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The subject of this article appears in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

What?! ... Six... Sixty-two?! That's impossible....
― Cardan upon seeing the Gauss rifle

Cardan (Russian: Кардан) is an experienced stalker technician who appears in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Background[]

In the past, Cardan was part of a team of researchers and engineers working on Project 62, a top secret research project conducted in the Jupiter factory and southwest Zaton, more specifically under the Iron Forest anomaly field. The project seemingly collapsed or was shelved in 2004 due to the engineers being unable to design a power source compact and efficient enough to be used.

After the Zone formed, he returned as a Stalker along with two other comrades, Joker and Barge. After a fierce argument, they went their separate ways with Cardan staying aboard the Skadovsk as the resident technician. He is a notorious alcoholic, a condition that is exacerbated by his bitter dispute with Joker and Barge so much so that by the time of Call of Pripyat, he requires alcohol just to function.

Appearances[]

Call of Pripyat[]

He appears in the Skadovsk as the local technican of Zaton.

His upgrade tree is dependent on his vodka consumption in tandem with the tools he currently has: one bottle will unlock most of the first tier of upgrades, two bottles will unlock the second and third tiers. However, if given a third bottle, he will become too intoxicated to work; he will simply slump in his seat and mutter garbled phrases when conversation is attempted, forcing the player to wait an entire day for Cardan to become sober again. Due to the fact that the third-tier upgrades are only unlocked after Pripyat is explored, there should not be any practical reason to give him a third bottle. However, his skills are not entirely dependent on vodka as he can still repair equipment while sober.

His dependency on vodka can be cured if the player shows him the unidentified weapon retrieved from the Monolith faction in Pripyat. Cardan will immediately recognize the weapon but the shock causes him to effectively faint. When he wakes up the next day, he swears off alcohol, properly identifies the weapon as the Gauss Rifle, and gives the player a massive discount on any future upgrades and repairs without the need for vodka.

After receiving the schematics for the Gauss Rifle, he can produce Homemade batteries – six charges for 2000 RU. These batteries, while still just as accurate and powerful as the factory-made cells, are heavier. Upon receiving the Calibration tools, he becomes the only technician capable of fully upgrading an Exoskeleton's servomotors, allowing its user to sprint.

Pricing[]

Cardan's rate depends on his state of inebriation or the status of his keycard. The player's stance towards the Loners and Bandits in the area has no effect, neither does turning in Joker's and Barge's PDAs.

  • 10% discount and tier 1 upgrades are available with one vodka – lasting about four in game hours.
  • 20% discount and tier 2 and tier 3 upgrades available with two vodkas.
  • 35% discount after giving the player his old keycard halfway through the mission Unidentified weapon. He will also offer all possible upgrades without vodka.

Related missions[]

Endings[]

Cardan has two possible endings depending on whether he has been given Joker and Barge's respective PDAs or not.

  • If Cardan has been given Joker's PDA and Barge's PDA, then the ending slide reveals that he left the Skadovsk for Yanov Station where he partnered up with the local technician, Nitro, to design and build a vehicle that could be operated in the Zone's harsh environment.
  • If the player did not give him the PDAs, then the ending slide reveals that he left the Skadovsk on his own to search for his friends and eventually returned several days later suffering from injuries and radiation poisoning. After recovering, he eventually left the Zone for good.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • It is likely that Cardan's model is based on Konstantin Stupivtsev, the designer who created Call of Pripyat's HUD and UI.
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