“ Maybe looking back you'd do things differently, but that's not how it works. In the field, you hesitate; You or someone you care about will die. They teach that from day one... You don't come out of a tour of duty without regrets. ”

Craig Boone is a retired NCR 1st Recon sharpshooter and Novac's night-shift town guard in 2281. He is also a possible companion.

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Background Edit

Born in 2255, Craig Boone joined the New California Republic Army at an unknown date and served until some time after the Bitter Springs Massacre.[2] He completed the majority of his Army service with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, an infantry unit which has a reputation for having the best marksmen in the NCR Army.

In 2278, Boone was present with the rest of the 1st Recon at the Bitter Springs Massacre. At the direction of the major in command, an NCR Army force surrounded Bitter Springs and took up positions to ensure no one could leave. The Great Khans occupying Bitter Springs were not the well-armed force of raiders and warriors that the major had anticipated. Many of the Khans were non-combatants, including women, children, the elderly, the wounded and the sick. Confused about what to do, NCR troops radioed command to confirm their orders. Command reaffirmed their order to fire upon everyone, and the NCR force followed those orders. Then-Captain Dhatri, the second-in-command of the NCR force, took command after the major froze up, and did what he could to stop the killings. Bad planning and poor communication from up-top, in Boone's view, caused the massacre.[2]

Sometime after Bitter Springs, Boone was discharged from the NCR Army, but not before meeting a woman named Carla while on leave.[3] Carla was the only thing in the world who made him feel calm and happy in life. When he listened to her, she made him forget about everything he did in the military. He left the military, married Carla, and moved to Novac at the invitation of his 1st Recon friend, Manny Vargas. It was apparent that Carla was not pleased with living in Novac and made her opinions known. Jeannie May Crawford describes Carla as a "cactus flower," in that she is pretty to look at, but hard to get close to. She was never content with the ordinary life of the small town. Carla's attitude toward the town caused distance between Boone and Manny, which continued after Carla's disappearance. She had been kidnapped by the Legion, and Boone suspected she was betrayed by one of the townsfolk.

When Carla was kidnapped, Boone tracked the slaving party to Cottonwood Cove in hopes of rescuing her, only to find her being auctioned off in a camp of hundreds of Legion soldiers. All Boone had was his rifle and the distance between them. Instead of subjecting her to the horrors of Legion slavery, he chose to take her life in a mercy killing, knowing that a rescue wasn't possible. As a result of the psychological trauma Boone endured, he has become suicidal. He has no goal, purpose, or desire in life but to slaughter legionaries until fate finally catches up to him.

When the Courier first meets him, Boone is bitterly whiling away the hours until he can find out who is responsible for the disappearance of his wife and killing them. Hardened and psychologically troubled from his time in the NCR military, Boone vacillates between being a stone-cold killer and a decent human being. Venturing out from the relative safety of Novac brings Boone into close contact with his old life until he is forced to deal with the tragic events that caused him to leave the military.

Craig Boone, despite being out of the NCR military, is still an NCR soldier at heart. He refuses to work with a terrorist against the NCR and will not tolerate the Courier working with Caesar's Legion. In fact, if the Courier enters the Fort with Boone, all Legion members will become immediately hostile, regardless of the one's previous standing with them.

Interactions with the player character Edit

Interactions overview Edit

Quests Edit

One for My Baby: Help Boone take care of the person responsible for his wife's kidnapping. The successful completion of this quest makes him available as a companion for the Courier.

I Forgot to Remember to Forget: Help Boone deal with the psychological trauma still haunting him. The successful completion of this quest upgrades his armor.

Beyond the Beef: One can offer Boone, or any other human companion, as a substitute to Mortimer for the banquet.

You'll Know It When It Happens: Boone will tell the player character three ways in which president Aaron Kimball can be assassinated. Two of his suggestions are attempted by the Legion.

Effects of player's actions Edit

If one has Boone kill Manny Vargas during One for My Baby and pass a Speech check to convince him that Manny was guilty, he will tell the Courier to "Never say that name again." when asked about Vargas again.

If one arranges for Boone to kill someone who is "responsible" for the death of his wife, he'll later ask you what gave them away. If the Courier responds with "I had a hunch," he will be hostile towards them and won't talk to them anymore. He will also do this if the Courier tells him that Jeannie May Crawford's story "just didn't add up" and then fail the Speech check.

If Boone kills someone during the aforementioned quest and then the player character tells him that they just wanted him to kill the assigned target, he will immediately turn hostile and attack.

If the player character has not yet recruited Boone, he will refuse to speak to them if their overall NCR reputation is significantly below neutral, or if they have a significant positive reputation with Caesar's Legion. The reputation can be temporarily swayed by wearing any NCR armor, enabling that faction's relations and reputation. Though, ironically, Caesar's Legion armor (or any other faction armor) works just as well.

Gaining NCR infamy with Boone as a companion will cause him to demand that "this stops now." One has the option of attacking Boone or persuading him to stand down and agree with him on stopping the killings. Afterward, if the player character again kills NCR troops, with Boone following them, he will immediately turn hostile.

Sneak killing NCR soldiers in Boone's presence without being seen by other non-companion NPCs won't cause his immediate hostility.

Other interactions Edit

If asked if he ever takes off his beret, he will say "No."

If the player character takes his beret, Boone says "I would really like my beret back, please." However, not returning it causes no significant results. He will still say this even if it is traded back to him before closing the inventory window.

If the player character enters Boone's hotel room after sending him back to Novac, Boone says "You need to leave." However, staying in the room or stealing items while being noticed by Boone causes no hostility, but one will still lose Karma.

If the Courier travels near Cottonwood Cove or Nelson with Boone, he will mention his grudge against the Legion and the option will be given to continue on with him or not.

When near the boat in Cottonwood Cove, Boone will say that this would "probably be the last boat you take."

After killing Caesar, Boone will say, "Thumbs-down, you son of a bitch!", in reference to the gladiatorial games. He will also talk about the kill next time the player character speaks to him.

Endings Edit

Inventory Edit

Notes Edit

Notable quotes Edit

" You take out a debt, it's only a matter of time before someone comes collecting. Things just finally caught up with me. " Play sound

NVBooneYoutakeoutadebt.ogg

" " Life has a way of punishing you for the mistakes you make. " Play sound

NVBooneLifeHasAWayOfPunishingYou…

" " She talked a lot. Suited me fine - I never know what to say. And listening to her, it could... make you forget. " Play sound

NVBooneSheTalkedALot.ogg

" "Maybe looking back you'd do things differently, but that's not how it works. In the field, you hesitate, you or someone you care about will die. They teach that from day one. [...] You don't come out of a tour of duty without regrets." Play sound

NVBooneMaybeLookingBack.ogg

Appearances Edit

Craig Boone appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes Edit

Craig Boone was written by Eric Fenstermaker.

Boone was voiced by Jason Marsden, but is incorrectly credited as his friend, James Marsden.

Content in the audio files of Fallout: New Vegas suggests Liam O'Brien was going to voice Boone at some point, as there are many of Boone's lines recorded in his voice.

Fallout: New Vegas cut content and has not been confirmed by The following is based onand has not been confirmed by canon sources.

" Drop it. Now why the hell are you here " Play sound

NVCCBooneDropIt.ogg

" " Yeah well, you see anyone wearing crimson, or a lot of sports equipment, you just let me know " Play sound

NVCCBooneJustLetMeKnow.ogg

" " You still haven't answered my question " Play sound

NVCCBooneStillHavntAnsweredMyQue…

" " That goes both ways. I joined up with you to kill legionaries. The sooner we get back to that, the sooner we can have an understanding. " Play sound

NVCCBooneGoesBothWays.ogg

" " Fine. How do I know she's dead? Here it is. " Play sound

NVCCBooneKnowShesDead.ogg

" "She... I... I tracked her down, southeast, by the river. They were selling her. Saw it through my scope." Play sound

NVCCBooneTheyWereSellingHer.ogg " Whole place was swarming with legion, hundreds of them, bidding for things no man had a right to. " Play sound

NVCCBooneSwamingWithLegion.ogg

" " I just had my rifle with me. Just me. Against all of them, so... What else could I do? " Play sound

NVCCBooneJustHadMyRifle.ogg

" " I don't see what this helps. She's dead. " Play sound

NVCCBooneShesDead.ogg

" " You got no right asking me that. Drop it. " Play sound

NVCCBooneNoRightAskingMeThat.ogg

" " You don't know what you're asking. Just let it go for now. " Play sound

NVCCBooneDontKnowWhat.ogg

" " The legion's the only thing I want on my mind right now. " Play sound

NVCCBooneOnlyThing.ogg

" " It's just not something that I;m ready to discuss. With you or anybody. " Play sound

NVCCBooneNotReady.ogg

" " Mercy killing is a last resort. Glad you recognized we had options. " Play sound

NVCCBooneMercyKilling.ogg

" " To hell with mercy killing. We're getting those guys out of there. " Play sound

NVCCBooneToHellWithMercyKilling.ogg

" " God dammit. We could have gotten them out. " Play sound

NVCCBooneCouldHaveGottenThemOut.ogg

" " I should never have trusted you. " Play sound

NVCCBooneShouldNeverHaveTrustedY…

" " Alright. But we'd better not have to have this talk again. " Play sound

NVCCBooneThisTalkAgain.ogg

" " Then we're finished here. " Play sound

NVCCBooneFinishedHere.ogg

" " Good thing I'm still alive then. " Play sound

NVCCBooneGoodThingImStillAlive.ogg

" " Then this is over. Next time I see you, it'll be through my scope. " Play sound

NVCCBooneThisIsOver.ogg

" " Any legion with you and I'm pulling the trigger. " Play sound

NVCCBoonePullingTheTrigger.ogg

" " I should never have worked with you in the first place. " Play sound

NVCCBooneShouldNeverHaveWorkedWi…

" " If you want me to stick around, that ends now. I don't care what the reasons are I will not help the legion. Ever. Got it. " Play sound

NVCCBooneThatEndsNow.ogg

" " You're right. You wont. " Play sound

NVCCBooneYouWont.ogg

" " Sure. " Play sound

NVCCBooneSure.ogg

" " Bullshit. You're a god damn coward trying to pick the winning side. " Play sound

NVCCBooneGodDamnCoward.ogg

" " We will never work together again. " Play sound

NVCCBooneWeWillNeverWorkTogether…

" "They got what they had coming. Glad we were the ones to deliver it." Play sound

NVCCBooneGotWhatTheyHadComing.ogg

Fallout: New Vegas cut content. End of information based on

Bugs Edit

PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 patch 1.2.0.31x Boone may no longer move his head to track nearby targets, and will holster his weapon while in combat approximately every five seconds. This error is caused by a code added to his main dialogue script, which causes him to re-evaluate his current AI package every five seconds. [verified]

patch 1.2.0.31x Boone may no longer move his head to track nearby targets, and will holster his weapon while in combat approximately every five seconds. This error is caused by a code added to his main dialogue script, which causes him to re-evaluate his current AI package every five seconds. PC Xbox 360 [verified]

PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 [verified] PC Xbox 360 [verified]

PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 [verified]

Playstation 3 Xbox 360 I Forgot to Remember to Forget, but before Boone asks you to return to Bitter Springs with him, Boone will not fast travel with you. You may correct this by loading the auto-save file if you have not changed the game's default auto-save settings. [verified]

I Forgot to Remember to Forget, but before Boone asks you to return to Bitter Springs with him, Boone will not fast travel with you. You may correct this by loading the auto-save file if you have not changed the game's default auto-save settings. Playstation 3 Xbox 360 [verified]

PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 [verified] This may be caused by firing Boone and then gaining some fame with the Legion (to being Accepted, or a mostly positive mixed reputation) and then rehiring Boone seems to cause this bug.

PC Nevada Highway Patrol station and fighting 10+ Jackal gang members. [verified] Xbox 360

Nevada Highway Patrol station and fighting 10+ Jackal gang members. Xbox 360 authority glasses they turn out misshapen on his face. His rifle also will glitch out, and either disappear off his back or be inside of him. This also causes him to switch equipment. This can be fixed by taking the glasses, completely leaving the companion wheel, then going back and giving them back. [verified]

authority glasses they turn out misshapen on his face. His rifle also will glitch out, and either disappear off his back or be inside of him. This also causes him to switch equipment. This can be fixed by taking the glasses, completely leaving the companion wheel, then going back and giving them back. Xbox 360 Mark of Caesar to boat your way to The Fort Boone may appear on the dock next to you even if asked to wait far away. He will spawn in water therefore unable to fight the boat guard. [verified]

Mark of Caesar to boat your way to The Fort Boone may appear on the dock next to you even if asked to wait far away. He will spawn in water therefore unable to fight the boat guard. Playstation 3 [verified]

PC Xbox 360 [verified]

PC Xbox 360 radiation suit, he will remove his headgear, but he won't wear the suit. [verified]

radiation suit, he will remove his headgear, but he won't wear the suit. PC [verified]

Xbox 360 Ultra-Luxe, gives up his weapons and then steals them back from the locker, Boone will lose his rifle for the rest of the game. [verified]

Ultra-Luxe, gives up his weapons and then steals them back from the locker, Boone will lose his rifle for the rest of the game. PC Playstation 3 [verified]

PC

Gallery Edit