Since I love coming up with theories about my favorite characters in video games, I thought I'd come up with one about Clover.

I'm sure by now we all know who Clover is, one of the two "Evil Followers" for the Lone Wanderer along with an ex-Raider named Jericho. Clover is a slave bodyguard who works for the Slavers in Paradise Falls and serves her master Eulogy Jones. She and Crimson, another slave bodyguard, were captured a long time ago and were abused and brainwashed into being absolutely loyal to whoever owns them. Eulogy claims that Clover is the "craziest" out of his slave bodyguards because she's actually in-love with whoever owns her and is willing to risk her life just to protect him or her.

Anyways despite the fact that Clover is listed as an Evil Follower, I don't think she's actually an evil character, not the way Jericho is at least. The reason I say this is because unlike Jericho who's only loyal when you have Evil Karma, Clover is loyal to you no matter what you karma is but you have to be evil to buy her the first time.

I think that's sort of showing the fact that her master Eulogy (who you buy Clover from) is the evil one and only sells his bodyguards to people who are evil like himself, but Clover herself is more of a tragic victim. She's a slave who's been captured and forced into labor against her will just like all the other slaves in Paradise Falls, and she's been psychologically tortured into believing that she has to be absolutely loyal to her master just to have a purpose for existing, and because of this she has no real morals or conscience and does whatever her master wants her to do no matter how depraved the orders are. But because she's been mentally programmed to be loyal to whoever owns her, she can be an evil person or a good person depending on the karma of the person who buys her, kind of like Charon except Charon still holds onto some of his personal morals and will kill his master for being evil if his contract falls out of his master's hands.

I think there's a little depth to Clover's personality that most people overlook. She's not truely evil even though she's meant for evil players (because only an evil person would have a slave, right?), in fact I could see her as a sufferer of co-dependant personality disorder. She feels that she has to have a master in order to be a complete person, so whoever becomes her master she willingly follows him and does whatever he or she wants. Without that master she is nothing and doesn't have a purpose for existing.

What do you guys think of my theory?

I believe that Clover came from an all female band of raiders, meaning she was never a particularly nice girl, but Eulogy has basically brain-washed her so she is no longer in control of her actions. She may even have been the leader of that raider set (which explains her combat prowess).

However, I cannot remember where I read that. . .the strategy guide perhaps? My memory has failed me :sadvaultboy:

I've heard a lot of people say they think Clover was a Raider, but I don't think she was. I mean yeah she has that mohawk haircut, but lots of NPCs have those haircuts and they're not all Raiders. Plus if you notice all the female Slavers tend to have butch haircuts like Carolina Red and those nameless slaver girls who wonder around Paradise Falls, so I think the fact that Crimson and Clover have shaved haircuts is just showing their status that they're loyal to the Slaver Faction.

Gettin' old, there?

Mr. Chicken, I think you're being a bit nice about Clover. She's not just like one of Dukov's girls, she is ruthless with that knife -- trust me, I know, because I've only ever gone into PF with the intention of blowing it up, but maybe this game will be different -- and that had to come from somewhere. The brainwashing sounds a bit like Stockholm syndrome the way you describe it.

I guess this is the main problem I have with a lot of characters in FO3. There are so, so many I wish I knew more about from in-game canon (most of them have articles on the wiki with info from the guide), and most don't even have a hint other than maybe a passing comment or terminal entry.

Being too nice on her? Well maybe I am.

I agree that I wish we knew more about the characters, but there's so many I don't think Bethesda could possibly cover them all. I do think they should have at least given a great deal of focus on the companions though.

I suppose that is true, but then, they should have left most of them as just random NPC's, like in Oblivion. I didn't give a crap about 95% of the NPCs in that game because they were just the shop keeper, the innkeeper, and so on. In FO3 they almost always have names, and some of them are given little snippets into a backstory, and if they're going to tease they better deliver. <_<

Well I personally perfered the Fallout 3 NPCs to the Oblivion ones because they felt more human (OK, I know Oblivion had lots of elves and orcs and talking lizards, but you know what I mean). The Fallout 3 NPCs each had their own personality and background hint, and some weren't very pleseant people which made them all the more likeable.

As for Clover I think it's cool that she stays loyal even when your karma goes to Neutral or Good. I think the creators actually put thought into that because like Charon she's a brainwashed bodyguard so she shouldn't be picky and should remain loyal no matter what. In a lot of ways Clover and Charon are very similar, neither are really good or evil and they're always absolutely loyal to their master.

That's basically my point, the people in FO3 were more...human, and I was so interested in all their stories. For example, in Megaton someone will say "the Stahls came from out east somewhere" but then that's it. Also, no where in the game can you find out that Andy wanted to blow up Megaton, too. Not to mention, why is there a merc in Moira's shop?!

It makes sense that these people bound by "contracts" would stick with it no matter what, because hey, they're just doing their jobs. It leaves lots of room for fic, though, to explore perhaps some of the internal dialogue of them as they wander around, hehe.

Well all the Caravan Merchants have Mercenaries who follow them and guard their trade, and I think Moira used to be one of those Merchants from Canterbury Commons but settled down in Megaton to work on her experiments, I guess she continued to pay the Mercenary to guard her shop. :shrug:

Also I love how despite the fact that Clover is a loyal slave, she isn't afraid to get sassy with her master. That's kind of what makes her cool. She was never sassy with Eulogy though, but Crimson was. I honestly think Clover was more afraid of Eulogy than she was the Lone Wanderer which is why Clover refused to go into the irradiated room at the end of the main quest.

But I think that despite her sassy-ness, she does like the Lone Wanderer in a twisted psychotic sort of way. She was brainwashed to be loyal to whoever holds her leash so regardless of what LW does she will love him unconditionally because she feels she has to, just like a dog.

This is how I view Clover as well - blindly loyal to whoever owns her contract but not intrinsically evil. Just brainwashed. The fact that she will stay with you regardless of karma I think proves that. Actually, a New Vegas style companion quest for her would have been great in order to find out a bit more about her backstory. The Fallout 3 companions give us so much and it would be great to give something back to them by helping them out with their own questline.

I like Clover, shes one of the more colourful companions in F3. Her dialogue is great and I never get bored of her. Same with Charon.

Yep I agree. I think when it comes down to it Dogmeat, Charon, and Clover are special companions because they stay loyal to the Lone Wanderer no matter what which makes them really good followers in my opinion. Plus one is a dog and dogs tend to always love humans who care for them, and the other two are trained bodyguards who have been brainwashed to be obedient to their masters. That makes them perfect as those types of companions.

Also another thing I've noticed is the polar opposite difference between Clover and Cross, the only two female companions. Cross has very high morals and will only stay with you if your karma is good (she's the only Karma Companion who actually leaves if your karma changes, instead of remaining with you untill you fire her or get seperated like other companions do), where Clover has no morals and stays with you no matter what your karma is, though you still have to be evil to buy her the first time. I think they're trying to say something about women when it comes to those two female companions, but I'm not sure what it is.

Clover was afraid to go into the irradiated room in the end due to a rather lame game mechanic. The pre-Broken Steel game forced you to choose between sacrificing your life and sacrificing Sarah's. Ergo, the three characters who could have started the purifier with no loss of life at all (since radiation would not harm them) all made ridiculous excuses. The other four (not including Dogmeat) made legitimate ones. When BS came along, it merely rewrote the dialogue options for those three characters.

Yes I'm well aware of that, but at least they fixed it in Broken Steel. I think the fact that Clover refused to go into the purifier kind of made her cool, like it was showing that she's not as dumb and brainwashed as she seems. And if anything at least with Broken Steel added and the Lone Wanderer surviving she can make up for it by joining his or her party again and acting happy to see him.

I agree with your theory about Clover, Sesame. She's awesomely devoted to the LW, and it's like a job for her, not just a brainwashing thing. She's as good as Charon about it. She's a great bodyguard. And the six thing is almost like an afterthought. That seems like the brainwashed part to me. I love her. She used to bug me with all the firting, but I've gotten used to it and just wish she had a lot more dialogue. I still love Charon more, but she's definitely my second favorite, and I've never thought of her as evil at all, she definitely seems like the victim, not like Jericho, who is clearly just bad, even if he claims to be reformed (although he is still better than Cross who is the most irritating of them all). I mean, he's funny, but I'd never trust him. Clover is trustworthy even if she is a little damaged.

I agree about the difference between her and Jericho. Jericho is just a pure sociopath like all Raiders who only joins the Lone Wanderer for caps and for a chance to get back into the Wasteland and kill things. Clover is psychotic but not really in an evil way, she just believes she has to protect the Lone Wanderer because he or she is her new master. The fact that she always makes sixual advances on him or her is due to Eulogy brainwashing her into being so submissive to her master that she'll do anything from guarding his life to doing sixual favors, and judging by the fact that Eulogy wears a pimp suit and sleeps on a heart waterbed he's obviously used his loyal slavegirls sixually. While that does make her a wh***, it still doesn't make her totally evil because she was forced into it against her will.

But basically Jericho is just another evil guy in the Wasteland who will join the LW if he's evil too, and Clover herself isn't evil but her master Eulogy is and he'll only sell her to the LW if he's evil too. What makes her an evil companion isn't her own evilness but the fact that only a truely demented person in real life would use a slave bodyguard who's been abused and brainwashed constantly.

She's sassy....but in a very playful sort of way. With Eulogy, she was fighting a losing battle with Crimson for his attention and she knew it. Now that she belongs to the LW, she no longer has competition for the attention of "her" man and can safely play the coquette with him. She probably senses on some level that the LW isn't the monster that Eulogy is and does like him as much as is it possible for someone with the severe mental issues she has...thanks to the extensive psychological and sixual abuse it took to condition her to be what Eulogy wanted her to be.....to like anyone.

Well said, from the different comments between Clover and Crimson to Eulogy it does seem like Clover was desperate for the attention of her master, but sadly Eulogy had grown tired of her which I think was because Clover became completely submissive and eager to please him, where Crimson still resisted his orders somewhat and he was having fun brainwashing her while he decided it was time to sell Clover off like an old used car. And I think you're right in saying that Clover could sense that the Lone Wanderer wasn't a monster like Eulogy, so she felt it was safer to backtalk him occassionaly. I do think she liked him because she was psychologically programmed to like whoever owned her, but at the same time she was easily bored with him because he wasn't as cruel and abusive as Eulogy which is why she's always yawning and shouting "I'm bored!".

I sort of got the impression that what you seem to consider backtalking was more Clover's way of flirting with the LW.....or in the case of her complaining about being bored, a veiled hint that she'd like some sixy time. She was conditioned to be a eager bed partner for her master as well as a bodyguard, after all.

I would believe Clover was born into slavery, and has only had benevolent/charismatic masters like Eulogy. I recall that for example many Roman slaves born into their status, with the right master, were very happy with their slavery and continued serving their masters even after being liberated/having bought liberty.

I don't think her personality or anything has to do with the evil karma requirement. Rather, it's Eulogy who decides if you can buy Clover, so it's Eulogy who is the reason for karma req.

This is how I see Clover. She's so screwed up on Jet and Psycho that she's like a raider. She likes to kill and doesn't really think things straight through. In essence, she's psychotic. The karma requirement comes from wether or not she thinks your fun to hang out with.

Well that is true that most of her sassy attitude is flirting with the Lone Wanderer but the Water Purifier was an example of how she is more willing to disobey the Lone Wanderer's orders. She's obviously not as afraid of him as she is Eulogy so there are certain things she won't do for him, even though she'll do pretty much anything else like defend him in battle or make sixual advances on him. That's what I meant.

I tend to agree with the OP about Clover not being evil, just a bit screwy in the head.

No one knows for sure, but my theory is that she was a former Raider, raised by them in a culture of violence and drugs. Then captured by slavers and further abused.

She now looks to her "owner" as a source of stability. She may know at some level that if she were alone she'd simply run around fighting everything (good, bad or neutral) for no reason she sees until she dies.

So by having an "owner" she knows she'll last longer and have a bit more of a purpose.

So she's both a fun character and perhaps a bit sad at the same time if you think about it.

Fair enough. But I doubt she would have activated the Purifier for Eulogy either. Risking her life in battle and sharing the bed of her master is one thing.....she does derive pleasure from both that reinforces her conditioning...but killing herself is entirely another. It takes a specific kind of conditioning to get people to the point they're willing to expend themselves for you, Clover was conditioned to perform certain tasks that she cannot do if she kills herself.




As a person, she's been badly damaged emotionally and psychologically....and it's doubtful there is anyone outside the Institute that could help her. Being with a good LW is probably the best case scenario for her, as she'll suffer no further abuse and present less of a danger to anyone she meets. She does present something of a ethical dilemma for the LW, though. Keeping a slave is wrong, but the consequences of freeing her could be even worse. Taking her to the Temple of the Union is problematic as long as Eulogy lives, and I'm not sure Hamlin and Simone could handle her anyway.

Well that could be true, but I doubt she would have been as quick to reject his orders as she was the Lone Wanderer. She'd probably be reluctant to do as she was commanded and beg Eulogy not to make her do it and of course he would probably end up killing her for being useless. Eulogy had more control over Clover through the use of fear, and obviously she wasn't as afraid of The Lone Wanderer. In fact I think the way Clover always returns to Eulogy after LW fires or gets seperated from her is an example of how she has more respect for him. Even though she was sold to the Lone Wanderer and she's his property now she still has some attachment to her old master because he represents a place she can go back to and continue having stability if anything ever happens to her current master.

But yeah like you guys are saying Clover is definetly a tragic character because of the way she has been abused and brainwashed into thinking she has no other purpose other than to serve her master. But she's also like the perfect slave to sell because of how she's been brainwashed and will do whatever her master wants. She won't try to run away or murder her master and she will always be by his or her side. It seems to me like Eulogy creates these perfect slavegirls as a specialty for only the most evil buyers who have no respect for human life and could treat a fellow human basically like you'd treat a guard dog. So yeah Clover herself isn't evil, but anybody who's willing to own a slave like her says more about them than any of the bad things she can do for her master.

Eulogy is a stereotypical Pimp...according to the Strategy Guide he took power at Paradise Falls by prostituting his slave girls to the other slavers and using the girls to learn thier secrets, then he blackmailed them into supporting his power play against his predecessor. He has no respect for women in general and is skilled at manipulating and using them. Crimson and Clover are what happens to any women that come into his power that doesn't serve a better purpose...like Cutter...or are immune to his games.....like Carolina Red, who is a psychopath. In a game where I can become "evil" by accessing Moriarty's PC a hundred times or so, I don't mind meta-gaming my way into buying her just to have her around, but that is one situation I would want no part of in the real world. She's been driven mad by continuous psychological and sixual abuse to the point a normal relationship with her is probably impossible, and actually sleeping with her is arguably tantamount to r.ape.