Joshua Graham, also known as the Burned Man and formerly known as the Malpais Legate, is a Mormon missionary from the settlement of New Canaan and a co-founder of Caesar's Legion as well as its first legate. After three decades of service in the Legion, helping Caesar carry out his conquest of the former state of Arizona and much of the former American Southwest, Graham's strategic loss in 2277 to the New California Republic at the First Battle of Hoover Dam resulted in Caesar punishing him by being set on fire and thrown into the Grand Canyon, only to survive. When Caesar retaliated by sending the White Legs raiders to raze New Canaan and chase the survivors into Zion Canyon in 2281, Graham rallied the Dead Horses tribe as their war-chief to protect Zion and atone for his bloodstained past.

He appears as the central character in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts and is mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas and its add-on Lonesome Road.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Early life 1.2 The Malpais Legate 1.3 Prodigal son of Canaan 1.4 The war for Zion 2 Personality 2.1 Philosophy 3 Interactions with the player character 3.1 Honest Hearts 3.1.1 Interactions overview 3.1.2 Effects of player's actions 3.1.3 Other interactions 3.1.4 Companion 3.1.5 Endings 4 Inventory 5 Notes 6 Notable quotes 7 Appearances 8 Behind the scenes 8.1 Character background 8.2 Cultural references 8.3 Development and voiceover 8.4 Developer quotes 9 Gallery 9.1 Fallout: New Vegas 9.2 Fallout: Wasteland Warfare 10 References Quick Answers fandom logo What are some notable quotes from Joshua Graham?toggle section What is the story behind Joshua Graham's execution and survival?toggle section Can you kill Joshua Graham in the game?toggle section Background Early life Born in New Canaan, a Mormon community established in what remained of the city of Ogden, Utah, Joshua Graham grew up in peaceful times, learning the trade of a missionary and an interpreter due to his natural aptitude for languages. In 2246, Graham received the call to partake in his sacred service to spread the good word to the people of the wasteland. By the time he left his home, he was already fluent in several tribal dialects. His aptitude for linguistics made him a natural choice when the Followers of the Apocalypse asked for assistance in their expedition to the Grand Canyon. Graham departed New Canaan, following the Long 15 and US Route 89 south towards Arizona to meet two Followers, Bill Calhoun and Edward Sallow on the way, joining their expedition to provide assistance to the local tribes residing in and around the Grand Canyon, and to make a study of their dialects, with Graham providing translations between both groups.[2]

Around 2247, the Blackfoot tribe were their first stop in the Grand Canyon. Though Joshua proved to be a capable interpreter, the hospitality of their hosts was abruptly replaced with hostility. Whether it was an error in translation that Joshua made, or some unrelated misunderstanding, the Blackfoots switched to holding the entire expedition for ransom.[1][3] In the midst of their captivity, the group learned that the Blackfoots were at war with seven other tribes in the Grand Canyon, and they were on the losing end. Against Calhoun's objections, Sallow decided to take charge of the situation, using his knowledge of history and warfare to teach the tribes how to care for their weapons, make explosives, and learn other tenets of war, with Graham continuing to serve as an interpreter. Graham was indispensable to Sallow's plan to turn the disorganized tribe into a capable fighting force, trained in small unit tactics, weapon use and maintenance, and the manufacture of arms and weapons.[4]

The Malpais Legate The Legate rallies his legionaries The Legate rallies his legionaries

With his teachings and Graham's skills, the Blackfoots prevailed over the other tribes and hailed Sallow as their leader. Graham became a field commander, training the forces of the fledgling army and leading them in battle. His leadership position soon entailed retaliatory raids and terrorizing local tribes. When Sallow cast off his old name and crowned himself Caesar, lord of the Legion, Graham became the first legate, the 'Malpais Legate'.[5][6] For thirty years he helped Caesar conquer the tribes residing in the former American Southwest, taking over large swaths of the former states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, strengthening the Legion with every tribe assimilated. Though Graham admits that he was neither a particularly brilliant strategist nor tactically flexible, his menace and brutality as the Malpais Legate were infamous. The atrocities he committed under Caesar's banner made him feared by friend and foe alike. A dangerous, unpredictable, destructive force above all else, Graham was legendary for being impossible to kill, surviving multiple assassination attempts by First Recon sharpshooters and NCR Rangers.

Despite his infamous reputation, there comes an end to everything eventually. For the Malpais Legate, his end came at the First Battle of Hoover Dam.[7] Caesar's obsession with uniting the wasteland under the banner of his Legion reached its zenith, when he was told by a frumentarius of the existence of the Hoover Dam in Nevada, as well as the flag being flown over it - the two-headed bear of the New California Republic. Around 2277, after a series of skirmishes east of the Colorado, Caesar's united army of 68 tribes[8] attacked the dam, directly clashing against the NCR Army forces. With the nigh-unkillable Malpais Legate leading his legionaires in battle,[9] Caesar saw no reason to fear losing. However, Graham underestimated the enemy while overestimating his own skill as a commander. Against the NCR, he deployed his legionaries in the usual fashion, treating the battle against the Republic like the conquests of the tribes of the east. The Rangers' leader, Chief Hanlon, anticipated this move and accurately predicted Graham's battle strategy, concocting a plan to draw the legionaries into a trap.[10] As General Lee Oliver's soldiers held the Legion's front line at bay, Rangers and First Recon sharpshooters targeted their veteran commanders, sowing chaos among the Legion ranks. When the legate ordered his elite forces to punch through the enemy's defensive line, the sharpshooters made a tactical retreat into Boulder City. Elements of the Army and Rangers kept the Legion engaged long enough to allow the most experienced legionaries to enter the city. When they did, the Republic's forces pulled out as quickly as they could (soldiers and Rangers trapped behind Legion lines had to be abandoned), and then triggered a massive array of explosives packed into the buildings in advance. The exploding buildings acted as giant fragmentation bombs, killing and maiming most of the legionaries and leaving the rest in a state of shock. The Army and Rangers followed the detonation with a counterattack on the Legion's forces, decimating all of those still on the western side of the Colorado River, and forcing the Malpais Legate to retreat from the dam in disgrace. Flanking attacks at Camp Golf and other NCR military locations in the Mojave were similarly repulsed.[11]

Left to carry the shame of his failure at Hoover Dam, the Malpais Legate returned to Caesar back east. But the Son of Mars' anger would not accept the Legion's loss in battle. To demonstrate to the remainder of his army that failure would not be tolerated, even from the highest ranks, Caesar brought Graham back to the Grand Canyon. Caesar ordered his Praetorian Guard to cover the legate in pitch, set him on fire and throw him from the cliff's edge, to be left for dead in the canyon below.[12]

Prodigal son of Canaan The birth of the Burned Man The birth of the Burned Man

“ I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me. ” Despite the clear lethality that such a punishment carried, Graham's legendary toughness allowed him to survive the descent. Waking up the following day, burned and broken, but alive, the fallen legate realized he had nowhere to go but home, back to New Canaan. Under the extreme pain of his injuries, Graham crawled out of the northern edge of the Grand Canyon and began the long trek back. After his fiery descent, Graham's attempts to dull the pain of his burns led him to discover he possessed a natural immunity to wasteland drugs, both positive and negative, leaving him with only replacing the bandages covering his charred skin each day to prevent infection; the process forces him to expose his flesh to the air and he comments that it feels like being burned alive all over again.[13] Day by day he suffered through his journey of over three months and 400 miles until he eventually reunited with his people at New Canaan. To Graham's surprise, despite the horrors and atrocities he committed for Caesar, the New Canaanites welcomed him back like the prodigal son returned.[14] In his eyes, his second baptism at the hands of the Legion and subsequent survival transformed him, rekindled his faith and removed his pride and vanity. The thirty years of separation, atrocities, and shame were irrelevant to his family.[14]

Meanwhile, the terror of the Malpais Legate and the story of his blazing fall into the Grand Canyon coalesced into legends of the fearsome "Burned Man" stalking the wastelands, spreading among the remaining tribes until eventually reaching the ears of Caesar. Realizing that his attempt to punish Graham had failed, Caesar forbade his legionaries from speaking Graham's true name under threat of death (the practice of Damnatio memoriae), but this only served to enhance the menace of the Burned Man.[15] To fully complete Graham's demise, Caesar issued a kill order to his frumentarii: were they to find Graham, Caesar demanded they attempt to seek and destroy him.[16]

For his part, Graham decided to forgive Caesar's actions in their shared history, in keeping with his religious belief that one must hate the sin, but love the sinner.[17] However, he is acutely aware of Caesar's desire to see him dead from the sheer number of frumentarii and Legion assassins that have come looking for him.[18]

The war for Zion Joshua Graham making his way to after killing several assassins of Caesar's Legion Joshua Graham making his way to New Canaan after killing several assassins of Caesar's Legion

By 2281, Graham's bloodstained past finally caught up with him. The White Legs, whipped into a frenzy and equipped by Ulysses on Caesar's orders, staged an attack on New Canaan while Joshua and most of the capable Canaanites was away from the city, in a bid to ingratiate themselves with the Legion by destroying Graham's family tribe, and Graham, along with them. Most of the Mormon tribe was slaughtered and the survivors scattered into the wilderness, with the bulk of them seeking refuge in Zion Canyon. In order to defend them and the tribes that made their home in the canyon, Graham assumed the position of acting war chief among the Dead Horses, a tribe he had interacted with during his time with the Legion, alongside Daniel, another missionary and survivor from New Canaan, who joined up with the Sorrows.[19][20]

When the White Legs pursued them into Zion, Daniel and Graham found themselves in a conflict with each other: while Daniel would rather use peaceful delaying action to allow the Sorrows and Dead Horses to safely evacuate Zion and lose the White Legs in the wilderness, Joshua desired nothing more than to bring God's justice to those who would bring senseless harm to others, and wipe the White Legs from the face of the earth. The impulse to exact vengeance on those who butchered his people, killing all who could not run away fast enough - the elderly, the ill, children, and even those who stopped to help - burns within him alongside his guilt for past sins and desire for true repentance.[21] Graham finds it only fitting that he spills the blood of his enemies in Zion, a natural temple and monument to the glory of his God as penance for what he's done in his past.[22] It's in this state of internal and filial conflict that Joshua Graham is met by the Courier, who comes to Zion with the Happy Trails Caravan Company in 2281.[23]

Personality Joshua Graham inspecting for use against the Joshua Graham inspecting .45 Auto pistols for use against the White Legs

“ I pray for the safety of all good people who come to Zion, even Gentiles, but we can't expect God to do all the work. ” — Joshua Graham and his two sides Joshua Graham is at heart a conflicted man. Originally a follower of the Mormon faith, he steadily betrayed everything he held dear in service to Caesar, helping the warlord conquer the tribes of the wasteland.[5] Caught up in maintenance of a brutal, nomadic army of reconditioned tribals, and the long series of conquests east of the Colorado River, Graham slowly became a monster in mind, body, and soul. Small compromises turned increasingly sinister and brutal, with Graham rationalizing them as making the best of a bad situation and doing what needed to be done. In the end, however, he and Caesar had built a society on a foundation of fear and brutality, with his conscience numbed by three decades of warfare and atrocities. Joshua eventually believed his own lies and rationalizations, but after the Legion's defeat at Hoover Dam and his fall into the Grand Canyon, he lost all momentum. Abandoned by Caesar and his people, the fallen Legate was forced to reflect on his life and face the unrecognizable monster that he became. Unlike most, Joshua chose not to blame the influence of Caesar, but himself, and journeyed to seek forgiveness from the people he abandoned three decades prior.[24]

Philosophy Despite his former allegiance to Caesar's Legion and its brutal way of life, the Burned Man does not hold any ill will towards the NCR and its allies. To him, the NCR is still redeemable in his eyes, believing it was the greed of man that led to the Great War, and that only through faith in God and prayer and genuine acts of kindness, can humanity hope to prevent history from repeating itself. Conversely, he has a dim opinion of Mr. House, viewing the lord of New Vegas as another Caesar: a man who brought the tribes to heel and wields his power for the domination of others.

His hatred towards the Legion stems not just from the act of being burned alive by Caesar, but also the combination of Caesar's belief that his will alone is enough to unite the wasteland under the Legion's banner and his refusal to let anything stop him. Ultimately, though, his greatest enmity lies in one person: Joshua Graham - for letting himself get swept up in the bloodshed that heralded Caesar's rise to power, for falling in line as his Legate, and for willfully perpetuating the innumerable atrocities that helped establish the Legion's rule in the wasteland. What he thought was the start of a community of equals under one banner had become the heinous regime of a tyrant, and it was something Joshua earnestly believed he would spend the rest of his life atoning for.

Interactions with the player character Honest Hearts Interactions overview Interactions Perk nociception regulator color This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. 25 Strictly Business This character is a temporary companion. Icon quest starter This character starts quests. Chaos in Zion Gone Fishin' Roadside Attraction Tourist Trap FO76 ui icon quest This character is involved in quests. Arrival at Zion Civilized Man's Burden Crush the White Legs Flight from Zion The Grand Staircase FO76 ui trading team This character is a merchant. Bottle cap 1500-2000 Sells: ammunition consumables weapons weapon mods 2d20 Jury Rigger This character can repair items. Max Repair condition: 100 Effects of player's actions If Caesar was killed, either independently or during Et Tumor, Brute?, before starting Honest Hearts, a unique dialogue option will appear when talking to Joshua in Angel Cave during Arrival at Zion.[25] If one throws down frag mines with him as an active companion during the add-on final quest, Joshua will have a few unique responses.[26][27] Other interactions A Courier who has met Caesar will have a unique dialogue option when talking to Joshua.[28] Joshua Graham is one of the few named non-player characters in the game that is affected by the Sneering Imperialist perk. During Eureka!, if one has completed Honest Hearts and Lonesome Road, during the confrontation with Legate Lanius, a unique dialogue option will be available as part of a Speech check.[29] Companion Though one can access the companion wheel with him as an active companion during the add-on final quest, Joshua will refuse to open his inventory or wait and he will neglect requests to talk with him. Before starting the add-on final quest, Joshua Graham can repair equipment to 100% condition. This makes him one of five repair vendors in the game that can repair to 100% condition, along with Paladin Sato, Raul Tejada (when he is not an active companion), Major Knight, and the Sink Central Intelligence Unit Old World Blues (add-on). Endings This section is transcluded from Honest Hearts endings. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.

Slide Voice-over narration In-game condition

1 Nvdlc02 endingslide joshua After a long and troubled life, Joshua Graham finally found rest in Zion. In the end, his unswerving militancy had accomplished what the NCR's finest sharpshooters and Caesar's wrath could not. The New Canaanites took comfort in the belief that their brother's soul would again dwell in Zion at the end of days.Icon sound trigger Kill Joshua Graham. 2 Nvdlc02 endingslide joshua The threat of the White Legs ended, Joshua Graham helped the Sorrows and Dead Horses tend to their fallen comrades and secure Zion. The Courier's words had stayed Joshua's wrath in his darkest hour, and in sparing Salt-Upon-Wounds, he was changed. While he continued to advocate militant opposition to the enemies of New Canaan, he sometimes showed quarter to those who crossed his family. Eventually this new spirit would diminish the myth of the Burned Man in distant lands - a small price for the peace it brought to Joshua Graham.Icon sound trigger Help Joshua Graham Defend Zion Valley and exterminate the White Legs, then convince Joshua Graham to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds. 3 Nvdlc02 endingslide joshua With the White Legs crushed, Joshua Graham led the Sorrows and Dead Horses in tearing apart and burning the corpses of their enemies. He set about training his army in the "Way of the Canaanite," and soon the New Canaanites and tribes of Zion were feared well into the Mojave. Legends of the Burned Man grew even more depraved, and terrifying.Icon sound trigger Help Joshua Graham crush the White Legs and then allow Joshua Graham to execute Salt-Upon-Wounds. 4 Nvdlc02 endingslide joshua Though the Courier had stopped Joshua Graham from executing Salt-Upon-Wounds, the war chief still fell in battle. The White Legs defeated at Three Marys, Joshua led the Sorrows and Dead Horses in tending to their comrades and burning the corpses of their foes. He continued to advocate militant opposition to the enemies of New Canaan and showed little quarter to those he fought. And yet he was changed. He no longer reveled in the brutality and cruelty for which he had been known in his former life. His inner demons, if not extinguished, were at the least... appeased.Icon sound trigger Help Joshua Graham crush the White Legs and kill Salt-Upon-Wounds yourself. Inventory Apparel Weapon Other items Joshua Graham's armor Joshua Graham's headwrap A Light Shining in Darkness Joshua's Pistol Whippin' .45 Random tribal consumables Notes A carved portrait of Joshua, Edward Sallow, and Bill Calhoun appears on the back of the Legion denarius. Despite claiming that he accepts all forms of currency (in his words, "even Legion coin"), it is not possible to sell Legion denarii to Joshua. The intro slides for Honest Hearts show that Joshua acquired his signature pre-War SWAT vest sometime before the First Battle of Hoover Dam. Similar to Father Elijah and his holographic avatar image in Dead Money, Joshua Graham has a slightly different in-game appearance when compared to the Honest Hearts cover art. In the game, he has pale blue eyes instead of bright blue, and his burned skin is grayer around his eyes. It is only possible to pickpocket Joshua while he is sleeping in one of the covered beds outside Angel Cave or in the Sorrows camp. Joshua Graham is the only companion in the game who has Good Karma, while all of the other companions have Neutral Karma. Like all NPCs in Honest Hearts, after completing the add-on final quest and returning to the Mojave Wasteland, he will disappear from Zion. Joshua's pre-burned face, as seen in the intro slides, is shaped differently than his post-burned face. Joshua is one of two characters in the game to possess an irremovable mask (in his case, the bandages over his face) along with Ulysses (his breathing mask). Joshua explains that he is uniquely immune to the effects of Chems, but can still be administered Stimpaks which still heal him.[13] Notable quotes "I have been baptized twice, once in water, once in flame. I will carry the fire of the holy spirit inside until I stand before my Lord for judgement."Icon sound trigger "Caesar would never admit this openly, but he knows I'm alive. I've killed enough of his frumentarii and assassins that have come looking." "I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other."Icon sound trigger "Die where you stand!" "We have made and kept covenants with our Lord, God, to honor his laws. In exchange, we are promised eternal salvation after this life."Icon sound trigger More Appearances Joshua Graham appears in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare as "The Burned Man" unit. He is mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas and its add-ons Dead Money[30] and Lonesome Road. He was also intended to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Behind the scenes Character background Joshua Graham was originally written by Joshua Sawyer for Van Buren, in which he was a more evil-aligned character known as the Hanged Man. Sawyer later completely rewrote the character for Fallout: New Vegas and Honest Hearts. Graham's story in Fallout: New Vegas and Honest Hearts is broadly based upon the parable of the Lost Son.[Non-game 2][Non-game 3] When asked how old the Burned Man is, Joshua Sawyer stated that "He and Caesar were both young men [...] when they met, so that should give you a rough timeframe." [Non-game 4] Despite being the co-founder of the Legion, Joshua is heard pronouncing "Caesar" the Anglicized way (/ˈsiːzər/) because he understands that their use of the Latin pronunciation (/ˈkaizar/) is merely an affectation and he no longer cares to follow along with it.[Non-game 5] When talking about New Canaan, Joshua reveals that it is considered a rite of passage in the post-War settlement's culture to learn how to wield and maintain a .45 Auto pistol because the model was created by a member of their tribe nearly four-hundred years ago.[31] The .45 Auto pistol is an approximation of the M1911, which was designed by John Browning, firearms designer and practicing Mormon, who lived in Ogden, Utah where New Canaan was founded after the Great War in the Fallout universe. Cultural references Joshua Graham's self-described "baptism by flame" serves as a dual reference to both his "death" at the hands of Caesar, and his symbolic rebirth by way of the laying of hands, which is also known as a "baptism by fire"[Non-game 6] in the religion of the Church of Jesus Christ LDS. The inspiration for Joshua Graham's character came from various sources, such as Paul the Apostle, Rodrigo Mendoza from The Mission, and Lawrence of Arabia. The tribal markings on his armor were also a reference to Rodrigo Mendoza.[Non-game 7] During development of Honest Hearts, Joshua Sawyer drew visual inspiration for Joshua Graham's appearance from the 1990 film Darkman, starring Liam Neeson.[Non-game 8] Sawyer said that the stitched patterns in Graham's shirt (seen on its sleeves) were "supposed to be tribal markings from the Dead Horses," similar to a scene in The Mission where Rodrigo Mendoza receives patterned body paint. Sawyer also took inspiration from British musician PJ Harvey, who, while touring for her 2007 album White Chalk, wore a white dress with lyrics stitched into the cloth in black thread. Sawyer combined these two stitching concepts and incorporated them into Graham's design.[Non-game 7] A malpaís is a landform characterized by eroded rocks of volcanic origin in an arid environment. This describes many areas but is strongly connected to the southwestern United States because of the Spanish settlers that gave the landform its name (malpais means "badland" in Spanish). Joshua's class in the GECK editor is given as "Destroying Angel." The Destroying Angels were an alleged militant secret society in the early years of the Church of Jesus Christ LDS who were dedicated to violently removing enemies of the church.[Non-game 9] Development and voiceover Within the game files are references to an area above the cliffs of the Colorado River designated "MalpaisLegionCamp," indicating that such a location once existed in an earlier version of Fallout: New Vegas but was later removed. A reference for Benny is found there, related to the outcome where he escapes the Fort alive. Seth McCaughey and Joshua Sawyer together created Graham's gun maintenance animations. Sawyer brought in his personal Colt and served as reference for the unloading, inspection, and reloading animations.[Non-game 10] When hiring voice work for Honest Hearts, Keith Szarabajka was almost passed over for the role of Joshua Graham, because one of the designers involved in the first round of casting suggested removing him from the pool. According to Joshua Sawyer, Szarabajka's submission was "given on a cell phone on a windy day and he had a cold." However, Sawyer decided to keep Szarabajka in the running for the role of Graham, which he considers one of the best decisions he made on the project.[Non-game 11] According to Szarabajka's recollection, Graham's dialogue was recorded over just four to five days. When first recording for Graham, all Szarabajka had to go off of was a basic idea of the story and some sample lines. Szarabajka has said that he was surprised by how much Graham's character resonated with fans, and that he has been asked more about Graham than any other character he has played. Szarabajka speculates that Graham's themes of death and rebirth are reasons for the character's impact with players.[Non-game 12] Due to technical limitations, Graham's appearance in the game differs from that on the cover of Honest Hearts. A dirty raider texture with an ashen skin color is used to simulate burns visible around his eyes, quite dissimilar to the melted flesh on the cover. Graham's quote "I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me" has been adopted in wider cultural context as an inspirational quote, oftentimes completely separate from its origin in Fallout: New Vegas. Joshua Sawyer said that it felt "pretty good" to see the quote being used elsewhere, and cited it as an example of "cool quotes" that are actually very divorced from their source material.[Non-game 13] Graham does not appear without his bandages (aside from the pre-burned intro slides) at any point in normal gameplay. If the mask is removed via the G.E.C.K. editor or console commands, there are no severe burn marks and his face is just that of a default raider. According to Joshua Sawyer, Graham (and also Legate Lanius) being unscarred under the mask is not indicative of a lie, but is instead a result of engine-related limitations.[Non-game 14] Developer quotes “ Question: Why is that Joshua Graham does not wear Legion armors in the flashbacks ? Was it to make him easier to identify ? Why not give him a Legate armor in this case ? In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar Lanius' armor seemed inappropriate for Graham. Though it's unlikely that Joshua would have worn the same clothes then that he does when you meet him in Honest Hearts, there weren't a lot of other appropriate clothes for him and his outfit does make him stand out as particularly unusual - which, even among the Legion, he was. ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on May 23, 2011 (archived link) “ How this could be the same man that slaughtered prisoners, crucified NCR soldiers, ordered women [censored] and ordered children shot down? I mean getting set on fire would change your outlook on life but seriously, there's no credible reason for how he could have justified his actions and then done a 180* turnaround. It's not as simple as being "set on fire".In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar After suffering a terrible failure, he was humiliated by his superior and the people he commanded. He was cast out and left for dead. His entire reason for living was gone. When your entire way of life is completely destroyed, it has a profound impact on how you view yourself and your place in the world. Because all momentum is lost, the experience causes you to evaluate and re-evaluate how you have reached this point -- and how to move forward.

There are thousands, if not millions, of examples of soldiers in history who engaged in ruthless -- often cruel -- behavior in times of war only to either return to an "ordinary" civilized life later. Some of them have no problem with what they did, others repress their memories as much as they can, and still others suffer strong crises of conscience that force profound changes in them. As Graham describes, his path to becoming the Malpais Legate was made up of many small compromises that turned increasingly sinister and brutal. At first he thought he was making the best of a bad situation and doing what needed to be done, but in the end he and Caesar had built a society on a foundation of fear and brutality. Caesar had a more grand vision for where the Legion was going, but Joshua Graham was caught up in the day to day maintenance of a tribal army engaged in bleak and often monstrous behavior. It was not until he was removed from that environment that he was able to reflect on his past. He could have chosen to blame Caesar, but in the end he blamed himself. The only people he knew in the world who could possibly accept him were the New Canaanites, so that's where he headed. ” — Joshua Sawyer on bethsoft.com forums, May 18, 2011 “ Question: Why couldn't you simply rehire Ceaser'sIn-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar voice actor, record a few lines, and add them to the HH add-on so the player could comment on meeting Graham? Because re-hiring a voice actor (especially a high profile actor like John Doman) isn't always simple, and touching Caesar's dialogue in the core game -- well, it's already really complicated, and introducing elements that could affect the critical path is pretty dangerous, especially if it's accomplished through the DLC files (because we couldn't patch it). ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on June 28, 2011 (archived link) “ Question: Speaking of Kurtz, was that character in any way a direct influence for Graham in Honest Hearts? Only slightly. Graham and Caesar were in it together, in different ways. While Caesar never had a radical shift in his approach and ideology, Joshua Graham had a slow slide followed by a dramatic fall and "rebirth".In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar Joshua Graham was inspired by characters like Rodrigo Mendoza from The Mission and T.E. Lawrence. That said, Honest Hearts has a lot to do with personal motivations and why being honest to yourself about them is important. In many ways, Caesar is dispassionate -- or at least less passionate than someone like Joshua Graham, or even Lanius. Caesar is an odd sort of philosopher; Joshua Graham is a zealot. Caesar is also hypocritical or at least "bends" his own rules when it suits him. Joshua has to lie to himself to rationalize what he does. He can't live with an internal contradiction. They are also very different types of leaders. Caesar leads by telling people what to do and wowing (or terrorizing) them with the results. Joshua Graham leads by personally doing things that (typically) terrify both his allies and his enemies. As Joshua says himself, he's effectively a war chief of the Dead Horses. He's not the sort of guy you ask for opinions on how to repair a road or develop infrastructure. ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on December 30, 2011 “ Question: How come it seams like Daniel in Honest hearts only get bad endings? I really wanted to make the best ending for the good people but... iIn-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar felt like nothing would have made him happy... Once Joshua Graham sets on a path, he is more focused on pursuing that path than continuing to question it -- he is externally honest, but internally dishonest. Daniel always questions himself, especially since he doesn't really want to abandon Zion. Given the available options, he thinks leaving Zion is the best choice, but he still regrets the loss. He is also willing to obfuscate the truth from others (e.g. Waking Cloud) to make it happen. ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on April 27, 2012 “ Since we're talking Honest Hearts and violence, did anyone else notice, if you took the "kill all White Legs" path, that the Dead Horses and Sorrows that attacked with you were straight-up executing White Legs prisoners? As in, kneeling hands-raised WL getting a .45 jammed upside his head and shot? Or the one kneeling on a cliff edge, that takes a fire bomb and demonstrates gravity? Yes, that's always there for Crush the White Legs. Before you go in, Joshua tells you that you're about to engage in an extermination. Many of Daniel's fears have less to do with war and violence themselves and more to do with the path of warfare and the type of warfare in which Joshua engages. At some point, I think Daniel states that Joshua is (paraphrased) the poster child for the worst effects that a life of war can have on a person. Life on the warpath with Joshua Graham is more about slaughter than vigilance. ” — Joshua Sawyer; SomethingAwful Forums, October 11, 2011 “ Question: Have you been pleased with the feedback for Joshua Graham? I've replayed Honest Hearts 2-3 times just to soak up his relentless charisma and have been happy to find a modest collection of fan art going for him. As much as can be expected. A lot of players really wanted to see the Hanged Man/Burned Man incarnation from the Van Buren design documents, so I think most of those people were unhappy with how he turned out.

I had wanted to develop a religious conflict in an RPG for a while, one that wasn't presented as pro-religion vs. anti-religion. I didn't want to use a proxy/fictitious religion and I didn't want to use religion as the set-up for a series of jokes. My first idea for Honest Hearts was a direct conflict between Joshua and Daniel where Joshua was more like his pre-fall self, but I didn't think the characterization would be particularly interesting and I didn't think players would struggle much with the decision of whom to support. It didn't take long for me to change the main conflict to one about Joshua and Daniel vs. an external threat, with the player's choice revolving around which leader to support. I think we often present players with a choice between two bad solutions and we ask them to decide which one is least bad. With Honest Hearts, I wanted the player to decide which solution would produce the most good.

I wanted the player's first encounter with Joshua to be very reductive. In way, I wanted the player to be initially disappointed. They hear legends of this fearsome, terrible, demonic figure and when they first see him, he's doing the equivalent of putting his pants on one leg at a time: sitting at a table maintaining a stack of guns. Even internally, some people complained about his appearance. They wanted him to be huge and monstrous or they wanted his first encounter with the player to involve him brutally gunning down White Legs. I believed that for his character to feel right in the context of the story, he needed to be a man first and the monster later. But that expressed desire on the team made me ask for the graffiti players see on the way to see Joshua: an entire cliff face dominated by the image of Joshua with tiny White Leg corpses falling down below him. In the image, he's like Goya's Saturn, dwarfing and destroying everyone around him.

Presenting the conflict with Daniel posed some challenges because Daniel is not a living legend, i.e. he is even more of a normal man than Joshua is trying to be. Additionally, Mormonism is not a pacifistic religion (and its soteriology does not depend on pacifism), so the conflict could not reasonably by framed around violence vs. non-violence even in the post-apocalyptic version followed by the New Canaanites. Daniel's concern was about larger issues than fighting or not-fighting; he was concerned that Joshua's lapsed nature would cause a whirlwind of warfare that would pull everyone far away New Canaanite traditions to the point where religion was virtually abandoned in favor of a war cult surrounding Joshua.

I had expected that most people would support Joshua, in part because of Joshua as a character but also because of the nature of gameplay in Fallout (i.e., violence is almost always a solution). I did not expect that the Survivalist's logs (written by John Gonzalez) would push so many more people toward supporting Joshua. I think it's an interesting example of players finding their own connections between the two stories and making an emotional connection that pushes them in a particular direction. ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on November 24, 2012 (archived link) “ Question: Did you intend for Joshua Graham fit with the classical greek 'tragic hero' archetype? I was arguing with someone about Graham today and I realized how much his ending in HH is tied to you choosing whether he experiences anagnorisis & catharsis or not. Subconsciously, yes, but I didn't sit down and think "gonna make this dude a Greek tragic hero".In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar

I knew that Joshua had to be in an unresolved state, moved on from his life with the Legion but in a state of denial about his current motives. Joshua's struggle is about what burns inside him -- light that illuminates or fire that consumes. ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on February 17, 2013 (archived link) “ Question: This is a two parter. 1. Why did you decide to make Joshua Graham a good character instead of an evil character like in Van Buren? 2. Where did the inspiration of the Joshua Graham character come from? I think it's worth noting that in even Van Buren's documents, a lot of the references to the Hanged Man's "evil" refers to past acts. In VB, he was seemingly a man without purpose. While his characterization by others and his tendency to laugh off/ignore attempts by others to control him could have been interesting, it really ended at "nasty guy who says and does creepy stuff and is a badass".In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar There were specific instances (such as at New Canaan) where he would specifically avoid conflict and showed some additional depth, but he effectively had no character arc within the story.

Personally, I think the "wow so crazy" type characters aren't particularly interesting or insightful because they only exist in pure fantasy and, as such, can't really be related to. I think it's important for characters who are influencing player opinions to be more-or-less human. If you can't put yourself in the character's shoes, it's hard to empathize with him or her.

Joshua was inspired by a lot of different characters and things. The apostle Paul, Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert DeNiro's character from Roland Joffé's "The Mission"), T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia, and others. His outfit was designed to feature body armor but look somewhat "old west"/preacher in style -- hence the low-collar white shirt, sleeve garter, and the cut of the ballistic vest. The rattlesnake skin on his belt, shoes, and gun are symbolic but also intended to reflect that "western" feeling. The stitched patterns in his shirt were supposed to be tribal markings from the Dead Horses and were inspired by a scene from The Mission where Mendoza receives patterned body paint from the Guarani. I remembered a white dress from PJ Harvey's White Chalk tour where she had lyrics stitched into the cloth in black thread and I just put the two ideas together. ” — Joshua Sawyer; Formspring answer on May 17, 2011 (archived link) “ I don't think I was working through my own doubts [in faith] with Joshua Graham, but I was also recognizing that Joshua Graham was a character who had fallen (in multiple senses) and had come back into a life of faith that he was still struggling with. And even though he says at certain points 'yes, I dealt with that in the past', as you progress through Honest Hearts, it's clear that he's still struggling with certain aspects of his faith and how he views vengeance & violence. And so I wouldn't say it was much about me. Joshua Graham was a person who had gone through a big arc, and in some ways was a prodigal son. But now [the prodigal son has] returned. Now that you're actively engaging in the world, how do you continue? Part of the resolution of Honest Hearts is supposed to be you helping guide Joshua. That's the perspective I came at it from.

If there is one thing that players have seen in a lot of video games, it's a no-doubt zealot, right? I could archetype a character who is without doubt and extreme, with no subtlety and no nuance... I feel like if there are religious characters in games, often they are very over-the-top and extreme and have no nuance to them. And that was why it was important to have a very religious character who wasn't like that. He's very religious and he believes things very deeply, but he also has enough introspection to recognize the things that he's done and also doubt the things that he's even currently doing. ” — Joshua Sawyer, Interview with Catholic Game Reviews Gallery Fallout: New Vegas

Graham when he was the legate Graham when he was the legate "Die where you stand!" "Die where you stand!" Graham in melee style Graham in melee style Graham reading scripture in the Sorrows camp Graham reading scripture in the Sorrows camp Vault Boy icon of Joshua Graham's armor in color Vault Boy icon of Joshua Graham's armor in color An image made by the Dead Horses An image made by the Dead Horses The image in full The image in full Joshua Graham's burned face on the cover art of Honest Hearts Joshua Graham's burned face on the cover art of Honest Hearts Concept sketches for Joshua Graham Concept sketches for Joshua Graham Concept art for the cover of Honest Hearts Concept art for the cover of Honest Hearts Graham's face with bandages removed (not seen in normal gameplay) Graham's face with bandages removed (not seen in normal gameplay) Graham's face before the burn Graham's face before the burn Fallout: Wasteland Warfare The Burned Man in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare The Burned Man in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Unit card Unit card

References The Courier: "Was one of those men Caesar?" Joshua Graham: "No, not then. Back then he was just Edward. Smart man. Young, but we all were. We thought we could hike into the Grand Canyon and talk to Blackfoots. We did, and the Blackfoots were friendly enough at first, but eventually... I've thought back to that day so many times. I must have mistranslated. Something must have been mixed up, because the Blackfoots decided we weren't going to leave. The rest is history, assuming Edward hasn't changed it." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Were you always with the New Canaanites?" Joshua Graham: "I was born in Ogden, what people came to call New Canaan. Things were more peaceful when I was growing up. When I was a young man, I went out into the world to do missionary work as all New Canaanites do. I traveled along the Long 15 and followed 89 south into Arizona. Along the way, I met two men from a group called the Followers of the Apocalypse. Edward Sallow and Bill Calhoun. They came to teach the tribes. Calhoun was a good man. Edward was the one who got us into trouble down the road." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Why would learning dialects be a waste of time?" Caesar: "If you think it's worthwhile to make smart people learn how to talk like backward savages, you're a Follower of the Apocalypse... or an idiot. Anyway, we met up with a Mormon missionary who already knew a bunch of dialects - Joshua Graham. He was supposed to teach me. But before that went too far, the Blackfoot tribe captured us, to hold us for ransom. They were a backward bunch. But the real problem was, they didn't know how to fight." (Caesar's dialogue) The Courier: "What was wrong with the Blackfoot?" Caesar: "The Blackfoot were at war with seven other tribes, each just as pissant as they were. But outnumbered like that, they weren't going to last long. It's one thing to be taken hostage, another to be lashed to a sinking ship. So over Calhoun's objections, I decided to take certain steps." The Courier: "What steps did you take?" Caesar: "I taught them how to use the guns they already had - how to strip and clean them, how to breathe when pulling a trigger, how to reload ammunition. They looked at me like I was some kind of a sorcerer. So I taught them how to make explosives, and started drilling them on small unit tactics. If there's anything I learned as a Follower of the Apocalypse, it's that there's a lot of good information in old books." (Caesar's dialogue) The Courier: "How did you end up as Caesar's legate?" Joshua Graham: "This way lies the path to hell. Edw- Caesar needed me to translate. Translation became giving orders. Giving orders became leading in battle. Leading in battle became training, punishing, terrorizing. A series of small mistakes before a great fall. And I stayed in that darkness until after Hoover Dam. After I failed Caesar and he had me burned alive, thrown into the Grand Canyon." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "What happened to the tribes?" Caesar: "The Kaibabs joined me, and the Fredonians after that - all the pissant tribes, with names that should be forgotten. I knew from the start I'd need to eradicate this plague of tribal identities, replacing them with a monolithic culture, a uniform identity. So that's what I did, once my confederation of tribes was large enough. I crowned myself Caesar and created a single Great Tribe - my Legion. I sent Calhoun, the Follower captured with me, back West with a message that I should not be interfered with. Joshua Graham, the Mormon interpreter, stayed with me and served as my first Legatus." (Caesar's dialogue) The Courier: "And since forming the Legion, all you've done is conquer other tribes?" Caesar: "That's right. Decades of warfare, absorbing lesser tribes, gathering power. Forging the dross into a vast, razor-sharp scythe. My Legion's expansion has never ceased. Much of the Utah and Colorado, and all of Arizona and New Mexico, are mine. We have cities of our own, but nothing compared to Vegas. Finally, my Legion will have its Rome." (Caesar's dialogue) The Courier: "He must have a weakness." Ulysses: "His strength lies in his title - and it is his weakness. He will not fight a losing battle and destroy what he represents. Put the idea of loss in him. Convince him the Bear will not be the twentieth tribe beneath his heel, it will make him pause like nothing on earth. You do not need to convince him alone. Draw upon history. The past of other Legates are not filled with victories. Remind Lanius of this." (Ulysses' dialogue) The Courier: "So that was the end of Graham?" Hanlon: "It's not that clear cut. You have to understand, Graham was the toughest son of a gun anyone around these parts had ever seen. Before Hoover, we had five kill reports on Graham from rangers and 1st Recon sharpshooters who tried to take him out. Some folks think he's still alive, call him the Burned Man." (Hanlon's dialogue) The Courier: "So what happened at Hoover Dam and Boulder City?" Hanlon: "In big battles, Caesar deploys his legionaries in waves. Recruits up front, prime soldiers behind the recruits, old guard bringing up the rear. Opponents wear themselves out dealing with the first two waves, if they survive that long. When the veterans step up, there's not much fight left. Caesar can adapt, though, and when required, he can run any mix of legionaries as skirmishers and still retain order in the ranks. Joshua Graham, Caesar's old legate, he's wasn't so flexible. When the Legion attacked Hoover Dam, General Oliver ordered his troopers back to the middle ground just after first contact. Graham pushed all of the legionaries onto the dam, filling the east side with recruits up front and veterans in the back, by the book. But once they were in, they were stuck there. Oliver's troopers were entrenched and wouldn't give a foot. That's when we ordered the rangers and 1st recon sharpshooters to start picking off veteran legion officers from a high ridge west of the dam. That only lasted about a minute before Graham ordered the back ranks to push through to the front and rush the ridge. Caused total chaos among the younger legionaries, and Oliver's troopers fell back to the side walkways and stayed out of the veterans' way. By the time the veterans got to the ridge, we were already in Boulder City. They followed us down there, but we were out before they realized what was happening. We had packed the old city with C4 and dynamite. Crude, but it did the job. Those who didn't die in the blast were in no position to mount a defense. The ones left on the dam didn't know what to do. The troopers routed them. Graham pulled the remaining legionaries back, but the battle was over. He went south, back to the Grand Canyon, back to Caesar. And that was the last we saw or heard from Joshua Graham." (Hanlon's dialogue) The Courier: "What was Camp Golf like?" Craig Boone: "It was on the front line for a while. The only resort in New Vegas no one wanted to get sent to. Doesn't have that kind of importance anymore, though. They pulled most of the troops out of there after we took the Hoover Dam." (Craig Boone's dialogue) The Courier: "What happened to Graham after Hoover Dam?" Hanlon: "Losing the dam was the worst defeat the Legion ever suffered. Graham had been with Caesar since the beginning, but he had to set an example. The praetorians covered Graham in pitch, lit him on fire, and down into the Grand Canyon he went." (Hanlon's dialogue) The Courier: "Are you in much pain? Is there anything I can do to help?" Joshua Graham: "[SUCCEEDED] You are kind to offer, but no, there's nothing you can do. We don't use chems, but I learned long ago that I'm immune to their effects. It never stops burning. My skin. Every day, I have to unwind the bandages and replace them with fresh ones. Exposing my body to the air is like living through it again. But it's better to be clean than comfortable." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "How did you survive?" Joshua Graham: "I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me. I fell down into that dark chasm, but the flame burned on and on. The next morning, I woke up and crawled out of the northern edge of the Grand Canyon, that cursed place. It took me three months to reach New Canaan. It was as though the prodigal son had returned. They welcomed me like I had never left, never done anything to shame them. The fire that had kept me alive was love. Their love. God's love. I will never be able to repay the debt I owe to them, but I must try." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Tell me about the Burned Man." Vulpes Inculta: "Ah, yes - we are forbidden from speaking his true name. He was a shaman of some kind before he met Caesar, a holy man from out of the Utah. The Burned Man proved dangerous, unpredictable, and impossible to kill. He helped Caesar form the Legion but almost led it to destruction." (Vulpes Inculta's dialogue) Ulysses: "Caesar had him burned and cast into the earth, into the largest canyon you've ever seen. Watched the flames trail all the way to the bottom. Somehow Joshua walked away from that, went beyond Caesar's gaze. His footsteps trailing fire, walking from one hell - maybe to another. When one is ruined like Graham was... sometimes home is the only place left. If so, he went to New Canaan, Caesar's anger written on him like a book. Caesar's orders to the Frumentarii were to watch for him, find Graham. Kill him. Didn't try. Could've, no good would have come of it. Graham earned his life, and his nature... it'll kill him more surely than any blade of the Legion. So if you've heard word of it or seen sign of him, let it keep. Let his history keep." (Ulysses' dialogue) The Courier: "I'm guessing you don't like Caesar very much." Joshua Graham: "Love the sinner, hate the sin. With Caesar, it's often very difficult to see through all of that sin to the person inside. I can say that we were both lucky that NCR's supply lines and land routes north of Mojave Outpost were destroyed before the Battle of Hoover Dam. Something bad happened near Death Valley, at a place called the Divide. NCR couldn't cut across anymore and it slowed down their reinforcements. Terrible storms ripped entire companies apart before they even got to Nevada soil. The aftermath of Hoover Dam could have been even worse for Caesar." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) Joshua Graham: "We should have given you a better welcome on your first visit to Zion, but from what I hear, the White Legs beat us to it. White Legs seem to be the only visitors we have these days, and I wouldn't have expected anyone from the Mojave to come looking for us. And you're a courier, no less. Not the one I was expecting, but I suppose he wouldn't have come with a caravan. I don't know if you were close to the other members of your group, but you have my sympathy. I pray for the safety of all good people who come to Zion, even Gentiles, but we can't expect God to do all the work." The Courier: "What did you say about a courier? Who were you expecting?" Joshua Graham: "Caesar would never admit this openly, but he knows that I'm alive. I've killed enough of his frumentarii and assassins that have come looking. I've heard one of them travels the Mojave as a courier. Most of Caesar's agents meet a fitting end in NCR territory, but maybe this one survived." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "I came here with the Happy Trails Caravan Company to make contact with the New Canaanites." Joshua Graham: "Happy Trails. I remember. They were good friends. I have bad news for your employers. New Canaan was destroyed, its citizens scattered. All because of the White Legs. And Caesar, of course. The White Legs want to join the Legion. Caesar's rite of passage is the destruction of the New Canaanites, almost assuredly because of me. The good news is that we can help you find your way back. Daniel, one of the other New Canaanites, has made many maps of the region. The bad news is that we can't help you right now. Not with everything that's going on." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Do you run the show around here?" Joshua Graham: "I wouldn't say that. I am the acting war chief for the Dead Horses. They look up to me for such matters, but I only have the authority they give me. Daniel is the spiritual leader and main link of the New Canaanites to the Sorrows. He's up in the Narrows right now." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Well, I'm guessing you're pretty mad about something." Joshua Graham: "The White Legs didn't just force my people out of New Canaan. They butchered everyone who wasn't fast enough to get away. The elderly, the ill, children. Those who stopped to help the wounded. It made no difference to them. They can't be reasoned with, the White Legs. Daniel believes that if we leave, if the Sorrows leave, the White Legs will stop. He doesn't understand what this kind of tribe is like." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "This conversation just got pretty dark. What was that about happy... dashing the little ones?" Joshua Graham: "Happy are those who do the work of the Lord. Zion belongs to God and the people of God. It is a natural temple and monument to his glory. When our Lord entered the temple and found it polluted by money-changers and beasts, did he ask them to leave? Did he cry? Did he simply walk away? No. He drove them out. It is one thing to forgive a slap across my cheek, but an insult to the Lord requires... no, it demands correction." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) Events of Honest Hearts Joshua Graham: "This way lies the path to hell. Edw- Caesar needed me to translate. Translation became giving orders. Giving orders became leading in battle. Leading in battle became training, punishing, terrorizing. A series of small mistakes before a great fall. And I stayed in that darkness until after Hoover Dam. After I failed Caesar and he had me burned alive, thrown into the Grand Canyon." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Caesar is dead. I saw to it personally. I thought you should know." Joshua Graham: "I have to admit, it's hard to believe. That even after all he did to me, all he tried to do to find and erase me from this world, he went first. No doubt this will be good for the Mojave. I can only hope Arizona and the tribes don't suffer as the Legion falls apart around them." The Courier: "You don't think Lanius can lead the Legion?" Joshus Graham: "I think only Caesar can lead the Legion. I've never met anyone who could take his place. I couldn't. I never had a mind for logistics. I don't know Lanius, but from what I've heard, he has no interest in leading anyone unless it's in battle. No. The Legion dies with Caesar. What follows now are just the last steps of a man who does not yet realize that he's walking dead." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) Joshua Graham: "Be careful. Tribals don't always recognize those for what they are." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) Joshua Graham: "Watch it. You can't just go tossing those all over Zion." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "I've met Caesar, you know. What do you think he would say if I told him you were here?" Joshua Graham: "I think that would put him - and you - in a difficult position. Caesar has agents looking for me, but he won't admit I'm alive. And even if you killed me, he can't acknowledge that. To do so would be to admit I had never died. That Caesar made a mistake. No. He lives by his lies and shall die by his lies. There is no escaping it." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) The Courier: "Persist and learn what Graham learned at the Dam - and Boulder City." Legate Lanius: "You dare speak that name? Comparing him to any man of Caesar will only earn you a slow death" "You think me some lesser man, some other Legate? I am the first of the Legion, and this gate to the West shall be ours this day." The Courier: "NCR has studied you as they did Graham, and the trap is ready for you. Legate Lanius: "Mnh. You believe your own words, even if I do not. Perhaps NCR has the strength of a cornered animal... it will not be enough to hold this place. They know nothing of my tactics - or the strength of my forces. They will learn." (Legate Lanius's dialogue) Dead Money loading screens: "The Sierra Madre is a legend, like the Big Empty, the Burned Man, and the rumors of survivors from the Divide." The Courier: "Nice guns." Joshua Graham: "In the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, all tribes are known for a specific weapon. White Legs are known for their big submachine guns, "storm drums." They broke into an armory near Spanish Fork and have been using them for years. Of course, the Dead Horses have their wooden War clubs and even the Sorrows have their yao guai gauntlets. This type of .45 Automatic pistol was designed by one of my tribe almost four hundred years ago. Learning its use is a New Canaanite rite of passage." (Joshua Graham's dialogue) Non-game

Anonymous: "How old do you reckon the burned man is?" Joshua Sawyer: "He and Caesar were both young men (Joshua Graham had just started missionary work) when they met, so that should give you a rough timeframe." Joshua Sawyer's Formspring/Spring.me Archive June 5, 2011 WHAT? After all he has been through and all the bad things he has done and Joshua Graham still claims to be a christian? | Formspring: JESawyer 11 May 11: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+15%3A11-32&version=NIV Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream (reference starts at 2:45:28) Joshua Sawyer: "I wrote Joshua Graham and Daniel." Anonymous: "How old do you reckon the burned man is?" Joshua Sawyer: "He and Caesar were both young men (Joshua Graham had just started missionary work) when they met, so that should give you a rough timeframe." Joshua Sawyer's Spring.me Archive June 5, 2011 (Archive) Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream (reference starts at 5:11:06) Joshua Sawyer: "'Is there a reason why Graham pronounces Caesar the Western way or nah?' It's 'cause he realizes it's an affectation and he just doesn't care. [laughter]" Fire and the Holy Ghost - Ensign June 1995 This is a two parter. 1. Why did you decide to make Joshua Graham a good character instead of an evil character like in Van Buren? 2. Where did the inspiration of the Joshua Graham character come from? Formspring: JESawyer 27 May 11: I think it's worth noting that in even Van Buren's documents, a lot of the references to the Hanged Man's "evil" refers to past acts. In VB, he was seemingly a man without purpose. While his characterization by others and his tendency to laugh off/ignore attempts by others to control him could have been interesting, it really ended at "nasty guy who says and does creepy stuff and is a badass".In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar There were specific instances (such as at New Canaan) where he would specifically avoid conflict and showed some additional depth, but he effectively had no character arc within the story. Personally, I think the "wow so crazy" type characters aren't particularly interesting or insightful because they only exist in pure fantasy and, as such, can't really be related to. I think it's important for characters who are influencing player opinions to be more-or-less human. If you can't put yourself in the character's shoes, it's hard to empathize with him or her. Joshua was inspired by a lot of different characters and things. The apostle Paul, Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert DeNiro's character from Roland Joffé's "The Mission"), T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia, and others. His outfit was designed to feature body armor but look somewhat "old west"/preacher in style -- hence the low-collar white shirt, sleeve garter, and the cut of the ballistic vest. The rattlesnake skin on his belt, shoes, and gun are symbolic but also intended to reflect that "western" feeling. The stitched patterns in his shirt were supposed to be tribal markings from the Dead Horses and were inspired by a scene from The Mission where Mendoza receives patterned body paint from the Guarani. I remembered a white dress from PJ Harvey's White Chalk tour where she had lyrics stitched into the cloth in black thread and I just put the two ideas together. Interview w/Chris Avellone, Jason Fader, and other Fallout: New Vegas devs (35:14) I just read 'Blood of the Prophets', and my mind wandered to Honest Hearts. Was Joshua Graham's dynamic with the Sorrows and Dead Horses at all consciously modeled on Brigham Young's rhetoric about using the 'Lamanites' as the "Battle-axe of the Lord"? Joshua Sawyer: Yes, but less about Brigham Young specifically and more about how Mormons in Utah interacted with tribes there (like the Paiutes), generally. It was inspired by events like the Utah War/Mountain Meadows Massacre. Even though this doesn't appear in the game, Joshua Graham's character class in the GECK is "Destroying Angel", which was a nickname for some of the militant/vigilante Mormons/Danites that operated in Utah in the 19th century. (Joshua Sawyer's Formspring answers) Joshua Sawyer, Formspring response from June 27, 2012: "Who did that gun inspection animation for Joshua Graham? That looked awesome and was pretty impressive, a lot of games don't have hand animations that good." "Seth McCaughey. I brought in my (unloaded, in case it needs to be said) Colt and went through the process with him, then he went buck wild. Seth did a lot of the weapon reload animations in F:NV and the DLCs. He also came up with the idea of the SMMG in Lonesome Road and was the creator of the hidden Gojira." Joshua Sawyer on Tumblr Oxhorn Chats with Keith Szarabajka - The Voice of Joshua Graham (15:41) Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream Part 2 (reference starts at 1:32:43) Joshua Sawyer: "'How do I feel about how often Joshua Graham's 'the fire inside me'In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar quote gets posted or reused as an inspirational quote without actually mentioning it's from a video game?' Um, pretty good. [laughter] Uh, I actually, it was surprising to me at first. But then, I used to- I used to be like, 'I love quotes, I love cool quotes.' [...] And I realized that a lot of the quotes that I think are very cool... they come from sources that are very divorced from how people actually use them. Like there's, uh, there's a Voltaire quote that's translated often as 'To the living, we owe respect. To the dead, we owe only truth.' And I was like, 'Damn, dude, you're totally right, Voltaire.' But it's from, like, a letter that he wrote to a friend. You know, it's not from some really major thing that he wrote. [...] There's a bunch of quotes like that where on their own, they're really cool and, in the co- but they're often used in a context that is very different from when they're written. So I get it. I mean, I've seen it used in all sorts of really... [...] I've seen it used by people who have survived really traumatic stuff. And even though it's weird that a quote from a video game that I made gets used in that way, it's cool. Like, I'm sure that in time, people will completely forget where it came from entirely, and it'll just be like, 'Anonymous author, who knows where this came from?' [laughter]" (Transcript) Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream Part 2 (reference starts at 1:21:40) Joshua Sawyer: "'Is it just for engine limitations that Lanius has a normal face under the mask?' Yes, same with Joshua Graham. Like, it's just, I know it seems like a bullshit response, but with limited development time, sometimes we just accept that the engine doesn't work this way, so let's not fight, let's not try to ice skate uphill on this." (Transcript) v · d · e Major characters in Fallout: New Vegas v · d · e Companions in Van Buren v · d · e Companions in Fallout: New Vegas v · d · e Caesar's Legion v · d · e Honest Hearts Categories Languages Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. More Fandoms Sci-fi Fallout Nukapedia Discord

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