Marked men

The marked men are an enemy type found in the Divide in 2281.
==Background==
Before they were the marked men, they were soldiers of the New California Republic special forces and Legion frumentarii stationed in the area that would become the Divide.The Courier: "[NCR] Those bodies in the silo were NCR soldiers... some special forces."Ulysses: "Might have been. Once. To the Divide they came... in the Divide, they rest."The Courier: "[Legion] The dead in the silo, some were Legion Frumentarii, scouts. Assassins."Ulysses: "Might have been. Once. To the Divide they came... in the Divide, they rest."(Ulysses' dialogue) When the Courier's delivery of the Navarro package caused underground nuclear warheads to detonate and cause massive devastation, it created a veil of perpetual storms that kick up winds so strong the flesh was torn from their bodies, exposing the raw muscle, while the intense radiation caused them to undergo a type of ghoulification. Unable to die to radiation, it instead kept them alive, trapped in a state of constant, excruciating pain from the winds flaying them of their skin.The Courier: "I've never seen corpses mutilated like that."Ulysses: "Even as the fires here burned them from within... the winds of the Divide tore their skin, exposed them... screaming... to the sky. And just as the Divide tears at them, so they tear at each other, for sport - like some tribal scarification. "(Ulysses' dialogue)The Courier: "[Survival 35] Radiation may keep them alive in areas so physically punishing, it would kill others - even ghouls."The Courier: "[Medicine 35] If they've become ghouls, the radiation would strengthen them. Heal their wounds - not the scars."Ulysses: "[SUCCEEDED] Those wounds - they couldn't live otherwise. The Divide winds have torn the skin from many of them - be the radiation is the only thing keeping them walking. Make camp near silos... warheads. "(Ulysses' dialogue) Rumors of the marked men and the hellish place they call home spread throughout the West Coast similar to the legends of the Sierra Madre, the Burned Man, and the Big Empty.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."
Driven mad by the pain they experienced, the marked men lashed out at anyone other than themselves, having found a common enemy in the Divide. Though they sometimes attacked and killed one another, apparently for sport, their shared pain had overpowered any animosity between the NCR and the Legion.The Courier: "The rads in this place seem like they would do more damage to them."Ulysses: [FAILED] "They're more beasts than men now. They clutch at their pain as they clutch at their weapons... anchors them."(Ulysses' dialogue)The Courier: "Some of the flayed Hopeville soldiers looked like NCR... but fought beside others in Legion armor."Ulysses: "Pain makes for strange allies... the hate the Bear and Bull shared across the battlefield, now turned against the Divide. Few survived... intact. Many NCR were already here when the destruction happened. Keeping the route East open, in fear of Caesar. Fear of the Legion."(Ulysses' dialogue)The Courier: "Inhabitants? It doesn't look like anyone's alive down there."Ulysses: "These new inhabitants... not natives... most of them. Came with duty, purpose... ready to kill each other. As vicious as the storms are, these shadows of Legion, of NCR - "(Ulysses' dialogue) They were known to make camps near silos and warheads to take advantage of the healing effects of radiation.
Those of the marked men who once followed Caesar have cobbled together several different, crude versions of Legate Lanius' helmet, thought to be an attempt to anchor their identities and remember some of their past.The Courier: "Those Marked Men in Hopeville - some had strange masks and blades I'd never seen before."Ulysses: "They bear false versions of Legate Lanius' mask, the one Caesar fashioned for him. Thought it was an insult at first.... It's shaped from Divide metal, not with care and strength, but with hate. Keeps them anchored. Crude, effective - like the blades they carry, distant mirrors of their Legate. A symbol they can hold on to - while the Divide tears at them."(Ulysses' dialogue) The former NCR soldiers, on the other hand, stuck to their guns and explosives; even as ghouls, they cannot forget the lessons instilled in them by their army training.The Courier: "Other Marked Men had NCR gear - and they weren't carrying masks or blades."Ulysses: "For the two-headed Bear... NCR... they don't have symbols in the same way Legion does. They revere their mines and explosives, guns... - "(Ulysses' dialogue) Whatever remains of the armor they wore on the day they were turned,The Courier: "[NCR] Those soldiers in Hopeville... were once NCR, I'm sure of it. Why were they with the Legion?"Ulysses: ""(Ulysses' dialogue) over time, the marked men have tried to patch it together with pieces of the Divide like road signs, license plates and other scrap metal.
==Characteristics==
===Biology===
A marked man is identified as a unique subtype of ghoul with a fiery red tone due to their brutal environment; ghoulification made their flesh weak and fragile, but it was the storms that stripped their skin off, leaving behind only the raw muscle underneath. It's speculated that the radiation of the Divide may be the only thing keeping them alive. They congregate in squads and small camps of around four marked men, often led by particularly strong cases who have taken on a new name to exemplify their strength.
===Gameplay attributes===
Marked men level with the player character, have a high amount of health for humanoid opponents, and are moderately protected by the tattered armor they wear (albeit far less compared to the properly maintained regular versions of their armor). In terms of health and armor, the marked men are evenly matched to the White Legs tribals of Zion Canyon and the lobotomites of the Big MT.
They carry a variety of powerful melee and ranged weapons, and at higher levels (above level 40) have the unique attribute of being the only faction that almost universally uses non-standard ammunition for their weapons (i.e. slugs and armor-piercing rounds), increasing their combat proficiency against well-protected targets. Additionally, many marked men make simultaneous use of both firearms and grenades. At times, they can be found using Stealth Boys, making them harder to detect.
When near sources of radiation, they regenerate health rapidly, even more so than ordinary ghouls. However, they tend to be few in numbers, and it is rare to find more than a dozen in any particular location, though a high-level Courier will still face a challenge.
==Variants==
===Marked men hunter===
Marked men hunters appear to be former NCR troopers, equipped with powerful ranged weapons. They may carry guns like trail carbines, assault carbines or sniper rifles at lower levels (level 1 to level 30), and anti-materiel rifles, brush guns or marksman carbines at higher levels (level 30 or above). For energy weapons, they may be seen carrying arc welders, tri-beam laser rifles or multiplas rifles.
Most of them are found wearing ruined NCR trooper armor (now known as the marked trooper armor), while some of them may be wearing Legion armor (called the marked scout armor).
===Marked men marauder===
Marked men marauders are higher-ranking marked men that were once NCR rangers. They carry missile launchers and light machine guns at lower levels (below level 30), miniguns, heavy incinerators, Gatling lasers and plasma casters at higher levels (above level 30), and shoulder mounted machine guns at all levels. They wear either marked tribal armor or marked patrol armor.
===Marked men ravager===
Marked men ravagers carry the Blade of the West, as well as fire axes and Shishkebabs at lower levels (below level 30). At higher levels (above level 30), they carry sledgehammers, super sledges and thermic lances. They also carry and use incendiary grenades. Most ravagers wear marked scout armor and sometimes marked trooper armor.
===Marked men scout===
Marked men scouts are equipped with both firearms and frag grenades. They generally carry either pistols, one-handed submachine guns or shotguns. They are equipped with flare guns and plasma defenders at all levels, and 12.7mm pistols, hunting shotguns and hunting revolvers at lower levels (below level 30), as well as 12.7mm submachine guns and riot shotguns at higher levels (above level 30). They usually wear marked scout armor. Some of them can be found wearing marked trooper armor.
===Irradiated marked men hunter===
===Irradiated marked men marauder===
===Irradiated marked men ravager===
===Irradiated marked men scout===
===Irradiated heavy trooper===
Irradiated heavy troopers are the ghoulified remnants of NCR heavy troopers stationed at the Long 15 outpost. After the Courier launched the nuclear missiles from the Divide at the outpost, the radiation left behind turned them into ghouls, leaving them hostile to all others. They look like regular NCR heavy troopers with the added ability of regenerating health while irradiated.
===Irradiated Legion explorer===
Irradiated Legion explorers are the ghoulified remnants of Legion explorers that have been irradiated from the missile launched by the Courier. They are found in Dry Wells.
===Irradiated legionary prime===
One irradiated legionary prime can be found in Dry Wells. He is the ghoulified remnant of a prime legionary that has been irradiated from the missile launched by the Courier.
===Irradiated legionary veteran===
Irradiated legionary veterans are the ghoulified remnants of veteran legionaries that have been irradiated from the missile launched by the Courier. Three are found in Dry Wells.
==Notable marked men==
* Blister - a hardened former NCR ranger residing near the marked men base, carrying a flamer.
* Beast - a former legionary marauder boasting crude pieces of Legate armor, found in a camp near the High Road entrance. He carries a shoulder mounted machine gun.
* Bonesaw - a former legionary wearing a nearly recreated Legate helmet, wielding a chainsaw, found in a makeshift camp slightly southeast of the Ashton silo control station.
* Blade - a former legionary who guards the entrance to Ulysses' Temple, wielding a Blade of the West and utilizing a Stealth Boy.
* Gaius Magnus - a centurion of the Legion located in Dry Wells (optional).
* Colonel Royez - a member of the NCR army stationed on the Long 15 (optional).
==Notes==
* The marked men that appear during the final battle in Ulysses' Temple will explode after being killed.
* The marked men are some of the few enemies in the game that will use special ammunition against the Courier.
* Former NCR marked men have no dogtags.
* It is established that the marked men of the Divide only became what they are due to the strong winds peeling their skin off coupled with the intense radiation, but if Dry Wells and/or the Long 15 are destroyed during Lonesome Road, the marked men there appear exactly the same despite lacking the former environmental factor.
==Appearances==
Marked men appear only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Lonesome Road.
==Behind the scenes==
An unused variant of the irradiated heavy trooper with the Editor ID NVDLC04NukeNCRColonel exists within the game files of Lonesome Road. Also called "irradiated heavy trooper", this version differs primarily in that it uses the default SPECIAL statistics for NCR troopers - 5 for all statistics. It also is equipped with a Minigun loaded with 5mm AP rounds, rather than the random weapon selection found in the standard version.
==Bugs==
 Marked men who carry Plasma Defenders are given the incorrect ammunition, microfusion cell, over charge rather than the correct energy cell, over charge. This renders them unable to use the weapon entirely.
==Gallery==
MarkedMan4.png|A group of marked men, both former Legion and NCR soldiers
MarkedMan2.png|Marked man without armor, skeletal muscle exposed
MarkedMan3.png|Closer look at a marked man's head
Markedman.jpg|A marked man ravager
Gaius.jpg|Gaius Magnus, commander of the legionary marked men
Royez.png|Colonel Royez, commander of the NCR camp on the Long 15
Fallout magic Lord of the Undead PipBoy.png|Magic: The Gathering card
Fallout magic Plasma Caster.png
Fallout magic Plasma Caster Extended Art.png
==References==
Category:Lonesome Road creatures
Category:Ghouls
de:Gezeichneter
es:Hombres marcados
fr:Hommes-Stigmates
it:Sfregiato
ja:Marked men
pl:Napiętnowani
ru:Меченый
uk:Мічений
zh:烙印者