Rosco
Overview
Group/Faction Affiliation: HOST
Status: Deceased
Rosco Anthony-Thomas, the enigmatic founder and leader of the Hunters of Simple Trade aka HOST, lived a relatively short but influential life in South Zagoria. Under his leadership, the HOST would become one of the more prolific hunter-trader groups in Chernarus. Rosco would very early on become invested in the investigation into the Cult of Papa, especially after they began taking a hostile interest in his group. His prominence in leading HOST’s efforts in hunting the Cult would catapult him to prominence in the South Zagorian political sphere, but would ultimately lead to his death at the hands of the Cult and Blackthorn Gang during the Mogilevka Massacre.
Appearance
Rosco preferred the practical attire of a hunter. Most often being seen in green and brown tones or camouflage hunting gear.
Origins
Before the apocalypse, Rosco was already a troubled man. Forced into isolation after murdering his childhood bully, Rosco would emerge periodically to steal food and supplies before returning to hiding. During one of these scavenging missions, he discovered a land he no longer recognized, one overrun by the dead. Seeing the apocalypse as an opportunity to begin his life again, he would spend the next eight years or so travelling from region to region in seclusion. Stealth, he found, was his friend and he would become adept at hunting wild animals and infected alike. Loneliness would eventually take its toll on him, and he would periodically start listening to his handheld radio, hoping to hear from fellow human beings. Eventually he would tune into a broadcast originating in Chernarus. A group of survivors was attempting to meet up and form a group to pool resources and survive together. It was then that Rosco would decide to emerge from isolation. He would meet Delilah shortly thereafter, and his story in South Zagoria would begin.
Demeanor
A fairly paranoid man, Rosco would keep a lot of his feelings to himself, or limit them to the few people he trusted, particularly Delilah. People who weren’t within his inner circle could never be truly sure what he was thinking. Calm and calculated, Rosco would prefer conducting politics with strategy and diplomacy rather than brute force. It was a rare occasion when Rosco would let his emotions get the better of him, but would lash out when those he cared for were hurt.
Actions
Settling in Stary Yar and Founding of HOST
Shortly after meeting Delilah, the pair would settle in the town of Stary Yar and found HOST. Rosco had a vision to create a collective of hunters and traders, driven by a shared purpose of commerce. The group would gain notoriety by taking on deliveries of goods to various camps across Chernarus. After suffering multiple raids, the group would abandon their base in Stary Yar and move to what they hoped would be a safer location in the Northeast. The group’s ranks would swell as their business became more successful. Rosco’s legacy lives on with HOST to this day.
Conflict with BMR
You never really saw Roco’s emotions get the better of him. However, he would succumb to a brief outburst of rage upon learning of Delilah’s capture and torture at the hands of the Black Mountain Rangers, unloading his revolver into Earnheart, grievously wounding him after he admitted to the deed. After the leader of BMR was dealt with, Rosco would join other HOST members and members of Rise Against in assaulting Krasnostav where they would shoot many members of BMR.
Cult Investigation
Rosco’s involvement in the investigation of the Cult of Papa would begin after hearing stories about the Cult from Greeny and Wisp of the Coalition. Later on, when members of HOST were attacked by the Cult, he would come to suspect that Coalition members were involved. Rosco would become obsessed with uncovering the truth behind the Cult’s activities in Chernarus. His group would identify, and successfully raid a Cultist stash house in the town of Novy Lug. He would come face to face with the Cult at the Stary Yar Summit, when a Cultist hijacked the meeting with an unpinned grenade. Unfortunately, Rosco would be killed in the Mogilevka Massacre before ever getting to see the fruits of his investigations. HOST continues to despise and hunt suspected Cultists to this day.
Notable Relationships
Delilah
Rosco would meet Delilah shortly after arriving in South Zagoria. The two would develop a close relationship very quickly and would go on to found HOST together. Eventually, the relationship would turn romantic with the help of HOST members and members of the Dark Carnival, who would set the two up on a date. A fairly chaotic individual, Delilah’s antics would often frustrated Rosco. But he would always consider her to be one of the people he cared for most. She would die at his side in the Mogilevka Massacre.
The Coalition
Rosco would meet Greeny of the Coalition shortly after establishing HOST in Stary Yar. The groups would become trade partners for a time and engage in a joint war effort against the Black Mountain Rangers after they attacked Delilah. The group’s relations would sour after mutual distrust, stemming from the conflict, arose. Rosco would develop suspicions that Coalition members were in league with the Cult of Papa and were behind the attacks on HOST. The tension would come to a head at the Stary Yar Summit, where Rosco would shoot and grievously injure Wisp, a member of the Coalition over these suspicions.
Black Mountain Rangers
Rosco would find his group at war with the Black Mountain Rangers after the Northeast Market, an event hosted by the Coalition. BMR would take Delilah from the event and violently question her over HOST’s suspected involvement with the Forsaken Loyalists. Delilah would be brutally beaten and maimed over the course of her interrogation. After Delilah’s disappearance, Rosco would become suspicious after reports from event security say BMR members were seen following after Delilah. It would culminate in a declaration of war between HOST and BMR and a series of bloody firefights and raids. Relations between HOST and BMR would eventually warm after their shared goals of fighting the Cult came to light.
Dark Carnival
Rosco would develop a soft alliance with the Dark Carnival during the war with BMR. Fearing BMR raids, Rosco would work out a deal where the Carnival would allow his group to store supplies at Green Mountain. The groups would spend time together frequently, travelling across South Zagoria to visit each other on a regular basis.
Tors
Tors would be one of the first members of HOST after its founding. Rosco, realizing his dependability, would promote him to a position of leadership within HOST. Rosco would often find himself mediating disagreements between Tors and Delilah, who often butted heads when it came to making decisions for the group.
Where are they now?
Rosco would be grievously wounded after attending Father Abraham’s sermon in Mogilevka. This event would turn out to be a setup by the Cult of Papa to kill members of the groups that were investigating their activities. He would survive just long enough to crawl back to the Northeast and inform members of HOST of what had occurred before succumbing to his injuries and joining his partner, Delilah, on the other side.