The snake oil salesman is a mercantile denizen of the surrounding area of Los Angeles in New California in 2296. While putting forth genteel affectations, he hawks seemingly "miraculous" cures and elixirs including a potent one believed to induce ghoulification, 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 (likely mutations), 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, able to start hawking his wares at a moment's notice. Most of the salesman's stock seems to be home-brewed drugs or chemicals of uncertain provenance, 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 serum that alters a human's biology, granting a regenerative factor that can restore a severely mangled foot to full function in seconds; it is believed, however, that this is the result of the serum inducing ghoulification rather than any ability of the concoction itself.[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 have intimate dalliances with the poultry.[1]
Fallout TV series[]
"The Target"[]
Rescued from his attacker by "Knight Titus"
Sometime after Knight Titus' death from a yao guai attack in the Wilds, 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."[3] 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 Jim's Limbs-brand prosthetic that replaced the leg 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 when the latter betrayed him. Despite initial hostilities, the salesman is able to convince Thaddeus that he is a doctor and can give him help with healing his foot.[2]
After bringing the squire to his "clinic" (official or not), Thaddeus attempts to threaten him with his pistol, floating the idea of simply stealing his medicine; the salesman slyly counters that only he can tell which of the various drugs - and poisons - of his medicine stock are which. 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 rummages around his cabinet of concoctions before eventually completing an "elixir" that he gives to Thaddeus. Upon imbibing 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 "doesn't have to worry about radiation anymore," before slipping out of the clinic and disappearing into the desert.[2]
Later, after Thaddeus is mortally wounded by a crossbow trap at the KPSS radio station, he discovers that he was given an enhanced regenerative ability that keeps him alive, something that Maximus attributes to the soldier's having become a ghoul, implicitly as a result of the salesman's serum (though this has yet to be confirmed).[2]
Personality[]
In the act of "eating" his rifle
Described as "a real piece of work," the salesman is extremely sleazy, practicing the art of the hard sell to the most vulnerable and desperate. He is apparently thoroughly educated, or at least has a rich education, allowing him to speak at a level incomprehensible to most. Despite his jovial, foppish demeanor on the outside, it is shown that he may be 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" towards acts of indecency with poultry.
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 episodes "The Target" and "The Radio."
He also appears in Fallout Shelter and the Fallout 2d20: NPC Pack - Hollywood Heroes downloadable expansion for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game.
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.
- In April 2024, Jon Daly shared a screencap of this wiki page's infobox on his Instagram account,[Non-game 1] featuring Nukapedia's frank and factual description of his character as a "chicken fucker."
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 2: "The Target"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "The Radio"
- ↑ 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")
Non-game
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