The snake oil salesman is a roaming denizen of New California and the Mojave Wasteland in 2296. He hawks seemingly miraculous potions and serums, all the while taking indecent liberties with chickens. He appears in the Fallout TV series and is portrayed by Jon Daly.
Background[]
A mysterious traveling salesman with a sleazy demeanor, pale skin, and minor deformities, the salesman is a merchant around the greater Los Angeles area in the late 2290s. Plying his trade in wasteland marketplaces such as Filly, he typically targets the vulnerable, hawking his wares at a moment's notice. Most of the salesman's stock seems to be home-brewed drugs or chemicals, though he pitches them to his customers as miraculous cures which can even regenerate entire lost limbs.[1]
The mysterious elixir traded to Thaddeus that supposedly caused his later ghoulification
Despite his dubious moral fiber, there appears to be some merit to his claims of creating "miracle cures," as the salesman is shown to have at least one elixir that alters a human's biology, granting a regenerative factor that can restore a severely mangled foot to full function in seconds.[2] While he outwardly purports to be a scientist of great caliber, the precise field of science he works in is unclear.
In the off times when he is not fetching for his next "sale," the salesman is known to sneak onto wasteland animal farms, raiding their chicken coops to engage in sexual acts with the poultry.[1]
According to Thaddeus, the salesman had a noticeably foul smell.[3]
The salesmen himself implies that he spent some time in the Mojave Wasteland during which he formed a romantic attachment to the Protectron, Fisto, referring to his many acts of bestiality as an attempt to "fill the void." It is implied that he originally traveled west into New California to obtain a fusion core so he could reactivate Fisto after the robot lost power sometime prior to or around 2296.[4]
Fallout TV series[]
Season 1[]
The Target[]
Rescued from his attacker by "Knight Titus"
Sometime after Knight Titus' death from a yao guai attack, Maximus, wearing his T-60 power armor, comes across the salesman being attacked by an assailant and rescues him by threatening to crush the latter's head, believing he was saving an innocent. The salesman commends Maximus as "a gentleman and a scholar" and accuses his attacker of persecuting him for his "scientific curiosity." He flees, briefcase in hand, while his attacker laments to Maximus that the salesman has repeatedly trespassed on his farm, and "keeps fucking [his] chickens."[5]
The salesman's travels later bring him to the trading town of Filly, where he begins hawking his wares in the market outside the town center. He later observes Lucy MacLean leaving with Siggi Wilzig, the latter limping while walking with his prosthetic leg that replaced the one shot off by the Ghoul, and begins shouting at them about his miracle medicines, trying to suggest that one of them could supposedly heal the scientist's missing limb. The duo completely ignore him and leave.[1]
The Radio[]
The salesman leading the injured Thaddeus to his makeshift clinic
Having left Filly sometime after, the salesman makes the choice to commit suicide, attempting to shoot himself with his pipe rifle. Before he could manage to, he sees the injured Brotherhood soldier Thaddeus walking past with a limp after getting his foot crushed by Maximus. Despite initial hostilities, the salesman is able to convince Thaddeus that he is a doctor and can give him help with healing his foot.[6]
After the salesman brings the squire to his "pharmacy," Thaddeus attempts to threaten him with his pistol, floating the idea of simply stealing his medicine. The salesman slyly counters that only he can distinguish between the cures and the poisons.[7] Thaddeus relents and offers the fusion core he took from Maximus' armor in exchange for the needed medicine. The salesman agrees to the deal and concocts an "elixir" that he gives to Thaddeus. Upon drinking it, the two watch as the soldier's injured foot immediately regenerates.[2]
While preparing to continue his journey, Thaddeus inquires about the closest radio station and the salesman informs him of the KPSS radio station located in the Hollywood Hills past Shady Sands. After Thaddeus says that the area around the former capital city is highly irradiated, the salesman comments that Thaddeus will not have to worry about radiation anymore. He then bids Thaddeus farewell and departs.[8]
Later, after Thaddeus is mortally wounded by a crossbow trap at the KPSS radio station, he discovers that he has a remarkable regenerative ability that keeps him alive, which Maximus believes is due to ghoulification, though this has yet to be confirmed.[2]
Season 2[]
The Wrangler[]
With the fusion core bartered from Thaddeus in hand, the snake oil salesman hits the road with a jaunty saunter from Los Angeles to New Vegas. On his way, he skips merrily, gets attacked by a radroach, and picks some desert flowers for his special someone. Upon arriving to the outskirts of Vegas, the snake oil salesman reaches his destination, an abandoned taco stand, where he reunites with his beloved, Fisto, through a late night date.
While the date is underway, Hank MacLean arrives with a crowbar behind the snake oil salesman. The snake oil salesman regards him as a voyeur and tells him off. After turning back, Hank MacLean knocks him out with a strike to the back of the head and transports him to the underground management Vault in New Vegas to use him as a test subject in refining the brain-computer interface chip technology.
When coming to, the salesman finds himself restrained at a table sitting across from Hank MacLean at a control box, the chip already implanted into the nape of his neck. He struggles against the restraints before MacLean asks him if he would like to to forget all his memories while retaining his language and motor skills. The snake oil salesman answers "Please. Yes." Hank MacLean begins configuring the settings on the control box as the salesman makes various exclamations. As MacLean begins the final tuning, the salesman begins laughing and shouting "no" before MacLean reaches the max setting. However, unlike previous attempts, the salesman remains alive with his head intact. The salesman stares wide eyed, the chip having reached its full effect, and MacLean smiles at his first successful configuration.
After some time, the salesman is cleaned up for his work and is sent to the surface to bargain with the Ghoul at the Atomic Wrangler Casino in Freeside. He waits with the Ghoul in a room until Lucy MacLean arrives and then introduces himself, explaining that Hank MacLean cannot be reached without permission from inside his underground facility. Lucy tells the salesman to take them to her father now. The salesman responds that he lacks permission and that Hank is watching over Janey and Barb Howard in cryo chambers and will kill them if the Ghoul and Lucy do not cooperate.
Lucy tries to convince the Ghoul not to listen to the salesman, but the salesman interjects that Hank is willing to make a deal: for leaving the Ghoul's wife and daughter unharmed, Hank wants the Ghoul to return Lucy to Vault 33. Lucy is confused by the deal and the salesman explains that Hank has plans in motion he would prefer for her to "wait out." Lucy cannot find the words before the salesman turns to the Ghoul asking if he accepts the terms. The Ghoul looks at the salesman, who looks around uncomfortably waiting for a response.
The Ghoul and Lucy have a short exchange before the Ghoul shoots Lucy with her tranq gun. As Lucy stumbles to the ground, the salesman tells the Ghoul that he will inform Hank MacLean about his decision and leaves the room.
Personality[]
In the act of "eating" his rifle
The salesman is extremely sleazy, practicing the art of the hard sell to the most vulnerable and desperate. His relatively sophisticated style of speech is uncommon in the wasteland. Despite his jovial, foppish demeanor on the outside, it is shown that he is hiding darker, depressing emotions inside as at one point, he appears fully willing to use a weapon to commit suicide until being drawn away from it by another "sale" opportunity, on top of his stated "scientific curiosity" involving acts of indecency with chickens.
Inventory[]
- Fallout TV series
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Sleazy outfit | Pipe rifle | Elixir |
The snake oil salesman's makeshift pipe rifle
- Fallout Shelter
 | Outfit |
|---|---|
| Sleazy outfit | |
| Weapon | |
| 10mm pistol |
Notable quotes[]
- ""This is not the first time I've been persecuted for my scientific curiosity. Ah. Have a really bad day, sir. Toodles!"
- "Serums to energize. Serums to invigorate. Serums to heal your feet. Serums for pain. Foot healing serums! Serums that will make you grow an entire new foot! Maybe."
- "This elixir I have concocted heals all. And I mean everything. But I must warn you: the taste, not great."
Appearances[]
The snake oil salesman appears in the Fallout TV series, where he is portrayed by Jon Daly. He also appears in Fallout Shelter and the Fallout 2d20: NPC Pack - Hollywood Heroes downloadable expansion for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game.
| Episodes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Season 2 | ✔ |
Behind the scenes[]
- The snake oil salesman's actor, Jon Daly, also voices the GNN reporter in Fallout - A Special LIVE Report from Galaxy News. Daly also acts in character as the snake oil salesman to host the Fallout Fake Talkshow, an out of universe promotional series for the second season of the TV show.
- In April 2024, Jon Daly shared a screencap of this wiki page's infobox on his Instagram account,[Ext 1] featuring Nukapedia's frank and factual description of his character as a "chicken fucker."
- A "snake oil salesman" is the term used to describe someone who engages in deceptive marketing and/or health care fraud, synonymic to "scam artist" or "conman." The name derives from numerous 18th-century European and 19th-century American "entrepreneurs" who tried to hawk mineral water mixed with various supplements (never anything snake-related) as "snake oil liniment" allegedly able to serve as a cure-all panacea.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 2: "The Target"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "The Radio"
- ↑ Thaddeus: "I'm so stupid. I should've never trusted a doctor that smelled like that."
(Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "The Radio") - ↑ Fallout TV series, Season 2, Episode 5: "The Wrangler"
- ↑ Snake oil salesman: "How the tables turn! Thank you, Mr. Metal Man. Much obliged to you. And as for you, you stupid rube... not the first time I've been persecuted for my scientific curiosity. Ah. Have a really bad day, sir. Toodles. You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman. You should be commended."
Chicken collector: "Oh! I'm sorry, okay? Don't-don't murder me. It's just... The guy was fucking my chickens."
Maximus: "Okay. On your way, citizen."
(Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 2: "The Target") - ↑ Snake oil salesman: "Don't kill me. I'm a doctor. I can help you. Haven't run into many people traveling with a human head."
(Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "The Radio") - ↑ Thaddeus: "What's stopping me from just killing you and taking your whole thing of drugs?"
Snake oil salesman: "Well, when it comes to serums, not many people know the difference between the noxious and the benign. A murky hue of green could aid the humors. A brackish tint of shamrock, and… That's the sound of your lower intestine falling right the fuck out. But which is which?"
(Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "The Radio") - ↑ Thaddeus: "Do you know where I can find a radio tower? I have to make contact with my base."
Snake oil salesman: "Yes, I believe there's one yonward. Past the big crater in the middle of the Shithole. It's near a town that used to be called Shady Sands."
Thaddeus: "Shady Sands? That place is radioactive as hell."
Snake oil salesman: "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, do you, buddy boy? Toodles and anon."
(Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "The Radio")
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