Arkansas

 is an elderly, mad sniper, who passes his time in Minefield by firing without warning at PCs entering the city limits.

Aside from targeting inanimate objects near the player, he will fire - from his perch in a three-story building at the north end of town - upon the vehicles scattered about the area, causing explosions which release radiation. The reason for his hostile behavior is unknown; however, this could possibly be because he is aware that he is targeted by slavers. If killed, he will drop the Ridgefield Gate Key, which grants access to all of Minefield's (Ridgefield's) houses.

Arkansas possibly set the mines surrounding and throughout the town and, due to his penchant for firing from a distance at visitors, may be the source of many wastelanders' beliefs that Minefield is haunted.

Arkansas is also one of the targets for enslavement upon whom the Slavers have put a special bounty on.

Background
The last of the military survivors who made Minefield their town, Arkansas was a small boy when the Slavers first came and captured nearly all of the tribe, but they never found him, Swearing revenge, he spread rumors of a new band of inhabitants and set a trap for the Slavers. When the Slavers came to raid the town again, they were harried by a hidden sniper and decimated by land mines. The Slavers took heavy losses that day and never came back. Now an old man, Arkansas still shuffles around this place.

Appearances
 only appears in Fallout 3.

Related Quests
Strictly Business

The Wasteland Survival Guide



Behind the Scenes
The name Arkansas is likely a reference to the famed U.S. Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock, who was born and raised in Arkansas. He was famous for a white feather he wore in his hat during service and he received 93 confirmed kills. He is the only sniper on record to pull off the famous "through the scope" kill.

The name Arkansas may also be a reference a sniper nicknamed "Arkansas" who served under the military adventurer William Walker in his attempt to control Nicaragua (as detailed in the book "Tycoon's War", by Stephen Dando-Collins).

Bugs

 * If one is to kill Arkansas, there's a chance that this will register with the Strictly Business quest as being captured.
 * Sometimes, Arkansas will be friendly towards the player and can even be spoken to, although, he doesn't have much to say. This will only be for a short time and he will eventually open fire.