Sulik

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.

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• This profile features tabletop RPG mechanics about the video game’s gameplay. See our video games writeups FAQ for more.
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Background

Powers & Abilities

Sulik is a strong man. He can wield a sledgehammer as a melee weapon.

He’s also an experienced fighter and desert runner. He seems to be a competent adventurer, and is tough enough to travel the wasteland by himself.

He’s also a good shot with a submachinegun. Though he’s bad at ammunition conservation and tends to err toward burst fire.

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Spirits be everywhere. Travel with we and I. Grampy Bone do most the talking.

Sulik carries — as a body piercing — a bone named Grampy Bone, apparently a relic from a powerful shaman. The bone houses the spirit of Grampy Bone, as well as the spirits of all the dead members of his tribe. But Bone is by far more the most powerful and vocal one.

It is unclear whether the spirit is named “Grampy Bone”, or Sulik means that it is the bone of his grandfather.

Through the bone, Sulik can talk to the spirits in the bone and understands their silent answers. Usually, he asks them to talk to local nature spirits (such as earth and wind), who will provide some intelligence about local conditions and dangers. The bone can also sense if an area has ghost (though these are very rare).

This is not unlike talking to the locals, except the spirits have nothing to hide and it works even in completely deserted patches of land. On the other hand, the answers of the spirits are brief and cryptic, though Sulik is used to interpreting those.

From one of Sulik’s lines, it seems a bit more useful deep in the wasteland, as spirits apparently help Sulik and his bone avoid known dangers. It is possible that information is more expansive if the area is pristine (at least by wasteland standards).

What is actually going on in-universe is unknown. Perhaps Sulik is a mutant with psychometric powers he needs to focus through a relic, or perhaps Grampy Bone had psionic powers allowing him to exist in a disembodied state after his death.

History

Sulik is a tribal from the wasteland. Apparently, much of his original tribe was killed. As a result, he joined the Umbra Tribe living along the Pacific coast. Umbra Tribe is made up of many refugees and travellers like Sulik, and is heavily multicultural.

Sulik’s accent, customs, beliefs, etc. are not shared by his fellow tribals. But he’s respected and well-regarded by the chief of the warriors.

In 2241, a trading party from Sulik’s new tribe was attacked by heavily-armed slavers. The survivors, including Sulik’s sister, were captured. Unaware of the attack, Sulik soon grew worried about the lack of news from his sis. He travelled alone to track down the missing party.

He found their remains, and determined that they had been attacked by people with “magic torches” (energy weapons). But his sis wasn’t among the dead.

Sister’s keeper

Sulik ended up in a village named Klamath , trying to gather information about slavers. He was looking for a trader, Vic, whom he thought could tell him about slavers – but Vic was missing. Now angry, Sulik also got drunk, which resulted in a brawl.

The tribal adventurer now had to work for the local inn until his wages would pay for the repairs. Sulik was stuck, and unlikely to find his sister in time.

Thankfully, another tribal came to Klamath. After rescuing the innkeeper’s soon-to-be father-in-law, the Chosen One from Arroyo requested Sulik’s freedom instead of a conventional payment. Sulik and the Chosen One decided to ally to increase their odds of surviving the wasteland, and to help with each other’s quest.

Description

Sulik is a large guy wearing lots of tribal jewelry, generally made of worked bones. He has a large piercing made of bones, that goes through his nose and both ears – apparently this is Grampy Bone.

As far as can be determined from the in-game portrait, he’s a Black dude wearing a lot of ivory-coloured body paint. Based on similar paints used by various cultures in Australia and several African countries, it is probably worn as a mixture of ritual reasons, body art and plain old sunscreen.

Sulik speaks in a patois that seems to be a collage of Vernacular African-American English , rastafarian-influenced Jamaican English, and imaginary 1970s jive talking. The grammar somewhat resembles VAAE.

Sulik’s habit of referring to himself as “we and I” seems derived from the rastafarian “I and I” turn of phrase. But it likely refers to the bone spirits he carries, plus himself.

Personality

Sulik seems to be generally laid back, helpful and easy-going. The in-game text presents him as confident and composed.

Quotes

Chosen One: “So what can you use ?”
Sulik: “We be good with fist, spear, big hammer, submachine gun. We and I be a handful.”

“Hey, fren. Our name be Sulik. What you be needin’.”

“Trader named Vic supposed to be here. He be saying he know about slavers. We show up, didn’t peep him, get pretty hot.”

“Fren, with all the spirits walking with me, not afraid to travel anywhere. Let’s ease on down.”

“Grampy Bone strong spirit. Much honor carrying him.”

“They all say dark clouds gathering. Grampy Bone say they all gone. Spirits see more joining them. Many more. Grampy Bone say they all standing on the Great Water… Doesn’t make sense to we and I, either. Spirits don’t understand reason they gone. See it, don’t understand it. They say there was a strong spirit here. Somehow that’s why all were taken.”

A brief note if I may

Sulik is a muscular bald Black man (or possibly a guy in blackface) with a huge bone in his nose. He’s a superstitious savage with an affinity for violence who speaks a sort of faux Jamaican jive, and talks about “da rhythm” while he is brandishing his huge… hammer.

He was deservedly held in slavery by White folks because he’s a native who goes nuts when he drinks, and comes from a community solely described as being primitives. One of his roles is to be a servant carrying your heavy things – he’s got a strong back. He’s good-natured and happy-go-lucky, but a bit childish.

1997 was a long time ago, but… let’s not ever do that again.

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Fallout 2 (1998 video game).

Helper(s): Roy Cowan. The Fallout wiki  for extracting and archiving Sulik’s lines.

Writeup completed on the 25^th of February, 2013.