In this guide we’ll show you everything there is to know about Klamath, a small town with several quests and a potential companion available.
Introduction
You can pick up your first companion in Klamath: Sulik, a very decent choice early in the game… and later after you find the Super Sledge. To get Sulik, you’ll need to complete the Rescue Smiley quest or the Rescue Torr quest, or simply pay Maida Buckner the $350 he owes her. I’d recommend coming up with the money, as the Rescue Smiley quest is fairly difficult this early in the game, and triggering the Rescue Torr quest will cost you some karma.
Also find Vic’s house on the eastern side and take (and keep) his Radio and the Pipe Rifle… not a very efficient weapon but a ranged one nonetheless.
Quests & Opportunities
Here is a list of some of the quests and other opportunities in Klamath, each with a brief synopsis containing at least one way to solve it. The remaining ways, and possibly other minor quests I will leave up to you.
Receive Training
Talk with John Sullivan in the Golden Gecko Tavern in Downtown to pick up some training in Unarmed and Melee Weapons. You’ll gain 10% for each skill, and you’ll also earn 150xp.
Also speak with Slim Picket in the Mall (aka Trapper Town). If your Outdoorsman skill is under 30% and you pass a Speech check, then you’ll be able to convince him to teach you about trapping geckos. If you fail the Speech check (and get the “farmer” response), then you can just repeat the dialogue sequence until he agrees. A Speech skill of 50% or more can get the job done.
Normally Slim will charge you $100 for his training, but if you’re at least “accepted” in Klamath, then he’ll only ask for $50 — and the script for the reduced payment is buggy, so he’ll actually give you $50 rather than take it. Slim’s training will improve your Outdoorsman skill by 2x your Intelligence score (with a minimum increase of 7).
Refuel the Still
You’ll find the Buckner House on the eastern side of the Downtown map. Inside, talk to Whiskey Bob, buy him a drink for $5, and you’ll hear about his still that hasn’t been refueled. There’s a time limit to this quest. You’ll need to complete it within one day.
To reach the still, you’ll need to exit Downtown to the south to reach the Trapping Grounds. The area will be infested with geckos. The golden ones will radiate you and hit you harder than the silver ones, so if you’re still a fairly low level or don’t yet have Sulik yet (see the Introduction above), try and avoid them and you shouldn’t have too much trouble waiting in between their patrols.
The still is in a shack in the southwestern part of the map. The door to the shack is on its eastern side, so you’ll have to run up to it to see it. On the floor in the shack, you’ll find some Firewood. Use this on the still to refuel it and earn 100xp. Then when you return to Bob, he’ll pay you $50, and you’ll no longer need to buy him a drink to talk to him. Completing the quest will also give you 10 karma.
Rescue Smiley the Trapper
In the Buckner House, talk with Ardin Buckner to find out about her missing fiance, Smiley. She’ll add the Toxic Caves to your world map, and ask that you find him. Before you leave Klamath, you’ll want to locate some Rubber Boots. You can find some during the quest Kill the Rat God, so I’d recommend you complete that first. Rats are going to be less of a problem than the geckos you face during this quest, so you might as well get some xp and hope to gain a level.
When you’re ready, leave Klamath and head to the Toxic Caves, which are located to the northwest. Make sure you have Rubber Boots in your inventory plus the inventory of any companion with you. There are three levels to the area Smiley can be found on the eastern side of the lower level. So make your way to him, killing any geckos that get in your way, and avoiding the toxic sludge on the ground as much as possible.
When you talk to Smiley, he’ll tell you how he came to be stuck in the caves, and he’ll begin following you. He’ll have Rubber Boots in his inventory, so you won’t have to worry about him taking damage from the toxic sludge. When you lead Smiley back to the cave entrance, he’ll stop following you and return to Klamath on his own. This will earn you 500xp.
Back in Klamath, you’ll find Smiley in the Buckner House. When you talk to him there, he’ll teach you how to skin geckos. This will give you the Gecko Skinning perk, which will allow you to loot a Gecko Pelt or a Golden Gecko Pelt from the geckos that you kill. Then when you talk to Ardin, she’ll thank you for your help, and she’ll allow you to choose your reward — either $100 for yourself, or the repayment of Sulik’s debt.
Guard the Brahmin
You’ll meet Torr on the eastern side of the Downtown map, near the Buckner House. He’ll tell you that “bugmen” are taking his “moo-moos” at night, and he’ll ask you for help. Accept the quest, and you’ll automatically travel to the Grazing Area east of town, where you’ll find a few brahmin being threatened by scorpions. You might also notice the Dunton brothers just to the west.
To complete Torr’s quest, you’ll just need to kill the seven scorpions in the area, ideally by drawing them to you one or two at a time. Afterwards, Torr won’t give you anything. He’ll just thank you for saving his moo-moos. To receive your reward, you’ll just need to leave the Grazing Area. When you do, you’ll earn 250xp and 50 karma.
Alternatively, you can talk to the Dunton brothers. They’ll hire you to scare Torr away so they can steal his brahmin. This is a part of the Rustle the Brahmin quest (see below). You can only complete Torr’s quest or the Duntons’ quest, not both.
If you explore the Grazing Area map, you’ll discover a shack on the southern side. Inside it, you’ll find Radscorpion Limbs, the costume the Dunton brothers have been using to pose as bugmen. Sadly, you can’t use the limbs in the quest. They’re just there for flavor.
Rustle the Brahmin
This quest is an evil alternative to the Guard the Brahmin quest (see above). To trigger it, you’ll need to talk to the Dunton brothers, either before or after accepting Torr’s quest to guard his brahmin. Before the quest, you’ll find the brothers in their house in the Downtown map. After accepting the quest, you’ll find them on the western side of the Grazing Area.
The Dunton brothers will hire you to scare off Torr (or knock him out) so they can steal his brahmin. Torr is pretty gullible, so it shouldn’t take much to make him leave. After completing the job, when you return to the brothers, you’ll receive 150xp, Meat Jerky (x5), and -70 karma.
Rescue Torr
If during the Rustle the Brahim quest (see above) you asked Torr to leave, you can now go to the Buckner House in the Downtown area and speak with Ardin. She’ll tell you that Torr is missing, and she’ll ask you to find him. She’ll speculate that he went to a canyon to the east, but you’ll actually need to exit Downtown to the northwest. That’ll take you to the Canyon map.
In the Canyon, you’ll get attacked by a robot with crippled limbs. It’ll only have melee attacks, and it won’t be able to move much, so attacking and retreating should work fine against it. When the robot dies, you’ll earn 200xp.
Past the robot, you’ll find Torr. When you talk to him, he’ll begin following you. When you lead him to the Canyon exit, you’ll earn 200xp for rescuing him. This will boost your karma by 50, partially making up for the karma you lost for tricking him.
Note: Also in the Canyon, you’ll discover a downed vertibird with a pair of dead Enclave soldiers next to it. One of the soldiers will have a Yellow Reactor Keycard. This keycard isn’t used for anything in the game.
Finally, when you return to Ardin, she’ll thank you for your help, and she’ll offer you a reward. You can ask for Sulik’s debt to be paid, or for $100 for yourself.
Kill the Rat God
Exit the Downtown map to the west and enter the Mall — aka Trapper Town. Find Slim Picket in the middle building and talk him about rats. He’ll tell you that they’ve been killing people lately, which is why the northern part of the area has been blocked off. He’ll also mention that there seems to be “some kind of rat god that tells ’em what to do.” If you ask Slim for the Trapper Town Key that will allow you access to the rats, then he should give it to you. If not, you can always barter it from him, or steal it from him, or put your Lockpicking skill to the test.
Lockers with Rubber BootsManhole to the Rat Caves
The door leading to the northern part of the Mall is located in the room just to the east of Slim. When you go through it, you’ll find a gun shop on the eastern side, and the manhole leading down to the Rat Caves on the western side. Before heading for the rats, be sure to enter the gun shop and grab the Rubber Boots from the lockers there. Just having Rubber Boots in your inventory will prevent you from taking damage from the green toxic slime puddles that you’ll sometimes find on the ground.
On the first level of the Rat Caves, you’ll encounter lots of regular rats, and you’ll find some basic weapons on the ground, including a Crowbar and a Sledgehammer. On the second level, you’ll encounter more regular rats, plus tough pig rats. Regular rats shouldn’t be any problem for you, but you might need to attack-and-retreat against the pig rats to avoid taking a lot of damage from them. On the eastern side of the level, you’ll find a dead trapper with a 10mm Pistol — seriously good news if you’ve been playing a ranged character and you’ve been stuck with melee weapons and a Pipe Rifle.
You’ll find the rat god in the southeastern corner of the second level. He’ll attack you on sight, and he has a long visual range, so be prepared. The rat god is tough; he has 60 hit points and enough AP to attack you twice per round. So if you haven’t recruited Sulik yet, it’s a good idea to get him first. When the rat god dies, you’ll earn 220xp for killing him, plus 300 xp for completing the quest, plus 50 karma for helping Trapper Town. You’ll also find a Combat Knife in his lair. But if you return to Slim Picket, he won’t give you anything. He’ll just comment that there are fewer rats around.
Before leaving the Rat Caves, be sure to climb up the ladder in the northeastern corner of the second level. It will take you to the third level, where you’ll encounter more pig rats plus mole rats. But you’ll also find some Stimpaks (in a locker on the southern side), a Tool (next to a dead repair bot on the eastern side), and a locked door (on the northern side). The door has a tough lock. If you can’t pick it, then use the Dynamite in the shelf next to it to blow it up. Past the door, you’ll discover a ladder leading up to an isolated part of the Mall map, where you’ll find the remains of a Chrysalis Motors HIghwayman, complete with a Fuel Cell Regulator. The regulator will come in handy when you eventually gain access to a car.
