Bartertown Guards

Jones and Marcus on duty

The Bartertown Guards both police and defend the post-apocalyptic settlement of Barter Town as seen in Fallout II: Barter Town Blues. The guards purpose are to promote stability and safety in the town to protect its law abiding citizens which they often accomplish by violent means. The age of guards varies from children to adults implying anyone that can fire a weapon is generally allowed to serve. Guards typically have little patience for crime of any sort as exemplified when Renault and Samuel J. Davis enter the town and witness a man get gunned down by two guards because he had stolen a sweet roll. They are, for the most part, an effective force yet they failed to notice a significant raider presence that was in the town.

## In Fallout II: BB

The guards are first seen upon Renault and Davis entrance in Barter Town. The guards were policing the market area of the town heavily as they shot a man, and then chased after a vendor who was illegally selling some garden weeds (weeds are outlawed due to the Sheriff's love of flowers). After Renault follows Barper to Flat Fizzy's, the guards can also be seen removing a squatter from a tent forcibly before taking him off screen to an unknown fate. Then as Davis attempts to get to his stand, a guard known as Henry Jones Sr. stops his cart and reprimands him for returning to town after what he did last time. Davis then tries to bribe the guard to let him off prompting Jones to slap him across the face. Jones threatens Davis to never try to bribe him again before letting him go to his stand.

A guard is not again seen until the next day when Renault and Davis go to the Sheriffs office in order to report the man who had broken into their hotel room. The guard standing outside the entrance to the office asked the business of the two protagonists and then performed a brief examination to determine whether the intruder was truly dead. Despite handing the "dead man" a rifle to hold momentarily the guard figures he is indeed dead and allows entry. Following this the Sheriff pops out from under his desk in the office and questions why the man was brought in. After writing down the report and switching from being British to a cowboy, he assures the protagonists everything will be taken care of.

The last time any guards are seen is as Renault, Barper, and Davis attempt to escape from the town. Two guards known as Bill and Bob are seen standing on a lookout balcony discussing how there was a man with some kind of computer chip that was worth a lot of money. After seeing the protagonists run by, they decide to fire on them as well in hopes on making a profit themselves. Bill then radios in to the other guards beginning a 3 way shootout as the 3 protagonists fight their out in the midst of skirmishes between raiders and guards. In the fighting the guards take several casualties including the Sheriff.

## Equipment

The guards are easily recognizable by the emblem on their uniform which is a large red X with a dot hovering over it. The guards also all wear an old pre-war helmet from a stockpile that was acquired by the original founders of Barter Town. Apart from these items their equipment varies as they lack a standardized weapon or gear instead being issued whatever is available. Most guards prefer automatic short range weapons due to the fact they are ideal for dealing with any threats in town.

## Notable Guards

### Marcus

Marcus is a teen aged guard that is stationed next to the shed to watch over the marketplace. He is seen quite often in the entrance to the town as he busts several crimes with Bob and Henry Jones Sr.; Marcus along with Bob fire upon the man who stole the sweet roll killing him before throwing him into the body dump. He also chases the weeds seller with Jones as well as assists in throwing the squatter out of the tent.

### Henry Jones Sr.

Henry Jones Sr. is a guard responsible for watching both the residential and the marketplace zones of town. He has little interest in the attitude of offenders and will not any crime go unpunished. He has a close relationship with Marcus as he enjoys to frequently say his name. The two work together to bust several crimes like the weeds seller and the squatter. Marcus also holds a disdain for Samuel J. Davis due to his bad behavior and his attempt to bribe him.

### Tico

Tico is a guard seen guarding the entrance to the sheriff's office. He is the one who examines the dead body of the hotel intruder in a strange test where he hands the man his rifle before looking him up and down. He then declared the body to be dead, implying he may be mentally inept.

### Sheriff

The Sheriff of Barter Town is responsible for the safety of the town and its residents as he is in charge of both policing and defending the area. The position can be a hard one to maintain as it is the only job in the town that requires paperwork as the Sheriff must record crimes and issue compensation waivers. He also allocates his limited manpower between policing and defensive duties. Since the town had not had any outside threats for a considerable amount of time, the Sheriff pulled back on the amount of men assigned to guard the outside of the town instead placing them throughout the interior producing violent but effective results as guards quickly spot and eliminate any criminals.

The Sheriff may have different personality since in the video he is first seen wearing a Bobby helmet and attempting a rather poor British accent. Later he is seen wearing a cowboy hat and putting on a western accent while flaunting a revolver. His recent lack of time in the field himself had unfortunately led to decrease in his skill set as he ends up killed by Gerald during the shootout in the town.

### Bill

Bill is also a guard briefly seen towards the end of the Barter Town section. He, along with Bob, are the ones that begin firing upon the protagonists. After they run away he and Bob run down in pursuit but he is quickly shot by Samuel J. Davis.

### Bob

Bob is a child soldier seen at the beginning of the video patrolling the marketplace when he and Marcus gun down a thief. Later in the video as the protagonists are fleeing form the raiders, he makes this decision to start firing upon them as well in order to gain the money the chip will bring. It is due to this boys decision that Barter Town society shatters. He and Bill then chase after the protagonists but end up shot by Davis. However he is then seen like immediately after shooting at raiders so like is it the same guy? Is it another twin? Is it the same NPC model? God knows.

## Trivia

- The Bartertown Guard uniform was a debated uniform over the series of a few days. From the beginning Jack decided they would all wear Yugoslav helmets since he had enough for each guard to have their own, but the shirt was debated. The idea of random military chest harnesses and guns was thought of right away as well, but originally Jack planned for each guard to wear a gray hoodie. This was determined to be a bad idea since it was too damn hot to do that, so Jack and Michael ultimately decided on some light white undershirts which they would spray paint after a trip to Walmart. Jack spray painted each of the shirts creating the design of the X with the dot on top. This has no meaning, but it kind of looks like a little man. The idea of making the sheriff's uniform have several gray dots in addition to one at the top, came about after Jack accidently spray painted every shirt the same, so he improvised that.

Policing the marketplaceMarcus and Bob mowing down a thiefNever bribe meStrange examinationThe SheriffBill and Bob firing on the trioBattle in the marketplace