Ricky

"Deadeye" Ricky is a Psycho addict and a compulsive liar who can accompany the Happy Trails Trading Company to Zion Canyon $$

Background
Ricky is a compulsive liar with a tendency to create incredible stories about himself, as he talks himself up to be a significantly greater adventurer and scavenger than he actually is. His unsubstantiated stories include the time he tricked and killed a Brotherhood of Steel paladin, fought and killed four "deathjaws," which are like deathclaws with larger teeth, each with a shot to their eye while also being born in Vault 22 – but he was sworn to secrecy, so he cannot say anything about it. Ricky also carries an unhealthy addiction to Psycho and is prone to become agitated and hostile when someone doesn't believe his stories.

He has in his possession a Vault "two-two" jumpsuit and a "pit-boy" (which is broken with a locked screen and missing reboot button) which he looted from a dead prospector in Zion. Ricky says he actually grew up near Dayglow, stating one of his useful skills to be "a third nut that glows in the dark" because of his high exposure to radiation in his youth. Ricky is going along on the caravan through Zion because there is good loot involved, but more importantly, Jed Masterson needs someone to map the area, specifically one equipped with a Pip-Boy.

Quests

 * Happy Trails Expedition: Ricky accompanies the caravan to Zion Canyon. If he is not convinced to leave the group or if the player character extorts him for caps, he will admit in a panic that his Pip-Boy does not even work during the ambush (the screen is locked up but the button to reset the device is missing), shortly before he is killed. As with all the members of the ill-fated Happy Trails expedition, Ricky's death is a scripted event and cannot be avoided.

Effects of player's actions

 * Before leaving for Zion, the player character can call Ricky out on all his lies when the appropriate checks come up in conversation. Then, after all of Ricky's dialogue checks are used up, the player character can tell Ricky he's not cut out for the expedition or either tell on Ricky to Jed Masterson or blackmail Ricky into carrying some of the player character's gear, thereby extending their weight limit for traveling with the Happy Trails Expedition to 100.
 * With a Medicine check, the player character can see that he's a Psycho addict, and can push it further by asking if he brought enough Psycho to last the trip. The player character can then sell Ricky some Psycho or Fixer for 30 caps per Psycho, up to 10 hits, and 80 caps for a Fixer. If this check is done at the very start of the add-on, it is another way to convince Ricky to ditch the trip in case of a withdrawal in the middle of the trip.
 * Depending on how much Psycho is in him, or if he has Fixer available, Ricky's behavior during and immediately before the ambush may change. If the player character sold him a lot of Psycho or gave him Fixer, he will not cower during the attack. If he has no treatment, he will be enduring withdrawal, much to Stella's annoyance.
 * If the Courier persuades Ricky into leaving the expedition, he will agree and get angry, saying he hopes they all die during it. This foreshadows the White Legs' ambush.
 * If Ricky is persuaded to leave, he will leave through the entrance and disappear from the game completely.

Other interactions

 * Ricky tells the player character that he killed a Brotherhood of Steel paladin by firing through the eye slit by using an 11mm submachine gun, which is a lie. The player character can respond that the eye slit is bulletproof if the player character has Power Armor Training, or there is no such thing as an 11mm submachine gun with a Guns skill of 45.
 * Ricky claims that he has encountered "deathjaws." With a Survival skill of 20, the player character can correct him and ask him if he meant deathclaws. He will say no, and assert that deathjaws are similar to deathclaws, but with bigger teeth.
 * When Ricky comments about his "third nut" to a female player and offers sex on the expedition, the Black Widow perk can be used to say that they will remember to bring tweezers and a microscope. If possessing a high enough Guns skill, the player character can say it will make it easier to shoot them in the dark.
 * Ricky also comments on getting his Vault 22 jumpsuit from Vault 22, and that he has to follow his "vow of secrecy." The player character can call him out on the lie if they have been to Vault 22 and say that it has been abandoned for some time or with a Perception of 7.
 * With a Science skill of 45, the Courier can inform Ricky that his Pip-Boy is locked. Alternatively, with a Speech check of 50, the Courier can guess that the Pip-Boy is not functional and convince Ricky that Jed will believe him.
 * Ricky cannot be attacked or receive damage from the Courier in any way while waiting in the northern passage. If shot, struck, or any method of injury is attempted, he will not recoil from it or acknowledge it.

Appearances
Ricky appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts.

Behind the scenes
Ricky's claim of defeating his opponents by shooting them in the eyes is a reference to the targeted attacks of the original Fallout series, where hitting an enemy in the eye was both the most damaging and most difficult attack a player could land.