Fallout 2 NPC usage guide
written and copyrighted by James Spairana, A.K.A "Paragon"
e-mail: showtime@partlycloudy.com  (Questions?  Clarifications?  Suggestions?)
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Legal Notes: You may not reproduce this anywhere without my permission.  If you do want to 
place this on your website, just make sure you e-mail me first to ask permission.
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Now, onto the guide.

It should be noted that this guide assumes you already have the basic aspects of Fallout 2 down.  
If you don't I suggest getting some practice in before you go out getting your NPCs.

I'll save my incohoerent babbling in praise of Fallout 2 for my main Fallout 2 FAQ, if I ever 
make one.  This guide in particular is all about the NPCs in the game; how to get them and use 
them.  Without further ado(make that just a bit more ado), here is the guide.
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Sulik

Where:           Klamath

How to get him:  Pay $350 to Madia or Sulik himself and ask for his release, then invite him to 
                 come along with you.  OR, rescue Smiley from the Toxic Caves, and ask for 
                 Sulik's freedom in lieu of cash.  OR, take Torr's quest to guard the brahmin, 
                 betray him to the Duntons, then rescue him from the robot in the canyon, and ask 
                 for Sulik's freedom in leiu of cash.

How to keep him: Do not gain the Karma status "Hated" in Klamath.  Do not become a Slaver.

How to use him:  Sulik's main skill is Melee Weapons.  He can also use unarmed weapons and a few 
                 large hundguns/SMGs.

                 To start, give him a Sharpened Spear, or a regular spear if you don't have one.
                 He's usually in the thick of things, so give him the best armor you can afford, 
                 that you aren't using yourself.  As long as he has a melee weapon equipped, keep 
                 him at a close range, tell him to "Stay Close To Me", and to attack "Whoever Is 
                 Attacking Me".

                 Later on, he can use some large handguns and SMGs fairly well.  Do NOT give him 
                 a burst weapon; give him a .223 pistol.  This is actually a good strategy, 
                 depending on your surrounding conditions.  If he does have a .223 Pistol, tell 
                 him to go "On Your Own" and to attack "The Strongest".

                 If you keep him to the endgame, give him a Mega Power Fist and reset his 
                 settings to the same as when he had that first Spear.

                 Sulik makes a great bodyguard, and is useful throught the entire game.  
                 Overall the #2 NPC.
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Vic

Where:           The Den

How to get him:  Take the radio from his house in Klamath and let him take the parts from it to 
                 fix Metgzer's radio.  Then pay the $1000 he needs(if you're a female, you can do 
                 . . .certain acts. . .with Metzger to halve that price).  OR, you can simply 
                 shoot Metzger in the head a few times, and take care of his lackeys too.

How to keep him: Don't have a very negative Karma.  I think the Childkiller status might get him 
                 to avoid you; I'm not too clear on that.

How to use him:  Vic's main skill is Repair, but he can use Small Guns fairly well.  He can use 
                 small-medium handguns and rifles.

                 To start, give him a Hunting Rifle.  Tell him to stay at a medium distance, with 
                 the orders "On Your Own" and "The Weakest".

                 Later on, upgrade him to a Sniper Rifle, and eventually a Gauss Rifle.  Keep his 
                 settings the same.

                 Keep him with single-shot rifles, always.  <--- Mandate!  OBEY the mandate!
                 </weird G-FAQs message boards reference>

                 Vic is a great sniper, and overall the #3 NPC.
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Cassidy

Where:           Vault City

How to get him:  Talk to him about how the cops busted up his bar, then ask him to come with you.

How to keep him: Don't be too evil.  Don't give him any drugs besides your basic healing meds.

How to use him:  His main skill is Small Guns.  He can also use some melee and energy weapons.

                 Start him off with a Hunting Rifle, then upgrade to a Sniper Rifle later.  Tell 
                 him to stay at a medium distance, with the orders "On Your Own" and "The 
                 Weakest".

                 If you don't have Vic, give him a Gauss Rifle at the end of the game, and tell 
                 him to attack "The Strongest".  If you do have Vic, give him a Pulse Pistol, and
                 keep the above settings.

                 It should be noted that if he's not on a high enough level, equipping Power 
                 Armor may cause his main skill to switch to Melee Weapons.

                 It should also be noted that there's a bug in the game which causes his combat 
                 settings to revert to their original settings every so often.

                 In any case, the best NPC by far.
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Lenny

Where:           Gecko

How to get him:  Listen to his tale about your grandfather, then invite him to join you.

How to keep him: Don't be too evil.  Don't acquire the "Grave Digger" status.

How to use him:  Lenny's main skill is Doctor.  He's not much of a fighter, but he can use some 
                 Small Guns.

                 He can use a .223 Pistol, and a Gauss Pistol if I remembr correctly.  Keep him 
                 with the .223 Pistol, if you use him at all.

                 Tell him to attack whomever is closest.  He gets a LOT of HP, but you can't tell 
                 him to stay in the fight as long as most NPCs.  Not a good choice for combat, 
                 but a good choice for an extra NPC if you can fit five of them.

                 Not a very good NPC.  Unworthy of ranking.
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Marcus

Where:           Broken Hills

How to get him:  Solve the majority of quests in Broken Hills, then ask him to join you.

How to keep him: Don't be too evil.

How to use him:  Marcus's main skill is Big Guns, with a side proficency in large Energy Weapons.

                 Since all Big Guns guzzle ammo and kill party members, start him off with a 
                 Laser Rifle.  Upgrade to a Plasma Rifle, and finish with a Pulse Rifle.  Always 
                 tell him to keep a close distance, and to attack "The Strongest".

                 At the end of the game, you might want to tell him to "Charge", if he has a 
                 Vindicator Minigun equipped, which I don't recommend.

                 He can't wear armor.  Bleh.

                 Overall, a good NPC.  Maybe #5.
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Skynet/Brain Bot

Where:           Sierra Army Depot

How to get him:  (You're in for a long one here)  First, go to Orville Wright and get the quest 
                 to find out what happened to his son.  Finish that, then take the next quest to 
                 go to the SAD.  Go into the SAD, and on the first floor, take the bio-med gel
                 that's laying on the ground (on the right side of the map).  On the second 
                 floor, kill one of the brain bot robots(not the small, hovering robots or the 
                 golems), and take the motor from its corpse.  Go down to the third floor, and 
                 talk to the computer.  Agree to help him get out.
                 *gasps for breath*
                 "Use" the parts you have, but DO NOT ACTIVATE THE ROBOT YET!
                 Go down to the fourth floor, into the specimen computer room, and use the 
                 computer.  Go through the menus and try to retrieve a brain.  Now, your 
                 character has to make calculations and such.  What it means is, the lower 
                 Science skill you have, the wors result you'll get.  A skill of about 125% will 
                 usually get you the best result--the cybernetic brain.  If you can't get that, 
                 wait, and come back later.
                 Go back and install the brain.  Activate the robot, and talk to him.  Voila!

How to keep him: Don't be too evil, basically.

How to use him:  Skynet can use large handguns, rifles, and shotguns.  By the time you get him 
                 you should have free access to .223 pistols; give one to him.

                 Later in the game, give him a Gauss Rifle, if you can.

                 Tell him to stay on his own.  In the beginning, tell him to attack the 
                 strongest; in the end, the weakest.  Have him run away at the third-latest 
                 option.

                 He can't use armor, but has a built-in Metal Armor Mark II.

                 A fine NPC.  My second favorite.
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Myron

How to get him:  In New Reno, find out where the Stables are in one of two ways:
                 1) Take quests for Big Jesus Mordino, and eventually be sent there
                 2) Talk to Jagged Jimmy J, ask him where he gets his jet, and about Myron, etc.
                 Once you've done that, head to the stables, and go nuts shooting people if you 
                 like; they're bad, bad mobsters!  Whether you do or not, go down the ladder on 
                 the far end of one of the buildings, and search the bottom floor.  You'll find 
                 Two guards standing outside a door, with Myron inside.
                 You'll have to kill the guards, unfortunately.
                 Once you make short work of them, head inside, and talk to Myron.  Convince him 
                 to join you.  Congratulations; you just did something colossally stupid.

How to keep him: You shouldn't want to.  He'll stay with you no matter what, unfortunately.

How to use him:  As target practice.

                 Or, give him a 10mm pistol and some cheap armor.  If he survives and gains 
                 levels, upgrade him to a Needler Pistol with AP ammo.

                 Set him to attack the weakest, and run away as often as possible.

                 He can make stimpacks for you, and talking to him when you have a high enough 
                 Science skill can open up a quest for you, if you try to get him to make you Jet
                 (or a cure for jet).

                 He will hurt you and your NPCs more than he hurts the enemies; avoid bringing 
                 him into combat whenever possible.
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Goris

How to get him:  In Vault 13, talk to him, ask him questions, treat him nicely, and then invite 
                 him to join you.

How to keep him: Don't become too evil, don't kill the Vault 13 deathclaws.
                 He automatically leaves your party 14 days after you fix the Vault 13 computer, 
                 although you can return to Vault 13 and get him back.

How to use him:  As one tough bodyguard.  He can't use armor or weapons, but he can tear your 
                 opponents limb from limb, as he is a deathclaw.

                 Tell him to "Charge!" against "Whomever is closest".  This is the most 
                 effective.  Alternately, "Stay Close To Me" and "Whoever is Attacking Me".
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There are three dog NPCs.  None really worth mentioning; if you get them, use them as less useful
versions of Goris.

Also, you can get married in Modoc, which will provide you with an NPC or two almost as bad as 
Myron, combat-wise, and worse than Myron, non-combat-wise.  Avoid doing so.

Have fun!