Ian (Fallout)

Ian is a short, stocky merchant guard who resides in Shady Sands in 2161.

Fallout
A no-nonsense man, he used to be a guard for the Crimson Caravan merchants in the Hub, but was shot during a bandit raid and recovered in Shady Sands. He helps defend Shady Sands from raiders and occasionally visits Hub and Junktown to do some trading. Overall, he is very self-reliant, tough, annoyed at getting wounded, and maybe a little overconfident. Many veteran Fallout players consider Ian to be annoying, often shooting at the player if in the way of an enemy. He is useful nonetheless.

When asked he says his home is now Shady Sands, but mentions his hometown and having "someone waiting for me back home".

Fallout 2
According to the Vault Dweller's memoirs, part of Fallout 2, Ian died while fighting super mutants in Necropolis with the Vault Dweller, having been burned to death by a flamethrower. However, in the special encounter Cafe of Broken Dreams, Tandi mentions that Ian may be a part of the Abbey.

At one point in the planning for Fallout 2, Ian had survived and was living in Vault City under the name of Old Joe. According to his dialogue, Ian would mistake the Chosen One as the Vault Dweller and would reminisce about events from Fallout before realizing the mistaken identity. Commenting on the prejudiced nature of Vault City's citizens, he would give the Chosen One a gun, apparently his old Colt 6520 10mm pistol before sending him away, encouraging the Chosen One to "make proud" the memory of the Vault Dweller.

Restoration Pack
In the Fallout 2 Restoration Pack, Ian is indeed located in the Vault City courtyard. It is here that the Chosen One meets him whilst attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the city's government and the inhabitants of a nearby village. Whilst originally mistaking the Chosen One for the Vault Dweller, he soon realizes his mistake, and provides the player with information to further his quest. When pressed about his supposed death at the hands of super mutants, the player learns that in an attempt to shake off any enemies he had made in his battle against the Master, Ian told the Vault Dweller to tell the tale that he had died in a "blaze of glory". As for the issue of Ian's apparent longevity, he admits to the Chosen One that he himself is not sure, but suggests that the high exposure to radiation at The Glow is probably the reason.

General information

 * Hit Points: 50.
 * Action Points: 10
 * Sequence: 12
 * Armor Class: 15
 * Critical Chance: 15%
 * Armor: Leather Jacket.
 * Weapons: Knife, pistol, SMG.
 * Effective with the 10mm SMG early on. Very capable with the .223 Pistol.
 * Likes the Power Fist.
 * Special: Notorious for accidentally shooting the Vault Dweller during battle. This was referenced as a part of Old Joe's dialogue.
 * He will attack you if you've fought people in Shady Sands before recruiting him.
 * Rating: Good during the initial stages of the game, despite his tendency to shoot the player or other friendly NPCs.
 * There is a severe bug with Ian that makes him multiply continuously throughout the gameworld. This becomes a real pain when combat is triggered as the player needs to wait until all the Ians on the map have taken their turn.

Other Interactions
Ian is one of the few companion NPC's in Fallout. As a companion, he is notorious (or rather, infamous) for his problematic inaccuracy in combat. He can - more often than not - shoot the player character instead of the enemies, especially if he/she is in his line of sight.

Otherwise, because of his experience from being a former caravan guard, he can inform the player about locations of several towns.

Behind the Scenes

 * Ian was a test case character designed to see if the engine could handle non-player-controlled followers who would move from map to map with the player's character. Though the initial implementation required some troubleshooting, it functioned well enough for the team to decide to implement followers.


 * The character of Ian is roughly based upon Ian Dunteman, roommate of designer Jess Heinig. However, the developer found it hard to portray the real-life Ian's characteristics in just a few short lines of dialogue.

Ian Ян