Let's Play Fallout: New Vegas [The Servant]
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When I walked past Springvale in today's update, I did not get the radio signal. I'll try to get the quest to pop-up before I continue any further, but yeah, I'll probably end up doing that right after Oasis.CM156 said:
[HEADING=1]Chapter XXVI - Onto the Interesting Parts...[/HEADING]
I already have a working title in mind for the next update.
Anyway, there aren't as many screenshots this update because a good portion of the playtime I spent retreading through already explored area just to get to the places we are going to visit.
We start outside Megaton, it's convinient. (I just finished stashing all the loot from Operation Anchorage. I don't want play the entire game with all the broken loot making it boring, so aside from the Gauss Rifle and maybe the shocksword, none of that stuff will probably make an appearance.)
Hamilton's Hideaway is not too far away from Megaton. We could have probably stopped by there on the way to The Pitt, but I wanted to keep our inventory open for any DLC related loot.
We take a walk through Springvale while heading towards Hamilton's Hideaway.
I wonder how the people in the Vault are doing... (Hint, hint.)
Some super mutants attack us as we continue our journey.
For those of you who wanted me to use the broken loot, let me simulate what this battle would be like.
If I wore the power armor: Bullets would bounce off me and the armor's condition would not take any damage at all.
If I wore the stealth suit: I would sneak up on the mutants and instant sneak kill them, even though my sneak is only 20.
The weapons are at least a bit reasonable but the Gauss Rifle should cost more ammo.
As for the shocksword, we're not a melee character.
We get attacked by a Yao Guai. I don't think we've encountered one before, they're pretty much just slightly mutated bears.
They can take a large amount of damage and hit fairly hard too. Not quite in deathclaw range though. (Even deathclaw's aren't nightmarish like they are in New Vegas. Super Mutant Overlords, Feral Ghoul Reavers and Albino Radscorpions are a whole other story.)
We get attacked by a couple robots as well. You know the drill.
It's funny how the combat shotgun is just as effective as most weapons mid-range.
And now, the entrance to the Hamilton's Hideaway is kind of hidden in the side of a cliff.
Fun Fallout Fact: Hamilton's Hideaway [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Hamilton's_Hideaway_terminal_entries] was supposed to have some terminal entries about a family living in there right after the war, but it was cut from the game.[/url] A shame too, cause it's a pretty interesting read. I wonder why they removed it in the first place anyway.
Suddenly the layout of the place makes a bit more sense.
There's a generator in this part of the cave. The whole place is rather like a labryinth.
This place has a rather large scorpion problem.
Out of nowhere, a nearby raider blows up...
What?
So raiders are hiding out here. Literally feet away from the bloodthristy giant scorpions.
So apparently my shotgun blast set off a nearby canister thing and apparently the raider was caught in the blast and instantly killed.
Radscorpions are not fun to fight.
Fallout 3, now with 50% more radroaches!
Holy shit, that's a huge radscorpion.
The things a goddamn bullet sponge.
The little bar on the bottom left tips us off to some raiders in the vicinity.
We manage to sneak up on them without the totally broken stealth suit.
I give the AI credit here, the raider didn't ignore his friend getting his head shot off right here.
But it doesn't help him much.
Oh look a nuka-cola quantum...
But where's the armory?
It's a trap. Three Dog sent us in here to get killed. That bastard-
Oh, there it is. It's kind of hidden by the giant radscorpion we fought earlier.
We can get into Hamilton's Hideaway without Three Dog's key, but we can't access the weapons cache here.
Wow, this is an impressive stash of loot.
It includes a mini-nuke and a stealth boy. Stealth boys are pretty much useless to us now though.
Another guns skillbook as well.
And that's it for Hamilton's Hideaway. Now onto the main attraction.
We're heading towards Oasis. For those who didn't know, it's on the northern end of the map, near the entrance to The Pitt.
The northern end of the map has some rocky hills and geography wise, it's very different from the rest of the Capital Wasteland. Too bad most of this part is cut off by the boundaries of the map.
Hmm, what's this? Seems kind of a random to have this little pond-thing here.
Wow, this is cool. You seem past the crate filled with radiation barrels and you find some bodies of raiders, a safe and a ton of radiation supplies.
Wow, I've never seen this before.
You can see some broken monorail tracks. I wonder if people built a town on those too...
No, that would just be silly.
You know what annoys me about this game? The lack of trees and other flora. I mean, it's been 200 years after the Great War, you'd think some of the stuff would grow back.
Huh, a narrow path leading into the moutains let's check it out.
Anyways, back onto the tree topic, because I know you all want to here about that. I mean, the only reason there aren't any trees in the other Fallout games is because they're deserts. New Vegas even had trees, in the nothern area near Jacobstown.
What's this? A bush? Huh...
Are those... Trees?
How Could You Do That To Harold, You Monsters ;-;
Anyway, there aren't as many screenshots this update because a good portion of the playtime I spent retreading through already explored area just to get to the places we are going to visit.
We start outside Megaton, it's convinient. (I just finished stashing all the loot from Operation Anchorage. I don't want play the entire game with all the broken loot making it boring, so aside from the Gauss Rifle and maybe the shocksword, none of that stuff will probably make an appearance.)
Hamilton's Hideaway is not too far away from Megaton. We could have probably stopped by there on the way to The Pitt, but I wanted to keep our inventory open for any DLC related loot.
We take a walk through Springvale while heading towards Hamilton's Hideaway.
I wonder how the people in the Vault are doing... (Hint, hint.)
Some super mutants attack us as we continue our journey.
For those of you who wanted me to use the broken loot, let me simulate what this battle would be like.
If I wore the power armor: Bullets would bounce off me and the armor's condition would not take any damage at all.
If I wore the stealth suit: I would sneak up on the mutants and instant sneak kill them, even though my sneak is only 20.
The weapons are at least a bit reasonable but the Gauss Rifle should cost more ammo.
As for the shocksword, we're not a melee character.
We get attacked by a Yao Guai. I don't think we've encountered one before, they're pretty much just slightly mutated bears.
They can take a large amount of damage and hit fairly hard too. Not quite in deathclaw range though. (Even deathclaw's aren't nightmarish like they are in New Vegas. Super Mutant Overlords, Feral Ghoul Reavers and Albino Radscorpions are a whole other story.)
We get attacked by a couple robots as well. You know the drill.
It's funny how the combat shotgun is just as effective as most weapons mid-range.
And now, the entrance to the Hamilton's Hideaway is kind of hidden in the side of a cliff.
Fun Fallout Fact: Hamilton's Hideaway [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Hamilton's_Hideaway_terminal_entries] was supposed to have some terminal entries about a family living in there right after the war, but it was cut from the game.[/url] A shame too, cause it's a pretty interesting read. I wonder why they removed it in the first place anyway.
Suddenly the layout of the place makes a bit more sense.
There's a generator in this part of the cave. The whole place is rather like a labryinth.
This place has a rather large scorpion problem.
Out of nowhere, a nearby raider blows up...
What?
So raiders are hiding out here. Literally feet away from the bloodthristy giant scorpions.
So apparently my shotgun blast set off a nearby canister thing and apparently the raider was caught in the blast and instantly killed.
Radscorpions are not fun to fight.
Fallout 3, now with 50% more radroaches!
Holy shit, that's a huge radscorpion.
The things a goddamn bullet sponge.
The little bar on the bottom left tips us off to some raiders in the vicinity.
We manage to sneak up on them without the totally broken stealth suit.
I give the AI credit here, the raider didn't ignore his friend getting his head shot off right here.
But it doesn't help him much.
Oh look a nuka-cola quantum...
But where's the armory?
It's a trap. Three Dog sent us in here to get killed. That bastard-
Oh, there it is. It's kind of hidden by the giant radscorpion we fought earlier.
We can get into Hamilton's Hideaway without Three Dog's key, but we can't access the weapons cache here.
Wow, this is an impressive stash of loot.
It includes a mini-nuke and a stealth boy. Stealth boys are pretty much useless to us now though.
Another guns skillbook as well.
And that's it for Hamilton's Hideaway. Now onto the main attraction.
We're heading towards Oasis. For those who didn't know, it's on the northern end of the map, near the entrance to The Pitt.
The northern end of the map has some rocky hills and geography wise, it's very different from the rest of the Capital Wasteland. Too bad most of this part is cut off by the boundaries of the map.
Hmm, what's this? Seems kind of a random to have this little pond-thing here.
Wow, this is cool. You seem past the crate filled with radiation barrels and you find some bodies of raiders, a safe and a ton of radiation supplies.
Wow, I've never seen this before.
You can see some broken monorail tracks. I wonder if people built a town on those too...
No, that would just be silly.
You know what annoys me about this game? The lack of trees and other flora. I mean, it's been 200 years after the Great War, you'd think some of the stuff would grow back.
Huh, a narrow path leading into the moutains let's check it out.
Anyways, back onto the tree topic, because I know you all want to here about that. I mean, the only reason there aren't any trees in the other Fallout games is because they're deserts. New Vegas even had trees, in the nothern area near Jacobstown.
What's this? A bush? Huh...
Are those... Trees?
Okay, not entirely related to Fallout 3 question time: Are you looking forward to Lonesome Road? If you are, are you doing another playthrough or doing anything else to prepare for it?
Personally, I'm continuing my New Vegas playthrough and finishing up Honest Hearts so I'm ready to play Lonesome Road when it comes out next Tuesday.
Edit: Also I forgot, so that I don't have to split the Oasis update into two parts, how should we resolve the quest?
Mercy kill Harold
Apply the sap to stop Harold from growing
Apply the liniment to have the trees spread across the wasteland.
Apply the sap to stop Harold from growing
Apply the liniment to have the trees spread across the wasteland.
Yes. Too bad I won't be playing it any time soon. My school is three and a half hours away from my Xbox. I don't go on break untill November.AlternatePFG said:
AlternatePFG said:
Have trees spread across the wasteland
Hello everyone, time for another video Let's Play...
Captcha: 1912): pearchj. Apparently Captcha didn't like 1912
The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 16, "Nearly dead..."
Wherein young Liam very nearly dies under the (artificial) stars.
Captcha: 1912): pearchj. Apparently Captcha didn't like 1912
I think he left out the option toDustyDrB said:
Burn the place to the ground
But that isn't really moraly grey. That's just being an ass.
Personally
I say spread the tress. It could help the Wasteland quite a bit. Further, he accepts the choice if that's what you choose.
I've been waiting almost a year for Lonesome Road, so...yeah.AlternatePFG said:
Is there an option to skip it and pretend it never existed?
For me the choice is is simple, even though
I killed Harold in my playthrough. Having trees grow across a barren wasteland would probably be better considering you are about to use a GECK to treat water instead of using it for it's intended purpose would be a better choice though. I played FO3 before I played the other 2, now that I have, and know a GECK's true intended purpose, the stupidity and naivety that your character expresses, and the fact we have no choice in the story line- I choose option C, use him to regrow the world
There won't be a part 2... Hopefully.
Okay, so I couldn't get the Trouble on the Homefront quest to activate even though it should have by now, so I'll probably use console commands to trigger it. We'll be going there next. As for how I'll do the Lily's Logs, every 5 sidequests, etc. I'll do one.
Okay, so Fallout 3 question: What did you think Oasis? Were you angry how Bethesda handled Harold?
[HEADING=1]Chapter XXVII - A Guide to Pissing Off Fans (Part 1)[/HEADING]
Last update, we were wandering around the map when we came upon a whole grove of trees. Apparently, this place is called Oasis and unlike the rest of the wasteland, it's filled to the brim with trees.
Unfortunately, like the rest of the wasteland, it's filled with idiots. Cultists actually.
Oh, his name is Birch. Get it? Like the tree...?
"Do hurry, He doesn't like to be kept waiting!"
He then has us move to steps forward, just to talk to us again.
"I'm so glad you're here. It's been a while since anyone's visited us, and He's been waiting for someone like yourself to arrive. If you wouldn't mind following me, I'll bring you right to Him."
Uh-oh. This is already smelling like "annoying cult sidequest".
"Just a minute. Who are you and what is this place?"
"I'm sorry, in my excitement, I got ahead of myself. I'm Tree Father Birch, and I have the great fortune of being leader of His people, the Treeminders. Beyond that gate is our home, Oasis."
It'd be funnier if Oasis was one of those little oasis buildings along the highway.
"Who's waiting for me inside?"
"Why, He is of course. If you'll just follow me to the Pavilion, all will be explained."
"Okay, I'll follow you. Lead on."
"Excellent! Please, follow me. All will be explained soon."
Gah, this whole tree cultist thing is pretty unfunny.
So we enter Oasis, even though we really have no sane explaination as for why we want to help the crazy tree cultists.
Curiosity more than anything I guess. But you know what they say.
Poor writing curiosity killed the protagonist.
Or rocks, those tend to do that too...
OH GOD I'M HAVING OBLIVION FLASHBACKS, TURN BACK, TURN BACK!!!!
It's funny how the sole fact of this game having trees reminds me of Oblivion.
We will have to use this thing later for the quest.
What the hell is up with this kid?
Not shown: Me iniating a conversation with Father Birch.
"You have no idea how overjoyed I am to see you! Normally Outsiders are forbidden inside Oasis, but He has made an exception."
"I've never seen anyplace like this."
"No, I suppose you haven't. In fact, few who live outside of Oasis have. Everything you see around you, from the tallest tree to the smallest blade of grass is a gift. A gift from Him."
"The way you're saying "Him." I could swear you're referring to a god..."
Some of the player character dialogue really just states obvious things.
"He's no mere god, my friend. He is the One Who Grows, He is the One Who Gives and He is the One Who Guides."
Alright, this is getting kind of silly.
"Thinks to Him, the Treeminders have a home."
"[Speech, 100%] I may be willing to help, but I need straight answers about who "He" is."
"[SUCCESS] I would have preferred that He made the introduction, but I understand your hesitation. The Great One is a god-tree. A living, breathing, speaking god-tree!"
Oh wow, that speech check helped clarify things. Now that I know he's part god, part tree, that's helpful.
"The Treeminders are blessed to have this being watch over us."
"Treeminders, huh? That's a strange name."
"Is it so strange to care for one's home and keep it safe from those who would seek to exploit it? He gives to us, so we give back to Him. It's an arrangement that's worked well for almost two decades. We shun technology and embrace nature. That's the life of a Treeminder."
"If you hate technology, why carry weapons?"
"Sadly, the Wasteland is a hostile place and sometimes we're forced to defend ourselves against it."
You could just beat them to death with big sticks.
"If that means fighting with manufactured weapons, then so be it. Had He not asked to see you, you never would have gotten this close to the gates."
I doubt that. You guys have assault rifles and pistols. I have mini-nukes.
"Which brings us to why I'm here, I suppose."
"Yes. Indeed it does. Sorry I don't speak to Outsiders very often and I tend to get lost in conversation. As you approached Oasis, He said you were coming and I was sent out to meet you personally with a request. He wishes to meet with you. You'd be the first Outsider to do so in a very long time."
"I would be honored to meet this person."
"Yes... person. To meet Him, you must undergo the Ceremony of Purification. Once that's complete, you'll be able to speak to him. Whenever you're ready, we may begin."
"Just a minute... What does this ceremony involve?"
"It's simple really. You drink the Sap from the basin here in the Pavilion. The Sap will purify your mind and body of anything harmful that could possibly hurt Him."
By that, I assume he meant that while we were knocked unconcious they would take our weapons. They don't actually do that.
"I assure you, nothing harmful will happen to you."
"Okay, let's begin the ceremony."
"Very good! Take your place in front of the basin and let's begin."
I always hate the sidequests that force you to trip out on weird drugs. It never ends well.
Here goes nothing.
Ugh, I knew this was a bad idea.
They do this creepy chanting here... Is it too late to run for the door?
Don't... steal... my stuff...
In a twist ending, it turns out the whole entire game was part of the dream you were having in the Vault, right back at the very beginning of the game.
Somehow, it all makes sense now.
That's a fucked up looking tree.
Woah...
"They listen when I talk, but they don't hear... know what I mean?"
"I've never met a talking tree before."
"Neither have I. Well, I mean I talk to Herbert, but he never really says anything back. He kept growing around me, maybe for calling him Herbert all the time. His name's really Bob, I think it's funny when I call him Herbert though."
Wait, that sounds familiar...
Oh my god it's Harold. What has Bethesda done to you?
"So you're trapped in there, inside this Herbert... I mean Bob... thing?"
"Well, I suppose you could look at it that way. See, Bob used to ride around on top of my head, sunk his roots right in there, ya know? Well, eventually he got bigger than me, and then I pretty much ended up inside."
So let me get this straight - Bethesda thought that a good way to endear yourselves to the old Fallout 3 fans is to essentially kill off an old favorite of the series?
"How did a tree end up growing out of your head?"
"It was a long time ago... I tend to lose track. I was exploring some sort of a military base with some other people... I think it was called Mariposa."
Yes, we already know that. I mean seriously, if you've only played Fallout 3 would you care what Mariposa is? And if you played the other ones, you'd probably know this about Harold by now.
Besides, if you played the other games, this part would piss you off anyways.
"We were pretty deep inside and we found some weird vats of this nasty green goo. Right when we were about to leave, I think we were attacked. Last thing I remember before blacking out was something knocking my friend into the stuff."
"Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you plese kill me?"
"You want me to murder you?"
"Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."
"How would I be able to kill you? You're a tree."
You know, I don't think they ever really explained what Harold is. He certainly isn't a super mutant and he isn't a normal ghoul either.
In fact, ghouls in the Fallout-verse are really sort of vague.
"How to put this? ...I've been feeling rather "spread out" lately. I think Bob's kinda shoved my insides around some. It's hard to tell where everything is, but it's always that way with one's insides, isn't it? Anyway, I beleve Bob's carried some of my organs into his root system. I want you to go undergroud and destroy my heart."
Why Bethesda, why??? ;-;
"Look, I really don't want to kill you..."
"Of all the Wastelanders I had to bump into it has to be one with a conscience. Let's keep it an open invitation then. I don't want to wait until the next person visits, it coudl be years. Just think about it, okay?"
"Well, goodbye for now then, Herbert. Or was it Bob?"
"No, no. Herbert is the tree... Bob is his real name, but I call him Herbert cause I think it's pretty funny. But I'm still in here too, what's left of me. The name's Harold."
So now, if you did not notice the references before, they outright tell you it's Harold. Bastards.
Poor Harold. I got to wonder why Bethesda brought Harold back like this. They already were going up against massive outcries from the old Fallout fans when they announced the game, so you'd think they wouldn't want to piss them off further. (But the entire game shows otherwise.)
I don't think they were purposely trying to piss them off either, but there's really no other reason to bring Harold back like this. It just comes off as a bit mean-spirited, as Oasis is quite possibly one of the easiest to miss quests in the game and they don't really bother to do anything interesting with Harold.
While walking towards the cave, we run into that Birch guy and another treeminder talking.
"Oh, He's testing you now, just like He tested us! He wants to see if your faith is strong by spinning these incredible stories. Who else but a god could produce all of this? Don't worry, you'll soon see things as I do."
"Did you know your god wants me to kill him?"
"Yes, I've been pondering that riddle myself for some time now and I think I know what He's trying to tell us. The Great One's influence is growing and soon it will break free of the confines of this secluded vale. We can't allow Oasis to call attention to itself like that. It would be the end of Him."
I don't think Oasis is that hard to find personally.
"Killing him should stop his influence from spreading."
"You misinterpret his words, my friend. He wants you to extinguish that which seeks to make Him vulnerable."
Alright, the whole cultist shtick of this quest is wearing pretty thin.
"If the same sap that you drank to purify yourself could be applied ot His heart, it should stop the spread. I can promise you no harm would come to Him. That's all I ask of you, Outsider. Nothing more, nothing less."
Right after his wife runs up to us to give her ownquest solution view on the matter.
Oh great, another annoying tree cultist to talk to.
You know, if this game had better writing, they would give you some legitimately witty character responses, not just the usual assholish "You guys are so stupid" responses.
"The spreading of His influence is not a curse, it's a great miracle... a benefit meant for the entire Wasteland!"
"Doesn't anybody care what your god thinks?"
"Of course we do! He yearns to share His miracles with the whole world... to give the gift of life back to the dead Wasteland! It's upsetting Him to no end, but Birch can't see the pain it's causing. But now that you're here, I have a feeling the winds are about to change."
"How can I possibly help?"
"I heard what my husband wanted you to do. What I propose is an alternative. The same person that created the sap also created this Liniment. If you can reach His heart, it will assist in making His influence increase. Instead of centuries, the Wasteland will become green in mere decades! Just imagine how glorious that would be!"
The wasteland should already be filled with trees.
So we go through the gate, and down the caves where Harold's heart is located. At least no more annoying dialogue, right?
This is kind of an interesting location, kind of like Hamilton's Hideaway, it seems like there is a story behind this place but there really isn't anything about it.
Also, it's filled to brim with Mirelurks and fucking hate Mirelurks.
The lighting in here is rather atmospheric.
We encounter a mirelurk king, who can shoot these sonic blasts from his mouth...
For some strange reason. And unlike anything else (Even mirelurks) he can attack us from the water. Cheating bastard.
They aren't too difficult to fight, but their ranged attacks hurt a bit.
That's one hell of a scowl.
It's not polite to frown.
Now we have to dive underwater to get further in the cave. No, this doesn't qualify it as a sewer level.
Thankfully there's few sewer levels in this game that also involve swimming.
Yup, still wearing that Vault 112 jumpsuit.
You go through an entirely new cave. Instead of green, this one is brown.
Now we fight some mirelurk hunters. They're pretty much just palette swaps of normal mirelurks, but they're a bit tougher.
You can see a light coming from an upper part of the cave...
And we find a skeleton down here. Apparently this guy was set up pretty well down here, I wonder what happened. Lots of ammo and other weapons.
That tricycle is in a precarious position.
Another mirelurk king.
They're in New Vegas too but they're called lakelurks because there (thankfully) aren't any mirelurks in that game.
We get a lot of lucky critical hits on this guy.
Another skeleton in this cave with weapons, ammo and medicine.
This archway seems special. I bet Harold's heart is right through here.
Yup, so we get a choice here. Either we kill Harold like he asked us to, or we put on the sap or liniment. Sap stops Harold from growing and liniment lets Harold grow throughout the wasteland.
Alternatively, we could simply light Harold on fire if we feel like being dicks.
Due to popular demand, we apply the liniment to Harold. I don't see the logic in using the sap on him, but eh, whatever.
So now the trees of Oasis will grow across the wasteland.
Now we go through another cave to get out of this series of caves.
Now we fight two mirelurk kings from up above. A sniper rifle would really come in handy here.
We find a missile and some other various components. With these things we can make homemade weapons like the Dart Gun and Shiskebab but right now we don't have the schematics. Soon, though.
Fighting mirelurk kings is kind of a pain in the ass.
We drop down off the ledge and back into another room with a pool of water in the middle.
Another nuka cola quantum. Yes, we're doing that particular quest too.
You have to dive underwater to get out of the cave system.
And conviniently, we get out of the water right in the grove with Harold.
The responses to this are ridiculous. You can't simply say, it's for the good of wasteland as a whole, not just the people in Oasis.
"You've become an important part of their life. Without you, they're lost"
"So, they really need me that badly, huh? I guess I never thought of it that way. Awfully selfish of me. Should we give them another chance, Herbert? Fine, fine. I mean Bob. I still think it's funny when I call him Herbert."
And that's it. That's the extent of the dialogue you can have with Harold and you never will come back here at any time in the game. Yup. Want to know what's the worst part of this questline?
None of the choices you make have an obvious effect on the wasteland.
I understand that it would take a long time for the trees and grass of the wasteland to grow back, but for a choice that would have such a great impact on the gameworld, it would have been nice to see at least something.
Now we have to talk to the women who gave us the liniment.
"The gifts the Great One has bestowed upon us will now take mere decades to breach the confines of Oasis instead of centuries."
"I was glad to do it. Oasis needs to be shared with the world."
Yet this particular response goes with the whole greater good idea. I assume then that the responses to Harold are the same whether you sap his heart or put the liniment on it?
"In your short visit here I can see you've learned much. That's a rare gift in these turbulent times."
Your reward for helping us is... knowledge.
"I believe there are a few Treeminders who wish to speak to you before you depart. I think you'll find their appreciation quite rewarding. Good luck in all your journeys, my friend. I hope your time here has opened your heart as well as it opened your eyes."
Yeah, it's opened my eyes all right - not to walk in on the business of random tribals.
Let's get out of here, but first time to level up and collect our rewards.
We max out small guns, and we're close to maxing out repair.
We get the lawbringer perk, for the lack of a better option and we can talk to the regulators.
You talk to this guy if you do the liniment part of the question, you get his own unique set of Outcast power armor. I guess he was part of the Outcasts...? It's got slightly different stats.
All it does is give a bonus to big guns.
And it looks exactly the same. I'm disappointed.
Sounds cool, what does it look like?
Really? At least it looks rather cool in combination with power armor, but on any other armor it looks silly.
And now we leave Oasis. Overall, regardless of what Bethesda did to Harold, I like some aspects of Oasis. It's a colorful location and the choice involving Harold is about as morally grey as any of the choices in the game get. (Not the sap one or lighting Harold on fire. Either mercy killing poor Harold or letting the trees spread across the wasteland are both reasonable, sane choices.)
What various wonders/horrors await us next in the Wasteland?
Unfortunately, like the rest of the wasteland, it's filled with idiots. Cultists actually.
Oh, his name is Birch. Get it? Like the tree...?
"Do hurry, He doesn't like to be kept waiting!"
He then has us move to steps forward, just to talk to us again.
"I'm so glad you're here. It's been a while since anyone's visited us, and He's been waiting for someone like yourself to arrive. If you wouldn't mind following me, I'll bring you right to Him."
Uh-oh. This is already smelling like "annoying cult sidequest".
"Just a minute. Who are you and what is this place?"
"I'm sorry, in my excitement, I got ahead of myself. I'm Tree Father Birch, and I have the great fortune of being leader of His people, the Treeminders. Beyond that gate is our home, Oasis."
It'd be funnier if Oasis was one of those little oasis buildings along the highway.
"Who's waiting for me inside?"
"Why, He is of course. If you'll just follow me to the Pavilion, all will be explained."
"Okay, I'll follow you. Lead on."
"Excellent! Please, follow me. All will be explained soon."
Gah, this whole tree cultist thing is pretty unfunny.
So we enter Oasis, even though we really have no sane explaination as for why we want to help the crazy tree cultists.
Curiosity more than anything I guess. But you know what they say.
Or rocks, those tend to do that too...
OH GOD I'M HAVING OBLIVION FLASHBACKS, TURN BACK, TURN BACK!!!!
It's funny how the sole fact of this game having trees reminds me of Oblivion.
We will have to use this thing later for the quest.
What the hell is up with this kid?
Not shown: Me iniating a conversation with Father Birch.
"You have no idea how overjoyed I am to see you! Normally Outsiders are forbidden inside Oasis, but He has made an exception."
"I've never seen anyplace like this."
"No, I suppose you haven't. In fact, few who live outside of Oasis have. Everything you see around you, from the tallest tree to the smallest blade of grass is a gift. A gift from Him."
"The way you're saying "Him." I could swear you're referring to a god..."
Some of the player character dialogue really just states obvious things.
"He's no mere god, my friend. He is the One Who Grows, He is the One Who Gives and He is the One Who Guides."
Alright, this is getting kind of silly.
"Thinks to Him, the Treeminders have a home."
"[Speech, 100%] I may be willing to help, but I need straight answers about who "He" is."
"[SUCCESS] I would have preferred that He made the introduction, but I understand your hesitation. The Great One is a god-tree. A living, breathing, speaking god-tree!"
Oh wow, that speech check helped clarify things. Now that I know he's part god, part tree, that's helpful.
"The Treeminders are blessed to have this being watch over us."
"Treeminders, huh? That's a strange name."
"Is it so strange to care for one's home and keep it safe from those who would seek to exploit it? He gives to us, so we give back to Him. It's an arrangement that's worked well for almost two decades. We shun technology and embrace nature. That's the life of a Treeminder."
"If you hate technology, why carry weapons?"
"Sadly, the Wasteland is a hostile place and sometimes we're forced to defend ourselves against it."
You could just beat them to death with big sticks.
"If that means fighting with manufactured weapons, then so be it. Had He not asked to see you, you never would have gotten this close to the gates."
I doubt that. You guys have assault rifles and pistols. I have mini-nukes.
"Which brings us to why I'm here, I suppose."
"Yes. Indeed it does. Sorry I don't speak to Outsiders very often and I tend to get lost in conversation. As you approached Oasis, He said you were coming and I was sent out to meet you personally with a request. He wishes to meet with you. You'd be the first Outsider to do so in a very long time."
"I would be honored to meet this person."
"Yes... person. To meet Him, you must undergo the Ceremony of Purification. Once that's complete, you'll be able to speak to him. Whenever you're ready, we may begin."
"Just a minute... What does this ceremony involve?"
"It's simple really. You drink the Sap from the basin here in the Pavilion. The Sap will purify your mind and body of anything harmful that could possibly hurt Him."
By that, I assume he meant that while we were knocked unconcious they would take our weapons. They don't actually do that.
"I assure you, nothing harmful will happen to you."
"Okay, let's begin the ceremony."
"Very good! Take your place in front of the basin and let's begin."
I always hate the sidequests that force you to trip out on weird drugs. It never ends well.
Here goes nothing.
Ugh, I knew this was a bad idea.
They do this creepy chanting here... Is it too late to run for the door?
Don't... steal... my stuff...
In a twist ending, it turns out the whole entire game was part of the dream you were having in the Vault, right back at the very beginning of the game.
Somehow, it all makes sense now.
That's a fucked up looking tree.
Woah...
"They listen when I talk, but they don't hear... know what I mean?"
"I've never met a talking tree before."
"Neither have I. Well, I mean I talk to Herbert, but he never really says anything back. He kept growing around me, maybe for calling him Herbert all the time. His name's really Bob, I think it's funny when I call him Herbert though."
Wait, that sounds familiar...
Oh my god it's Harold. What has Bethesda done to you?
"So you're trapped in there, inside this Herbert... I mean Bob... thing?"
"Well, I suppose you could look at it that way. See, Bob used to ride around on top of my head, sunk his roots right in there, ya know? Well, eventually he got bigger than me, and then I pretty much ended up inside."
So let me get this straight - Bethesda thought that a good way to endear yourselves to the old Fallout 3 fans is to essentially kill off an old favorite of the series?
"How did a tree end up growing out of your head?"
"It was a long time ago... I tend to lose track. I was exploring some sort of a military base with some other people... I think it was called Mariposa."
Yes, we already know that. I mean seriously, if you've only played Fallout 3 would you care what Mariposa is? And if you played the other ones, you'd probably know this about Harold by now.
Besides, if you played the other games, this part would piss you off anyways.
"We were pretty deep inside and we found some weird vats of this nasty green goo. Right when we were about to leave, I think we were attacked. Last thing I remember before blacking out was something knocking my friend into the stuff."
"Well, hopefully your troubles will be over. I'm here to help."
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Or, we're glad to hear that... me and Bob. I had you brought in here to ask a very simple favor. Would you plese kill me?"
"You want me to murder you?"
"Oh no, no, no. It wouldn't be murder. You'd be doing me a favor. You see, I've been stuck here for over two decades now... rooted right into the ground. The only friends I've got are Bob and those weirdos out there who think I'm a god."
"How would I be able to kill you? You're a tree."
You know, I don't think they ever really explained what Harold is. He certainly isn't a super mutant and he isn't a normal ghoul either.
In fact, ghouls in the Fallout-verse are really sort of vague.
"How to put this? ...I've been feeling rather "spread out" lately. I think Bob's kinda shoved my insides around some. It's hard to tell where everything is, but it's always that way with one's insides, isn't it? Anyway, I beleve Bob's carried some of my organs into his root system. I want you to go undergroud and destroy my heart."
Why Bethesda, why??? ;-;
"Look, I really don't want to kill you..."
"Of all the Wastelanders I had to bump into it has to be one with a conscience. Let's keep it an open invitation then. I don't want to wait until the next person visits, it coudl be years. Just think about it, okay?"
"Well, goodbye for now then, Herbert. Or was it Bob?"
"No, no. Herbert is the tree... Bob is his real name, but I call him Herbert cause I think it's pretty funny. But I'm still in here too, what's left of me. The name's Harold."
So now, if you did not notice the references before, they outright tell you it's Harold. Bastards.
Poor Harold. I got to wonder why Bethesda brought Harold back like this. They already were going up against massive outcries from the old Fallout fans when they announced the game, so you'd think they wouldn't want to piss them off further. (But the entire game shows otherwise.)
I don't think they were purposely trying to piss them off either, but there's really no other reason to bring Harold back like this. It just comes off as a bit mean-spirited, as Oasis is quite possibly one of the easiest to miss quests in the game and they don't really bother to do anything interesting with Harold.
While walking towards the cave, we run into that Birch guy and another treeminder talking.
"Oh, He's testing you now, just like He tested us! He wants to see if your faith is strong by spinning these incredible stories. Who else but a god could produce all of this? Don't worry, you'll soon see things as I do."
"Did you know your god wants me to kill him?"
"Yes, I've been pondering that riddle myself for some time now and I think I know what He's trying to tell us. The Great One's influence is growing and soon it will break free of the confines of this secluded vale. We can't allow Oasis to call attention to itself like that. It would be the end of Him."
I don't think Oasis is that hard to find personally.
"Killing him should stop his influence from spreading."
"You misinterpret his words, my friend. He wants you to extinguish that which seeks to make Him vulnerable."
Alright, the whole cultist shtick of this quest is wearing pretty thin.
"If the same sap that you drank to purify yourself could be applied ot His heart, it should stop the spread. I can promise you no harm would come to Him. That's all I ask of you, Outsider. Nothing more, nothing less."
Right after his wife runs up to us to give her own
Oh great, another annoying tree cultist to talk to.
You know, if this game had better writing, they would give you some legitimately witty character responses, not just the usual assholish "You guys are so stupid" responses.
"The spreading of His influence is not a curse, it's a great miracle... a benefit meant for the entire Wasteland!"
"Doesn't anybody care what your god thinks?"
"Of course we do! He yearns to share His miracles with the whole world... to give the gift of life back to the dead Wasteland! It's upsetting Him to no end, but Birch can't see the pain it's causing. But now that you're here, I have a feeling the winds are about to change."
"How can I possibly help?"
"I heard what my husband wanted you to do. What I propose is an alternative. The same person that created the sap also created this Liniment. If you can reach His heart, it will assist in making His influence increase. Instead of centuries, the Wasteland will become green in mere decades! Just imagine how glorious that would be!"
The wasteland should already be filled with trees.
So we go through the gate, and down the caves where Harold's heart is located. At least no more annoying dialogue, right?
This is kind of an interesting location, kind of like Hamilton's Hideaway, it seems like there is a story behind this place but there really isn't anything about it.
Also, it's filled to brim with Mirelurks and fucking hate Mirelurks.
The lighting in here is rather atmospheric.
We encounter a mirelurk king, who can shoot these sonic blasts from his mouth...
For some strange reason. And unlike anything else (Even mirelurks) he can attack us from the water. Cheating bastard.
They aren't too difficult to fight, but their ranged attacks hurt a bit.
That's one hell of a scowl.
It's not polite to frown.
Now we have to dive underwater to get further in the cave. No, this doesn't qualify it as a sewer level.
Thankfully there's few sewer levels in this game that also involve swimming.
Yup, still wearing that Vault 112 jumpsuit.
You go through an entirely new cave. Instead of green, this one is brown.
Now we fight some mirelurk hunters. They're pretty much just palette swaps of normal mirelurks, but they're a bit tougher.
You can see a light coming from an upper part of the cave...
And we find a skeleton down here. Apparently this guy was set up pretty well down here, I wonder what happened. Lots of ammo and other weapons.
That tricycle is in a precarious position.
Another mirelurk king.
They're in New Vegas too but they're called lakelurks because there (thankfully) aren't any mirelurks in that game.
We get a lot of lucky critical hits on this guy.
Another skeleton in this cave with weapons, ammo and medicine.
This archway seems special. I bet Harold's heart is right through here.
Yup, so we get a choice here. Either we kill Harold like he asked us to, or we put on the sap or liniment. Sap stops Harold from growing and liniment lets Harold grow throughout the wasteland.
Alternatively, we could simply light Harold on fire if we feel like being dicks.
Due to popular demand, we apply the liniment to Harold. I don't see the logic in using the sap on him, but eh, whatever.
So now the trees of Oasis will grow across the wasteland.
Now we go through another cave to get out of this series of caves.
Now we fight two mirelurk kings from up above. A sniper rifle would really come in handy here.
We find a missile and some other various components. With these things we can make homemade weapons like the Dart Gun and Shiskebab but right now we don't have the schematics. Soon, though.
Fighting mirelurk kings is kind of a pain in the ass.
We drop down off the ledge and back into another room with a pool of water in the middle.
Another nuka cola quantum. Yes, we're doing that particular quest too.
You have to dive underwater to get out of the cave system.
And conviniently, we get out of the water right in the grove with Harold.
The responses to this are ridiculous. You can't simply say, it's for the good of wasteland as a whole, not just the people in Oasis.
"You've become an important part of their life. Without you, they're lost"
"So, they really need me that badly, huh? I guess I never thought of it that way. Awfully selfish of me. Should we give them another chance, Herbert? Fine, fine. I mean Bob. I still think it's funny when I call him Herbert."
And that's it. That's the extent of the dialogue you can have with Harold and you never will come back here at any time in the game. Yup. Want to know what's the worst part of this questline?
None of the choices you make have an obvious effect on the wasteland.
I understand that it would take a long time for the trees and grass of the wasteland to grow back, but for a choice that would have such a great impact on the gameworld, it would have been nice to see at least something.
Now we have to talk to the women who gave us the liniment.
"The gifts the Great One has bestowed upon us will now take mere decades to breach the confines of Oasis instead of centuries."
"I was glad to do it. Oasis needs to be shared with the world."
Yet this particular response goes with the whole greater good idea. I assume then that the responses to Harold are the same whether you sap his heart or put the liniment on it?
"In your short visit here I can see you've learned much. That's a rare gift in these turbulent times."
Your reward for helping us is... knowledge.
"I believe there are a few Treeminders who wish to speak to you before you depart. I think you'll find their appreciation quite rewarding. Good luck in all your journeys, my friend. I hope your time here has opened your heart as well as it opened your eyes."
Yeah, it's opened my eyes all right - not to walk in on the business of random tribals.
Let's get out of here, but first time to level up and collect our rewards.
We max out small guns, and we're close to maxing out repair.
We get the lawbringer perk, for the lack of a better option and we can talk to the regulators.
You talk to this guy if you do the liniment part of the question, you get his own unique set of Outcast power armor. I guess he was part of the Outcasts...? It's got slightly different stats.
All it does is give a bonus to big guns.
And it looks exactly the same. I'm disappointed.
Sounds cool, what does it look like?
Really? At least it looks rather cool in combination with power armor, but on any other armor it looks silly.
And now we leave Oasis. Overall, regardless of what Bethesda did to Harold, I like some aspects of Oasis. It's a colorful location and the choice involving Harold is about as morally grey as any of the choices in the game get. (Not the sap one or lighting Harold on fire. Either mercy killing poor Harold or letting the trees spread across the wasteland are both reasonable, sane choices.)
What various wonders/horrors await us next in the Wasteland?
Okay, so Fallout 3 question: What did you think Oasis? Were you angry how Bethesda handled Harold?
*Cough*Neverwinter Nights 2*Cough*AlternatePFG said:
I never played Fallout 1 or 2, so I didn't really get what the big deal was. From what I understand, he's a beloved character, or something...AlternatePFG said:
Hello folks, hope your Fridays went well (in applicable parts of the world).
The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 17, "We Live!"
Wherein young Liam makes it out alive and holds a grudge against super mutants for all eternity.
Hey! Those tree huggers are wearing Veronica's clothes...
Having not played Fallout 2, and not all of Fallout 1, the mishandling of a previously established character is lost on me. The place looks cool, or at least it looks cool in contrast with the rest of the game. The Treeminders remind me of the Daedric worshippers in Oblivion. But this "god" is no Sheogorath, and is therefore much less awesome.
I did go read up on Harold at The Vault after viewing this update, though.
Having not played Fallout 2, and not all of Fallout 1, the mishandling of a previously established character is lost on me. The place looks cool, or at least it looks cool in contrast with the rest of the game. The Treeminders remind me of the Daedric worshippers in Oblivion. But this "god" is no Sheogorath, and is therefore much less awesome.
I did go read up on Harold at The Vault after viewing this update, though.
I loved the Shivering Isles in Oblivion. The rest of the game I felt much more mixed about, but the Shivering Isles was just awesome.DustyDrB said:
And yeah, they have the same clothes as Veronica, except with stupid branches added onto it.
You know who they remind me of? Druids. And I bloody hate Druids.AlternatePFG said:
Somewhat like the Druids in NWN2
Kinda keeping a guy stuck in a tree in some way
That's what they reminded me of.
Oh god that was the worst ending ever. MotB made it a bit better, but still...CM156 said:
Yew's Bear Charm +10 to speech. It requires passing a speech check with her before doing the quest.Luxatrum said:
Re: Harold. Fallout 3 was my intro to the series as well. It seems annoyingly shortsighted of Bethesda to eliminate a running gag so thoroughly but I can't summon any personal outrage.
That's exactly what they did, and it is one of the worst things a developer can do when creating a reboot/revive (or whatever you want to call it) a video game created by another game developer.CM156 said:
Why the fuck would you take a well known character from previous games and make him stuck in one spot and make him as good as dead?
Why? In what way is this a good thing? This is plain stupidity and bad game design that is just designed to piss people off to a major scale, it makes no sense.
Now look at Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian brought back a character from a previou game and you know what they did....not kill them.
[sub][sub][sub][sub][sub]I already had to live through the death of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro and what happened to their characters, I don't want the same thing with Fallout.[/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub]
/rant
Not important, but lovable.CM156 said:
He also gives you some good back story to some of the events that would eventually shape the future of the Fallout world forever...hmmm...you know what, he actually is very important, at least for story purposes.
Also, Harold held the record for most appearences in the Fallout series, until Fallout 3 for obvious reasons.