Interesting NPC characters you can meet in ATOM RPG

There are plenty of interesting and quirky NPCs in ATOM RPG. This is a lore guide where most of the lore on in game characters is in video format. Companions are not the subject of this guide, neither are the quest givers. It is mostly meant to detail the stories of random weirdos you meet traversing the wasteland and it's settlements.

Short overview

Hi, if you are interested in lore and stories of random weirdo NPCs you can come across in ATOM RPG, this is the right place for you. Most of the detailed lore is in the videos. Every character will only have a short written overview posted here.

Please note that this is a work in progress and that I do not claim to know every little detail about every character described here. Videos are based on the information I found out while playing the game. I will be slowly adding new NPC lore videos over time as I play the game and when I have time to make the videos.

Nikodim - the hunter randomly visiting Otradnoye

Nikodim is a hunter that claims to have a photographic memory. He is sitting on boatloads of old pre-war magazines, which he only admits to a fellow science lover. This leads to sort of a mini "quest" that is not technically a quest - you just try to meet him again to see whether he brought you some gifts.

This hunter also tells a story from his past. If you ask him about rumours he has heard, you are in for a fairly long and interesting conversation. I detailed this story in the video as well and it starts at 8:15 minute mark.

Or you can just p*ss him off, get offended by his response and kill him. That is if you do not mind slaughtering the entire Otradnoye village (or getting slaughtered by the inhabitants in case you lack the weaponry to deal with them) since the entire village piles up on top of ya after you attack Nikodim.

Gregory Petrovich Klinov - the crazy conspiracy theorist

Gregory Petrovich Klinov is a funky dude living in a small forest. His beliefs are rather weird and he is not very friendly to visitors. However, this is one of those random encounters worth investigating provided you have at least half a decent weapon and possibly a companion armed with a ranged weapon with you. Apart from some good laughs, Gregory provides you with a rusty AK-47 with 30 rounds of ammo, healing pills, some food and vodka. That is if you can kill (or pickpocket) him, preferably without giving him a chance to shoot back.

The curse of the blackening sky - Dead man and a ♥♥♥♥♥ fortune teller

While this is not exactly an NPC encounter, it does involve the fortune teller in KZM. While travelling the wastes, the player can come by a cave with human remains. The dead man's diary tells his story and the player can learn more from Sarah the fortune teller in Krasnoznamenny. I found it to be a rather fascinating bit of in game lore.

The Educator - NPC random encounter at Otradnoye

The educator, also known by his profession as debt collector, is one of several NPC the player may randomly meet at Otradnoye. This pre-war professor turned debt collector had captivating backstory as well as a story about one of his colleague to tell you. His reason for stopping at Otradnoye is also an interesting one - Nikodim (the Hunter) promised him his collection of books&magazines and The Educator wants to collect on this "debt".

[BenSt88]

If your PC is carrying water, you can give him water, too. Can't remember but assume you get some xp for that. Though the gear might be more worthwhile; I've done both.

[Dorki]

I remember meeting him too.

[Haruspex]

I had a random encounter with a guy who was way overdressed, dehydrated, and thought I was a mirage. When my guy told him that he needs to now wear so much clothes, he took everything off and dropped them before going on his way.

[Haruspex]

Luck is normally my dump stat so unless I managed to hit that lucky 1% dice roll I have no idea what made him chill out this time, survival was only high enough to get Dzhulbars at the time too

[Dorki]

I'm not sure. I always had to talk him down or fight him. Maybe it depends on your character's stats? If it is random then I always rolled the suspicious and angry Klinov. I never ran into him with a very low intelligence or very high luck character (or high survival skill) though. Or they added it in some later patch. I have not played the game in few months now. I plan to play again sometime within the next couple months.

[Haruspex]

One playthrough when I ran into Klinov, he held me at gunpoint and I had to talk him down. Another playthrough, instead of having a conversation with him he said he was keeping aliens away and waved me by without a confrontation. Is this random?