Joshua Graham

Joshua Graham (known formerly as the Malpais Legate, and in folk legends as the Burned Man) is a missionary of the Mormon faith, co-founder of Caesar's Legion, and its first Legate. He is mentioned throughout Fallout: New Vegas and appears in its add-on Honest Hearts, and is also mentioned in the add-on Lonesome Road.
Graham led Caesar's troops to a humiliating defeat in the First Battle of Hoover Dam. Afterward, to show that failure was unacceptable regardless of rank, Caesar had Graham executed, ordering him to be coated in pitch, lit on fire and tossed into the Grand Canyon. Graham survived, however, and left Caesar's Legion behind him. He is the acting leader of the Dead Horses in 2281.
==Background==
===Early life===
Joshua Graham was born in New Canaan, a Mormon community established in what remained of the city of Ogden, Utah. He 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 mission call for 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 knowledge made him a natural choice when the Followers of the Apocalypse asked for assistance in their expedition to the Grand Canyon. Graham departed Canaan, following the Long 15 and 89 south towards Arizona, meeting Calhoun and Sallow on the way, sent by the Followers to provide education to local tribes and study their dialects.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)
Around 2247, the Blackfoot were their first stop in the Canyon. Joshua proved to be a capable interpreter, though eventually the hospitality of their hosts was replaced with hostility. Whether it was an error in translation that Joshua made or some unrelated misunderstanding, the Blackfoots decided to hold the entire expedition for ransom.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: "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) This was a problematic situation, as the Blackfoots were at war with seven other tribes in the Grand Canyon, and were clearly losing. Against Calhoun's objections, Sallow decided to take charge of the situation: He taught the tribes how to care for their weapons, make explosives, work as a combat unit, with Graham continuing to serve as an interpreter and the first war leader of the Legion. Graham was indispensable to Sallow's plan, who turned the disorganized tribe into a capable fighting force, trained in small unit tactics, weapon use and maintenance, and the manufacture of arms and weapons.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. "(Caesar's dialogue)
===Malpais Legate===
With his teachings and Graham's skills, the Blackfoots prevailed over the other tribes, becoming the nucleus of the Legion. Graham became a commander, training the forces of the fledgling army and leading them in battle. His leadership position soon entailed retaliatory raids and terrorizing local tribes prior to assimilation into the Legion. When Sallow crowned himself Caesar, Graham became his first Legate, the Malpais Legate.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 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 ."(Caesar's dialogue) For thirty years he helped Caesar conquer the tribes of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, forging the Legion. Though he was neither a particularly brilliant strategist nor tactically flexible, his menace and brutality were infamous. The atrocities he committed made him feared by friend and foe alike. He was dangerous, unpredictable, and above all else legendary for being impossible to kill, even by NCR Rangers. But all great men eventually end. For Graham, the end came at the First Battle of Hoover Dam.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) 
Caesar's obsession with uniting the wasteland under the banner of his Legion resulted in him attacking the New California Republic in 2277. After a series of skirmishes east of the Colorado, Caesar's 68The 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) attacked the Dam. Graham's tenacity was legendary at this point: Despite efforts by both the NCR Rangers and First Recon east of the Colorado River and five kill reports on Graham, the Legate remained a menace at large.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) However, Graham underestimated the enemy while overestimating his own skill as a commander. He deployed his legionaries in the usual fashion, trying to defeat the Republic as he fought the tribes out east. Chief Hanlon anticipated this move, drawing the legionaries into a trap.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) As General Lee Oliver's soldiers held the line, Rangers and Army sharpshooters targeted their commanders, sowing chaos in Legion ranks. When the Legate ordered his elite forces to punch through and pursue Rangers decimating his officers and sowing chaos in the ranks, the Rangers and First Recon sharpshooters retreated 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 of the city. Once most of them were safe (soldiers and Rangers trapped behind Legion lines had to be abandoned), they triggered explosives packed into the buildings in advance. Chief Hanlon's plan went off without a hitch: 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 counter-attack, destroying the Legion on the western side of the Colorado River and forcing the Malpais Legate to retreat from the dam. Flanking attacks at Camp Golf and other camps in the Mojave were similarly repulsed.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)
 returned to Caesar in shame. To demonstrate that failure is not tolerated, even at the highest of ranks, Caesar ordered Graham to be burned alive. The former Legate was covered in pitch, lit on fire, and thrown into the Grand Canyon, for leading the Legion into its worst defeat in its history.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)
===Prodigal son returns===
Graham survived the descent and woke up the following day, burned and broken, but alive. Eventually, the fallen Legate crawled out of the northern edge of the Grand Canyon and began his journey home. Graham's natural immunity to modern medicine made it impossible for him to dull the pain as he had to replace the bandages covering his burned, oozing skin each day to prevent infection.The Courier: ""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) Day by day he suffered through his journey over three months and 400 miles until he reached his family tribe in New Canaan, where he was welcomed again like the prodigal son returning home. 
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.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) Legends of the Burned Man stalking the wastelands began to spread and eventually reached the ears of Caesar, who forbade legionaries from speaking Graham's true name under threat of death (Damnatio memoriae), only enhancing the myth of the Burned Man.The Courier: "Tell me about the Burned Man."Vulpes Inculta: "Ah, yes He was a shaman of some kind before he met , a holy man from out of the Utah. The Burned Man proved dangerous, unpredictable, and impossible to kill. He helped form the Legion but almost led it to destruction."(Vulpes Inculta's dialogue) Caesar issued a kill order to his frumentarii: wherever Graham was, Caesar's agents would attempt to seek and destroy him.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. Caesar's orders to the Frumentarii were to watch for him, find Graham. Kill him. try. Could've, no good would have come of it. "(Ulysses' dialogue) For his part, Graham decided to forgive Caesar, in keeping with the idea that one must hate the sin, but love the sinner.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) Graham is acutely aware of Caesar's desire to see him dead, in light of the sheer number of frumentarii and assassins that have come looking for him.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)
By 2281, Graham's past finally caught up with him. The White Legs, whipped into a frenzy and equipped by Ulysses, attacked New Canaan while Joshua 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. 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, alongside Daniel, another missionary and survivor from New Canaan, who joined up with the Sorrows.The Courier: "I came here with the Happy Trails Caravan Company to make contact with the New Canaanites."Joshua Graham: "Happy Trails. 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)
While Daniel would have Graham fight a more peaceful delaying action to allow the Sorrows and Dead Horses to safely evacuate Zion and lose White Legs in the wilderness, Graham desires nothing more than to bring God's justice to those who would bring senseless harm to others. 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.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) He finds it only fitting that he spill the blood of his enemies in Zion, a natural temple and monument to the glory of his God.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 them to leave? Did he cry? Did he simply walk away? No. He them out. It is one thing to forgive a slap across my cheek, but an insult to the Lord requires... no, it correction."(Joshua Graham's dialogue)
===Personality===
Joshua Graham is a conflicted man. Originally a Mormon missionary from New Canaan, he steadily betrayed everything he held dear in service to Caesar. Caught up in maintenance of a brutal, nomadic army of reconditioned tribals, and the conquests out East, Graham slowly became a monster. 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 when the defeat at Hoover Dam came, he lost all momentum. Abandoned by Caesar and his people, the fallen Legate was forced to reflect on his life and face the monster that he became. Unlike most, Joshua chose not to blame Caesar, but himself, and journeyed to seek forgiveness from the people he abandoned three decades prior.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)
====Philosophy====
Despite his former allegiance to Caesar's Legion, the Burned Man does not hold any ill will towards any allies of the NCR. To him, the NCR is still redeemable in his eyes, stating that the greed of man is what 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. He also has a dim opinion of Mr. House, seeing him as another Caesar; a man who rallied together his own set of tribes using his own methods to assume domination over others. 
His hatred towards the Legion stems not just from the fact he was made an example by Caesar, but also Caesar's belief that his will alone will unite the wasteland under the Legion's banner and his refusal to let anything stop him. Ultimately his greatest enmity is for himself - for letting himself get swept up in Caesar's rise to power, for falling in line as his primary Legate, and for willfully perpetuating the innumerable atrocities that helped establish his rule. What he believed may have been the start of a community of equals under one banner had become the heinous regime of a tyrant.
==Interactions with the player character ==
===Honest Hearts===
====Interactions overview====
====Quests====
*Arrival at Zion: The player character must speak with Graham to complete the quest.
*Chaos in Zion: Killing Joshua Graham (or another storyline-essential character) will start this quest.
*Civilized Man's Burden: Joshua may be asked of his opinion on Follows-Chalk leaving the tribe and exploring the civilized lands.
*Flight from Zion, Crush the White Legs: During the final quests in Honest Hearts, Graham will become a temporary companion to the Courier.
*Gone Fishin', Roadside Attraction, Tourist Trap: After speaking to him, he will instruct the Courier to collect items to supply to the Sorrows.
*The Grand Staircase: After having obtained the map of the Grand Staircase, the Courier may give it to either Joshua or Daniel.
====Effects of player's actions====
* If the Courier has killed Caesar, they will have a dialogue option to tell Graham that Caesar is dead. His reaction is tempered, but notes his surprise that Caesar died before he did and further opines on the Legion's future; believing that Legate Lanius is not capable of long term leadership and the Legion will die with Caesar gone.
* If the Courier throws frag mines around Graham when he is following them, he will tell them not to throw mines all over Zion.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)
====Other interactions====
*A Legion affiliated Courier can confront Graham and ask him what would happen if Caesar is to be aware of his survival. He simply says even if he were to be killed, Caesar will not acknowledge his death in order to avoid admitting failure in killing Graham.
* If the Courier asks him a "personal" question about his burns and passes a Speech check of 70, he says that he is in constant pain from them. He reveals that he is immune to chems (only stimpaks work on him) and every day has to remove the bandages he wore the previous day and put on fresh ones. The pain he feels when removing the bandages is as bad as being set on fire again, but does it because "it is better to be clean than comfortable."
*Joshua Graham is one of the few named non-player characters in the game to be affected by the Sneering Imperialist perk.
*During Eureka!, if the player has completed Honest Hearts and Lonesome Road, the Courier can confront Legate Lanius and mention Graham's actions as Legate during the first battle as part of a Speech check.
**If passed, Lanius will berate and threaten the Courier for speaking his name and comparing Graham to "any man of Caesar."
==== Companion====
* As a follower, Joshua will refuse to open his inventory or wait and he will neglect the Courier's requests to talk with him.
*Joshua Graham can repair equipment to 100% condition. He accepts and will repair every weapon in the game, but doesn't repair all types of apparel, making him only the fifth-best non-player character with the ability to repair to max condition, the other four being Paladin Sato, Raul Tejada, Major Knight, and the Sink Central Intelligence Unit.
====Endings====
==Inventory==
==Notes== 
*Joshua, along with Calhoun and Caesar, 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 him.
*Even when he was the Legate of Caesar's Legion, Joshua Graham always wore his personal SLCPD armor.
*Joshua Graham is an expert with the .45 Auto pistol (from the tradition in New Canaan) and possesses a unique commander style model. 
**He is also a master with melee weapons and uses the butt end of his unique .45 Auto pistol as a powerful melee weapon.
*When first entering a dialogue with Graham, he will refer to the player character as "the Courier he didn't expect," and then go on to say, "then again, he wouldn't have come with a caravan." The implication is that he expected Ulysses, rather than the player character, to come and attempt to assassinate him, adding to the evidence of Ulysses' allegiance to Caesar's Legion.
*Similar to Father Elijah and his holographic avatar image, 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.
*Pickpocketing only works on Joshua while he is asleep.
*Joshua Graham is the only Fallout: New Vegas companion with "good" Karma, while all of the other companions have "neutral" Karma.
* If he survives all events, the Honest Hearts endings state that Joshua Graham leads the Dead Horses tribe. He is nowhere to be found upon the Courier's return to Zion, presumably having returned to Dead Horse Point with the majority of the tribe.
*Joshua's pre-burned face is shaped differently than his post-burned face.
*Joshua is one of two characters in Fallout: New Vegas to possess an irremovable mask - the other being Ulysses.
*Despite being severely burnt in the past, when his mask is removed there are no severe burn marks and his face is just that of a default raider. This is a result of engine limitations, similar to Lanius' face being whole.
==Notable quotes==
==Appearances==
Joshua Graham appears in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts and in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare as "The Burned Man" unit. He is mentioned frequently, for example: in a loading screen in Dead Money and by Ulysses in Lonesome Road. He was also to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.
==Behind the scenes==
===Character background=== 
*Joshua Graham was written by Joshua Sawyer in both Van Buren and Honest Hearts. His story is broadly based upon the parable of the Lost Son.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."
* 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." 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)
*Graham says Caesar the Anglicized way (/ˈsiːzər/) because he knows the Legion's use of the Latin pronunciation (/ˈkaizar/) is merely an affectation, and he does not care for it.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]"
*When talking about New Canaan, Graham reveals that it is considered a rite of passage 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.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) 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.
===Cultural references ===
*Graham's self-described "baptism by flame" seems to be a dual reference to both his "death" at the hands of Caesar, and his symbolic rebirth by way of the Mormon laying of hands, which is also known as "baptism by fire."Fire and the Holy Ghost - Ensign June 1995
*The inspiration for Graham came from a lot of 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.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". 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.
* 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 Mormon Church who were dedicated to violently removing enemies of the church.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)
=== Development and voiceover===
*References remain in the game, pointing to a map above the cliffs of the Colorado River designated "MalpaisLegionCamp," indicating that such a location once existed in an earlier version of New Vegas but was later removed. A reference for Benny is found there, should he survive the events that took place at the Fort.
*Seth McCaughey and Joshua Sawyer together created Graham's gun maintenance animations. Sawyer brought in his Colt and served as reference for the animation.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."
*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.
*Keith Szarabajka was almost passed on as the voice 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.Joshua Sawyer on Tumblr 
**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.Oxhorn Chats with Keith Szarabajka - The Voice of Joshua Graham (15:41)
===Developer quotes===
==Gallery==
===Fallout: New Vegas===
JoshuaGrahamBurnedHead.png|Not meant to be seen by player: Graham's face with bandages removed
FNV Joshua Graham Non-Burn.png|Graham's face before the burn
Joshua Graham pose.jpg
JoshuaGrahamYoung.png|Graham when he was the legate
JoshuaGrahamBurnedMan.png|"Die where you stand!"
JoshuaGrahamMelee.png|Graham in melee style
Graham reading scripture.jpg|Graham reading scripture in the Sorrows camp
IconJoshuaGrahamArmorColored2.png|Vault Boy icon of Joshua Graham's armor in color
FoNV Burned Man Graffiti.png|An image made by the Dead Horses
The Burned Man.png|The image in full
HonestHeartscover.jpg|Joshua Graham's burned face on the cover art of Honest Hearts
PLT Fallout 1.jpg|Concept sketches for Joshua Graham
PLT Fallout 2.jpg|Concept art for the cover of Honest Hearts
===Fallout: Wasteland Warfare===
FOWW,BurnedMan.webp|The Burned Man in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare
FOWW,TheBurnedManUnitCard.jpg|Unit card
FWW Joshua Graham.png
==References==
Non-game
Category:Fallout: New Vegas mentioned-only characters
Category:Fallout: New Vegas companions
Category:Fallout: New Vegas merchants
Category:Dead Money mentioned-only characters
Category:Honest Hearts human characters
Category:Lonesome Road mentioned-only characters
Category:Caesar's Legion characters
Category:Dead Horses characters
Category:Mormons
Category:Fallout: Wasteland Warfare characters
Category:Mythical figures
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