Vance (Fallout 3)

Vance is the leader of a group called the Family in Fallout 3.

Background
Vance is the 41 year old leader and founder of The Family. He is from Rivet City, but left to wander the wasteland. During this time, he fought Slavers with Robert, who saved his life and became his best friend. Many years ago, he lived off only fresh bloodpacks scavenged from hospital ruins, but had to stop due to their scarcity. He also developed an uncanny ability to find other cannibals. He decided to gather them together, give them a home, and teach them to become vampires in the hopes of controlling their urges, and protect them from the anger of the citizens of the wasteland. He claimed Meresti Metro station, knowing it was named after a town in Romania.

The first member he recruited after setting up the Family was his wife, Holly. 6 years ago, he saved Justin from an Enclave patrol, and later also saved him from beaten up by Rivet City security, bringing him into the Family as one of the newer members. He also saved Alan from a mortal wound after Alan had escaped from Paradise Falls and wandered the wasteland before collapsing near Meresti trainyard. He met Karl in Megaton when he was still a merchant there, and formed an immediate bond with him, convincing him to join the Family after the death of his wife. He also sensed Brianna was a cannibal after she arrived in Meresti, and immediately recruited her. Recently, he found Ian West in the middle of the night, after the boy had killed his own parents in his bloodthirst. Vance covered up the crime by allowing the other members of the Family to feed on Ian's parents, before taking the boy to Meresti to teach him in the ways of the vampire, in order to control his urges. He also ordered Karl to create a distraction to cover their escape, however Karl took it too far and murdered all of Arefu's Brahmin.

Vance leads the Family, but thinks of himself more as a priest or spiritual guide than a king. He is a fair ruler, not asking anything of anyone that they wouldn't want to do, or put them in harm's way. He is very protective of his flock, believing that any attempt by the ignorant humans on the surface to come down to the station would end in a bloodbath. He set 5 laws the Family must obey at all times, and in addition guides them away from cannibalism towards the ways of vampirism, aka "Hematophagy", through frequent speeches and meditation. He is currently in disagreements with Karl, over him killing all of Arefu's Brahmin, and Brianna, over her seeking intimate relations with every other man in the group.

Vance is an intelligent and civilized man, who prefers to act non-violently when he can. However, he does not hesitate to kill to protect The Family, and he doesn't feel remorse over feeding on humans, believing they are just hunters hunting prey. He has a dismissive view of the citizens of the wasteland, viewing them all as close-minded bigots that are dumber than he is. He especially loathes Slavers. He is well educated on the folklore of vampires, and uses that knowledge to lead his "flock" of refugees and outcasts, hoping to mold them into a group that the civilizations of the wasteland will respect, at least through fear, which he views as better than being dismissed as animals. He also aims to eliminate their own fears and shame, and give them shelter and organization. Vance however doesn't truly believe he is the same as a mythical vampire, but does know that his group are different than regular humans. Vance also likes swords.

Quests

 * Blood Ties: Lucy West in Megaton has not heard from her brother Ian West in a while and asks the Lone Wanderer to go to his home in Arefu to investigate. When one arrives, they discover Ian missing and their parents savagely murdered in their home. Evan King, the leader of the small town, also asks the Lone Wanderer to find out what's happened to Ian. Unbeknownst to everyone, he has been adopted into the Family by its leader, Vance. To discover Ian, Vance, the Family, and the rest of their story, travel to their underground headquarters in the Meresti trainyard.
 * I Want to Drink Your Blood: After completing Blood Ties, one has the option of donating blood packs to the Family.

Effects of player's actions

 * If he is convinced to accept blood packs from Arefu, one can then give him blood packs for caps.
 * To gain positive Karma and friendship with the Family, one can make a deal with Vance by having the citizens of Arefu donate the Family a periodic supply of blood packs to keep them sustained and to ensure they no longer harass the town.
 * Upon completing Blood Ties, Vance awards the player his copy of the Shishkebab schematics, no matter what dialogue options were chosen.
 * Vance is the only source of the Hematophage perk, which causes blood packs to yield 20 HP each rather than the normal 1 HP. Return to Meresti trainyard and talk to Vance after completing Blood Ties and getting Evan King to accept Vance's deal on behalf of the people of Arefu.