History Characters / FalloutNewVegasLonesomeRoad

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: Besides saving Christine from being lobotomized, he has no real impact on the other DLC stories or the base game, despite the occasional dialogue talking him up as the GreaterScopeVillain. Caesar would have sent another frumentarii to militarize the White Legs, the Think Tank were going to become aware of the outside world from either Elijah or the Courier, and Elijah had Big Mountain and the Think Tank at his mercy and so would have found out about the Sierra Madre. This stands in stark contrast to the other main DLC characters, who have big impacts on both each others' plots and on the world of the base game. Even in his own DLC, Ulysses is irrelevant- unlike Elijah or the Think Tank, Ulysses does not actually compel the Courier to show up or stay at any point and he is completely powerless without the Courier being there [[spoiler:because he needs ED-E to control the nuclear missiles in the Divide.]]

[[Characters/FalloutNewVegasTheCourier The Courier]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasCompanions Companions]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasNewCalifornia New California Republic]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasCaesarsLegion Caesar's Legion]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasTheStrip The Strip]] ([[Characters/FalloutNewVegasRobertEdwinHouse Robert Edwin House]]) | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasSettlements Settlements]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasOtherFactions Other Factions]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasOtherCharacters Other Characters]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasDeadMoney Dead Money Characters]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasHonestHearts Honest Hearts Characters]] | [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasOldWorldBlues Old World Blues Characters]] | '''Lonesome Road Characters'''-]]]]]

* MasterOfAll: He's one of the very few characters in the series to have 10 in all of his SPECIAL stats, with the only other being Frank Horrigan. Granted, it ultimately doesn't mean in the grand scheme of things save for making him more of a foil to the Courier.l

* InformedAbility: For all of Ulysses' complaints about the NCR and the Legion and his lionizing of the community in the Divide he was a part of pre-Courier, he never explains what made the Divide community better than the NCR and the Legion, and there's no evidence of a new community in the Divide besides the Marked Men huts to give the player an idea.

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: An in-universe example; Ulysses is obsessed with finding a deeper meaning and belief in everything, because he can't or won't accept the harsh reality that the traumatic experiences he's been through are just bad cases of "shit happens." To this end he crafts an epic mythos about the two couriers, one walking the West and helping the Bear, the other walking the West and helping the Bull, and they were the ones who led them to a relic of the Old World that they each saw as a means to build a new one. The player variably has the option to buy into his talk or tell him he's overthinking and misunderstanding it. Script notes for his dialogue make it clear that he is often trying to convince himself of what he claims, or that what he's saying to you is more him thinking aloud to himself, trying to make sense of things.

* GutturalGrowler: He has a very raspy, deep voice.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheFatalist. [[spoiler: Ulysses has seen and experienced the worst of it [[note]] he is the sole surviving member of the Twisted Hairs, caused the deaths of countless people by telling Elijah about the Sierra Madre, militarizing the White Legs, and through his actions at the Big Mountain Research Facility [[/note]] and has dwelled on these thoughts long enough to believe that he knows what's best for everyone. Since Ulysses was the one who discovered Hoover Dam and indirectly caused the first battle for Hoover Dam, he has blamed himself for the deaths of thousands and has become so disillusioned with the war that he plans to set off a series of nukes so they can destroy both the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion, despite the Courier telling him that he can't predict the future and can't guarantee that whatever comes after the NCR and The Legion will be any beter. Ulysses believes that everything that happened to The Divide happened because of the Courier - they got a package and they delivered it to The Divide, resulting in the destruction of the settlement - even though the Courier had no way of knowing that the package was actually a bomb. Ulysses's belief that he's ahead of the curve and he knows what's best for everyone ultimately shows that he's a deeply troubled man who's overwhelmed with guilt and lashing out. His idea of fate is just a way for him to justify what he went through and make sense of things that were beyond his control, ultimately trying to tell himself that there was a reason why he suffered so much, even though these events were simply random and senseless.]]

* DemolitionsExpert: He is responsible for blowing up the top half of the medical facility where Christine was imprisoned and he has Explosives as a tagged skill. Also, it is [[spoiler:part of his philosophy with how to deal with the NCR and Legion. Destroying the Long 15 will cut off the NCR's support and supply line from California, leaving those in stuck in the Mojave to face the Legion alone. He also destroys the Legion outpost of Dry Wells, his old home and where his tribe was destroyed and absorbed into the Legion.]]

* FatalFlaw: Guilt, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheFatalist. [[spoiler: Ulysses has seen and experienced the worst of it [[note]] he is the sole surviving member of the Twisted Hairs, caused the deaths of countless people by telling Elijah about the Sierra Madre, militarizing the White Legs, and through his actions at the Big Mountain Research Facility [[/note]] and has dwelled on these thoughts long enough to believe that he knows what's best for everyone. Since Ulysses was the one who discovered Hoover Dam and indirectly caused the first battle for Hoover Dam, he has blamed himself for the deaths of thousands and has become so disillusioned with the war that he plans to set off a series of nukes so they can destroy both the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion, despite the Courier telling him that he can't predict the future and can't guarantee that whatever comes after the NCR and The Legion will be any beter. Ulysses believes that everything that happened to The Divide happened because of the Courier - they got a package and they delivered it to The Divide, resulting in the destruction of the settlement - even though the Courier had no way of knowing that the package was actually a bomb. Ulysses's belief that he's ahead of the curve and he knows what's best for everyone ultimately shows that he's a deeply troubled man who's overwhelmed with guilt and lashing out. His idea of fate is just a way for him to justify what he went through and make sense of things that were beyond his control, ultimately trying to tell himself that there was a reason why he suffered so much instead of just being random and senseless.]]

** '''Guilt''': [[spoiler: Ulysses blames himself for everything that went wrong. He's the one who found Hoover Dam and caused Caesar's lust for it; he also told Elijah about the Sierra Madre, militarized the White Legs, and inadvertently activated the Think Tank at the Big Mountain Research Facility. Ulysses feels incredibly guilty for these things and spent his days twisting these events into a mythology where everything happened for a reason, just so he can rationalize his hardships and find meaning in them. He blames the Courier for destroying The Divide, not understanding or even caring that the Courier either had nothing to do with it or was unaware that they were delivering a bomb that would destroy a settlement. Part of this self-made myth is that he and the Courier are destined to kill each other.]]

-->'''Ulysses:''' But it is their philosophy that was flawed - their weapons, used with new perspective... Those weapons can be used to kill a symbol that has already proven itself wrong.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheFatalist. [[spoiler: Ulysses has seen and experienced the worst of it [[note]] he is the sole surviving member of the Twisted Hairs, caused the deaths of countless people by telling Elijah about the Sierra Madre, militarizing the White Legs, and through his actions at the Big Mountain Research Facility [[/note]] and has dwelled on these thoughts long enough to believe that he knows what's best for everyone. Since Ulysses was the one who discovered Hoover Dam and indirectly caused the first battle for Hoover Dam, he has blamed himself for the deaths of thousands and has become so disillusioned with the war that he plans to set off a series of nukes so they can destroy both the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion. Despite the Courier telling him that he can't predict the future and can't guarantee that whatever comes after the NCR and The Legion will be the better option. Ulysses believes that everything that happened to The Divide happened for a reason because of the Courier, they got a package and they chose to deliver it to The Divide, resulting in the destruction of the settlement, even though the Courier had no way of knowing that the package was actually a bomb. Ulysses's belief that he's ahead of the curve and belief that knows what's best for everyone ultimately shows that he's just a deeply troubled man who's overwhelmed with guilt and lashing out over the senselessness of his hardships. His idea of fate is just a way for him to justify what he went through and make sense of things that were beyond his control, ultimately trying to tell himself that there was a reason why he suffered so much when it was all just a case of life being harsh and unpredictable.]]

* DreadlockWarrior: He was once part of a tribe named the Twisted Hairs, who all wore their hair in dreadlocks. Ulysses gives a reason that they could easily be cut off and used as tourniquets, but one of his holotapes reveals that they were actually meant to document the life and deeds of each member of the tribe, not unlike ritual scarring or tattoos in some cultures. He's also one of the few characters in the game with the potential to rival The Courier's levels of badassness. As noted above, [[spoiler:he turned the White Legs into this. He was furious and sickened, as the White Legs didn't know or care about the true meaning of his dreadlocks, and they came to represent what had happened to his own tribe, dreadlocks under the thumb and control of Caesar, setting him down the path he's on now.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: He and the Divide were mentioned in the base game by Jonhson Nash, long before ''Lonesome Road'' came out.

** '''Guilt''': [[spoiler: Ulysses blames himself for everything that went wrong. Because of him, countless people died because he told Elijah about the Sierra Madre, militarized the White Legs, he inadvertently activated the Think Tank at the Big Mountain Research Facility, and he's the one who found Hoover Dam and caused Caesar's lust for it. Ulysses feels incredibly guilty for these things and spent his days twisting his life's story into a mythology where everything happened for a reason just so he can rationalize his hardships and find meaning in them. This mentality caused his hatred for The Courier because he blames The Courier for destroying The Divide, not understanding or even comprehending that The Courier either had nothing to do with it or wasn't even aware of the fact that they were delivering a bomb that would destroy a settlement. Due to Ulysses's fixation on his guilt and meaning, he chooses to twist the narrative to a point where he tries to convince himself that he and the Courier are prophecized to kill each other.]]
** '''Self-righteousness''': [[spoiler: Ulysses genuinely believes that nuking the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion is the best option for everyone and that whatever comes next will be infinitely better than either faction taking over. Not understanding that he can't guarantee that the new faction will be better than the [=NCR=] or The Legion. He also fails to understand that Ulysses's actions will cause the deaths of innocent people as Caesar's Legion is composed of slaves and the [=NCR=] has civilians who are just trying to make a living.]]
** '''Hypocrisy''': [[spoiler: Ulysses likes to think of himself as having the moral high ground but he's not as heroic as he thinks he is. Ulysses painfully lacks any self-awareness; he shames the NCR, Legion, and House, for clinging to the past and for holding outdated ideas but Ulysses himself proudly wears a symbol of the United States, a country that died 200+ years ago, he hates long range tactics but relies on explosives and uses an anti-material rifle to kill enemies from a distance, Ulysses chastises the Courier for their role in the Divide's destruction (even though it was accidental), while Ulysses willingly orchestrated the destruction of New Canaan on Caesar's orders. Ulysses's use of explosives is where he's at his most hypocritical as he previously criticized the NCR for using explosives during the First Battle for Hoover Dam and refers to their use of explosives as cowardly despite he himself specializing in explosives and using nukes to destroy all 3 factions. When confronted over this, Ulysses feebly argues that he's using nukes because he has a better reason than the NCR and he finds it cathartic that he would use nukes to destroy a symbol and philosophy that has "already proven itself wrong".]]

* FinalBoss: If you choose to fight him, he will ''not'' make it easy. He has 10 in every stat, can't be knocked down, a powerful gun, and a lot of health. He also functions as the TrueFinalBoss of the DLC packages, since the past three have each told their own story while building up Ulysses as a shadowing figure who influenced the events.
* FlunkyBoss: If you choose to fight Ulysses, [[spoiler:you also have to deal with respawning eyebots and waves of Marked Men. If he's talked down however, he'll help you fight off the Marked Men with the eyebots as backup.]]
* {{Foil}}: As Ulysses himself says, he's "like you, and not like you, in all the ways that matter". For years now your character has travelled the West and in doing so helped the NCR carve a path to the Mojave and take Hoover Dam; Ulysses is a former member of Caesar's Legion that travelled the East helping their expansion, and he was their scout that found Hoover Dam. The three prior [=DLCs=] have you walk in Ulysses footsteps seeing evidence of where he's been and what he's done, while he feels he's spent his life previously doing the same in the wake of your journies. Given his Legion background, an NCR-aligned Courier can consider him a full EvilCounterpart.

** He told Elijah about the Sierra Madre intending to send him to a "special kind of hell" when instead he survived and sent many to their deaths in an attempt to steal from the casino and nearly unleashed a new apocalypse upon the Mojave with the technology within.

** His actions at Big MT, in addition to informing Elijah about the Sierra Madre, also started a series of events that nearly freed the Think Tank, which based on his fears of their capabilities, he had absolutely no intention of doing and likely did not realize that his ArmorPiercingQuestion would very nearly doom the Mojave.

* WrongGenreSavvy: As a result of his delusions about how his confrontation with the Courier will go down (see EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory), he just stands openly in the center of a large room, with no cover, and no way of defending himself, daring you to come, confident that you'll walk up to talk to him, which will give him time to both have his dramatic last conversation with you and begin your epic showdown with one another. The player can opt to just starting shooting him in the back the moment they walk through the door, and with the right character build and a good-enough gun, it's even possible to kill him with one good headshot that he won't hear or see coming.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: A female Courier working for Caesar's Legion (who believes women to be inferior intellectually and physically) can pull this on him, causing the normally stoic and wordy Ulysses to be noticeably caught off-guard for a moment before chuckling.
--> '''Ulysses''': But yes. Last I heard, you needed a weapon between your legs to carry one for Caesar.
--> '''Courier''': Is that why you're not Legion anymore, then?
--> '''Ulysses''': What do you me- *realization, followed by a chuckle* I see the way of it. Have fight in you, at least. Save it for the road ahead.

A copy of the ED-E robot found in the Mojave, remote scans of the Divide's computers scanned the original and produced this replica. While the original ED-E was heavily damaged, this one is pristine, and for his memory banks are intact. Thus he has a distinct personality and is rather emotive, though he can still only communicate in beeps.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler: If he doesn't commit his HeroicSacrifice, he'll continue on to Navarro, but not before making sure the Mojave ED-E has all of his upgrades and the Courier's past with him.]]
* ArcWords: "Fly far, fly fast!" From an old TV show about an Eyebot just like him, Ralphie.

* CharacterDevelopment: In the Divide, ED-E emotes far more often than his Mojave counterpart ever did. He has the same memories he did in the Mojave, hinting he's come to care for the Courier over the course of their travels in the Mojave as much as he cared for his creator.
* ChekhovsGun[=/=]ChekhovsBoomerang: For ''Lonesome Road''. [[spoiler:He contains a detonator from Navarro for the [=ICBMs=] of the Divide that the NCR looted, which is why Ulysses steals him when the Courier gets close enough. The implications of a little piece of his destination finding him is not explored. The game implies that the delivery was ED-E itself, but ED-E never made it that far west.]]
* ClosetGeek: He has a taste for old world movies and TV series. [[spoiler:One in particular, ''Ralphie: The Eyebot's Incredible Journey'', becomes his inspiration and inspires his creator to send ED-E to Navarro. Also, said show had a villain named "General Winter", a parallel to Colonel Autumn.]]
* CovertPervert: He has a habit of recording things he shouldn't.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:If you choose to stop the missile launch, the only way to do so is to have ED-E hack the system to stop it, but the process overloads his systems and destroys him.]]
* KickTheDog: Lonesome Road reveals that [[spoiler:ED-E's creation was overseen not only by Dr. Whitley but by Colonel Autumn. Autumn's lead scientist, Dr. Grant, forcibly upgraded ED-E without his or Whitley's permission while he was activated, the rough equivalent of doing extensive surgery on a conscious, non-consenting person without anesthetic. When Whitley ran Grant off, she had the Colonel order Whitley to upgrade ED-E her way, leading to Whitley's [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrible realization about Autumn and the Enclave]]. Then ED-E over heard a phone call from Autumn to Whitley, ordering him to cancel the project and break down the ED series Eyebots into scrap metal for Hellfire Armor. Whitley, who adored his Eyebots, treating them like his children, chose to let ED-E flee Adams AFB, telling him never to return.]] Even the Courier can be horrified by this.
-->'''Courier''': [[VideoGame/{{Fallout3}} Well, I for one hope they got what they deserved!]]

* LivingMacGuffin: [[spoiler: In Lonesome Road, you unfortunately act as MacGuffinDeliveryService for Ulysses in bringing him the very RobotBuddy he needs to activate the nukes...]]
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:The end of Lonesome Road has ED-E stolen from you. If you take him back, they slap you with this to insult you even more: Sacrifice ED to save the people from nuclear death? Or let him live in exchange for a nuclear apocalypse?]]

* BaitTheDog: DoubleSubverted. Throughout most of the [=DLCs=], he seems to be a pretty decent guy, just weird and intimidating -- he saved Christine from lobotomisation, and may have a good reason for his grudge with the Courier. [[spoiler:Walk through the Divide, and you find out that he wants to blow up the Long 15 as revenge on the NCR for indirectly destroying the first place he'd felt at home since the destruction of his tribe. Despite this, whether or not you talk him down in the final battle, he'll leave you a footlocker full of gear and note wishing you and whatever faction you're backing -- even the NCR -- good luck at Hoover Dam. And if you ''do'' talk him down, he'll decide to spend the rest of his life at the Divide, defending the Mojave from Tunnelers and the Marked Men.]]

* BaitTheDog: Throughout most of the [=DLCs=], he seems to be a pretty decent guy, just weird and intimidating -- he saved Christine from lobotomisation, and may have a good reason for his grudge with the Courier. [[spoiler:DoubleSubverted. Walk through the Divide, and you find out that he wants to blow up the Long 15 for destroying his home. Whether or not you talk him down, after you beat him, he'll leave a footlocker with goodies and a wish of luck. And if you do talk him down, he'll spend the rest of his life at the Divide, defending the Mojave from Tunnelers and the Marked Men.]]

* ThePowerOfHate: Ulysses applies this trope to explain the Marked Men's extreme aggression and hostility since they bear hate of the Divide for turning them into this, and of everyone else who trespasses in their home for reminding them that they once had a life outside of the pain and agony.

* BadassBaritone: Courtesy of Roger Cross.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheFatalist. [[spoiler: Ulysses has seen and experienced the worst of it [[note]] he is the sole surviving member of the Twisted Hairs, caused the deaths of countless people by telling Elijah about the Sierra Madre, militarizing the White Legs, and through his actions at the Big Mountain Research Facility [[/note]] and has dwelled on these thoughts long enough to believe that he knows what's best for everyone. Since Ulysses was the one who discovered Hoover Dam and indirectly caused the first battle for Hoover Dam, he has blamed himself for the deaths of thousands and has become so disillusioned with the war that he plans to set off a series of nukes so they can destroy both the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion. Despite the Courier telling him that he can't predict the future and can't guarantee that whatever comes after the NCR and The Legion will be the better option. Ulysses believes that everything that happened to The Divide happened for a reason because of the Courier, they got a package and they chose to deliver it to The Divide, resulting in the destruction of the settlement, even though the Courier had no way of knowing that the package was actually a bomb. Ulysses's belief that he's ahead of the curve and belief that knows what's best for everyone ultimately shows that he's just a deeply troubled man who's overwhelmed with guilt and lashing out over the senselessness of his hardships, not understanding that he is driving himself mad by believing that everything happened for a reason.]]

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: In true ''Fallout'' fashion, you can do this, either though a speech skill of 90 (and being very careful with your words) or by finding his holotapes and using his words against him.

* BonusBoss: Depending on the Courier's actions at the end of the DLC, the player can access the Dry Wells and/or the Long 15, areas controlled by the Legion and the NCR, respectively, where a nuclear blast has scorched the earth and turned the inhabitants in a new generation of marked men. The former has Gaius Magnus, the latter has Colonel Royez.

* BonusBoss: It's irrelevant to the story, and easy to miss in its secluded cave.

** '''Hypocrisy''': [[spoiler: Ulysses likes to think of himself as having the moral high ground but he's not as heroic as he thinks he is. Ulysses painfully lacks any self-awareness; he shames the NCR, Legion, and House, for clinging to the past and for holding outdated ideas but Ulysses himself proudly wears a symbol of the United States, a country that died 200+ years ago, he hates long range tactics but relies on explosives and uses an anti-material rifle to kill enemies from a distance, Ulysses chastises the Courier for their role in the Divide's destruction (even though it was accidental), while Ulysses willingly orchestrated the destruction of New Canaan on Caesar's orders.]]

* FatalFlaw: Guilt, self-righteousness.

->'''Voiced By:''' Ron Yuan (base game), Jesse Burch (''Lonesome Road'')