| |
| Physical description | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| In-game information | |
| Voiced by | DeeDee Rescher |
Ada Tucker is a major character and mission giver in Days Gone.
History[]
Background[]
Before the apocalypse, Tucker was the head of the female ward at a penitentiary. She believed that everyone had to work in order to earn their keep.
Events of Days Gone[]
During the mission Price on Your Head, Deacon rides to the Hot Springs camp with Leon's stash -- as well as his hat -- to turn in for the bounty. Walking in on an argument between Tucker and Alkai about the difficulty in digging an irrigation ditch for the camp, it is clear that Tucker is growing increasingly desperate for additional 'bodies' for labor. Alkai informs her that the rock is mostly volcanic and that heavy equipment or dynamite would be necessary to finish the project on her timetable; however, Tucker reiterates that the best they can do is double down on her camp's primary strategy: find more survivors[1] and put them to work.
She takes Deacon on a quick ride around the camp where it becomes clear that Tucker's methods are becoming more physically aggressive, and she has assigned roughly one third of the men in her camp to guard and press the other two-thirds into labor. Tucker shares her low opinion of most survivors, stating that the ones who survived the outbreak are "freakier than the freaks" and proceeds to insult most members of her camp as lazy, entitled, and ineffective. Her concern for the faltering quality of life is genuine, however, as security informs her of additional thefts of food and equipment even after tightening it after Leon's theft of the medicine.
Knowing that Deacon wants the higher quality weapons and gear that she and Alkai keep in reserve for trusted allies, she offers him a deal: bring more people to the camp that she can put to work, and she'll give him "all the credits [he] can spend." Alkai's best scout, Larsen, recently spotted a young woman in Marion Forks and Tucker commissions Deacon to find her and bring her back. In exchange, she grants Deacon immediate access to Alkai's shop.
Deacon accepts and travels to Marion Forks, eventually tracking the young woman past Rippers who are hunting her as well. He discovers Lisa Jackson, a young teenager hiding in her childhood home. Deeply traumatized, she is still waiting for her parents to return. Deacon convinces her to return to the Hot Springs with him by leaning into her delusion (she convinces herself that her mother must be there) and fights through roaming Freakers and a wild bear. Bringing her back to camp, Tucker does her best to welcome Lisa; however, she privately reveals to Deacon that she intends to work Lisa just as hard as everyone else -- no special consideration or treatment -- regardless of her traumatized state or youth.
Tucker further offers Deacon optional jobs in the Hot Springs and Marion Forks regions, such as additional bounties, rescue jobs, and the locations of various hostile factions (such as Rippers and Marauders), and pays Deacon for each once accomplished. Several of these jobs directly relate to Tucker's issues with the camp, such as bounties to retrieve stolen medicine (stolen during the events of Chasing Leon). Some camp inhabitants, such as Rose and Lisa, will plead with Deacon to set out on their own rather than stay in Tucker's camp. If Deacon releases Rose, for example, Tucker will chide him for not bringing her back by force.
Because the Hot Springs is geographically bordering Ripper territory, Tucker makes frequent use of Deacon's services to halt their encroachment whenever possible. In spite of the Hot Springs heavy armaments, Deacon urges Tucker not to provoke the Rippers and agrees with Alkai: they simply do not have the manpower to hold off an attack in force.[2]
Even so, the Rippers aggressively push into Tucker's territory in a series of raids, culminating in a major attack. Among the prisoners is Lisa, and Tucker sends Deacon to retrieve her, if possible. Deacon assaults a fortified Ripper camp and locates a further traumatized Lisa, rendered catatonic by her torture at their hands. Deacon manages to help her regain lucidity and escape; however, he cannot bear the thought of returning her to the Hot Springs and instead asks Rikki Patil from the Lost Lake camp to take her there instead, hoping that Iron Mike's camp doctor, Addy, can treat her wounds and offer her a place. When Tucker asks about the results of Deacon's attack, he lies and says that Lisa died of her wounds, which infuriates Tucker.
If the player has reached trust level 3 with the Hot Springs, Alkai and some of his men will come to support Deacon during the mission "You Can't Do This Alone". When Alkai says that Tucker wanted to come, but couldn't, Deacon scoffs at the idea of her riding out to help fight. Even so, he is glad to see Alkai and his group. In spite of the major philosophical differences that the other camp leaders from Lost Lake and Copeland's Camp have about the Hot Springs and Tucker's policies of forced labor, they nonetheless respect Alkai and work seamlessly with his team under Rikki's combined direction.
Personality[]
Ada Tucker spent most of her career in criminal justice, where she worked next to a range of criminals whom she felt were constantly testing and prodding her for weaknesses. In response, Tucker formed a deep-seated form of compartmentalization, separating her work life from her at-home life, and developed a low-grade paranoia that she should expect betrayal from anyone. Working her way up through the ranks, she eventually became the "Matron of the Women's Ward", a warden in a state penitentiary for women before retiring with her husband to the Marion Forks region. According to Lisa, Tucker was the model of a friendly neighbor and someone who elicited immediate trust. However, at some point prior to the outbreak, her husband committed suicide rather than live with a painful illness -- despite having previously promised not to. This further escalated Tucker's paranoia and distrust of others.
After the outbreak, she developed a very low opinion of most survivors, believing they were "freakier than the freaks" to survive. She once again adopted her 'Matron' personality during the settlement of the Hot Springs, which, under her leadership, became an authoritarian regime based on collectivism. Newcomers were greeted warmly at first, but later 'encouraged' to make sacrifices for the greater good, giving up personal property such as food and supplies, and later given assignments around the camp for work. Tucker saw every act of reluctance, grumbling, or disagreement as a personal attack against her leadership and the camp, eventually dividing her loyalists into enforcers and treating everyone else as inmates in a work camp. In her mind, she believes that everyone in the camp is a lazy freeloader, ready to take food without contributing and receive her protection without lifting a hand in support. Ironically, while some camp members are indeed opportunists and thieves, a great many aren't lazy, but exhausted, and are stealing food because of starvation.
Like the other camp leaders, Tucker is a study in contradictions: she has a charming exterior that masks ruthless tendencies, shows genuine affection for members of her camp but can turn on them at the first sign of disloyalty, and claims that efforts and property are used for the greater good, while in reality being stockpiled within her camp.
Tucker is fearful of losing control of the camp and maintains a list of names for who she can trust (with many crossed out). Unlike Copeland, whose gruff exterior masks sincere care for his camp, Tucker's charm and praising of "the greater good" hide her disdain and distrust of her settlement.
Associated Collectibles[]
Gallery[]
- ↑ Deacon may find recruitable survivors during random encounters and send them to any discovered camp.
- ↑ Dialogue with Tucker after Rippers, Rest in Hell. Deacon warns Tucker to defend her borders but not to instigate additional conflicts with the Rippers due to their numeric advantage.