The Desert Rangers (Team Alpha and Recruits, Team Echo and Recruits, Team November and Recruits) - Major Antagonists
The Patriarch and the Buchanan Family - Other Recurring Characters
—— Factions and Settlements ——
Arizona and Nevada - California
Colorado (Colorado Springs, The Plains Gangs, Other Factions and Characters in Colorado)
This is a character sheet for the Arizona Desert Rangers from the Wasteland series.
The Desert Rangers
The Desert Rangers were founded by a detachment of the US Army Corps of Engineers who survived the 1998 nuclear war, thanks to their remote posting in the Arizona desert. Soon after the fallout, the Engineers quickly stormed and commandeered the nearby Federal Prison to use as a base of operations, throwing the inmates out into the wasteland to their deaths and converting the prison's industrial manufacturing facilities to their needs. From 1998 to 2087, the newly-christened Ranger Center grew as nearby survivalists joined the organization.
In 2087, a team of four Rangers were sent on a scouting mission to Las Vegas, where they discovered something much worse than the raider gangs they were used to: an ever-increasing army of cyborgs and killer robots seeking to exterminate all human life. Scouring through near-century old military bases, they found the source of the problem: Irwin John Finster, the Director of Base Cochise, and the Base Cochise AI. After preventing a second apocalypse, the Rangers' fame grew, and they decided to relocate to the technologically advanced Guardian Citadel northwest of AG Center and southwest of the Abandoned Radio Tower.
It's been 15 years since then, and the Rangers are stretched thin trying to fix everything that went wrong during their exodus. However, mysterious radio broadcasts from the West calling for the destruction of the Rangers and everything they stand for. The General is spooked enough to send out the newest batch of trained rookies, Team Echo, to look into what's stirring up the Arizona wasteland.
- Legacy Character: Of the United States army engineering corps. Their claim to being the direct successor is strong enough to qualify as government representatives in the eyes of some robots.
- Ranger: It's in their name. They were inspired by the pre-war Texas and Arizona Rangers to bring the law to the lawless wasteland.
- The Remnant: Their founders were the surviving members of an army engineer division who took it upon themselves to bring order back to the wastes.
Ranger Citadel
Sergeant Doctor Erik Tidemann
The Rangers' resident medic, Dr. Tidemann has seen better days. This is mainly due to his severe lung cancer, which causes him constant pain and leaves him with a nasty cough. Unless someone manages a cure for cancer in the near future, it's likely that he won't survive more than a few years.
- Contest Winner Cameo: He is modeled and named after the real-life Erik Tidemann, who donated a large sum to the game's kickstarter.
- Cure for Cancer: The only thing that could save him at this point. But what are the odds of finding that? Pretty high, actually - the cure can be found in Darwin Village.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Justified, as it is lung cancer. Even after it goes into remission, he still has a pretty bad cough.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: He gets his cancer cured only for him to die in the attack on Ranger Citadel.
- Super Doc: As with all in-game doctors, he can cure almost anything the player contracts while restoring them to maximum health. Doubly so once you bring him the Cure for Cancer, as he notes that the lab boys are working on reverse-engineering it for distribution.
- Your Days Are Numbered: He doesn't know quite how long he has, but he know's he'll be dead sometime soon. If you find the cure, however, his cancer goes into remission, and he shows signs of recovery. Ultimately he ends up being right regardless, as he is killed in Matthias' assault on the Citadel with even the flavor text pointing out that "he didn't die of cancer after all".
Lieutenant Min Liang "TNT" Tan
Lt. Tan, better known as "TNT Tan," is the Rangers' resident demolitions expert. He's in charge of manufacturing all of their explosives and gunpowder, but has lately run into a problem - he needs more shit. Specifically, he needs the chemical compounds found in animal droppings to manufacture more explosives.
- Asian and Nerdy: Downplayed. While he is a genius, he's far more interested in the actual explosions than the science behind them.
- Demolitions Expert: He's in charge of manufacturing the Rangers' explosives.
- Fingore: He's described as being missing a few fingers, due to his penchant for Stuff Blowing Up.
- Killed Offscreen: Dies in Matthias' assault on the Ranger Citadel at the end of the game.
- Stuff Blowing Up: His favorite pastime. The other Rangers advise newcomers not to linger in his workshop because of it.
- Toilet Humor: The vast majority of his sidequest, which involves collecting animal droppings. The game makes a point of referring to it as "shit" every time.Tan: "Got any good shit for me?"Player: "Have a look at this shit."Tan: "Shit yeah, let's have a look!"*Forks it over*Tan: "Good shit, brother. Good shit."
- Alternatively, if the player doesn't have any:
Player: "I don't have shit."Tan: "Well, shit. Any other shit I can help you with?"
Ghost
A cloned Ranger who found himself outside the cloning chamber in Sleeper Base 1, with no memories of who he was other than the fact he was a Desert Ranger. He eventually found his way to the Cochise Team, who helped explain his origins.
Ghost is the protagonist of the tie-in novels The Earth Transformed and The Death Machines, which explain his origins and novelize the second half of Wasteland. He does not appear in the game proper.
- Attending Your Own Funeral: The Rangers wind up giving his original self a retirement party. It winds up being pretty awkward.
- A Day In The Lime Light: He is the protagonist of the tie-in novels The Earth Transformed and The Death Machines, which also mark his only appearances in the series.
- Canon Foreigner: Unlike the other returning party members, Ghost was not featured in Wasteland, and was created entirely for the tie-in novels.
- Clone Degeneration: Likely the cause of his memory loss. It doesn't help that he was cloned from another clone.
- Cloning Gambit: Whoever was the genetic original of Ghost had this in mind when using Sleeper Base One's cloning chamber.
- Determinator: Counting the original and the previous clone, Ghost died in the line of duty three times to fulfill his mission.
- Expendable Clone: Begins to develop this mindset about himself in the later parts of the story once it's revealed that he's the clone of a clone.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He and VAX held off the robots at Base Cochise in a Last Stand long enough for the rest of the group to escape from the base's self-destruct.
- Identity Amnesia: Aside from his status as a Desert Ranger, he has no memory of who he is.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He is never mentioned in the actual game, likely due to the minor Continuity Snarl created by his status as a Canon Foreigner.
Santa Fe Springs
The Rangers' forward outpost in Los Angeles. Formerly a water treatment plant, Santa Fe was the perfect place for the Rangers to hole up - defensible, open enough to land a helicopter, and filled to the brim with water. Angela Deth touched down here along with Lt. Woodson and Team Foxtrot before taking off in the helicopter again to scout the city.
Unfortunately, things went to hell in a handbasket fast. Angela's chopper was shot down by heat-seeking missiles after flying too close to the Robot Army's headquarters, and contact was lost with the ground team shortly thereafter. Team Echo arrives at the base with almost no fuel left and wrecks their helicopter as a result, and finds the reason that the outpost stopped transmitting - a horde of mutant dogs rushing in through holes in the fence.
Lieutenant/General Wade Woodson
- Voiced by: Michael Ralph (original), Michael O'Neil (Director's Cut)
The Rangers' previous radio operator, Woodson is a radio genius and a critical asset to the Rangers. Vargas takes over for him during the Arizona portion of the game, as he's busy with getting the repeater units online, working to triangulate the source of the Mysterious Broadcasts. Once it's determined that they're coming from California - Los Angeles, specifically - he is sent in with Angela Deth and Team Foxtrot to establish an FOB and get communications running smoothly.
Woodson takes over Vargas's role as radio operator in Los Angeles, relaying distress signals to the team and giving promotions (level-ups) when necessary.
- Alliterative Name: Wade Woodson.
- Black and Nerdy: He can go on at extreme length about the inner workings of radio transmission if you let him, and the rest of the Rangers advise you to steer away from the topic if he brings it up.
- Informed Equipment: The description of him says he wears makeshift glasses, but they don't show up on his portrait or his 3D model.
- Mission Control: He acts as your radio operator during your first mission in Wasteland 2, before Vargas opts to take a hands-on role for the remainder of your time in Arizona. Woodson retakes this position once the Rangers arrive in Los Angeles, handling distress calls from the locals and level-ups for the team.
- Rank Up: By Wasteland 3 he's replaced Vargas as Ranger General.
- Reused Character Design: His character portrait is a cropped and flipped version of the generic Black Ranger, which is also used by the companions Gary "NaCl" Wolf, and Pistol Pete.
- Sole Survivor: He is the only survivor of Team Foxtrot after their helicopter was shot down and Nuke Pooches came down on their lightly-defended outpost.
- Time to Step Up, Commander: With the death of Captain Carlson and with Arizona out of contact, Woodson is pushed into the role of Team Echo's commanding officer in California, complete with taking over for Vargas as Mission Control and resident Voice with an Internet Connection.
Captain Dave "Killer" Carlson
The leader of Team Foxtrot, Killer Carlson got his nickname after a particularly violent first assignment that earned him several promotions and a lot of respect. Now, he fears the nickname will have a different story behind it - his entire team has been killed, overwhelmed by Nuke Pooches, and he blames himself. He's on his last legs by the time Echo arrives at Santa Fe.
- Almost Dead Guy: His team is wiped out and he's barely alive by the time you reach him. He still manages to pass on a surprising amount of information before he passes, though.
- A Father to His Men: He deeply regrets the deaths of his squadmates, wishing he could have done more for them.
Maj. Vera Prasad
The Major in charge of the journey to Colorado from Arizona in Wasteland 3.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Especially on higher difficulties, Major Prasad, even while dying, can end up doing most of the heavy lifting during the prologue's final battle. She's well-armored compared to the party at this point and has good aim with that assault rifle of hers.
- Handicapped Badass: It doesn't get much more handicapped than being mortally wounded, but Major Prasad doesn't let that slow her down; she not only kills Jarret Dorsey with a headshot to open up the prologue's final battle, but participates in the firefight that follows. She only lets herself die when the Dorseys are dead.
- Face Death with Dignity: You can push her to this with a Hard Ass check, or let her meet her end peacefully with First Aid, euthanizing her. Her last word will be "Warm", perhaps remembering her desert home before she dies in Colorado's frozen wastes.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Averted if you let Junko build a museum in the Colorado HQ; Major Prasad receives a holographic memorial, and is, in fact, the very first thing Junko installs.
- Wrench Wench: Older and more respectable than the standard for this trope, but you are introduced to Major Prasad as she fixes a malfunctioning Ranger Jeep's railgun under heavy fire from Dorseys and their pet Warbot. Team November, alongside a group of Rangers who get killed, are tasked with defending her until this is done.
- You Are in Command Now: Gives the papers detailing the Ranger's secret orders- mostly regarding Angela Deth's possibly going rogue- to Team November, since as the last two (or three, if Jodie was rescued) people left standing after the ambush, they are the only Rangers left to take command.
