Pariah dog

Fallout 2 character
Pariah dog
Lore
Race	Dog
Role	Companion
Gameplay
Location	A lone surviving dog
Other
Dialogue	Ecpariah.msg Ecpdog.msg
Appearances	Fallout 2
SPECIAL	1 ST, 2 PE, 1 EN, 1 CH, 1 IN, 5 AG, 1 LK
Tag skills	Unarmed: 42%
Misc stats	Hit Points: 750 Critical Chance: 1% Melee Dam.: 1 Armor Class: 25 Action Points: 7 Carry Weight: 50 lbs Damage Res.: 40% Sequence: 4 Healing Rate: 1 Experience Points: 60 Fire Resist.: 30%/4 Laser Resist.: 60%/8 Plasma Resist.: 50%/4 Explosion Res.: 40%/6 EMP Resist.: 500%/0 Electricity Res.: 50%/2 Dam. Threshold: 5
Prototype ID	00000384

“You see a ragged looking dog that could expire at any moment.”— In-game description

The pariah dog is a dog with an infamous reputation around the settlements of New California as a bringer of great bad luck to any that come across it. It appears as a potential companion of the Chosen One in Fallout 2.

Background

By 2241, the pariah dog had accrued great physical injuries from its life of misfortune, and continued to bring it to others in the wasteland, including causing a plague that killed off several wastelanders, a brahmin, and a deathclaw by the time it encountered the Chosen One.

Interactions with the player character

Interactions overview

Interactions
	This character is a permanent companion.

Companion

• The dog is found in the special encounter "A lone surviving dog." The moment the player character enters the map square, the game makes a Luck check and repeats it every ten seconds. If the player character fails the Luck check, the dog joins their party over the party limit, dropping their Luck to 1 (2 for the gifted) and providing the Jinxed trait free of charge.
• Any time combat begins, the pariah dog will run away and not contribute to the party's success.
• In order to regain Luck and lose the trait, the dog has to die. Contrary to his skeletal look, the pariah dog has a very high Hit Points stat of 750, which means he can withstand great punishment before dying. One fool-proof option is to take him to the Sierra Army Depot and either take him for a walk on the electrified floor or use the organ extractor on him, netting 2 human brains and -200 Karma.
  • Another way to kill him is to take him to the Modoc caves. After setting the dynamite, stay near the ladder until the explosions hit the pariah dog once or twice, then escape via the ladder. The pariah dog will be trapped inside and will be killed off-screen.
  • Zero damage instant kill criticals will cause the game to bug out, meaning that though dead, the dog will remain part of the party, occupying a slot and imposing its Luck effects, but it will be impossible to remove him. Perks which add damage points (Living Anatomy, bonus ranged damage and bonus HtH damage) allow the player to avoid this issue.

Appearances

The pariah dog appears in Fallout 2 and is mentioned in the Fallout Bible.

Behind the scenes

In real life, a "pariah dog" is the name given to a kind of free-ranging dog that occupies an ecological niche; such dogs are often feral and sometimes strays.

Bugs

Zero damage instant death critical hits (possible with the Better Criticals perk) that cause the death of any NPC with scripts that would normally activate upon death, will not activate those scripts (this bug is not limited to the dog). Therefore, it is possible for the dog to die, and all the ill effects of his presence in the party, including occupying a party slot, to remain. The perk Living Anatomy makes zero damage impossible; Bonus Ranged Damage and Bonus HtH Damage probably work the same way.

References

Non-game

Companions in Fallout 2 Permanent Marcus · Vic · Lenny · Sulik · Davin · Miria · K-9 · Robodog · Myron · Skynet · Goris · John Cassidy · Dogmeat · Pariah dog Temporary Smoke · Bess · Laddie · Xarn · Smiley · Sergeant Granite · Yellow dog