Cassidy
(Fallout 2)
Context
The Fallout video games series (1997-present) takes place in an over-the-top post-apocalyptic setting. It mixes a Mad Max aspect, 1950s atomic horror conventions and various “after the Bomb” influences.
For a primer, see our sample Vault Dweller (the Player Character in the first Fallout game). DC Heroes players can also refer to the generic deathclaw entry for scale explanations.
Background
- Real Name: Cassidy.
- Note: See the “The (last) name of the Rose” section for more about Cassidy’s name.
- Marital Status: Unrevealed, presumed single at this point.
- Known Relatives: None at this point, but later on Rose of Sharon Cassidy (daughter).
- Group Affiliation: Ally of the Chosen One.
- Base Of Operations: Mobile, formerly Vault City.
- Height: 5’9” Weight: 180 lbs.
- Eyes: Grey Hair: Grey (mostly bald).
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Powers & Abilities
Cassidy is a veteran fighter, gunman and adventurer.
He can fight using a variety of means, from his bare hands to precision rifles. He is handy with low-tech melee weapons, favouring brass knuckles and spears.
If he can he’ll fight with a rifle or shotgun, being a genuine marksman. He seldom misses unless the conditions are awful.
He has some minor other skills acquired through sheer experience. But Cassidy’s primary speciality is deadly violence.
History
Cassidy seems to have had a long and colourful career as a fighting man in the wasteland. But this isn’t detailed in the game.
He has suffered numerous wounds and carries various sequellae. He has mentioning hunting radscorpions with spears, as he was apparently living with tribal friends at this point.
Cassidy slowed down due to wounds and old age. Then his heart started acting up. He decided to retire in the only place he knew where he might get appropriate medical care for his heart – Vault City . An ill-calibrated autodoc from the before-time was available even to non-Citizens, though its services were expensive.
Cassidy opened the Spitoon, a pub in the non-Citizens courtyard, to have something to do and pay for his treatments.
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Bartender
Over the years, Cassidy grew bitter about his decision.
- The common area of Vault City was a dump.
- His temper wasn’t that of a shopkeeper.
- The Vault City guards freely racketeering and bullied the non-Citizens, including Cassidy and his bar.
When the Chosen One, Sulik and Vic rolled into his bar Cassidy was more than willing to discuss his troubles. Which made it hard to refuse an offer by the Chosen One to join the group.
Though Cassidy knew that he risked cardiac arrest, it was better than just staying in Vault City. And occasions to find capable travelling companions were few and far between.
In the canonical memoirs of the Chosen One, Cassidy accompanied the Chosen One for much of his quest. He then retired anew – possibly with better access to cardiac stimulation medicine.
History marches on
Despite his advanced age Cassidy married a tribal woman. They had a daughter, Rose of Sharon Cassidy, who would also become an adventurer.
Shortly after Rose’s birth Cassidy left to explore Eastward – as he had long wanted to do. He wished to see how Texas and the Midwest were doing.
Cassidy was never seen again. But a hint in Fallout: New Vegas indicates that he passed through the Black Mountains in the Mojave.
Description
Cassidy has a metal plate patching an impact on his skull, and a dead eye. He’s bald and with a grey beard collar.
He has a deep, gruff voice.
Personality
Cassidy is a grumpy vet who frequently kvetches about the symptoms of his wounds and old age. He cusses a fair bit. He has a bit of an alcohol problem, and is fond of giving his opinion about, well, everything.
He’s clearly a good guy. He doesn’t like slavers, drugs, racists, misogynists, cowards, bullies, criminals, etc.. And he’s just the sort of man who might do something about it. It is entirely possible that his adventuring career wasn’t as a mercenary (he never mentions anything hinting of a mercenary past) but as a vigilante and regulator-for-hire.
Cassidy has come to really hate Vault City. In a “wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire” sort of way.
Quotes
“Even the good days ain’t worth a damn. The Citizens don’t drink much, and I’m stuck here pouring drinks for merchants. The next cheap son of a bitch who haggles for a drink is going to be wearing his ass as a hat.”
“Sure could use a drink.”
“All I’m saying is that little bona fide asshole’s gonna get his number clocked one day when it’s just me and him and a hole in the desert.”
“Sure could go for a smoke.”
“City of tight-asses…”
“I wouldn’t mind plugging a few holes in some kidnappers. A little frontier justice never hurt anyone… well, at least not me.”
“Goddamn arthritis.”
The (last) name of the Rose
In-game, Cassidy is (almost) only called Cassidy. It would make sense for him to be mononymous. You only need more sophisticated naming conventions (such as first and last names) if you are dealing with a dense population, or if you really need to pin down which person is which. Typical examples of the latter are genealogy and collecting taxes.
While Cassidy being mononymous is fine, exploring the files reveals that he has a previous name that was abandoned (“McRae”) as well as a “John Cassidy” string used in obscure, unlikely circumstances. Usually we work these back in through robertbrucebannerisation , like with Fallout 3’s Moira Brown, but it’s flourish.
Still, our proposed No-Prize Hypothesis if you want these found-in-the-code details to also exist in-universe :
- The mononymous Cassidy is the son of a mononymous McRae. So he *could* be called “Cassidy McRae” if somebody absolutely wanted him to have a first and last name.
- This also explains why Cassidy says he was named after a comic book character (Proinsias Cassidy from Preacher) which makes no sense if Cassidy is a family name. “Proinsias” isn’t ever mentioned.
- “John Cassidy” would be his official identity in Vault City databases. They needed to put something in the “first name” field. And so presumably a lot of mononymous wastelanders end up with “John” or “Jane” as a given name in the Vault City computers.
- Though technically his daughter will have a given name and a surname (Rose of Sharon Cassidy, “Rose of Sharon” being her given name) she’ll also be in practice mononymous as “Cassidy” or “Cass”.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Cassidy
| Dex: 04 | Str: 02 | Bod: 03 | Motivation: Thrill |
| Int: 03 | Wil: 03 | Min: 04 | Occupation: Retiree |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 03 | Spi: 04 | Resources {or Wealth}: 003 |
| Init: 010 | HP: 015 |
Skills:
Charisma (Persuasion): 04, Martial artist: 04, Medicine (First aid): 02, Military science (Survival): 03, Weaponry (Melee, missile, energy weapons): 05, Weaponry (Firearms): 06
Advantages
Familiarity (Arid environments survival, Gambling, Bartending), Luck.
Connections:
Chosen One (Low).
Drawbacks:
Age (Old), MPR (Cassidy has an history of heart trouble, and cannot use stimulant drugs such as Psycho), MPR (Cassidy is missing one eye – that doesn’t seem to hinder him at all when shooting, but he presumably can’t see things to his right), MIA toward Alcohol, MIA toward Tobacco.
Equipment:
Cassidy kept a sawed-off side-by-side shotgun under the counter of his bar.
A common approach when the Chosen One starts having weapons and money is to outfit Cassidy with :
- A .223 hunting rifle [BODY 03, Projectile weapons: 06, Ammo: 10, R#03].
- A 50-round box.
- LEATHER ARMOUR [BODY 03, Blunting: 01, Damage capacity: 02, Enhance (Cold RV): 01 (cap is 05), Enhance (Piercing, Slashing, Bludgeoning RV): 01 (cap is 05), Bonuses & Limitations: Damage Capacity has the Full Recovery Bonus, Partial protection (Long Coat))].
Later on a common combo is some sort of assault shotgun and metal armour.
Source of Character: Fallout 2 (1998 video game).
Helper(s): The Fallout wiki for extracting and archiving Cassidy’s lines, and Darci. The illustration on the right is a portrait used by the Cassidy Mod project so as to match his in-game description.
Writeup completed on the 11th of March, 2013.