Once an idealistic citizen of the Republic, Richards had a good life as a doctor in the core lands of the Republic. His idealism drove him to join the NCR Army out of a sense of patriotic duty, to try and make the wasteland a better place. It worked for a while, as Richards was stationed near the Dam during the First Battle of Hoover Dam and witnessed the brutality of the Legion, the carnage of the battle, and the elation of victory.[2]
Since then, however, his enthusiasm for service and the grand democratic project of the Republic have disappeared, replaced by weariness and exhaustion. Ever since he joined the garrison at Camp Forlorn Hope, the steady stream of wounded and maimed soldiers has numbed him to the point where he just wants to get home. But until he's discharged, he will keep fixing the soldiers up in the morning only to see them on his operating table in the afternoon. He will keep sewing them up, applying stimpaks, chopping of limbs, and more, just to make it to the end of another day. [3]
Whiskey helps getting through the day in the chop shop called a medical center.[4]
Restoring Hope: The player is asked to help with the three patients in the medical center to aid with the personnel shortage.
Medical Mystery: Richards keeps good stock of his supplies. The recent shortage of a number of important drugs has left him convinced that there's a thief in the Camp.
Other interactions[]
If one has the Confirmed Bachelor perk, Dr. Richards will address the player as "little buttercup", "[my] fine dear", say "I'm always a sucker for a pretty face" or exclaim that the room just got a little bit hotter, indicating that he's homosexual. Incidentally, if the player has the Wild Wasteland perk, a name in the credits says "Dr. Richards is a dude, and he likes dudes".
↑Alex Richards: "Quite a bit actually. I was stationed nearby during the first battle of Hoover Dam four years ago. I saw a lot of what happened firsthand."
↑Alex Richards: "I used to be a doctor back in California, but a few years back I got suckered into doing military work because it was my "patriotic duty."" "Back then, I, like many idealistic men before me, thought it was a great idea and was excited about making the world a better place with the NCR." "Now... I just want to get back home. I've had enough fighting and fixing up soldiers just to send them right back out to die to last a lifetime."
↑Whiskey bottles thrown away in the cart full of amputated limbs are definitely his.
