“You should have seen her back in her heyday! Why, we traveled up and down the coast, from the Commonwealth to the Broken Banks. Good times, but these days she's not fit to take out to the coast. Too many spouts ready to drown her, and too many critters looking for lunch.”— Tobar
Before the Great War, the Duchess Gambit served as a small-time tourist watercraft, used for sightseeing the landmarks of the Chesapeake Bay. During his youth in the 23rd century, Tobar's grandfather discovered the intact ship and worked with his caravan associates to retrofit it, including restoring the ship's boiler and turning it into a steam-powered vessel that could extract fuel from most wasteland resources.[Non-game 1]
After taking over the captaincy himself sometime before 2277, Tobar's maritime career saw him and the Duchess Gambit trading wares and collecting various ports of call along the post-nuclear Eastern Seaboard, including places like Point Lookout, the Commonwealth, Broken Banks, and the Capital Wasteland. By 2277, Tobar has been forced to lessen the Duchess Gambit's traveling time out in open waters due to worsening conditions, with the route to Point Lookout as one of the few reliable ones left.[1]
At the start of the Point Lookout add-on, Tobar sells the player character a riverboat ticket for 330 caps per ticket, to and from the Capital Wasteland and Point Lookout (using the Master Trader perk and Barter 100 drops the cost to 300).
After meeting Nadine at the Ark & Dove Cathedral and completing Hearing Voices, the unmarked quest Tailing the Tomboy requires one to visit her at Pilgrim's Landing where she has captured Tobar, locking him in the boat's engine room and claiming it for herself. Whether or not one kills Tobar, from then on Nadine will offer passage to and from Point Lookout on the Duchess Gambit for free.[2]
Notes[]
Boarding the Duchess Gambit and traveling between the game worlds advances the in-game time by one month each, for a total of two months to go to and from a single game world.
When on the deck of the ferry, one can hear the ship's loud engine, but it is completely silent inside the engine room.
There are two versions of the Duchess Gambit that exclusively appear at the riverboat landing in the Capital Wasteland and at Pilgrim's Landing in Point Lookout. This can be observed by dropping something on the cot and traveling between locations to find it gone. Should one travel back and look at the cot, it will reappear. This is actually due to the fact that when an item is set down it is placed at a latitude and longitude point as opposed to on "something". However, items placed in the footlocker next to the cot do appear on the Duchess Gambit in both locations.
Blood will spatter if one shoots the mole rat-skin rug just inside the cot room door.
The original model for the Duchess Gambit was created by Point Lookout lead artist Nathan Purkeypile, which he confirmed after seeing a fan-made mod recreating Point Lookout in the Fallout 4 game engine and its re-design of the Duchess Gambit.[Non-game 2]
↑The Lone Wanderer: "Nice boat. You must have seen a lot of places with it." Tobar: "You should have seen her back in her heyday! Why, we traveled up and down the coast, from the Commonwealth to the Broken Banks. Good times, but these days she's not fit to take out to the coast. Too many spouts ready to drown her, and too many critters looking for lunch. But the Point Lookout run is good enough for now. We've got a sweet deal ferrying cargo and the occasional traveler." (Tobar's dialogue)
↑The Lone Wanderer: "So, now what are you going to do?" Nadine: "First off, I'm claiming this boat. I put Tobar down, so it's mine, them's the rules of the ocean. So that leaves me with a boat, a load of Punga, and a wicked scar. Damn if I haven't earned that adventure I came out looking for. Think I'll take over running this ship. I can travel as I like, and always head back to the Wasteland to see mom. Not a bad way to live, huh? Of course, you can always ride for free!" (Nadine's dialogue)
Non-game
↑Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.101: "Tobar the Ferryman Tobar is a living reminder that the world will always have a place for the savvy and charming trickster. Tobar is captain and crew aboard his steamboat the Duchess Gambit. The Duchess was a small sightseeing vessel used for tourist excursions along the Chesapeake Bay before the war. Tobar's grandfather found her and, with the help of his caravan, restored the boat's boiler, allowing the vessel to be powered by steam heat from any fuel that will fit inside the burner. Tobar has various ports of call along the Atlantic Seaboard. Tobar's current career as a ferryman revolves around the Punga fruit produced at Point Lookout. The tribal leader of the fruit farmers has struck a gruesome bargain with the ferryman. By way of exchange, Tobar is permitted to export the considerable surplus of Punga fruit produced by the commune every lunar cycle. Tobar takes on passengers whenever possible. Not only does he usually negotiate a considerable fare from the passenger, but most who visit the commune at Point Lookout join it, each time creating a new opportunity for Tobar to earn his next Punga shipment. Tobar has long since decided that something must be off about that fruit, and he's not touched the stuff since." (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
