Let's Play Fallout: New Vegas [The Servant]

[Viking Incognito]

Ahhhh, now here's some good thinking!

It's nice to see someone who doesn't blindly hate Caesar based on face value and actually analyse him and his Legion. However, I feel that Lanius should get a little bit more respect than he does, sure he's a pyschopath, but he's an honourable psychopath. Just look at the discussions you have with Moore and Oliver, they're thick-headed individuals who don't see beyond their strengths and realise their faults and can't be convinced otherwise. Compare that to Lanius who can be convinced that what he is doing is wrong and he actually remains honourable about it. I think he might just be one of the only characters in the game who respects the Courier as an enemy and if you convince him to leave he mentions that he looks forward to facing the Courier again.

Also, Manny Vargas used to be a member of the Great Khans and still feels like he belongs there and is tempted to go back, so you could say that is one of his problems.

In terms of reputation preceding the right course, I think Kimball is the epitome of this. All he cares about is increasing the name of the NCR and his own ego with it. When he gives his speech at Hoover Dam, after finishing he accidently says something into the mic (which is still on) that shows he doesn't really care about the soldiers in the Mojave and is too determined to take it without considering the cost.

Ehhh, as we've spoken in the past, I've a bit of a problem with the whole "Caesar's Legion" thing.

It seems like they are trying to crowbar redimible traits into a group to make a choice easier to justify.

I don't hate them at face value, mind you. I do hate what they do, however.

They:
Enslave people against their will
Treat women like dogs. Actualy, I take that back. They treat their dogs better
Nail people to crosses
and kill people for failing them

Sure, the NCR may have a few assholes here and there. Sure, there was Bitter Springs and all that. But I prefer them over people who still practice crucifixion.

I'd just like to say, they don't actually nail people to crosses, they just tie them to it tightly, which I would wager is a lot better then being nailed to it. IT would still suck really bad though. Also, you're totally right about the dogs, because I'm pretty sure that trainer guy Antony fucks Lupa.

Edit: About the Tenpenny quest: Mabey the no-win nature of it is the whole point? You said in an earlier post that the game is really bleak. Maybe this quest was showing that even when you think you've made everything right, you still can't overcome the nature of the wasteland.

 

[AlternatePFG]

About the Tenpenny quest: Mabey the no-win nature of it is the whole point? You said in an earlier post that the game is really bleak. Maybe this quest was showing that even when you think you've made everything right, you still can't overcome the nature of the wasteland.

I think that's the idea, I don't mind the idea of having Roy turn around and stab you in the back, but the fact that you can't pick more reasonable options hurts it.

Unrelated, but GRA adds a new perk to New Vegas:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/A_Slave_Obeys

I don't know if it does anything, but I'm so getting this perk.

 

[Viking Incognito]

About the Tenpenny quest: Mabey the no-win nature of it is the whole point? You said in an earlier post that the game is really bleak. Maybe this quest was showing that even when you think you've made everything right, you still can't overcome the nature of the wasteland.

I think that's the idea, I don't mind the idea of having Roy turn around and stab you in the back, but the fact that you can't pick more reasonable options hurts it.

Unrelated, but GRA adds a new perk to New Vegas:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/A_Slave_Obeys

I don't know if it does anything, but I'm so getting this perk.

I don't care if it is a permanent minus five to your total health meter, I'm still going to get that perk.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Ahhhh, now here's some good thinking!

It's nice to see someone who doesn't blindly hate Caesar based on face value and actually analyse him and his Legion. However, I feel that Lanius should get a little bit more respect than he does, sure he's a pyschopath, but he's an honourable psychopath. Just look at the discussions you have with Moore and Oliver, they're thick-headed individuals who don't see beyond their strengths and realise their faults and can't be convinced otherwise. Compare that to Lanius who can be convinced that what he is doing is wrong and he actually remains honourable about it. I think he might just be one of the only characters in the game who respects the Courier as an enemy and if you convince him to leave he mentions that he looks forward to facing the Courier again.

Also, Manny Vargas used to be a member of the Great Khans and still feels like he belongs there and is tempted to go back, so you could say that is one of his problems.

In terms of reputation preceding the right course, I think Kimball is the epitome of this. All he cares about is increasing the name of the NCR and his own ego with it. When he gives his speech at Hoover Dam, after finishing he accidently says something into the mic (which is still on) that shows he doesn't really care about the soldiers in the Mojave and is too determined to take it without considering the cost.

Ehhh, as we've spoken in the past, I've a bit of a problem with the whole "Caesar's Legion" thing.

It seems like they are trying to crowbar redimible traits into a group to make a choice easier to justify.

I don't hate them at face value, mind you. I do hate what they do, however.

They:
Enslave people against their will
Treat women like dogs. Actualy, I take that back. They treat their dogs better
Nail people to crosses
and kill people for failing them

Sure, the NCR may have a few assholes here and there. Sure, there was Bitter Springs and all that. But I prefer them over people who still practice crucifixion.

I'd just like to say, they don't actually nail people to crosses, they just tie them to it tightly, which I would wager is a lot better then being nailed to it. IT would still suck really bad though. Also, you're totally right about the dogs, because I'm pretty sure that trainer guy Antony fucks Lupa.

Edit: About the Tenpenny quest: Mabey the no-win nature of it is the whole point? You said in an earlier post that the game is really bleak. Maybe this quest was showing that even when you think you've made everything right, you still can't overcome the nature of the wasteland.

Really? I thought they nailed people to the crosses

And even then, you die of asphyxiation a lot slower if you aren't bleeding. So in a ways, it's still just as bad.

 

[ChupathingyX]

Really? I thought they nailed people to the crosses

And even then, you die of asphyxiation a lot slower if you aren't bleeding. So in a ways, it's still just as bad.

I don't know if I've said this to you before but the way I see it is that you have to look at it from the perspective of the Mojave and Vegas as a whole.

Sure the Legion do some terrible things, but for the Mojave the Legion means safe roads, safe citizens, strict laws to keep crime to an absolute minimum and an almost 0% chance of the Great War ever happening again.

The NCR may seem like a better option, but in the long run they will not be able to control Vegas and it is already shown that they are incapable of holding onto Nevada.

Both have their pros and cons, but I think the message in New Vegas wasn't so much of a moral one, than it was a political one.

The Mojave is doomed no matter who rules it, being cruel and harsh means peace and control, but people will suffer. Being a goody goody leads to you being pushed around by everyone (Followers of the Apocalypse).

Unrelated, but GRA adds a new perk to New Vegas:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/A_Slave_Obeys

I don't know if it does anything, but I'm so getting this perk.

Dammit, I was planning on siding with House in my next playthrough, now I can't

 

[Agayek]

Completely random, but I just wiped out everything on The Strip (Upgraded Securitrons included) with the new Bozar gun from the GRA. It's amazing. Downside? It costs 20,000 caps.

The things a fucking beast though. Best part? It uses 5.56mm ammo.

Only 20,000? That's chump change.

Go raid a legion camp or two at any point after level 20 and you'll make 10,000 caps easily. Standard weapons post-level 20 vendor for upwards of 3,000 caps, and they are everywhere. My character in NV has 60,000 caps currently in my inventory and I've bought basically everything but the GRA weapons. It's stupid easy to make a ridiculous amount of money once enemies start being armed with brush guns and ballistic fists.

 

[DigitalSushi]

Not at all. It's where the setting's credibility goes flying out the window, along with all of my patience. Yet for the sake of this LP, I'm not going to use the Child At Heart perk to outright skip it.

Ironically enough, my first playthrough through the game I wiped out Paradise Falls and freed the kids before I visited Lamplight, so they just let me right on through and I didn't see why everyone hated it so much aside from the complete implausibility of it. On repeat playthroughs I began to loathe it though.

And yeah, the name makes sense given the whole plot of the game and with the water purifier.

Loving this thread, excellent Let's Play, and I normally hate Let's Play run through's apart from Super Kazio World other known as "Asshole Mario".

I loved Lamplight first time I stumbled on it, but then again I'd saved Big Town and when I stumbled on Lamplight I was like "wtf, its an actual place?", I felt I needed to save Lamplight... unfortunately the kids are fucking idiots.

Also apparently Fallout 3 was meant to be set a few years after the war, not 200, half way through development Bethesda decided it should be set way way way after the war, this would explain why Lamplight could have survived for a few years, it also would explain many things, such as the advanced robot in Rivet City because why the fuck would you create an advance emo robot when your trying to rebuild, because he was created before the war.

I get the feeling someone at Bethesda realised including the Enclave as the big bad 3 years after the war would totally fuck up the cannon and adjusted the time accordingly, it would explain why they designed opened area like that, TenPenny towers wouldn't exist in 2277 either.

Fallout 3 is good, it feels like some parts of it were designed for 2080 and some for 2277.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Really? I thought they nailed people to the crosses

And even then, you die of asphyxiation a lot slower if you aren't bleeding. So in a ways, it's still just as bad.

I don't know if I've said this to you before but the way I see it is that you have to look at it from the perspective of the Mojave and Vegas as a whole.

Sure the Legion do some terrible things, but for the Mojave the Legion means safe roads, safe citizens, strict laws to keep crime to an absolute minimum and an almost 0% chance of the Great War ever happening again.

The NCR may seem like a better option, but in the long run they will not be able to control Vegas and it is already shown that they are incapable of holding onto Nevada.

Both have their pros and cons, but I think the message in New Vegas wasn't so much of a moral one, than it was a political one.

The Mojave is doomed no matter who rules it, being cruel and harsh means peace and control, but people will suffer. Being a goody goody leads to you being pushed around by everyone (Followers of the Apocalypse).

I disagree that Ceasar's Legion will mean strict laws forever and 0% chance of the great war. Firstly, to have all that order and control, you need a single person to have that power. And power corrupts. When Ceasar dies, there will be a vacuum of power, which will lead to fighting. That isn't as vital for any future.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I disagree that Ceasar's Legion will mean strict laws forever and 0% chance of the great war. Firstly, to have all that order and control, you need a single person to have that power. And power corrupts. When Ceasar dies, there will be a vacuum of power, which will lead to fighting. That isn't as vital for any future.

I agree about Caesar dying would lead to a vacuum of power. However, if Caesar is still in power then the Courier must have helped him, and maybe Caesar would appoint the Courier as his successor?

He did print a coin with your face on it after all, only two other people have ever had the only of having their image printed on a Legion coin. Of course this is all taking into consideration that Caesar won the war and was still alive.

Also, in terms of Caesar being in power, there will be no nuclear war because he condones high techology, if that tradition continues then an event similar to the Great War will not happen as long as Caesar has control.

 

[Viking Incognito]

Now for more Philosophy and over-thinking. I feel like my post about the NCR and Legion, combined with this and the post about the tenpenny quest are making me the "go to guy" for multi level analysis of moral and philosophical questions and such for this LP and the conversation we have about NV. I find that gratifying, so don't hesitate to ask if you want me to analyze something.

Spoiler: Mr.House

So...House. Lets get the obvious out of the way; he is arrogant, greedy, and obviously obsessed with playing god. Now, that in mind, he isn't all that bad ideologically, but in the long run, is a bad choice. His plans for the human race are all very nice sounding, but lets be realistic, there is no way that one man could unite the planet and move us to the next step in civilized evolution. He may have rebuilt Vegas and taken control with the security but he is obviously obsessed with playing god. He wants to be the "benefactor" of all man kind even after he supposedly moves them into space, all from his personal little Tower of Babel right there on the strip. No. The achievement in GRA comparing him to Andrew Ryan is amusingly appropriate because they both have grand appealing ideas of creating a better society, but their goals are ultimately unrealistic. In the end, all house would do is play "King of the wastes" for a long time until inevitably someone finds a way to kill him, then completely fails to take his place and the whole thing collapses. In the long run, it's a sucker bet that ends with a bust. (See what I did there?)

Spoiler: Yes Man

This is actually the option I have the least to say about, but here I go anyway. The thing that pisses me off about choosing this path is that the name of the final mission (No Gods, No Masters) and the end-game narration (the courier had freed new Vegas from Mr.Houses tyranny, ect.) suggest that you do it so the city and the Mojave can be independent, but then the conversation options with General Oliver mostly suggest that you are doing it so that you can take Mr.House's role as king (with the exception of a few lines), and the conversation with Lanius doesn't really have a path that reflects you are working specifically for Vegas, because even the barter checks make you sound more like a part time NCR supply-line adviser. But ignoring that because it could probably be counted as the result of a disagreement between writers, I still think that the Yes Man path is probably the best for the people of the Mojave assuming you are doing it for independence, not to install yourself as king/queen.

As a side note, thanks to whoever that was earlier that said Lanius respects you as an enemy, because that is something I wanted to say about him; He represents the crazy overzealous members of the legion, but when you talk to him through the speech checks, you can see more of the not so bad side of the legion, like you can by talking to Caesar. Lanius might actually be one of my favorite NPCs based on how human and believable he is in conversation. Also, I like how you can see the different sides of him based on which team you are on (you really see the epitome of crazy re-purposed tribal when you talk to him in his tent after you side with the Legion).

 

[ChupathingyX]

.

Spoiler: Mr.House

So...House. Lets get the obvious out of the way; he is arrogant, greedy, and obviously obsessed with playing god. Now, that in mind, he isn't all that bad ideologically, but in the long run, is a bad choice. His plans for the human race are all very nice sounding, but lets be realistic, there is no way that one man could unite the planet and move us to the next step in civilized evolution. He may have rebuilt Vegas and taken control with the security but he is obviously obsessed with playing god. He wants to be the "benefactor" of all man kind even after he supposedly moves them into space, all from his personal little Tower of Babel right there on the strip. No. The achievement in GRA comparing him to Andrew Ryan is amusingly appropriate because they both have grand appealing ideas of creating a better society, but their goals are ultimately unrealistic. In the end, all house would do is play "King of the wastes" for a long time until inevitably someone finds a way to kill him, then completely fails to take his place and the whole thing collapses. In the long run, it's a sucker bet that ends with a bust. (See what I did there?)

I have to agree with that, well said. You can also make a comparison between House and Howard Hughes (who both House and Andrew Ryan are based off). Howard Hughes was philanthropist adn eventually after becoming powerful he became obsessed with himself and became a recluse, afraid of germs (sound familiar?). In the end House will become obsessed with himself (he kinda already has) and will be his own downfall, and if not, he will witness his downfall at the hands of someone else.

Spoiler: Yes Man

This is actually the option I have the least to say about, but here I go anyway. The thing that pisses me off about choosing this path is that the name of the final mission (No Gods, No Masters) and the end-game narration (the courier had freed new Vegas from Mr.Houses tyranny, ect.) suggest that you do it so the city and the Mojave can be independent, but then the conversation options with General Oliver mostly suggest that you are doing it so that you can take Mr.House's role as king (with the exception of a few lines), and the conversation with Lanius doesn't really have a path that reflects you are working specifically for Vegas, because even the barter checks make you sound more like a part time NCR supply-line adviser. But ignoring that because it could probably be counted as the result of a disagreement between writers, I still think that the Yes Man path is probably the best for the people of the Mojave assuming you are doing it for independence, not to install yourself as king/queen.

I don't know, I don't really like the independent path because knowing humanity they will screw up sooner or later. Someone will want to be the new ruler, people will get out of line, and when push comes to shove violence will erupt. You also have to consider after the final quest Yes Man mentions that he will be getting an upgrade to his personality, this would lead to a more harsh and not-so-friendly Yes Man we have grown to know.

SNIP

Yeah that was me, Lanius is one of my favourite characters too. I wasn't really expecting much from him but in that one moment when you meet him there was so much dialogue that I had to sit through it multiple times just to take everything in.

Plus, he has awesome armour...just sayin'.

And he has one of the best quotes in the game;

We shall see how brave you are when nailed to the walls of Hoover Dam, your body facing west so you may watch your world die.

And Mitch Lewis did a great job as the voice actor.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

I disagree that Ceasar's Legion will mean strict laws forever and 0% chance of the great war. Firstly, to have all that order and control, you need a single person to have that power. And power corrupts. When Ceasar dies, there will be a vacuum of power, which will lead to fighting. That isn't as vital for any future.

I agree about Caesar dying would lead to a vacuum of power. However, if Caesar is still in power then the Courier must have helped him, and maybe Caesar would appoint the Courier as his successor?

He did print a coin with your face on it after all, only two other people have ever had the only of having their image printed on a Legion coin. Of course this is all taking into consideration that Caesar won the war and was still alive.

Also, in terms of Caesar being in power, there will be no nuclear war because he condones high techology, if that tradition continues then an event similar to the Great War will not happen as long as Caesar has control.

I suppose that is possible. But likely not so much if your Courier is female. After all, they don't take to kindly to women.

And that's likely my biggest problem with them. If they tried to present the Legion as fair and balenced, rather than a bunch of crazy guys tying people to crosses, I might see it that way.

 

[DustyDrB]

I don't know, I don't really like the independent path because knowing humanity they will screw up sooner or later. Someone will want to be the new ruler, people will get out of line, and when push comes to shove violence will erupt. You also have to consider after the final quest Yes Man mentions that he will be getting an upgrade to his personality, this would lead to a more harsh and not-so-friendly Yes Man we have grown to know.

Man, I hated that bit. My second playthrough was for an independent New Vegas, but I tried to make peace wherever I could (I especially made sure to help out the Followers in every way possible). I just don't like the implications of what Yes Man says at the end. It came out of nowhere. I'd say the independent New Vegas route is the best way to go, but I don't know what Yes Man intends (I don't think it's mentioned in the ending scene).

 

[AlternatePFG]

[HEADING=1]Chapter XXXVIII - Kill X Ants[/HEADING]​

Spoiler

With X being a really large number. Apparently this quest was so good, they did pretty much the exact same thing in New Vegas.

So, with only a few sidequests left to complete (The next Lily's Log won't be until we complete the rest of the sidequests in the main game) let's do the "Those!" quest. It's about giant fire breathing ants. While it's weird, and kind of goofy, it's not quite worth bringing back the bizarre, out of place sidequest trilogy for a 4th installment.

We fast travel to the Super Duper Mart. This is the closest place to Grayditch that we have visited. I'm surprised we haven't picked up this quest way earlier, cause Bryan Wilks just randomly shows up in the middle of nowhere from time to time. It isn't quite as bizarre as another glitch I had around here though...

I was just exploring this area when suddenly I run into Sally, a kid NPC from Mothership Zeta. I had not played Mothership Zeta before, so I did not know this NPC, and here talking about "them" just confused me more. I didn't know if this was some sort of strange bug or fucked up random encounter. So I just ignored it and went on way. Well, when I finally got to Mothership Zeta, guess which NPC was missing and which NPC was required to continue further in the DLC?

I gave up on that playthrough after that, and stopped playing the game for a long while.

The streets are completely empty and devoid of life in this settlement. I'm sure that's a good sign.

You know, in my playthroughs of Fallout 3, I always manage to avoid seeing the really obvious signs.

That's a weird looking ant. It's red and for some reason, it breathes fire now. Great. The ants were annoying enough.

There's Bryan Wilks, standing out there in the middle of nowhere for some reason. He's supposed to be scripted to run up to us around the Super Duper Mart area...

What monsters? You're not being specific enough, kid. Feral ghouls? Super Mutants? Deathclaws? Radscorpions?

"Calm down, kid."

"No... those things will get me! I can't. Gotta' keep going!"

Radroaches?

"[Speech, 100%] Hey, hey. Calm down. It's going to be okay. I promise."

"[SUCCESS] You won't leave me like all the other grown-ups? You... you can help me?"

"I'd like to help, but I need to know more first."

"Those... big things. They're all over Grayditch and they killed everyone! Please... please find my pappa!"

"Okay. I'll go look for your father."

"You will? Really? Thanks a whole lot! My house is the one closest to the huge sign and the old diner. Please... find my pappa and make him come back!"

He was standing in the open out here, how did he survive?

Unless, canonically, children are immortal in the Fallout 3 universe.

"[Speech, 100%] Look, anything else you can do to help might save lives."

Or give us extra supplies. Either way. It'll save our lives.

"[SUCCESS] You know, maybe this will help and maybe it won't, but pappa hid a bunch of stuff behind the old diner in a dumpster. He trusted me with the key and said it was for emergencies, but I bet he wouldn't mind you having it."

More ammo!

"Is there anywhere you can hide while I search?"

"Well, there is the personal shelter next to the old diner. Pappa always said to stay away from it... but, I guess it's supposed to be safe."

Wow, one of those stupid shelters will actually save someone. Though, it's not like this kid can die anyway.

"I'll head over there and wait inside. Hurry back!"

There's a ton of grenades in the dumpster.

That's the Wilks house over there.

Welp, that's sad, but not entirely unexpected. Let's head back and tell Bryan Wilks the bad news.

Really, Bethesda?

"I think I have some bad news for you."

"Oh no! What happened?"

"Bryan, I'm sorry, but your father is dead."

"He's...he's dead? I guess I already knew. Besides, I'm too tired to cry anymore."

"I'll stop whatever started this, I promise you."

Realistically, the quest should just end here, maybe with you finding a new place for Wilks to live. Everyone else in Grayditch is dead. Of course then we couldn't stretch this out further by giving you a ton of fire ants to fight. They introduced a new type of enemy, and damn, they want to show it off.

"You gotta stop it so this can't happen to anyone else's family ever again! I wish I had met you a long time ago, then maybe my dad would still be alive."

Probably not. People around us have a tendency to die an awful lot.

"Thanks for doing all this... I'm feeling better now that you're here."

[Insert generic lawful good response]

"What happened here?"

"It used to be kinda' nice. No one bothered us there, I guess because we were so close to D.C."

Wait, what?! "Because we were so close to D.C."?! Dude, D.C. is a warzone. This isn't far at all from the Super Duper Mart, that until recently was a base for raiders. Literally it was down the road. I'll just chalk it up to the kid being stupid.

"There was seven of us living there in tall, old brick houses. I think I'm the last one left. Those things took everyone else."

Off of the father's body, we get a key to this shed.

There's a lab in this shed, basically it gives us a direction to go to in this quest. Otherwise, we'd just be wandering around Grayditch trying to find the next link in the quest.

So now, we have to go to Marigold Station, which thankfully is like right outside Grayditch.

There is a whole bunch of those ants covering the entrance to the metro.

Another Enclave propaganda poster on the left. Did they clear out the ants when they came through here?

Their fire attack is pretty annoying.

So this is the entrance to Marigold Metro. Honestly, I'm getting so tired of these metro tunnels. I know I complimented them before, but let me qualify it by saying that if you do all the sidequests in a short amount of time, you're going to go through a ton of tunnels to get around.

Of course, instead of ghouls you fight fire ants. There are a ton of these ants, and this quest honestly feels like a bit of a grind. It's not quite as bad as the Boomer's ant quest in New Vegas, but at least in New Vegas that quest was rather brief.

There isn't much of interest in this tunnel, except for a note left on a corpse about retrieving a package for someone and bring it to a guy in Girdershade.

There's the end of tunnel, but that's not where we want to go. We go to the right.

Eventually, we run into this doctor guy. He's... rather annoying.

He was just staring at this door when we entered.

"You really mustn't creep up on people like that."

"Sorry, I didn't expect to bump into anyone alive down here."

Except for that raider we bumped into like a few yards away.

"That is precisely why this is the ideal place for my work. Do you realize you're trampling about in a delicately balanced and highly sensitive experimentation area?"

How is this guy able to run all this stuff by himself?

"Experiments? What do you mean?"

Come on, doesn't the lab coat, glasses and glowing monitors behind him give you a hint?

"My experiments are of a complex nature and would take a scientist to explain... oh wait! I'm a scientist! How marvelous!"

How is this guy able to do anything here?

"My foray into reducing the girth of these insectoid creatures is of utmost importance. I intend to generationally reduce their immense stature by way of a pre-birth induced mutagen. Isn't that clever?"

"[Intelligence] Oh, I see. You'r trying to make them smaller over time by injecting the eggs."

Again, high INT options just have you repeat the obvious.

One random note, wouldn't reducing the size of the ants be rather... bad? That's kind of messing with the wastelands current ecosystem, as dangerous as those ants are.

"My word! You understand perfectly! How marvelous!"

"So, what's gone wrong?"

"Well, I'm afraid I've made a slight miscalculations in the mutagen. Instead of lowering their size, the brood hatched with a new biomechanism. I call their genetic abberation pyrosis: the ability to emit flame from their bodies. I may be able to correct this error, but I can't get near my equipment."

"[Intelligence] I'm shocked you didn't attempt this in a controlled environment first."

"Your knowledge of experimental procedure surprises me!"

It's common sense.

"Indeed, I have skipped a step and directly modified an entire brood. Perhaps I was too hasty... I was so certain it would work."

If this game wasn't so poorly written, this could have been an interesting discussion about scientific ethics and such. Instead it's just more goofy SCIENCE! crap. Don't get me wrong, I love SCIENCE! but this is supposed to be a somewhat serious quest, yet the doctor guy seems really out of place.

"To correct this mistake, I'll need to get to my terminal to modify the mutagen."

"What can I do to help?"

"Since you've offered, allow me to elaborate. My portable terminal is set up in the Hatchery Chamber near the Ant Queen. If I can reach it, I can continue to work on improving the mutagen."

"If the Queen's your concern, why not deal with it directly?"

"If she were harmed in any way, months of data would be lost. Your objective would be to eliminate what I call her quintet of Nest Guardians. Filthy little abominations!"

"Just how will all this undo the mayhem you've caused?"

"I've rigged the equipment at my portable terminal to emit what I can an Inhibitor Pulse. Once I send this pulse, all of the remaining ants will lose their empathic link with the Queen and frenzy, destroying each other in the process!"

Why didn't you do this before?

"So, that's all there is to it. What do you say?"

"If it'll stop the ants from burning down Grayditch, I'm in."

"You will? How marvelous! Be careful, my friend, the Nest Guardians can be quite tenacious."

So now, into another section of tunnels. It's like a sewer level in a sewer level.

The guardians are only slightly stronger than the normal ants. Just repeat this screenshot five times, nothing of interest really happens down here. I'm not trying to sound negative here, but this quest is total filler. There really isn't anything that's remotely interesting about it. I like the Reilly's Rangers quest despite being really just a long streak of combat, because at least the locations were interesting, and you had some motivation to do things. This?

This is just dull. If there's one thing that New Vegas improved upon, there were less areas that were like "Let's throw a ton of the same enemy after you in a boring location, for an extended period of time."

So now let's trudge back to the doctor and get our reward.

"My work is done, Doctor."

"Oh, how marvelous! Please, tell me what happened."

"I've killed all the Nest Guardians."

"Then I will proceed to my portable terminal at once and make the necessary changes to the forumla. Thanks very much for everything... you've been quite a useful lab assistant!"

In the GECK, his INT is only 8. Ours is 10.

Just saying.

"I'm ready for my Mutagenic Bioenchancer injection, Doctor."

Oh yeah, this is your reward for completing this quest. Either a SPECIAL point in Perception or Strength, not a big deal.

"How marvelous! Which injection did you want? Will it be the Ant Sight or Ant Might?"

This doesn't really make sense unless you ask for a reward for doing this quest. Besides, would you really trust this guy to inject you with something potentially lethal?

"I'd like the Ant Might to increase my physical strength."

"How marvelous! Ant Might it is! Hold still please."

He keeps on saying "How marvelous!". This guy is a bit annoying, glad we don't have to bother with him again. (He returns to Grayditch after you complete the entire quest.)

He gives us that injection.

So we get another point in Strength.

We can take a short way out by going through that one tunnel we saw earlier. Of course, we can't fast travel until we fight off some super mutants.

There's some Brotherhood paladins fighting some super mutants here. Let's help them out.

After all those ants, it's actually nice to fight some super mutants.

So, we fast travel back to Grayditch.

"It was like they were totally crazy! It was really scary, but kinda cool at the same time, ya know what I mean?"

"I'm just glad you're safe."

"I wish I had something to give you for all the work you did, but I never really had much to start with."

He gives us XP. I'd say that's enough.

"I guess now you'll be on your way and I'll have to try living here by myself. I hope you'll come back and visit someday."

Live here, by himself? Oh lord, he'll be dead within a day.

"I can't leave you here alone. Let me find you a place to live."

"Really? You mean it?! Oh boy! Thank you so much! I'll wait in my old house for you to come back... I need to bury my pappa anyway."

He seems to get over the death of his dad pretty quick.

"Just don't forget about me!"

We ask him something about any of his relatives, and apparently one of them lives in Rivet City. We could also bring him to Little Lamplight for some stupid, stupid reason. If we were assholes, we could sell the kid into slavery. So, let me get this straight Bethesda: Killing kids is bad, but selling them into slavery gets past the censors? Let's check Rivet City.

Back in Rivet City. I hear some people play the game without fast travelling at all. I refer to them as goddamn liars.

Now we head to that Weatherly Hotel place. This is pretty much the only reason to visit it, unless you want a house in Rivet City for some strange reason.

I'm not gonna put the whole conversation down here, because it's pretty repetitive, but I find it hilarious that you can go up to her and one of the responses is basically "I'm not sure, I'll keep looking" for a guardian for Bryan, despite this woman pretty much being his only living family member, and can take care of him just fine.

You send him to Little Lamplight, and he ends up being pretty miserable there. He actually disappears from the gameworld if you sell him into slavery. (I guess he was shipped up to The Pitt, I dunno.)

So now we return to talk to Bryan Wilks.

So, Bryan Wilks gets to live in Rivet City now. We don't get a reward for this, aside from good karma, and some complimentary words from Three Dog, and some XP of course. We got that SPECIAL boost from the doctor as our real reward. But that's it for the "Those!" quest. It really is completely inconsequential to the rest of the game, and again, it's really just filler. I'll admit, it was foolish of me to do all the interesting sidequests all at once without mixing in the other quests, because the remaining sidequests aren't as interesting as the rest of the sidequests. We'll still do them of course, but right after we're going straight back to the main plot. (I was thinking of doing Point Lookout, but that can wait for a bit.)

So what did you think of this quest?

For those who didn't see it my earlier post: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/A_Slave_Obeys

Yeah, it's not actually a perk (A challenge) but that's still awesome.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

So what did you think of this quest?

My first playthrough, I didn't finish it, because I got lost in the metro. I couldn't find the guy.

The second playthrough, I didn't finish it until after the main quest, so it was piss easy.

I think the reward is nice, but they could have done a lot more with this quest.

 

[Luxatrum]

I don't know, I don't really like the independent path because knowing humanity they will screw up sooner or later. Someone will want to be the new ruler, people will get out of line, and when push comes to shove violence will erupt. You also have to consider after the final quest Yes Man mentions that he will be getting an upgrade to his personality, this would lead to a more harsh and not-so-friendly Yes Man we have grown to know.

Man, I hated that bit. My second playthrough was for an independent New Vegas, but I tried to make peace wherever I could (I especially made sure to help out the Followers in every way possible). I just don't like the implications of what Yes Man says at the end. It came out of nowhere. I'd say the independent New Vegas route is the best way to go, but I don't know what Yes Man intends (I don't think it's mentioned in the ending scene).

I liked that part the most actually. It didn't matter what you wanted for the world (or Mojave), it's that you were in the seat of power after usurping it from House. House didn't see your betrayal coming, and trusted you entirely. Same with the courier and Yes Man. Kind of a boomerang effect really.

Those! Hmmmm. It was mostly just a filler quest so there isn't a lot to say. Sure a point in either Strength or Perception is nice, but you can increase it pretty easily already. The reward is decent sure, but it's just kind of.... There.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I suppose that is possible. But likely not so much if your Courier is female. After all, they don't take to kindly to women.

It's funny you should say "they".

The interesting thing I saw is that Caesar himself never says anything bad to you if you are female, whereas legionaries do, meaning that Caesar probably does not believe in everything he says and proclaims things solely to keep control over the Legion.

Also, this may be a long stretch but I thought I had of women in the Legion is that they are forbidden from being in the military or being put in any kind task that may give them the chance to escape or fight back. Life as a legionary is short, many soldiers die within a couple of years of service, this means the Legion has to be constantly filling their ranks or else they will die out. This is where slaves and especially female slaves come in.

Of course, instead of ghouls you fight fire ants. There are a ton of these ants, and this quest honestly feels like a bit of a grind. It's not quite as bad as the Boomer's ant quest in New Vegas, but at least in New Vegas that quest was rather brief.

At least in that quest the science checks actually made your character sound smart instead of stating the obvious. Also that quest is good for explosives characters as there is a unique grenade launcher and a good amount of ammo.

So what did you think of this quest?

It seemed too filler for me, it was just a quest thrown into another town to spice things up. However, it was one of the first quests I remember finishing because some guy ran up to me while I was at Super Duper Mart.

That, and the quest was way too disconnected from everything, it had pretty much no relation to anything and in the end was just...there. Compared to the quest "Can You Find It In Your Heart?" in New Vegas which also deals with giant ants but actually ties into the main quest and situation of the NCR.

For those who didn't see it my earlier post: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/A_Slave_Obeys

Yeah, it's not actually a perk (A challenge) but that's still awesome.

I actually found "Even A God-King Can Bleed" to be more funny, but that one is still pretty awesome.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

It's funny you should say "they".

The interesting thing I saw is that Caesar himself never says anything bad to you if you are female, whereas legionaries do, meaning that Caesar probably does not believe in everything he says and proclaims things solely to keep control over the Legion.

Also, this may be a long stretch but I thought I had of women in the Legion is that they are forbidden from being in the military or being put in any kind task that may give them the chance to escape or fight back. Life as a legionary is short, many soldiers die within a couple of years of service, this means the Legion has to be constantly filling their ranks or else they will die out. This is where slaves and especially female slaves come in.

I see. I was refering to "they" in the general sense of the group.

I think he holds his tongue because he needs your help, moreso than anything else.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I see. I was refering to "they" in the general sense of the group.

I think he holds his tongue because he needs your help, moreso than anything else.

That might be true, but what about after you finish the main quest, he doesn't execute you or anything and you still get your face minted on a coin. So Caesar must have some kind of respect for the Courier, even if the courier is female.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

I see. I was refering to "they" in the general sense of the group.

I think he holds his tongue because he needs your help, moreso than anything else.

That might be true, but what about after you finish the main quest, he doesn't execute you or anything and you still get your face minted on a coin. So Caesar must have some kind of respect for the Courier, even if the courier is female.

That, or he plans on having you make him an heir.

Just a thought ;P

But yeah, I will admit that Ceasar's Legion isn't all bad. Just mostly bad.