Tycho

Tycho is a Desert Ranger and a recruitable NPC in Fallout.

Background
A survivalist by trade, Tycho is a veteran of the wastes. He carries a gas mask (just in case), wears hardened leather armor and carries a shotgun, a knife, spiked knuckles, and a canteen; all the usual survival gear. Most just see him as a random man in dusty leather armor, with a gas mask hanging around his neck, goggles to keep out sand and glare and a sand-colored trench coat usable for camouflage and to keep the sun off. The double-barreled shotgun slung on his arm further confirms the feel that he's just another mercenary.

However, in reality, Tycho comes from the Desert Rangers, a small, but formidable faction from the Mojave Wasteland and beyond, experts in survival and self-styled peacekeepers of the wastes. His background gives him immense knowledge about life in the desert. He took off to wandering the desert with traders and explorers for several years, returning from time to time with goods or maps. Tycho started with small trips and went further abroad as he became more experienced. He went as far as the Gulf of Mexico in Texas and then headed back west.

Eventually he wound up on the west coast as a long-range explorer for the Rangers, stopping in Junktown for some rest and relaxation, just as the Vault Dweller comes to the settlement to kickstart a small revolution.

Effects of player's actions
If caught stealing Neal's urn from the Skum Pitt (before recruiting), Tycho will turn hostile.

Other interactions
To obtain Tycho, the Vault Dweller must head to Junktown and be at the Skum Pitt located in the far North Eastern part of the city at 5 o' clock. He will join indefinitely if having taken on Killian's quest to deal with Gizmo. If Killian is dead, Tycho becomes non-recruitable.

Due to sprite limitations, he can only use rifles, shotguns, small handguns and spears. He has 60 Hit Points. It is unwise to give him anything with a burst function; he wastes ammo and can accidentally cause friendly fire (to civilians, including companions) if they are near his target when he uses the burst function.

Tycho can also teach some survival skills, raising the Outdoorsman skill.

Fallout: New California
Tycho can be found randomly when taking a card from the loot deck. When exploring with him as the active companion, the player character can exhaust him in to gain two experience points.

When the player character performs the camp action, he will become unexhausted. However, if the player character does not have Endurance, he must be discarded.

Appearances
Tycho appears in Fallout and the Fallout: The Board Game add-on [Fallout: New California]].

Behind the scenes

 * Tycho's grandfather was a Desert Ranger (the Desert Rangers are a reference to Wasteland, a game from 1988 which is considered to be Fallout's predecessor). Tycho also mentions the "fat freak" from Las Vegas, which is a reference to Fat Freddy from Wasteland.
 * Tycho is not mentioned anywhere in Vault Dweller's memoirs, but Tandi in the Café of Broken Dreams mentions him and the Vault Dweller, indicating that they did get together after all.
 * According to lead designer Josh Sawyer Tycho's description in Fallout was the inspiration for the NCR Ranger combat armor and the Desert Ranger combat armor in Fallout: New Vegas as Tycho himself is described as "a man in dusty leather armor with a trench coat and gas mask".