Poll: New Vegas: which faction did you chose?

[T8B95]

I actually wanted to go with the Legion the first time through. When I got the invitation to go see Caesar, I'll admit that I was intrigued. I came away intrigued with the possibilities, but also a little bit disappointed. I'd expected a larger, grander figure than Caesar turned out to be. I was expecting a soft-spoken meglomaniacal sociopath who could run an empire from one coast to the other (much like the Caesar of real life). When I got there, I found him to be a self-absorbed narcissistic asshole who sounded too much like a New York gangster.

And I loved it. Because this wasn't Caesar. This was some power-hungry warlord ho'd risen up by the rights of fire and blood, using his own brutal cunning.

Unfortunately, while I found that to be a brilliant piece of incidental storytelling, it put to any thoughts I'd had about siding with the bastards. I did House's job for him and when I came back to the tent I had Lucky hidden...somewhere, I'm not sure where you'd hide a .44 magnum. And so I did render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's.

OT: I chose House in the end.

 

[sage42]

It's either house or independent for My Couriers. NCR is just like the old world and look how well that turned out. The Legion are well.....slavers, bandits, sexists, and a whole manner of unpleasant things. Sure they're organized better than the NCR but even the Roman empire fell after it got too large. House may be a controlling, manipulative, vengeful bastard, but at least he's an honest controlling, manipulative, vengeful bastard. You know where you stand with him, plus he gives you the life of luxury once you help him, what's not to love.

 

[Leemaster777]

My first playthrough? Well, I was GOING to go with House, but I had an issue with one of his quests.

See, Veronica was my favorite companion, and I had already gone through the Brotherhood quest line, Power Armor training and all. But then House told me to kill them. I actually struggled with the choice for awhile, do I give up what is possibly the Mojave's best chance at a stable future, or ruin my relationship with my favorite companion, as well as her entire family?

Eventually, I decided that I had to go independent. And honestly? I'm happy with my choice. I feel like everything really worked out for the best that way.

 

[malestrithe]

NCR. I played the game lawful evil and that faction gave me the best opportunities to spite people in the name of the LAW!

Also, I'm not not stupid and siding with the Legion is the dumbest move to make if you want the most companions. You lose Boone, who has a game breaking glitch of hitting 100 percent of the time. You also lose Arcade and Veronica if you side with the Legion Also, you can't use the Brotherhood to help you out, or have the glorious site of watching Enclave and Brotherhood soldiers fighting side by side because both factions owe you favors.

 

[Unsilenced]

Joined the legion.

I'm not gonna say why.

But I can be a sick fuck sometimes, and being at such a high position, the benefits fit my needs perfectly... (And the fact I'm so confident in my ability, and the fact that I saved Caesar's life, I find it highly unlikely, even if for some failure, to be set to death. I'm just too valuable an asset considering my individual ability".

besides that. NCR would just evolve into an oligarchy/aristocracy like the united states. (Which I view as the worst kind of government, at least with a dictatorship, the concept and leader is in your face, not hiding and lying)

And mr house. Ain't got no beef with him really, but I'm not a drinker or a smoker. And both are encouraged in his vision. They're both poisons that should be eradicated from human culture. (Among all drugs) Of which the legion just so happened to have the same idea .

The Fort may be on top of a hill, but being in Caesar's legion means you will always be on your knees. Contrast this with the independent option, where you can pretty much own all of the everything with a massive securitron army that obeys your every command.

The Legion's "ideals" are a joke, for reasons I've explained above.

EDIT: And you totally just said that weren't going to explain it right before explaining it.

Hell, maybe the Legion *does* suit you.

 

[Terminal Blue]

I actually wanted to go with the Legion the first time through. When I got the invitation to go see Caesar, I'll admit that I was intrigued. I came away intrigued with the possibilities, but also a little bit disappointed.

I very much agree with this, except that I was expecting Kurtz from Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now.

I mean come on. A high tech missionary goes out into the wilderness to bring the light of civilization to the savages and ends up forcing them to worship him and serve as his army. It's basically there, all they needed to imply was that Ceasar hadn't built his ideal society so much as he'd gone native and simply adapted to the brutality of the frontier.

What's even worse is that's kind of what post apocalyptic settings are about in some ways. Who would you be if all the laws and regulations which bound you suddenly went out the window? Could you remain a moral being if there was no society to make you one, or would you fall into the law of the jungle?

Instead, we just got a fascist fantasist who genuinely believes that his bunch of murdering, raping tribesmen with spears are the perfect society. Clearly the Followers of the Apocalypse don't have very stringent entry requirements.

OT: I went with House because I kind of liked him as a character, although like others I found it pretty hard to kill off the Brotherhood.

Then I remembered, the Brotherhood are basically enormous dicks who are only ever presented as the good guys because they generally happen to have similar goals to the protagonist. Their real, long-term goal is to gather all the technology which could actually help people and hide it away in bunkers so it can't be used by anyone but them.

That made it easier.

 

[Seanfall]

Well kinda differs from character to character. In my first play through, I thought if would be fun if this guy was also my main Wanderer from Fallout 3. Someone who's seen some shit. He wanted a place were people weren't fighting and destroying each other. What he finds is two factions from some place else fighting over a land they care nothing about. The Legion is too bloody, treats women like slaves. etc. etc. At first glance the NCR looks good but...their just as bad as the Legion in places. Mr. House, though he is rather detached, at least as a goal for the Mojave, at least his plan might help make things better for the people involved. Plus this Courier doesn't think highly of himself. Hell he wears that NCR Vetern ranger helmet everywhere.

Second Courier....is well different. She's of the 'burn it all down' mindset. Blows up every legion group she can find. Has no problem starting a gun fight in a casino. Slightly deranged, So yeah Anarchy. Or independence.

 

[columbianbacon]

I clicked Independant, but I try to avoid the plot and just wander. House deserves rulership for his vision, and the NCR are ultimately trying to be the good guys, so both are commendable. LEgion kinda get on my nerves here and there, but what pisses me off is that the Lucky Shades are in their safehouse. My favorite damn item and it's locked away from me!

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

I went with NCR but if I like to imagine that I joined made them answer a few demands of mine such as my own branch of military that runs under it's own jurisdiction led by me. The lucky 38 was mine (and open for business) while the remainder of the strip was NCR....basically the best of both worlds is how I imagine how I would rule. Exploring, mapping, and defending the wasteland while expanding the NCR (peacefully) and having my own branch (co-led by my companions) run the mojave and follow my intentions. Cep't Boone and EDE. They come with me.

 

[A Satanic Panda]

First time, I wound up going independent. I was going to go with House until he wouldn't back down on one issue (murdering the brotherhood of steel). Since then I've finished both House and the NCR (having a very difficult time siding with Caesar, he's one of those people I would gleefully murder IRL if I could get away with it)... and I'm leaning a bit more toward NCR being better for quality of life in the region. House is better for technological progress, though, and would probably be a better choice in the long run. The independent ending is pretty fucked.

Whats shitty is that in the game files are disabled options, and remnants of others, to create a bortherhood/House peace, and one that would get House to give the strip to the NCR, instead of killing him.

Actually there's out there a mod out there I use to activate the House/Brotherhood alliance.

I went with House first, but I've done everyone but the Legion's quest. Seriously those guys are nuts.

 

[Bat Vader]

I did four play-throughs and picked a different faction in each one. In the end I tended to agree with the NCR even even when I sided with Ceaser. I also liked the Independent one as well.

 

[Unsilenced]

Joined the legion.

I'm not gonna say why.

But I can be a sick fuck sometimes, and being at such a high position, the benefits fit my needs perfectly... (And the fact I'm so confident in my ability, and the fact that I saved Caesar's life, I find it highly unlikely, even if for some failure, to be set to death. I'm just too valuable an asset considering my individual ability".

besides that. NCR would just evolve into an oligarchy/aristocracy like the united states. (Which I view as the worst kind of government, at least with a dictatorship, the concept and leader is in your face, not hiding and lying)

And mr house. Ain't got no beef with him really, but I'm not a drinker or a smoker. And both are encouraged in his vision. They're both poisons that should be eradicated from human culture. (Among all drugs) Of which the legion just so happened to have the same idea .

The Fort may be on top of a hill, but being in Caesar's legion means you will always be on your knees. Contrast this with the independent option, where you can pretty much own all of the everything with a massive securitron army that obeys your every command.

The Legion's "ideals" are a joke, for reasons I've explained above.

EDIT: And you totally just said that weren't going to explain it right before explaining it.

Hell, maybe the Legion *does* suit you.

Caesar was old.

I was young, and his right hand man.

I would've inherited his throne when he died.

And

Mr. house didn't have a robot factory to create more robo-army, so that was bound to end in lack such.

NCR is shit like I explained.

And I only said that the ideals of the legion, only the ridding of drugzz and alchohol/cigarretes from human culture truly appealed to me ideology-wise. Other wise I just wanted in because of, like I said, I can be a "sick person".

Legate Lanius was next in line. You may have done a lot for the Legion, but nobody fucks with the Legate. The men would support him, and you'd destroy your legion before you gained control.

IIRC, the bunker under the fort actually had assembly lines. Besides, controlling the strip means he has workers, soldiers and power. New Vegas can easily support it's own army in addition to the absolute fuckloads of robots. You only see a few dozen at a time in the game, but remember, BEFORE the bunker under the fort opened, there were enough to scare the NCR. AFTER... well they had better just back the fuck up, cuz we got a bad ass over here.

The NCR is a democratic republic and probably has the best human rights record out of all the factions involved. The Legion are child-enslaving rapists, House is a cut-throat objectivist and the independent faction hasn't been formed yet and thus has no record.

If you're playing for the evlulz, a bad independent run is far more satisfying. Legion victory results in mass executions and slavery, sure, but it's a stable enough government. You can on the other hand set things up such that nobody wins, basically destroying everyone and forever turning Vegas into an anarchic shithole.

Also... you're fine with child slavery, rape, torture and crucifixion, but think smoking is bad? I mean, playing Legion for the evlulz is one thing, but thinking they best fit your own morality is kind of fucked up.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

I went into business for myself and sided with Yes Man. I mean, just look at the other factions: The NCR was bloated, corrupt, and spread over far more land than it could reasonably handle; The Legion were slavers, luddites, extreme social darwinist, and fascists; House was a despot (a benevolent despot, mind you) and I didn't like the idea of working under Big Brother, right hand man or not. I wanted to build a kingdom by my own hand, and an independent New Vegas would be the cornerstone of it.

Arguably though, between the other three the House ending had the best intentions for New Vegas. Despot though he may be, House would be a benevolent dictator and had both the resources and lifespan to rebuild New Vegas, raise the overall quality of life, and keep it from falling into anarchy or other factions who would wish to abuse it.

 

[Indecipherable]

NCR and Legion are just invading armies looking to annex sovereign territory ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty ). Legion has simply bizarro morals where vice is a cardinal sin but they are fine to torture that sin right out of you. NCR are by far the lesser of the evils but they think they can just walk in and take it, either by making rules that say it's theirs or by force. They've demonstrated both, one time which stands out is when they took Helios 1 by force against the Brotherhood. None of this is theirs, but they'll make it if you let them.

House all the way for me. I just fell in love with the character. He deals with you honestly, with integrity, he is impartial in how he treats the people of New Vegas, and keeps his word to you. I was pretty shocked at that - I expected him to backstab me at some stage because he was just too good to me. House is the saviour of New Vegas and the rightful leader. House does not have a history of massacre, murder or oppression. He is basically the poster boy of capitalism, however, if that offends you somehow.

House and my Courier(s) (yes multiple, I have tried to ally with other people but just found myself inevitably drawn back to House) form a deep relationship of trust and respect for one another that only grows as the game progresses. Seriously it's just frickin' awesome. At the end when you finally wipe out Legion and tell NCR they aren't welcome as a hostile army at Hoover Dam, it's beautiful. Finally you live a life of absolute luxury with House looking after you until the end of your days, utterly pampered as a good friend, trusted ally, and total fucking badass of the Mojave.

 

[Ruedyn]

Snip

I don't remember the child slavery thing, but as for the torture and rape, i'm pretty sure that the NCR does it too, they are just being more subtle. Crucifixion is evil certainly, but apears to be pretty affective considering they managed to stabilize Arizona, which Raul assures me was quite the shithole. Also my courior was a female, and not many objected to me wearing their armor. I'm not sure if they are sexist considering the females were taken from tribes, which in all likelihood didn't allow them to be warriors. The only thing i'm not sure of is their leadership. I certainly like Caesar, but Lanius I'm not sure about, though he is an... efficient military leader.

 

[Indecipherable]

Snip

I don't remember the child slavery thing, but as for the torture and rape, i'm pretty sure that the NCR does it too, they are just being more subtle. Crucifixion is evil certainly, but apears to be pretty affective considering they managed to stabilize Arizona, which Raul assures me was quite the shithole. Also my courior was a female, and not many objected to me wearing their armor. I'm not sure if they are sexist considering the females were taken from tribes, which in all likelihood didn't allow them to be warriors. The only thing i'm not sure of is their leadership. I certainly like Caesar, but Lanius I'm not sure about, though he is an... efficient military leader.

I'm replaying right now and they are stupendously sexist. When you are invited to meet Caesar the man who introduces himself in New Vegas says he can't believe that Caesar would invite a woman to meet him.

 

[Ruedyn]

I'm replaying right now and they are stupendously sexist. When you are invited to meet Caesar the man who introduces himself in New Vegas says he can't believe that Caesar would invite a woman to meet him.

That sounds like one example. Any more, because an aside from a single guy doesn't sound like stupendous.