“We Rangers hail from back east, what used to be called Nevada. Our heritage stretches back to the days of the Texas Rangers.”— Tycho
Tycho is a Desert Ranger and a possible companion in Fallout.[1]
Background
Tycho is originally from Nevada.[2] He is described as "a man in dusty leather armor with a trenchcoat and gas mask."[3] He comes from a small group of survivalists that avoided nuclear annihilation. This community taught him a lot about desert survival, weapons training and other related topics.[4] Inspired by the Texas Rangers, he explains that his goal was to "learn survival and combat skills in order to go out into the world and have a chance of surviving and making things better."[5] Deciding to take it easy, Tycho trusts Killian Darkwater to clean up the town in due time, but warns the Vault Dweller to watch out for Gizmo.[6]
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
| This character is a permanent companion. | ||
| This character starts quests. | ||
| This character is involved in quests. | ||
| This character is allied with the following faction(s). |
| |
Effects of player's actions
- If caught stealing Neal's urn from the Skum Pitt (before recruiting), Tycho will turn hostile.
- To recruit Tycho, the Vault Dweller must head to Junktown and be at the Skum Pitt located in the far northeastern part of the city at 5 o'clock. He will join indefinitely if having taken on Killian's quest to deal with Gizmo. If Killian is dead, Tycho becomes unrecruitable.
- Due to sprite limitations, he can only use rifles, shotguns, small handguns and spears. He has 60 Hit Points. It is unwise to give him anything with a burst function; he wastes ammo and can accidentally cause friendly fire (to civilians, including companions) if they are near his target when he uses the burst function.
- Tycho can also teach some survival skills, raising the Outdoorsman skill.
Tell-Me-Abouts
| Tycho's Tell-Me-Abouts | |
|---|---|
| Query | Response |
| Junktown | Well, Junktown's not really home, but it's an interesting city. It has potential, although I don't know that building out of the refuse of the past is the best way to construct the future. |
| Rangers | We Rangers hail from back east, what used to be called Nevada. Our heritage stretches back to the days of the Texas Rangers. We learn survival and combat skills in order to go out into the world and have a chance of surviving and making things better. |
| Chip | I haven't seen a relic of old technology like a water chip for a long time. Personally, you're better off depending on yourself, not on some piece of tech that you can't fix. |
| War | The War was a testament to human greed and insanity. Let's hope that we have learned enough to never repeat such folly. |
| Wastes | The wastes are hostile and dangerous, even to the wary traveler. Radiation and strange creatures will take their toll. Tread with caution, and remember that everything you see and hear is a clue. |
| Necropolis | The City of Death is well named. It lies in what used to be the little town of Bakersfield. Now, though, it's home to ghouls and worse. |
| Vault | I've heard of the great underground Vaults. I don't know much about them, though. |
| Killian Darkwater | Killian's a good man doing a difficult job. |
| Gizmo | Gizmo is . . . well, he strikes me as a crook. He'll get his in the end. |
| Boneyard | The Boneyard? I'm told it's a place of gangs and hard life, near the coast. |
| The Hub | The Hub's a giant mercantile community, just a short ways south of Junktown. |
| Casino | Gizmo's casino is probably one of the last places I'd want to go, unless I were going to step on Gizmo's neck. Not that I could get a foot past all the blubber. |
| Store | Killian has a decent general store in Junktown. |
| Deathclaw | Heard some tales about something faster, bigger, and meaner than any living creature has a right to be. Not too many, though, which means that it doesn't leave many survivors. Big claws, ferocious disposition. |
| Military Base |
The military had several secret bases scattered about, I know. I just don't know where. |
| Apocalypse | Nuclear armageddon was the result of pride and foolishness. Now, we're paying the price. |
| Mutants, Strange | Certainly there are some strange things out there. I've seen mutated scorpions and cows, and I've heard that Necropolis is home to ghouls, who seem human but are far different. |
| Booze | I prefer a good strong stout, or perhaps a Nuka-Cola. |
| Chems, Drugs | I'd stay away from chems if I were you. Sure, they can give you a boost, but you always wind up paying for it in the end. |
| Psychics | You mean telepathetics? Heh . . . seriously, I don't buy it. |
| Merchants | Some merchants from the Hub visit Junktown and other cities on a regular basis. |
| Brotherhood, Cathedral, Children, Exodus, Followers, Garl, Master, Unity, Set, Watershed, Hall, Library, Overseer, Medic, Healing, Initiates, Paladins, Scribes, Vats | "I'm sorry, I can't help you there." |
Comments
| Tycho's comments | |
|---|---|
| Location | Comment |
| Deathclaw's lair | Note the lack of any animal life for quite a distance. And the piles of bones. Whatever lives here is a real beast. Keep your weapon handy. |
| Necropolis | There are many strange tales about Necropolis, the city of the dead. Stay alert, because it could get dangerous really fast. |
| The Glow | Watch out for radioactive hot spots. This place obviously sustained a direct nuclear strike, and secondary cascade radiation may be bad. I'd recommend avoiding this place completely if we can. |
| Mariposa Military Base | A military place like this must have a central command room somewhere. I bet we could get through those force-field generators with a little hot-wiring, or if we could find the force field control computer. |
| Giant Footprint | Yeah, I'd stay the hell away from whatever made that. Seriously, I've never seen anything like that. I think our best option is to move on, fast. |
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Leather armor | Shotgun | Stimpak x3 12 gauge shell x20 Bottle caps |
Notes
- Tycho is equipped with the best armor and has the most health of all the NPCs who can join the player character.
- Tycho is the first character in the Fallout series to mention Vegas.
- In the Bridge Keeper encounter, the Bridgekeeper may ask "Which non-player character from Fallout 1 survived to appear in the sequel?" Tycho is one of the wrong answers.[7]
- The younger Tandi in the Café of Broken Dreams mentions him.[8]
Appearances
Tycho appears in Fallout and the Fallout: The Board Game expansion Fallout: New California. He is also mentioned in Fallout 2.
Behind the scenes
- Jesse Heinig mentions that Tycho's character is "a nod to the desert rangers of Wasteland."[Doc 1]
- According to Joshua Sawyer, Tycho's description in Fallout was the inspiration for the Desert Ranger combat armor in Fallout: New Vegas.[Dev 1]
- When asked, Chris Avellone stated that for Fallout: New Vegas, there were no plans to include Wasteland references, such as the "fat freak mobster" mentioned by Tycho.[Dev 2]
Gallery
Tycho's Fallout: New California card
References
- ↑ Tycho: "{173}{}{You gain 300 experience points for recruiting Tycho, the desert ranger.}"
(TYCHO.MSG) - ↑ Vault Dweller: "{107}{}{So, what's your story?}"
Tycho: "{109}{}{I could ask the same of you. In the interest of amity, I suppose I'll tell first. I'm called Tycho. Came from out east, what used to be called Nevada.}"
The Vault Dweller: "{110}{}{That's a pretty long trip.}"
"{112}{}{Yeah, it was. Decided to take it easy for a while. This place shows some promise, just as soon as someone cleans up some of the scum.}"
(TYCHO.MSG) - ↑ Tycho's character description: "{100}{}{You see a man in dusty leather armor with a trenchcoat and gas mask.}"
(TYCHO.MSG) - ↑ Vault Dweller: "{111}{}{How did you survive all the dangers?}"
Tycho: "{115}{}{Had some pretty good training, and some good weapons, too. My grandfather was a Ranger way back when, and he taught my father everything he knew. Dad passed it on to me. So I know enough not to drink glowing water, so to speak.}"
The Vault Dweller: "{117}{}{Really? Survival's tough these days. You must be pretty knowledgeable.}"
Tycho: "{122}{}{Yeah, well, my family taught me everything there is to know about survival. Don't drink water that's totally clear and free of insects and moss, for instance. Only poisonous or radioactive water would be that clean in the wilderness. Lots of other little things to look out for, too.}"
(Tycho's dialogue) - ↑ Vault Dweller: "{1001}{}{Rangers}"
Tycho: "{1101}{}{We Rangers hail from back east, what used to be called Nevada. Our heritage stretches back to the days of the Texas Rangers. We learn survival and combat skills in order to go out into the world and have a chance of surviving and making things better.}"
(TYCHO.MSG) - ↑ Vault Dweller: "{113}{}{Why don't you?}"
"{118}{}{Not my place. I'd rather not cross Killian, after all. He'll clean up this town when he gets around to it. A good man, mark my words. But watch out for that fellow Gizmo. Reminds me of another fat freak my father told me about back in Las Vegas.}"
(TYCHO.MSG) - ↑ Bridgekeeper: " {134}{}{Which non-player character from Fallout 1 survived to appear in the sequel?}"
Chosen One: " {142}{}{Uh...Tycho?}"
(Bridgekeeper's dialogue) - ↑ Tandi: " {109}{}{Say...do you and Tycho still keep in touch?}"
(Tandi's dialogue)
- ↑ Question: "was the desert rangers armor inspired by tycho's discription in fallout 1"
Josh Sawyer: "Yes."
(J.E. Sawyer on Formspring (Archived)) - ↑ User: "@ChrisAvellone During development of New Vegas, were there plans to incorporate more Desert Ranger/Wasteland references, like the 'fat freak mobster' Tycho mentioned in F1? And later on, was Wasteland 2 to feature NV references, but were cut/decided to be unfitting for the game?"
Chris Avellone: "No, we only tried to do it with Old World Blues, because part of OWB was supposed to be an homage to Fallout's roots (ex: Giant Robot Scorpitr- er, Scorpion)."
(Fallout: New Vegas developer statements/Old World Blues; Chris Avellone: Wasteland Homage, 2022 April 9)
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