from the VIP room of the Third Rail and gets caught, MacCready will leave their company and become hostile, prompting an interface for the player to send MacCready to a settlement, similar to Preston Garvey if the player kills a settler. If the player doesn't get caught, MacCready will like the theft.
 * If the player commands him to steal an item, or does anything to cause hostility while in Goodneighbor, MacCready will leave the Sole Survivor's company and become hostile, prompting an interface to send MacCready to a settlement.

Range of interests

 * MacCready likes when the Sole Survivor steals things.
 * MacCready likes it if the Sole Survivor picks a lock that is owned.
 * MacCready likes using most special dialogue options that require Charisma, only if one lies, threatens, or asks for more money though.

Fallout: The Board Game
MacCready can be acquired at the shop by any player character that has Charisma. When shopping with him as the active companion, the player character can exhaust him in order to buy any items from the asset deck's discard pile.

When the player character performs the camp action, he will be relieved of exhaustion; however, if the player character does not have eight or more bottle caps at this time, he must be discarded.

Inventory

 * Unlike the other Little Lamplight characters, there's no interaction possible with his inventory when trying to pickpocket him

Appearances
Robert Joseph MacCready appears in Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout: The Board Game.

Behind the scenes

 * "R.J. MacReady" is the protagonist from the 1982 John Carpenter horror film, The Thing, based on the novella "Who Goes There," by John Campbell. In the 1982 movie, MacReady is played by Kurt Russell. MacCready, like his Fallout 3 counterpart, is a no-nonsense, resourceful survivor who rises to a leadership position among his peers.
 * The quote "Let's be careful. No human being would possibly pile books this way." is referring to a line said by Bill Murray's character, Peter Venkman, in the 1984 movie Ghostbusters.
 * The quote "I never knew you could do that with mutfruit." is in reference to being "grapefruited," an oral sex technique involving a grapefruit (or other fruits).
 * The quote "School's out forever, right?" is referring to the song "School's Out" by Alice Cooper. The slight chanting further endorses this.
 * In promotional content for Fallout 76, a teammate with the nickname "MacC" can be seen, a reference to MacCready.

Fallout 3

 * Mayor MacCready is prone to disappearing. He tends to wander into obscure and dark corners. He may appear near the front gate if going outside and fast travel back to town, or standing on the platform where he first stood when he let the Lone Wanderer into town. One can move to his current position with the console command.
 * Sometimes MacCready will not give the option to open the gate, even if one is at that point and have followed the advice outlined in this wiki. One way to make sure that this does not befall the player is to click all of the grayed out speech options when speaking to MacCready. The dialogue option to open the gate comes after a line that is often grayed/dimmed.
 * It's possible for MacCready to not open the gate after being instructed to do so. He will run to it, and climb up to the catwalk but will not activate the switch to raise the gate. This is because the scripted sequence requires Princess to be on the other end, and she may not run with MacCready to perform this function. Short of using the console to activate the gate/toggle clipping, the solutions are to use the other entrance, reload from a previous save, or attempt to move Princess in range of the event with the console command followed by.
 * Doing DLC quests before opening the path will end "Picking Up the Trail" resulting in MacCready's and Joseph's dialogue options to vanish and making entry into Vault 87 impossible. The only solution is to resort to a save that still has "Picking Up the Trail" as an active quest, and redo whatever progress has been lost or to use the console command and go to the Citadel to start the quest again.

Fallout 4

 * Sometimes you may not be able to talk to MacCready or open up his inventory. He also fails to follow the player during fast travel. Entering the console command followed by  will bring MacCready to the player, but does not correct the issue.
 * After dismissing MacCready, hiring him again will prompt up the dialogue when you meet him for the first time, needing to be paid before being hired. Reloading a previous save fixes this.