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For other characters named Francis, see Francis. |
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Francis is the super mutant arm-wrestling champion of Broken Hills Downtown in Fallout 2.
Background[]
Wearing black leather, Francis is a powerfully built super mutant, even by mutant standards. He is Broken Hill's resident arm-wrestling champion, with a running bet that nobody can beat him.[1] Thus far, he has been proven correct every time, and the recent lack of challenges has left him bored to tears.[2] Even a power fist as a reward is not enough to encourage people to try their luck with him.[3] When he is not looking for a challenger, Francis works in the mines. In fact, it takes up a majority of his time, with the remainder spent at the tavern. He notes that it is the usual way to pass the time in Broken Hills once the day's work is done, though most prefer to drink, rather than try arm-wrestling[4] and winding up as Francis' gimp. Both humans and mutants living at Broken Hills are aware of Francis' taste for BDSM and the fact that he is an equal opportunity lover when it comes to gender, and nobody has a problem with him due to his easy-going nature.[5]
Part of that might be that, while he is a veteran of the Unity, he genuinely believes in humans and mutants coexisting and building a new future together, able to live in peace. He believes in Marcus' leadership and dream, but worries that some of the humans living in Broken Hills might find it too hard to break free of their prejudices, and anticipates a bloodletting in the future. While he passes it off as a rumor,[4] he is actively looking to protect his fellow mutants from bigots, believing them to be a tangible threat after they disabled the mine's air purifier. Considering Marcus' lack of decisive action as a weakness, he took it upon himself to eliminate the conspiracy, trying to draw Zaius into it.[6]
While Zaius did not directly help Francis, he did not report it to Marcus, letting Francis carry out his plan - believing that in doing so, he was keeping him restrained from all-out revenge.[7] Francis had little trouble gunning down nearly a dozen participants, leaving them for the giant ants to dispose of. He believed that the killings were not murder, but self-defense, protecting the mutants of Broken Hills against people wishing to do his brothers and sisters harm. He believed that in so doing, he was ensuring their deaths would serve a higher purpose, the cause of peace. Should anyone discover the truth, he is willing to accept exile as punishment for his actions, to seek a way to atone for the deaths he caused.[8] His attitude is reminiscent of the Unity's philosophy of sacrificing a few lives for the sake of the greater good. In fact, the old veteran shines through should anyone display bigotry to him directly, wishing that the bigot in question was exterminated together with their village back in the Master's days.[9]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
  |
This character is involved in quests. | |
Quests[]
- Beat Francis at armwrestling: Beat him in arm wrestling. A Strength and Endurance of at least 9 gives a good chance of winning, although the player character's Strength needs to be at least 8 and be level 6 or higher to even challenge Francis, as the mutant will simply tell them to piss off.[10] Otherwise, he will ask them to bet one night as a gimp against Francis' power fist.[11]
- Eric will offer Buffout as a reward for diverting more power to his home, noting that the problem with Francis is being stronger than him. Taking Buffout does not count as an unfair challenge.[12]
- If the Chosen One has beaten Francis at arm wrestling, apart from the rewards, Broken Hills residents will also react to the victory, remarking on their strength and toughness, and wondering if they ever wrestled a deathclaw.[13] The super mutants will likewise be incredibly impressed by the Chosen One's prowess.[14]
- Another power fist can be looted off of Francis, as the script does not remove it from his inventory.
- If the Chosen One loses at arm wrestling, they will wake up in the possession of a ball gag. All of the Broken Hills residents will also remark on the failure, noting that Francis seems particularly happy and glowing, asking if Francis hurt the Chosen One (and if they can still walk straight), and hope that losing the foolish bet was as enjoyable for them as it was for Francis.[15] Super mutants will joke more straightforwardly.[16]
- They will also be heckled by the tanker vagrants on the PMV Valdez in San Francisco, asking about how it felt to be a super mutant's partner, expressing surprise that they are still walking, and joking about internal damage from the intercourse.[17][18]
- Find the missing people for Marcus: A note on the corpses in the secret tunnel system under Broken Hills will reveal a conspiracy between Francis and the mine manager Zaius to frame the anti-mutant faction in the town, in order to get rid of them.
- If the player decides to not let Francis leave Broken Hills when confronted, all of Broken Hills will turn hostile.
Other interactions[]
- Francis will not interact with the player character if their Broken Hills town reputation is too low.
- Talking to Francis after fixing the mine's purifier and exposing Jacob's treachery will prompt Francis to buy them a beer. The beer is added to the player character's inventory.
- Insulting Francis and suggesting humans working with mutants are traitors will cause him to dismiss the Chosen One on the spot, and lower Broken Hills reputation.
Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Super mutant clothing | Power fist | Iguana-on-a-stick Beer $20 |
Appearances[]
Francis appears in Fallout 2 and is mentioned in the Fallout Bible.
Behind the scenes[]
- According to HCFRANCI.SSL, Francis would originally appear in his room together with the Chosen One. The comment "NEED TO GIVE FRANCIS A SCHEDULE...CURRENTLY HE STAYS IN HIS ROOM AFTER THE GIMP SCENARIO." suggests that was removed together with most NPC schedules in the game.[19]
- Judging by the punks' remarks, Francis was at some point supposed to be present on the PMV Valdez, rather than at Broken Hills.[17][18]
References[]
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{106}{}{Hey, buddy. Who are you?}"
Francis: "{110}{}{I'm Francis. I'm the arm-wrestling champ of this town. I've got a running bet that no one can beat me.}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Francis' character description: "{100}{}{You see a powerfully-built super mutant. He looks bored.}"
"{101}{}{You see Francis, the mutant arm wrestler.}"
"{102}{}{You see a powerfully built super-mutant. He is clad in black leather, and boredom is written across his face.}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Francis' character description: "{301}{}{You see a powerfully-built super-mutant. He is clad in black leather, and boredom is written across his face. He seems to have a massive gauntlet of some sort poking out of his pouch.}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Chosen One: "{107}{}{What's there to do in this place?}"
Francis: "{116}{}{What's to do in town? Well, let's see… there's the saloon, the mines, the refinery, and the caravan. We haven't got much time for fun here, and what we do have, we generally devote to drinking. Also, we work on human/mutant relations.}"
The Chosen One: "{119}{}{Human/mutant relations? What do you mean?}"
Francis: "{154}{}{You may've noticed that we got both mutants and humans in the city. We're trying to work it so that we all live in peace. Unfortunately, there are some who want to destroy that. Our leader, Marcus, helped found the city. Do you want to hear more?}"
The Chosen One: "{155}{}{Yeah, tell me more.}"
Francis: "{158}{}{Sometimes I worry about the people here... it's too hard for some of them to get past their fear. Word has it there's a shit storm coming down the pike - but that might just be rumor.}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Beat Francis at armwrestling reactivity.
- ↑ Note from Francis
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{400}{}{I've got a note with your name on it. Found it on a dead woman in the tunnels. Would you care to comment?}"
Zaius: "{401}{}{Hey, I just received the note. Go talk to Francis about it, all right? He's the one who wrote it.}"
The Chosen One: "{402}{}{If you had a hand in killing those people, I want to know about it.}"
Zaius: "{404}{}{No! We're just protecting ourselves from the conspiracy. Marcus believes in law and evidence, and even though he knows these people are dangerous, he doesn't know who they are- and he's too honorable to plant evidence. My part is keeping Francis restrained from all-out revenge.}"
The Chosen One: "{405}{}{Sounds too tidy. I'm going to check this out with Francis.}"
Zaius: "{406}{}{I knew Francis couldn't handle exposure. He knew the risks of what he did, but I guess he didn't figure on ever being caught. He'll be all right eventually. I hope the same will be true of Broken Hills.}"
(Zaius' dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{599}{}{I found a note in the tunnels with the names Francis and Zaius on it. Looks like you've been committing some crimes.}"
Francis: "{600}{}{Damn it. Zaius left notes lying out again, eh? Well, human, let me tell you this: I knew there are people trying to kill mutants in this town, and I knew that Marcus would only arrest them with evidence. I just wanted to make it happen with as little bloodshed as possible.}"
The Chosen One: "{601}{}{So you killed innocents, huh?}"
Francis: "{603}{}{Innocents? Ha! The people I killed were trying to kill ME! I just returned the favor and made sure their deaths served another purpose - one that might further the cause of peace.}"
The Chosen One: "{604}{}{But this way you're still nothing more than a criminal and a murderer - and I only have your word that there's a conspiracy.}"
Francis: "{606}{}{If you talked to some of the people in town about your hatred of mutants, you'd find out about the conspiracy. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but I call it self-defense. I did something wrong, and I admit it. I can't stay here. I'll set out to find a way to atone for my actions... That satisfy your sense of justice?}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Francis: "{157}{}{Frankly, I think you mutants are scum and these humans are traitors for working with you.}"
Francis: "{162}{}{Really? That's a fascinating attitude. Too bad we didn't crush your village when we controlled the wasteland. Get out of my sight, worm.}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Francis: "{124}{}{[he sizes you up and gauges your musculature] I don't think so, pal. It'd just be a waste of my time. Piss off.}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Francis: "{125}{}{You think you can take me, eh? All right. You win, you get this power fist. I win, and you're my gimp for a night. Do you want to do it now, or would you like to take some time to rest up?}"
(Francis' dialogue) - ↑ Eric: "{166}{}{Francis the mutant has a power fist. He keeps betting it in arm-wrestling contests. The problem is being stronger than him. If you're interested, I can give you some pills that should give you the edge over him.}"
The Chosen One: "{167}{}{Sure thing.}"
Eric: "{170}{}{These pills are called buffouts. They'll increase your strength, but your mind will suffer for a little bit. Don't take too many or you might get hooked. Good luck with the fist!}"
(Eric's dialogue) - ↑ Broken Hills townsperson: "{181}{}{Wow… I never knew anyone strong enough to beat Francis.}"
"{182}{}{You’re so strong!}"
"{183}{}{You’re real tough, huh?}"
"{185}{}{Have you ever wrestled a deathclaw?}"
"{186}{}{Are you as smart as you are strong?}"
(hcFEMALE.msg and hcMALE.msg) - ↑ Old mutant: "{162}{}{Francis is impressed. So am I.}"
"{163}{}{How can a human beat a mutant arm-wrestling? Did you cheat?}"
"{164}{}{So how are you going to use your new prize?}"
"{165}{}{Strong. Very strong.}"
(Old mutants' dialogue) - ↑ Broken Hills townsperson: "{187}{}{Francis sure seems happy lately.}"
"{188}{}{Francis has quite a glow. Did he get laid?}"
"{189}{}{Hey there, gimp!}"
"{190}{}{Still walking straight?}"
"{191}{}{Did Francis hurt you?}"
"{192}{}{You got a little stain, there.}"
"{193}{}{How could you be stupid enough to wrestle Francis for those odds?}"
"{194}{}{I hope you enjoyed it as much as Francis did.}"
(hcFEMALE.msg and hcMALE.msg) - ↑ Old mutant: "{166}{}{Once you’ve known a mutie, you never go back.}"
"{167}{}{I hear you were nice and- yeah... for Francis.}"
"{168}{}{I’m surprised you’re even walking.}"
"{169}{}{Heh… Francis may be old, but he’s still got it!}"
(Old mutants' dialogue) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 Punk: "{120}{}{So how was it, taking it from a mutant?}"
"{121}{}{Did that big strong mutie Francis hurt you?}"
"{122}{}{I'm surprised you can walk after what Francis did.}"
"{123}{}{I'd guess you'd still be bleeding after Francis.}"
(Female punks' dialogue) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 Punk: "{127}{}{So how was it, taking it from a mutant?}"
"{128}{}{Did that big strong mutie Francis hurt you?}"
"{129}{}{Francis play with you?}"
"{130}{}{Francis is a pretty big guy.}"
"{131}{}{Big ol' Francis, huh?}"
"{133}{}{Hey! It's the gimp!}"
(Male punks' dialogue) - ↑ HCFRANCI.SSL