I feel like the Karma alignments on Thomas and Malcom exist almost as if to confirm that they were honest. Its like the DM in your DnD game breaking the 4th wall and telling you that a seemingly suspicious NPC is Lawful Good, and genuinely not lying.
I actually had to look it up and killing Malcom does indeed give negative karma. But he is also in a faction with all creatures in the wasteland, as well as super mutants and a bunch of raiders.
Look if Malcom didn’t want to get wasted he wouldn’t jump scare me after I was waiting inside the Powder Ganger prison…….also he wouldn’t wear gear with a combined total of +10 to barter.
Sunny. Smiles. That is the greatest good karma character. Free gun lessons. Cute dog. Hunts geckos. Fights Powder Gangers without a thought. The perfect citizen.
i still find it astounding that in one of my playthroughs Malcolm Holmes decided to brave the Boomers artillery bombardment while i was running errands in their base and he somehow SURVIVED to tell me the tale
Man, I don't get why Marcus doesn't have good karma? The man kept the peace in one town, saved the world, and then setup an enclave to rehabilitate his breathern, yet isn't considered a good karma character. I'd put his actions way above a lot of other Good Karma Characters.
The only thing detracting from Marcus would be his time in the masters army as he doesn’t see as a problem and kinda of agreed with the master for awhile
Malcom and Thomas may be fairly low on the list, but honestly if someone declared me the 10th nicest person in the world, or even just my city, I'd be pretty thrilled.
I agree, Lyons if a great person in Fallout 3. Really annoys me how in fo4 the Brotherhood looked at him as a horrible elder and what not to do, sure he strayed from the main objective but i recon if it werent for his leadership the east coast Bos wouldve been destroyed due to the Super Mutants or Enclave.
@@iplaytomuchfallloutLyons was stuck in a deadlock with the Super Mutants, and that only worsened as he lost men and resources due to his refusal to allow at least some of them to gather technology.
@@iplaytomuchfallloutLyons brotherhood literally split because of how horrible lots of members saw him as And unironically the outcasts do far more than the main chapter They actually go round killing stuff keeping the place safe and will respect those who can hold their own The main chapter kinda just stagnated until the lone wanderer got them moving again. Maxon is 100% better for what the brotherhood wants to do. It's why the outcasts were willing to rejoin
• sorry for the confusion. What are you doing out here, anyway? • I'm trying to find a guy in a checkered suit. Heard he was heading past this way. < •be careful where you aim that thing, buddy. • Scot, that's a really stupid name.
In defence of Malcom he said he gave up collecting them not that he got rid of them, he could have simply had those six and decided to keep them as a lucky charm or something similar
Considering that Julie Farkas has that Mohawk which is often seen on Raiders, I do believe that she herself used to be one but the Followers showed her the sort of kindness she's never seen in her life prior and it both humbled her as well as inspired her. She keeps the hair style sort as a reminder of where she came from, to keep her grounded in the reality of the Wasteland as well as because it's part of her past, she may not be proud of that past, it's a part of her all the same and she probably likes how it looks as well. And it would also explains her pragmatism, unlike Arcade who is more idealist, she understands that nothing will ever be perfect and play out the way you wished it would, so you make the best with what you have, like a wastelander/raider would do.
It's sad they just killed off Sarah Lyons off-screen. It feels so off, There is more going on. The story is written by the Victors, And i think she was killed by the Outcasts, it makes alot of sense, like you described, she is more hostile towards them. For the outcasts to rejoin the Brothehrood, Sarah had to die, she would probably never let them in when she was Elder. But again, she was more of a Soldier then a Leader.
I think you're right about something going on, but I don't think it was the Outcasts, or at least not only them; I think it was higher ups in the B.o.S., either within the chapter, or even from the head back west, that conspired against her. We already see that plenty of B.o.S. members within the chapter disagree internally or outright oppose Elder Lyons's views and leadership, and Sentinel Lyons was completely devoted to him, so she definitely would have continued his work, and therefore would also have been opposed. We also know that there is a bit of bloodline worship going on with Arthur Maxon, even as a relatively unremarkable kid, and that certain members back west always wanted him to be installed as head. I think it's a whole Danzo+Village Elders vs Tsunade thing, and rather than live under Sarah Lyons's leadership for potentially 50+ years and wait for her to die, as she's still young, they'd rather kill her off and install Maxon as the figurehead.
@@Chino429 definetly, even in fallout 4 the terminal that explains their deaths. And its simply "She died in Battle" nothing else... Sarah was beloved amongst her soldiers and maxson even having a lil crush on her. Definetly weird. Yeah i do think its a plan by Outcasts & higher ups of the BoS. BoS elder deaths are supposed to be well documented, but they seem to want to forget lyons' legacy.
My head canon for this has always been after Broken Steel, and Owen's death the BoS started absorbing a lot of former Enclave officers either intentionally or covertly. Then they started working to subvert the Lyon's with the Maxson boy, since he'd be easy to aim in a direction that works better with their goals.
There's a theory making the rounds that Deacon is actually the Lone Wanderer, after tons of plastic surgery. In this theory, Sarah Lyons got replaced by a synth, and that synth was what turned Maxson into what he became. The "University Point Deathclaws" was an allegory for his response to Sarah being killed by the Brotherhood Outcasts. At least, according to the theory.
There's a mod for f4. Outcasts and remnants i believe where sarah is actually still alive and a mother. She can take over the brotherhood in the commonwealth sending maxon away to live and learn to be a better leader in the future
Right before getting his brains blown out for having the audacity to talk to a psychopath like myself. His armor is my outfit for all of the early game, i really like its style and better prices for shops is handy.
My buddy was playing through FNV for the first on stream so I could watch. On top of Helios One trying to set off the Achimedes. Sure enough, Malcolm is just standing there at the top, staring at him. I was thrilled that his first experience with Malcolm was so... authentic
Nephi is one of the mythical figures that is said to have authored part of the book of Mormon -- some of the chapters are named after him (there's at least Nephi I and II, maybe more, I don't remember). I hadn't heard of him back when playing New Vegas, but the Fiend's name makes a lot of sense knowing he's a former Mormon.
Interesting note: Malcolm Holmes ends up running to the Mojave Outpost barracks after talking to you, then disappears. Saw that in a Many a True Nerd video.
I think Bethesda used the Very Good/Very Evil mostly with the karma reward or penalty in mind. There are a lot of Good/Evil characters, but most of the Very Good/Very Evil characters make more sense in terms of reward and punishments. (The star bottle cap NPCs in particular, as they're non-hostile, and killing them would be a pretty egregious form of murder.) You also should be punished if you're killing NPC's like Julie Farkas. That's the way I see it, anyway, since the choice of characters doesn't strictly make sense otherwise.
That makes a lot of sense thank you for writing this because I have always been confused by the Karma system and how they use it and why certain things happen the way they do
I would have liked to see Sarah as an elder. We could have had Maxson as our companion, instead of Danse, and maybe influenced his views a bit as we traveled. Either opening his mind, or affirming his beliefs.
Lone Wanderer got done worse. Fallout 4 is written like they never existed; I don't think the entire BOS has even a single throw-away line about them, despite the fact we saved not just their chapter, but practically the entire Capital Wasteland. It's honestly baffling.
3:29, that is kinda wrong tho, in malcoms defense he TELLS you "and even if I did still collect them, I'd tell you the same" so he literally still isnt lying lol. Hes a good guy. I like him
Crazy that James from Fallout 3 doesn't have Very Good Karma. Man literally self-imposes a massive undertaking to save the entire Wasteland after his wife dies, takes care of his child enough to get them into a Vault, and immediately sacrifices himself for the greater good when confronted by the Enclave to give it all away.
James is a selfish asshole who sees himself as an altruist. He abandons you without a word, does not care about the chaos he causes trying to accomplish his mission, and kills himself in front of his child just so the Enclave can't help him distribute water even though they could do it effectively and that's all he cares about. I honestly don't think he makes that much sense.
@@BullMooseFox He hopes that leaving on his own without telling you anything would leave you blameless. He didn't tell the guards nor overseer to start blasting on the residents nor can he be blamed for them trying to torture residents either. He knew that the enclave was up to some shit as they do normally shoot wastelanders on sight. If he helped them they would have poison the water supply (like you have the option to do in game) of course he didn't know they would do that specifically but he knew they would do something horrible. He just wanted to give people a chance to live, it was everyone else that saw this as a power grab rather than an attempt to lift humanity together.
@@millerrepin4452 Autumn refused to poison the water. He legitimately wanted to start nation building. That's why Eden asked the lone wanderer to do it. Because Autumn wouldn't.
@BullMooseFox Not that James knew that much. Keep in mind enclave soldiers shoot first. Even Amada, if forced to leave the vault, is gunned down. That type of reputation they have. James saw a power grab and a plan they weren't going to tell him. His distrust was reasonable.
@@millerrepin4452 Scary thing is that at out of all the factions (good or bad) the Enclave are the only ones that seem to have their act together. It took individuals like Chosen One and Lone Wanderer to stop them.
RIP rightful leader of the brotherhood, Sara Lyones 💔 I’ll never get over the fact that they killed you mid games i was so hyped to see you at the Prydwen 😭
I think the star caps is a reference to Tootsie Pop wrappers. When I was a kid, other kids would talk about these vague prizes the manufacturer would give you, if you could find a wrapper with a Native shooting an arrow at a star. We didn't know how to claim the prize, but we would sometimes find the pops with the star on the wrapper, and we would save them thinking we might figure out someday how to collect on them.
In the west, you're just another person among the many trying to do what's right, but in the east, you're a light in dark times, trying to bring hope to the hopeless. Different stories being told.
Amata banning a good PC from Vault 101 has no real justification. I'd put her below Sunny Smiles, at least. Of course, the writers just wanted a shallow Fallout 1 reference, so it's not really her fault. Still tho.
@@LucyWest370 It's probably the only reason anyone from Vault 101 has any reason to dislike a good PC, yet Amata's Dad's actions are arguably worse (as well as just being a worse and more disliked person in general) which makes Amata kicking you out for that... kind of hypocritical.
@@Syffy him being exiled would probably cause a lot more ruckus than him staying, as far as everyones concerned James destroyed their cozy little home when you left the vault and the overseer picked up the pieces to the best of his ability
@@SyffyThe Overseer had half the vault on his side. He was hardly more despised than the player. Even Butch mentions how you have guts returning, blaming you and your dad for what happened. The Wanderer staying would cause further infighting, which the Vault couldn't afford anymore. You had to go.
@@highlordlaughterofcanada8685 Yes, that's the explanation the writing team gives to justify it... but are you just going to ignore that none of that makes sense? The Overseer was NEVER liked during his whole run because he was a strict dictator. During James' escape, some other Vault dwellers are seen to try and leave as well - and are promptly gunned down by security on the Overseer's orders. How is this a man that has half the vault on his side? Butch... you save his mother from being mauled by roaches and the only thing they have to say to you is that your dad sucks. That's realistic. Also, I want to point out that it's not just infighting. Whether isolationist or otherwise, apparently the whole vault unanimously agrees this 19 year old kid they watched grow up should be banned and suffer the irradiated hellscape of the wasteland - even if they open up to the rest of the world, fuck this kid in particular. These people have no personality or agency, they're just a vehicle for bad writing.
On my current play through I’m doing right now, I was helping that rude scavenger in Camp Searchlight find NCR stuff. We enter the fire station and the room I was in had like 7+ rads a second and he jump scared me to talk about the star caps lmfao
Amata was mislabeled she literally kicks you out out of fear from the home you grew up in using unearned power that she really doesn’t deserve she also blames you if you don’t take the gun and she kills a security guard. Literally blaming you for not accepting a weapon and for the things that she did.
@@smokedbeefandcheese4144and later on, there is a random encounter in which she meets 2 enclave shoulders, and after giving them the location of vault 101, they kill her.
Fuck Amata. All my homies hate Amata. I sabotaged the vault and forced everyone to leave , not for any particular good or evil reason , but simply on the principle of the fact that i dragged my ass all the way back to the vault , saved them all , and then was punished for it. Oh , so it's like that , Amata ? Bet. Two can play at that game.
I'm here early for once! Just want to say I've been binge watching all your content since I found your channel through the "lore of other countries" video, and loving every bit of it. Fallout is one of, if not my absolute favorite games series and worlds of all time, and I love thoughtful long-form videos on interesting topics, so this channel is literally made for me. Thanks for all the entertainment so far, looking so forward to more!
I think it’s kinda funny that Malcom and Thomas are kinda morally ambiguous based off everything that actually happens in the game where you’re like “I wonder if they’re telling the truth”. And then the game’s morality system is just “Yup they are”
Considering Thomas can be convinced to give you his star caps. While the lady will attempt to murder you for yours if you tell her you have some, no the game makes it pretty clear who was in the wrong regardless of who you pick
@@DBeskar6605 Yeah, but it’s more of a way to throw it back to Fallout 1 to just have the same thing happen in both games. It sucks, I’m not denying that, but Fallout 3 is (in a roundabout way) a soft retelling of Fallout 1 so it makes sense from that perspective.
@@DBeskar6605half of the people that live in the vault will tell you that they still blame you for what your dad did in the vault, even butchs mom, if you saved her, and one of the security will straight up attack you
*Malcolm catches upto me yet again* Me: Ok yeah yeah tell me about the star caps *Malcolm hands me a letter* Me: Wait what *Opens letter* There's another settlement that needs your help
I've been looking for you, got something I'm supposed to deliver, your hands only. Lets see here... Ah, a letter from Preston, moving up in the wastes eh? Looks like that's it, got to go.
Been on, what I would call a "radking binge" Been loving the remasters! Great content and love your own theories! Definitely my go-to for fallout content.
I have to say that hearing the stories of these random npcs that most people don't pay much attention to is really nice. I've been subscribed for a while already, but the tone of voice and vocabulary that you use really suits these kinds of videos well.
I’d personally rank Sunny Smiles higher, selfless, good natured, the whole “just like that?” “Just like that.” to help Ringo, a stranger she hardly knows, I was always impressed with her, I wish she was a companion
Its worth noting that Amatas dad would know that the Lone Wanderer wasn't born in the vault so, he'd try to protect his daughter from those strange outside things.
I like to show Sunny how I've put the Skills she taught me to use by giving her a set of Gecko Backed Reinforced Leather Armor. Just gotta Reverse Pickpocket into her inventory 😊
Ive always loved your videos man. These 2 videos focusing on the karma people of the wastes is actually very informative. Ironically enough i actually have a sona dealing with radiation and even takes a dip into the fallout universe to deal with some of his own lore! May Atoms light bless us all!
im glad to finally hear someone pronounce nephi corectly. Growing up mormon i always loved the mormon references in the game and all the lore surrounding it
And this is why I believe in 'Lyon's' BoS. It was much like Roger Maxson's ideals at the start. It was his decedents that made it more about tech than the people. So, I say... Steel be with you. 😎
Kinda wished Randle Clarke was on the list. Sure he was dead and we see his remains but the dude, imo, also could be considered having good karma even in death. Like being a Pre-War solider, surviving the aftermath of the bombs, living in regret of his actions in Canada but helping those in the early stages of the wasteland while wearing a desert ranger uniform even stopping a cannibal group from harming people to me a bit sounds amazing and selfless act. Even being called a "Ghost" among the people who comes and kills the wicked or Raiders. Sure, like I've said he's dead or we can see his skeleton remains in Honest Hearts DLC but I think if he was included he would be ranked here as well. But I love the ranking! Keep it up for the Glory of Atom!
The best karma character would be who ever founded the followers of the apocalypse. Also Sarah gots the oil and knows how to use it which is why she is very good...karma😏
Elder Lyons is one of my own favorite characters in all of Fallout. I really love what he did for both the East Coast Brotherhood and the Capital Wasteland. Fallout 4 did the East Coast dirty by tarnishing everything Lyons strove to build.
I think Malcolm either DID give up hunting for the star caps and decided to keep the ones he had collected as a keepsake. Or was still hunting for the star caps and was worried that you might kill him if he were to so much as let on that he has any.
Apologies if I muck up the name, but did Sonora Cruz in FO3 have good karma? She's the one you hand your 'trophies' to if you kill bad-karma NPCs, so I'm surprised that she's not on the list- if she doesn't have good karma, that explains the omission, but begs the question of why Bethesda didn't grant that karma to her.
@@clothar23Weird that the leader of the faction that is supposed to exemplify the 'good guy' path in the game doesn't have the highest-level karma herself. Your explanation makes sense, but Bethesda's coding of her is very weird.
@@raisedmilehigh6342 To be fair she is paying you to kill people. Bad people but people nonetheless. Saints aren't really supposed to be in the killing business unless they're wearing purple.
For a second or so I thought this was going to be a "Can you beat New Vegas while followed by Malcom Holmes", but then I remember I'm on the wrong channel for this. But how can this man be very good. Ambushing random strangers in the middle of nowhere...
In Malcolm's defense, he might not have lied about not collecting the star caps anymore. Those could have been star caps that he had already collected from the past and now no longer collects them, but in the end, that's something we will probably never know.
I feel like the difference in amount of Very Good-karma characters between FO3 and FONV kinda indicates the overall tonal differences between the two. Where the Western US is experiencing the rebirth of nation-states, large economies, and relative stabilization of societies in lands that seem barely-touched by the bombs, the Eastern US is still stuck in a state of near-total chaos in a virtual radioactive hellscape, with no great centralizing powers to secure vast swathes of land and bring around some degree of stability for the common people. The former has essentially given more people greater opportunities to allow themselves to do "Good" for as many as possible now since they're unlikely to be gunned down by just crossing the street; the latter has people barely scraping by and even more living hand-to-mouth, giving them less impetus for doing "Good" for anyone but themselves.
I'm so glad I dug beneath the surface of RUclips Fallout content. Your breakdown/lore videos based around specific topics and questions are a chem no amount of Addictol can fix, and boy howdy I don't wanna be cured!😂☢❤
I'm sure after 5 days I'm late to the party but I don't remember her being Star Paladin at the start of Fallout 3. I could have sworn from the first time she meets the player she's already a Sentinel.
I know fallout 4 doesn't have a karma system but you should try ranking who you think has the best karma and worst in fo4. Just a thought though. Keep up the great work man I look forward to your videos everytime you upload.
Honestly something I just realized about the Star bottle caps treasure, Its entirely possible there might have actually been a legitmate 'treasure' but at this point someone else has already collected it, After all festus lets us in to "Collect the treasure" after he already let Allen Marks in, whos to say Allen marks was the first one who got into that room
For someone who we don't see, Randal Clark is a hero, love the Survivalist Rifle. I wish he would've made the list :( still solid video though ☢☢☢ but aye while I'm here why did you do the "Pew Pew" like that 😂
my favorite part of malcom holmes is that he just doesn't appear in some runs i've heard once that he gets stuck on a rock or dies ive always had the plan to wait at the new vegas gate so he walks to you and gets blown up by securitrons, but it's never happened (
Got sick of Malcom jump scaring me. My solution? Discover Primm before you find a star cap. After that, save often in case he sneaks up on you. When you see him coming, fast travel to Primm and sit and wait. Malcom will merc himself crossing the mines.
I'm gonna be so real, I never just find/run into Malcolm Holmes. It could've been ingame YEARS since I picked up my first star cap, but the SECOND I hit the "wait" button and confirm for longer than an hour or two at a time, I get jumpscared by the man. The man has followed me into the penthouse suite of the Lucky 38 when I hit the wait button by accident in front of House. There is no doubt in my mind that if I went there early enough, the man could track me to Zion or Big Mountain. When I first went there, I half expected the last Marked Man in the Courier's Mile to tell me he almost took me for a raider, he did. The man is a spectre and he terrifies me in a way no other NPC ever will.
I like to think that what makes each Karma level’s “bar of entry” changes with the world around you. In the wasteland, just being a nice and good person is rare enough for the universe to decide that you are worthy of the highest level of Karma, but there’s so many evil people that you have to do some really really fucked up shit to be considered the worst. It’s like being the best person in hell vs being the worst person in hell.
That’s also why the Very Good Karma people in Fallout 3 have done much greater deeds. Unlike in the Mohave, the Capital Wasteland has more good people and less completely and utterly vile individuals. Something about that desert just makes the worst out of people.
I feel like the Karma alignments on Thomas and Malcom exist almost as if to confirm that they were honest. Its like the DM in your DnD game breaking the 4th wall and telling you that a seemingly suspicious NPC is Lawful Good, and genuinely not lying.
I actually had to look it up and killing Malcom does indeed give negative karma.
But he is also in a faction with all creatures in the wasteland, as well as super mutants and a bunch of raiders.
@@HappyBeezerStudiosso he is to be considered a mob but still the only one who yields negative karma on death?
@@HappyBeezerStudios he's in it only so that they don't kill him while he's chasing you.
Look if Malcom didn’t want to get wasted he wouldn’t jump scare me after I was waiting inside the Powder Ganger prison…….also he wouldn’t wear gear with a combined total of +10 to barter.
Sunny. Smiles.
That is the greatest good karma character. Free gun lessons. Cute dog. Hunts geckos. Fights Powder Gangers without a thought.
The perfect citizen.
Healing powder too
Doesn't like the legion and is not a big fan of the NCR so she has the correct opinion there as well
And has a pretty cute accent 🤷🏻
This comments seem like she's a best partner material, why she isn't a follower in a base game... i would love some deepening of her story
But no companion capability, unfortunately
i still find it astounding that in one of my playthroughs Malcolm Holmes decided to brave the Boomers artillery bombardment while i was running errands in their base and he somehow SURVIVED to tell me the tale
Wild
I remember it was kinda the same for me, but I met him at the entrance instead of inside. He got blown up when I was done talking to him 😂
@@lucianwong420the unlucky timeline 😩
@@lucianwong420Malcom got the bad ending in that playthrough.
There needs to be a mod where he says, "Hello! I've been trying to reach you about your home/auto insurance!".
the way you said "dont tell me how to do my list" at 17:02 just reminded me of Mitten Squad but then i got really sad when i realized that
May we all keep Paul in mind, he changes us more than we might notice.
Man, I don't get why Marcus doesn't have good karma? The man kept the peace in one town, saved the world, and then setup an enclave to rehabilitate his breathern, yet isn't considered a good karma character.
I'd put his actions way above a lot of other Good Karma Characters.
Well said.
The only thing detracting from Marcus would be his time in the masters army as he doesn’t see as a problem and kinda of agreed with the master for awhile
@@FlawlessWallace3350 True, but he could've wisened up and changed between Fallout 2 and New Vegas.
@@FlawlessWallace3350 True if you think about it he's essentially a nazi war veteran lmao
Marcus does have good karma, just not *very* good Karma.
Malcom and Thomas may be fairly low on the list, but honestly if someone declared me the 10th nicest person in the world, or even just my city, I'd be pretty thrilled.
He is just an expository dialogue from fallout new vegas, it has no reason or relevance to be at the top
@@Joel-ko7szMalcolm holmes exemplifies the biggest issue with new vegas' writing for me
@@LucyWest370 Yes, there are certain things that make the game's writing terrible
@@Joel-ko7sz yup
@@LucyWest370What's terrible about Malcolm's writing?
You are becoming one of my most favourite Fallout creators. May the Atom bless us all.
Becoming? Good good, RadKing is my favorite
Lyons is such a good dude. Clearly the best thing that could happen to the Brotherhood is leadership like that.
I agree, Lyons if a great person in Fallout 3. Really annoys me how in fo4 the Brotherhood looked at him as a horrible elder and what not to do, sure he strayed from the main objective but i recon if it werent for his leadership the east coast Bos wouldve been destroyed due to the Super Mutants or Enclave.
@@iplaytomuchfallloutLyons was stuck in a deadlock with the Super Mutants, and that only worsened as he lost men and resources due to his refusal to allow at least some of them to gather technology.
@@iplaytomuchfallloutIn a way he did what Roger Maxson wanted the Brotherhood to be.
@@iplaytomuchfallloutLyons brotherhood literally split because of how horrible lots of members saw him as
And unironically the outcasts do far more than the main chapter
They actually go round killing stuff keeping the place safe and will respect those who can hold their own
The main chapter kinda just stagnated until the lone wanderer got them moving again.
Maxon is 100% better for what the brotherhood wants to do. It's why the outcasts were willing to rejoin
Yeah he was so cool
Hello there. It's good to see a friendly face. Almost took you for a raider, I did. Name's Scot. Scot Ishbro."
1 day ago?? the fuckkk....?
@FuntimeByzantium that's what I was thinking
@@FuntimeByzantium i forgot exactly what it was but you can do something to see some videos before release
member or something like that idk
@@banegas0411
Yep, membership
• sorry for the confusion. What are you doing out here, anyway?
• I'm trying to find a guy in a checkered suit. Heard he was heading past this way. <
•be careful where you aim that thing, buddy.
• Scot, that's a really stupid name.
In defence of Malcom he said he gave up collecting them not that he got rid of them, he could have simply had those six and decided to keep them as a lucky charm or something similar
Yep. If I found out a guy was killing folks who had recently bought Magic cards, I wouldn't throw mine away. I'd just stop buying em.
Considering that Julie Farkas has that Mohawk which is often seen on Raiders, I do believe that she herself used to be one but the Followers showed her the sort of kindness she's never seen in her life prior and it both humbled her as well as inspired her. She keeps the hair style sort as a reminder of where she came from, to keep her grounded in the reality of the Wasteland as well as because it's part of her past, she may not be proud of that past, it's a part of her all the same and she probably likes how it looks as well.
And it would also explains her pragmatism, unlike Arcade who is more idealist, she understands that nothing will ever be perfect and play out the way you wished it would, so you make the best with what you have, like a wastelander/raider would do.
That's a good theory! Though tbh I think it's a reference to Nicole from Fallout 1, the founder of the Followers. She also has a zany mohawk
@@JacobYaw That is the most likely reason to be honest. I had completely forgotten about that.
@@JacobYawI like Nicole being a punk, it's an interesting contrast to the work she does
It's sad they just killed off Sarah Lyons off-screen. It feels so off, There is more going on. The story is written by the Victors, And i think she was killed by the Outcasts, it makes alot of sense, like you described, she is more hostile towards them.
For the outcasts to rejoin the Brothehrood, Sarah had to die, she would probably never let them in when she was Elder. But again, she was more of a Soldier then a Leader.
I think you're right about something going on, but I don't think it was the Outcasts, or at least not only them; I think it was higher ups in the B.o.S., either within the chapter, or even from the head back west, that conspired against her. We already see that plenty of B.o.S. members within the chapter disagree internally or outright oppose Elder Lyons's views and leadership, and Sentinel Lyons was completely devoted to him, so she definitely would have continued his work, and therefore would also have been opposed. We also know that there is a bit of bloodline worship going on with Arthur Maxon, even as a relatively unremarkable kid, and that certain members back west always wanted him to be installed as head. I think it's a whole Danzo+Village Elders vs Tsunade thing, and rather than live under Sarah Lyons's leadership for potentially 50+ years and wait for her to die, as she's still young, they'd rather kill her off and install Maxon as the figurehead.
@@Chino429 definetly, even in fallout 4 the terminal that explains their deaths. And its simply "She died in Battle" nothing else... Sarah was beloved amongst her soldiers and maxson even having a lil crush on her.
Definetly weird. Yeah i do think its a plan by Outcasts & higher ups of the BoS. BoS elder deaths are supposed to be well documented, but they seem to want to forget lyons' legacy.
My head canon for this has always been after Broken Steel, and Owen's death the BoS started absorbing a lot of former Enclave officers either intentionally or covertly. Then they started working to subvert the Lyon's with the Maxson boy, since he'd be easy to aim in a direction that works better with their goals.
There's a theory making the rounds that Deacon is actually the Lone Wanderer, after tons of plastic surgery.
In this theory, Sarah Lyons got replaced by a synth, and that synth was what turned Maxson into what he became. The "University Point Deathclaws" was an allegory for his response to Sarah being killed by the Brotherhood Outcasts.
At least, according to the theory.
There's a mod for f4. Outcasts and remnants i believe where sarah is actually still alive and a mother. She can take over the brotherhood in the commonwealth sending maxon away to live and learn to be a better leader in the future
No matter where you are or what you're doing, he has a very particular set of skills and he will find you and he will annoy you. Malcolm Holmes
Right before getting his brains blown out for having the audacity to talk to a psychopath like myself.
His armor is my outfit for all of the early game, i really like its style and better prices for shops is handy.
@@pyromasteralex not even a psychopath, anybody that sees malcolm holmes would drop him
My buddy was playing through FNV for the first on stream so I could watch. On top of Helios One trying to set off the Achimedes. Sure enough, Malcolm is just standing there at the top, staring at him. I was thrilled that his first experience with Malcolm was so... authentic
Nephi is one of the mythical figures that is said to have authored part of the book of Mormon -- some of the chapters are named after him (there's at least Nephi I and II, maybe more, I don't remember). I hadn't heard of him back when playing New Vegas, but the Fiend's name makes a lot of sense knowing he's a former Mormon.
Interesting note: Malcolm Holmes ends up running to the Mojave Outpost barracks after talking to you, then disappears. Saw that in a Many a True Nerd video.
I think Bethesda used the Very Good/Very Evil mostly with the karma reward or penalty in mind. There are a lot of Good/Evil characters, but most of the Very Good/Very Evil characters make more sense in terms of reward and punishments. (The star bottle cap NPCs in particular, as they're non-hostile, and killing them would be a pretty egregious form of murder.) You also should be punished if you're killing NPC's like Julie Farkas.
That's the way I see it, anyway, since the choice of characters doesn't strictly make sense otherwise.
That makes a lot of sense thank you for writing this because I have always been confused by the Karma system and how they use it and why certain things happen the way they do
maybe there was a different mechanic planned with NPC's karma that had to be cut or scrapped
They did Sarah Lyons so dirty in FO4
I'll never forgive Maxson, I don't care how hot he got or how cool his jacket is 😤
there's a fan-theory suggesting the terminal entry is a lie, and infact Sarah Lyons was assassinated for maxum to take charge
I would have liked to see Sarah as an elder. We could have had Maxson as our companion, instead of Danse, and maybe influenced his views a bit as we traveled. Either opening his mind, or affirming his beliefs.
Lone Wanderer got done worse. Fallout 4 is written like they never existed; I don't think the entire BOS has even a single throw-away line about them, despite the fact we saved not just their chapter, but practically the entire Capital Wasteland. It's honestly baffling.
Dickout 4 kinda sucks in general compared to the other games :c
i hated that they killed her off with super mutants, at least give her a heroes death
3:29, that is kinda wrong tho, in malcoms defense he TELLS you "and even if I did still collect them, I'd tell you the same" so he literally still isnt lying lol. Hes a good guy. I like him
Crazy that James from Fallout 3 doesn't have Very Good Karma. Man literally self-imposes a massive undertaking to save the entire Wasteland after his wife dies, takes care of his child enough to get them into a Vault, and immediately sacrifices himself for the greater good when confronted by the Enclave to give it all away.
James is a selfish asshole who sees himself as an altruist. He abandons you without a word, does not care about the chaos he causes trying to accomplish his mission, and kills himself in front of his child just so the Enclave can't help him distribute water even though they could do it effectively and that's all he cares about. I honestly don't think he makes that much sense.
@@BullMooseFox He hopes that leaving on his own without telling you anything would leave you blameless. He didn't tell the guards nor overseer to start blasting on the residents nor can he be blamed for them trying to torture residents either. He knew that the enclave was up to some shit as they do normally shoot wastelanders on sight. If he helped them they would have poison the water supply (like you have the option to do in game) of course he didn't know they would do that specifically but he knew they would do something horrible. He just wanted to give people a chance to live, it was everyone else that saw this as a power grab rather than an attempt to lift humanity together.
@@millerrepin4452 Autumn refused to poison the water. He legitimately wanted to start nation building. That's why Eden asked the lone wanderer to do it. Because Autumn wouldn't.
@BullMooseFox Not that James knew that much. Keep in mind enclave soldiers shoot first. Even Amada, if forced to leave the vault, is gunned down. That type of reputation they have. James saw a power grab and a plan they weren't going to tell him. His distrust was reasonable.
@@millerrepin4452 Scary thing is that at out of all the factions (good or bad) the Enclave are the only ones that seem to have their act together. It took individuals like Chosen One and Lone Wanderer to stop them.
RIP rightful leader of the brotherhood, Sara Lyones 💔 I’ll never get over the fact that they killed you mid games i was so hyped to see you at the Prydwen 😭
I think the star caps is a reference to Tootsie Pop wrappers. When I was a kid, other kids would talk about these vague prizes the manufacturer would give you, if you could find a wrapper with a Native shooting an arrow at a star. We didn't know how to claim the prize, but we would sometimes find the pops with the star on the wrapper, and we would save them thinking we might figure out someday how to collect on them.
That is exactly the reasoning Joshua Sawyer gave.
I remember Malcom ran up to me during a raider ambush and I just mistook him as a raider in the mayhem of it all
Completely mistook him for a raider, you did. Your names reach, reachtea.
You mistook him for a raider instead of him mistaking you for a raider lol.
Dude is living a dangerous life. Can't just walk up to random people like that.
No
Can't just run up to people like that.
The wasteland is dangerous
I love watching you vids and playing fallout at the same time because iv played fallout so much that with out my daily sermon it gets boring
In the west, you're just another person among the many trying to do what's right, but in the east, you're a light in dark times, trying to bring hope to the hopeless. Different stories being told.
I think in the west it’s more of a battle of what is considered good and you deciding which faction you believe is most just.
I kind of expected Moira on this list because of the Wasteland Survival Guide. She must not be classified as "very good"?
Moira makes you do some questionable shit but I assume she's on the good side of the karma bar
Moira seems neutral. Tho she has good intentions if you were to die running those errands she'd write it off as a lesson learned in her book
Coffee and rad king, couldn't kick off the weekend in a more relaxing way
It's Tuesday.
It's Casual Friday😄
@@tOGGLEwAFFLES Every day is the weekend when you're unemployed.
Frame of reference I work on the days labeled as the weekend.
I too like drugs and RUclips videos
Amata banning a good PC from Vault 101 has no real justification. I'd put her below Sunny Smiles, at least. Of course, the writers just wanted a shallow Fallout 1 reference, so it's not really her fault. Still tho.
Literally everyone in vault 101 blamed you for what your dad did-
@@LucyWest370 It's probably the only reason anyone from Vault 101 has any reason to dislike a good PC, yet Amata's Dad's actions are arguably worse (as well as just being a worse and more disliked person in general) which makes Amata kicking you out for that... kind of hypocritical.
@@Syffy him being exiled would probably cause a lot more ruckus than him staying, as far as everyones concerned James destroyed their cozy little home when you left the vault and the overseer picked up the pieces to the best of his ability
@@SyffyThe Overseer had half the vault on his side. He was hardly more despised than the player. Even Butch mentions how you have guts returning, blaming you and your dad for what happened. The Wanderer staying would cause further infighting, which the Vault couldn't afford anymore. You had to go.
@@highlordlaughterofcanada8685 Yes, that's the explanation the writing team gives to justify it... but are you just going to ignore that none of that makes sense?
The Overseer was NEVER liked during his whole run because he was a strict dictator. During James' escape, some other Vault dwellers are seen to try and leave as well - and are promptly gunned down by security on the Overseer's orders. How is this a man that has half the vault on his side?
Butch... you save his mother from being mauled by roaches and the only thing they have to say to you is that your dad sucks. That's realistic.
Also, I want to point out that it's not just infighting. Whether isolationist or otherwise, apparently the whole vault unanimously agrees this 19 year old kid they watched grow up should be banned and suffer the irradiated hellscape of the wasteland - even if they open up to the rest of the world, fuck this kid in particular.
These people have no personality or agency, they're just a vehicle for bad writing.
On my current play through I’m doing right now, I was helping that rude scavenger in Camp Searchlight find NCR stuff. We enter the fire station and the room I was in had like 7+ rads a second and he jump scared me to talk about the star caps lmfao
Amata belongs on the bottom of the list for acting like the Fallout 1 overseer.
Amata was mislabeled she literally kicks you out out of fear from the home you grew up in using unearned power that she really doesn’t deserve she also blames you if you don’t take the gun and she kills a security guard. Literally blaming you for not accepting a weapon and for the things that she did.
@@smokedbeefandcheese4144and later on, there is a random encounter in which she meets 2 enclave shoulders, and after giving them the location of vault 101, they kill her.
Fuck Amata. All my homies hate Amata. I sabotaged the vault and forced everyone to leave , not for any particular good or evil reason , but simply on the principle of the fact that i dragged my ass all the way back to the vault , saved them all , and then was punished for it.
Oh , so it's like that , Amata ? Bet. Two can play at that game.
@@leviticusprime4904 yes we watched the video as well.
@@millerrepin4452 I was gonna say this too 😆
I'm here early for once! Just want to say I've been binge watching all your content since I found your channel through the "lore of other countries" video, and loving every bit of it. Fallout is one of, if not my absolute favorite games series and worlds of all time, and I love thoughtful long-form videos on interesting topics, so this channel is literally made for me. Thanks for all the entertainment so far, looking so forward to more!
Thank you! Stick around, I have no plans to stop 😊
Point of information: Sarah Lyons is a Sentinel, one rank above Star Paladin. Star Paladin Cross is the only person of that rank in Fallout 3.
Hey RadKing! Good to see you spreading the word of Atom, keep up the good work!
For the Commonwealth! ✊
I wish sunny smiles had an amata-style quest or something if you went back to goodsprings that expanded on her character a little more.
May Atom embrace you with his Glow ⚛️
Atom bless!
It is hilarious that in any other context, that sounds like the worst of threats.
I think it’s kinda funny that Malcom and Thomas are kinda morally ambiguous based off everything that actually happens in the game where you’re like “I wonder if they’re telling the truth”. And then the game’s morality system is just “Yup they are”
Considering Thomas can be convinced to give you his star caps. While the lady will attempt to murder you for yours if you tell her you have some, no the game makes it pretty clear who was in the wrong regardless of who you pick
Thank you for the long form content. It is so refreshing to still be able to find long listens/watches. Keep up the great work!
I think Amata should be higher, purely based on the fact that I had a crush on her when the game first came out.
Should've been a companion imo
@@ninja1man4uthat would make the end of fallout 3 better because what if you had good karma and she sacrificed herself to turn on the project
@@DBeskar6605
Yeah, but it’s more of a way to throw it back to Fallout 1 to just have the same thing happen in both games. It sucks, I’m not denying that, but Fallout 3 is (in a roundabout way) a soft retelling of Fallout 1 so it makes sense from that perspective.
@@DBeskar6605half of the people that live in the vault will tell you that they still blame you for what your dad did in the vault, even butchs mom, if you saved her, and one of the security will straight up attack you
Ya I liked her more than my wife at the time! Lol😂
Really surprised fawkes wasn't on the list
*Malcolm catches upto me yet again*
Me: Ok yeah yeah tell me about the star caps
*Malcolm hands me a letter*
Me: Wait what
*Opens letter*
There's another settlement that needs your help
I've been looking for you, got something I'm supposed to deliver, your hands only.
Lets see here...
Ah, a letter from Preston, moving up in the wastes eh?
Looks like that's it, got to go.
In one of my playthroughs, Malcolm interrupted a fight between me and Tabitha at Black Mountain. He didn't last long after the dialogue finished.
4:38 she totally pretended to be flirty in order get him alone. Probably was desperate to get caps for her next few bottles of Buffout and jet
Been on, what I would call a "radking binge"
Been loving the remasters!
Great content and love your own theories! Definitely my go-to for fallout content.
I have to say that hearing the stories of these random npcs that most people don't pay much attention to is really nice. I've been subscribed for a while already, but the tone of voice and vocabulary that you use really suits these kinds of videos well.
just watched the evil karma characters video you posted yesterday was was wondering when this version would come out. yay :)
Nice list! I liked the Bert Gunderson background. Just one note : I would put Sunny higher perhaps in top 3 after Julie and Sarah.
I’d personally rank Sunny Smiles higher, selfless, good natured, the whole “just like that?” “Just like that.” to help Ringo, a stranger she hardly knows, I was always impressed with her, I wish she was a companion
Its worth noting that Amatas dad would know that the Lone Wanderer wasn't born in the vault so, he'd try to protect his daughter from those strange outside things.
I'm commenting on the wrong video 😅
I think they made npcs with the star bottle cap quest “very good” to show that obsession can take over anyone
For me Amata is brought lower by the 'kicking you out' part. Especially seeing how hard you must try to avoid just killing her father at some point.
Holmes also known as 6 caps due to the number of sasparilla bottle caps I always take from his corpse.
Hello RadKing, I just subscribed and plan to watch all your videos. Keep up the good work! See you fellow atom's child.
I like to show Sunny how I've put the Skills she taught me to use by giving her a set of Gecko Backed Reinforced Leather Armor. Just gotta Reverse Pickpocket into her inventory 😊
Ive always loved your videos man. These 2 videos focusing on the karma people of the wastes is actually very informative. Ironically enough i actually have a sona dealing with radiation and even takes a dip into the fallout universe to deal with some of his own lore!
May Atoms light bless us all!
im glad to finally hear someone pronounce nephi corectly. Growing up mormon i always loved the mormon references in the game and all the lore surrounding it
And this is why I believe in 'Lyon's' BoS. It was much like Roger Maxson's ideals at the start. It was his decedents that made it more about tech than the people. So, I say... Steel be with you. 😎
Putting Sunny Smiles at 6 is criminal
It's Sentinel Sarah Lyons. The Star Paladin you're thinking of is Star Paladin Cross.
I believe when he mentioned that, he was speaking about Elder Lyons before he was Elder, not Sarah Lyons.
Isn't Sarah a sentinel? Not a star paladin? I think the star paladin is named Cross
Your channel has amazing content, thanks for sharing
Sarah Lyons is a sentinel, not a star paladin. a rank in between paladins and elders.
Why am I now just realizing that Amata and the lone wanderer's relationship is kinda like that of Skyward Sword Link and Zelda?
The “goodest” NPC is obviously Dogmeat/Rex.
Also, I mourn for the Lyons family and the Brotherhood they were leading. Elder Maxson is such a douche
3:08
you can pickpocket him!?
i didn't know that was an option
Old Ben is one of my favorite characters in the entire game I love that dude
It’s pretty fucked up how Bethesda killed off Sarah lyons.
Kinda wished Randle Clarke was on the list. Sure he was dead and we see his remains but the dude, imo, also could be considered having good karma even in death.
Like being a Pre-War solider, surviving the aftermath of the bombs, living in regret of his actions in Canada but helping those in the early stages of the wasteland while wearing a desert ranger uniform even stopping a cannibal group from harming people to me a bit sounds amazing and selfless act. Even being called a "Ghost" among the people who comes and kills the wicked or Raiders. Sure, like I've said he's dead or we can see his skeleton remains in Honest Hearts DLC but I think if he was included he would be ranked here as well.
But I love the ranking! Keep it up for the Glory of Atom!
The best karma character would be who ever founded the followers of the apocalypse. Also Sarah gots the oil and knows how to use it which is why she is very good...karma😏
Elder Lyons is one of my own favorite characters in all of Fallout. I really love what he did for both the East Coast Brotherhood and the Capital Wasteland. Fallout 4 did the East Coast dirty by tarnishing everything Lyons strove to build.
I think Malcolm either DID give up hunting for the star caps and decided to keep the ones he had collected as a keepsake. Or was still hunting for the star caps and was worried that you might kill him if he were to so much as let on that he has any.
Just going to say it, just because you give up a hobby doesn't mean that you throw everything away from that hobby.
Malcolm Holmes? Are you sure it wasn't one of the Malcolm Clones?
Apologies if I muck up the name, but did Sonora Cruz in FO3 have good karma? She's the one you hand your 'trophies' to if you kill bad-karma NPCs, so I'm surprised that she's not on the list- if she doesn't have good karma, that explains the omission, but begs the question of why Bethesda didn't grant that karma to her.
She does have Good Karma. But everyone on this list has Very Good Karma so that's ehy she didn't make it.
@@clothar23Weird that the leader of the faction that is supposed to exemplify the 'good guy' path in the game doesn't have the highest-level karma herself. Your explanation makes sense, but Bethesda's coding of her is very weird.
@@raisedmilehigh6342 To be fair she is paying you to kill people. Bad people but people nonetheless. Saints aren't really supposed to be in the killing business unless they're wearing purple.
@raisedmilehigh6342 regulators aren't karma aligned in their goals, they are still just bounty hunters but theses just aren't mercs.
For a second or so I thought this was going to be a "Can you beat New Vegas while followed by Malcom Holmes", but then I remember I'm on the wrong channel for this.
But how can this man be very good. Ambushing random strangers in the middle of nowhere...
In Malcolm's defense, he might not have lied about not collecting the star caps anymore. Those could have been star caps that he had already collected from the past and now no longer collects them, but in the end, that's something we will probably never know.
Thank you for the content! I get excited to watch everything video you drop, keep up the great work!
"Died in a firefight with supermutants" teeeeeeeechnically correct.
This is the only Fallout video where I've heard the name Nephi pronounced right as nee-phi and not nef-ee or nef-i. Good job.
1:24 is an appropriate response to a strange man tracking you down across the Mojave
Now do the most Neutral of Neutral Karma NPCs
I feel like the difference in amount of Very Good-karma characters between FO3 and FONV kinda indicates the overall tonal differences between the two.
Where the Western US is experiencing the rebirth of nation-states, large economies, and relative stabilization of societies in lands that seem barely-touched by the bombs, the Eastern US is still stuck in a state of near-total chaos in a virtual radioactive hellscape, with no great centralizing powers to secure vast swathes of land and bring around some degree of stability for the common people. The former has essentially given more people greater opportunities to allow themselves to do "Good" for as many as possible now since they're unlikely to be gunned down by just crossing the street; the latter has people barely scraping by and even more living hand-to-mouth, giving them less impetus for doing "Good" for anyone but themselves.
I love most of your stuff, but this topic in particular is really really relevant to my interest. Cheers m
I'm so glad I dug beneath the surface of RUclips Fallout content. Your breakdown/lore videos based around specific topics and questions are a chem no amount of Addictol can fix, and boy howdy I don't wanna be cured!😂☢❤
The fuck is addictol
@@Cody-r7r It was a drug Med-Tek created to cure any chem addiction.
It feels like New Vegas’ good karmas were only given their karma for the sake of having characters that aren’t psychopaths.
Welcome back love these
Sarah is the best one, for no particular reason..... 🤣
The seggs perhaps?
Malcolm watching my character eating one of his victims and that’s when he thinks it safe to talk to me 😂
That radiation must’ve rotted ur brain with how high u put Amata on this list
I'm sure after 5 days I'm late to the party but I don't remember her being Star Paladin at the start of Fallout 3. I could have sworn from the first time she meets the player she's already a Sentinel.
I know fallout 4 doesn't have a karma system but you should try ranking who you think has the best karma and worst in fo4. Just a thought though. Keep up the great work man I look forward to your videos everytime you upload.
Honestly something I just realized about the Star bottle caps treasure, Its entirely possible there might have actually been a legitmate 'treasure' but at this point someone else has already collected it, After all festus lets us in to "Collect the treasure" after he already let Allen Marks in, whos to say Allen marks was the first one who got into that room
I once had Malcom, Victor and the NCR soldier who gave me the radio fallow me at the same time
For someone who we don't see, Randal Clark is a hero, love the Survivalist Rifle. I wish he would've made the list :( still solid video though ☢☢☢
but aye while I'm here why did you do the "Pew Pew" like that 😂
I think the list is for living NPCs you can interact with
I like to think that sarah lyons escaped from the brotherhood and is living with the lone wanderer
Sunny Smiles being smack in the middle just feels right
my favorite part of malcom holmes is that he just doesn't appear in some runs
i've heard once that he gets stuck on a rock or dies
ive always had the plan to wait at the new vegas gate so he walks to you and gets blown up by securitrons, but it's never happened (
Got sick of Malcom jump scaring me. My solution? Discover Primm before you find a star cap. After that, save often in case he sneaks up on you. When you see him coming, fast travel to Primm and sit and wait. Malcom will merc himself crossing the mines.
Just found your really awesome channel a couple days ago wow great fallout 4 video's
I'm gonna be so real, I never just find/run into Malcolm Holmes. It could've been ingame YEARS since I picked up my first star cap, but the SECOND I hit the "wait" button and confirm for longer than an hour or two at a time, I get jumpscared by the man. The man has followed me into the penthouse suite of the Lucky 38 when I hit the wait button by accident in front of House. There is no doubt in my mind that if I went there early enough, the man could track me to Zion or Big Mountain. When I first went there, I half expected the last Marked Man in the Courier's Mile to tell me he almost took me for a raider, he did. The man is a spectre and he terrifies me in a way no other NPC ever will.
I like to think that what makes each Karma level’s “bar of entry” changes with the world around you. In the wasteland, just being a nice and good person is rare enough for the universe to decide that you are worthy of the highest level of Karma, but there’s so many evil people that you have to do some really really fucked up shit to be considered the worst. It’s like being the best person in hell vs being the worst person in hell.
That’s also why the Very Good Karma people in Fallout 3 have done much greater deeds. Unlike in the Mohave, the Capital Wasteland has more good people and less completely and utterly vile individuals. Something about that desert just makes the worst out of people.