Fallout 76 fans rally to support a wasteland legend after tragedy

Brent “CJ Martin” Fairchild is one of Fallout 76’s most famous role-players. He plays the role of a wasteland doctor, and supplies his fellow Appalachian survivors with stimpacks, radiation treatment, and genome changes. You can always find CJ Martin at the edge of a Blast Zone, setting up a medical tent, or supplying sales machines across his server with cheap stimpacks for sale.

Fairchild is more than just one guy; his generous role-playing has built an entire ecosystem of farming, donations, and supplying. He and his volunteers cover everything from food and clean water to endgame content to players in need on the PlayStation 4.

Now, the Fallout 76 community is rallying in turn to aid Fairchild in real life. On May 2, a fire broke out at Fairchild’s home. He was able to shepherd his wife and child to safety, but unfortunately suffered serious burns. He has been airlifted to Jefferson Burn Center in Philadelphia, where he is receiving treatment.

Kenneth Vigue started a fundraiser on GoFundMe, writing:

Anyone who has played Fallout 76 on PS4 has heard of “Doc” C.J. Martin (Brent Fairchild) and his clinic. He’s served as a leader in the community whose support, collaborations and good nature have made him well known beyond that console alone. [...]The damage to their home is severe and while he recuperates, we wanted to mobile the Fallout community that he has been there for to help them a little through this time.

Over 120 people have donated over $4,000 to Fairchild’s recovery fund, an act which Vigue writes “brought him to tears.”

Fairchild has received recognition from the Fallout 76 community before — even raider-themed role-play groups will protect the doctor in-game — but this GoFundMe shows how powerful role-play solidarity can be, even among a group of post-apocalyptic raiders, killers, and mutants.

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The new Fallout 76 expansion, Wastelanders, brings human NPCs back to Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic action RPG.

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