Caravan

You can join a caravan as a guard and earn caps and xp by protecting it from wasteland threats. There is a Caravan coordinator in Hub that knows where certain caravans go, where they are now and where they are currently headed. To join a caravan as a guard, talk with the Caravan Master NPC (guy with Combat Armor and 250 hp) when he is in town. You need to be at least level 9 to join a caravan, but most of these get pretty rough so it is advised to be more fully leveled first. Bring plenty of ammo, a backup weapon, combat drugs, and Super Stimpaks.

Note: It is also advised to avoid bringing your Companion followers on caravans, or at least to avoid arming them with burst weapons since they are a bit reckless in combat.

Caravans are a popular way to level up, because the amount of rewarded XP scales up as you level. So the higher level you are, the more XP you get when you successfully guard a caravan to its intended destination. The rewards are also scaled based on the journey (they range from 1000 to 4000 caps).

While employed guarding a caravan, you can encounter exclusive Caravan Encounters which are tougher than ordinary encounters.

If you fail and your caravan job status gets broken, you can pay 2500 caps to reset it.

Note: Be aware that some of the encounters will have semi-hostile NPCs. These are the ones that yell at players if they see any weapons armed in Slot 1. You have only a few moments to put your weapon away (or move it to Slot 2) before they go hostile and attack you. When this happens, do not expect your caravan NPCs to help you.

File:Caravan coordinator.JPG

Caravan coordinator in Hub

Caravans

• Crimson Caravan: Hub<->Shady Sands<->Broken Hills<->Vault City<->New Reno
• Far Go Traders: Hub<->San Francisco<->Redding<->Modoc<->Vault City<->New Reno
• Van Graffs: Klamath<->Den<->Redding
• Stockman's Association: Redding<->New Reno<->Shady Sands<->Junktown<->Hub
• Goods'n'Go: Gecko<->Broken Hills<->New Reno<->Shady Sands
• Hang Transportation: Hub<->New Adytum<->San Francisco
• Gun Runners: Gun Runners<->Hub<->Shady Sands

Joining

To join a caravan, go to Hub or one of the other towns where caravans go. Talk with one of the Caravan Leaders (guys standing there sometimes in Combat Armor) to see where they are going next, and join his caravan run. If you're at Hub and you don't see a Caravan leader there, check with the Caravan Master to get information about where the caravans are now, and where they're headed. To get paid, you can only join a caravan between runs, in a town.

Once you join a caravan, you'll be in a caravan party led by an NPC. You'll have to wait a short while for the caravan to depart, during which time other players can also join it. The fewer players join your caravan, the more NPC guards will be assigned to it when it departs, but their number is capped at 4 plus the leader. If enough player characters join the caravan, no NPC guards will be assigned to it other than the leader.

Fights

Caravans get into encounters, most of which require fighting hostiles. The fight must end before the caravan can continue, and the NPC leader must survive the fight. If he dies, guarding the caravan fails and you cannot get paid for that run. It's wise to carry some Super Stimpaks along to keep him healed. The caravan NPCs do not carry any stims, but they do all have unlimited ammo. They sometimes suffer injuries that diminish their ability to fight effectively, so it's ideal to have some decent Doctor skill too.

Once a caravan fight ends well, the NPC leader will announce they'll be on their way again soon. You have a few moments to reload, heal up, doctor someone, do some looting, etc before the caravan party is back on the worldmap heading again to its intended destination.

Caravan encounters

Under certain conditions, you can encounter an exclusive type of random encounter. Either while you're employed to guard a Caravan, or anytime you're traveling as an independent group of 3 or more. You must be Level 9 or higher to find these Caravan Encounters:

• Mad Warriors
• Dead Walkers
• Rebeliants
• Melchior's Pets
• Cultists of Colt
• Followers of Rat God
• Bots Patrol

Master's Elite Crew

Master's Elite Crew A typical encounter with the Master's Elite Crew might involve these: File:Mamtntaa sw.gif File:Malieuaa sw.gif File:Mamtntaa sw.gif File:Mamtnaa sw.gif File:Mamtnaa sw.gif File:Mamtntaa sw.gif Critter Supermutant Leader Tough Supermutant Nightkin Tough Nightkin Supermutant Hit Points 261 362 261 292 285 261 Weapon Rocket Launcher Avenger Minigun M60 Laser Rifle Plasma Rifle M60 XP 450 700 500 500 550 450 Note Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous This group is one of the more difficult Caravan Encounters that can be found on some caravan runs, mostly in the desert. It can also be encountered on independent player runs with three or more players traveling together, over level 9. NOTE: As with all group encounters, the number of hostiles varies and is not limited to what is shown here. It scales to the party size of the players or caravan.

Renegades

Renegades A typical encounter with Renegades might involve these: File:H5XI5s6.gif File:Mk2ca-3.gif File:Mk2ca-3.gif Critter Bald Renegade Tough Male Renegade Female Renegade Female Renegade Tough Male Renegade Tough Male Renegade Hit Points 265 250 201 243 250 250 Weapon H&K CAWS Laser Rifle Incinerator Light Support Weapon Rocket Launcher Laser Rifle XP 500 350 450 450 350 350 Note Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Very dangerous Renegades are good source of Combat Armor Mark II sets and Super Stimpaks. This group is one of the more difficult Caravan Encounters that can be found on some caravan runs. It can also be encountered on independent player runs with three or more players traveling together, over level 9. NOTE: As with all group encounters, the number of hostiles varies and is not limited to what is shown here. It scales to the party size of the players or caravan.