Phreak

Phreak
650
Biography
Role	Hacker
Location	Abandoned Core City facility
Quests	Find HV cables HV penetrator assembly Overcharge facility Ticket testing
Loot	Remote Control Energizer Glove
Abilities	Bone Breaker Cheap Shots Combo Critical Power Deflection Dirty Kick Heavy Punch Lightning Punches Opportunist Recklessness Sprint Wrestling

Phreak (also known as Mit Draper and Old Hacker) is a hacker from North Underrail currently residing in Core City. He is an extremely elusive figure whose style of hacking is brute-forcing something until it works. He is hiding out in an abandoned facility full of Coil Spiders, and to reach him the player has to activate all the EMP generators in the facility. It is noteworthy that performing this quest-line allows the player to bypass doing any main story quest for the Oligarchs.

Player Interactions

Before he is even met, the player can find several orange phone boxes in Lower Underrail that (usually with certain hacking and electronics skills) can give insight into Phreak's handiwork and interactions with the Protectorate, Lunatics and Ironheads.

There are several ways to reach Phreak.

• Get in Motion 6 times. This may have the undesirable side effect if giving the player the Motioner feat and is somewhat expensive.

• Use the ladder entrance in the south-west map of the Middle Level of Core City (14 effective Perception to notice). The entrance is specifically in the western rectangular block, the one next to the gangsters, on the map screen that is west of Halim's Electronics Store.

• Use the ladder entrance in the Large Drain Pipe section of the Sewer passages (11 effective Perception, but can by bypassed by having Night Vision Goggles equipped and activated). The ladder is specifically located at the south end on the same side of the water from the entrance, against the wall just before entering the large drain pipe.

If player has already accepted or completed the Seek the Acid Hunters quest for any of the Oligarchs, he will be missing and only his laptop may be found. Player may still be able to finish Phreak's crunch on their own, however most of the rewards for his quests will become unavailable.

The player may eventually find him and be tasked to retrieve a set of heavy-duty cables from the Acid Hunters' lair, potentially also unlocking a trap door leading directly near their hideout (depending on his attitude). For finishing this quest, he will give the player the Camera Jammer.

After that, the player is tasked to retrieve two items from two different hideouts in Upper Underrail. For this mission Phreak grants the player the Orange Box to complete the sound-based puzzles. Afterwards, the player will be tasked to turn on boilers possible in the abandoned facility in order to stress-test the system. Doing so will enable a path leading directly to the Research Facility and to the Abomination's Lair, but it is dangerous as there are both a robot (likely varying in difficulty, up to an Industrial Robot) and several Death Stalkers.

By the end of his quest-line he may also allow the player to buy Contact-Activated Capacitative Sheets (for 200 charons) and Forged Underrail Express Tickets (for 100 charons). Additionally, with 50 effective Persuasion, he can be convinced to grant the player several extra minutes in the Gauntlet. His stock refreshes every 60 minutes.

Phreak's rewards depend on whether the player already knows about him and general respect during conversations. Knowing about Phreak ahead of time (or passing his Persuasion check in dialogue, 85 effective skill) and not insulting him will unlock all 3 rewards (Camera Jammer, CACS and Forged Underrail Express Tickets).

In addition there is a hidden modifier that decreases and increases based on player's dialogue with Phreak that modifies the amount of goods given to player during a purchase of CACS or forged tickets. By discussing various things and being respectful to him, allows player to obtain more items for the same price.

There are few ways of learning more about Phreak before meeting him:

• Player can read his entry at Oculus with second clearance level.
• Emergency phone north of GMS past the bandit checkpoint contains some information about him if you can repair it (requires Electronics or Hacking).
• Player can find some information about him on the Bloody Mobile Computer found at an ironhead camp in the dark metro tunnels between Foundry and Core City.
• Another emergency phone with information about Phreak can be found deep inside an Ironhead lair south-east of Foundry (Simon Peres' hideout).

After successfully obtaining information about Phreak, player should get a new Other sidequest in their quest notes telling them to find the person responsible for hacking underrail metro emergency phones.

As a side-interaction, player can discuss various topics with him, including his hacking techniques. With 85 base Hacking the player can talk about how Phreak should learn to use the cutting-edge Haxxors that he will scoff at, but if the player has the Huxkey its design completely takes Phreak by surprise.

If the player turns Phreak hostile via dialogue the player has several options to make use of base stats to counter-attack:

• With 10 Strength: Both player and Phreak receive damage without any debuffs
• With 13 Strength: Phreak is hit for some damage and gets Stunned for 1 turn and Dazed for 3 turns
• With 16 Strength: Phreak is instantly killed
• With 11 Dexterity: Phreak's attack is nullified
• With 15 Dexterity: Phreak is hit for some damage and gets Stunned for 1 turn and Dazed for 3 turns
• With 10 Agility: Phreak's attack is nullified
• With 14 Agility: Phreak is hit for some damage and gets Stunned for 1 turn and Dazed for 3 turns
• With 13 Constitution: Phreak's attack is nullified and player gains +15 Initiative bonus
• With 14 Will: Phreak's attack is nullified and player gains +15 Initiative bonus
• Failed counter-attack will cause player to suffer damage, become Stunned for 1 turn and Dazed for 3 turns

Fate

Doing enough quests for any of the Oligarchs will cause Phreak to end up in a number of scenarios: Doing Coretech's quests will end up with him hired by Coretech and found on the second floor of their headquarters. Doing JKK's quests will end up with him randomly found in Core City Upper Underrail Metro Station in an extremely dizzied state, infected by a "mind-virus" through one of JKK's Tri-Monitors. Doing Praetorian Security's quests will end up with him beaten up and locked in a medical room behind Heidi. Notably however you can free him, but he will not be later found in his hideout. Additionally, if player completes his questline and returns from Deep Caverns without interacting with the Oligarchs, his fate will be randomized.

Trivia

• Phreak is based off John Draper and the phreaking culture.
  • His style of "crunching" is a reference to John Draper's discovery that the toy whistles that came with the Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes played at a perfect frequency suitable for phreaking.