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The Rippers were an ultra-violent gang from the Boneyard, prone to violently attacking anything and anyone not related to them, operating in the western parts of the city.[1] They were known to fight with the Blades, who were once as violent as the Rippers, but things changed after the Rippers were wiped out by the deathclaws.[2]

Morpheus spent a decade among the Rippers, before joining a doomsday cult, and then rising to the position of leader of the Children of the Cathedral.[3]

Appearances[]

The Rippers were initially to appear in Fallout, but later removed from the game, with virtually every mention of them disabled, aside from a handful of omissions. Their hideout was repurposed as a combat arena for the deathclaws. Tangler's cybernetic hand remained as an unused item in the Fallout and Fallout 2 data files.

Behind the scenes[]

The Rippers are the most ruthless gang in the Boneyard. When we sent people to convert them, the only thing we got back were their heads.Nicole

The Rippers were originally planned to be another gang operating in the Boneyard, locked in a violent struggle with the Blades (who were also much more martial-minded and aggressive, renowned for their use of the Ripper vibroblade).[4] The Blades would be as potentially violent as Rippers, though open to talking with the player character, rather than instantly attacking.[5] Interestingly, the Gun Runners were on good terms with the Rippers: While they considered the Rippers to be stupid, they were also an excellent client, buying weapons and ammunition in significant amounts.[6][7]

In that iteration of the Boneyard, the Rippers had two distinct origins: One version stated that they were newcomers to the Boneyard who appeared alongside the Followers of the Apocalypse (who attempted to convert them, but only received their missionaries' heads in return).[8] Morpheus, the leader of the Children, was also one of the Rippers before he became the leader of the Children.[9] Another version of the story would have them be one of the street gangs that formed from the Vault dwellers that rode out the war in the Demonstration Vault in Los Angeles.[10]

What was common was that the Rippers were all inbred, holed up in a fortress on the east side of the Boneyards (later repurposed as deathclaw spawning grounds), delighting in torture and murder.[11] Their fortress would be one big combat zone, complicated by landmines surrounding the building.[12] Rippers were decidedly low-tech when compared against other gangs, compensating for it with their ferocity.[13]

The player would not be able to side with the Rippers, only against them, by becoming one of the Blades. Doing so would allow them to receive a skill bonus to melee combat from Dolgan.[14]

There would be a total of 19 Ripper gangers to kill, who would attack on sight (their tagline in COMBATAI.MSG is, after all, "Rape him or kill him. I can never make up my mind."), with the ultimate foe being the self-proclaimed King of the Boneyard, Tangler (summarized in COMBATAI as "I am the most evil man alive!").[15] The player would also liberate at least one prisoner from the Ripper gangers (who seems to be Jason Zimmerman),[16][17] and could claim a reward from Orfeo at the Cathedral.[18]

As far as quests go, Romero was originally a Ripper, not a Blade.[13]

References[]

  1. Chris Avellone: "{1103}{}{An ultra-violent gang to our west.}"
    Note: This is one of the only Tell-Me-Abouts left in the game.
  2. Loxley: "{259}{LOX_84}{Need to be a bit careful there. The Rippers and the Blades like to carve you up just for fun. While the town there, Adytum, just tries to stay alive. If you find yourself traipsing around there and happen on the Blades, make sure to say cheers to Razor for me. Thinking of her brings back memories, it does.}"
    Note: Tested this appears in the game.
  3. Morpheus: "{7323}{}{I didn't spend ten years in the Rippers for nothing!}"
    (COMBATAI.MSG (Fallout))
    Note: Tested this appears in the game.
  4. Nicole: "{226}{Nic_42}{Well, the Boneyard is pretty scarce as you can see. Adytum is to the west. The Children of the Cathedral are to the north. I wouldn't advise going too far south into the city, though, the Rippers and the Blades have made it into a battlefield.} "
  5. Loxley: "{259}{LOX_84}{Need to be a bit careful there. The Rippers and the Blades like to carve you up just for fun. While the town there, Adytum, just tries to stay alive. If you find yourself traipsing around there and happen on the Blades, make sure to say cheers to Razor for me. Thinking of her brings back memories, it does.}"
  6. Gun Runner Tell-Me-Abouts: "{28903}{}{Hey, they may be stupid, but they sure buy a lot of guns!}"
  7. Gun Runner Tell-Me-Abouts: "{29103}{}{The Rippers are all one big family, literally. They're impossible to deal with if they don't know you, so don't even try. They are in a big booby-trapped fortress southwest of us. Watch out for land mines if you're stupid enough to visit.}"
  8. Nicole: "{310}{Nic_95}{They war with the Blades down south. The Rippers are the most ruthless gang in the Boneyard. When we sent people to convert them, the only thing we got back were their heads.}
    {311}{Nic_96}{The Blades fight the Rippers down south. They're the most agreeable of the two gangs, though that's not saying much. We've converted a few of them.}"
  9. Nicole: "They showed up around the same time we did, but no one knows how they came about. We've heard rumors that their leader, Morpheus, was part of the Rippers before he was 'enlightened' by their Dark God."
    (Nicole's dialogue)
  10. Lorraine: "{157}{}{Lots of people lived here, and they did important things like making computer games. From what I hear, the survivors hid in a big place called a Vault, and came out years later. Some of them founded Adytum, but the}
    {158}{}{others formed the street gangs, the Blades and the Rippers. The Gun Runners aren't from here originally.}"
  11. Boneyard, Adytum Tell-Me-Abouts: "{18303}{}{The Rippers are all inbred. They have a fortified building with traps around it where they take prisoners to be tortured and killed.}"
  12. Katja: "{141}{}{The Rippers are just plain ferocious. They're an inbred bunch that delights in torture and murder. I stay away from them, and you should, too. They actually put fuckin' land mines around their fortress.}"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Vault Dweller: "{117}{}{Sounds dangerous, with the gangs.}"
    Lorraine: "{121}{}{It can be, if you're caught. The Rippers are especially hard on trespassers. That's why we work hard not to get caught!}"
    Vault Dweller: "{122}{}{Can you tell me a bit about the gangs?}"
    Lorraine: "{129}{}{You can always tell the Blades because they have those nasty vibro-knives. The Rippers, on the other hand, are low-tech but really mean.}"
    Lorraine: "{130}{}{The Rippers even have a minefield around their fort! Makes you wonder what Julianna was thinking.}"
    Vault Dweller: "{131}{}{What do you mean about Julianna?}"
    Lorraine: "{134}{}{Oh, she wound up falling for some Ripper a while ago. Poor dear can't leave the town, of course, and Caleb would kill the young lad on sight. Very tragic.}"
  14. Dolgan: "{113}{}{So, you think you can take on Tangler and his wimps? Here, I'll teach you to use that blade.}
    {114}{}{Now you are a little better at that. Go kick Tangler's butt into next year for me.}
    {115}{}{Great job on hacking those Rippers. What can I do for you?}"
  15. Vault13.gam: "RIPPERS_LEFT  :=19; // (137) // How many Rippers are left"
  16. SCRIPTS.LST (Fallout): " RippPris.int  ; Ripper Prisoner in the Boneyard # local_vars=7 "
  17. JASON.MSG: " {146}{}{I thought that it would be fun to leave Adytum and explore the world. But the Rippers caught me and have been holding me here. Please, help me!}"
  18. Vault Dweller: "{178}{}{I helped kill the Rippers.}"
    Children guard: "{182}{}{For someone who comes in peace, you do an awful lot of killing. But those Rippers were causing quite a bit of trouble. Orfeo can reward your for your aid.}"
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