Courier

The Courier is the player character and main protagonist of Fallout: New Vegas.

Background
Sometime before the events of Fallout: New Vegas, the Courier discovered a supply route into the Mojave Wasteland through the Divide. Despite the harsh environment there, a small community established itself in the area, using the old American flag as its symbol. Kept alive by the Courier, it prospered, and attracted more settlers. After the New California Republic sacked Navarro, they recovered unfamiliar technology with familiar symbols (such as the Old World flag) which they linked to similar ones in the Divide. Soon after, they sent the Courier to deliver a package to the Divide; a package which turned out to be a detonator containing missile launch codes. According to Ulysses, the package "woke up" and sent the detonation signal to missiles locked in the silos, resulting in massive earthquakes and powerful storms.

Some time later, being one of seven couriers hired by the Mojave Express to deliver strange packages to the New Vegas Strip, the Courier was carrying the parcel containing the platinum chip from Primm. The Courier got the job after Ulysses pulled out when he learned that the sixth Courier's name was next on the list. The Courier was intercepted by Benny, who then shot them in the head and left them for dead, buried alive in a shallow grave in Goodsprings Cemetery. The Courier was then dug out by Victor, a supposedly friendly Securitron under Mr. House's control sent to make sure the Chip was delivered. The Courier was then nursed back to health by Doc Mitchell, the resident doctor of Goodsprings.

Other background information
The player character can make several suggestions about their past through in-game dialogue options. Since these are, as the name suggests, optional, it can be assumed that these are down to player choice and as such, do not form part of the player's background until they have been selected.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of elements of the character's past which can be explicitly expressed by players during gameplay:
 * During a conversation with Bruce Isaac in Novac, the Courier can state that they have been to New Reno before.
 * The Courier is initially unaware of the rarity and value of the Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps as Malcolm Holmes says the Courier did not express any emotion upon finding their first one.
 * Even if the Brotherhood of Steel from Hidden Valley have not made contact, the Courier has heard of them when conversing with Veronica Santangelo for the first time and, upon passing an intelligence check, when interacting with Christine in Dead Money. The Courier is also seemingly aware of their technology obsession, the Codex, and their hostility with the NCR and Legion.
 * It can be inferred during dialogue with Veronica Santangelo that the Courier does not know where they were born.
 * The Courier can tell Cass that they [the Courier] do not know what fish is. Or, on the contrary: an intelligent Courier may test her knowledge about fish, clearly aware of their nature although they are practically non-existent in California or the Mojave Wasteland and may only be found in Lake Mead or Zion Canyon.
 * In Dead Money, it is implied that the Courier does not know what FEV is through their interaction with Elijah.
 * Further conversing with Elijah when he mentions the "Big Empty" makes the Courier claim they never have heard of it before, even if the Courier has been to Big MT (the "Big Empty") before. This is because of the procedures preformed on the Courier that prevent them from telling anyone about Big MT or its secrets.
 * Before setting off to New Canaan, the Courier can tell Jed Masterson that they have not been to Utah in some time, suggesting that they have been there before. This also explains how the Courier knows the Dead Horses' and the Sorrows' languages, which is itself implied by a Dead Horse scout who remarks upon being spoken with, "You know our tongue - smart owslander."
 * Dialogue choices throughout Honest Hearts heavily imply that the Courier has never heard of Christianity, or at least the Mormon faith.
 * In Old World Blues, the Courier is revealed to have a special brain condition due to being shot in the head in just the right spot and surviving.
 * After Old World Blues, the Courier becomes a cybernetically augmented human ("cyborg"). Even if they get their brain, heart, and spine back, there will still be some advanced technologies that remain in place.
 * The Courier has a high understanding of RobCo technology. In Honest Hearts, a Courier with a high Science skill can call out Ricky's incompetence with his locked Pip-Boy. In Old World Blues, the Courier is able to recognize the RobCo termlink code that 8|Doctor 8 transmits with a Perception or Science check.
 * The Courier's brain will curse at his previous owner for pursuing a reckless hunt after Benny from "ill-conceived" revenge.
 * One of the epilogues of Old World Blues states that the Courier knows very little about communism or high schools, though this is an inference from the X-8 computer system.
 * According to Ulysses, the Courier has been to Circle Junction, New Reno, Vault City, Fort Abandon, and on brahmin drives at the Big Circle.
 * When the ED-E from the Divide plays the log from when a child found it, asking it where that occurred will have ED-E respond with Illinois. The Courier knows about Illinois, but doesn't know about Chicago, responding with "What's a Chicago?".
 * An intelligent Courier has at least passing knowledge of snipers and spotters, as Craig Boone can be recruited by simply noting that snipers are supposed to work in pairs.
 * A male Courier with the Lady Killer perk can ask if the Lonesome Drifter is 17, and then express relief after the Drifter says he is 28, implying the Courier impregnated (or believes he impregnated) a woman in Montana around 18 years ago.
 * The Courier is also apparently able to understand ED-E's incomprehensible beeping, and is even able to tell the difference between its emotions through its beeping.
 * It would appear the Courier is irritated with the mentioning of Benny during the conversation with Emily Ortal who worked with him. She claims to understand that the Courier does not wish to talk about him.
 * An intelligent Courier is able to understand and speak fluent Latin, as during Silus Treatment, the Courier can deceive Silus into thinking that they are a Legion assassin by speaking Latin phrases. However, the Courier's knowledge of the language may actually be limited as they do not understand one of Arcade Gannon's Latin phrases.
 * Dialogue with Raul shows that the Courier has at least a passing knowledge of Spanish.
 * Apparently, the Courier, at first, has no idea about the Powder Gangers' escape. After Trudy mentions the Powder Gangers for the first time, the Courier will be able to respond with "Powder Gangers?" implying that they do not know about the recent incident.

After Hoover Dam
It is stated in the endings for Old World Blues, that in the years following the Second Battle of Hoover Dam that the Courier returned to Big MT and watched over it, keeping a close eye over the sciences and goings on of the facility while gradually reintroducing sciences both forgotten and new back into the Wasteland as needed.

Appearances
The Courier appears in Fallout: New Vegas and all of its add-ons, and is mentioned in the graphic novel, All Roads.