Bramble Kane, “The Pelt”
Real Name: Bramble Kane
Wasteland Name: The Pelt
Other Nicknames: Hairball, Brushback, Big Bramble, The Walking Hide
Age: 44
Height: 6'4"
Build: Heavyset, broad, deceptively athletic
Species: Human
Occupation: Tracker, close-quarters specialist, occasional caravan guard, bounty retriever
Primary Combat Style: Tactical hand-to-hand combat
Temperament: Quiet, observant, suspicious, surprisingly patient
Distinctive Trait: Bramble is covered in an extraordinary amount of coarse body hair from his shoulders down his arms, back, chest, stomach, and legs. Combined with his enormous beard and thick head of hair, people sometimes mistake him for a strange mutant when they first see him moving through the brush.
The Man Underneath the Hair
Bramble Kane looks like something the wasteland grew instead of something that was born.
At six-foot-four, he is tall enough to intimidate most people before they notice how wide he is. He has a thick stomach, heavy shoulders, enormous forearms, and a body that looks soft in some places until he starts moving.
Then the illusion disappears.
Bramble can move.
Not like a sprinter.
Not like a martial arts performer.
He moves like a man who knows exactly how much distance he needs to hurt somebody.
One step.
One angle.
One grab.
One mistake.
That's usually enough.
His entire body is covered in unusually dense hair. His shoulders look almost furred. Hair crawls down his arms into the backs of his hands. His chest and stomach disappear beneath a tangled layer that makes his already enormous frame look even larger.
His beard is so thick that small pieces of grass, wire, bottle caps, feathers, and scraps of cloth occasionally become caught inside it.
Bramble usually doesn't notice.
Or care.
He smells strongly of sweat, smoke, wet leather, animal fat, dirt, and whatever plants he has rubbed onto himself to keep insects away.
People call him musky when they are being polite.
His reputation has produced much less polite descriptions.
Some settlements tell children that Bramble is half man and half yao guai.
Bramble finds that rumor useful.
He has never corrected it.
The Pelt
The nickname began with raiders.
Years ago, a raider scout spotted Bramble lying motionless along a wooded ridge. The scout reported seeing a massive animal hide stretched across some rocks.
The "hide" stood up.
Three raiders disappeared that night.
The surviving raider returned to his gang screaming:
"The damn pelt got up!"
The name spread.
Eventually, people stopped calling him Bramble.
They simply called him The Pelt.
He Doesn't Fight Like a Beast
That is Bramble's greatest deception.
Looking at him, most enemies assume he is a wild brawler.
They expect charging.
Haymakers.
Headbutts.
Uncontrolled rage.
Bramble deliberately encourages that assumption.
Then he fights completely differently.
Bramble is one of the most technically disciplined hand-to-hand fighters wandering the wasteland.
He studies people's feet.
Their shoulders.
Their breathing.
Which hand reaches toward a weapon.
Which knee is injured.
Whether their armor bends properly at the waist.
Whether their belt has something he can grab.
Whether their helmet blocks peripheral vision.
Whether the ground behind them is loose gravel, concrete, mud, broken glass, or open air.
Bramble rarely throws the first punch.
He wants the opponent to commit first.
Then he gets inside.
Bramble's Fighting System
Bramble calls his fighting philosophy "Closing the Door."
According to him:
"A gun needs room. A knife needs room. A fist needs less."
His goal is to remove space from a fight.
Against gunmen, he attacks the weapon arm.
Against knife fighters, he controls the wrist and elbow.
Against larger opponents, he attacks balance.
Against armored opponents, he attacks joints and exposed seams.
Against fast opponents, he crowds them.
Against multiple enemies, he positions them so they interfere with each other.
His attacks include:
forearm frames
wrist controls
shoulder bumps
trips
ankle hooks
knee strikes
body locks
elbow strikes
palm strikes
clinch fighting
short uppercuts
collar ties
standing chokes
wall pins
weapon disarms
leg sweeps
head positioning
environmental takedowns
He is particularly dangerous around walls, furniture, vehicles, doorframes, railings, rocks, and narrow hallways.
To Bramble, the environment is another weapon.
The Strange Way He Learned to Fight
Bramble wasn't trained by one legendary martial artist.
His knowledge came from dozens of people.
His father taught him wrestling.
A caravan guard taught him dirty boxing.
A former NCR soldier showed him rifle-disarm techniques.
A pit fighter taught him how to protect himself against stronger opponents.
An elderly woman living inside an abandoned recreation center taught him judo-style throws she remembered learning before the war from instructional recordings.
A ghoul named Master Herrick taught him something far more important:
Patience.
Herrick had spent decades studying surviving military training manuals, police defensive-tactics material, boxing footage, wrestling recordings, and hand-to-hand combat holotapes.
Bramble became his student.
Herrick taught him that wasteland combat wasn't about beautiful technique.
It was about solving a problem.
Bramble never forgot it.
Why He Avoids Guns
Bramble knows how to shoot.
He simply dislikes relying on firearms.
His reasoning is practical.
A gun needs ammunition.
A gun jams.
A gun makes noise.
A gun can be taken away.
A gun tells everyone nearby where you are.
Bramble usually carries a compact firearm somewhere on his equipment, but it is a last resort.
His preferred weapons are his hands, reinforced gloves, a short utility blade, rope, and whatever happens to be nearby.
He once killed a raider using a cafeteria tray.
Another time he defeated two mercenaries using a folding chair without breaking the chair.
He later took the chair home.
He still owns it.
Origin
Bramble grew up in a tiny woodland community called Mossback, built around the remains of a pre-war wildlife rehabilitation center.
The people of Mossback survived by trapping, scavenging, tanning hides, cultivating medicinal plants, and avoiding the larger factions whenever possible.
Bramble was unusually hairy even as a child.
By adolescence, the condition had become impossible to ignore.
Other children teased him.
Adults whispered about mutation.
Traveling merchants sometimes stared.
One wandering preacher claimed Bramble's appearance was proof that radiation was "returning mankind to the animals."
Bramble's mother responded by hitting the preacher with a soup ladle.
Bramble remembered that.
Not because he was embarrassed.
Because it was the first time he understood something important:
People will invent explanations for whatever frightens them.
The Burning of Mossback
Bramble's life changed when Mossback was attacked by a group called The Clippers.
The Clippers were raiders who believed human beings were becoming weak because settlements made people comfortable.
They targeted isolated communities, destroying food stores and forcing survivors into the wilderness.
Their leader, Calvin Shear, became fascinated with Bramble.
Shear called him:
"Proof that civilization is temporary."
He wanted Bramble alive.
Mossback burned.
Bramble survived.
Many others did not.
For three years, he followed the Clippers.
Not recklessly.
Methodically.
He studied their patrol routes.
Food supplies.
Safe houses.
Favorite roads.
Passwords.
Camp layouts.
He sabotaged bridges.
Released captured animals.
Contaminated fuel.
Moved warning signs.
Cut communication lines.
Stole ammunition.
Freed prisoners.
He would occasionally enter a camp and beat one person unconscious without killing anyone else.
Then disappear.
The Clippers became terrified of the woods.
Raiders started shooting at bushes.
Some refused to patrol alone.
Others began claiming that Bramble could smell fear.
Eventually, Calvin Shear abandoned three entire territories because his men refused to enter them.
The Final Encounter
When Bramble finally found Shear, he did something unexpected.
He didn't kill him.
Bramble broke into Shear's camp, disarmed him, defeated him in hand-to-hand combat, tied him to a chair, and dragged him nearly twenty miles to a settlement where several survivors of the Clippers' attacks lived.
Bramble told them:
"He's yours."
Then he walked away.
Nobody knows exactly what happened afterward.
Bramble never asked.
Why Settlements Sometimes Fear Him
Bramble has a strange relationship with civilization.
He likes people.
He just doesn't always like being around them.
Settlers sometimes stare.
Children follow him.
Dogs bark at him.
Guards watch him closely.
And Bramble's smell can clear half a tavern.
He has learned not to take offense.
Usually.
When entering a settlement for the first time, Bramble frequently stops outside the gate.
He waits.
If guards invite him inside, he enters.
If they look nervous, he conducts business outside.
If someone insults his appearance, he normally ignores it.
If someone threatens him, Bramble gives them one warning.
Just one.
Surprisingly Gentle Traits
Despite his terrifying appearance, Bramble has an unusual gentleness toward animals.
Dogs almost always warm up to him eventually.
Mongrels are strangely reluctant to attack him unless starving or provoked.
He knows how to calm brahmin.
He can identify several creatures from tracks alone.
He also keeps small pieces of dried fruit in his pouches for settlement children.
Bramble pretends he doesn't.
Children know better.
Companion Introduction
The player first encounters Bramble during the side quest:
Something in the Brush
A settlement has experienced several strange incidents.
Food thieves disappear.
Raiders are found unconscious.
Tripwires appear around vulnerable approaches.
Someone keeps repairing holes in the settlement's perimeter fence.
Nobody knows who is doing it.
At night, settlers report hearing heavy breathing outside the walls.
Others claim they've seen a massive hairy creature watching from the trees.
The settlement leader believes a mutant is stalking them.
The player is hired to investigate.
Tracks lead deep into nearby woodland.
Eventually the player finds Bramble.
He has actually been protecting the settlement for nearly two weeks.
A raider reconnaissance group has been preparing an attack.
Bramble discovered them first.
But instead of entering the settlement and frightening everyone, he quietly began strengthening their defenses.
The settlers thought their mysterious protector was the threat.
Quest Choice
When the player returns to the settlement, several outcomes become possible.
Reveal Bramble
The player explains that Bramble has been protecting them.
Some settlers remain suspicious.
Others are grateful.
Eventually Bramble reluctantly enters the settlement.
Hide His Identity
The player tells the settlers that the creature has disappeared.
Bramble continues protecting the settlement from outside.
Small improvements begin mysteriously appearing around town afterward.
Turn Against Him
The player can falsely accuse Bramble of being dangerous.
This causes the settlement guards to hunt him.
Bramble doesn't immediately retaliate.
He leaves.
Much later, the player may discover the consequences.
Without Bramble secretly patrolling the region, raider activity dramatically increases.
Companion Ability: Closing the Door
When Bramble becomes a companion, enemies fighting at extremely close range suffer combat disadvantages.
Bramble attempts to:
knock firearms off-line,
force enemies into walls,
interrupt melee windups,
grab opponents attempting to reload,
trip rushing enemies,
protect the player from flankers,
and physically control chokepoints.
Instead of simply increasing his damage numbers, his companion AI changes enemy positioning.
He makes the battlefield smaller.
Unique Perk: Inside Their Reach
After earning maximum affinity with Bramble, the player unlocks:
Inside Their Reach
When fighting within close range of an armed enemy:
enemy firearm accuracy decreases,
weapon draw speed decreases,
melee counters become more effective,
successful blocks can create takedown opportunities,
and enemies near walls or obstacles become easier to stagger.
The perk rewards players for deliberately closing distance.
Dynamic Combat Behavior
Bramble shouldn't fight using a conventional Fallout companion animation package.
His AI constantly searches for environmental advantages.
If an enemy stands beside a wall, he tries to drive them into it.
If someone is standing near stairs, he attacks their balance.
If an enemy reloads nearby, he rushes.
If someone swings a heavy weapon, he tries to step inside the attack.
If two enemies approach simultaneously, he attempts to reposition so one obstructs the other.
Against Super Mutants, he avoids prolonged strength contests.
Against feral ghouls, he uses pushes and directional control.
Against robots, he targets exposed joints, sensors, and unstable components.
Against power armor, he becomes extremely cautious.
He knows punching steel is stupid.
Instead, he attacks mobility.
His Smell Becomes Gameplay
Bramble's musk isn't merely a joke.
It becomes part of his character system.
Certain creatures detect him more easily.
Others may become confused by his scent because he uses animal fats, crushed plants, mud, smoke, and other substances to disguise his human odor.
His scent can occasionally affect dialogue.
A wealthy NPC might complain:
"Good God. What crawled into your coat and died?"
Bramble:
"Nothing."
Pause.
"Recently."
Another NPC might tell him to bathe.
Bramble responds:
"I did."
Player:
"When?"
Bramble:
"Rained Tuesday."
Settlement Behavior
If assigned to a settlement, Bramble creates a unique facility:
The Close House
It looks like a crude training shed filled with:
hanging sacks,
padded posts,
grappling dummies,
tires,
ropes,
wooden practice weapons,
reinforced walls,
balance beams,
and battered pre-war training equipment.
Settlers assigned to the Close House become better at defending themselves when enemies breach the perimeter.
Instead of settlement defenses relying entirely on turrets and firearms, residents develop emergency hand-to-hand skills.
During an attack, settlers may:
disarm raiders,
shove enemies away from children,
drag injured settlers into cover,
fight inside buildings,
defend narrow passages,
or restrain captured attackers.
Bramble's Philosophy
Bramble doesn't romanticize violence.
He thinks people who enjoy hurting others are dangerous.
He considers hand-to-hand combat another survival skill.
Like fixing a generator.
Purifying water.
Tracking animals.
Or setting a broken finger.
His philosophy is simple:
"Winning ain't beating somebody worse."
"Winning is deciding what they don't get to do anymore."
Can't let them shoot?
Control the gun.
Can't let them run?
Control the legs.
Can't let them reach someone?
Control the space.
Can't win?
Leave.
Bramble considers escaping a losing fight one of the most advanced combat techniques anyone can learn.
Personality
Bramble speaks slowly.
Not because he is unintelligent.
Because he thinks before answering.
He dislikes loud people.
He dislikes bullies more.
He has almost no interest in showing how tough he is.
People attempting to intimidate him usually receive a blank stare.
He is unexpectedly funny because his humor is extremely dry.
Player:
"Do people always stare at you?"
Bramble:
"No."
Player:
"Really?"
Bramble:
"Sometimes they point."
One Thing That Actually Angers Him
Cutting his hair without permission.
Raiders once attempted to shave him while he was unconscious.
It is one of the few stories that genuinely makes Bramble angry.
He doesn't care whether someone thinks his hair makes him ugly.
But the hair belongs to him.
That distinction matters deeply.
Because Bramble spent much of his childhood listening to people debate whether his appearance made him less human.
He refuses to let anyone decide what parts of him need to be removed so that other people can feel comfortable.
His Long-Term Story
Bramble's companion storyline eventually reveals that survivors from Mossback may still be alive.
Years earlier, Bramble assumed almost everyone had died.
New evidence suggests otherwise.
Some survivors created another settlement.
But they don't remember Bramble as a protector.
They remember a frightened young man who disappeared while Mossback burned.
That destroys him.
For years, Bramble has told himself that hunting the Clippers was justice.
Now he must confront another possibility.
Maybe it was easier to spend years stalking raiders than to search for the people he believed he failed.
His final companion quest becomes less about defeating another villain and more about Bramble finally returning to the people he left behind.
The player can influence whether he:
stays a wandering protector,
rebuilds Mossback,
becomes a settlement combat instructor,
or
creates a network of wilderness scouts who quietly protect isolated communities.
Wasteland Legend
Eventually travelers begin telling stories.
There's something enormous walking between settlements.
People find dead raiders along old highways.
Missing caravan guards occasionally return home.
Unexplained defensive traps appear near small communities.
Someone keeps leaving bundles of medicinal plants outside settlements suffering from disease.
Nobody sees who does it.
But sometimes, late at night, guards hear heavy footsteps beyond the lights.
A silhouette stands between the trees.
Six-foot-four.
Broad.
Covered in hair.
Watching the road.
A frightened recruit asks:
"Should we shoot?"
The veteran guard lowers the recruit's rifle.
"Absolutely not."
"That's The Pelt."
And somewhere outside the settlement, Bramble Kane turns around and disappears back into the wasteland.
.jfif)
No comments:
Post a Comment