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Chapter 1: Sun Vulture and the Killer Headache Music: Blue Moon  This intro alone gives a great presentation of the game, honestly.    It’s very similar to the one in Fallout 3, with the pan out of old world treasures to new world wreckage.  But it goes deeper, showing us that the new world is still thriving in some way.   People are even out relaxing and enjoying themselves, and there are even some unicycle-bots to keep the peace.  We leave the bright and glowing paradise, though...     and witness some badass in some sick gear (which we hope to get in the game at some point) sniping some poor soul outside the walls of New Vegas.  A beacon of splendor, and our goal of the game.  But, getting there is going to be a challenge, as some LARPers in sporting goods equipment scout the area.   And finally, here we are, bag over our head, hands and feet bound, some grunt digging our one-foot grave, and no way out of this.   War. War never changes. When atomic fire consumed the earth, those who survived did so in great underground vaults.   When they opened, their inhabitants set out across the ruins of the Old World to build new societies, establishing villages, forming tribes.  As decades passed, what had been the American southwest united beneath the flag of the New California Republic, dedicated to Old World values of democracy and the rule of law.  As the Republic grew, so did its needs. Scouts spread east, seeking territory and wealth in the dry and merciless expanse of the Mojave desert.    They returned with tales of a city untouched by the warheads that had scorched the rest of the world - and a great wall spanning the Colorado River.  The NCR mobilized its army and sent it east, to occupy Hoover Dam and restore it to working condition.  But across the Colorado, another society had arisen, under a different flag. A vast army of slaves forged from the conquest of 86 tribes - Caesar's Legion.   Four years have passed since the Republic held the dam - just barely - against the Legion's onslaught. The Legion did not retreat.  Across the river, it gathers strength. Camp fires burn, training drums beat.  Through it all, the New Vegas Strip has stayed open for business, under the control of its mysterious overseer, Mr. House, and his army of rehabilitated tribals and police robots.  You are a Courier, hired by the Mojave Express to deliver a package to the New Vegas Strip.  What seemed like a simple delivery job has taken a turn for the worse.   You got what you were after, so pay up. You're crying in the rain, pally.  Guess who's waking up over here?  Time to cash out. Would you get it over with? Maybe Khans kill people without looking them in the face, but I ain't a fink, dig?  You've made your last delivery kid. Sorry you got twisted up in this scene. From where you're kneeling it must seem like an 18-carat run of bad luck. Truth is...the game was rigged from the start.     Enjoy your stay.    Why don't you just relax a second? Get your bearings. Let's see what the damage is. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?  I tend to use a [Monkey][Bird] naming convention for my in-game characters, but this one has more meaning than previous names. “Sun” refers to the Chinese word “sūn (猻)”, which translates roughly to “monkey,” and is used in the name “Sun Wukong,” the mythological Monkey King known for his immense strength, speed, and proficiency with a staff. Vulture is a bit more self-explanatory: they are scavenger birds of prey most commonly portrayed to inhabit wastelands and deserts, circling in front of the looming sun. Huh. Can't say it's what I'd have picked for you. But if that's your name, that's your name. I'm Doc Mitchell. Welcome to Goodsprings. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I had to go rooting around there in your noggin to pull all the bits of lead out. I take pride in my needlework, but you'd better tell me if I left anything out of place.  How’d I do? There’s our courier, everyone. It’s...more effort than I’ve put into any of my personal character creations in Bethesda games.   Ow, ow, ow. My head. Well, at least you don’t have the majority of two bullets in your noggin. Majority? Good. Why don't you walk down to the end of the room? Over by that vigor tester machine there. Take it slow now. It ain't a race. Sun shambles over to some kind of bar game. Looking good so far. Go ahead and give the vigor tester a try. We'll learn right quick if you got back all your faculties.  So that’s how strong I am without some booze in me. I’d say I can’t believe some suit got the jump on me, but then again... Must be this sturdy if I could survive two bullets to the head. Being a traveling courier, I gotta show off my silver tongue for better prices. Whiskey tends to help. If my mouth weren’t gagged, might’ve had a chance to talk my way out of sleeping with the radworms. Yes, two plus two DOES equal four. Been called a fast walker most of my life. Life’s short and roads’re long. Don’t try to rely on luck, myself. Well, we know your vitals are good. But that don't mean them bullets didn't leave you nuttier than a Bighorner dropping. Can I, uh, put some more clothes on, first? From the books I read, all examinations must be done with the patient being as uncomfortable as possible. Dog Pet! Oh, uh, please keep your reactions limited to the list of choices provided by my cheat sheet. … Dog. Feed. House. Demolish. Night. Campfire. Enemy. Crush. Light. Torch. Mother. Tantrum. Okay. Now I’ve got a few statements. I want you to tell me how much they sound like something you’d say. First one. “Conflict just ain’t in my nature.” Well, not anymore. I ain’t given to relying on others for support. Wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t. I’m always fixing to be the center of attention. Only when it comes to getting paid. I’m slow to embrace new ideas. Gotta keep an open mind when it comes to certain jobs. I charge in to deal with my problems head on. Oh definitely. I’m too embarrassed to say what it looks like. No, that’s the response to the next-- I meant what I said. Two guns side by side? Uh... *sighs* just say it. Two bears high-fiving. Well, that's all she wrote. I don't have nothing to compare it to, so maybe you'd better just have a look at the results. See if it all seems right to you.  Alright, let’s talk about character building in Fallout: New Vegas. In every Fallout game, the player is given seven SPECIAL stats to distribute points towards, which dictate your starting skill levels. Skills determine how effective you are at certain things. Guns for, well, guns. Barter for prices, Medicine for healing items, Repair for equipment maintenance, etc. Survival was added to New Vegas and offers an alternative playstyle for those who don’t mind carrying a bunch of food and ingredients, but we’ll get into that later. We are allowed to Tag three skills at the beginning, adding fifteen points to each one. We are given the option to respec after leaving the tutorial town of Goodsprings. For now, I just chose Barter, Speech, and Unarmed, but I’ll be changing them once we leave the tutorial.  After that, we get to choose two Traits of our liking. They are ways to shape your character, but they have drawbacks. For instance, Heavy Handed makes our Unarmed and Melee attacks deal 20% more damage, but we also deal 60% less critical damage. With our Luck pretty low and my decision to not sneak around backstabbing people, we aren’t going to really get a lot of critical hits, so it’s a DPS increase for us. As for Logan’s Loophole, we can freely use addictive chems for longer and with no risk at getting addicted to them, but we stop leveling up at 21. In the base game, it stops at 30, but we are using the jsawyer mod (essentially a Director’s Cut), which rebalances the whole game and thus nerfs this otherwise overpowered trait. It’s fine though; after level 20, we won’t need to level anything else. In fact, half the skills available to us are going to go untouched this playthrough. After the obligatory character building, Doc lets us loose. All right. I guess that about does it. Come with me. I'll see you out. He starts to lead us to the exit, but we can just talk to him again to get some answers from the good doctor.  I hope you don't mind but I gave the note a look. I thought it might help me find a next of kin. But it was just something about a platinum chip. Well, if you're heading back out there, you ought to have this.  They call it a Pip-Boy. I grew up in one of them vaults they made before the war. We all got one. Ain't much use to me now, but you might want such a thing, after what you been through. I know what it's like, having something taken from you. And put this on, too, so the locals don't pick on you for lacking modesty. Was my wife's.  ...she didn’t die in this or something, did she? She hardly wore it after we left the vault. Felt it was too brazen. Oh, thank god. Don’t remember if we washed it, though... You should talk to Sunny Smiles before you leave town. She can help you learn to fend for yourself in the desert. She'll likely be at the saloon. I reckon some of the other folks at the saloon might be able to help you out, too. And the metal fella, Victor, who pulled you outta your grave. Anyway, you ever get hurt out there, you come right back. I'll fix you up. But try not to get killed anymore.  Skills, perks, and SPECIAL stats all give some form of dialogue option for the player to use, which will give us experience and other useful stuff/progression if successful. Of course. You been through a lot. Ain't much, but these'll do you right if the pain flares up. <received three stimpaks (heals for an amount based on Medicine)> I expect you'll be wanting to go outside after being cooped up for so long, but if you have any questions, I'll answer what I can. Tell me about yourself, Doc. Well, I already told you I came from a vault. After that, was a traveling doctor for a spell. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Most folks out here ain't educated, so people with medical knowhow are hard to come by. Found that I could help a lot of people with what I knew, and that was all right with me. Eventually, I went back and married my childhood sweetheart and that was the end of my traveling days. Didn't miss it none then. Still don't. What town is this? This here's Goodsprings. Named after the water we got here, just down the road to the southeast. Goodsprings Source, they call it. It's a quiet town, and that's how we like it. We don't go looking for trouble, though occasionally it sees fit to come looking for us. What else can you tell me about Goodsprings? Well, there's a general store just up the road. Run by a fella named Chet. He don't got nothing fancy, but he's got your basics covered. If you're looking to wet your whistle, just past Chet's is the Prospector Saloon. The bartender there, Trudy, knows everyone in town. Other than that, there's not much to see. Just people trying to scratch out a living. Who was it that rescued me? That'd be Victor. Curious fella. Sort of odd. And I don't just mean 'cause he's a robot. I couldn't tell you much about him. He's real friendly, don't get me wrong. You just get the sense that ain't the whole picture. Just a feeling. Keeps to himself, mostly. You want to know more about him, you'll have to ask him yourself. He has a shack on the southern edge of town. Do you know anything about the man that shot me? I didn't see him or the men with him. You might ask around town, though. Could be someone saw which way they was headed. Your best bet would probably be Trudy, the bartender at the saloon up the road. If anyone saw anything, she'd know about it. Good to know. Thanks for patching me up, Doc. Don't mention it. It's what I'm here for.  Before that, let’s look at what we got from him. The player always receives items and weapons based on the tagged skills; for instance, since we chose Unarmed, we got some boxing gloves which deal bonus fatigue (knocked down, unconscious) damage. Good for pacifist runs, but we aren’t going for that. If we tagged Melee Weapons, we’d get a Straight Razor, which deals small damage but has a bonus crit rate/damage. The items are varied, but reflective of the build the player chooses, which really helps to compliment their playstyle early on.  With Doc’s dialogue exhausted and the rundown of the town finished, we can explore his home. First up are some stimpaks, rad-x (grants radiation resistance), and antivenom (cures Poison). In one of the boxes is a Laser Pistol and the ammo for it, in case players decided later that they wanted to try out energy weapons.  We have a Doctor’s Bag (restores limb damage) at the foot of the bed we woke up in.   Next to the bed is a broken gun we can repair and use if we met the Repair requirement, and a chemistry set we can use to make some chems, but only if our Science was high enough.   Nice digs. I’ll pass that on to the previous owner of this building when I see them in the afterlife. Never been much for decoratin’. In his hallway, we have a knife, snacks, food ingredients, and containers. Certain containers will have a random chance of carrying items corresponding to their purpose. For instance, first aid kits can have stimpaks and rad-x, and ammo boxes can have, well, ammo!  Hey, nice dress you got here. I feel more...agile in this. Oh, that old thing. Was here when we moved in, too. Wife never got to try it on, though... We are playing on Hardcore mode, meaning we will need to eat, sleep, and drink to keep ourselves from dying. Thankfully, Doc has a sink that dispenses clean water for us to drink!  In his kitchen, we grab his coffee pot and mugs. This will be useful for the rest of our playthrough.  Raiding his fridge, we find some good food, but no booze, which we will be needing much of.  After a debilitating ordeal, Sun sits down and enjoys an iguana on a stick and a warm Sunset Sarsaparilla, clueless of the grand journey she will embark on just to finish her job.
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Feb 4, 2018 02:04
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eating only apples posted:Glad you're not doing an unfunny comedy courier like most LPs of this game. That said, no Wild Wasteland? I'll...do something to show that off, don't worry. Edit: VV Oh this will be a...special run. ApeHawk fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Feb 4, 2018 |
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Feb 4, 2018 18:13
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Siegkrow posted:Any plans to do the DLC? I plan on it, yes, as well as at least checking out every location I can in the game.
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Feb 5, 2018 08:35
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Chapter 2: Sun Vulture and the Star Cap Stalker Music: One More Tomorrow  Hey Doc, mind if I borrow this hat? To keep the sun out of my eyes? Not like I’m gonna go outside anytime soon. Just make sure to hang it back up when you’re leavin’ town. The humdrum town of Goodsprings is a peaceful place. It has everything a traveler needs: a bar, a general store, a roaming robot.  I've never seen a robot like you before.  I'm a Securitron, RobCo security model 2060-B. If you ever see any of my brothers, tell them Victor says howdy. How did you happen to find me? I was out for a stroll that night when I heard the commotion up at the old bone orchard. Saw what looked like a bunch of bad eggs so I laid low. You couldn’t’ve jumped in, or warn the locals at least? Ma’am, I’m a Securitron, not a Protectron. All I can do is observe the crime and report it later. Once they'd run off, I dug you up to see if you were still kicking. Turns out, you were, so I hauled you off to the Doc right quick. Well, since you watched the whole thing from a safe distance, do you know who those men were who attacked me? Can't say that I'm familiar with the rascals. Some of the fine folks in town might be able to help you out with that. How did you end up in Goodsprings? I moseyed into town, oh, ten, fifteen years ago? Before that, I... hmmm, I can't quite seem to recall. Odd. Anyway, it's a right peaceful town and I reckon it's as fine a place to settle as any. Thanks for digging me out of that grave. I guess doing the bare minimum is better than absolutely nothing. Don't mention it! I'm always ready to lend a helping hand to a stranger in need.  The buildings in Goodsprings are a near replica of their real-life counterparts. Of course, because of copyright laws and what-have-you, they can’t be exactly the same, but it really helps to make the world seem familiar and interesting.  Fallout: New Vegas has these dropboxes all over the world, and by that I mean there are five in total. The idea is that you put items into the dropboxes, send them to another dropbox in another town, and the items will be there waiting for you. Since there are a small amount of them and it isn’t a universal storage system, they are frequently ignored. Besides, there are player homes, rented rooms, and safehouses for the player to unlock for storage.  Inside the Goodsprings general store, we meet Chet, the owner.   I've got plenty of supplies for sale. Even got some weapon mods and special ammo - well worth the caps, if you ask me. If you're hurting for caps, I've also got boxes of surplus ammo in the miscellaneous section. They're not great, but you get what you pay for. Do you know anything about the people who attacked me? The leader was a New Vegas-type, typical city boy. He had a bunch of Great Khans with him, probably hired guns. The Great Khans normally stay in their own territory way up northwest, on account of them being enemies with the NCR. Anything else you can tell me about Great Khans? They're tough sons of bitches, mean but not crazy - they'll leave you alone unless you've got something they want. The Great Khans deal in illegal chems. There's a good chance that most chems you come across were made by Great Khans. Have you ever been to New Vegas? Twice. Both times, I drank a lot of liquor and lost most of my caps at the card tables. In that order, now that I think about it. If you ever get to New Vegas, be sure to visit Gomorrah. It's the best casino in the city. You won't regret it. Word of advice - behave. Between the NCR military police and Mr. House's robots, you don't want to be causing trouble on the Strip. I'd like to know more about Mr. House. I'm afraid I don't know much myself. Mr. House has got his own casino, the Lucky 38, but nobody goes in or out except his robots. The other casinos follow Mr. House's rules, so I guess that makes him the leader of New Vegas. As far as I know, nobody's ever laid eyes on the guy. I think that robot who pulled you out of the dirt belongs to Mr. House. If Mr. House is looking after you, that's gotta be a good thing, right? Funny he never mentioned that. Anyway, thanks for the info. Anytime. Mind at least browsing my stock as additional thanks? Fallout games’ merchant system works by trading caps (the main currency in the Fallout universe) and goods of equal value. The Barter skill increases the value of stuff we sell and decrease the value of stuff we buy. Chet also exposits that there are different types of ammo for each gun, for certain situations, and there are mods we can equip to make our weapons better. We won’t be buying anything from Chet yet, since he doesn’t have anything we need immediately. I was hoping he had some Brass Knuckles for sale to make better use of my Unarmed skill, but he sadly didn’t. Oh well, Melee Weapons this early will suffice.  Outside Chet’s are a workbench (for crafting items and converting energy weapon ammo types) and a reloading bench (for crafting or breaking down ammo).  Next stop, the Prospector Saloon!  Doggy! (growl)   Cheyenne, stay. Don't worry, she won't bite unless I tell her to. What do you do around here? I hunt geckos, mostly. The meat's pretty good and I can always find a buyer for the hides. I also help keep the town clear of radscorpions and coyotes. Not many people live in Goodsprings, so wildlife is always creeping in. What kind of creatures are out there? Around here, mostly coyotes and geckos. The coyotes are pretty dangerous in large packs, but otherwise they're nothing to really worry about. The geckos aren't too tough, but they've got a nasty bite. I've heard about bigger, nastier versions out in the wasteland, but I've never seen them. Stick to the roads when you can, and steer clear of the hills north of Goodsprings. The critters up there are big and poisonous. Let's talk about the areas around Goodsprings. Southeast of here is Primm - can't miss it, since it has this giant old rollercoaster right in the middle of town. The NCR's got an outpost there. If you follow the road north, you'll eventually hit Sloan and Quarry Junction. They mine rocks or something, but I heard they got troubles lately. I wouldn't head that direction if I were you, though. Got critters up there that don't take kindly to getting shot. NCR? Just pretend I don’t know anything about the major faction in the west that’s been around for almost 100 years. The New California Republic. Bunch of settlers and soldiers coming in from the West, fixing on making Nevada their own. They can be right pushy, but the roads are safer 'cause of them, so I tend to let it go. Not that I got a choice. What does the NCR keep you safe from? Well, the wildlife for one thing. Rowdy locals for another. They're protecting their own. Just happens to help us They've been holding off this other group from the East, too. What do you know about the other group? Got a funny name. Call themselves Caesar's Legion. Never seen 'em in these parts, so I couldn't tell you much. I hear rumors, that's about it. Supposedly they keep slaves and they got some real nasty ways of killing folks. But maybe that's just something folks in the NCR cooked up to make themselves seem more useful here. Less uninvited. I need to get to Primm. Can you suggest a route? Sure can. Take the road southeast out of town till it hits the freeway. Primm is the town with the roller coaster, straight south. Can't miss it. NCR patrols do a good job of keeping the highway clear, but I'd keep your gun where you can reach it easily. You never know who you'll run into. Off the road, you'll probably start running into hostile wildlife. My advice would be to stick to the highway when you can. Cool. So, Doc Mitchell said you could teach me to survive in the desert. Okay, step one: don’t get killed. … That’s just some general advice, honest. Yeah, I guess there's a thing or two I could show you. Sounds like you need all the help you can get after what they done to you.  Sunny leads Sun outside, hands us a Varmint Rifle, and instructs us to shoot some bottles.  She doesn’t tell us WHERE to shoot them from, though. It’s really just to show that this game has ironsights, which Fallout 3 didn’t. You just sorta...hunched forward with your gun out.  Although, from where you were standing, I’d recommend some...additional trainin’. Tell you what. I gotta go chase geckos away from our water supply anyway. Darn critters are attracted to it. Why don't you come along?  The geckos are gathered around the area that Goodsprings get their water. It’s a never-ending power struggle between them and the townsfolk. Their own Hoover Dam, if you will. Anyway, that knife we got from Doc’s house will be enough.   Geckos are bipedal goofy-running demons are lunge at you, fangs first.  They go down quickly enough, though. There’s two more water sources to clear, so we help Sunny out with those, too.  VATS is a great tool for players with terrible computers/consoles to run the game and wish to get by with the combat. It pauses everything, displays targets in front of the player, and allows them to select specific limbs (only with guns) to damage, with each attack costing Action Points. The percentage is the chance you have of actually hitting the target. Also, please pay no attention to the dog’s eyes.  We find a shovel at the second water source (which we can drink for more clean water and keep us from getting dehydrated), and equip it. It deals more damage than our knife, but is noticeably slower.  Hark, a distressed damsel dissecting dewinged dragons! DEATH FROM ABOVE! Saving the settler give us two things: one, three bottles of purified water, and two, some positive reputation with Goodsprings! We are now Accepted by them, meaning they will reflect on our relationship with the town and offer better prices to us.  This reputation system is almost everywhere in the game, and can either make the game easier or harder for you, depending on how you act towards each faction.  Here's a little spending money for the trouble. <50 caps> One more thing I wanted to show you. Thought I might teach you about living off the land, and making useful things for yourself. Interested? Might as well. Gives me a chance to mosey around town. All right, then. We'll need a couple ingredients to get started. Gonna want some Xander Root and a Broc Flower. Lemme think now... I know I've seen Broc Flowers growing up at the graveyard. And I seem to remember there being Xander Root over by the schoolhouse.  Towns generally look like this in the Fallout world. Nuclear blasts tend to leave a wave of destruction.  Mailboxes are found all around this town and others. They will generally contain grenades, cherry bombs, and skill magazines, which give the player a brief +10 boost in the skill the magazine specializes in. For example, this copy of Future Weapons Today will give us +10 to our Energy Weapons skill.  Homes will also sometimes actually belong to NPCs. Which means almost anything in them will belong to them, and thus be considered stealing (which I’m not doing this playthrough, for a bit more of a challenge. Sun Vulture is, if nothing else, a professional), which will get us into trouble if we are caught, or make us lose karma at the very least. Karma is...well, it’s there. Some NPCs react to it, but it’s nothing game-breaking.  Special items, though, will always be free for us to loot. This Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap, for instance, is one of many. These special caps can be found in specifically placed locations, or randomly from drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla (drinking a bottle will always result in a normal cap).   Goodsprings is a small farming town, which means they have harvestable crops (though that would be stealing for us) and cattle like this Bighorner right here. Little touches like this help the game feel lived in.  Nothing eerie about returning to the place you died just to pick up some groceries. Hovering around the cemetery are Bloatflies, annoying bugs that spit at you and are a nuisance to shoot.  We get our broc flower, and gaze at the bright lights of New Vegas, with the giant warning sign between us. The sign is no joke, either; there are some nasty creatures that way to prevent players from just beelining it to the main attraction of the game.  Our grave, which Victor easily dug us out of. Don’t know why the lamp is there though. Shouldn’t robots not need outside sources of light? Anyway, there are some cigarettes to the upper right of our grave. We take them, as we remember that the rear end in a top hat in the checkered suit was smoking them nonstop and they can probably lead us to them. I mean, who else could be a heavy smoker in this wonderful utopia?        We can dig up these graves for some goodies, thanks to our shovel. Not a lot except for a few guns which we’ll sell later.  Alone in the graveyard is this snowglobe, which we’ll take with us. Surely some loser wants them.  It’s getting dark out, so we need a place to crash for the night.  Thankfully, Victor’s shack has a bed to the immediate right of us, which we sleep in for a doctor’s eight hours.  Refreshed, we come across a Mantis.  Horrified, it gets crushed by our heel.  The schoolhouse is right next to Victor’s shack.  That’s the xander root. Now to turn around and hea- AH! What the hell, man? Don’t sneak up on me like that! Don't suppose you'd care to trade? I'm missing a few essentials and- oh, screw this. Lying just ain't in my nature. I'll tell it to you straight. I've been following you for a good bit now. Don't follow me. You'll live longer. Okay, you're a dangerous sort. I get that. But I have some information I think you'll find useful, which made me follow you for a spell. “For a spell?” I just got into town. Why were you following me, anyway? It started off innocently enough. I was traveling, as I often do, and happened to observe you picking up one of those blue-star caps. I found this inside a house and left immediately. I was watching you through the window. Of...course you were. You didn't show any reaction to it, so I figured you didn't know what you'd gotten your hands on. Why didn't you say anything then and there? I had to make sure of your disposition. I went right to sleep after finding it. Oh, I just waited outside, in case I saw something that’d make me think you’re the dangerous sort. There's a lot of jumpy folks out there that'd shoot a man as soon as talk to him. Well, you don’t have to worry about that with me. I figured so. I prefer being...blunt. … Now that we're conversing, though, I can tell you what I know about those caps. What's so special about these caps? There's an old wasteland legend that says somewhere out there is a fabulous treasure from before the war. Those caps with the blue star on them, the tale goes, are the key to that treasure. They're called Sunset Sarsaparilla Stars. They’re all over the place. The easiest place to find them is unopened bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla. You'd think they'd all have been picked clean by now, but somehow new bottles keep appearing in the machines. Some say it's old Festus that does it, hoping someone will finally collect enough caps to earn the treasure. Other than bottles, you'll just have to scavenge. You can find caps in the unlikeliest of places, and blue-star caps are no exception. So you collect these caps too? Nah, I gave it up years ago. Too dangerous. And even if I did still collect them, I'd tell you the same. There's people out there so mad with the idea of treasure that they'll attack strangers just on the suspicion that they have some of those caps. What kind of treasure are we talking about? No one knows. Money? Weapons? Water? It is, or maybe was, something of value, and that's enough to get people motivated. You mentioned someone named Festus. Who's that? It's said that the treasure is guarded by a man named Festus, and he's the one who asks for the blue-star caps. It's also said that he's been around since the war, standing a lonely vigil, waiting for someone to come and take the treasure off his hands. That'd make him pretty drat old, but I've met a few people in my travels who claimed they actually met him, and they weren't the lying type either. Fascinating. This is getting creepy. I'm leaving, and don't follow me. Fine. Just do me a favor. If you find more of those things, and plan on keeping them, watch out for a man named Allen Marks. He's killed more than a few people to collect as many of those caps as he can, and your ignorance as to what they are won't protect you.   Oh no no no. You don’t stalk me and get to live, pal. A stalker AND a liar. Well, now I’m even MORE vindicated. We head inside the schoolhouse, which is abandoned except for a few Mantises. Mantisi. Manti.  Desks are knocked down all over the place, with more skill magazines on the ground.  In the corner is a computer and a safe. They are both Easy, requiring 25 in Science and Lockpicking, respectively. We don’t have enough in Lockpicking to try the safe, even with a skill magazine and drugs, but we can read a Programmer’s Digest (+10 Science) to hack the terminal.  The hacking minigame is pretty simple. There are words on the screen, and you have to select the right one. You have four chances before it locks you out until you can get the password some other way. The words have the same amount of letters, and if you select the wrong one, it tells you how many letters are the same match (and they will be in the same place the correct word is). You can also select non-letter characters that form a string to either remove a word from the screen that’s a dud, or replenish the chances you get. Lockpicking is pretty much just rotating a bobby pin and pushing a screwdriver using controls until either the bobby pin breaks or you unlock the mechanism. Fallout: New Vegas introduced the Force Lock option, which gives you a small chance to unlock the mechanism without doing the minigame, but if you fail it remains locked forever until you find the key that unlocks it normally. Which means no one uses that option since bobby pins are plentiful. We hacked the terminal, which allowed us to unlock the safe connected to it, and got some random loot, as well as a Stealth Boy (increases Sneak drastically, puts stealth field over player).  We meet up with Sunny, who is standing by a campfire pit littered with empty whiskey bottles and tin cans. Let me see what you got. Yeah, these'll do just fine. Just fine. All right now. We're gonna be making something folks on the trail call Healing Powder. Go on over to that campfire now. Give it a try.  Campfires (and hot plates in the DLCs) are used to craft food and other consumables. We make the Healing Powder (heals us based on our Medicine skill, but also reduces our Perception by 2) and also put that coffee pot and mug we took from Doc’s place to use. Black coffee is a DLC consumable that gives us minor food, water, and sleep relief, but also a decent boost to our Intelligence! It doesn’t consume the coffee pot, but the mugs it uses break as soon as we drink the coffee. Hey, that's not bad! See? All it takes to make a recipe is the right ingredients and the right know-how. Hey, do me a favor. Trudy - she's the bartender up at the Prospector, kind of the town mom - she likes to meet newcomers. She'd be cross with me if I didn't ask you to poke your head in and say hi.  Per Sunny’s request, we head back to the Prospector Saloon, and run into another local.  Didja have to kick that tumbleweed all the way over here? Sir, I’m just lucky the thing didn’t kill me when I touched it. I getcha. Anyway, what can Easy Pete do for you? Why are you called Easy Pete? Was a prospector until I decided to settle here to get away from the NCR. Now I just take it easy and help out with the Brahmin and Bighorners. What's wrong with the NCR? Don't get me wrong - the NCR's got a lot of decent folk in it. It's just that they make you part of them whether you like it or not. Towns like Goodsprings and Primm don't stay independent for long, not if you've got something the NCR wants. Still, the NCR keeps the Legion away. You will find that this is kinda the air that surrounds the NCR. An organization that tends to keep the peace, but they are basically just another faction claiming territory and imposing their flag over any settlement they can, no matter what. As evil as the Legion sounds, they are the main reason why the NCR hasn’t conquered further east, and some people find that to be a good thing. I’m really glad the writers chose to paint the NCR this way this early in the game. It gives the player a grayer perspective on the whole “Order vs. Chaos” thing going with these two factions. Tell me about the Legion. They're slavers, led by a guy named Caesar. Or Caesar. Not sure how you're supposed to say it. How do you say it? Caesar, or Caesar? Caesar. Oh, cool. A couple of years ago they tried to take over Hoover Dam, but the NCR beat them back. The NCR didn't - or couldn't - finish the job, though. The Legion's got its strength back and is getting ready for another round at the Dam. My money's still on the NCR winning, but you never know. We've been hearing stories about Legionaries on the Nevada side of the river, so keep a gun handy. You don't want to get caught by them. What's so important about Hoover Dam? The Dam powers a lot of New Vegas. And then there's all that clean water lying in Lake Mead, too. Anybody who owns the Dam owns the territory. What do you use the Bighorners for? Meat and hide, mostly. Can't put a pack on 'em - they just lay down until you take it off. Can find a bunch of wild ones high up in the hills, but gotta be careful around 'em. They can put up a decent fight if cornered. You were a prospector - like digging for gold and silver? Nah, nah - means I poked through old buildings looking for working tech and such. Some folks just call it "salvaging," but never liked the term. Way I see it, salvage means it's broken, near-worthless. Me, I looked for the good stuff - guns, chems, spare parts. Good money in it. Do you know anything about the people who attacked me? The one in the fancy suit seemed to be calling the shots, that's as much as I know. Other folks in town might know more Word of advice, though: if you ever catch up with him, watch out. The man's got cold eyes like a snake. Can't be trusted, I'd say. We have more information, and should head off to Primm when we can, but Town Mom Trudy is inside the saloon now, so we go inside for now.  Oooh, an argument.   The threatening stranger in old world riot garb walks off.  We sit down and drink the coffee on the bar, ready to ask Trudy just what that episode was all about next time. <coffee mug shatters>
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Feb 7, 2018 00:59
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The main thing is that there is literally no reason NOT to kill him. I have no idea if Malcolm was supposed to actually have a questline and it got cut, but he's basically holding a giant "kill me" sign with his loot.
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Feb 7, 2018 22:17
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Chapter 3: Sun Vulture and the Goodsprings Gang Music: Chain Gang  Man, these are some big bar counters for such a small town drinking hole.  Does Goodsprings get many visitors?  Mostly traders looking to buy Bighorner meat and hides. The traders are the main reason the general store manages to stay in business. Most travelers heading south on in the I-15 just push on towards Primm unless they're in desperate need of supplies. Yeah, I saw the signs. Why is that? That whole area's overrun with the kind of critters that just get mad if you shoot 'em. Merchants avoid that whole stretch of I-15 like it's radioactive. Which it could be for all I know. Anything interesting going on in the rest of the wasteland? There's always something interesting going on, but the biggest news has to be the coming dustup between the NCR and the Legion over the Dam. Why do you think the NCR and the Legion both want the Dam? I'm pretty sure the NCR wants to hold onto the Dam because it's one of the few places around that can make electricity. The Legion are a bunch of savages, though. No idea why they'd want the Dam. Probably plan on destroying it or something. Tell me about the NCR. The New California Republic's got the most power in Nevada. Money, troops, you name it. They do what they can to keep things safe in the region, but if you ask me, they're trying to do too much. They're spread too thin. What can you tell me about the Legion? Slavers, killers, and all other kinds of trouble. They dress up like Roman soldiers, so there's no mistaking it when you see them. The rumor is that the Legion is far larger than the NCR lets on, and that it's been due to luck that the Legion hasn't overrun the territory. I overheard your argument. What was that all about? It looks like our little town got itself dragged into the middle of something we don't want anything to do with. About a week ago, this trader, Ringo, comes into town. Survivor of an attack, he says. Bad men after him, needs a place to hide. We figured he was just in shock, so we gave him a place to lie low. We didn't actually expect anyone to come after him. Who was that man you were arguing with? He's a convict. Just without the chains. Said his name was Cobb. "Powder Gangers" is what they call themselves. Plenty more like him out there. Powder gangers? You mean like coke? Chain gangs, really. The NCR brought them in from California to work on the rail lines.  I feel like this is the perfect sentence to describe the NCR. Was a big escape not too long ago. Some of 'em stuck together so they could make trouble. That's what we're dealing with now. So, gunpowder. Not coke. drat. Where is Ringo now? He's holed up at the abandoned gas station up the hill. Why not just kill Cobb and be done with it? You mean murder him? That's not our way, even if Cobb is scum. He can bluster and threaten all he wants. Then how do you see this situation panning out? Cuz I don’t think he’s going to like being ignored. Some of the others, like Sunny, will probably stand up for Ringo if he asks for help, which he hasn't. Personally, I hope he sneaks out of town one night and takes the Powder Gangers with him. ...where the hell would he sneak off to? The areas you just told me merchants avoid because of deadly critters? Because there’s not a lot of other places to go. I dunno. Hide in a barrel and...roll on down south? Speaking of which, it's odd that Cobb wasn't able to find Ringo. The town's not that big. Cobb hasn't exactly been looking for Ringo too hard - I think he's afraid that Ringo will ambush him, which is probably true. Enough town drama, time for the real questions. Our employer needs his package! I'm trying to track down the people who attacked me. Know anything about them? Not much, other than they're a bunch of freeloaders who expected a few rounds on the house. I was able to get them to pay up, though.  Did my attackers say where they were going? They were having some kind of argument about it, but the guy in the checkered coat kept shushing them. Sounded like they came in from the north through Quarry Junction. If that's the case I can't say I blame them for not wanting to go back. So where were they headed? I didn't hear exactly, but the leader was talking about the Strip. Fella wants to get there and avoid the 15, he'd have to go east. Take Highway 93 up. Do you know the robot that rescued me? I know that... thing... as much as anyone else around here. It mostly keeps to itself, which is just fine by me You don't like him? It acts friendly enough, but I don't trust that whole "cheerful cowboy" act. I find it all very creepy. What does he actually do around here? Other than rolling around once in awhile, it doesn't do anything useful as far as I can tell. I don't know why it took an interest in you, but I'd be careful. It's never helped anyone before. Trudy seems to be the only one in town to actually suspect Victor of having alternative motives. Could be paranoia, or could be town mom’s intuition. Show me what you have for sale. Got a special discount for you, after what you done for us.  The “special discount” is basically a 1:1 ratio on the value of goods we can sell or buy from her. Meaning that whatever the item says is worth on the information it gives us (not how much they are willing to part with) is how much we are getting from it. Otherwise, we would be getting far less than the 28 caps the Magnum Revolver is worth. Increasing or decreasing Barter through other means does not affect the discount, either. Positive reputation is a great thing to have. With the guns and ammo we are carrying but won’t be using, we manage to sell them and buy everything we need from her: beer, liquor, food, skill mags, the works.  Trudy mentioned her broken radio, and we just so happened to find some gear that increases our Repair enough to fix it.  Want me to take a look at your broken radio? Sure. The outside looks okay, but I think something broke on the inside. There'd be caps in it for you. I do like to hear what's going on in the world. And that Mr. New Vegas seems like such a gentleman.  Oh, just need to pop some of these wires back in. At least the circuitry is still intact. Hey Trudes, I fixed your radio. Yep, I heard it turn right back on after you got done tinkering with it. Here's some caps for the work.  Not at all! I'm never sure how much is normally charged for this sort of thing. Here's some additional caps - that should be enough. <received 75 caps> After finishing the quest of...talking to Trudy at Sunny’s behest, we gain enough experience to level up! We dump all our points into Survival for now and take a random perk, for now.  Chet has considerably more caps than Trudy does, being a general goods merchant instead of a bartender. Which means I want to get them all, get all the goods I can get from him, and offload the rest of the useless junk I’m carrying with me. First, we equip Malcolm’s Roving Trader gear for +10 Barter.  Then, we drink some beer, giving us +1 Charisma, translating to +2 Barter.  But that only brings us up to 7 Charisma, so we guzzle down some moonshine (which stacks with beer/alcohol), giving us 2 more Charisma.  We then read our Salesman Weekly for another +10 Barter.   Our outrageously drunk courier, brushing up on her haggling tactics in front of the merchant two feet away from her, is ready to make a killing!  Maybe he’s just impressed that someone who just downed a whole jug of moonshine after her beer appetizer was still able to read. Or he’s afraid. Either way, we get rid of all our useless baggage and load up on more food and drugs. Now, yes, I could’ve just spent all those skill points I just got from leveling up on Barter, but I wanted to show off the effects of stacking skill buffs and how beneficial they are. Besides, I’m gonna need the additional Strength for more loot to carry. I will have more than enough caps throughout the game, and plenty of things to buy.    Trudy told us where Ringo is hiding out, so let’s hope he doesn’t mind us barging in.  If you’re going to shoot, you better not miss. Sorry about the gun. You just caught me off guard, that's all. We got off to a bad start. What say we start over with a friendly game of Caravan? Alright, we got our first minigame challenge! So, here’s how you play Caravan. I don’t care about Caravan. I don't have time for a game right now. <puts cards back into pocket> Coulda just said “no”. No I couldn’t. Did you know there's a man named Joe Cobb looking for you? Yeah. He doesn't look very tough, though. I hear he's afraid I'll shoot him down from one of the windows when I see him, and he's right. I'll have a much bigger problem once his friends show up. There's no way I could handle all of them in a gunfight. Why are the Powder Gangers out to get you? My caravan was on the return trip from California and heading back up to the company branch in New Vegas when we got jumped. Not even a "drop your weapons and hands up" before the bullets started flying. We put up a good fight, but there was too many of them. I took a few of the bandits down before I ran, so I figure their friends are out for revenge. What are you going to do about the Powder Gangers? I'm going to lay low for as long as I can, assuming the town doesn't throw me to the wolves. I've got no chance against the gang on my own. Tell me more about the Crimson Caravan Company. It's been in business for a very long time, and is probably the biggest trading outfit in California. There's a branch up in New Vegas, but it hasn't been doing so well. Word is that the big boss herself, Alice McLafferty, is coming in to fix things. What are you going to do about the Powder Gangers? I'm going to lay low for as long as I can, assuming the town doesn't throw me to the wolves. I've got no chance against the gang on my own.  Leaving Ringo to his thoughts, we raid the gas station. It has some great stuff in it, such as this Doctor’s Bag, yeast (which we will want for much later), a Boxing Times skill mag, booze, caps, a safe that we can’t open…  But the REAL loot is truly amaizeing. This food is both a great source of relieving hunger and thirst, and is an ingredient we will want for later.  Joe Cobb is to the south side of town. Let’s see if he wants to chat.  What do you want? What was that you said about Ringo? He's some trader who decided he'd rather shoot than pay the toll for being in our territory. He's hiding somewhere in town. Would serve these idiots right if me and my guys shot the place up after we got payback on Ringo. This area is your territory? It is now. Me and the rest of the guys busted out of the NCR prison east of here and took over. Now we're calling the shots. What were you in prison for? None of your drat business. You ought to know better than to ask a man that kind of question.  Robbed some people, burned some things, killed a few guys. So you must know quite a bit about the Mojave. What’s been going on in the rest of the wasteland? Same old poo poo that's been going on for years. The NCR and Legion are still fighting over Hoover Dam for some reason. Tell me about the NCR. "New" California Republic - nothing new about it. Just a bunch of people with money and power pushing everyone else around. They've got troops all over the Mojave, but it's a big desert so it's pretty easy to avoid them if you want. What do you know about the Legion? I've run with some tough gangs, but I gotta admit they all got nothing on the Legion. I hear they stick you up on poles and it takes awhile to die. I ain't saying I'm afraid of them or nothing, but I'll be staying out of their way. You can't find Ringo yourself? There are too many places to hide around here. He'd see me coming and then "bam", I'm dead. He doesn't know you, though. He probably won't shoot right away. What say I help you take over this town? And just why the hell would you want to help a bunch of escaped convicts? This town is nice and all, but I have business to take care of, and I’m gonna need all the help I can get. You guys are further down the road where I need to get, while everyone here most likely want to stay home. And even if they did, they can’t really do much. Two of them are old geezers, the trader is a pushover, the bartender doesn’t like killing, and the farmers are too stupid to even get their own water without dying. The only one you’d have to worry about is the redhead with the blind dog. Basically...if I help you do this, you get your own town, and you can tell your buddies to lend me a hand, or at least leave me alone. poo poo, yeah. Mayor Cobb - I like the sound of that. Running my own town will give me more pull with the guys at the prison, too. First things first, though. You go settle things with Ringo and put a bullet between his eyes while I round up my crew and let them in on the plan.   No going back now. Stimpaks are for pansies. And for me to sell. There’s more than enough food and drinks to recover health. We even randomly get Star Caps from drinking Sarsaparillas! Gotta minmax that poo poo!  Cobb’s crew is waiting outside of town, just like he promised. Tough-looking bunch.  Good. We'll still need a plan before we rush the town. I don't want to embarrass myself and get beat by a bunch of townies. We ain't got much in the way of supplies, so if you could shake down the old doctor and the store owner for some stuff, we'd be in good shape. Once you're done with that stuff - or none of it - say the word and we'll make our move. The other old guy has some dynamite. Want me to shake him down? Nah, we got plenty. ‘sides, I don’t think your Explosives skill is nearly high enough to get them outta him. Before the alcohol wears off, we go towards a cave near Goodsprings called...the Goodsprings Cave. Since it’s just outside of the tutorial bounds, we get a chance to respec our courier.  We tag Barter, Melee, and Survival. A decent level Barter is great this early on, Melee is going to be our main source of damage before we get the good Unarmed weapons, and Survival will allow us to get the most out of our food and water. The experience from our level up comes back, but we need to stop whatever is attacking us first.  Why does every dog in this drat town hate me!?  With our level-up finally available to us again, we properly put our points towards Melee, Speech, and Survival. Why am I getting Survival this high this early?  Because I want this perk. Getting this early will make our healing situation even better, and we will always be eating and drinking before fights.  This bloody water is clean to drink. Yeah, I dunno. The Goodsprings water source is already a safe place to get clean water; why this also needed to be purified despite looking clearly infected just seems like overkill.  There are also some corpses (and more coyotes) hanging around, but this one is pretty great for Energy weapon-users  The Recharger Rifle has its own supply of ammo, which is slowly regenerates by itself. Think of it as those low-energy flashlights you can crank to charge. Not the most powerful, but it basically has free ammo.  What? Why the hell would I want to do that? [BARTER 25] Give up some supplies now and you won't get your store looted later. All right, all right. I've got some extra leather armor and spare ammo for you. Don't hurt anybody if you don't have to, all right?  The Leather Armor has a decent DT (Damage Threshold), and we can combine it with one that we bought from him earlier to repair this one.  Armor in this game works off of both Damage Threshold and Damage Reduction (DR). DR is applied first, capping at 85% of initial damage taken being reduced. Then DT is applied, subtracting damage that made it through DR. That doesn’t mean we can just take no damage; a little will still get through even the best armor.  Are you sure? What kind of injuries are we talking about? Owies? Booboos? Don’t tell me it’s Ouchies! That does sound messy, but not too bad. I can't spare supplies for cuts and bruises.  Even though we don’t have Doc’s medical supplies (we can also buy them off him, or pickpocket them, or just kill him and loot his corpse), the Powder Gangers still have the Leather Armor Chet promised.   Let’s just make this quick. Drugs time! Med-X gives us DR…  while Buffout gives us extra health, Endurance, and Strength. Together with some Scotch we bought from Trudy and a bit of junk food, as well as the Leather Armor and a Tire Iron we got from Chet, we can tank nearly all the fire and still damage them quickly.   At least...I got to...hear Mr. New Vegas...one...last...time. That tumbleweed shoulda ran you over when it had a chance!  I was wrong to trust your gut instincts, Cheyenne. Sic ‘em! (growls)   Killing enough of the townies nets us negative reputation with them, but it doesn’t revert back to Neutral. Instead, we have the positive rep from before combined with the negative rep we just got. Basically, they know we did good for them, but that we’ve also done wrong by them.  The job isn’t done, however.  Hold on a sec, I need to cauterize your wounds! Doc    Mr. Medicine Man proves to outdamage our armor with his Laser Pistol, so we lead him back to our new posse, we proceed to blow him out of the sky.   Hope this was all worth it. STOP THROWING THE DYNAMITE! THEY’RE ALREADY DEAD! Sorry! It slipped! Just tell them I sent you and you should get in without a problem. Keep a close eye on some of those bastards, though. Oh, not all Powder Gangers out there are friends of mine - like the group in Primm. They'll be gunning for you no matter what, so keep that in mind. ...gently caress.    Sun laments over the harsh decision she made with some beer and a gecko steak, determined to make it worth it when she finally finds the man in the checkered suit. It’s going to be a long trip.
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Feb 10, 2018 00:00
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And I show that off in the next two updates. The Powder Gangers could have been interesting, but with time constraints or oversight, they really just serve to show the player a more oppressive side of the NCR and an extended tutorial to the reputation system. If you really wanted to give them more credit, they give you dynamite every day you visit them, to provide Explosives players another source of ammo early on, but that's kinda stretching it. Not exactly spoilers, just some early game explanations. Also, this path is reflective of my first playthrough of the game, where I expected the PG to help me out further down the road, and then Cobb drops that "by the way, you're on your own" line and my frustration skyrocketed.
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Feb 10, 2018 14:15
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Coolguye posted:literally murder joe cobb and put his body in the shallow grave you came out of I have a better fate for both.
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Feb 10, 2018 20:54
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LashLightning posted:
Unfortunately, there is the instance of the dialogue option with Sunny Smiles earlier ("NCR?"), but that may have been an oversight. There is a TON of dialogue in this game, most of it having to be recorded, so the writers can be thrown a bone here and there. And Fallout 4 is atrocious at this thanks to whatever they were thinking when they made the origin of the PC. As for the "murdering minorities with a machete" comment (not to derail my own LP), is this in reference to that banned LP of this game? Because if so, yeah, I'm not RPing as a racist or anything. I'll make jokey jokes and stuff, but the playthrough I'm going for is someone who is advantageous, lighthearted, professional, and vindictive. Sorry if I don't get the reference!
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Feb 11, 2018 06:41
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Chapter 4: Sun Vulture and the Primm Prison Problem, Part One Music: Jailhouse Rock  New morning, new destination: south to Primm, with a detour to the NCR Correctional Facility.  The Powder Gangers who took over the town of Goodsprings are enjoying their early drinks in Trudy’s bar.  There’s a room with a safe connected to a terminal (which is no longer considered stealing since the owner is now dead), which contains a significant upgrade to our Tire Iron! It even lets me show off a cool swing we can do with these types of weapons.   Speaking of looting the property of dead people, Trudy’s home has a copy of a skill book in her living room bookshelf: a Chinese Army: Spec Ops: Training Manual(+3 Sneak, permanent).  Let’s hope this was all worth it. Can’t look back. After making some more food by the campfires Sunny Smiles trained us at, we find this man...in the middle of something. Yeah, I’m not helping you with THAT, rear end in a top hat. Oh, not that. It’s my girlfriend; she’s in trouble! My girl is trapped by geckos on the ridge and I can't get to her. Please, she's going to die! Sorry, got my own problems. I could pay you. 50 caps or I walk. I'll give you whatever you want, just hurry! I'll see what I can do. Where is she? Go up the path past the broken radio tower and go to the right... they're at the top of the trail.  Just a couple of geckos? Easiest 50 caps I ever m- AH! AMBUSH! AGAIN! After some retreating and healing, we manage to pick them off one at a time.  ...either his girlfriend is five different people, or this was a trap. sigh Bartholomew here carries a Plasma Pistol, which eats through our armor pretty quickly.  Fortunately, our new Sledgehammer can destroy his limbs and disarm him in just a couple of swings, making him flee in terror.  What is up with weird dudes being liars in these parts? Didn’t even have 20 caps on him. At least his clothes seem to make me better at swinging my death stick. Up the hill isn’t exactly a stash. A fridge with some food in it, an empty footlocker, a corpse with decent gear (worse than ours, though) and an ammo box with a gun and ammo. If you came here with the Wild Wasteland trait (the one that fills the game with wacky references) you would see Mr. Johnathon Cincospades or whatever. Here’s basically what it’d look like:  yeah  Oh crap, the robot. He’s coming to exact his vengeance upon me for slaughtering his neighbors! Or not.How did you know I was in trouble? Also, why not hel-oh look who I’m asking. Heck, I can smell trouble a mile away. Some trick without a nose. Heh, I like you, friend. Have I mentioned that? I can take care of myself. Sure you can, friend, but everyone needs a hand from time to time. Maybe you'll return the favor one day. You saying I owe you? I wouldn't put it exactly like that, friend. ...[/i]alright. Well then. See you. Bye.[/i] See ya round, buckaroo.    On our way to the NCRCF, we come across the Jean Sky Diving shack. It doesn’t have a whole lot in it, but it does have a star cap, which we take. (note: I will most likely miss some star caps, but I’ll do my best to show the locations of them.)  There’s also some Gangers hanging out back, near the old airplane.    We just need to head down the train tracks, which will lead us to the prison.  Thanks, bargain bin Jason! Pretty dinky place. I’m sure the warden was more than happy to stuff as many convicts inside as they could.  Hell yeah, I do! <slams down two jugs of moonshine> Um, I wasn’t talking ‘bout that kind of party... <puts away moonshine> Then it ain’t no fuckin’ party, is it? So, what is this place? This? This is - or was - the big house. The New California Republic Correctional Facility. Not much "correcting" went on here, just slave labor. One day, us prisoners decided to liberate ourselves. Killed the warden, killed the guards, took over the whole drat territory. If you're free, why are you sticking around? We've got the biggest, baddest fort in the wasteland. There's water and power, and if we need grub, we just go out and steal it. What did you do to end up in here? Me? I ran with the toughest gang in the Hub. You've heard of the Hub, right? It's, uh, west of here, I think, back in California. Who's in charge of the prison now? That'll be Eddie. You can usually find him sitting in the warden's old chair up in the main building. Can I go in? Well, I don't know. Depends on if you can make it worth my time. A hundred caps sounds right to me. Wait, Joe Cobb said he’d let you guys know to expect. Shouldn’t I just be able to walk in? Never heard a peep from him. You must be lyin’, or he hasn’t gotten word to us yet. He told me this seven hours ago. Then he musta lied to you. Sorry. Hundred caps. Fine. Maybe Eddie will be truer to his word. <gives 100 caps>Note: If you help Joe Cobb take over Goodsprings, you are supposed to have the option to tell Dawes so he lets you inside without the “toll”. I honestly don’t know if I did something wrong, or if it was a bug. Either way, nothing run-breaking. 100 caps is nothing, even this early in the game. Still, it’s annoying.  I honestly cannot tell if the place was like this before or after the “liberation”.  Why are you still here? I'm not quite sure the kind of greeting NCR troopers will give an escaped con like myself. Figure it's better to stay put for now. What did you do before you ended up incarcerated I was a sheriff, believe it or not, for a small town far to the west of here. The short version is that sometimes justice is a little slow, and I helped speed it up one too many times. I'm not sorry for anything I did, but I will do the time. Fair enough trade, if you ask me. Tell me more about what happened in the prison. I understand that Cooke was behind it all. I kept my head down the whole time. Didn't want any part of it. I stuck around, figuring the NCR would show up and put things back the way they were. No sense in making myself look guilty, right? Who's Cooke? Some kind of anti-NCR rebel. Some people just don't like being pushed around and told what to do. Where can I find Cooke? He went north with some of the other guys. Didn't say where, didn't say why. All I know is he's got some kind of score to settle with the NCR.   Surprised the spotlights still work.  Why are you "sort of" the doctor?  I was an NCR medic for six months, so I'm not exactly a "doctor." Still, it's more medical training that any of the other guys here. It also gives me an excuse to stay out of any raiding parties. The gang can't lose its only doctor now, can it? What did you do to end up in here? Medical supplies go for a decent amount of caps in the right markets. I figured the quartermaster wouldn't notice any missing. I was wrong. What did you do before? Let's see... I've been a farmhand, a bouncer, a bandit, and an NCR trooper. I don't recommend any of them. What's your reason for staying? The location to the highway makes it a good spot to shake down any travelers passing through. That's why Eddie and the rest are still around. How did you all manage to escape? One night, there was a big explosion from the other cell block. I had no idea what was going on, so I took cover in my bunk. When it was all over, the guards were dead and we were free. Most of the other prisoners scattered, but a few of us stuck around, obviously.   Eddie, the man in charge, is just upstairs, guarded by his crew.  What do you need done?  This is Powder Ganger territory - my territory. Most of the guys around here understand that. One, Chavez, doesn't. Chavez formed his own crew and have been hitting traders on their own. Everybody I've sent after him either got killed or weren't able to catch him. That leaves you. What do you say? I’ll do it. Good. Chavez and his boys were last seen south of here. If you're lucky and he's careless, he might still be there. Now that Eddie is more friendly with us, let’s talk to the man next to him.  Why are you called Scrambler?  Cuz I make scrambled eggs. Really? I have these gec- No, you moron! It's because I mess up people so bad they don't know what part goes where when I'm done. Oh. Original. What do you do around here? I keep an eye on my buddy Eddie. Anybody messes with him and I scramble them real good. What did you do to end up in here? Not much, just killed a bunch of people. Maybe a couple of kids, too. Whatever. How did you all break out? Dynamite. Lots and lots of dynamite. You should've seen the body parts flying everywhere. I can see why Eddie wants you close by... Look’s like Eddie was right: Chavez and his stooges are still here.  There’s a Lad’s Life (+10 Survival) skill mag in the leftmost crate, hidden between the burned books.   Must be talking about Cooke’s gang. We read a Meeting People (+10 Speech) skill mag, to see if we don’t have to deal with a few dudes with dynamite. [SPEECH 30] Eddie's just going to keep chasing you. Quit while you're ahead... and alive.  All right. Pickings were getting slim around here anyway.  The bonus experience pushes us to level 3, which gives us the opportunity to boost our Melee and Survival.  Something that a lot of players might not know when first playing this game: Survival affects how much you get from eating food and drinking water, but it ALSO affects the amount of stats you get (and lose) from food and liquor. So we now get an additional point in both Strength and Charisma (and one less point in Intelligence) from beer, scotch, wine, whiskey, and vodka at 50 Survival! We return to Eddie for hopefully some good reward.  <gives three dynamite and some ammo powder> ...that’s it? We’re the Powder Gangers, not the Loot Gangers. You get what you get. ...uh huh. Chavez has been dealt with. You won't see him around here anymore. I'm happy you cleaned that up for me, but we've got another situation to worry about. There's a merchant hanging around near the prison. Something feels funny about him, and I want you to deal with him. Shake him down if he's legit, but if he's not, take him out. What exactly is "funny" about that merchant you want me to check out? Most people already know we run this territory, and are usually in a hurry to get out. Not this guy. It's like he wants us to come get him. The suspicious merchant is hanging around the Jean Sky Diving shack.  So what are you doing sticking around here?  Uh, you know, just filling up water and stuff. This is Powder Ganger territory, and there's a toll. Pay up. Huh - didn't know there were women Powder Gangers. Oh, well - the NCR will still give me a nice bounty for your corpse.  Hard to be a bounty hunter if there’s no official hunt.  Good. Had him figured for NCR, one of the rangers maybe. Anyway, speaking of the NCR, I need you to take a walk down to Primm. Hey, about Primm, some of your dudes are there; think you can tell them to help me out? No can do. They ain’t my crew. Okay, then how about having one of your guys here come down to Primm with me? That’s gonna be another “no”. They’re just standing around, doing nothing. They’re standing around, keeping me safe. Now that that’s settled, the NCR hasn't raised hell over our breakout, and I want to find out why. They're up to something, I can feel it. What am I looking for in Primm? I know the NCR has troops near Primm, so talk to the locals and find out if any of those troops are going to be coming our way. ...you know what, I was just wondering that myself.  The Mojave Wasteland is a savage hell filled with the most needless of feuding foes.  On our way to the NCR base near Primm, we are stopped by a trooper.  What's going on in Primm? Some convicts from the prison up the road have taken over the town. Everyone inside is either dead or in hiding. What's more, there are two tribes of raiders causing trouble in this area as well. You'd be safer heading back up to Goodsprings. Yeeeaah that ain’t happening. Shouldn't you be protecting the town or something? We'd love to, but they don't fall under NCR jurisdiction. Even if they did we're in no shape to protect them. Why can't you protect them? We don't have the equipment to take out the convicts, and even if we did we need some extra hands for backup. You should talk to Lieutenant Hayes. He's in a tent down the road. Just stay on the west side of the overpass if you don't want to get shot. I can take care of myself. It's your rear end. Don't say you weren't warned.   What are you doing out here?  We were sent out here to hold back the tide of convicts from the correctional facility. As you can probably tell, we aren't doing the kind of job we could be doing. What's the problem with your mission? The mission isn't a problem. The problem is with supplies. The convicts are better armed and organized than our intel initially suggested. I'm trying to get some reinforcements here, maybe some guns with some firepower, but... poo poo... things are just going slow. Does the NCR have any plans to attack the prison north of here? Military operations are classified information. The brass is familiar with the situation at the NCRCF.  Well that was a bust. Let’s see if we can get some info out of someone else. Where are you from?  I'm from Hub originally, but it's been a long time since I saw it. I'm on my second tour here. Most Non-Commissioned Officers are. Powder Gangers have taken over Primm. Do you think I'm blind? Of course I can see the Powder Gangers have taken over Primm. You have any other obvious facts you'd like to share? Don't fist fight with Deathclaws? No kissing Cazadores? Yeesh, touchy. Does the NCR have any plans to attack the prison north of here? I have no idea. I just go and do what they tell me.  0 for 2. Maybe if we do the NCR’s job for them, the locals here will be mor- JESUS gently caress!! So, yeah, the baddies (or the NCR, so that no one bothers them sitting on their hands) mined the most immediate passageway to Primm. With our Explosives skill at...well, we might as well not even have an Explosives skill...we don’t have a lot of time to disarm the mines.  Thankfully, there’s a safe detour we can take.  Another real-life location translated to the game world, Primm is known as being a New Vegas-lite town. But we’ll cover that later.  Right now, we have some nuisances.  Our limbs are pretty much gone at this point, but liquor and food keep us going.  We are regenerating our health back almost immediately after being shot.  Sure, we get a little beat up and lose some resources…  but early game in RPGs are mostly always a battle of attrition before ascending to near invincibility, and Melee/Unarmed runs are no exception.  Ah yes, NCR money. Nothing more noble than trying to replicate the old world in your own image. Still, getting half your body crippled is never fun.  Don’t worry, I’m not one of those guys. Well, they like me, but these guys don’t, so we’re cool, right? What happened to Primm?  Let's see. Been tough around here for a good while now. Worse since them thugs kidnapped our deputy. It started with that breakout from the prison up the road. First there was just a few thugs rolling through town, but then they got organized. Little while ago a good chunk of them left whatever kind of organization they got up there to squeeze all the food and drink out of us they could. Do you know if the NCR is planning to attack the prison north of here? I might know something. 'Bout 100 caps worth of something, let's say? [BARTER 30] I could see giving you 50 caps, maybe. I guess that'll do. <gave 50 caps> I swore not to say a word to no one, but an NCR deserter passed through some days ago and traded for supplies. According to him, the NCR's decided enough's enough and's going to send in a mess of troops to take back the prison any day now. That was easy. Look, they haven’t exactly done any good for us here. Ya think I have any faith in their plans of taking back a whole prison of the very convicts we have to deal with now? Now that THAT business is concluded, who are you? Johnson Nash's my name. Husband to Ruby Nash. Lived in Primm going on eight years now, thick and thin. I'm a trader primarily, for what it's worth with things like they are. I also run the local Mojave Express outpost. What can you tell me about this job? <Show Delivery Order>     Oh, so you're talking about one of them packages. That job had strange written all over it. But we couldn't turn down the caps. What was strange about it? That cowboy robot had us hire six couriers. Each was carrying something a little different. A pair of dice, a chess piece, that kind of stuff. Last word I had from the office, it looked like payment had been received for the other five jobs. Guess it was just your chip that didn't make it. First deadbeat we hired to do the job canceled. Hope a storm from the Divide skins him alive. Well, that's where you came in. He canceled? Yeah, got this look when he saw you next down on the Courier list. His expression turned right around, asked me if your name was for real. ‘No, let "Courier Six" carry the package,’ that's what he said - like the Mojave'd sort you out or something. Then he just up and walked out. Do you know who he was? Where he went? No idea. Sounds like you two had a history for him to act like that. And turn down the money, too. Hope he didn't see any trouble in that package of yours. Maybe he thought your name was bad luck. Not for me to say. Would hate to run into that guy, then. Well, now that you mention it, a few nights back one of the townies was out scavenging for supplies. He said he saw a fella with a daisy suit come through with some of them Great Khan misfits. They was talking about a chip. One of those men shot me. I need to know the best way to get to them. Well for that your best bet is going to be talking to Deputy Beagle. Well, you can call Beagle a deputy so long as you don't harbor too high an opinion of the word. Boy was 'bout as useful as tits on a radscorpion. Only qualification he ever had was to be brother to the wife of the sheriff. Anyway, since they came to town he was keeping a good bit of notes on them, and he was slinking around Bison Steve when your pretty-boy friend came through.  How much for this here NCR paper money? Depends. Does it come in two-ply? Cuz that flimsy excuse for currency ain’t even worth wiping with. Why the NCR thinks weightless varying forms of exchange would be valuable to traders is beyond me. Now, how’s about spending the fifty pounds of caps your lugging around in your pockets? Crippled but still in good health, Sun Vulture takes a moment to reflect with some squirrel stew and purified water she purchased from Johnson Nash. All she knows is that the Powder Gangers may not have been the best horse to bet on. First things first, though: Sun needs to get that info from Beagle. ApeHawk fucked around with this message at 14:38 on Feb 12, 2018 |
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Feb 12, 2018 14:35
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Chapter 5: Sun Vulture and the Primm Prison Problem, Part Two Music: I Fought the Law  Hey, you – oww – you wouldn’t happen to have a doctor in here, would you? Can’t say we do. You could take a look around, if’n you’d like. Is there a doctor in the room!? drat. That was a long walk on a limp. Hannigan better be able to patch me up. I’ve gotten fed up with these convicts not holding up their ends of the bargains. drat, what happened to you? Ah, let’s see. I’ve gotten shot at, hacked at, punched, bitten, concussed, and fell off a roller coaster. How the hell did you fall off a drat roller coaster? Well, it was the only way to make sure the game would open up your dialogue option to let you heal me and my limbs...  Worth it. Hey, make sure to pick up some supplies from Carter. He’s been making himself useful, handling our loot. You can find him at Cell Block B.  You're a trader?  I was always the guy who could get things, if you know what I mean. Figured I might as well keep on doing it. What did you do to end up here in the first place? I worked in a casino in New Reno, and one of the pit bosses decided he didn't like me. Framed me over some caps, and I ended up in here. What can you tell me about this place? This is where the NCR sent prisoners to "reform" through hard labor. I never saw much reforming around here, myself. Why do you stay here? Don't have any other place to go. I'd just end up back in another prison, or dead out in the wasteland.  This was honestly a lucky trade. Metal Armor, this early in the game, is a godsend for me.  Looks really pointy, too.  Maybe I can recruit some people for the fight ahead. Like this dead guy. Oh. Boy, I’m glad I have a thick skull. And had a cooler package than fuzzy dice.  Drat. No one’s home. Some kind of...eyebot?  Well, can’t do anything with this just yet. This place (which belongs to Nash’s) has a dropbox inside. We use it to send some supplies to Goodsprings.  Next stop, the sheriff’s house. * SPLETCH *  ...well, this was a bust.  Yeah...not feeling it. Next door is Deputy Beagle’s place. It’s...well, less kept than his sister’s.   We pick up this awesome Bladed Gauntlet since our Sledgehammer is going to be too slow for this upcoming encounter.  Now our look is complete!   Excuse me, I’d like a room! I didn’t expect the reception here to be DYNAMITE! Don’t worry, I do my own housekeeping. This terminal opens up the locked door beside it. You can get some supplies in here, as well as a key to the side entrance to the room they are keeping the deputy hostage, in case you wanted to sneak him out.   We won’t be sneaking him out.  yoink  Ooh, the gift shop! We pick up a Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor skill book (+3 Barter, permanently) next to this floor safe. Inside the safe is a unique .357 magnum revolver, Lucky.  This upcoming fight is going to be difficult, so we catch up on our punching to deal with these guys faster.  This is some lovely room service. All you guys seem to have is bullets. Are you the manager? I have some complaints. Must’ve been the head bellboy. Wait, I still haven’t given you my tip! Don’t worry, you’ll get a big cut. This Incinerator makes this whole encounter scary for new players, and exciting for Energy Weapons users.  In fact, I actually used an Atomic Cocktail I bought from Johnson Nash just to prepare for this fight. Miraculously, the leader who wields this weapon didn’t even use it this time, so I couldn’t get any footage of it being used to burn me alive. And yes, this also scales with Survival.  With the enemies holding the deputy captive dealt with, we take the time to make some stuff on this campfire (unfortunately, we cannot harvest the brahmin).  And here is the next vital component of the build I’m running: Rushing Water. It’s basically a flat 20% DPS increase for Melee/Unarmed weapons, with decent hydration and health regen. It’s also really cheap to make, only requiring Jet and Purified Water. This is actually a nerfed version of the item, thanks to the jsawyer mod: it’s a whopping +50% attack speed buff in the vanilla game!  Anyway, Beagle is in this kitchen, which has a bunch of water and liquor all around.  You must be Deputy Beagle.  Why, yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm in a bit of a predicament here. I'd be most appreciative if you'd set me free. How'd you end up being a hostage? I must say it's been the low point of my career in law enforcement... The Powder Gangers stole into town at night and murdered my sister and her husband, the sheriff, in bed, while I was sleeping in the office. I watched them for a bit, waiting for the right moment to pounce and arrest the lot of them. Taking careful notes as I watched. To my dismay, they found me while I waited in the shadows and brought me here. I hear you may have information on some Khans that came through here with a guy in a checkered suit. My good lady, I believe I may have some information that would prove useful. If you would just untie my hands I'd be more than happy to share what information I have with you. We could pickpocket the info out of him, or just kill him, but let’s be nice. He’s obviously very shaken by this whole ordeal. I'll set you free now. Oh that's just marvelous. I think I'll be making my way outside now. The air's a little close in here.  I believe you killed all my captors, citizen. And I believe more could come down from upstairs. Now get moving. Sun and Beagle make their way back to the Vicky and Vance casino, safely.  Breaking myself out of a hostage situation - not to diminish your role in it, of course - but it was quite thrilling. Problem is, there's still no law in Primm. What're we to do the next time ruffians menace us and hold us hostage? What are you talking about? You're the sheriff now! Oh no! I'm just the deputy. And I can't be a deputy without a sheriff. It's called chain of command! Fine, I'll help bring law and order back to Primm. You will? That's just marvelous! I'll start thinking up questions for the interview! The sheriff that was incarcerated up at NCRCF may be a good choice. You also may be able to convince that NCR guy across the road to take the town under his wing, although martial law doesn't sound so fun. Alright, one more of this town’s problems to solve, but let’s get what we came for, first. Can you tell me about the man in the checkered suit who came through here? Ahh yes, my memory is much clearer now that I am free from my bondage. I was sku... er, performing recon, gathering information on some of the Powder Gangers, when some great Khans arrived with your friend in the suit. They were talking about some delivery they took from a courier, I assume that was you. They said they'd be heading through Nipton to Novac to meet a contact there. Now that we have more of a lead from Mr. Beagle, let’s explore this place more.  Like this robot in a cowboy hat! Who are you?  Primm Slim at your service! Authentic cowpoke and official spokesbot of the Vikki and Vance Casino and Museum! Yeehaw! Tell me about Primm. Primm is a thriving resort community located in Clark County, Nevada, right along Interstate 15. Whether you can't wait 'til Vegas to try your luck, or want to hit one last jackpot before you leave Nevada, Primm's your place! The town's Primm-eer attraction is the world-famous Vikki and Vance Casino and Museum, so you came to the right place, pardner! What about the Bison Steve hotel, across the street? <clears throat, which is impossible for a robot, but hey, whatever> The Bison Steve is one of Primm's less-impressive casino hotels. I'd steer clear of that place, pardner, if I were you. Rumor is the dealers over there cheat, and that rickety roller-coaster's liable to fall down any day 'cause it wasn't built to code. Tell me the whole story of Vikki and Vance. Yahoo! I ain't had a chance to tell their tale in a mess of years. First things first: any bosh you've heard about Vikki and Vance being copycats ain't nothing but ill-tempered slander. Fact is, they begun their crime spree two days before Bonnie and Clyde robbed their first bank - so who was copying who? Now true, Vikki and Vance didn't exactly cut a wide swath of murder and bank robbery across the central U.S., like Bonnie and Clyde did. It was more like a narrow swath of shoplifting, check-cashing fraud, and gas pump driveoffs - but crime is crime! They drove reckless, too. Having lived by the gun - well, Vance owned one, anyway - it was only fitting that the duo of desperados would die by the gun. Perhaps it was fate itself that accidentally drove them into a crossfire between police and a gang of bank robbers in Plano, Texas. Or maybe they just didn't notice until it was too late. It's been said that Vikki would have tried to cash a bad check in that bank, had she lived. We'll never know for sure. All we know is that the crossfire tore the car and both occupants to pieces, and the police issued an official apology. You can put your eyes on the genuine Death Car just over yonder, and there's Vance's machine gun in the case next to it!  Neat. We can also try and reprogram Slim to be the town sheriff, but we don’t have the necessary components nor the Science skill for it. Besides, he’s not exactly all there.  Uh, Slim, the gun is gone. Just mosey on over to the display case and you'll see it plain as day. Quite a piece, that gun. Mint condition. Never fired. The display case is empty. The gun's missing. Have you gone loco, pardner? I can see the gun with my own three photo sensors from where I'm standing right now. <strange sounds> Hmm, must be something wrong with his perceptors. I can relate. Who are you?  I'm Ruby Nash. Pleased to make your acquaintance. My husband and I are Primm long-timers. He fancies himself a trader, and I know my way around a kitchen. What do you cook? My specialty is a radscorpion venom casserole. It's more appetizing than it sounds! The venom has a sharp, smokey flavor, and it numbs your mouth so fierce you'll forget you ever had a tongue! It's perfectly safe, long as you don't have sores in your mouth for the venom to find your blood. 'Cause that'll kill you dead. ...I’ll take twenty. Does sound good, don't it? How many radscorpion glands you got? I don't have any. Guess you'll be needing to find some, huh? Come back when you do. I have a new goal in life. Tell me about Primm. My mother taught me never to say something 'less it was nice. So I don't have nothing to say about Primm, for the time being at least. It's a sad state of affairs. Discuss it with Mr. Nash if you care to. Just makes me want to cry.  There’s a small housing area nearby. Has skill mags in the mailboxes, a star cap you can steal from one of the houses, but nothing else noteworthy.  Except, you know, environmental storytelling.  HE SAID THE THING, HE SAID THE THING! Yeah? I know the NCR is planning to attack the prison. Military operations are classified information. Classified or not, I want to help make the attack. Some Powder Gangers did you wrong, is that it? Get in line. More like they’ve been sorely disappointing... Still, you do look capable enough, and manpower hasn't been easy to come by... All right. Fine by me if you want to put yourself in harm's way. I'll mark the staging area on your map. Talk to Sergeant Lee.  Yo. We've got surprise on our side, and that's about it. Once we blow a gap in the fence, we've got to pour on the fire and keep them disorganized. Our goal's to take out their leader, some assbag named Eddie. With the ringleader gone, the rest will fold. That's all the briefing you're going to get. Let's go.   The NCR blows out the fences surrounding the prison, and swarm inside.  We take the indoors approach, and are met with some unhappy fellows.  Dude, you are putting way too much effort into that swing. Uh, Meyers, what are you doing? Well, with the NCR taking the prison back, I’d figure I would get back behind bars as soon as possible. ...kay. Hey, I’ve got a proposal for you. How would you feel about becoming Primm's new sheriff? Assuming an NCR pardon comes with the job - and it had better - I'll also need to be able to do things my own way. Due process has its place, but sometimes it's just a waste of time. I'll need to know that I'm not going to end up right back in prison. Does that mean you'll take the law into your own hands? When I need to, yes. Where should I go to get you a pardon? There is a NCR camp down on the southern border of Nevada. Camp Mojave I think, try to find someone of authority there. I'll let you know when I do. Okay, hurry back. I don't want anyone to start shooting at me.    The NCR troopers beeline for the admin building to take out Eddie and his crew. If you want to complete this quest easy, just...let them do all the work.  Eddie is the one shooting the Plasma Pistol. To make him more discernible, you know.   By the way, Plasma weapons have a chance at, well, doing that.  I’ll scramble YOUR eggs! Ewww. You know what I mean! See, everyone, I’m helping! There’s only one lone Powder Ganger left and...uh…  Doesn’t this seem a tad excessive? Nope!  Unarmed has been feeling left out, so let’s start getting it up there.  Time for snooping!  At least someone in the NCR was smart enough. Too bad no one cared.  Guess he was kept out of the loop. NCR really considered this place an afterthought, huh?  Gee, I wonder why the guy who spoke out against the group keeping everyone locked up would be the most popular.   Too little too late, Nate. I'll radio Hayes to let him know the prison's ours. But you should swing by to see him the next time you're near Primm. Thanks for the help. No, no. Thank you. Now then, to tie up some loose ends... Thanks to the efforts of the NCR, we have some Powder Ganger clothes, and putting them on makes us seem like we are with them. This goes for all faction clothing. We don’t need it since we aren’t exactly in the red with them, but this is FashionOut, damnit. FashOut? I dunno.   What’s up? Lookin’ good; you hit up the prison like I told ya? You could say that. One problem though: doorboy didn’t let me in without paying. Huh. Strange. Hope it wasn’t too much to get in. ...you owe me 100 caps, Joey. Never said it was a sure thing, just that they should let you in. Guess Mayor Cobb needs to get a bigger reputation. You could help out with that, you know. ...sure. It’ll just cost you...  an arm and a leg! Oh don’t think I forgot about you jerks. I always have to rely on roadkill for my longer routes and, well... it's time I take a bite out of crime!  It begins.  Still not satisfied, Sun Vulture decides to balance out her meal with some corn on the Cobb.
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Feb 15, 2018 21:24
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Sun's puns have only just begun.
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Feb 16, 2018 22:18
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Glazius posted:So can you tactically eat your fallen adversaries to make people scream and turn away in the middle of combat? Unfortunately, no. They just remark how hosed up you are and attack you. I wish there was a perk that made people just run away when they see you cannibalize people, but alas, there isn't.
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Feb 18, 2018 06:02
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Chapter 6: Sun Vulture and the Laser Eye Surgery Music: The Wayward Wind  Novac is where we’ve been told our fancy friend was headed, but we have other business first: getting Meyers his pardon so that he can become the new law of Primm.  Traveling at the break of dawn with a baseball bat on back, we make our way towards the Mojave Outpost.  Huh, no movies playing right now. Gonna have to come back some time.  What are the chances this place is actually inhabited? I could use some more drinks. Buddy, I don’t think you wanna do that. I just took out almost ten of your frie-  ...am I telekinetic??? Oh, that makes more sense. I know that 99% of the water around here is irradiated, but take a drat bath once in a while, poo poo.    That’s friendly. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was like this before the war. Coulda helped out your buddies outside; maybe they would’ve had a chance. maaaybe Being an old police station, there’s a copy of Guns and Bullets (+3 Guns, permanently) laying on one of the desks.  As well as a jail cell with mantises that we can literally just walk right over, thanks to our higher level.    Oooh, some radscorpions! Finally! Now I can get some of those casseroles!  No! Goddamn you, Gamebryo!!   For a gas station, this place has some good stuff: a star cap, a Pugilism Illustrated (+3 Unarmed, permanently), and some more lore:        Gee, I wonder if the NCR outpost is up here. We run into a merchant that frequents around the Mojave Outpost. Good place for business.   The “desert rangers of Nevada” are a reference to the very inspiration for the whole Fallout franchise: Wasteland.  Not a long trek, but not an easy one, either.  Jeez, does no one clean around here? What is this place?  Outpost, Mojave Outpost. Watching a lot of nothing, feels like a big Brahmin pen for caravans. They've been stopped for a while, waiting for the roads North to clear - or their clearance papers to go through. Look like you've walked a ways, so if you need to shake the dust off, head to the Barracks, the bar's there. Not much, but better than nothing. What are those statues of? Those two? Represents unification. Mostly good for shade. Won't do much else when the Legion reaches us. Any work around here? Nothing I know of, but if you've come from the North, means you can travel freer than most around here. Might check the Barracks, someone might need you to hoof it somewhere. Just be careful if you go up on the roof - got a sniper watching the road. If you're gear's in need of repair, HQ's also worth checking out - talk to Major Knight, he can help. Provided you got a pen and plenty of ink. The area has some brahmin in one pen, some sleeping bags in another…  and a guard enjoying some food while on the job (as well as some whiskey in his workspace, but don’t tell anyone)   Caravan, citizen, pilgrim, or...? Canni—I mean, courier. Just need something for the log book, keeping tabs on traffic through the Outpost... although mostly just in, not out these days. If you're looking for the commanding officer, he's in the back. Although... he's got a lot on his plate, so if you speak with him... keep it short. Also, you need any gear checked, we can get you up and running again... once you fill out the work orders, and sign for the parts, of course. I'd like to talk to you about Primm. Primm? Hayes' unit is stationed up there, were having problems with some of the NCRCF convicts. What can I help you with? One of the convicts from NCRCF is looking for a pardon so he can protect Primm. One of the Powder Gangers? They've been nothing but trouble for us - why would we want one of them anywhere in an official capacity?  All right. If his sentence was closing up I can see about getting him pardoned. Thanks, pal. So, can you tell me about the Outpost? NCR border guard duty mostly. It's our job to make sure the caravans can move safely along I-15 and Highway 95. Not the best posting or assignment, but it beats being sent East, or patrolling the Colorado. Legion's pretty thick there. Who are you? Me, I'm Knight - Major Knight. I've been stuck here dealing with these caravans for ages now, but somebody's gotta do it. Not exciting enough for you? It ain't so bad. If Caesar's Legion decides to push West through Nipton ol' Mojave Outpost here will be the front line. Anything I can do to help around here? Help? Oh, well... you could speak to Ranger Jackson. He might have something for you. He sort of runs things around here, mostly ends up sending reports back West that aren't filled with the best news. I suppose you could talk to Ghost, up on top of the barracks - uh, Ranger Ghost. Something about trouble in Nipton, maybe. What kind of trouble? Not exactly sure... radio's been on the fritz, and since I haven't heard any shooting, I don't think it's urgent. Can't hurt to go ask her.  Major Knight is special in that he is pretty much the go-to man for getting through red tape fairly quickly, and having a 100 repair skill for weary travelers.    Looks like we got a new visitor in the ol' Brahmin pen. Not many people coming here in a hurry, only passing through. And if you're passing through, you picked a bad time. Road north has gone to hell, and if I let a caravan through, they won't make it. Any way I can help? Help? No, look, I apprec... You know, what, yes, I could use the help. And you look like you can handle yourself. I need to get the caravans moving again, that means clearing a path north. There's too much crawling the asphalt up the road to allow it. I just came from the north. Ain’t nothing there. Don’t worry, I just spawned them for you. ...sounds like a deal. Thanks, I appreciate it. Come back here when you're done, I might accidentally "lose" some supplies to pay you with. You sure seem like you have enough soldiers. Soldiers, no, recruits, yes. And the Mojave Outpost has been ordered to have a standing force at the NCR perimeter at all times. So sending anyone out reduces the Outpost's numbers and would be in direct violation of my orders from back West. You sound frustrated. Frustrated? No. I have my orders - signed, and approved all the way up the chain from Kimball. And I understand the reasons. The Outpost isn't a Legion target, yet, not like Vegas or the Dam - but if the caravans get choked here, that's going to bite NCR hard. Anyway, didn't mean to talk your ear off. Some days... just feel like more requisition forms and daily reports come across my desk than results.  First, we head back to Primm to make sure Meyers got his pardon.  He’ll be a harsh sheriff (the game makes it very vague as to exactly what he considers “breaking the law,” so we’re deciding to be blissfully unaware of him shooting someone for littering), but at least the residents won’t be getting taxed by the NCR and they don’t have a busted up robot making moral calls for them.  That’s the spirit! See, we made the best choice!  I, uh, don’t know why she is saying this.  Oh, I got some radscorpion glands for ya! Hand 'em over and I'll get to baking! <receives three casseroles> The townspeople start heading back to their homes, even though this lady was stuck on the bench for about three minutes. They are in desperate need of help.  Thanks to the new sheriff, all the remaining convicts in the Bison Steve have been dealt with. You could totally handle them yourself, but this frees us of some armor and weapon condition degradation.  There were even convicts on the roller coaster, but they seem to have fallen down or something. Oh well.  Not a whole lot of interest in the upper floors of the hotel. Just some flavor text…   And some sweet, sweet drugs!  Opening a very easy locked first aid kit got us just enough experience to get us to level 5! More Unarmed, please!  I have all the parts needed for this eyebot. Hopefully it just needs some easy repairs. Definitely a step up from a radio... Hello! Name’s Sun. <introductory beeping> ED-E, huh? Nice to meet you. <mutual beeping> So, ED-E (people either pronounce it “eddie” or “eedie”) is a pretty neat companion, and most player’s first of the game. It can shoot lasers, plays campy combat music when engaging in fights, and gives us the Enhanced Sensors perk while traveling with us, which basically gives us the equivalent of 10 perception and detects stealthed enemies. In short, it’s an amazing companion for us.  Companions in this game are interacted with by the Companion Wheel, which gives us shortcuts to access their inventory, give them tactics, talk to them, tell them to back away (no one uses this option, they just shove them back), heal with a stimpak (don’t ask me how it works on robots, it just does), and dismiss them. It was fairly revolutionary at the time but Fallout 4 never used it because...Bethesda makes dumb decisions, that’s why.  On our way out of Primm, we see a sulking Beagle. Well, if it isn't the "lawbringer." What's your problem now? My problem is that I'm no longer a deputy. I'm just a Beagle now. You never seemed that enthused about being a deputy, anyway. I liked the title, not the job. Apparently two-and-a-half months of law enforcement experience doesn't count for anything. The new regime is just that: all new.   This is an example of ED-E’s perk in play. Normally, with our 1 Perception, we wouldn’t see them until nearly a few yards away.  These ants don’t look so big from up her- NEVERMIND NEVERMIND DIE DIE DIE Good job, ED-E! <happy beeping> You mentioned a reward before? No, I mentioned you might accidentally get supplied, and I meant it. Not allowed to contract mercenaries at the Outpost. Still, a requisition form or two can get lost, and they're not going to come check... so here you go, just between us. We get some ammo, a Service Rifle, a couple of weapon repair kits, some caps, and two Caravan Lunches (really good food for hardcore mode, but they weigh quite a bit.)  We notice a ramp leading to the roof of the next building, as Major Knight mentioned a ranger talking about trouble up in Nipton...which we’ll have to cross to get to Novac.  I do the first half and ED-E handles the second. <confirmational beeping> Alright, but really, depends on the work. I think there's trouble in Nipton - no traffic from there on the roads, and while I can explain that away, the smoke from the town I can't. I'm sure it's been hit - what I need to know is if they survived it. Might be Powder Gangers with all that smoke in the air. If there's anybody left, they'd be in the Nipton Town Hall. Go there, check it out, let me know what you find. What's the pay? The pay? The pay is a good goddamn thanks from the heart of the Republic! <scoffs> Just making GBS threads you with the NCR line, done wonders for morale around here. President Kimball keeps saying getting shot at is its own drat reward. Do this job for me, though, I'll do what I can. People know I hate most everyone, so if I put in a word for you... that's gold. …well, guess it wouldn’t hurt to get on the NCR’s good side from here on out. I'll do it. Listen - I don't want you getting killed for this, so if you head there and run into trouble, I'm asking for eyes and ears, not your life. All right? We have a new assignment, but the night is getting darker, so we head into the bar to get a few drinks in us.  Seriously, does no one here pick up after themselves? I swear, Jackson himself could sweep up this place with just his mustache.  New face in the Outpost, must've come from the North. So - what'll you have? Anything you can tell me about the Outpost? Not too much, lot of caravans going nowhere. Few prospectors here and there, but... they don't do more than stink up the place. Lot of troopers going nowhere, too. Everybody's backed up here. You think it'd be good for business, but most of the traders are tight with the caps, even the larger caravan outfits. Any work around here? Work around here? Might check with Jackson in the main building. Or Ghost up on the roof above, but watch out, she's... well, she's kind of a bitch. Don't tell her I said that, though. Might take a bullet some night when I'm going to the latrine.   After a fairly normal intermission, Sun relaxes with some whiskey, her radscorpion casserole, and a future new friend sitting right next to her.
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Feb 18, 2018 18:59
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RickVoid posted:This upcoming destination is a really great set piece with a lot of environmental storytelling. Looking forward to seeing you show it off. It's one of my favorites in any game, and I plan on going into greater detail why. Which means this upcoming update will be released on Thursday/Friday, since I want to expand my backlog (work has been picking up and I just got done recording Update 8).
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Feb 19, 2018 19:20
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Horrible Lurkbeast posted:Man I would pay so much to have a properly remastered and enhanced F:NV. Luckily for you, then, a team of modders is working to remake F:NV in the F4 engine!
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Feb 19, 2018 22:29
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Chapter 7: Sun Vulture and the Fanatic Mr. Fox Music: Foxy Lady  No, only looking around.  Well, keep those eyes up and turning - or I'll set 'em spinning. Got no time for gawkers... or anyone looking for something I ain't selling. How about a drink instead? ED-E here is full of them. <drunken beeping> How about a drink? How about a couple, is what you mean. Either you’ve had too much to drink, or not enough. I can relate. Are you all right? All right? No, I'm not all right. Drinking to forget, and it's only getting me mad instead. Whiskey always gets my temper up - now more than ever. Drinking used to cause all sorts of trouble back West - before I punched enough people, that is, and they learned to lay low when the whiskey hit. What are you trying to forget? Lost my caravan heading north, the driver burned to ash - and they didn't even take the cargo, they just burned that, too. Doesn’t sound like raiders. My guess is Legion, they're trying to cut NCR's supply line... and the Mojave Outpost is proof. Got us locked up tighter than a New Vegas virgin. No caravans in, out, and just try arguing with Jackson about it. "Roads aren't safe," he says.  I've met him. Nice impersonation. Yeah, he's been with NCR so long all he can see is the worst outcome of everything - so he doesn't do anything. Jackson won't let me head north, it's not safe... and even though my caravan's gone, my caravan papers are keeping me here. So if you came here for work, my advice? Go find the Crimson Caravan branch, south of Vegas. They can help you out. I’m...sure a position just opened up recently. I’ll check it out. Besides, I already cleared the roads for Jackson. No poo poo? Drink's on me, then. Still, not like I'm going anywhere. Caravan title's still keeping me here, even though it's dead and gone. Anything you can tell me about the Outpost? You're looking at it. It's a watering hole without much to brag about. It's like a Brahmin drive gone wrong - supposed to be a gate north, but you come here, you get caught in the pen. Better to head back home. If you don't have a gun and a will, don't matter much what you do when you reach here, except stare at that loving monument outside. That loving monument outside?  If the Republic put as much effort into protecting the East as they put into those two asinine giants outside, then they'd be worth that monument. Statues of two men shaking hands covered in blood don't seem to be nothing to brag about. Covered in blood? I'm speaking figurative, isn't any blood on their drat hands. Course, when Caesar comes walking through here, there'll be blood for real. And after the blood dries in the sun, he'll melt that piece of Jet-induced sculpture down, and reshape it into a bull.  What are those statues supposed to be? One's a ranger, one's an NCR trooper, supposed to represent unification of West and East... or some such poo poo. As far as those two iron lovebirds go, they've got more spine than you'll see in a year from the NCR government. [NCR] I think they're both rangers, one desert, one NCR. loving nerd. Well, fine, whatever, they can be shaking each other's dicks, wouldn't change the Mojave now. That was a...nice talk. Might have to keep an eye out for her later. For now, let’s just head on down to Nipton. Disgusting. An inch away from the trash cans, and they can’t even manage to toss them in. <defensive beeping> They aren’t recycling the cans, robro. And even if they are, I wouldn’t trust them with such a delicate process.   Nipton is just a hair away from the Mojave Outpost, towards the east. The area near the crashed airplane is infested with radscorpions, which ED-E will mercilessly engage. One of the drawbacks to having a companion with such high perception.   <cautious beeping> Enemies, huh? Thanks, pal.  We’re taking out the brass knuckles for this occasion.  With our Unarmed skill over 50 now, we can perform an uppercut attack in VATS, dealing 15% more damage than a regular unarmed attack in VATS.   Most of the time, though, it’ll look like you’re punching the air.    After the Jackals are dealt with, Sun and ED-E make their way further, and find another scripted encounter.  Hey, can you two show me how to get to Nipton from here? Oh, I see you’re both busy. ...we never get a break, do we?  No need to thank us, just need directi- Uh... What was that you took from his corpse?  What? This? He stole this from me at gunpoint. Lucky for me, he got distracted and I got a chance to draw on him. It's a, uh, necklace that I made out of these special caps. You ever see any caps with a blue star on them like these?  Pretty sure, yeah. it's really nice, isn't it? Have you ever seen caps with pretty blue stars on them like these? Yes, I've got a few myself. Ah, then you know how rare they are. I'm just glad they're back where they belong. You can never be too careful these days. Well, it was nice to meet you. I'm going to take a few moments to get myself together, then head out.  What an odd lady. <inquisitive beeping> You like reading dead people’s diaries too, huh? Well, let’s see what’s in here, shall we?  ...she’s pointing a gun right at us, isn’t she? <affirmative beeping> Sucker! Bet she’s seeing stars now! <embarrassed beeping> I thought that was a clever line... yoink x9  Smoke, fire...legion flags... And a man raising a celebratory fist in the air...oh boy.  Smell that air! Couldn’t ya just drink it like booze! W-what lottery? What lottery? THE lottery, that’s what lottery! Are you stupid? Only lottery that matters! Oh my God smell that air! Are you feeling alright? Are you kidding me? Never felt better! Are you a Powder Ganger? Powder Ganger? What? I mean, yeah, used to be, sure! But not no more! Powder Gang is small-time, man! I’m a winner! I won the motherfucking lottery! Okay then. I’ll...be off. And so begins the saga of Oliver Swanick, the luckiest lottery winner of the Mojave Wasteland. What great tales will he weave with his newfound fortune? Will he reach the highest heights? Will he fall to the lowest lows? Perhaps his fate is best left unknown. But what we do know is he literally just runs towards the radscorpions we passed by and cowers in front of them.  poo poo. Hopefully someone in here knows more. Nothing too exciting in here, except for maybe a safe with random crap in it. The person sitting down, though…   Goddammit, I was nodding off until you barged in here! And I don't hurt when I sleep! Just give me some goddamn Med-X and gently caress off, will ya? I don't have any Med-X for you. Bullshit. You're holding, you just want it all for yourself! Well, yeah. They’re my drugs. <nagging beeping> Myyyyy druuuuuugs, ED-E. Mine. What happened to this town? The Legion happened. What the gently caress's it look like? Tell me about the lottery. It ain't like we came to Nipton to play it! Me and my crew had it worked out to kidnap some NCR troopers who come to town to get laid. Had it all worked out with the scumbag mayor. We were gonna ransom them off, keep their weapons for ourselves, a nice score. How'd your plan go wrong? We get in position and next thing we know, we're surrounded by those loving Legion freaks. They dragged us and everybody else into the center of town. And that rear end in a top hat with a dog on his head, he starts talking about how we're bad people! He said we needed to be punished for what we did, not all of us, but some of us. And then he gives everyone a loving lottery ticket... What happened after everyone got lottery tickets? What do you think? He started drawing tickets, and that's how people got punished. First up was the "lucky losers." They got decapitated - guess that's "lucky" because it's pretty quick. Then came the crucifixions. Goddamn but those went on and on and on... Third-place runners-up got enslaved. I got the gently caress beat out of my legs, and the winner they let go free. How did you survive? You're looking at the second place winner of the Nipton lottery! That rear end in a top hat Swanick took first place, so him they let walk! Why are you still here? I dunno, I just love it here. What the gently caress do you think, rear end in a top hat? Prize for second place was I got to live, but they beat my loving legs with hammers. I'm loving crippled, get it? What happened to the mayor? Him? When his ticket came up, they burned him alive on a pile of tires. You said some of the people were enslaved? Yeah, a bunch of those Legion fucks dragged them off right away. They was headed East, if you're feeling heroic. It's not my problem. That's how I figure it. Got problems of my own to handle.  I’m sure he’ll be fine. <mournful beeping> Not a doctor, ED-E. And Med-X don’t fix broken bones. He just wanted to OD on it, and I only have, like, ten left. The NCR will help him...or at least throw him back into the NCRCF. <meta beeping> You’re right; he’s stuck there forever. Let’s go. On second thought...holy gently caress... <shocked beeping> There actually IS a way to get them down “safely,” but we’ll get into that later.  That must be Mr. Dog Head.  I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here, especially any NCR troops you run across. What "lessons" did you teach here? Where to begin? That you are weak, and we are strong? This much was known already. But the depths of their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson. What exactly happened here? Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid. Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself - the people here didn't care. It was a town of whores. For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught inside it, too. You captured everyone? Yes, and herded them to the center of town. I told them their sins, the foremost being disloyalty. I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal, some are punished, the others made to watch. And I announced the lottery. Each clutched his ticket, hoping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when "loved ones" were dragged away to be killed. You slaughtered innocent civilians? Innocent? Hardly. Cowardly, though. They outnumbered us, yet not once did they try to resist. They stood and watched as their fellows were butchered, crucified, and burned, one by one. They stood and hoped their turn would not come. Each cared only for himself. Your crimes are unforgivable. <hypocritical beeping> Eating people isn’t as bad as judging others by your standards and lashing out at them, ED-E. And I only eat DEAD people. Besides, this guy’s just pure evil. I mean. If you insist. Hell, I’m not even going to take any drugs before this fight. These fuckers ain’t worth it. You can handle the rest, right buddy!? <confidant beeping> Pfft. Couldn’t even put up a good fight. At least he conveniently fell into a barbecue pit he made himself. Mmmm, roasted misogyny. Dog-breath here has some good items on him: Healing powder, antivenom, water, Legion money (which is worth a good amount more than NCR money)…  But the real prize is his dog head helmet.   So, yeah, Caesar’s Legion. This whole sequence is quite possibly my favorite in any game, and it is a terrific introduction to any faction I have ever seen. I’m sure there are probably better ones out there, but everything about this literal turn of events (Nipton is at the middle of the bend) is just masterful. We’ve been hearing enough about the Legion to know that they are a force to be reckoned with: how brutal they are, the presence they exhibit towards the NCR, what they do to people, etc. But telling us through dialogue is one thing; we needed a demonstration. The Lottery of Nipton is that demonstration. It is where the game curves from your typical Western inspired setpiece towards a darker story than we were led to believe. The game directs us towards Primm, where we have to fight some escaped convicts and save the cowardly deputy. We are then told that the next stop we have to make is Novac, which would normally be a straight shot from Primm, but are asked to find a replacement sheriff for Primm. The game doesn’t tell us that we can reprogram Primm Slim to be the sheriff unless we actually speak to him, but instead tells us that the two options we have are either the NCR lieutenant or the incarcerated sheriff. When speaking to either of them, we are led to the Mojave Outpost for either a pardon or for the Lieutenant stationed at Primm to be assigned as sheriff.  Even if we didn’t talk to anyone about any leads we could get, the game turns us away from just marching straight off the New Vegas by putting some of the deadliest mobs between us and the bright city. We even have a road we can follow, and most players would follow that trail on their first playthrough. The Mojave Outpost even has its own beacon of two tall statues to get the player to stop there, with the fork on the road and everything. From the Mojave Outpost, we are instructed to ask Ghost if she has any work for us, which is to scout out the smoke coming from Nipton. Well, we get there, and we see the smoke and the fire and the heads on pikes and the waving flags of a bull. And we meet Oliver Swanick, who is excited for winning a lottery, but he gives us vague answers as to what the lottery actually is. He runs off (or the player kills him, to loot his corpse in case the lottery gave him anything we want). He has nothing on him but the winning lottery ticket and the clothes on his back, so we delve deeper into the town.  Before we get to the town hall, we have a door to the general store to the left. As the player is most likely to go into the store first for loot or what have you, they go inside and meet Boxcars, sitting in a chair. He gives us a much more helpful description of what happened (and in a much angrier tone), and this braces the player for what they are about to encounter. Then we step outside, turn to the left, and see crucified bodies and a squad of Caesar’s Legion, led by Vulpes Inculta (roughly translated to Uncultivated/Rough Fox). He explains in his own romanticized way what transpired at Nipton, and shows us exactly how the Legion operates and views the world. Vulpes doesn’t try to defend his actions, even telling us to attack him if we wish. He only asks that we spread word of what happened. Everything about these events is to show us that the Legion is a major threat to everyone, and it is much more effective when they tempt you to kill them because of their monstrous ways than force you to fight them over and over again like most games do.  We will find out more about Caesar’s Legion as we progress through the game, but we have a good understanding of what they are: a militant society driven by the image and structure of the Roman Empire.  The houses in Nipton are empty, and mostly uninteresting. The hotel to the left of the Nipton Town Hall has some dead NCR troopers inside.   A Mister Gutsy greets us as soon as we enter some nerd’s home.    ...at least he ain’t making sexbots.  Legion soldiers can be harvested for their ears. It’s useful later.  Next to the nerd’s place is a spot where another Wild Wasteland proc happens. It features Luke Skywalker’s aunt’s and uncle’s skeletons. And nothing else. Since they are such loved and memorialized characters, I’ll let you picture them here yourself.    This house has a bunch of traps and safes inside. Dude was a paranoid fucker (I can relate), but it didn’t help him in the long run (I can also relate).      The wiki says that this is a Dr. Strangelove reference. So, there you go.  To the south of the town is a trailer park.  Again, nothing of interest except for the fact that at least one of the citizens actually went down fighting.  Right, onto the Town Hall proper.  The entire place is littered with dead bodies killed by the Legion. Normally, that would be whatever, just more corpses. However, some dead bodies have mines placed underneath them, as one final “gently caress you” to looters. And by looters, I mean players.  Doggies! Look, I’m one of you!<growls>  Are there any good dogs in this hellhole!? There’s a breakroom in the basement, with the key on the reception desk. It...has breakroom stuff.   After eating 25 corpses, we gain the Dine and Dash perk!  It allows us to harvest some Human Remains from corpses we eat, giving us some more food on top of what we just ate.   The mayor’s office is the only room that isn’t a complete mess.  We have some mentats, Programmer’s Digests, and a Big Book of Science (+3 Science, permanent). Obviously, the former mayor had trouble getting into the computer and needed a lot of help.     Ugh. <disgusted beeping>   Double ugh. <double disgusted beeping> With our mission completed, we give the dire news to Ghost.  Nipton was attacked by the Legion. Legion this far West? You're loving kidding me. I can show you the crucifixions. And the tire fires. And the heads on spikes. And the mined corpses. And the trophy I am literally wearing on my head. That's not outside the border, they're moving in - and fast. Nipton wasn't the most friendly town, but... All right - thanks for checking on that, wish it set my mind at ease, now I'm more on edge than ever.  Thankfully, a health-oriented home owner managed to leave these delicious greens for Sun to munch on before finally marching towards Novac, her next big clue. ApeHawk fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Feb 26, 2018 |
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Feb 22, 2018 19:35
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Being a cannibal (in the post-post apocalypse) isn't evil. It's being resourceful.
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Feb 22, 2018 23:52
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Sun had no reason to kill Oliver. All he did was proclaim how much of a winner he was. Not like that creep Malcolm who was spying on her. Malcolm can burn in hell.
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Feb 23, 2018 05:58
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HannibalBarca posted:I think we're supposed to translate "Vulpes Inculta" as "Desert Fox" Yeah, it's not the best straight translation, since "Inculta" means "uncultivated land," which explains a desert pretty well.
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Feb 25, 2018 18:40
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theshim posted:FYI you call the city Novac instead of Nipton a couple times. Should be fixed now, thanks. I swear, I get them mixed up so many times.
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Feb 26, 2018 05:36
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Chapter 8: Sun Vulture and the Tourist Trap Music: Travelin’ Man  Wanting to get the hell out of Nipton, Sun continues around the bend towards Novac.  This upcoming stretch of road is almost as memorable as the town we just visited. Why?    Because it is notorious for ambushing the players with mines and enemies.  Before we start going after the gang members waiting around for us to cross the road, we have this capsized truck filled with guns and a star cap.  Of course, thanks to ED-E, we see them coming a mile away.  We will be using a machete we looted from one of the Legion soldiers we killed, and show off a unique move that comes with it: Back Slash!  It deals 70% of the damage of a regular attack, but costs less AP to use, and it looks pretty...anime?   Anyway, we still have quite a ways to go.  Not far off the road is Wolfhorn Ranch, a nice pit stop for players.  You know, unless they aggro the mysterious figures over yonder.       It has some dead crops, irradiated water, an overgrown planter, and vagrants passing by.  Well, let’s see if anyone’s home.  Nooooope, totally abandoned. I’m sure someone not at all important to our courier once lived here.  There are at least some good things to be found here, like this Tumblers Today (+3 Lockpicking, permanently).  And this Stealth Boy (unsure if this is a random spawn or not).  But the real treasure is Chopper, the unique variant of the cleaver weapon. This boasts a higher damage, higher crit rate, and higher limb damage! It also uses the Back Slash move, but requires a Melee skill of 50 to perform.  With a quick rest, we emerge from the shack and see that the Prospector from before has found himself in a battle with those cloaked figures.  They seem to be the alive version of that Bright Follower corpse we found back in the Goodsprings Cave. They are also our proper introduction to ghouls, which are humans who have succumbed to fatal radiation damage and survived, but suffered melted skin deformities and are forced to live longer.  Normally, they are just regular humans with botched plastic surgery, but there are more feral, zombie-like ones (pretty much all ghouls turn feral at one point or another). These ones are not feral, but are “deranged”. Which means we should feel no ill will for killing them.  Protecting the Prospector (at least I think he survived) gets us to level 6, which we use to get our Melee to a round 50 and we begin putting more points into Science!.  Without a good choice of perks to pick, we go for Toughness, raising our DT by 3 for each rank.  Novac is our destination, but we will go to Searchlight in the future.  Along the way, we come across a roaming (scripted) caravan of merchants, which we offload some our loot to.   With our third ambush on the road, some Legion boys are waiting for the caravan we just met. Despite the fact we murdered their frumentarius and his squad, they aren’t hostile to us. This will quickly change.  It’s fine, though; the merchants have hired mercs of their own to protect them.  To the east, we spot some NCR troopers leading a blitz towards a Legion camp, which just so happens to house some captured Powder Gangers.  Since it’s basically 3 on 10, we give the NCR a helping hand.  Among the Legion recruits is their Decanus, which is their “leader of ten”. Basically just a higher rank of enemy for the Legion-type.  Eh, they’ve been through enough. They can run into more trouble hopefully somewhere safer. While we were helping the NCR with their Legion raid, the caravan has seen fit to get into yet another ambush. This time, it’s just more gang members (Vipers, I believe), so they managed just find.  There’s another group of them by the train tunnel, but luckily the caravan never went that way.  With the last quarter of our journey to Novac coming to an end, we spot some kind of outpost by the road.   What, did they not have enough paint to cover the back? There’s lazy, and then there’s just being tacky. Ranger Station Charlie is an NCR outpost constructed entirely out of a trailer park from the old world.  It’s...pretty barren, given the state of things.  What is this place?  Ranger Station Charlie. We're responsible for keeping the highway up through Novac civilized. I ran into, like, four ambushes on the way here. That’s all? You’re welcome. Anything unusual happening around here? All quiet at the moment. Ranger Beaumont is in charge here, but he's off leading a patrol. What was that about McCarran? Radio signal out here can be pretty spotty because of all the hills. Sometimes our scheduled updates don't go through. When it happens enough times, they send someone over to check up on us. Lately, we've been getting extra medical supplies for some reason. I'm in no rush to give the supplies back, either. Mind if I take some of those extra medical supplies? Specifically, the drugs. And alcohol. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place, and I'd rather not get you into the habit of crossing the NCR. Tell me about the Rangers. We're part scout, part commando, part sheriff. The training is brutal, and I'd say eight out of ten recruits washes out before the end. Before you get your Ranger badge, you've got to prove you can be quieter than a shadow and more ferocious than a Deathclaw. Floaty-er than a Bloatfly and stingier than a Cazador. Okay, I get it. Are there a lot of Rangers in the Mojave? Couple dozen, I'd say, most of them posted at stations like this one. We either man the station or patrol the immediate area. How does someone become a Ranger? The Rangers mostly draw from the basic NCR army. A trooper who shows exceptional skill at fighting and scouting can be nominated for the training.  Our visit to the local law enforcement over, we see Novac in the horizon, with some kind of tourist attraction looming in the distance.  So, Novac is our first non-tutorial town. Goodsprings was to get our feet wet, Primm was under siege, and Nipton was, well...yeah. It has everything an open world town needs:  An outdoor mess hall.  A place for repairs, recycling, and crafting (a workbench and reloading bench are in the garage, with some crafting materials we can steal.)  A hotel with a room we can rent.  Homes for the locals.  But most importantly…  A sketchy physician!  Oh my god, a doctor! After so long! (Okay, Sun, try not to kill this one!) Hey, you say that to yourself, too?Sun’s wounds healed, radiation cleared, and stock of unsterile medical supplies, we head off to get a room, but run into an old...stalking robot.  What are you doing in Novac? Don't rightly know - I just got the notion to make my way to New Vegas. Reckon I'll find out when I get there. Quite a coincidence us meeting like this. Seeing how this is the only road around, I'd be a sight more surprised if we didn't run into each other from time to time. You said the men that jumped me were heading this way, right? No, don't believe I did, but you might ask around - the Novac folk usually see anyone traveling this way. So what's the story with this place? Novac? Nice enough place I suppose... but between you and me - when I rolled into town my skin started to itch. Watch yourself. I could use a bed and some supplies. Well, this ain't New Vegas, but I reckon you can find what you need here. Try the office out front. Oh, and by the way, just stay out of my way, robot. I'll let that slide seeing how you gotta mind full of vengeance for that no-good polecat and all.   The office building is pretty typical. Soda machine, couch, front desk  giant mailbox   Well. Welcome to you. You look tired from the road. Why don't you relax a spell, let this fine town take care of you? We haven't met yet. Oh, what am I doing? I got to thinking about making a good impression and plain forgot to tell you my name. I'm Jeannie May. I take care of folks here at the motel. Long as they aren't trouble makers. What is this place? We're in a little desert oasis, name of Novac. This is the Dino Dee-lite Motel, and it's mine. What is there of interest around here? Well, there's Dinky, the town mascot. He's a sight. You probably already saw him when you came in, but you can go up inside, too. Up the road a ways to the west, there's REPCONN. That's the old rocket factory. There's been some sinister characters out there lately, so you may want to stay clear. Other than that, nothing to do but take it easy and enjoy good company. Anything else? Well, up north a ways you'll see a big tower. That's HELIOS One. Used to be a power plant in its day. And there's a town just east of here called Nelson. Used to be such a quaint little place until those slavers took it over. But we got our wonderful snipers keeping an eye in that direction, and so far the slavers have left us alone. I'm looking for a man in a checkered coat. Have you seen anyone like that? Well he might've been wearing a fancy outfit, but he wasn't any kind of a gentleman to me. Had his nose stuck so high in the air, you couldn't see it above the clouds. City folk, they always think they deserve better than what they got. Those hoodlums he was with seemed to know Manny for some reason. He's our daytime sniper, up in the dinosaur's mouth. Well, sun’s going down, so I guess I’ll ask him tomorrow. I'd like to rent a room. Well, I think that's a fine idea. I'll give you a good flat rate, and you can stay as long as you like. Least till the busy season comes. Sound good? <100 caps> The room isn’t half bad. It’s on the upper floor of the motel, and has a bed, safe, restroom, and comes with a stocked fridge! Definitely nothing fancy, but the room is ours for the rest of the game! Nifty.  Sun sits down at the mess hall with a Caravan Lunch and some beer, one step closer to the platinum chip and the rear end in a top hat who shot her for it. ApeHawk fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Feb 28, 2018 |
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Feb 26, 2018 17:02
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I think we can all agree that no matter the method, it's always satisfying to kill Vulpes Inculta.
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Feb 27, 2018 06:35
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Xandor TikRoth posted:Nice LP so far. This game has one of the coolest intros to a game, but sadly, I just never really got into it. Really interested to see where this goes! ARGH! drat my lack of proofreading. It's fixed; thanks. Glad you guys are enjoying the LP, anyway! The devs put a lot of care into Unarmed/Melee and I've never seen it properly shown off in this game, so I figured I would. That, and I just love this loving game! If you guys wanna check out some other LPs of this fine masterpiece, I have some suggestions! Many A True Nerd: A youtuber who actually edits his videos and has SEVERAL different playthroughs and challenge runs of F:NV. Virtually knows the game inside and out. Highly recommended. Brian Reynolds: An SA poster/game designer who decided to try out one of MATN's challenge runs! Also knows the game very very well. 2house2fly: Another SA poster, did a pretty thorough and in-depth LP until responsibilities happened. I wish I put as much effort into this LP as he did. I'm sure there are other great LPs of this game that I haven't listed, but I also wish that if none of you have played the game, give it a try! There's all sorts of ways to play it!
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Feb 28, 2018 17:26
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Chapter 9: Sun Vulture and the Occupied Novac Music: The Dinosaur Song  Sun awakes and walks outside her new motel room, embarking towards the tall dinosaur building where her next clue awaits.   Welcome to the Dino Bite Gift Shop. My name's Cliff. If you're here for the t-rex figurines, you're just in time. There's still a few left. Oh those thingies? I saw some over by a Powder Ganger camp. How did they end up here? Well, they unloaded what they had left on the Dino Bite as a tax write-off. But that was before my time. Plenty of demand for them, seeing as they're one-of-a-kind collectors items. But I might still have some in back. What do you sell here? Well, there's t-rex figurines, of course. That's our bread and butter. We also have an assortment of the REPCONN factory souvenirs - rockets, things of that nature. Tell me more about the souvenir rockets. They're scale replicas of the real thing. Very detailed. Got a liquid in them that makes them glow. From what I hear, REPCONN used to give them out on tours of their HQ up in Henderson. But I guess they had to stop after the first few kids thought they were filled with Nuka Cola and drank it down.  I'm not really sure it's safe to carry those things around. I understand if that's how you feel. But keep in mind that I've been selling these for years and I'm fine. I'm sure the kids that buy them are all fine too. <analytical beeping> Oh, that...that’s unfortunate. W-what’s wrong? Nothing. You might wanna have the town doctor check you out, though. Have you met the woman? Cuz she’d just make me worse. I'm looking for a man in a checkered coat. Have you seen anyone like that? Sure, but he didn't buy any souvenirs, if that's what you're wondering. Sounded like he didn't have his money with him. His friends seemed disappointed about it. Heck, I would be, too, if I found such a fine store and left my money elsewhere. Manny might know more about them. Thought he might've been friends with one or two of 'em. He's up in the dino mouth during the day. Soooo... What about supplies? And weapons? Do you sell those? Weapons? I, uh, well... yeah, I guess I might have a few.  By the way, did Jeannie send you? Nah, I just wanted to see what was inside the giant dinosaur. Ah, shame. Woulda given you a discount if she did. That...sounds like a terrible business practice. Gotta get boots marching into the gift shop somehow. You already have a gigantic eyesore that makes anyone curious to see what’s inside it. Well, yeah, but – And since it’s obvious you are trying to offload these toys, why not just give them out for free with a purchase? That way you can advertise the shop to other towns and tribes. Give them away? I’d lose so much money, though! You’re losing money with that stupid discount! … … … … ...are you gonna get something or not?We buy some stuff from Cliff, such as some armor that we’ll get a good look at next chapter.  This is one of the “few” times we’ll break into someone’s property. Why?  Because the place is full of dinky toys and rocket souvenirs. And it’s all counted as not-stealing. The best kind of stealing.  It also has a unique weapon, That Gun, which is a special 5.66mm pistol that grants overall better stats than its common counterpart, as well as lights. Oooh, pretty lights.  Anyway, upstairs is Manny Vargas, the person we actually wanted to talk to.  Who are you?  I'm Manny. I'm on security detail here. You see a rifle barrel sticking out of the dinosaur's mouth, you got a fifty-fifty shot it's me. Otherwise it's Boone. Who's Boone? Boone's a sniper, same as me. Used to spot for him when we were enlisted with the NCR. After we got out, I talked him into settling down here. So, here we are. I'd introduce you, but uh... we're not so friendly right now. What’s with the bad blood between you two? Me and his wife, we didn't see eye-to-eye on some things. We had some pretty big arguments. One day she turns up missing, and he hasn't said a word to me since. What did you and Boone's wife argue about? Man, you name it. See, I grew up in North Vegas. Me and my cousins. We were some bad seeds. Got in with a gang. I loved it. Then something happened, and I couldn't handle it anymore. So, I enlisted. Earned my future. Brought down my best friend to share that future with me. And here was this woman who was too good for it, trying to take him away. So yeah. I didn't see eye-to-eye with the bitch. So you were in a gang? Were they tough? Were they tough? I was in the Khans, man. It doesn't get any badder. What was your tour with the NCR like? Oh, it was great. I wouldn't trade it. Something about that lifestyle, the discipline. Seeing new places, making people safe. What's not to like? So why'd you leave? Ah, well... I just felt like it was time, you know? Wanted to have a home. Plus I was up at Camp Golf when Bitter Springs went down. I faked like I was sick to get out of going, because I knew some of the people there.  What did happen at Bitter Springs? I still don't know exactly. Just that a lot of people died who didn't want to be part of the fighting at all. I don't blame anybody for it. There's so much chaos when you're fighting, you're lucky not to shoot your own guys. But it did take something out of it for me. Just wasn't the same. So when it came time to re-enlist, I just took my papers and walked. What do you protect your town from? You name it. Anything that comes within a thousand yards that looks like trouble. Lately we been getting ghouls, coming from the road to REPCONN, out to the west. Quite a few, last couple days. The big threat is the Legion coming from the East. If they decide to attack with a full force they'll run us over. But so far we been lucky. I'm looking for a man in a checkered coat. Sure, I know him. What do you want with him? I have a score to settle.  Well listen, I can definitely help you find him, but I've got problems of my own. Maybe we can do a trade. You need my help. There's something I need, too. (This is starting to get tiring) What do you need? Novac, it's home for me now. I want that to be for good. I like it here, and I've left too many homes behind. But the only resource we got here is junk. Without that, people wouldn't have anything to trade. They'd all have to leave. Well, yeah, those gift shop toys seem like those’re the only things you guys have. No, I’m talking about scrap. Salvage. Those toys aren’t even fun to play with anymore. We get most of it up the road from the old rocket test site. But a bunch of ghouls showed up one day and took it over. We can't get in there now. Why don't you deal with it? I would. But I've gotta watch the road. Caesar's Legion has been taking territory just east of here. They took Nelson. If we let our guard down, they might attack. All it takes for the Legion is for them to sense weakness. Yeah, they just sacked Nipton, too. Oh poo poo, Nipton? They’re loving surrounding us already? Yup. Anyway, about your ghoul problem, what needs to be done? Well they gotta go, or this'll be a ghost town before long. Doesn't matter to me what you do. As long as the ghouls are out of there, that's good enough for me. Okay, I'll see what can be done about it. It'd mean a lot to me.  Before heading out to complete Manny’s request, let’s meet the locals!  In this room we have Ranger Andy, an NCR veteran holed up in Novac.   We haven't met yet. You must be new in town. I'm Andy. Sun Vulture. Nice to meetcha. What do you do here, Andy? Right now? A whole lot of sitting on my keister and counting cracks in the ceiling. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. On better days I help keep the peace. Boone and Vargas watch the road, I watch the town. Tell myself I'm doing some good. Did you do something to your leg? Yeah. Twice. Actually the first time it was more like half my body. Knocked me out of the Rangers. This time it's mostly just reminded me how useless I've gotten. What happened? A few years back, we get a tip that some Legion slavers were holed up in this burnt out house a few klicks from where we were stationed. We get there and it's deserted. No sign anyone's been there. I mean nothing. As we're leaving, I hear something behind me. I turn around and there's this kid, just skin and bone, and he's looking up at us and he's scared half to death. Been hiding in a closet. What did you do? I go to grab him out of there and I notice he's holding something in his hand. Something metal. He shuts himself back inside the closet and that's when I see the grenade he's left by my feet. They do it a lot, the Legion. Using kids. They know we'll hesitate. Holy poo poo... ...wow, talk about tonal whiplash. But, hey, dude... Heh. People don't exactly line up to find out what's in my head. Can't remember the last time someone suggested I knew something worth knowing. You know, maybe there's something I can do for you. Since you've gone to all the trouble of flattering a crippled old soldier. There's a move we have in the Rangers for knocking an opponent off his feet. Saved my butt a bunch of times, maybe it will for you too.  We finally learned a special Unarmed power attack move: the Ranger Takedown!  It’s basically a leg sweep that knocks down anyone it hits. Since you have to move backwards to activate it, it’s mostly useful for targets that are right next to you. It also cannot be performed when both legs are crippled or you are over-encumbered. There’s also a bug where you can use this skill to “knock down” crucified victims. If you’re Unarmed is low enough, you can get them off the cross without killing them. They’ll just stand around, though, since they aren’t really meant to have that happened to them. You're with the NCR, right? Was. Was with them. That was back when my arm and leg used to work better. I still like to pretend I'm a Ranger, though. I'll check in with the guys up at the station pretty regular on the ham radio. Sometimes they stop by, tell me they're paying their respects, the smug bastards.  Really? I was just there yesterday. Oh, they must’ve been out on patrol. There was at least one guy there. ...Stepinac? Yeah. Oh, he’s just a prick. Huh... Would you feel better if I checked on your NCR friends for you? Uh... no. No. They're gonna think I'm having trouble letting go. They're good soldiers. I don't give them enough credit. Tell me about the Rangers. They're the NCR's finest. A one-man platoon, each of 'em. You got a job where even thinking about it would scare a man senseless, that's when you bring in the Rangers. And if you see a squad of the veterans - guys who earned their black armor... well... you won't find a more beautiful sight. Well, guess I’ll get going. Seeya. If I got time, then yeah. Not a whole lot in his room, other than his crutches and medical braces…  But he does have a +3 Medicine skill book on his bed. Next door is Cliff Briscoe’s room, whi-      I am very uncomfortable right now. At the bottom of the motel building is Manny Vargas’ room, which we are free to enter.   Looks like he had some guests recently. The terminal is also considered open to us, so let’s peek inside.   -McMurphy Boulder City, huh? Well, now I don’t have to take care of the ghoul problem. <nagging beeping> ED-E, my time is precious and my revenge-induced rage is waning. <temptational beeping> Place might have good loot? Well, you twisted my arm, robro. Another room, another neighbor!  You were a pilot?  Vertibird pilot. Seventy-one missions and only lost one chopper. Rotor malfunction over Klamath. Hard landing, but I walked away. Did you fly for the NCR? "For?" No, not exactly. It was a long time ago. Things are a lot different these days, and those days are way behind me. What do you do in Novac? I help folks strip down the more complicated bits of salvage they bring in - engines, mostly. The bits and pieces we take out are usually worth more than the whole thing put together.  All this opening of doors to people’s property makes me wish an open world game would program in the option to knock on their doors and have them answer. You know, for roleplaying purposes.  No, I don't. What makes you think that?  Sorry, it's just... you look like his type, y'know? You got that hard-rear end wasteland explorer thing going on. Aww, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Aren't you that singer from New Reno? I think I saw you play the clubs there. Oh, so you have heard of me. Yeah, that's right. I was the big draw at the Shark Club, people used to pay hundreds of caps to see me. Why did you come all the way out here from New Reno? You don't know Mr. Bishop. He's not like the other bosses up there. He knows the Wasteland like the back of his hand, and he likes to wander it. I knew if I didn't get way the hell away from New Reno, he'd run me down like a dog. Why would this Mr. Bishop be after you? Oh, well, that's all just a big misunderstanding, see. Mr. Bishop, well, he owed me a lot of money, and, y'know, he's a busy guy, so I sort of figured I'd just...take it off his hands. You robbed a casino boss? "Robbed" is such an ugly word. It's more like I took care of a payroll problem for him.  Jesus, dude. You really don't know when to quit, do you? I guess I don't. That's why I'm here.   Fixing up this old bike to get outta here quick? You know it. Keeps me busy, too. We have some brahmin farmers to visit next!  What do you do here in Novac?  Oh, I tend to my ranch, that's about it. Alice'll tell you. I don't get out a whole lot. I heard you've been losing livestock. Losing don't describe it. It's a massacre. Few more days and there won't be nothing left to lose. Did you get a look at the attacker? Beg your pardon ma'am, but them two-headed beeves ain't worth getting shot over. Not to mention what would happen if half of what No-bark says is true. Best we can hope is that whoever's doing this'll move on, or get tired of it. I just hope it happens while we still got animals left. Whoever it is, I don't think they're from around town. Seems like they're usually shooting from the west side. Tell me what you know about the attacks. Every night around midnight Alice and I'll wake up to some crazy hollering and gun shots. You'd think the world was ending all over again. But it's just one animal each night. They don't take it or carve it up or nothing. Just leave it there, all full of holes. I'll see if I can catch whoever's responsible. We'd be grateful. Especially if you find 'em before they get my whole stock. But don't go getting yourself killed over it. Alice and I'll find a way to make do. Always have.  I just wanted to meet you.  Oh! Well I'm Alice and you've already met my beau, Dusty. He's sweet, ain't he? I don't care what my mama said, I know how to pick 'em. What do you think of the people who live here? Oh, we keep to ourselves, for the most part. Try not to pry. I think Jeannie May gets bothered that we aren't more sociable, but it's just our way. Ain't that we don't appreciate what she's done, managing this town like she has, but I worry she feels that way anyhow. Not that there ain't others who pry around here. That No-bark was skulking around our yard last week. <Laughs> I thought he was our cow-killer. Was about to lash him with our bullwhip till I saw who it was. He's harmless, though. Part of me wishes I could see things like he sees 'em, all full of mystery. How did No-bark get his name? I'm not sure who started it. It wasn't a very nice name, but he took to calling himself by it, so we all had to. I don't even remember what his real name is.  Man, I want a cool nickname, like “Super Cool Asskicker” or something. <snarky beeping> gently caress you! Be glad I’m not calling you “One-Eyed Monster,” dick. What can you tell me about the attacks on your ranch? Well, it's the strangest thing. Last time it happened I could swear I heard someone cry out for help. Sounded like a big fella. But when we finally got up the gumption to go look outside all we found was our cattle. And I know what they sound like when they get upset. I can't imagine what went on. Dusty can probably tell you more about it.  Man, I wish I brought my shovel with me. <disgusted beeping> Okay, first of all: I wasn’t going to eat the corpses in the graves. There’s no good meat left, and the irradiated dirt makes them all...gross. And second...yeah, I was going to rob them. There’s a house specifically for the Novac settlers, all clumped into one place.  It also has a star cap!  For the final home of note, we have No-bark’s shack!  ED-E, that’s a rigged shotgun in front of us, isn’t it? <confirmational beeping> Thought so. Let’s get outta here. Dude, you got a problem with break-ins or something? Because I do not blame you. Oh, that’s it.   <scolding beeping> I was just messing with him, ED-E, chill. If you're going to be weird, I'm just going to leave.  Weird's just normal when normal decides to start taking notice of things. You just think about that. ...I never thought of it that way. Why do they call you No-bark?  Them quack doctors can say what they want about all the radscorpion stings that done pierced my skull. I know what I seen. I'm looking for a man in a checkered coat. Have you seen anyone like that? Sure have. Camouflage, that coat was, trying to hide from extra terrestrials what can only see in black and white checkers. But they're not fooled 'cause he forgot to put the checkers on his face. I told him so and he seemed to take it to heart. They stayed here a night, and was up by the dinosaur talking to the sniper fella with the mustache a couple of times. Has anybody been acting strange lately? I don't trust a man that doesn't have something strange going on about him, 'cause it means he's hiding it from you. If a man's wearing his pants on his head or if he says his words backwards from time to time, you know it's all laid out there for you. But if he's friendly to strangers and keeps his home spick-and-span, more often than not he's done something even his own ma couldn't forgive. That...makes so much sense, holy crap. <confused beeping> What's been going on in town? There's been things of a disturbing nature going on at the McBride Corral. Seems every night one of their herd meets a most unnatural death, and always there's holes all over the body.   What else do you know about the deaths at the corral? I come face to face with the chupacabra himself one night whilst I was investigating whether this gecko was hiding his treasure from me. He was the meanest, ugliest chupacabra you could imagine. Had two heads, and fangs down to the ground.   Walked right past me having an argument with somebody. But I only saw the one chupacabra, so I guess the other fella had to be invisible too. Only more invisible than the other one. Is anything interesting happening in the area? Folks'll tell you that they seen ghouls up near the rocket factory. Sensationalist hooey, cooked up by superstitious yokels seeing phantoms of their own imagining. Who do you think is actually at the factory?   I seen one of them disappear and reappear before my very eyes.  You gave me a lot to chew on, No-bark. Hat’s off to ya. No, you gotta leave your hat on. Otherwise, the commie spies will transplant their red thoughts into yer head! Egads, I think I actually forgot mine!   It’s getting dark out; not quite midnight yet, though, so let’s check on the rang- GODDAMNIT! Tape 1 ...drove the raiders off. No casualties. In the meantime- Patrol's back. They're late. I hope they got a good excuse. What took- Tape 2  This is a message to the NCR from the Legion. We are coming for you. Run and we will catch you. Hide and we will find you. No matter what you do you are all going to die. We took one of the women alive.   ... Well, can’t let a good meal go to waste. I went to the ranger station. Everyone there was wiped out. <burps> Sorry. What? What happened? Members of Caesar's Legion ambushed them. Those were good men at the station. Good men. This whole town was sleeping a lot easier because of them. Now, who knows what we're in for? The Legion? Christ, we'd be better off with Raiders. Well, thanks for telling me. I know that knowledge didn't come without risk.    Still got an hour to kill. Eh, I’ll just keep lookout.1 hour later  <yawns> ED-E, you see anything? AH! No-bark was right! Kinda! This is our introduction to Super Mutants, which were made from a Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). This particular mutant is a nightkin, a mutant that used a Stealth Boy for so long that they started to lose their minds in various ways. Also they are blue.  (apologies for terrible quality)  Fortunately, despite Super Mutants being notoriously durable, this one goes down pretty easily.   Guess he didn’t know he was supposed to count bighorners, not brahmin. <scolding beeping> You’re right, ED-E. Mental illnesses are no laughing matter. Neither are outdated references. Well I don't know how you done it, but I do know how I can thank you. Please take this, compliments of Alice and myself. And help yourself to anything in that freezer over yonder. We got more steaks in there than we'd be able to eat in a year.  SCORE! Sun enjoys her brahmin steak with some mac and cheese and some scotch. At 2AM. Yeah, she’ll hit up the ghouls in the next afternoon. ApeHawk fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Mar 2, 2018 |
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Mar 2, 2018 16:56
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Horrible Lurkbeast posted:I never play a cannibal so only now I'm wondering if ghouls are even edible. There is a perk for eating dead feral ghouls and super mutants, but it's at level 12 and requires Cannibal unlocked
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Mar 2, 2018 21:09
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A cannibal run wouldn't be complete without it. 
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Mar 2, 2018 21:41
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Chapter 10: Sun Vulture and the Rad REPCONN Refugees Music: Rocket 88  Well-fed, well-rested, and well-hungover, Sun dons her Gladiator Apocalypse Armor, Devil’s Pigtails helmet, and the Ripper she pried from Vulpes’ cold signed hands.  You know what the difference between you and me is? I make this look good. On our way to the REPCONN ruins, we come across a dead Glowing One, a ghoul that practically pulses radiation. Even in death, it irradiates us.   Feral Ghouls (ones that have lost their minds and succumbed to zombie-like tendencies) are coming at us one by one, but our Ripper makes short work of them.    The game makes sure we are well-stocked for this next area, lining the way with ammo boxes, drugs, and gags.    Excuse me, is this the REPCONN facility? I tried reading your sign but it says “REPCNN”. Alright, what craziness is in store for us today? Oh, of course, it’s death.  Go to the big room on the east side of this building and take the metal staircase all the way up. And hurry. Who are you? Who I am doesn't matter, smoothskin. Stop wasting time and get up here. Yeesh, fine, keep your skin on. We’re not in any hurry to get up to the rude man, so let’s go ‘splorin’!     This place looks mildly important; has red carpeting and everything.  Even the paintings are still standing.  This office building has a lot of terminal messages, so we get in on that delicious world-building.   This is actually a red herring; there IS a generator-room-turned-storage area, but it doesn’t have anything locked away for us. Probably cut content.    That must’ve been the pool of radiation we passed on the way over here. Figured that was just from, you know, the bombs. <confirmational beeping>    <disgusted beeping> I know; who knew the old world was so wasteful with their food? <disgusted-er beeping>   That was nice of RobCo! I bet there were all sorts of good coming from big companies eating smaller, failing companies! <cynical beeping> Don’t be ridiculous, buddy. Look, it even said they would get larger benefits!   Hooo, boy. That...sounds like I can make a killing selling those to merchants!     That rad spill seems like it was a big deal back then. <expository beeping> You’re right; they didn’t have the privilege of having to live in a rad-infested swamp of a world to get used to it.  Hope that didn’t hurt their extra benefits. <eyerolling beeping>  ...now I want some cake. < beeping> We get closer to the metal staircase, where we see a poor feral trapped under a door...  some organs covering the floor...  and more victims of the chupacabra.    Um. I know that my eyesight isn’t the best...and it’s dark...and you’re kinda in the way...but... <confirmational beeping> Thought so. Hey dude, you know you aren’t actually a ghoul, right? Your pranks won't work on me, smoothskin. They won't work on Jason, either. Who is Jason? Jason is the prophet. The only reason you're up here is because he wants to talk to you. Oh lord, we’re dealing with a cult.  The room where Jason and his cult are holed up in has some machines still in working condition, so they are most likely up to something. Let’s ask around.   Or they can just tell us to gently caress off and speak with this Jason fellow. Alrighty then.  No wonder these ghouls are so quick to drink the koolaid; their leader is a friggin’ Glowing One! <expository beeping> Yes, I know Glowing Ones emit radiation and not koolaid, ED-E. And that ghouls are healed by radiation. I was making a really bad joke, apparently.  Have you come to help us complete the Great Journey? Who are you? I am Jason Bright, the prophet of the Great Journey. All the ghouls you see here are members of my flock. Your last name is "Bright?" That's funny. An auspicious name, don't you think? It was mine before I became as I am now. Before the Great War, even. Truly does the creator author a destiny for each and every one of us... What is this Far Beyond? I have glimpsed it only in visions, wanderer, but what I have seen is truly miraculous. It is a place of light and healing, and I know in my soul that my flock will be safe there. (...the sun? Wait, do ghouls get sunburned?) What's the "Great Journey"? We wish to escape the barbarity of the wasteland, especially the violence and bigotry of its human inhabitants. The creator has promised to my flock a new land: a place of safety and healing... a paradise in the Far Beyond. Preparations for the Great Journey were nearly complete when the demons appeared. How will you make the "Journey?" The means by which the Great Journey is to be accomplished are an article of faith, not to be discussed with outsiders. Tell me more about these "demons." The demons appeared from nowhere... except it might be more accurate to say they never actually "appeared" at all. The demons are invisible. Where one of them stands, the most one sees is the air shimmering, like sunlight on water... They set upon us as we were on our way to worship one morning. We had just entered the basement. My flock fought bravely, and killed a few, but at such cost. Nearly half of us died or went missing. The rest of us retreated up here. One of the demons raved at us, but they have not tried to attack us since. Still, their demonic presence brought all progress towards the Great Journey to a standstill. But now you have come. Once again, the creator has sent a human to help us across a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Speaking of which, what's the deal with the human who let me in? You're referring to Chris. I doubt you had much luck if you tried telling him that he's human. We had the same discussions when he first appeared, and the same lack of success. He believes he is one of us. Soon enough we realized that Chris was a gift from the creator. He is integral to the success of the Great Journey. <disgusted beeping> Starting to sound like those Children of Atom loonies from the east coast I keep hearing about... You say one of the demons "raved" at you?  It went on for hours, and did not always make sense. But that was the first day only. Since then, silence. Will you drive away the demons, wanderer? Well, that’s kinda what I wanted to talk to YOU about. I'm here because feral ghouls have been wandering into Novac. And they've been putting them down like animals, haven't they? They attacked first, and the radi- We kept them safe on the first floor. We kept them contained. The demons must have let them out, somehow... And now they are lost forever, denied the salvation and healing glow of the Far Beyond... Please, wanderer, bear in mind that every feral ghoul you spare now is one that we can save later. Once the way is clear, our feral brothers and sisters will accompany us on the Great Journey. If there are any left... I can’t promise anything, but I’ll take care of your “demon” problem if it gets you out of here. Otherwise, Cliff might start feeding the Dinky toys to the town... But first, more snooping.  Oh, just more world-building.   Well, now we know why that Martin fella wasn’t too happy with his “retirement”. <gasps> PARTY HATS This whole trip was worth it! <hopeful beeping> Sorry, ED-E, but you literally cannot wear hats. Your antennas get in the way. <sad beeping> Of course the door to the demons is covered in blood. Of course. The “flock” didn’t even have time to grab their sleeping bags. Poor souls. No demons, but plenty of nightkin. <transitive-property beeping> ...that makes sense. ED-E, you sure this one’s cool? <analytical beeping> If you say so.  Yeah dude, it’s, like, totally a pal. An assassin, more like! I say kill it, Antler. For safe's sake! Nah, man, just ask what’s up. Huh? ...Okay, Antler. I'll ask. Hi, human. Why you come here? Are you all right? You sound... strange. I am in command of my faculties! In command of my troops! Antler guides me in all things! As I in turn guide my kin! Who is "Antler"?  Antler, the human asks about you! What do I tell it? All right. Chill, guy, she just asked for introductions. She, like, might be able to get us those sweet Stealth Boys, breh. All right... Yes, yes, of course. Who Antler is, not important to you. Antler wants that you deal with me. And who are you, exactly? Me? I am devoted to Antler. But before Antler? Hmm... Captain, once. Last name, Davison. First name... don't remember. I commanded a troop of Nightkin. The Master's elite. A great honor, very proud. Something happened. We wandered the desert. Life without Master was... hard. The others' minds going strange, going crazy. But then I found us new master. I find us Antler! Yo. Since then, everything's been going really well. I came here on behalf of the ghouls upstairs. They...really want to get out of here, and so do I. A human who is friend to ghouls? Suspicious. You mean the ones upstairs. Antler used intercom, told them stay put. But they want to come down in basement anyways? I cannot allow. My kin are... not right in head like I am. They attack you on sight. Ghouls too. They crazy. Oh, yeah, sorry, I had to kill some of them. No hard feelings? Bro, I really just want some Stealth Boys, your buds aren’t worth it. Antler says that is fine. They not important to us. ...okay. Your ghoul friends have to wait until you find what Antler brought us to get. Maybe I can help. Good. Antler brought us here for a reason... Why was that, Antler? Like, that shipment said a shitload of Stealth Boys were sent here, man, did you forget? Ah, you gotta stop hitting them up so much. Save some for me, breh. Right! A piece of paper. Shipment invoice. Hundreds of Stealth Boys, sent here a long time ago... But Stealth Boys must be in the one room one we don't search yet - the one we can't search. Why can't you search the last room? A ghoul. But not squishy like others. This ghoul is tough. I thought Antler said send my kin into that room, but three died. Ghoul is a crack shot and set traps too. loving narc. After, I realize I heard Antler wrong. So I lock the door to keep kin out and wait for Antler to tell me what to do. Then you come along. Antler says you are solution. So far, I believe Antler more than Jason’s “creator”. Alright, I’ll do it. If we touch (or move) Antler, the brahmin skull on the coffee pot, Davison becomes immediately hostile, so it’s best to just leave the room and get on with the quest.   This must be the choke point where the ghoul is keeping the nightkin locked down.  Hey! You're not one of those things out there. Who the hell are you? I’m Sun Vulture. Who the hell are you? The one pointing a rifle at your face. ...good point. Jason sent me down here to get rid of the "demons." And I bet he told you it's the creator's will for you to risk your rear end, instead of him, right? Well, good luck with that! I'd give you a hand, but no thanks. I may look like a corpse, but I'm partial to living! You don't look like the other ghouls from Bright's group.    Anyway, I helped them out, and they kept me supplied with ammo and pleasant company. What can you tell me about the creatures out there? I kill them on sight, so we haven't had much time to get acquainted. They're hard to see, obviously, but they aren't too smart when it comes to tactics. Or not stepping in traps. How did you end up trapped down here? First off, I'm not trapped. This was a tactical choice, all right? I'm no match for those things out there, so I found a good defensive position, and I've been defending it, right?  What happened was, I was escorting folks down to work when those things attacked us. Most of the fight was upstairs, but some folks panicked and made for the basement. And I went after them. Well, turns out there were even more of those bastards down here than upstairs, and things went to poo poo fast. I couldn't find the others, so I fell back to this room and set up a nice little kill zone. End of story. How have you survived?  I wouldn't say it's been comfy. W-which corner? The one above you. Haven’t had a chance to get down long enough to pop a squat. I'm looking for a stash of Stealth Boys in this room. A stash of Stealth Boys. Are you kidding me? If there was some big stash of devices in here that made you invisible, do you really think we'd be having this conversation? Maybe you just didn’t look hard enough. Maybe you shouldn’t insult the eyesight of someone pointing a gun at your face. drat, I keep running into that one. Well, I still need to say I looked. How can I help get you out of this room? Ha! Well, you're polite, I'll give you that. If this was just between you and me, I'd do as you ask. But it's not. I had a friend with me when those mutant bastards came out of nowheres. She panicked and ran the wrong direction - further into the basement. She's probably dead, but I ain't leaving until I know for sure. I'd have gone looking myself, except I wouldn't last a minute out there. You, on the other hand, seem pretty resourceful. Find my friend, and I'll get out of your way. ED-E, remind me to stop with this whole “chain of favors” bullshit next time. <recording beeping> So, Harland’s friend is in a basement filled with generators, which are locked in rooms and we need the key. Not a whole lot else in here, unfortunately.   Luckily, this fiery fellow found us and fetched the key for us!  Aww that was to be expected. I haven’t had a good chance to show this off, but the Ripper also has a unique attack: Long Cut, which deals half damage but costs 20 less AP to use.   Yes, unfortunately. I see. Well, spare me the details. drat it, I'm going to miss that crooked, yellow smile... All right, you did your part, so I'll do mine. Look around up here if you want. I'm going to make a break for topside.  We are now free to explore Harland’s Last Stand, which is pretty dangerous, as it is covered in concealed traps.  Note the texture mesh on the concrete at the right of my feet. That is a hidden mine.  The bottom floor is littered with them, and we certainly don’t have the Explosives skill to disarm them. Some are even put in front of desired places to loot, like this First Aid Kit.  There’s a terminal down here, but it’s also a trap: there are two rigged shotguns in front of it, and the terminal itself is rigged to explode, as shown by the antenna on top of it.  The real route is upwards, which contains the terminal we need.     Ah, the simple days of yore, where invisibility devices were used more for sexually harassing women than murder and addiction. <correctional beeping> Oh don’t get me wrong, they are still used for that, and the assholes should’ve been condemned to hell for it, but I’m just speaking from experience.   ...well, I hope Davison doesn’t kill us because of this turn of events. <praying beeping> Working on my mixtape, gonna be fire. There is no stockpile of Stealth Boys in this building. Please don’t kill me. Or try to, anyway; my arm is getting tired of holding this Ripper forward for extended periods of time. Liar! The invoice said Stealth Boys here! Antler read it out loud to me! Now, now, chill, chill, let’s hear her out. The Stealth Boys were sent here by mistake, then sent back. But invoice note said Stealth Boys were here! Why can't that note be true? Ah, bummer, man. What, Antler? ...But human could be lying! Stealing the Stealth Boys for itself! Look, breh, I vouch for her. She cool. Oh, Antler... You trust so easy... Your lucky day, human. Antler believe you. Nightkin will follow the new note to find Stealth Boys. Better be there. I mean, I have this one that I took from one of your dead fellow kin. Just the one? Nah, dude, that ain’t enough to even phase us. Keep it. Antler says it not worth it. Good bye. Davison takes his brahmin skull and departs with his remaining brothers and sisters.  Harland even decides to come back to Jason’s flock!  Praise the creator! And bless you, wanderer! The way is clear. I will lead my flock through the basement to the sacred site! I hope you will come find us there, wanderer! There is much to be done. Gotta be thorough and make sure y’all leave... <scolding beeping> C’mon, ED-E, it’s not like they need it. Hell, it’s probably poison to them. The ghouls put on space suits and make for the basement.  I waited to speak with you one last time before I descended to the launch pad, wanderer. I want you to know that we will remember for all eternity how you delivered us to the threshold of the Great Journey. <sniffs> ‘kay Our preparations are nearly complete, but the rockets that will carry us to salvation are yet missing vital components. Oh C’MON! If you would still help us, wanderer, speak to Chris. He can tell you what is missing. <plays recording> No, ED-E, this is still part of the previous arrangement I made with Manny. The fucker. There is no way that we can thank you enough, wanderer. Your arrival here was a blessing. We will remember you always. Speaking of annoying humans...again... Let's talk about Chris. After all that you have done for us, I suppose you deserve to know everything... When Chris came to us, we tried to convince him that he was human. But this only angered him. He seemed... lost. We decided to let him stay with us for a few days, over the course of which we learned that his technical skills far surpassed our own. It became clear that the creator had sent him to us, to ensure the success of the Great Journey. Equally clear was that Chris should labor in blessed ignorance of his humanity, and his inability to make the journey himself. It is no coincidence that two humans have been vital to the success of the Great Journey. It is my belief that the creator sent you and Chris to expiate the sins of your kind against mine. You are redeemers both. So you're going to leave Chris behind? Such is the creator's will. Vision upon vision has shown me that, were Chris to accompany us, he would die in minutes. The radiation around the launch pad alone would kill Chris in minutes. The radioactivity of the Far Beyond is much stronger. Well, it's none of my business. <scolding beeping> I’d feel more bad for him if he didn’t insist on insulting me whenever I spoke to him, robro. Besides, this is on Jason’s shoulders, not mine. Chris shall be declared the Saint of the Great Journey before we depart. I hope this will ease his sadness... Are you seriously going to make your "Great Journey" on those rockets? Yes. The rockets will convey us to our promised land in the Far Beyond. Vision upon vision has confirmed it. Holy poo poo, is IS the sun, isn’t it!? Christ, you’re cr- It’s not the sun, wanderer, but a green paradise where we will thrive! These rockets will convey us there post-haste! Those rockets will convey you and your flock straight into the ground! I understand your concerns, friend, and I thank you for voicing them. But the creator's will for us has been made manifest.  The REAL treasure in this place is this here space suit, which grants us some pretty drat good radiation resistance.  Also it’s a loving space suit.  Jason says that I am to cooperate with you on the final tasks necessary to launch the Great Journey. How can I help? I was close to completing work on the rockets before we were driven into hiding on the top floor. Two components were missing: a quantity of Isotope-239 igniting agent, and a set of thrust control modules. The igniting agent is highly radioactive, and decays quickly. That's why we can't use the drums that leaked down on the launch pad. It's no longer potent enough. I need you to find an intact, shielded container of the igniting agent. As for the thrust control modules, they were custom-built for these rockets. They won't even launch without them. What about these rocket souvenirs? The stuff inside glows. Yes, that's Isotope-239, all right. And there's enough here to launch the rockets.  As for the thrust control modules, well, we learned that some lady neighboring Novac sells salvage from REPCONN, so let’s go ask her if she has them.  She lives next to a junkyard, which makes sense, being a scrap-seller.  Doggies! And they aren’t attacking me! Yet! Hi there. I'm Old Lady Gibson, or so they tell me. I've got odds and ends for sale, and I'm pretty good at fixing things, too. You might have noticed the very large building just north of here. That's HELIOS One. The NCR runs the place, so it's off-limits to prospectors. ...I’ll remember to head right there after I’m done with this stupid fetch fetch fetch quest. Why do they call you Old Lady Gibson? Well, I'll give you a hint - they used to just call me Gibson. I hope you can figure out the rest. I don't mind, to be honest. Living long is a real accomplishment these days. Remains to be seen if I end up dying peaceful in my bed. Did you ever salvage containers of radioactive material from REPCONN? Certainly did. Hubby and me had an old rad meter to help us tell the difference between what you could salvage and what'd kill you. I kept a glowing container from REPCONN around here for years serving no better purpose than a nightlight. drat thing wouldn't sell. Then along comes the most peculiar-looking fellow, all decked out in a yellow radiation suit, of which he was proud all out of proportion. The man outright asked if I had anything radioactive for sale - imagine that! But he paid handsome for that jar of goop. Only saw him that once. He said something about heading over to Clark Field to put his suit through its paces. A strange one, he was... If we didn’t have the rockets already, we could’ve gotten them by passing a level 30 Barter check with Cliff Briscoe, who would’ve given us the key to his stockroom. Otherwise, we would need to get to Clark Field south of Novac to find the igniting agent. We’ll explore there next time, though. Do you have any thrust control modules from REPCONN in stock? As it so happens, I do have some thrust modules, but they're expensive. 500 caps worth of expensive.  Eh, fair enough. It's not like anyone's ever wanted to buy them before. 250 caps it is. Alrighty, almost done with this stupid adventure. Let’s go, E- ...you can speak human? My name is Whitley. I’m a researcher at Adams Air Force base. Oh, nevermind. Until recently I was in charge of the Duraframe reinforcement project for the combat model Eyebots. Eyebot Duraframe Subject E is both the prototype, and the last functional model in this test group. I was prepared to make several significant upgrades to the machines. However, as the project was canceled and all Duraframe assets are being diverted to Hellfire Armor, I am sending this model to the Navarro outpost. If you are listening to this log from one of our Enclave Outposts in Chicago, give this unit whatever repairs it needs so it can continue to Navarro. Well, that was...something. <sad beeping> We bring the rest of the parts needed for the launch to Chris, and Jason Bright gives his farewell speech: Gather, all. May the creator guide my words and help me speak true... This’ll be good.  The almighty creator has seen fit to answer our prayers. The time has come for us to board the rockets and begin the Great Journey. Though it may seem that all humans despise us, the creator has seen fit to instruct us differently. The Journey ahead would have been impossible if not for the intercession of two human friends, one new, the other a long-abiding companion. To our new friend, we say thanks, and promise never to forget how he cleared from our path the demons who sought to stay our Journey. But to Chris, we owe more than thanks. Chris, you have made this Great Journey a reality. From this moment forward, you will be remembered as the Saint of the Great Journey. We shall never forget you. I ask that you forgive us, Chris, and give us your blessing, and we bestow ours upon you. Seekers, board the rockets, take your seats. The Great Journey awaits! To the promised land we go! To the Far Beyond!  They'd take you if they could, Chris, but you'd die. And dying would be worse than this? Used up and thrown away like garbage? They're going to revere you as a Saint, Chris! You know, assuming they survive the landing. Oh, so I've redeemed the human race, is that it? What a crock! The human race can't stand me! <Lie> That's not true, Chris. You're all right. So you want me to accompany you on your adventures across the wasteland, is that it? Oh! Uh, uh, um, uh…(help me out here ED-E) <evasive beeping> (Oh screw you) Jeez, um…oh! There's a little town called Novac down the road. Go bug – I mean, befriend them! Especially a guy named Manny. I’m sure he’d love to have you around! Life among humans again, that's what you're suggesting? Other humans, yes. I guess... I guess it's the only chance I've got. Maybe it'll be different this time. I was never a Saint before. I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, but I'll give it a try. You go launch the rockets. I'm on my way to Novac. You know, I grew up in Vault 34, northeast of here. Oh, we’re still talking? Nice upbringing, if you like assault rifles and target practice. But oh, you prefer machines that don't shoot people? Not so nice then. Who should maintain the Vault's reactor? Houser? Mitchell? No - make it Haversam. He likes machines! Haversam won't mind getting irradiated! Haversam won't mind mutating! He's already ugly as it is! How many people actually said that? They didn’t have to say it, I knew they thought it! Uh huh. Haversam won't mind when his hair starts falling out after a few years. There's no connection, Haversam! You're neurotic! You left your Vault because you were going bald? Bald? You call this bald? I'm a monster! A monster! Honey, you're no monster. You're cute! Why, I could just about eat you up! Oh my god, my cravings are making me delusional... Stop making fun of me! <leaves>Music: Ride of the Valkyries  We arrive at the control panel for the launch, ready to send Jason and his flock on their way.  If we had a high enough Science!, we could either change the course of the rockets to get them closer to their destination (which we never learn either way) or set them up to crash.     The launch is a success!… as far as we know, and Sun levels up to level 7, putting all the points into Science!  She then helps herself to Harland’s radroach meat he neatly placed on a hopefully clean plate.
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Mar 6, 2018 17:37
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queserasera posted:What's the story behind the Weird Wasteland bottle pyramid? I don't remember it. It's not a WW thing; it's just something the devs put in for ~~environmental storytelling~~.
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Mar 8, 2018 00:31
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Chapter 11: Sun Vulture and the Daylight Savings Music: That Lucky Old Sun  Sun, still sporting her space suit, decides to explore the area around the town of Novac before heading towards Boulder City. Chris is still making his way to Novac to settle in, and we let Manny stew for a while before telling him he can rest easy. It’s fine.  There’s...not actually a whole lot, except this really dangerous toxic waste dump 100 yards away from the motel. They should probably do something about that.  South of the radiation barrels are some ruins with geckos pouring out of them.  As well as a corpse.  Nothing too important, really. If you opted to neglect doing the REPCONN quest, it’s a good early start at some radiation resistance gear, though the suit gives us +30 rad resistance and sells for 5 caps whereas the space suit gives us +40 and sells for much more. He also has the Isotope we needed for the previous quest, but most players will have already looted Cliff’s Dinky toy room beforehand and swiped the weightless rocket fuel. But he does have a note on him:     Well, this guy definitely lived the life he wanted, gotta give him that. And he does make for a nice microwaved meal! Clark Field doesn’t really have anything, except tons of radiation and our first look at Golden Geckos. They, um. Yeah, the yellow filter this game has on all the time doesn’t help to distinguish them from normal Geckos. They are as tall as us, though.  Of course, all that time spent there made us pretty RADical ourselves, so we might as well get that sorted out.    Our rads cleared and road paved, we finally make off for HELIOS One as our next detour.   I was hungry and was hoping this was some kind of food factory. <confused beeping> I walked quite a ways here, ED-E, and that burned more calories than the radman had left. I can't tell whether you're joking or radiation melted part of your brain, but either way I don't see a good reason to let you through. Why are you here, and not on the front lines? Isn't that more important? I ask myself the same question all the time. But energy is hard to come by around here. Gives you more control over this area than troops ever could. Hell, if we lose the dam to the Legion, this little plant may be our last stand. Shouldn't there be more people than this defending a power plant? There should. But we're not getting much power out of it so none of our enemies have a big interest in it either. Not like Hoover Dam, anyway. We had a real fighting force here just long enough to take it from the Brotherhood of Steel. Then they got sent east to the dam like everybody else. Caesar's Legion sends skirmishers every so often. Prodding for weaknesses, mostly. The reality is, if they really wanted it, we'd all be dead. Why was the Brotherhood of Steel here? Damned if I know. Put up a hell of a fight, though. We had them outnumbered, I don't know, twenty to one, maybe. They held out as long as they could. Lost most of their force before they retreated. Gave us a little parting gift, too. They had some of the plant running, but they shut it all down. Enabled an old security system, too, to keep us away from the controls. Jerkoffs. I notice your solar tower isn't collecting much sunlight. I can help. <shocked beeping> Okay, fine, ED-E here noticed the lack of energy-gathering. I can barely see the sun. No need. We already have an expert hard at work on it.    I’ve...dealt with my share of lunacy just yesterday. Trust me, he’s worse. I have to have a drink every time I’m forced to get updates from him just to make some sense of the bullshit that pours out of his mouth. Well, good thing I brought some moonshine with me... You’ll know you’ll need it as soon as you see him.  Alright, let’s see what info we can get from this place.   ARCHIMEDES, huh? <worried beeping> Well, at least they never had time to test it. Bombs fell months before it could.  Or not. Man, they need to put some accurate time-stamps on these messages.  <worried-er beeping> I haven’t heard any news of death rays from the sky ever, so I think we’re fine for now.      And I thought I was paranoid. There’s triggered traps and sandbags and other evidence of a recent fight all over the power plant. Well, not that recent, but it’s more logical to assume that the NCR is keeping the tradition of NEVER PICKING UP AFTER THEMSELVES alive.  We keep missing these parties, don’t we? <sad beeping>  ED-E, is he...walking into that table over and over again? <confirmational beeping> I’ll get you, apple, one of these days! … <drinks some alcohol> So, there are some unique dialogue choices in this game if you are at a low (3 or less) Intelligence. This detail hearkens back to the old school Fallouts, but because of time restraints, it isn’t everywhere. So instead of having every dialogue choice being a low Int one, only a handful of encounters have them. Sun can “achieve” low Intelligence by consuming moonshine and another source of alcohol, such as wine or vodka, bringing it down to 2, since moonshine counts as it’s own source. While she does have an above average Intelligence, well, we’ll just say that she gets pretty slurry the more she drinks. Yeah, let’s go with that:   (Oh god, it’s already wearing off) You pay me stack of caps now and I'll forget you have my job. Aw, man. How am I supposed to buy chems now? Fine. Here. <gives 100 caps> What job you have here? What ‘zactly you do?   So you no know what you're doing.  I gotta admit, this is basically me a lot of the time. Over there controls power in this building. That station has readouts on the computer network. That big knob there makes a crazy noise. Sparks come out of that slot if you put stuff in it. And I'm learning more every day. How did you get this job?    (oh my god, the NCR is more incompetent than I gave them credit for…) <chugs even more liquor> <worried beeping> What you trying a-polish? Well, see, we're getting power, because the guy running this place is Fantastic.  Trouble is, most of the controls for this place aren't here - they're in the tower. And that place has some crazy Pre-War security system that the dumbshit NCR set off when they took over. Killed two guys. Now they won't go near it. They want me to make an omelet, but I can't break any of their eggs, know what I'm saying?  There's these two terminals outside. They control the mirrors. I tried fooling with them but didn't get very far. You'd have to get them to talk to the mainframe up in the tower, then do the rest from up there. I'm guessing. But it sounds good, right? Hey, you're not thinking of going up there, are you? I am now. Well hey, if you find yourself up at the mainframe, do yourself a favor and make sure you send the power to the right place. It needs to go to the Strip and McCarran. Why should power go to Strip and Carrot?  But you know, you do that, maybe I put in a good word for you with them. Fantastic's little helper. There's a reputation you can hang your hat on. Here, you'll want this. It's the password to one of the terminals outside. Found it written on one of the stalls in the bathroom. <gives Western Reflector Control Terminal Password> Still reeling from the inebriation, Sun finds another white coat.  It's unusual to see a new face here. Are you a soldier, or a scientist?  Then we have that in common. Whom do you typically work with?  Then for everyone's sake, I hope you serve a worthy master. Are you a maker of war, or peace?  That's reassuring, although many who've made that claim to the Followers of the Apocalypse over the years have had less than pure intentions. But if it's really as you say, then take my advice. This installation carries with it dangers that no one here has realized. Take care what you do here, and who you listen to. Some things are best left buried with the old world.  Humanity lost many things after the war. Methods of agriculture, techniques for survival. We took it upon ourselves to piece together this knowledge and bring it back to them.  Other things weren't lost, but were blocked from our collective memory. Knowledge of what we're capable of, and how things spiral out of control. It's in our nature to want to forget truths that keep us awake at night. And for that reason it's all the more important that the Followers walk the wastes to remind people of them.  We're scattered, mostly. We go where we're needed. Our largest presence is in Freeside at Old Mormon Fort. Other than that, I know Dr. Usanagi set up a practice near the Crimson Caravan. And a man we trained is operating out of the Aerotech building. Another man, Tom Anderson, was looking into water supply problems in Westside. But that was a while ago.  We did, for a time. But our goals differ. The NCR only cares to expand their wealth and their reach. For us, territorial boundaries mean nothing. And prosperity has to be for everyone, not just citizens of the NCR. So a parting was inevitable. While the NCR pushes east, we clean up the mess they leave behind. Try to provide some stability.  I don't entirely know. Our records on the company that built this place suggest that their dealings were not only in energy, but also in weapons. And I've seen equipment here marked with symbols used by the Pre-War military. Targeting computers. Shock sensors. A codeword comes up repeatedly in the papers I've looked through here. ARCHIMEDES. You think Archie-Meanies bad thingy? Yes. And the technology they have in this facility is like nothing I've seen. Some of it reminds me of Enclave equipment, but more advanced. A weapon based upon it would be catastrophic, no matter who claimed it. It's no wonder the Brotherhood wouldn't give it up. The Steelers knew about Archie-Meanies? When the NCR first came here, it was under Brotherhood control. They usually steer clear of one another, but something here changed their minds. The Brotherhood's interest in Pre-War technology has always been in weapons. It's likely they were trying to reclaim ARCHIMEDES when the NCR arrived.  I was sent here when we saw that the NCR had taken it. We have no record of the facility, but its original builders were cause for concern. I'm to determine the threat level of this place and do everything in my power to prevent the revival of any dangerous Pre-War technology. The NCR let me stay because they are desperate for answers about this place, but I've kept them in the dark. Where should I root the power? Oh, the NCR has their own designs for it, no doubt. But resist the urge to send it only to the thriving communities. The need for power is great everywhere. Distributing it evenly is the most rational and humane choice.  We come upstairs after a delightful conversation with Ignacio and find the second password to the terminals, as well as Medicine skill book lying on one of the beds.     ..really shoulda come here at the break of dawn. There are two terminals we need to activate, and they are both protected with their own traps.  For instance, this one has rigged shotguns, bear traps, and mines.  If you squint your eyes, you can see the hidden mines at the other entrances to the terminal. Guess how many times I triggered them. I’ll give you a hint: more than five.  The eastern one is simpler.  Because, for some reason, we only have to deal with NCR guard dogs, which the NCR is cool with us just killing. I dunno.  Once both of them are done, we head into the tower.   The door straight ahead leads to a room with a terminal that controls the turrets in the tower. Which turrets?  These turrets!  And, we somehow managed to get them to blow each other up. I didn’t even use the terminal; they just turned on one another.  Robobrains (exactly what you think they are) roam these parts as well, but our Ripper cuts through their armor easily.   We nab this ID card from a dead employee; we’ll need it later.   Protectrons gather around a couple of level 50 locked doors, which don’t contain any notable loot.     <disturbed beeping> I know, right? Thanks to this force field, I can’t eat the brain! <disgusted beeping> drat, I never learned that programming language. We could theoretically get that high of Science! but I’d rather save our consumables and just use the ID card we found earlier.  The reason is because we need PYTHON to repair the solar panel control mainframe for us (our low Repair skill wouldn’t even know to put gloves on first). It does this by...zapping the power cords with electricity. Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time.   ARCHIMEDES II, huh? <suspenseful beeping> Don’t you worry, robro. To me, it sounds like a gun, and I don’t do guns. Might have to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, though.  Emergency levels? That may overload the energy. Just normal power should do it. Wait, this place has a defense system that’s an arm?! Oh, I gotta read this. <hits enter>  Ohshit, ohshit, ohshit, Ididn’tmeantodothatturnitoff! <frantic beeping>  ARE YOU ALL RIGHT DOWN THERE?! WHAT?! I SAID, ARE-YOU-ALL-RIGHT-DOWN-THERE?! HEY, SHUT THE HELL UP, SOME OF US ARE STILL SLEEPING! Here goes nothing.  ...if I wasn’t blind before, I sure am now. Hey, I managed to give the Strip and McCarran power. Yeah, I saw the lights on those locations blink on. Problem is, the whole board lit up! So? So I only get paid for those two locations, not other ones! Now they’re gonna charge me for each additional light bulb! I...don’t think it works out that way. You screwed me out of all my caps, man! I’m gonna have to work for the rest of my life, and all my pay will go straight back to the NCR’s pockets! I can’t believe I met someone stupider than me. ...well, you won’t have to worry about that debt, Fantastic.  Just gonna cut off a chunk of you. I heard what you did. Huh, thought the sound of the Ripper would drown out his screams... I was talking about the sirens. Oh. Yeah, I wanted to see what it’d do. Turns out there was no arm. Yes, well, I can see you are rather reckless. Hey now, I gave the whole region even power. And I’m sure everyone appreciates it. ...no reward? I would think the feeling that people around the Mojave will enjoy free energy would be reward enough. It isn’t. I sadly have no funds on me at the moment. But if you’d like to assist the Followers later on, we – Pass. After getting the entire wasteland its groove back, Sun sits down to relax with some wine, a fresh apple she found on Fantastic’s desk, and a slice of his life.
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Mar 10, 2018 16:33
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Chapter 12: Sun Vulture and the Boulder City Bust Music: Boulder Buff  The ghouls are no longer at REPCONN. Really? Unbelievable, man! I knew that wasn't gonna be easy. But I had a good feeling about you. You look like you been through a lot. You have no idea. So, where’s Boulder City? It's straight up Route 93 from here. Just keep following the road north. ...not even gonna wonder how I found out? I saw you walk into my room. I kinda have a good perch up here and figured you would go inside after we first met. Next time you’re inside, say hi to Chris for me. Wait, what?  I...he definitely took my advice seriously. Well, good for you, Chris. Welcome to Novac. It's not very exciting here, but the people are friendly enough. My engineering skills have been coming in handy, too. I've got plenty to do. Thanks for telling me about this place.  Sure enough, we just need to keep following the road.   Oh, it’s you guys. Well...so long! Shoulda seen that coming. Before leaving Novac, we restocked at Cliff’s, grabbing this nice mod for the Ripper, increasing its damage significantly.  C’mon baby, bring that smokin’ rear end back over here! Smuggling ketchup in your armor?!  <combat music> Oh, it’s a party now! Better not inhale that emission; it’s bad for your health!  Ain’t I the popular one today! At least my Ripper’s new teeth are getting plenty of paste this morning! Gotta start the day fresh. Oh NOW you fuckers hate me?! Killing our...eleventh? Legion guy got us up to level 8, which we use to get our Speech, Barter, and Survival ticking upward. Having 50 in both our offensive skills is enough to carry us into the late game, especially with all the drugs we are taking.  We also take the Super Slam perk, giving us a 15% chance to knock an opponent down with a one-handed melee weapon or unarmed attack, and a 30% chance with a two-handed melee weapon.  There’s an abandoned gas station up ahead, which doesn’t have anything particularly unique, but it does have a bunch of snack food for us to horde. It also has a bunch of sleeping bags and a campfire.  Obviously you do, if you bothered to deface this defenseless wall. We also take this chance to make some more Rushing Water and Weapon Binding Rituals. WBRs are a very nifty consumable that can drastically increase the DPS of otherwise low damage Unarmed/Melee weapons. For only 4 HPs of self-inflicted damage, it’s a good trade-off.   Traveling forward, we run into a family of Fire Ants which, well, spew fire.   What's your story, stranger?  My story's a long one, friend, and I can't say as it's all that interesting. Nevertheless, I'm interested. Well, I was born in a little town out Montana way. Me and Ma didn't have much, ever since my pa up and left. Your father abandoned you?  You were better off without him. You became your own man, outside of his shadow. I suppose there's that, but a man oughta know his own Pa, and a woman oughtn't have to work herself to an early grave to provide for her family. After Ma died, I guess I wanted to find my Pa and get some answers from him. Been out here looking ever since, but he ain't an easy man to find. And what will you do when you find him? Can't say as I really know. Maybe I'll just ask him why. Maybe I'll punch him right in the mouth. Hell, the more I talk about it, the more the whole drat thing sounds like a dumb idea.  That's a mighty fine guitar you got there. Oh, this old thing? Why, thanks, friend. This here guitar is just about the only thing my daddy left me. Have you been playing long? Just about my whole life, ever since my daddy left ma and me and went off to roam the wastes.  The Lonesome Drifter has a unique Magnum revolver on him, the “Mysterious Magnum”, which has engravings and plays a certain musical sting when drawn and holstered…   Are there any chances that this will be easy, ED-E? <defeated beeping> Yeah, didn’t think so.   Nothing interesting here at the Boulder City train station, just a safe containing random loot and a duffle bag at the top of a structure containing food and NCR money.   Uh, sure... What is this memorial?  It commemorates the Battle of Hoover Dam. The rangers lured the best of Caesar's Legion into Boulder City, then blew the whole town up. I’d say that seems excessive, but I’ve kinda seen firsthand that the Legion need to be wiped off the face of the earth... The NCR still lost a bunch of troops in the fighting, though. My older brother sacrificed himself so they could evacuate some of the wounded. I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry about it. Where are you normally stationed? Camp McCarran, but I'm on leave at the moment - heading back to California to see my folks. I'm supposed to join up with a caravan that's heading that way up at the 188, but they're not due to arrive for awhile yet.  Hmm, I wonder if I can get my name on this thing... <hesitant beeping> Dude, I help out the NCR every time I meet them. I deserve to be memorialed. Esss—  Uh, are you okay? What the gently caress are you doing? My brother died at the Battle of Hoover Dam. You're desecrating a war memorial. Sorry. I, uh, didn't know what I was doing. All right, apology accepted. Don't let it happen again.  That guy was weird. Let’s get a move on. Up in one of the ruined buildings are a collection of skeletons, such as this one.  Must be some high praise if it’s coming from a Ranger. These Great Khans might have something of mine - a Platinum Chip.  Once the Great Khans have been killed or captured, you're welcome to retrieve any property they've taken from you. What's going on with the Great Khans? One of my patrols was on its way back from Novac when it came under fire from the Great Khans. They radioed for reinforcements, but instead of waiting for us, they chased the Khans into the ruins where they were caught in a crossfire. No deaths, but not all of the squad got out. The Khans have Private Ackerman and Private Gilbert as hostages. Is there anything you can tell me about the Great Khans? They're an outlaw group, primarily trafficking in drugs and other contraband. They usually stay out of NCR territory, though. What happened to Boulder City? Destroyed during the Battle of Hoover Dam a couple of years ago. The town was set up as a trap for Caesar's Legion. The sharpshooters in the Rangers picked off the Legion's veterans from a distance, and the rest of the Legion just rushed on in. Then - boom! What can you tell me about Hoover Dam? It's one of the biggest sources of electrical power in the region, so the NCR's fortified the place pretty heavily. When President Kimball shows up on his inspection tour, I'm sure he'll be confident that the Dam is safe and secure. The President is coming to Hoover Dam? It's probably just a political thing - you know, give a few speeches, shake hands with the troops, boost morale. Interesting... I may be able to negotiate a deal with the Great Khans. Normally, I'd turn you down since I have no idea who you are, but considering that the hostages are as good as dead when we attack...  If we hear shooting, we'll be coming in, but it'll probably be late for you. Ahhahahahahahaha! Yeah, right, sure. Look, I can handle myself. <confidant beeping> Alright, suit yourself. Why do I have an empty feeling about this? <sad beeping> Sure enough, the NCR are locked in a stance, ready for anything to happen.  Some are...less than steeled for the job.   The hostages are being held...in a small room...guarded by someone with no armor. I honestly don’t know who’s losing here. Ooh, Jet! I can make even more Rushing Waters! <disgusted beeping> ED-E, Jet is made FROM crap. <breathes deeply> Well, I'm not, and I believe you have something of mine. Yeah... about that... <sighs> Where's the Platinum Chip?  (Of loving course) Why did Benny betray you? He's a snake, that's why. He owed us the rest of the pay for the job, so maybe he didn't want to pay up. What can you tell me about Benny? He's one of the Chairmen, big shots who run The Tops casino in New Vegas. A friend from the city contacted me with info on a big job. I should've known that the caps were too good to be true, but there was still no way I could pass up the chance. Yeah, I – I know all about hindsight. It’s the only good sight I have. Let's talk about settling things between you and the NCR. What's to negotiate? The NCR backs off, we walk out of here, nobody gets hurt.  Right, and they'd probably give us all medals, too. Maybe I should kill a hostage because you wasted my time with this poo poo. Alright, no need to be a smart-rear end. I'm willing to hear other suggestions. We'd try to bribe our way out, but seeing as how Benny didn't pay us yet, that won't happen. Now you’re speaking my language. Lemme see what I can do. Why the gently caress are you helping us, anyway? We tried to kill you. No, Benny tried to kill me. You’re just one of the many dumbasses he paid to catch me. It was a job to you, not whatever hosed-up plan he concocted. I mean, who the hell kills someone over a chip? I don’t know, but he was really protective of it. Whatever. I’ll go and clean your mess up, Jessup. How much money would it take for you to look the other way while the Great Khans left? You mean... just let them go? How would I explain this to my superiors? Look at it this way - nobody dies. 500 caps would go a long way for some soldier's families. You don’t want NCR money? I mean, it’s your currency. Ma’am, do you understand how many traders actually accept NCR bucks? It’s not a lot. Good point. That makes sense, and it's still more than these troopers see in a month. Done. Here's the caps. This doesn't feel quite right, but it resolves things and gets my troopers back in one piece. And all I have to do to make up the difference is sell some useless ammo! The NCR troopers have been paid to look the other way.  Oh, trust me. I plan on more than that. drat, he picked the wrong delivery chick to mess with. You have no idea. Oh boy, gotta remember this for my future drug deals. I...was kinda wondering what happened to the other Khan who was standing next to Benny before he double-tapped me. That’s the spirit!   Might as well drink away the rest of the day.  Eh. You know what? I could use some soft drink. Need more of those star caps, anyway. Only halfway to 50. One step closer, fate brings Sun her final clue: the legendary New Vegas Strip. She sits down with her Sunset Sarsaparilla and gargantuan Fire Ant Egg, determined to make her entrance one to remember.
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Mar 13, 2018 17:10
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Nah, never bothered. Early LR is worth it for the armor you get in the first zone, though.
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Mar 14, 2018 00:50
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theshim posted:I did LR at level 1 one time. It was...an ordeal. I mean, it can be done.
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Mar 14, 2018 01:04
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My personal ranking of the DLCs (best to worst) is easily: OWB, DM, LR, HH. HH is really only good for what's in it, not the main plot.
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Mar 15, 2018 01:20
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Chapter 13: Sun Vulture and the Grocery Gopher Music: Gopher Mambo  Howdy, pardner! So, when do the rustlers show up? Oh for gently caress’s sake. How did you get here? Just rolling along on my spurs. Looks like I just might make it to New Vegas after all. Then why go into the bar? You’re a robot; you don’t drink. Needed to dust off my chassis. Did you see Benny come this way? 'Benny'? Fancy-pant's name is Benny? <laughs> No, but I reckon that 'Bunny' hopped his way back to New Vegas. This is too big to be a coincidence, robot - what's your angle? Now don't go getting paranoid, pardner - that bullet to your brain-pan probably just bucked your Brahmin a little. We're all friends here. ...I don't like being followed, robot. Now-now, it ain't my fault that Dorothy and the Tin Man happened to be on the same yellow-striped road, is it?  Oh. It is. Teach you to stalk me, you cowardly lyin’ rear end in a top hat! You make a better scarecrow, if you ask me.  Surprising that the Khans are going to walk out of here after all that fuss. Tell me about Boulder City. Most of the town is rubble - destroyed during the Battle of Hoover Dam - and the only other thing around here is the concrete mixing yard. Where does the concrete come from? Most of the limestone comes from Quarry Junction out west, but I hear some Deathclaws overran the quarry. With no work to be had, all the workers around here have wandered off. I'm the only one left in town. What's the concrete used for? The NCR has been constructing bunkers up and down the river. From what I've heard, it's a little late for that. Travelers over at the 188 - just up the road - said that the Legion has overrun a couple of towns to the south.  Nuka-Cola has various flavors associated with it, like this Quartz, which gives us a bunch of good stats when used.  Poor guy sleeps with a mop bucket and broken glass. We’re close this time, ED-E. I can feel it. <confidant beeping> Who are you?  Name's Michelle. My Dad and me run this store. His name's Samuel. I take the day shift and he takes nights. We came here about a month ago, when Primm went to hell on account of the prison break north of there. Found a bin to call home and set up shop. Oh those punks. Primm's safe now. I took care of those prisoners. That's nice. I suspect we'll stick around here, though. Business has been good. Why'd you settle in this dump? There's more to the 188 than meets the eye. Troops move back and forth on 93 all the time, and 95 is how NCR folks come and go from Vegas. No shortage of customers... so long as Legion raids south of here don't get worse, anyways. What do you know about Legion raids? Not much. I hear some folks got killed down by Nelson... or was it Novac? I don't know. If they come up this way, me and dad'll go someplace else. Nipton... Why's this place called the 188? You do know these old roads were numbered, right? We're standing where the 95 and 93 meet. And 95 plus 93 equals... 188. Why not call it the 94? Why not mind your own drat business and buy some of our crap? Who are you?  Samuel Kerr at your service. Me and my daughter Michelle run this fine establishment. We came here from Primm about a month past. Doesn't look like much, but it's one hell of a location. Is it safe here? Well... There's been reports of trouble south, but me and Michelle can handle ourselves. And there's plenty of soldiers about, so that helps. Why's business so good here? When 15 shut down, 95 became the route NCR citizens use to get to the Strip - or limp back home, after the Strip's drained 'em of caps. We get 'em coming and going. Coming, the suckers flush with caps they saved to gamble on the Strip... ...and going, the same folks, but now they're losers who'll trade you the shirt off their backs so they don't starve before they make it back home. Add in the troopers marching back and forth from McCarran and the Dam, and well, let's just say we don't miss Primm.  Heh heh, suckers.  No offense, but you look like you've traveled a long way down some bad roads. Where'd you come from? The grave. Huh. Well, in that case I take it back. You look pretty good, given the circumstances.  You live in a hole in the ground? Well, a bunker, if you want to get technical. I think it sounds more interesting my way. But I'm not there much anymore. I'm usually out here picking up food and supplies for my family. Whatever they need. So you just leave your family in the bunker? Yeah. I'm not worried. They can handle themselves. But somebody has to get the groceries, know what I mean? And actually these days I think they'd rather have me out here anyway. But that's a whole other story. So, listen, can I ask you something on the level? Sup? I had a run-in with this group calling themselves the Brotherhood of Steel. Pretty strange bunch. Do you know anything about them? They're usually harmless unless you use advanced technology around them. Well that shouldn't be a problem for me. I can't afford anything like that. Hey, so where are you headed, anyway? I just kind of drift from place to place. Just wherever the wind takes you, huh? I like that. Keeps things interesting. You can say that... I'll be honest. You're the first person I've run across out here that looks like she can really handle herself. There are places I've never been to that'd be too dangerous for just me. What do you think? Maybe we could travel together, help each other out. Eh, sure, why not? Right... I know, I know. But I had to know how you'd react when I told you. We've made a lot of enemies. You still okay bringing me along? Actually, I'm more comfortable now that I know you've had some training. I'm great at punching people. I'm not gonna lie. It's a gift. Did you say...punching? Meet Veronica Santangelo, the Snarky Scribe Sister of Steel, voiced by Felicia Day. She comes with a pretty good perk (basically a walking workbench), Power Armor training (meaning she can actually wear Power Armor), and specializes in Unarmed combat, as she comes equipped with a Power Fist.  Luckily, we managed to purchase a Power Fist and some mods ourselves. Which marks the beginning of the Dynamic Duo:  The Fister Sisters! Oh uh could you please not call us that? <embarrassed beeping> A little bit ahead of where we meet Veronica are some more traders.   Hell, yes ma'am. Well... not officially. Not anymore. They mustered me out a year ago. Administrative discharge. What was your rank? Staff sergeant, Third Platoon, Bravo Company. I was at the Dam when the Legion hit us, three years back. (Not unlike the Brotherhood at times) Why did you leave the army?  Those kids didn't desert. They just got liquored up on the Strip and missed roll call. I don't know what else the brass expects... half these kids don't get more than two weeks of training before they ship 'em out here. How did you end up selling weapons? Going home didn't feel right, not with those savages camped on the other side of the river, sharpening their knives. And I still get to see my old platoon when they pass through here... make sure the new C.O. is treating them right, and sneak them extra ammo. Anyway, I was always complaining about the standard issue gear. The new kids don't even get body armor, can you believe that? NCR doesn't have the caps to outfit their troops?  (yeah, if “problems” means “territories”) This war is gonna bankrupt the NCR, unless we finish off the Legion fast and dirty. We shouldn't be perched up at the Dam - we ought to be crossing the Colorado and sticking a boot up Caesar's rear end.  Under the bridge, we find this odd boy.  Hello, ma'am. I hope you're doing fine today. Where are your parents, kid? Are you here all alone? He’s not mine! I swear! I don't have a mama or papa anymore. I see them sometimes when I take off my medicine, but they can't stay. I'm pretty used to being on my own. What is your "medicine" and how do you take it off? This thing on my head is headache medicine. It works real good, except I can't think when it's on. Really think, I mean. I might be interested in buying your "headache medicine." How much? Thinking hurts you, too? No, I just get wicked hangovers. Like, all hours of the day. Aw, I wish I could let you have the one on my head but I can't. It hurts real bad when I don't wear it. I'd like to see what you have for sale. Oh, I don't sell things, ma'am. I sell thoughts. I don’t see any thots here. <correctional beeping> Oh. Thanks, Enclave tool. <correctional and annoyed beeping> Ex-Enclave. Gotcha. You sell *thoughts?* I can take off my medicine and do some thinking. People say it's real interesting. I don't know, ’cause I never hear it. Some people say that it's a gift. Other people say that it's the kind of thinking anyone could do if they watched more than they talked. I don't know which is true. I see a lot, I think a lot. There's a lot to hear through the 188, too, that maybe accounts for the thinking. You don't sell that junk behind you? That's not junk. That's other people's thoughts. People had to think to make them, and the thoughts got stuck inside. I need other people's thoughts to fill my head when I'm not thinking myself. Otherwise it's... kind of empty. I'll pay 100 caps to hear your thoughts. Great! What do you want me to think about? I can think about You, Here... or Everywhere. What do you want? Do your thinking about me.   Forecast: Rapidly changing conditions. A lot of thinking - most of it in your face, it's almost shouting at me. Sorry if I said anything weird. That was...vague. Do your thinking about "Everywhere."   Forecast: A rain of blood will flood the desert and not purify it. Bleh. Thinking about Everywhere always makes me feel a little sick... Well, that was more of a given than a thought. Do your thinking about "Here."   Okay, rude. I’m standing right here, kid. Forecast: Cloudy, with a chance of friendship. Ouch. Thinking small only hurts a little, but it's a sharp pain. Alright, thanks kid. Go buy yourself some aspirin. Or Med-X. I have money? Am I selling? Yeah. Am I selling to you? No. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but you're small time. Move along. A gun nut like you must have some weapons stashed around here. Do I look like a loving arms caravan to you? Whoa, buddy, language, there’s an already messed-up kid like ten feet away from us. Do you think the Gun Runners keep the NCR military supplied by carrying weapons and ammo from the Boneyard out here by the armload? What do you do? I'm a salesman. I swing through McCarran and the dam once a week or so to take orders. But lately I spend most of my time in this piss heap. Ever since the 15 shut down, all caravans come through here - right to me. I check the stock and direct deliveries onward to meet orders. Sure, it stinks to hang out here, but it won't be forever. Plus I can afford a monthly bender on the Strip and still build up my nest egg. Tell me about the Gun Runners. The Gun Runners have been putting rapid-fire death-dealing in the hands of anyone who needed to defend himself for over a century. We're the NCR's #1 supplier of weapons and ammunition. You might call us an unofficial branch of the army. Tell me about Gun Runner caravans. Not much to tell. A brahmin or two loaded up with weapons, and a whole mess of well-armed guards to make sure it ends up where it's supposed to. One nifty bit, though. The gun cases are rigged to explode. So trying to loot one of our caravans doesn't do much good. And that's how the NCR stays equipped. The only thing we don't bring in is energy weapons. That’s...helpful information for someone you are refusing to do business with. Yeah, you’re more of a Mouth Runner than a Gun Runner. Why don't you deal in energy weapons? We used to. But every caravan carrying them was getting ambushed and wiped out. By someone sophisticated enough to know which was which. We think it was the Brotherhood of Steel - those crazies always go hard for energy weapons. But the NCR would rather pretend they killed all of them. (...Veronica?) (Yeah, it’s not us. After HELIOS One, we basically turtled.) Tell me about yourself, Veronica. I like long walks in the desert and candle-lit metal workshops.  Know anything about New Vegas? Yep. It's your typical city layout. Rich people in a gated community surrounded by extreme poverty.  House gave the area around the Strip to the locals, but he has no interest in it, so he ignores it entirely. It just needs new management.  I'd love to see the Brotherhood do it, but since the Codex doesn't say "clean up Freeside" no one listens to me. Bunch of sticklers.   I’m out on a walk, assholes, do you mind? Friends of yours? I kinda...sorta...maybe...ate their crucifying special agent in front of them? ...uh huh. They had it coming to them! No, I believe that. On a completely separate subject, I taste terrible, ha ha! We get up to level 9, putting more points into Science! and Survival.  I only eat people who I feel deserve it. Just ask ED-E. <pleading-the-fifth beeping>  Welcome to the Grub n' Gulp! What is this place? Just a little rest stop that me and my good friend Lupe set up. Last stop on your way into New Vegas, first stop on your way out, that's what I say. How's business? I do decent enough. The NCR patrols usually stop by for a quick bite, and travelers like yourself pass by a couple times a week.   If you're low on caps, I've also got slightly irradiated wasteland water. A little fallout never killed anybody. Where do you get your water? The NCR fixed up the pipe network pretty good, and water merchants like me are allowed to have some of it to sell. If we have a water license, of course. Still, it beats the inconvenience of having to trek all the way to the lake to resupply. Are there many water merchants around here? There's a few independent ones like me, but it's mostly the big trading outfits that deal in water, like the Crimson Caravan Company. Anything I should know about New Vegas? They won't just let anybody into the Strip, but you should be able to have a good time in Freeside itself. Just, uh, keep a close eye on your caps.  What’s with merchants leaving these little treasures out in the open for? Hey, can we stop for a bit? My dogmeats are barkin’.  Uh, unless all the beds are taken. My bad. Who are you?  My name's Frank Weathers. I'm a farmer, got a few hundred acres near Junktown. Well, I was a farmer. I guess I'm not much of anything now. Why'd you come all the way out to New Vegas? Why does anybody? I thought I'd strike it rich at the tables, make my fortune and never have to plow those drat fields again. I just wanted to provide for my family - and now they're gone. All gone. God forgive me.... What happened to your family? We were crossing the Mojave, not far from Searchlight, when a band of Caesar's Legion slavers came out of nowhere. They took my family. What do you know about the Legion? They're cannibals, slavers, and worse. Hey now, what’s so bad abo – <mouth gagged by Veronica> (Maybe don’t let everyone know about that!) I hear rumors they're poised to overrun the entire Colorado River Valley, and even the Army won't be enough to stop them. One of the officers here, or at Camp McCarran, might be able to tell you more. I'm so sorry. Can I help? You'd do that for a complete stranger? Thank you, friend. The army says they don't have the available manpower - as if this city is more important. From what I've gathered from NCR rangers, they were most likely taken to Cottonwood Cove. You might start there. I’ll get on it as soon as I’m finished with some other personal business.  Welcome, sister! How can I help you? Who are you? Well, that's an interesting question. Among the Church, I'm called Elder Gunnarsson. The Followers call me "Doc." You can call me Bert, though. Bert, huh? Where’s Ernie? Dead, much like that reference. Oh. What do you do here? I give what aid and comfort I can. I have medical knowledge thanks to my time with the Followers. You're one of the Followers of the Apocalypse? I surely am. Well, sort of. I came out from Utah about six months back, saw a need for my help here. The Followers weren't too happy about that, of course. They haven't been too fond of the NCR for a while, but I go where I'm needed. What was it that brought you out here from Utah? Following a lost cause, I'm afraid. My old friend Nephi fell in with a bad crowd. Drug runners, raiders, probably worse things it's better not to dwell on. When his gang headed west, I followed. I thought perhaps I could turn him back to the Church. What happened to your friend Nephi? I never was able to reach him. He has allowed drugs and hatred to consume him. He runs with the Fiends north of here, now. They call him Driver Nephi. What's the deal with all these refugees? Poor lost souls, most of them. They thought to come to New Vegas and find their fortunes on its shining Strip. But the journey is often long, and the price to enter the city is steep. Those who could not pay ended up here, hoping to earn the caps they need. Some find honest labor, but more fritter away what little they've saved on crooked gambling and cheap liquor. Still, I minister to them as I can. That's noble of you. I only do what I can to help.  There are some buildings we can go into, but they’re not very interesting. Just some random loot.  Man, today is just maximum yoinkage with these star caps. Score!  Something I can help you with, stranger? Who are you? Captain Parker. I'm in charge of this camp. What exactly is this place? This here's where folks go when their luck runs out. Drifters up from the Republic, locals that can't turn a dime, drunken reprobates from all around. If you don't have the caps to get onto the Strip, odds are you'll end up here. Sounds like a chaotic place. Is there any way I can help? Well, I am a little short staffed. Maybe you could give me a hand. Some people have gone missing from the camp lately. Haven't seen any signs of violence or heard about any feuds, they just up and vanished. I've also got Keith and his gambling to deal with - I know that skunk's cheating folk out of their savings, I just can't prove it. Tell me about this "Keith." Keith's a two-bit hustler, he runs a gambling operation out of his shack. Ask me, he wins way too often to be playing fair. I suspect he's running drugs, too, I just can't prove it. Maybe you can find something - talk to him, poke around his shack, something. Drugs, you say? Okay, I’ll help. The other building that Keith is in is actually occupied to the teeth.  Not the healthiest bunch, though.  Who are you?  Name's Keith. You feeling lucky? I got games of chance, games of skill, games of you-name-it. Want to win a little cash? From what I hear, your players are pretty unlucky. What's your secret? I guess Lady Luck just smiles on me, that's all. Nothing special about it.  Oh, I getcha. Lookin for a slightly more chemical thrill? Okay, I tell you what - I happen to keep some Jet around for emergencies. 35 caps and it's yours. 35 caps? What a loving rip-off! That’s like two levels of bullshit. Take it or leave it. Oh screw this, I’m taking him down. Trying to gyp me in front of my new friend. Smug rear end in a top hat doesn’t even keep his cheating deck locked up. Psst. Hey. I’ve got the evidence. You...don’t need to be incognito, miss. There’s no one else out here. Oh. I've got evidence - Keith has a set of marked cards he uses to cheat, and is grossly overpricing his drugs. Marked cards, huh? I suppose it's obvious, really. Here, you've earned this. <gives 150 caps> I'm going to go take Keith into custody. If you're interested in a little extra pay, I wouldn't mind the back-up. Sure, I'm in. Why not?  You might wanna be looking at Keith when talking to him, Cap’n gently caress you man, I ain't going nowhere with you. Come quietly now, I don't want to have to hurt you. Why don't you go cry to your wife, then - oh that's right! She left your worthless stinking rear end!  Um, Parke-   <observational beeping> Okay, I think he’s dead, you can stop now! That might have been a tad... excessive. Maybe, maybe not. I always warned him not to push my buttons. Well, ain't nobody going to miss him, anyways. Here you go. I promised you an extra reward for coming along, so that's what you get. <100 caps> After another long day, Sun reflects on her journey thus far with some whiskey and cram. Just one more day.
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Mar 16, 2018 23:43
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BrightWing posted:Did you name her just for that picture I'll be honest: no. It was just a great coincidence. Boone is basically the "first playthrough" companion, but I'll get into that when we meet him proper in the LP. Arcade...I love the character but I wish they used someone else for his VA. It wasn't a terrible job he did, just...yeah, I'll get into that later, too. Veronica is possibly the companion that has the most connections to the world, and it's gonna be fun traveling with her. Just gotta get her some decent armor, since Hardcore mode means if she dies, she dies.
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Mar 17, 2018 05:26
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Chapter 14: Sun Vulture and the Strip Tease Music: Don’t Tease Me  The day has arrived. The day Benny gets paid a visit by Sun Vulture, the Cunning Cannibal.  What do you think of the NCR? I'm worried they'll be the death of the Brotherhood. They take what they want. We defend our interests to the death.  But there's a handful of us and tens or hundreds of thousands of them. So it's not going to end well.  Last time we clashed we lost a lot of people. Retreated to our bunker. Now we're afraid to even move around during the day.  Hmm. I might want to see what these guys have to sell. Hopefully they are nicer than that Alexander dickwad. Just leave some caps for the Strip. You might need them. Who are the Gun Runners?  Makers of the finest high-grade weapons and ammunition in the wasteland. If you ever get your hands on a piece of sweet, deadly hardware, there's a good chance that it came from one of our factories. So you work for the Gun Runners? For around five years now. I handle the supply ends of things - raw materials and stuff. Who's in charge of the Gun Runners? Out here, we don't have bosses. Me, the gunsmiths, and the guards all know what we're supposed to be doing. Working for the Gun Runners is a sweet job. None of us would dare screw it up.  What is this place?  This is the New Vegas branch of the Gun Runners, supplying the wasteland with only the finest armaments since 2155. How did you get inside there? This kiosk was specially constructed around me to deter theft and assault. That's some impressive weaponry. Where did it all come from? All Gun Runner merchandise is constructed on-site. Show me what you have for sale.  So, the Gun Runners have some of the best weapons available for sale, and some okay armor. Most of it is...costly, so we just sell some stuff that ED-E and Veronica have been graciously carrying around for us.  This must be the Followers’ Medical Clinic place Ignacio told us about, ED-E. <confirmational beeping> This is another cool place in New Vegas. It has proper armed guards on staff...  dirty hospital equipment...  a research/teaching room...  and an actual qualified doctor!  If you've got the caps, I've also got several implants available to enhance your physical attributes. Tell me about the clinic. Everything you see is funded by the Followers of the Apocalypse. We rely a lot on charity to provide low-cost medical services to the less fortunate. Are you one of the Followers of the Apocalypse? Yes, I am. I received my medical training at the Angel's Boneyard Medical University back in the NCR. It's not a requirement to be a Follower to enter the university, but I believe in what they do, so I joined them. What do the Followers believe in? We believe that technology for basic necessities, like food, water, and medicine, should be shared, not hoarded. (basically the opposite of MY people...) We're also strongly in favor of proper education. I've come across more than a few "doctors" whose techniques came out of the back of a magazine. Hey, Ada does just fine work, if you ask me. She said the jaundice would go away if I just rub some blood on it to make the skin look more naturally peach-colored. Are the Followers part of the NCR? We've worked with them in the past. The NCR became too focused on things like patents and profitability, so the Followers go their own way now. The NCR and the Followers have a cool relationship at the moment. We see them as oppressive, and they view us as anarchists. Do the Followers have a headquarters around here? Yes, the Mormon Fort in Freeside. It's hard to miss. What kind of implants do you have available? I have several basic implants available that can enhance your physical abilities - make you faster, smarter, stronger, that sort of thing. I've also got two much more expensive implants. One's a sub-dermal implant that will make you more resistant to damage. The other implant induces a mild regenerative effect. Your wounds will practically heal before your eyes. I'm interested in the sub-dermal implant.  It won't make you bulletproof, but it will make you a little harder to injure. Are you sure you wanna do this? How often do you come across the opportunity to have super-skin grafted to you?? Alright, it’s your caps. Just don’t come crying to me if you start developing rashes or leprosy. The Sub-Dermal Armor implant is pretty drat good, since it’s a permanent +4 DT increase, basically a better rank of Toughness. 8,000 caps well spent.  Ever hear of a guy called Benny? Sure, he's one of the hotel managers on the Strip. He comes up in the news now and then.  Him and the other Chairmen run the Tops. It's one of the nicer hotels, or so I hear.  Elder McNamara wouldn't shell out for a passport for me, so I've actually never been to the Strip. Why do people get so cheap when they get old?  That’s...more security than I anticipated. Why wouldn't I want to go past the greeter?  Those bots are programmed to vaporize anyone who enters the fenced-in area without authorization from the greeter. Thanks for the free advice. Who are you? The name's Old Ben. I've been living in Freeside since the day I was born. What's your story? I've done a bit of everything around here - courier, butcher, crier, escort, gun for hire... Some of which I'm not proud of, but I do my best to help around town when needed. Courier? I used to be a courier before I got shot in the head. Exactly one of the reasons I got out of that job. Too many shifty characters looking to have someone else move their hot items. Butcher? How did you get into that? My father ran a butcher shop here in town, but business went downhill when another vendor started selling this strange meat at half of our prices. That sounds odd. You're telling me. Not long after my father's shop went under and he passed away from the loss, people around town started experiencing shakes. No one gets shakes like that unless they're eating human flesh, but no one would believe me. The sick bastard gradually went insane and passed away. Ahem. Uh, yes, that disgustingly savory human flesh all us non-cannibals stay away from. Darn those monsters we do not affiliate ourselves with! (Laying it on thicker than frozen butter on dry leaves...) Wasn't long before someone moved into the guy's place and found half-buried human remains in the crawlspace. I didn't bother saying told ya so. Crier? What was that job? After a while I made enough money to get a passport into Vegas. Back then you could get approved for entry for a fraction of what it costs now. Well, I got a job working as a crier outside of The Tops advertising for the local talent performing at the casino. That didn't last long. What happened? Well, being a suave young guy, I chatted up the ladies from time to time, and one of the managers' girls started to take a liking to me. I never touched the woman, but the jealous prick decided it was my time to go. He framed me by saying I'd stolen from the casino. Sure enough, a few grand was missing from the casino vault. I have to assume the bastard stole the funds and figured I was a convenient fall guy. Wrong place at the wrong time, if you ask me. Yeah, poo poo indeed happens. I was stripped of my casino apartment and all of my belongings and booted back into Freeside. From there I didn't have a lot of career options, as my rep was destroyed. So, the escort job sort of fell into my lap, no pun intended. You said escort? Like armed guard? Well, I supposed you could look at it that way, but I was packing a whole different kind of heat. No, escort just sounds better than man-whore. I was good at it too, but after a while I just felt like a piece of meat and had to quit. When I quit the escort job, I had enough money to buy a pistol belt and some other gear. Bodyguards make a good honest living, and I had the wits and physical build to handle most thugs. After saving a few tourists from trouble, I got a reputation for being a stand-up guy again, and after a decade managed to save up enough to retire. drat, dude, you lived quite a life. Ain’t done living it, either. Sometimes a buddy of mine joins me at this spot and we take bets on whether newcomers actually take my advice. I guess that would be what the Old World called “retirement”. Ooh, let’s see if he makes it! drat. If you and I bet on him making it or not, that would’ve seemed less tragic. Credit check? What's that for?  Admission to the Strip requires an official passport or proof that you are carrying the required minimum balance. These policies prevent less-reputable persons from entering and ensure a good time will be had by all who enter the Strip. H-how much is the required minimum balance? 2,000 caps, madam. I warned you, but you just HAD to have thicker skin. ... Robot! Let me past! Please submit to a credit check or present a passport. Damnit! You win this one, Benny. Okay, Veronica, I need 2,000 caps. I have five boxes of Blamco Mac & Cheese. You’re a Scribe! Don’t you know of any good places to get some quick cash? I make supply runs to local merchants. The Power Fist is just to deter creepos...and other things. Well...what about your superiors? ...I suppose they might know of some locations that has pre-war tech they can take, and we ARE short on hands. But I’d have to come with you to meet them; they’d either shoot you on sight or make you do some dumb trial for them. Great! But are you sure they’d be cool with you bringing in a non-Brotherhood person to their base? I’m good friends with the Elder. Ah. Bet you’re really popular there, huh? … I’m good friends with the Elder. That’s all that really matters. Uh, Veronica, where exactly is your charter located? In a hidden bunker, north of the NCRCF. Of course it is. What did you do to piss THESE guys off?! I kinda...maybe...sorta...ate one of their self-appointed mayors in front of them. You really do have bad taste, don’t you? He could’ve used some seasoning or –  THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! <disgusted beeping> Oh yeah, that Sammy guy or whatever. Gonna have to pay him a visit one of these days. You guys have a doctor, right? My legs remember the other reason I hate the Powder Gangers. Yeah, but lately she’s just been treating respiratory problems. Why do you say th- Oh. Just follow me. And mind the snappy-bois. <confused beeping> Scorpions. Yeah, keep up with the hip lingo, eye-y boi... <embarrassed beeping> Okay, this is the place. Wow, this is... You guys know that you’re supposed to pick the one that least catches peoples’ eyes, right? It was the only one that still had a clear path to the bunker. Although I’ve been meaning to de-decorate the entrance.   Hold on, I've got this.   We gave you a password, Veronica. It's for your safety. I know where you live Ramos. Open up. <Sighs> For Pete's sake. Opening up. Welcome back, Veronica.    But since you came in with Veronica, I'm inclined to cut you a little slack. Just behave yourself and we won't have any problems, okay? Seeing as how three out of my four limbs are effectively broken, I am incapable of causing any trouble. Oh, and the Elder's going to want to talk to you. He's on the second level. Just take a right once you get down there.  Sun takes the time to quickly grab some beer and banana yucca fruit before taking the tour and meeting Veronica’s extended family.
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Mar 21, 2018 01:58
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Drakyn posted:Is this 'loaves' or are there some autumn recipes nobody ever told me about? You haven't lived until you've slabbed tons of fat onto a leaf.
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Mar 21, 2018 15:32
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Chapter 15: Sun Vulture and the Holotape Tour Music: Still in the Dark  I can’t feel my arms; can you take the caps out of my pockets to pay this woman for fixing me up? Sure...hey, why are some of these blue – DON’T loving TOUCH THOSE! <scared beeping> So you're a doctor?  Yes, I handle all medical needs in the bunker. If you're ever wounded, I can treat you, for a fee. Normally I'd just be the base's medical officer, but my other duties say otherwise. What services can you perform? We have equipment here to treat most physical injuries - lacerations, broken bones, that sort of thing. We also carry a full supply of antitoxins. You may have noticed the Bark Scorpions up above. Though tiny, their venom packs quite a punch. Treating scorpion stings is my most common procedure. I can also treat any form of radiation sickness you pick up out in the waste, no matter what stage, save the last. You mentioned other duties you had? I'm this bunker's Head Scribe in everything but name. I supervise the research teams. I collate the reports. I attend the meetings. But for reasons beyond me, that buffoon Taggart still gets the title. And don't get me started on that little pet of his. Everyone around here knows what's going on there but her. <scoffs> Why not tell on him? Oh, I tried. The elder listened patiently to my carefully constructed argument regarding why that buffoon should lose his position. Then he just as patiently explained to me that Taggart's work was vital to our cause, and that he wasn't to be trifled with "lesser matters." Then why is Watkins still around? You really don't like Taggart, do you? I don't appreciate how much harder I have to work to cover for his tendency to focus on his personal projects. I try not to think too much about his personal proclivities.  Still breakin' hearts there, I see, Scribe Schuler. How are you? Quite well. Thank you for asking, Veronica.  Tell me about the Brotherhood of Steel. It pays like rear end, but it's hard to get other work with my skill set.  How did you get to be a member? More sexual favors than I can even count. I am still tired from it. <blushing beeping> No, actually, you're born into it. My parents, their parents, so on. When you're young you can choose to leave. But it's home, so most people don't.  We don't take on new members, really. You can do the math on our long-term prospects based on that point. I keep hoping we'll change that.  Do you like being a member? I know sometimes I sound like I don't. I know. But there's something that still rings true to me about our code.  There's an honor to it. We're protecting people. Even if it's from themselves, it's a good cause.  We just lose sight of the big picture sometimes. Treat all our practices with the same sacredness.  Lookin' sharp, Ramos. Hey yourself, kiddo. So you're head of security? That's right. Nothing gets in or out of here without me knowing it. What exactly are the rules regarding entering and leaving? Under the lockdown, only essential personnel are permitted to enter or leave. That includes supply runners and high security patrols. All other personnel are forbidden to leave, and any personnel that were out there when the lockdown was enacted are forbidden from returning. How do I join the Brotherhood of Steel? You don't. Ever. You don't even think about it. Even if we did recruit trespassers, you're far too old for us. Your relationship to technology has already been perverted. Well fine then. I didn’t wanna join your stupid club anyway. (Paladin, more like Jerkadick) What was that? I said “please don’t attack me; I spent all my caps on getting my limbs restored and I don’t want to use a Doctor’s Bag.” ...I thought so. Ramos told us the Elder was expecting us, so let’s go meet him.  Does he really have nothing better to do than sit in the middle of an ominous podium? Sometimes he takes his fingers out of his ears to sign forms and eat, but not really. This needs a legend. Shoddy map-making, in my opinion. Blame the Scribes; I wanted each icon to be a phallic symbol, but they said there weren’t enough and wouldn’t let me near the configuration program to add more. <shameful beeping>  After giving the matter some thought, however, I've decided that an outsider could be of use to me right now. However, I will not force you to help us. Should you refuse, you will be allowed to leave here, though you'd remain Veronica's responsibility. If y’all could stop calling me “outsider,” that’d be super. What do you say, outsider? Are you willing to help us? Okay, now you’re just being a little poo poo. Fine, I’ll help you. Then allow me to explain our situation. This bunker is currently locked down, allowing no entry or exit, with you being one of the few exceptions. In exceptional cases, teams are sent out to investigate sites or retrieve materials deemed too important to ignore. Three such teams have gone missing recently, and the news of their disappearance has not yet been widely spread to avoid undue concern. In order to maintain the peace, and adhere to the strictures of the lockdown, I need to send someone else to discover what happened to them. Surely you have people better suited to look for them than me. I mean, ED-E’s great at finding things; I can barely see color. <confident beeping> The less who are aware of this situation, the better. My brothers and sisters were deeply traumatized by the losses we incurred several years ago. It would be imprudent to worry them unduly without first discovering the facts of the situation. Yeah, okay, as long as I get paid. I'm glad I can count on you. Oh, and one other thing. The patrols each had a holotape detailing their missions that you can use to track them. The shielding of the bunker prevents us from actively tracking them, but their positions should show up on your map once you get to the surface. Should our worst fears become realized, please bring back all three of the holotapes from the patrols. Otherwise, bring our brothers home. I've given the order that you be given access to some of the equipment our scouts and patrols have scavenged over the years. You won't be allowed to purchase any prohibited equipment, but hopefully some of what's available will prove useful to you. At least I can sell stuff to you guys.  Name's Hardin. I'm the Head Paladin of this chapter, and I think we might be able to help each other out. I don't know what the Elder talked to you about, but I can tell you this chapter is in trouble, and he's at the center of it. The dimly-lit room he’s in? Yeah, he’s definitely right in the mid- No, I mean he’s putting us in danger. Oh. Are you willing to listen to what I have to say? Why should I trust you? Why should you trust the Elder? I'd recommend listening to both of us, and choosing whom to trust for yourself. So are you willing to listen? Sure, go ahead. As you may have already heard, this entire base is under a state of lockdown. No one goes out except small patrols at night. Most of the chapter has been sealed in here for years, and those few who were outside when the lockdown was initiated are forbidden from returning. Morale has plummeted as time has gone by, and many of our current paladins haven't even seen combat outside of training simulations. And all because of the Elder's explicit order that no one be allowed in or out. The only way things will change is if a new Elder is installed. And I suppose you'd nominate yourself? I would. I'm the senior-most paladin in the Chapter, and have more combat experience than any two others here put together. I'd gladly support another candidate, but no one has the courage to step forward and make the attempt, so it falls to me. I would put this chapter back on the right path, if I could just assume leadership. What about Veronica? She seems to come and go as she pleases. Veronica's a special case. She handles the procurement of supplies. If we didn't let her and those like her back in, we'd all starve. If the Elder could manage it, he'd shut them out as well, and all in the name of security. Which is why we need to replace him. Have you tried bringing this up with the Elder yourself? Of course I have. Many times, in fact. The Elder has an open door policy, and will listen to advice on any subject, save this one. He refuses to see that our isolation is slowly weakening us. Aside from being our duty, going out on missions is what kept us strong. And because he fails to see that, he must be replaced. How do you propose to do that? I don't know. I've gone through our records dozens of times looking for a precedent regarding the dismissal of an Elder and come up with nothing. The people who are most likely to know how it could be done are also some of McNamara's strongest supporters, so they refuse to help me. Which is why we're having this conversation. An outsider such as yourself would arouse less suspicion asking questions about such matters. The fact that the Elder has some tasks for you means his faithful won't suspect you, and you have a line open to the man himself. In short, you're in a perfect position to help me. Will you at least think about it? What do I get out of helping you? If I become Elder, the lockdown will be lifted, and we'll once again be able to send patrols out into the wastes. We'll become powerful again. And when that happens, it will be good to have the Brotherhood as an ally. Good enough? No, I mean, how many caps will I get? I didn’t know money would be the determining factor of your decision. I didn’t know openly discussing mutiny was allowed in Brotherhood chapters. I...will get back to you on that. I'll see what I can do. For caps. That'll have to do. I'd recommend going to see Ramos first. As head of security, he's more familiar with our protocols than anyone else here. You could also try to find something relevant in our datastore, though last I heard, Scribe Ibsen has having a bit of a problem accessing it. And if McNamara should give you any tasks, I'd ask that you kept me abreast of them. Report anything you find to me, and we'll move from there. In that case… The Elder has me looking for the lost patrols and retrieving their mission discs. Yes, I know the loss of the patrols has weighed heavily on his mind for some time. He took it very personally when they first went missing. That was when I first began to seriously question his ability to lead us. A commander has to be able to deal with the potential loss of his men. It's strange that he would ask you to find mission discs on them, however. The missing paladins were all on standard patrols, which don't need them. Only Brothers sent on special assignments are given mission discs. If you should find any on the lost patrols, let me know.  The sandstorm subsided, thank god. Spent the last few hours spitting sand. It’s actually a defense mechanism that came with the bunker. Then why isn’t it on all the time? I never said it was efficient. Just that it existed. Oooh, what’s in this one? Oh look, it’s depression. The closest patrol is actually right next to the bunkers we came out of.  It’s also filled with Centaurs, unfortunate victims of the Forced Evolutionary Virus gone horribly wrong. To David Cronenberg, these monsters would be tame.  Why does this one have a collar with the name “Moe” on it? <confused beeping> Not even all armor in the world could protect them from radiation. They shoulda worn space suits. Don’t. I’m not poking fun at them, Veronica, I literally found a whole stockpi- No, I mean, don’t eat them. They’re my brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t think of doing that... (in front of you). Good. I will, however, take their armor off and put it on you. Fair enough. The next patrol (hopefully not dead) is northeast of the Grub N’ Gulp, so we stop there and make some Fiery Purgatives to help us get rid of those rads we collected from that crater.  Surprised no one’s taken up this sweet spot. Would be popular with the kids. And would only cost them five tetanus shots a day!  Another REPCONN building. This time, the headquarters!  Oh that’s...that’s a...I don’t have a word for this. Convenience? There we go. Cool, a tour! Is this worth our time? Our patrols are trained to go sightseeing for any special tech the Old World may have displayed front and center before the bombs dropped. It’s highly likely they went this way. Also it’s a tour! Which means wacky descriptions of stuff!  I'm here to answer any and all questions you may have - within specified parameters - and if you'd like, I can provide a tour of our museum. What can you tell me about REPCONN? I can answer whatever questions you'd like... provided your query is limited to REPCONN history, research and development, or RobCo. Tell me about REPCONN's history. REPCONN's illustrious history began way back in 2054, shortly after the famous Delta XI rocket was completed and launched. REPCONN's initial focus was on the development of fuel to be used in orbital propulsion in response to the energy crisis of 2052. Sad times, indeed. The company really took off when RobCo purchased REPCONN in late 2076 to develop unmanned rockets to explore the solar system. Tell me about the research and development. As you may already know, REPCONN is an industry leader in producing alternative fuels for military and scientific purposes. REPCONN scientists were pioneers in fission-based propulsion systems, and have recently had some very exciting breakthroughs with plasma systems. The recent partnership with RobCo has freed our engineers from mundane business matters, allowing them to focus solely on future projects. Tell me about RobCo. RobCo industries purchased REPCONN in 2075 to assist with some of RobCo's military projects, as well as developing unmanned space exploration. Wait, did they buy out RECONN in 2075 or 2076? Error. Shameful dialogue typo discovered. Disregarding comment. Guest Request: Please do not mention other typos. Continuing current dialogue. The relationship between RobCo and REPCONN is mutually beneficial, and we hope that both companies bolster each other well into the next century. Cool. I'd like a tour of the museum.    Uh, Mr. Handy Tour Guide robot, the display case is emp- Don’t bother. I’ve tried pointing out this kind of thing to a Protectron back in Primm. No luck.  <licks lips> Don’t challenge me, robot.  Not your right, HIS right. Not your left, HIS – I KNOW, VERONICA, I’M JUST LOOKING! <scared beeping>   I’d love to read the plaque, but the door and Mr. Handy are blocking it. (I wonder if Jason and his flock were screaming when they took off...)  Neat.     Hey look, ED-E, it’s a you! <jealous beeping>  (Must...resist...urge...to...point...out...typo...) Would love to fight one of these things. Or ride one. This plaque ain’t lying, either. There are walls that can be detected with a Perception of 8, and jammed shut with a Repair of 65. And yes, there is a Sentry Bot in each one.  It’s amazing how there are as many as eight planets in our solar system. Yes. Eight planets. Not nine at all. That would be silly. <entranced beeping> This might help. Still really lovely at picking locks.  Now I know why Fantastic wore this lab coat; I feel smarter already!  This place has smaller Mr. Handies (Handys?) that scan your face/security card on each floor. If you decided not to get the security card at the end of the tour, you can simply scan your face here, for this floor only. Not all security cards work on all floors. Security cards.    Man, I wish I had extended vacations. Ones that don’t end with “Veronica, we thought you were dead, where’s our snacks?”    I’m noticing a theme with this place. I have no idea what you’re talking about.  Stupid robot didn’t even think of scanning me. What, am I not pretty enough?! No, you’re just not player-character enough. Oh, okay then. AH! Oh, that keycard was good for the second floor. Swell.  Heh heh. Pfft. <childish beeping> Sweet, now I can use Energy Weapons gooder...too bad this has no effect on you, ED-E. You’re already strong enough with lasers. <blushing beeping>         Now I can see why they’d want to have so much security in this place...   Third floor. Now we just need to make it to a terminal or keycard and we’re in the clear! Crap. Hey gang, any suggestions? <combat music> Great idea! drat, two for two. Sorry Veronica. <sighs> It’s fine. It happens. At least it was the ceiling that did them in and not one of the many Sentry Bots that are sure to come after us now. You know, like the one that’s coming out of the wall on the other side of the room. Wow, I’m impressed. RobCo made some physics-defying bots! The Fister Sisters strike again! That’s not our official name!!     There are some more interesting things to explore and loot from this place, but we’ll come back here much later. For now, we have what we came for and need to move on to the next location.  Which just so happens to be at the corner of the Mojave! Wonderful.  This bodes well.  Now that I've got your attention, might you be interested in a little information? It'll cost you, but it's well worth the investment. Thanks for the warning. What's going on past those signs? Oh lordy lordy, you haven't heard of the Boomers? What rock have you been living under? Not a rock. Grave. Basically a vaporized rock. So who’s the Boomers? They're a bunch of artillery-slingin' grenade lobbin' odd-jobs camping out in Nellis. Wander into their territory and you're as good as mincemeat! Is there a way to get past? There is a way, and I'll tell you... for a little wager? You can tell me, or you can tell the underside of my boot. Whoa, simmer down. I'll tell you. I'm a gambler and a scavenger. I've made some cash from gambling, and some cash from... reclaiming goods that are no longer being used. Now do you want my help or not? Sure. Great! That’ll be 300 caps. This Barter check is a trap. First off, he gives back double the caps you give him (as a wager) if you manage to make it to the fence behind him, which is at the end of a bombing area. So, if you give him 300 caps and live, you get 600 caps back. If you only give him 200 caps for the info, he only gives you 400 back, so you lose 200 caps thanks to this “discount”.  And second, the advice he gives you is bullshit. All you have to do is run your rear end off, and that’s made easier by hugging the cliff to the left.  Orrrr, you can take some Turbo for a slo-mo effect that delays the bombings.  That...was to be expected. Sorry you came all this way for nothing...<bombs whistling down> Let’s just grab the holotape and GETTHEFUCKOUTTAHERE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Not a scratch on you, but I’m guessing by the look on your face you just experienced some severe trauma. Sorry, she has a bad history with explosives. And we just got back from Boomer-land. They just...won’t...stop...coming... <sad beeping> Let’s...take your mind off the boom-booms and read those holotapes McNamara sent us out to get, okay? Mutants at Black Mountain? Explains the Centaurs. Should’ve sent a Scribe to help hack into the terminals, Elder.  ...yeah, I think Hardin should see these. Buuut let’s get you some sleep, first. You’ve had a long day...Fister Sister.
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Mar 23, 2018 22:49
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