Manny Vargas is a New Californian citizen and former Great Khan who is a veteran NCR Army sniper living in Novac in 2281. Vargas is one of the two former NCR First Recon snipers who are now sentries in Novac. He and Craig Boone alternate shifts in Dinky the T-Rex's mouth.
Contents
Background
Born and raised in North Vegas, Manny once ran with the Great Khans together with his cousins. Although he loved the lifestyle and the thrill of being a raider, an unspecified incident made it impossible for him to continue life as one of the Khans. He left the gang and decided to enlist with the New California Republic Army. As an excellent shot, he was assigned to First Recon as Craig Boone's spotter. The military life appealed to him, especially the discipline and travelling to new places in order to make people safe, not to mention Craig, who quickly became his closest friend.[1]
The good run lasted until the Bitter Springs Massacre. Both Manny and Craig were stationed at Camp Golf at the time. Knowing he would have to face his former comrades, Manny faked an illness and stayed back in camp. He is not clear on what happened, just that a lot of people died and many of them did not want to be a part of the fighting at all. Although he harbors no ill will towards the Army, blaming only the chaos of the battlefield for the massacre, it made it impossible for him to continue serving. The fact that people would sometimes call him a murderer to his face when they secured a Mojave town did not help.[2][3]
Manny and Craig took their papers and left to find a new life in the wasteland. Manny convinced his friend to settle at Novac, where their rifles could do some good. However, things became complicated when Craig met a woman named Carla in the meantime, a woman who did not see eye to eye with Manny.[1] The two constantly bickered, in no small part due to their wildly different backgrounds and the bad blood between the impoverished North Vegas and wealthy New Vegas. The hostility between the two soured relations between Craig and Manny.[4][1]
When Carla was abducted by the Legion, Craig came to his friend to confide in him, but Manny failed to hide his satisfaction at her disappearance. The grieving husband could not take this kind of reaction from his best friend and turned his back on him. Although Manny hoped Craig would come around, Boone did not. Instead, he disappeared from Novac, eventually returning grim, cold and a shell of a man.[5][6]
Manny was left without a friend in Novac. He was widely respected for his role as a sniper and leadership in security matters, but although people look up to him and depend on him, nobody really cares about his feelings.[7] Perhaps for that reason, when McMurphy came to Novac with Benny and asked for a safe place to sleep, Manny accommodated them, showing his loyalty to the Khans and letting friends from a past life into his world once more, even if just for a brief evening.[8]
Relationships
Manny was Craig Boone's closest friend ever since their time in First Recon, although their friendship was tested by Carla and her personality. When he later lost his friend's trust, Manny also lost his closest confidante and the only person who seemed to understand what he felt.[7]
Although he's no longer a member of the Great Khans, he is still loyal to them and helps them when they're in need, proving the doubters wrong.[8]
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
  |
This character starts quests. | |
  |
This character is involved in quests. | |
Quests
- Come Fly With Me: Manny will ask the player to help him with Novac's ghoul problem in exchange for information about the men who attacked them.
- They Went That-a-Way: Manny has some information that could prove to be useful in tracking the Courier's attackers down.
- One for My Baby: Manny is one of four people the Courier can ask to stand in front of Dinky the T-Rex, although he is not the true culprit of the crime.
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merc adventurer outfit 1st Recon beret |
Hunting rifle | Message: Khan hospitality |
Notes
- If Come Fly With Me is initiated and completed before speaking with Manny, he will not be aware of it and will be surprised when speaking to him about it.
- Manny has no tag skills; all of his stats are 5 across the board. This makes some of his skill values lower than the derived value from his stats.
- If One for My Baby is completed without talking to Manny first, if the player character talks to him later, they still have the option of asking who Boone is, although they will know by that point.
- Manny will always greet the Courier with "What's going on, man?" regardless of gender.
- With the Confirmed Bachelor perk, one can flirt with Manny to get the information for They Went That-a-Way without doing Come Fly With Me, but he will still offer it after giving the information.
- By pick-pocketing Manny's hototape one can get the information for They Went That-a-Way without doing Come Fly With Me.
Notable quotes
- "You see a rifle barrel sticking out of the dinosaur's mouth, you got a fifty-fifty shot it's me. Otherwise, it's Boone."
- "Man, you name it. See, I grew up in North Vegas. Me and my cousins. We were some bad seeds. Got in with a gang. I loved it. Then something happened, and I couldn't handle it anymore. So, I enlisted. Earned my future. Brought down my best friend to share that future with me. And here was this woman who was too good for it, trying to take him away. So yeah. I didn't see eye-to-eye with the bitch."
- "Ah, well... I just felt like it was time, you know? Wanted to have a home. Plus I was up at Camp Golf when Bitter Springs went down. I faked like I was sick to get out of going, because I knew some of the people there. But when everybody came back nobody would tell me what happened. And people would call us murderers sometimes when we showed up to secure towns."
Appearances
Manny Vargas appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Courier: "What did you and Boone's wife argue about?"
Manny Vargas: "Man, you name it. See, I grew up in North Vegas. Me and my cousins. We were some bad seeds. Got in with a gang. I loved it. Then something happened, and I couldn't handle it anymore. So, I enlisted. Earned my future. Brought down my best friend to share that future with me. And here was this woman who was too good for it, trying to take him away. So yeah. I didn't see eye-to-eye with the bitch."
(Manny Vargas' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "So why'd you leave?"
Manny Vargas: "Ah, well... I just felt like it was time, you know? Wanted to have a home. Plus I was up at Camp Golf when Bitter Springs went down. I faked like I was sick to get out of going, because I knew some of the people there. But when everybody came back nobody would tell me what happened. And people would call us murderers sometimes when we showed up to secure towns."
(Manny Vargas' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What did happen at Bitter Springs?"
Manny Vargas: "I still don't know exactly. Just that a lot of people died who didn't want to be part of the fighting at all. I don't blame anybody for it. There's so much chaos when you're fighting, you're lucky not to shoot your own guys. But it did take something out of it for me. Just wasn't the same. So when it came time to re-enlist, I just took my papers and walked."
(Manny Vargas' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Who's Boone?"
Manny Vargas: "Boone's a sniper, same as me. Used to spot for him when we were enlisted with the NCR. After we got out, I talked him into settling down here. So, here we are. I'd introduce you, but uh... we're not so friendly right now."
(Manny Vargas' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Not anymore?"
Craig Boone: "No. When Carla went missing he was the first person I told. He tried to hide it, but I could tell right away. He was glad."
(Craig Boone's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Did you have anything to do with Boone's wife's disappearance?"
Manny Vargas: "Believe me. When I heard the news, my first thought was, I owe somebody. Big. I figured Boone would come around after a while. But he hasn't. And I'm starting to think that if he doesn't find her that things will never go back to the way they were."
(Manny Vargas' dialogue) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Courier: "You've had your needs neglected for far too long, haven't you? I can tell."
Manny Vargas: "Yeah, I... everybody depends on you, you know? But they don't ask you about how you feel. What you worry about. There's something I like about you. You just seem really understanding. I was gonna ask you for a favor, but I'll just tell you what you wanna know. The guy you're looking for, Benny, he was traveling with some members from my old gang. They were going to Boulder City."
The Courier: "That's all I needed to know."
Manny Vargas: "Glad I could help. Hey, I know you got no reason to help me now, but you seem really nice. Could I at least tell you about the problem we've got here?"
The Courier: "Sure. Maybe I can help ease your mind."
Manny Vargas: "See? I was right about you."
(Manny Vargas' dialogue) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 Novac terminal entries; terminal, Message: Khan Hospitality
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