Shorty (Fallout 3)

Shorty can be found in the basement of the police HQ in Germantown, and must either die or be rescued, (or remain undiscovered by the player) to successfully complete the Big Trouble in Big Town side quest. Shorty is obviously traumatized by the events he witnessed during his stay, including the slaughter of his less fortunate fellow humans. Shorty is originally tremendously inept both combat and protection wise. Shorty can don equipment taken from the player and his surroundings for additional protection. Upon returning to Big Town, Shorty thanks the Lone Wanderer and continues about his daily business.

Shorty as a Follower
Some players may choose to keep Shorty as a follower before finally taking him to Big Town (or not). As opposed to Red who can do little beyond being a pack mule, Shorty can defend himself adequately if properly equipped, and can be a valuable (yet free) companion early in the game. Despite this his usefulness in combat is still very limited compared to a "real" party member like Jericho. Due to his relatively low HP and lack of healing, he will eventually die, or at least be crippled in all possible places.


 * Shorty will use aid items (Stimpaks) if given any, but only during combat. He will not, however, automatically heal after combat, and he doesn't like to use his stimpaks, so be careful. Fighting weak enemies like Radroaches may help to get him to heal himself safely.
 * Like all NPCs, Shorty can wear power armor.
 * Shorty is skilled in small guns and unarmed combat. Since his HP are low, the former is definitely the better idea.
 * You can boost his small guns skill by equipping him with Ranger Battle Armor and headgear like the Lucky Shades or Poplar's Hood. The latter will also help his abysmal sneaking skill.
 * It's best to give him slow firing weapons if you wish to conserve your ammunition. Hunting rifles, especailly Ol' Painless, are a very good choice (especially later in the game, when you are likely to have an excess of unused .32 ammo). The Dart Gun can be a good choice too: All your targets will have crippled legs, without you having to switch to your own Dart Gun.
 * He is best used as long-range fire support against enemies which can be killed before they get to hurt him, like the Fire Ants in Grayditch. If you fear that he might get too close, tell him to wait within range of possible encounters.
 * Unlike other weapons, equipping any Sniper Rifle will cause him to stay behind you and fire from cover. He is also quite strong with it, if you can spare the ammo. The Reservist's Rifle is the most economical choice, while the regular one gives him higher DPS.
 * Once saved from big town you can enslave shorty with the mesmetron. he is one of the few named NPCs that can be enslaved.

Statistics
Shorty will level with the player up to level 8. At this point, his combat skills are:
 * Big Guns: 12
 * Energy Weapons: 14
 * Explosives: 14
 * Melee Weapons: 16
 * Small Guns: 63
 * Sneak: 16
 * Unarmed: 59