Ranger Andy

Ranger Andy is a former New California Ranger living in Novac in 2281.

Background
A veteran of the NCR Rangers, Andy is the closest Novac has to a proper lawman, watching the town while Vargas and Boone watch the highway. He's currently out of the loop, allowing frauds like Ada Straus to prowl the streets of Novac, as he fell down the motel stairs, injuring his leg. Although it was not the worst injury in the world, Andy was knocked flat on his back and forced to stay in his bungalow for several weeks, counting cracks in the ceiling, courtesy of the town's mayor, Jeannie May. This recent injury has been a serious blow to Andy's self-worth and is currently feeling useless and more of a burden than anything else.

If he was still in his prime, he wouldn't bat an eye and keep limping about. However, Andy has problems with his arm and leg, leftover from his service and the incident that forced him into retirement. A few years back, he led a team of Rangers to act upon intel that there were Legion slavers holed up in a burned-out house a few kilometers from their station. The place was deserted, save for a scrawny child hiding in the closet. Andy tried to pick him up, to take him to the station and into proper care, but the child hid back in the closet, leaving him with a live grenade at his feet. Although he survived the explosion, half his body was mangled and he couldn't continue to serve.

He settled at Novac, becoming the closest the town has to a sheriff. He had an eye for people and was one of the few who didn't dislike Carla Boone based on her behavior. He considered her a sweet girl, even if she had a tendency to be pretty direct about the quality of life in Novac. He believed it was just a coping mechanism with living on the frontier, reminding herself that there was a better life out there. To keep his spirits up, he stays in touch with the Rangers over at Ranger station Charlie through his ham radio, with patrols checking up on him regularly. They joke it's paying respects, something Andy takes in stride with a smile on his face - one of the few his retirement affords him. But as of when the Courier arrives in Novac, Ranger Station Charlie hasn't responded in a couple of days and has had him worried enough to ask a stranger to check up on them for him.

Quests

 * One for My Baby: Ranger Andy can be one of the people persuaded to go in front of Dinky the T-Rex, although he is not the true culprit.
 * Andy and Charlie: Andy will ask the player to check on Ranger station Charlie, as he hasn't heard from them in a while.
 * Old School Ghoul: Raul Tejada will ask the player about their opinion on Ranger Andy, as part of Raul's companion quest.

Other interactions

 * Andy will teach the player the Ranger Takedown unarmed perk after either a 30 Speech check or completing the unmarked quest Andy and Charlie.

Appearances
Ranger Andy appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes
Audio in the files for Fallout: New Vegas suggests that Gregory Alan Williams was at some point going to voice Andy, as there are many of Andy's lines recorded in his voice.

Bugs

 * After asking Ranger Andy about the station and going down to check it the station may not have been attacked at all. There will be a single ranger in the station talking about how he has too many medical supplies.
 * There is a bug that will not let you speak to Ranger Andy and the screen goes in for a conversation but then recedes the reason is unknown for now.
 * This occurs after passing the Speech check to bypass the Ranger Station Charlie side quest, and the next time you talk to Andy; you can fix this by entering into the console). Alternatively, enter  into your console. This will add a note to your inventory, allowing you to speak to Ranger Andy again and thereby initiating the Ranger Station Charlie side quest.
 * When you bring Raul to Ranger Andy and talk to him he does not give a response and you are unable to talk to him and finish Raul's unmarked quest which makes it impossible to complete the quest.
 * If the above mentioned glitch of speaking with Andy and no dialogue appears then exits immediately after retrieving the holotapes from Ranger station Charlie, load to a save before speaking with Andy and head to the camp. Hopefully the camp will have been attacked and you can retrieve the holotapes. Then go back and speak with Andy to start his quest and finish it without receiving the chat glitch. Also received Raul's conversation upon leaving Andy's bungalow.
 * If you are playing the PC version and this bug occurs, you can correct this by using the console and typing the following exactly: . This must be done in an indoor area. Transition to an outdoor area and Raul should initiate conversation. If that console command doesn't do the trick, try and pick his dialogue option about Ranger Andy.