Effrem Montague

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**Effrem Montague** is a former con artist who's naturally suspicious of people, and whose abrasive attitude might rub multiple people at the Shelter the wrong way.

## Background

Effrem got into the con artist life after the first time he went to prison for being at the wrong place at a wrong time. After he got out business he began working as a conman, scamming many people but refused to hurt others. He was able avoid justice when the zombie apocalype hit and his luck allowed him to escape. He had a run in with Vic Castillo several years back when he was working in the city.

## Recruitment

Effrem can be found in a random encounter on the map, taking goods from an abandoned house. To recruit him, be non-hostile, and offer to let him join the Shelter. He'll be skeptical, but even if you don't have access to the special dialogue options (Negotiation or Leadership 4 or greater), he'll be at least willing to come with you "on a temporary basis."

## Events

**\*Spoilers\***

* If Effrem's Mood drops too low, he'll steal some food and flee the Shelter.
* If Vic is in the Shelter when Effrem arrives, the morning after his arrival, Vic will warn Effrem that he's watching him due to a previous incident before the apocalypse. Take Effrem's side immediately, and Vic will get a small Mood penalty. As things get more tense, if you side with Effrem, Vic will take a Mood penalty and lose respect for you, while Effrem will gain a Mood boost. If you side with Vic, Effrem will take a larger Mood penalty, but Vic will get a small mood boost and gain respect for you. If you have a Leadership skill at 4 or more, you can demand the two make peace, resulting in a very small Mood loss for both of them.
* Two weeks after joining the Shelter, Effrem will tell you about a mansion he'd staked out earlier, and tells you he can probably get in. This is the mansion where you can find Sandy Doubleday.
* If Effrem has been in the Shelter for at least three weeks, and Troy has been in the Shelter for about three days, Troy will get in Effrem's face complaining about the plague. Troy complains that Effrem was laughing at him, while Effrem complains that he was minding his own business. If you take Troy's side, Effrem takes a large Mood penalty, while Troy gets a Mood boost. If you take Effrem's side, Troy takes a Mood penalty, while Effrem gets a Mood boost. If you have a Leadership of 5 or more, you can tell them both to grow up - this causes a very small Mood penalty for both, but ends the issue. If you tell them you don't care, they will both take a Mood penalty, and end the fight.
* If the Theft Crisis event occurs and you don't blame Effrem for it, he'll come up to you later and thank you for believing him.
* At about a month in the Shelter, Effrem will come up to you and tell you he thinks he should get more food. If you turn him down outright, he'll suffer a Mood penalty and storm off; give him the rations (provided you have 10), and he'll gain a Mood bonus. If you have Negotiation of 5 or above (and 5 rations) you can give him a reduced amount, which leads to a Mood boost. If you have Leadership of 6 or above, he'll suffer a very small Mood penalty, but drop the issue.
* If both Nathan and Effrem have been in the Shelter for about a month, they'll have a confrontation over how Nathan refuses to acknowledge Effrem being a "brother" and Effrem taking offense to Nathans disrespect toward his ethnicity. Take Effrem's side, and Nathan will get a Mood penalty while Effrem gets a Mood boost; take Nathan's side, and the opposite will happen. If you have a Leadership score of 5 or greater, you can urge them to forget their differences for a very minor Mood penalty on each. Leave the two men to sort it out, and they will both suffer a small Mood penalty.
* When tasked with mercy killing Effrem after he gets infected. He will mentions why he hates using guns was because his friend who robbed a liquor store using a plastic gun was swiftly killed and he avoided death because of his good luck.

## Special Requests

*Luxury Items*

* Hot Sauce
* Rechargeable Batteries

*Upgrade*

* Workshop

## Stats

*See also Ally Stats.*
Survivors develop their skills over time, these stats represent their starting point.

Effrem's stats focus first on Mechanical and Negotiation, but eventually he starts to pick up some Melee, Medical, and Survival skills. His stats advance on Agility, Perception, and Vigor.

## Traits

* Sucker Punch: "If Effrem hits a target in the back with a melee weapon, he has a 15% increased critical chance."
* Lucky: "Effrem seems a tricky guy to get hold of in all situations - he has an additional 10% evade chance."
* Shop Talk: "This ally enjoys having a Workshop in the Shelter, and will gain a one-time mood boost after it is completed."

## Play Style

Effrem has low strength and melee but high mechanical and very high Perception and Agility, making him an effective lockpicker while the rest of the party does the fighting. Keep him in the Workshop until his combat skills improve and he can contribute more to the team: his personal credo against guns keeps him from picking up any points in Ranged, however, so don't count on him being good with firearms.

Effrem will NOT react to killing neutral survivors.

## Trivia

* Age: 26
* Hometown: Baton Rouge, LA
* Sick Event: cough
* Subleader Supported: Paul
* Shelter Location: First floor, hallway outside of Lab
* Effrem's backstory is loosely based on that of Richard Pryor.
* Effrem's visual inspiration is Lawrence Gilliard Jr.