One of the most random encounters seen throughout the entire Fallout series is the appearance of The Mysterious Stranger. A helpful ally appearing in the entire franchise so far, the Mysterious Stranger appears to help with battles once his perk is unlocked, but remains distant to the player and, depending on the game, has little to no interaction.
Reports are that he is based on the unfinished Mark Twain book titled The Mysterious Stranger, where the title character is Satan’s nephew and uses a .44, in keeping with the character in the later Fallout titles. His appearance is based on Film Noir, with limited visuals and trenchcoat-wearing figures inspired by 1950’s crime dramas. Whoever he is, he can be extremely useful for that competitive edge.
Upon acquiring the Mysterious Stranger perk in Fallout, the player will have the chance to spawn the temporary ally in a leather jacket during a hostile encounter. The Stranger will use a 10mm SMG or Hunting Rifle and will remain on the map with limited interaction after the fight. Similarly, in Fallout 2, he is acquired with a perk but has different in-game interactions. If he dies during combat, he will never return and disappears shortly after combat. If the player attacks the Stranger, he will attack back but will be friendly again during the next random encounter.
In Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, the Stranger appears in his usual fedora and leather jacket and appears during battles when the perk is acquired. It’s heavily implied he is the father of New Vegas‘ The Lonesome Drifter, a solitary singer and guitar player camped north of El Dorado Gas & Service. The Drifter was left the Mysterious Magnum, the only memento of his father, with the name heavily implying a connection, as well as the Stranger now using a .44 Magnum. Also added in Fallout: New Vegas is the Miss Fortune Perk, with the character also appearing in V.A.T.S. to attack enemies. Compared to the Stranger, her attacks are weaker and don’t aim to kill, only to cripple and knockout enemies instead. There does not seem to be a connection between the two, and they do not appear at the same time in V.A.T.S.
In Fallout 4, the Mysterious Stranger is unlocked as part of the Luck perks. In rank 1 of the Mysterious Stranger, he will appear in V.A.T.S to lend a hand, and with each subsequent level after, he appears more often and may refill the player’s Critical meter. The chime of him appearing is similar to Fallout 3, with a unique fade-in and out sound to the battle, and he remains impossible to interact with. However, interestingly companions will react to his brief appearance, such as Nick Valentine having an open case on him under his bed in his office. Valentine’s case note adds little new information that we don’t already know, such as no identity and having no clear motive and dating back his appearances to the original game.
In his most recent appearances, the Stranger has similar characteristics to Fallout 4 in Fallout 76, where he occasionally appears to lend a hand in V.A.T.S. In Fallout 2d20, the Game Master might have the Stranger appear, make a single ranged attack then vanish again. The Mysterious Stranger remains one of Fallout‘s most enigmatic characters, but it’s clear Bethesda has no plans to stop using this incredible character as the series continues.
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