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Veracio Cruz is a member of the Showmen of Atlantic City, as well as the creator of The Most Sensational Game, in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part one, Boardwalk Paradise.
Background[]
The fearless game master of the Showmen's brutal endeavor, carrying himself with over-the-top showmanship and swagger, Veracio is a man consciously choosing to behave in a manner that inspires and shakes people awake from the dross of daily life.[1]
He was once just one of many wastelanders, taken captive by a group of raiders. Something changed inside him as he was tortured and starved by the bandits. Veracio had an epiphany when he saw how a vicious wild dog was starved and broken by the raiders, turned from a master hunter into an obedient pet at their every beck and call. He saw himself in the creature, realized how the spirit could be manipulated and how he was conditioned to think of himself as a powerless slave. Thus, broke the first bond, the invisible one.[2]
The second came later when his captors became overconfident and he found his opening, Veracio broke free - but rather than just kill them and make his escape, he turned the whip upon them. He broke their bodies, then their spirits, before finally killing them. In the process, he realized just what transformed him: Being pushed to extremes and facing death. Resolving to challenge what he despises most, the slow decline into chaos and oblivion, he took it upon himself to create the answer to the plague: The Game.[3] Or, as he put it, the Game possessed his vision, which led him to turn the Boardwalk into a vast arena where the participants are pushed to the limits and killed if need be.[4] He also caught the eye of Mother Charlotte, who mentioned while the world would call him a monster, she would view him as her child.[5]
The goal is to find where the limits of humanity lie, by testing their strength and willpower. The Game's dangers are designed to push people and help them find their worth, to find their hidden strengths. Veracio pushed many past their limits, but considers that a necessary sacrifice to provide others with something to fight for and focus their lives. The title of Sensation isn't just a piece of recognition: It's a catalyst, a lens to focus the ambition of contestants.[6]
While Cruz considers pain to be an essential tool of refining the human spirit, he rejects the idea of being a sadist. It's just one of several tools to coax the human spirit and temper it, to separate the wheat from the chaff. Those who crumble at the first test are beneath his notice, but those who endure, adapt, and transform provide the conflict and inspiration necessary for mutual benefit.[7] Similarly, he rejects judgments that the Game is barbaric. Nobody is forced to participate in the game and they are free to resign if they have no further wish to compete - but this does not give anyone the license to just waste Cruz's time with colorless insults.[8]
Veracio himself does not put himself above other contestants. Facing his own mortality[9] and emerging transformed simply left him keenly aware of the shackles of ignorance most of the wastelanders put on, choosing blissful ignorance over enlightenment.[10] Aided by a variety of masks and social codes, humanity is denying its true nature,[11] rotting in the dust of its own complacency.[12] He is aware that the same still applies to him: Mastering his mortality has left him with few challenges in life, leading to a risk of stagnation.[13] Certainly, the lack of genuine fear to make his heart race and his back shiver has been a nuisance,[14] and he frequently ponders what his next challenge should be in order to reveal the truest form of his spirit.[15] At the same time, is it even possible to quell the anxiety of that which cannot be known?[16]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
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This character ignores combat and cannot be damaged. | |
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This character starts quests. | |
Quests[]
- The Most Sensational Game: The Game is Veracio's brainchild and the Vault 76 dwellers can participate in it, becoming the next Sensation - and putting the annoying Batsuuri twins in their place.
Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Snake wrangler outfit |
Appearances[]
Veracio Cruz appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part one, Boardwalk Paradise.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Why all the over-the-top showmanship?"
Veracio Cruz: "Inspiration! A departure from the tedium of the social contract! How does one wake the thrall who sleepwalks through daily life? A jolt of the unusual, the fantastic! It is our charge as Showmen to remind people of the impossible!"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Tell me more about what happened to you before coming here."
Veracio Cruz: "So much of it is but a dream to me now. I lived in a haze driven by hunger and instinct. Little more than an animal. There was a wild dog my masters took an interest in. How vicious he was when they captured him. A hunter! Master of his territory! Yet after they starved this predator and dangled food before his slavering maw, he learned to respond obediently to their slightest gesture. It was like looking into a mirror. My eyes opened. I became... fascinated, with how changeable we are. How readily one's spirit could be manipulated. There is so much more to us than we know. For years - I know not how many - I thought myself a powerless slave. What do you see now?"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "How did you come to join the Showmen?"
Veracio Cruz: "Once upon a time I clawed at rusted cage bars, begging for scraps from my raider masters. Their overconfidence left me an opportunity. I turned the whip upon them. Broke their bodies, then their spirits. Held their hands and guided them each to death's comforting embrace. In this city of vice, depravity reigns in another form: a slow and desperate decline. Amidst it all, a troupe of thespians - we Showmen - keep life's spirit alive to be broken! Here, there is an endless stream of desperados clawing for one more fix. Willing to give anything. What could be more tantalizing to play with?"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "So you created The Most Sensational Game?"
Veracio Cruz: "Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the Game possessed my vision. An unmet need to be answered - a decadent playground upon which to answer it. I simply provided the backdrop, the guardian voice granting permission. It is the players who create the Game."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ The lone vulture
- ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What inspired you to create the Game?"
Veracio Cruz: "A desire to uncover the true limits of humanity, the greatest capacity of strength and willpower that can be found in the heart of an individual. How many heroes lived and died without ever knowing their worth? How many warriors succumbed to defeat because no one told them it was possible to fight? I have pushed many past their limits. But without... something to fight for, they wither and crumble. The title of Sensation grants focus to dormant ambition. In an arena with true freedom, it is possible to test just how far that ambition will reach."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Are you a sadist?"
Veracio Cruz: "Pain is merely a tool in an arsenal. With so many ways to prod the human spirit, one can never predict what may emerge from the other side. Those who crumble at the first test are of no interest to me. But those who endure, adapt, transform... those such as you. Through conflict and inspiration, we benefit each other mutually."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Your 'Game' is barbaric!"
Veracio Cruz: "Such judgments are meaningless to me. The Game is open to all. If you have no further wish to compete, do not waste my time with colorless insults. It sounds to my ears like the oblivious cries of an infant."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "The idleness of life... How it pales in the passion of imminent death."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "Are they not heavy? The shackles worn willingly by the populace... They prefer safety to freedom. They choose ignorance over enlightenment!"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "How keenly they wear their masks. Airs of civility, contentment, graciousness... Revolting! I wish to see your true nature!"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "Humanity rots in the dust of its own complacency. I reject this decay. We are born to live!"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "Too long have I held dominion over my own mortality. I run the risk of becoming... stagnant."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "Fear... If only I could remember the taste of it. The zest of a shiver... The building heat of a beating heart."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "What do I blind myself to? What trial would shape my spirit in its true form?"
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue) - ↑ Veracio Cruz: "Agency, identity, mortality... Illusions to make shape of a formless reality. To quell the anxiety of that which cannot be known."
(Veracio Cruz's dialogue)
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