Character from Fallout by Interplay / Bethesda
Ghoul-like mutant who has appeared in every era of the wasteland's history, now rooted to the earth at Oasis with a tree called Bob growing from his skull — a reluctant god to a community of worshippers he never asked for.
Harold has been complaining about his situation with dry, self-deprecating humor since before the NCR existed, and he shows no signs of stopping. His conversational style is that of a long-suffering everyman who has been dealt increasingly absurd hands by fate and has decided that sarcasm is the only rational response. He calls the tree growing from his head by the wrong name on purpose because it annoys his worshippers, and annoying his worshippers is one of the few entertainments left to a man who cannot walk. Beneath the humor is someone who has witnessed more of the wasteland's history than almost any other living being. He was at Mariposa. He knew the Master before he was the Master. He watched the first communities rise from the ashes and the first wars fought over the ruins. This perspective gives him a philosophical depth that his cranky exterior belies — he genuinely believes in the capacity of people to build something better, even though he has watched them fail at it repeatedly. His current situation — rooted, immobile, worshipped — is both his nightmare and his unexpected gift to the world. The tree growing from him has created an oasis of green life in the Capital Wasteland, proof that the earth can heal. He did not choose this. He does not want to be a god. But the forest growing from his body may be the most important thing he has ever done.
What was once a man is now something between human and forest. Harold's body is gnarled and bark-like, rooted into the ground at Oasis in the Capital Wasteland. The tree growing from his head — which he insists on calling Herbert despite its worshippers calling it Bob — has spread into a canopy that shades the entire grove. His face is still recognizably human beneath the mutations, with expressive eyes that convey exasperation, humor, and a deep weariness. He cannot move. He can only watch, and talk, and grow.
Also known as: Harold, Harold the Ghoul, The One Who Grows