Greymane

The Empire. For the plain and simple reason that I've no confidence at all in the Nord's ability to face the Thalmor alone. Their prejudice against both magic and other races will leave them vulnerable and alone when the Thalmor come for them; and they would come for them. The Stormcloaks somehow fail to see that the Thalmor are not merely interested in crushing the Empire, but ANY human independence. Parting ways with the Empire might buy them a little extra time to prepare or the Thalmor might decide to attack them first before turning their sights on Cyrodiil. Either way, a confrontation is inevitable and Skyrim would have poor chance facing the Thalmor by themselves. Reunification of the Empire, or at least evolution into a new organization of united provinces, will be the only way to check the aggression of the Dominion.

Unique texture was more or less what I was talking about. Not that I'd raise any objections to a unique model for each one, but even a basic superficial difference would be something. It just depresses me to stick the Shield of Solitude in a place of honor on my wall, only to later find myself wondering why I've got some random guard shield up there. "Oh, right, that's the symbol of my worth to the Jarl. A shield. That looks like all the shields the guards carry... y'know, now that I think about it, she said she got that out of her personal armory too, but I've been all over the Blue Palace and there isn't anything like an armory in there. She just had her court wizard throw an enchantment on a guards shield while I wasn't looking, didn't she?"

One of my smaller disappointments in Skyrim so far has been how underwhelming being named a Thane is. True, the Jarl does inform you that the title is largely honorary, but by the same token I am beyond certain that no other Thane in their hold had done anywhere near as much for them as I had. Most, it seems, merely bought their title. Yet, I who earned it am gifted with a magical axe that resembles all other magical axes? A shield that looks identical to the shields the guards carry? How are these supposed to serve as signs of my status when even I couldn't tell there was anything unique about them if I wasn't carrying them? So, small vanity, but if anyone is willing to throw it together, it would be wonderful if the items you were given at least had unique appearances to go with them. Not necessarily more powerful, just unique looking. Something you can actually feel proud to put on display in your home or carry with you into battle.

"No." The word, so plainly spoken, swept through the chamber like a Thu'um. The great hall of Sky Haven Temple, already at silence, became still as a tomb. Assembled around the table, Blades both young and old traded looks. All but for Esbern who continued to stare at the armored figure standing at the end of the table, who had spoke that simple word. "Dovahkiin," the old loremaster said slowly. "You cannot deny this. The dragon must be punished for what it has done. The crimes it has committed. The people it has killed-" "Are long dead," the Dovahkiin answered, voice strong and quiet. "So long dead, not their names nor their names of their childrens, childrens, children are still remembered. If the aid he offered in saving our races not once, but twice now has not been enough, then the lonely exile he has endured for these long years surely is. I will not hunt him nor suffer him hunted by another." "He's a monster!" Delphine snapped, the palm of her hand slapping upon the table top. The trio of younger Blades pulled back from the motion in reflex learned in hard lesson on the practice fields. "A murderer! There can be no redemption for what he had done!" The Dovahkiin turned their head towards the glowering woman. "And have you never killed, in your work as a Blade? Are your hands so unsullied?" "I have no shame," she answered, yet turned her eyes away from the calm and overwhelming gaze, focusing instead on the tip of the Dovahkiin's nose so as not to lose face. "What I've done, I did for the Empire. What you suggest now goes against it's interests and the tradition of the Blades. Our oath demands we destroy this beast." "This beast has been my mentor, and my friend, and without him we would not even have the slender hope of stopping the World-Eater that we do now. He wishes only seclusion and perhaps to try and turn what remains of his kind away from their path of destruction. We should be allied with him, not talking of hunting him down like some wild bear." Esbern sighed, deep and weary, as he leaned back in his chair. One could almost hear old joints strain and snap with the motion and he rubbed a shriveled hand across knuckles swollen with age. Of all the warriors, brave and worthy, who surrounded that table, only he would look and meet the Dovahkiins eyes. "I am sorry, Dragonborn, but we cannot accept this. The oath that bids us to slay the dragons is far older, deeper, and more binding than even our duty to the Emperor. The names of the dead may be long forgotten by the world, but we at least still remember that they were once alive. Who else will seek their justice but us?" "I wish it were not so. I respect you a great deal, all of you," the Dovahkiin said, resting palms upon the table and looking up and down at Blades of old and the friends drawn into their ranks. "Anyone who would face creatures of legend armed with nothing but steel and courage deserve respect. But if this is truly your will, I cannot abide this choice." Armor creaked as the Dovahkiin rose back up and cast a look around once more, forcing each in turn to lock gazes before releasing them to consider those words. "You will not harm Paarthurnax, lest you go through me first. Me and every ally I can raise. You will only take him with blood." "Including mine," spoke a voice from the table, as one of the younger Blades abruptly rose. Lydia peeled the helmet from her head and began to unstrap the Akaviri blade from her hip. Delphine opened her mouth with a glare and started to rise, but Esbern caught her arm and drew her back down with a shake of his head. "You are sure of this?" the Dovahkiin asked. There was no look or question to the other two new Blades as to why they had not risen as well. Their silence already answered. "There is talk of oaths here," Lydia said. Her expression was dire, but resolute. She pulled the armor from her torso and laid it down with respect onto the table beside sword and helm. "Well, my oath as your Housecarl is older than any promise I made to Esbern. Where my Thane goes, I go. That is just the way of it." "Then fetch your warmest cloak, my Housecarl, and come. For we go to the Throat of the World." She hastened to do so and the Dovahkiin went to wait at the entry of the temple, trading one last look with Esbern. Both could see the regret in the other. Both could see that neither was willing to bend. They nodded to each other, two souls who had once been allies now keenly aware of how suddenly and drastically that had changed. Respectful opponents, facing one another across a field, before the Dovahkiin vanished into mist and darkness at the temple door. Delphine was not so sentimental, throwing a baneful glare at the Dovahkiin's back. "Well, what now? We placed our hopes the Dragonborn and they've betrayed us. We're more exposed than we've ever been." "But stronger than we have in years," Esbern answered, sinking deep into the stone seat. Feeling smaller and more frail than ever before in the face of what was to come. "And not without resources." "... so be it then. Every contact, every favor I'm still owed. Whatever I can get us, we will have," she turned to look at the two Blades who remained at the table, about to speak until Lydia came striding from the barracks dressed in her old armor and fastening on a heavy winter cloak. There was an exchange of glares, then both ignored the other. "The two of you, we need more recruits if we're going to face the Dragonborn. You've learned combat, now you'll learn discretion, and you'll go out and find them for us." "I had hopped to keep busy fighting dragons," she said, her voice grown quiet and tight as she looked back over and watched Lydia vanish after the Dovahkiin. "Now instead, we have a war." ------ Forgive me my silly little fiction introduction. While I hardly expect anyone to take on a mod of the potential scope I'm about to suggest, I thought I would at least offer the idea to the board and perhaps someone could harvest pieces of it they liked. The Dovahkaal, or Dragon Champions, would be a faction the player could choose to found themselves in answer to the controversial Blade's quest Paarthurnax. They would not initially carry that title, but be given it in time by others and come to wear it with pride. Splitting off from the Blades, the Dovahkiin could convince one (but only one) of their previous followers to come with them and they would embark upon a mission to safeguard the master of High Hrothgar against the machinations of the Blades and others, including independent dragon-hunters and the Thalmor. The Blades, in turn, will expand, carving out further strongholds among ruins and recruiting agents, assassins, and soldiers to employ in a shadow war against the Dovahkiin and their allies. As leader of the Dovahkaal, the player would need to take steps to recruit new members and secure adequate supplies and support. The first step in that would be to gain allies in the town of Ivarstead, who in turn will clue you in to an old ruin hidden part way up the slope. With sufficient coin or charm, they can be convinced to clear away the rubble from the temple doors to grant access. Believed by the locals to be a precursor to High Hrothgar, it was in actuality a place known as Ice Fire Temple, the last stronghold of the Dragon Cult and now inhabited by by their restless spirits and draugr guardians. Clearing the temple will give the faction a stronghold which can be upgraded in the same fashion as a player home, but far more extensively. Entire new wings of the temple could be opened by clearing rubble and having repairs performed. One of the Dovahkaal's first recruits, in a quest given by Paarthurnax, would be the dragoness Mallizvahdin, a friend of old killed by the Blades long after Alduin's defeat but risen again. Cornered by a band of self-styled dragon hunters (with hints dropped they were aimed at her by the Blades) and badly wounded with arrows poisoned with an ancient alchemical formula known as Wyrmbane (a poison dangerous not merely to dragons, but it would be learned the painful way, Dragonborn as well), after the player rescues her she would take up residence in Ice Fire Temple and serve assistant while her wounds healed. After a brief quest to get local leaders in Ivarstead to accept the notion of a dragon near by, she would be were stronghold upgrades are bought and hand out most of the faction quests. As with the Blades, players would recruit from followers new members to the Dovahkaal. Membership is larger, though limited by space available in Ice Fire Temple (sections must be cleared before more followers can be recruited). Each named recruit would also spawn with them two Dovahkaal Warriors who would wander and guard the temple or Ivarstead near by. New random encounters would spring up, such as assassins employed by the Blades disguised as typical farmers driven out by dragon-attack, Blade hunters battling a dragon, young warriors on their way to Ice Fire Temple to join, and, extremely rarely and only after completion of certain number of faction quests, non-hostile dragons who seek the Dovahkaal's protection. These dragons would take up wing around the Throat of the World, similar to Odahviing. Each one so recruited becomes a 'sponsor' to mortal recruit, granting them their Dovahkaal armor (whatever that may be) and schooling them in the Voice, allowing them over time to master a few basic Shouts. The culmination of the Dovahkaal quest line would be a prolonged and open assault upon the Blades stronghold, each of which is taken over and placed under the command of a named follower and their dragon-sponsor, until finally Sky Haven Temple itself is assaulted and the Dovahkiin must confront their old followers and the last true Blades, Esbern and Delphine.

I'm actually surprised to hear people had trouble with him. I've done beat him with everything from a laser rcw & power armor to the ratslayer & NCR trooper armor. At one point, I just ran around keeping his attention with pot-shots with the Mysterious Magnum while my companions and allies tore him and his bodyguards apart. Easiest time I had was going "unarmed" with a displacer glove. Went through a lot of healing items since I was taking more hits, but he also went down faster than when I shot things at him. If he's really giving you that hard a time, then mines probably are the best way to go. Frags, bottlecaps. Just dump a load of them somewhere he's going to have to walk over and let him blow himself up. If you're sneaky enough, then planting bombs on him might work too. Haven't tried that one though, so could be he's set up to not let you stealth up to him.

That's very good advice, Ruadhan2300. I just wish I personally had some skill to contribute to the whole mod making process (in general, not just this one specific). I've been told I'm a good writer and I have a lot of experience running pen and paper role-playing games, so I'm good at that angle, but it seems like most modders and mod-teams handle that sort of thing on their own and don't need anyone to specifically cover it. If you don't know your way around G.E.C.K. or texture/modeling editing, you're sort of stuck like me, throwing out ideas and hoping someone finds them interesting enough to use them. If nyteschayde is serious about tackling it in some form though, I'd love to lend whatever hand I possibly could.

1. The comic is non-canonical and makes so many mistakes on other things that it seems bizarre to take it at it's word that Benny even wears a checkered suit, let alone the relative strength of any faction. 2. See your own answer to 5 on role-playing vs game mechanics. Very Hard difficulty isn't "the way the world is meant to be," it's a deliberate mechanical challenge for the player. I've seen Powder Gangers on other difficulty levels get taken down by bloat flies and I have personally, alone and with nothing but a knife on Very Hard difficulty, killed every single Powder Ganger in the world. If we're judging by these standards then the Powder Gangers are laughably pathetic, but then that wouldn't be role-playing. 3. Deep role-playing strictly involves siding with whoever is convenient at the time and can get you the most equipment and have the easiest time moving around, even when two of these allies have interests that run counter to one another? So, you're only role-playing if you're playing a selfish and duplicitous character. That's an interesting way to look at it. 4. Again, deep role-playing is about whoever gives you the best mechanical advantage? If that's the case, you're better off siding with Goodsprings. You'll get far more ammo and equipment by looting dead Powder Gangers and clearing out the NCRCF than you could from Good Springs. 5. Yeah, if you couldn't guess, this was the statement that had me shaking my head in befuddlement. After giving answers to Nohbodey strictly from a "what will benefit me mechanically the most" standpoint or using skewed difficulty levels (a game mechanic) as a meter to judge characters, you then accuse anyone who sides with Goodsprings as being two-dimensional because... they're doing it for the mechanical benefits. That's just silly. What if you're playing an NCR supporter who realizes that the only reason the Powder Gangers are operational at all is because the NCR is overstretched and takes it upon themselves to help fix the situation? What if your character is just someone who won't tolerate bullies, no matter if they're wearing a prison uniform or a military uniform? What if Goodsprings just reminds your character of home? What if you're character is actually grateful to them for patching him/her up? You can come up with any number of role-play reasons to side with Goodsprings, without giving a single thought to anything mechanically related. Just like you could for any faction, Powder Gangers included. Your character is no more or less deep for siding with anyone. If you prefer the Powder Gangers, more power to you, but don't try to act like anyone who prefers siding with Goodsprings is somehow playing the game wrong or in an inferior way to you, because clearly your own reasons are no different than what you claim theirs would be.

Having finished all the endings in New Vegas after multiple playthroughs, I started thinking about Fallout 3 again and how much better it could have been. Don't get me wrong, I still love Fallout 3. Unlike a lot of people seem to, I didn't feel that it was some sort of anti-Fallout or needed to be considered out of continuity for the universe. It was a far more entertaining sandbox to play in than New Vegas (where I honestly felt like you were on rails for virtually the entire thing) and thought it had some interesting ideas that just lacked for proper execution. Still, after a few days of thinking about it I realized that more than anything, I'd love to see the story in Fallout 3 rewritten. The first thing I'd change is who James was and what he was really trying to accomplish with Project Purity. It's stated goals are somewhat nonsensical. The Capital Wasteland already has water purifiers. We're told about them in both Megaton and Rivet City. While these are small scale affairs, they're apparently enough for these communities to have survived and even thrived. While a massive purifier for the entire tidal basin might not be a bad thing, communities in the area could have been better served by the development of more reliable and easier to repair small-scale purifiers. So, what could Project Purity really have been for? The answer is found two fold, in the character of James and the skies of the Capital Wasteland. First comes James, the Lone Wanderer's father. Who was he? In this incarnation of the story, he was not some random Follower of the Apocalypse-esqe scientist. Rather, James was a former Enclave scientist. He had been a child in Navarro when his family joined Autumn Senior on the exodus to Ravenrock. As they crossed the wasteland, a young James had witnessed first hand the decay and savagery that had befallen America. He watched as Enclave soldiers were forced to fight against feral ghouls, primitive wastelanders, or mutated animals at nearly every refueling point, at times even being overrun and forced to retreat with their vehicles tanks half-empty. He saw and would remember how many of their numbers were left by the wayside as vertibirds ran out of fuel or broke down on the long journey, leaving those who had been friends and companions like a trail of breadcrumbs across the waste. These memories would stick with James through-out the years at Ravenrock as he was brought up and went into the scientific field, completely against his military parents desires. It was while doing research on old data logs brought from Navarro that James learned about the FEV virus and the Final Solution concocted by Enclave leaders years ago. He began to dig deeper into the data and of his own initiative began small scale FEV experiments. He saw the FEV virus as a solution to the horrors he had witnessed on the journey east. With the Capital Wasteland beset by raiders and super mutants, overrun with strains of mutated humanity, the Final Solution that seemed even more necessary now than it had in the days of President Richardson. By this time, however, the leadership of the Enclave had changed considerably. Neither President John Henry Eden nor Colonel Autumn had any desire to repeat the efforts, and possibly the mistakes, of the Enclave on the West Coast. When James's experiments came to light, he was forbidden from pursuing the matter further and the files on the FEV were sealed away within President Eden's personal memory banks. Refusing to let the matter go, James attempted to break into Eden and steal the data, but failed. Forced to flee from Ravenrock with Enclave security in pursuit, James barely escaped with his life. He spent the next several years wandering the Capital Wasteland incognito, selling his skills as a doctor and watching in disgust what he saw as wasteland humanity making their flimsy efforts to establish civilization. Hit worse than perhaps any other location in the United States by the bombs of the Great War, the blasted and barren Capital Wasteland could only barely support life. Water was plentiful, yet contained to basins and streams, rather than the air, and the ground seemed unwilling to let plants take root. Birds did not migrate, crops almost never grew, livestock was often feeble and sickly, the skies stayed bleak and empty for months on end. Though the radiation of 200 years ago was largely faded into the background, unlike the West Coast humanity had yet to make a recovery. Witnessing all this, James slowly formulated a plan. He started to collect around him a small group of well-intentioned Wasteland scientists and even convinced the increasingly idealistic Elder Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel to lend their support. To them, he proposed something grand. Project Purity; an attempt to restart the clogged and stagnated ecosystem of the capital wastelands. To bring back the rains lost to atomic fire 200 years ago. To make the wasteland grow green once again. In secret, however, he worked on Project Purity's true purpose; to introduce a modified Forced Evolutionary Virus into the atmosphere itself, allowing it to spread across the globe with the wind and the rain and wipe out every last trace of mutant humanity on planet Earth. Working off memory alone, he began to attempt to recreate the FEV. Time and again, his efforts failed, while Project Purity progressed splendidly. More than once, James was forced to slow their efforts with sabotage. In the end, however, two things would happen that would put on hold Project Purity's secret goals and it's stated ones. The first was James' relationship with Cathrine, a completely unexpected and yet honest development. James love for her not only distracted him from his work, but started him on a path to find some way he might spare her, and soon the child they would produce, from it's ravages. It led him towards exploring the history of the Vaults, which included the still-sealed Vault 101. The second event was the coming of the Vault 87 Super Mutants, with whom the Brotherhood of Steel feel almost immediately into hostilities with. Their support for the project withdrawn as they committed forces elsewhere, the work station at the Jefferson Memorial came under increasing threat from raider clans who had long lurked near by. Faced with increasing attacks by raiders and even probes by the Super Mutants who saw them as allies to the Brotherhood, James realized that their position at the Memorial was rapidly becoming untenable. Needing somewhere safe not merely to continue his work, but to keep his child as well, James broke up Project Purity and made for Vault 101. Later in the game, James should actually become a full-on Companion and travel with his child so that you can learn more about him and see what a well-intentioned and yet deeply flawed individual he is. You would see the combination of bitterness, horror, and earnest desire to "fix" the world that would lead him to try something so drastic and terrible. In addition to learning about him, he can learn about you. Taking him to places you have visited, showing him the effects your efforts have had, you should be able to sway your father off the path he has set himself on. Demonstrate to him that there is hope for the Wasteland and the people who live there. Or, alternatively, you can end up reaffirming his convictions, if not openly joining him in his goals. This will ultimately come to a head when you travel to Vault 87, where depending on prior events, you are there to either locate a G.E.C.K. and/or a batch of FEV.

Wondering if anyone might be willing to do a texture edit on a couple of coats. Not particular about which ones, beyond that they should be long coats. I'm essentially looking for two flag-styled coats, one American and the other British. For lore purposes, obviously the the US flag coat could be styled after the 'cowpens' flag used by the United States government in the Fallout universe. As for the the Union Jack coat, well... see the image below. Male and female fits would also be appreciated. http://www.studio-international.co.uk/studio-images/anglomania/Jacket_b.jpg

I already posted my suggestion for Vault 25 in the Mod Request thread, a Vault that tested to see how the model American family endured in the face of constant subtle socialist propaganda (to which my answer would have been "Far better than most of those poor saps."), but, hmm, what else? How about a Vault where half the population was secretly given the ability to spy on the other half at all times through secret cameras? Or a Vault that was actually two completely separate Vaults, divided by gender and forbidden to meet, where reproduction was handled purely by artificial insemination? To maximize the results of the experiment, the initial Vault population consisted entirely of middle-aged married couples. Or a Vault where there were at least a hundred painful but non-lethal traps concealed in every room (400 in the Overseers office alone) and every Vault resident was blind? Maybe a Vault where once every generation, one random person out of it's assigned 1000 was given a Vault suit with it's colored reversed (yellow with a blue hem).

From a gameplay perspective, there is no particular downside to helping the Powder Gangers at NCRCF out. No more than there is for helping the people at Goodsprings out (which is to say 'Help one, the other doesn't like you'). Doing the NCRCF missions doesn't make any other faction angry with you. Even if you help the Powder Gangers repulse a raid (which is easier said than done, since NCR troopers can cut through Powder Gangers laughably fast), the NCR doesn't get mad at you. They've got a shop you can trade at and kind of a doctor, so you don't miss out on any services you might get from Goodsprings. From a roleplaying standpoint, I can't say I see them all that compelling or interesting to help either. Even my evil characters would be hard pressed to find anything worthwhile about them. They're petty criminals who just happened to luck out in catching the NCR at the worst possible time. They've got no ambitions, no goals, few resources; they just want to sit at NCRCF and raid caravans that aren't even coming through the area anymore. There is no culture or history, like with the Great Khans. They're basically the Fiends, only with a better dress code and not enough sense to target and area where people actually go. No matter who wins, I'd wager that in less than a year they'd be reduced to a status more pathetic than even the Jackals. The Vault 19 Powder Gangers are far more interesting, but they're also Powder Gangers in name only, since they share absolutely no traits with the others beyond having started out prisoners and enjoying dynamite.

Hm... a good entry into this concept: In the high mountains near Jacobstown, you encounter Old Joe, a strange ghoul with an unusual accent and a thick mustache who lives in a shack next to a particularly ancient vertibird. The vertibird has a bear decal on it, though if you look close you'd notice it wasn't the NCR's two-headed bear. Old Joe has exactly two desires: vodka and getting the vertibird running again. You can help him out with both.

I'm probably in a minority here, but I actually really liked what they did with the Brotherhood in FO3. At least as a concept. The execution left something to be desired, but to a point I thought it was a great turn for them and fit fine within what is known about the Brotherhood. I think the thing that some people overlooked was that the East Coast Brotherhood turning defender of the people was pretty much entirely Elder Lyon's choice and we hear basically no other members of their chapter agreeing with it. They go along with it because following their Elder is what the Brotherhood does. Those who believed more in their original mission left, becoming the Outcasts (who I think ended up presented as too belligerent, being the representation of traditionalist Brotherhood views. The Brotherhood has never cared about outsiders, but they haven't hated them on general principle). The East Coast Brotherhood are virtually what Veronica wanted to do with her Chapter, not counting the fact that the East Coast Brotherhood ended up too embroiled in conflict with the Super Mutants and the Enclave to turn their technology towards anything but war (because war... war never changes). Provided the Capital Wasteland doesn't end up eating them up completely, they're practically the only branch of the Brotherhood that seems like it has any chance to both survive and thrive on a long term basis.

I would post there, but looking at the thread you seem to have already put up an almost identical idea in your second post. The only difference really is in the details, which it seems like I'd be cutting out almost all of to repost this concept in a similar style.

Washington and lower British Columbia. The area, unlike the rest of the Wasteland, could be gripped in a near constant winter of rain-and-snow just to give a different sort of environment. The NCR would have expanded northward to try and take advantage of the vast swaths of forests that have regrown over the past several hundred years with limited human interference, so continuing their involvement in the story. Mount Saint Helen's would be active and being tapped by someone as a geothermal power source. It would be great exploring the ruins of Seattle or Victoria, seeing at least a bit of what became of Canada without moving totally outside the traditional United States setting.

Heh, ditto. About NCR Crimes: Of the examples you listed of NCR soldiers, only Conteras necessarily conveys what I was trying to imply. Mean Son-of-Botch was tortured years ago by soldiers in the Hub. It wasn't anyone on the Mojave area and, more importantly, we never saw it happening nor the individuals involved. Bitter-Springs was an accident, to believe Boon or anyone else involved. It was an inexcusable event, but there was never the impression that the soldiers involves were gunning down civilians because they wanted to. Contreras kind of works, as he was selfishly abusing his authority for personal gain, though his crimes also weren't of the most shocking sort. My thoughts were more along the lines of modern day incidents like Guantanamo Bay. Even a soldier taking it upon himself to 'returning the favor' to Legionaries for torturing other troopers would have been something, but instead the worst we really see happening is a corrupt supply officer, another who is willing to allow a third party to smack a prisoner of war around, and a third who wants fellow troopers to collect ears off dead enemies. None of this is exactly 'horrors of war.' On the point of individual good: I concede that point. I will only alter my previous statement to say that the NCR troopers in general, though far from universally, seem more inclined towards acts of individual good than the Legion. It may just be that we don't see enough of the Legion to tell, but the fact remains that we see NCR soldiers taking the initiative to try and help others from time to time (the relief effort in Freeside, the struggle to keep refugees safe in Bitter-Springs, the troopers at Searchlight maintaining their post to warn travelers away, ect...), where as when someone in the Legion takes initiative it's always to cause harm in some way. We never encounter the Explorer risking himself to escort people who want to join the Legion across hostile land, the Priestess whose taken up responsibility of caring for an orphaned child of a Dissolute an attempting to raise them in what she sees as the proper way, ect... We don't even get something obvious, like Carl in Red Rock arranging to have clean water sent to the Great Khans. About the Legion: Caesar is not a mustache twirling, the Legion is. As Marcus points out, the Legion is following Caesar, not not his ideals. There is no particular indication that any of them even know what his ideals are. They're fighting for the glory of Caesar, not to unify the Wastelands. They're also doing something heinous in almost every event you encounter them in, hence coming off as nothing but a collection of Latin-spewing thugs. As for a "clear line of people" set up to succeed Caesar, there is no indication of that. Boone will make mention that Caesar was grooming an heir, but that's it. We don't see this heir nor how the Legion responds to him nor even how well he has taken to the lessons given to him. The idea that someone being intelligent meaning they've covered every contingency or possess great judgment of character is faulty. The game alone demonstrates that in the relationship between Mr. House and Benny, if not Mr. House and the Courier as well. What tends to happen to groups united behind a singular charismatic visionary is that once that person is dead, the group falls apart. This is, by all indication, what the Legion is. They are not united in an ideology, but out of fear and loyalty to one man. It takes extraordinary circumstances to hold such groups together. Mind you, I don't think the Legion would fall apart overnight without Caesar at the helm. As you say, it's system is set up in such a way that 'The Legion' is the only group identity most of them have left and the strength of it's army alone will keep it secure from outside threats until and unless that strength exhausts itself. The Legion is an organization that promotes on merit and Caesar earned his place with blood, while an heir may well be handed reigns of power and expected to earn them afterward. If the heir proves something less than Caesar was, it is not difficult to see loyalties shifting towards the more capable commanders who may surround him. Also, I concede the point on their espionage and dedication being rather huge advantages. I hadn't given that enough consideration and you are right in those giving them an edge over many groups. If they were able to plant an agent into the NCR years before the two organizations ever came into conflict, they are clearly skilled in that area. About Mr. House: Hence the whole "not counting the possibility of the spectacular" part, on a Legion/NCR accord. Anything is possible, but somethings have the odds stacked astronomically against them. The problem with Mr. House and his calculations is what I tried to get at previously. House is extremely good with numbers and extremely bad with people. Amazing as they are, his calculations never seem to consider the human factor. Whatever plans he has worked out, the fact doesn't change that he's going to need to get the resources to accomplish them from somewhere other than New Vegas and the NCR, at the moment, is the only place they seem likely to come from. There is a great limit to just what Kimball could be blamed for. No one is going to blame him for Mr. House showing up on the eve of victory, killing their soldiers and commanding officer, and declaring independence. Or rather, they might blame him for putting them in a position to have that happen, but that doesn't mean they won't blame Mr. House too. The NCR had won at Hoover Dam in this ending and House had made absolutely no attempts at diplomacy following the New Vegas Treaty. There was no airing of grievances, no attempt to come to an agreement. Whether or not an agreement could have even been made with the current NCR leadership is going to be seen as irrelevant when he made no attempt to do so. Kimball will most certainly be thrown from office via the will of the people, but those same people would not be particularly inclined to go give their money to New Vegas anymore, no matter how neon the place was, after Mr. House committed an act such as that. That lack of the human factor is what I see as the major flaw in Mr. House's plans. Not just on an individual level, but universal. I think he has an extremely fair estimation of his own abilities. The man is a genius who, with support, could jump start human technological progress. His problem is that he is completely out of touch with other people. He was even before he became a giant robobrain and after several decades is almost certainly more so. He doesn't understand them. They don't work the way he wants them to. If everyone obeyed the numbers, followed his calculations, I'm sure his plains would come to fruition just as he charted them out. Also, I may have painted an inaccurate picture of my opinion of the NCR on the moral front. I'm well aware that they are an overwhelmingly corrupt government lead by incompetents. I'm well aware that they're just 'people,' not moral exemplars, but I prefer them because unlike most of the rest of the factions in the Wasteland, they are mostly presented as just people and not crazy people. As for their capabilities, I probably am overestimating them on that front.

I more had the impression that Mr. House had Securitrons seeded throughout the entire Mojave area to monitor it. Victor mentions in one dialog that he can hop around from one Securitron body to the next, implying that the Victor you meet in Goodsprings, Novac, Boulder City, and so forth aren't the same Securitron body. In fact, you can find his abandoned body in Goodsprings sometimes, after progressing the storyline enough for him to appear in Novac.

Just to start, I realize the chances of someone actually working on a mod as detailed and complicated as this are basically non-existent. My primary purpose for posting the concept outline is in the hopes the ideas might get scavenged and used elsewhere. At the moment I'll just post what I have now and will probably add more later on. If anyone wants to steal any part of it for their own project or, by some dim chance, actually attempt to make it, they've got my blessing. Just let me know, since I'd be interesting in following what you do. A History of Vault 25 MoleCo was a small independent contractor specializing in the construction of personal fallout shelters and bunkers. In 2073, funded by the Cold Creek Civil Defense Initiative (a civilian organization founded by Cold Creek resident and cereal-mogul Horus Mills intended to address local fears - specifically his own - regarding a potential nuclear war), MoleCo created the Cold Creek Communal Bunker Project. The Cold Creek Project was to be the test bed for MoleCo’s own line of vault-style scale shelters. Intended to allow the company to compete with Vault-Tec, the Communal Bunker was designed to cater to smaller middle-class communities who found many of their numbers left off Vault-Tec’s exclusive acceptance lists. Completed in 2074, the project was a success, finished both on time and under budget, and MoleCo seemed primed to compete openly with their larger rival as orders began pouring in from communities across the United States. MoleCo broke ground on their second communal bunker, this one in Rhode Island, but before any significant work could be completed found themselves subject to a hostile takeover by Vault-Tec. Backed by government dollars, Vault-Tec successfully seized control of MoleCo and immediately canceled the communal bunker project. Though no further small-scale bunkers wold be constructed, as a PR maneuver Vault-Tec chose to honor MoleCo’s promise of maintenance and support for Cold Creek by ‘adopting’ the bunker into the Vault-Tec family of Vaults. Officially designated Vault 25, the Cold Creek Bunker was expanded marginally to accommodate additional monitoring equipment and refitted to fit a more standardized Vault appearance, but no major structural work was done. Unlike the Vaults commissioned by the United States Government, the Cold Creek Bunker was always intended to be a relatively small underground facility, offering long-term shelter and protection for only the roughly twenty families living in Cold Creek at the time and is barely one fifth the size of a standard Vault. At least five more families, tourists in or passing through Cold Creek, were allowed access when it’s doors sealed at the outbreak of the Great War, making it one of the only Vaults to willingly allow unregistered outsiders entry. Vault 25 also included the unusual edition of animal pens intended for the rescue of prize horses and cattle from the ranches in the community. The animals fared very poorly in the underground environment and those that did not die from natural causes during the first year were later put down as a mercy. Nearly 27 years later, these pens would prove vital in the domestication of mole rats who had burrowed into the Vault after their own underground layers were sealed on the surface by Mojave residents trying to eliminate the pests. Vault 25 residence have relied on mole rat ranching to supplement their food stores every since. Thanks to Horus Mills, the Bunker also represented the greatest stockpile of radiation free Sugar Bombs in the world which not a single Vault residence since Horus Mills has eaten, but which became an important fodder for the mole rats. Vault 25 had gone largely undiscovered by the world at large for nearly the entirety of it's existence. Now, more than two hundred years later, Vault 25 at last opens it’s door to the world and sends out it’s first explorers to examine the potential of settling the surface. They find the ruins of Cold Creek around them, they find the distant lights of New Vegas shining, but most of all they find you. The Mod Concept A story-driven community building game where the Courier becomes a sort of guide to and diplomat from the Wasteland, if not defacto leader, to a group of Vault-dwellers who have literally just opened their doors for the first time when the Courier happens to stumble across them. Vault 25 is occupied by largely well adjusted and good intentioned, but hopelessly naive individuals. It is, in a sense, much like Vault 3 only where as Vault 3 had the gross misfortune to encounter the Fiends upon opening their doors, Vault 25 encounters the Courier (also possibly to their gross misfortune). There would be numerous quests the Courier could partake to help the Vault residents adjust to the outside world. Everything from to bringing them potential spouses to expand their narrowing bloodlines to teaching them to scavenge and build from recycled materials to building diplomatic relations with other factions in the Wasteland. They would slowly build a community around their Vault entrance from the ruins of Cold Creek, shaped greatly by the Courier’s influence. Immoral Couriers could, of course, merely kill them all or sell them to the Legion, but additional options could include corrupting them into one large brothel, transforming the Vault into a drug lab, or even manipulate the residents of Vault 25 into his/her own private raider force. The MoleCo back story is there more or less to explain why, unlike most Vaults, you should be able to actually explore every part of Vault 25. It's merely that there is less of it to explore since it was only intended to hold about 100 people instead of 1000. Also, for the record, like most locations already in Fallout New Vegas, Cold Creek is a real location not far from Las Vegas. Vault Experiment Through investigation of the computer systems, the Courier would learn that the purpose of the Vault 25 social experiment was to test the capability of the standard upper-middle class American family to endure with it’s democratic loyalties intact in the presence of subtle socialist propaganda. Every book, magazine, holofilm, and musical recording sent to Vault 25 was from the United States Unamerican Activities Force “blacklist” of entertainment deemed too sympathetic to Communist ideals. The Overseer’s guidelines were rewritten to take on a more socialist approach to governing the Vault and even called for a dissolution of the position following the death of the first Overseer and the formation of a Vault Community Counsel in his place, assigning the Overseer's duties to a new resident each week. Unlike most Vaults, the Overseer of Vault 25 knew nothing of the social experiment taking place in his Vault. Additionally, three of the five families who “happened” to be vacationing in Cold Creek at the time the Vault sealed were known Communist Fifth Columnists secretly forced into the town by UAF agents. Part of the initial test was to see if the Vault’s assigned residents would even allow strangers of unknown political ideology into their homes. Rather than having the negative effect estimated by Vault-Tec researchers, Vault 25 actually remained a stable community longer than many others. The planted Columnists engaged in no major acts of sabotage after realizing their own chances for survival were far better within the Vault and the open forum offered by the Vault Community Counsel allowed for a sense of communal purpose and open discussion not seen in most other Vaults. The system was not, however, without it's flaws. With a shared sense of responsibility largely went the urge for personal drive and betterment. Vault 25 could maintain itself adequately, yet saw almost nothing in the way of dynamic visionaries after the passing of it's first generation residents. Those who followed seemed to grow progressively less creative and more docile, willing to continue the mostly plodding doldrums of Vault life while they waited for the years to count down until the Vault doors would open. There are at least a handful of "radicals" among the remaining population, the nearness of the day the Vault was scheduled to be open seeming to awake a sleeping vibrancy in some of the younger generation and already many begin to draw up their own plans for how to deal with life on the surface world. New Equipment The mod would feature a two more or less lore-friendly outfits; the Vault-Tec Sealed Exploration Suit and the Vault-Tec Sealed Security Suit. I call them more-or-less lore friendly as this sort of thing always struck me as something that would be included in most Vaults and yet strangely never was. The player will learn from computer records that due to errors in production and shipping manifests, every known copy of the Sealed Exploration Suit and the Sealed Security Suit were accidentally printed with the 25 designated and shipped to Vault 25, instead of every Vault receiving shipments as intended. The result has been that the remaining residents of Vault 25 have continued to wear Sealed Exploration Suits long after running out of standard Vault Suits and still possessive a massive stockpile them. Sealed Security Suits, being somewhat more rare, are held in reserve. Vault-Tec Sealed Exploration Suit: Radiation Suit in Vault-Tech colors. Intended for post atomic-holocaust exploration. Somewhat less effective at protecting it’s wearer from radiation than a standard suit, but also slightly more durable. Virtually every Vault 25 resident will be wearing one of these when first encountered, as it is the last form of Vault-Tec issued clothing they have in great supply. Unlike a standard Radiation Suit, the helmet is a separate piece. Vault-Tec Sealed Security Suit: Combination of Vault Security Armor and Radiation Suit, in appearance just a Sealed Exploration Suit with a ballistic vest and padded joints. Intended for post atomic-holocaust exploration. The Sealed Security Suit offers protection from both radiation and physical assault. While Vault 25 still possesses a large number of these suits, only a few residents actually wear them as the suits are still rare compared to the Sealed Exploration Suit. NPCs Horus Mills (Deceased): Cereal mogul Horus Mills is perhaps best remembered in the Wasteland for his most famous and prolific creation, Sugar Bombs. Yet, this was only one of several dozen food-like breakfast products that sprang from the mind of this under looked genius. As founder and CEO of Cereal Mills, one of the largest American processed food stuff producers, Horus Mills was most personally involved in the Advanced Cereals and Pastry Department of his company. It was thanks to his hard work that Sugar Bombs were declared by multiple health and news publications as “Atomically, and Additively, Delicious” (the term ‘health risk’ was thrown around a few times as well). Unfortunately Mr. Mills’ personal involvement in the Advanced Cereals and Pastry Department resulted in much of his company untended and many areas suffered from a sever lack of quality control and rampant corporate espionage. Claims of wide spread food poisoning from people who had consumed Captain Horus’ Fresh Fish Fillet Frozen Dinners, and the subsequent lawsuits from the survivors, forced Horus to partition off and sell nearly all of his companies assets. He managed to retain control of only the breakfast food production. Though generally patriotic, Horus’ obsession with the potential of a Communistic attack on American soil followed after he uncovered hints that the frozen dinner incident may have been a case of deliberate sabotage, possibly by Communist infiltrators, and that the former Frozen Dinner Department of Cereal Mills, now under new management and renamed Moma Dolce’s Processed Food, even at that moment many have been merely a front for a Communist invasion of the United States. When American intelligence agencies dismissed his claims and he was rejected for placement in one of Vault-Tech’s vaults (breakfast food invention being dubbed a “Non-Vital” skill in the post-atomic apocalypse world), Horus returned to his boyhood home in Cold Creek Nevada and founded the Cold Creek Civil Defense Initiative along side long-time friend Byron Wilson. Despite the insistence by friends, relatives, neighbors, and the numerous psychiatrists they hired, Horus liquidated nearly all of his remaining assets into a combination of cash and Sugar Bombs and hired MoleCo to build the Cold Creek Communal Bunker. When MoleCo was later taken over by Vault-Tech and the Bunker folded into the Vault project, Horus was granted the position of Vault Overseer. His first act of preparation for the potential nuclear holocaust was to ensure his Vault would have an adequate supply of Sugar Bombs to last them the projected 200 years. Byron Wilson (Deceased): Former RobCo engineer Byron Wilson was the designer of Giddiyup Buttercup, the atomic-powered robotic horse. A loving father who designed Giddiyup Buttercup under his daughters "strict supervision," Byron Wilson was an earnest believer in the need to keep children happy and distracted from the escalating violence of the world. He brought the design to his superiors at RobCo in the hopes of bringing the robotic manufacturer into the ever shrinking toy market, but Giddiyup Buttercup was personally dismissed by Edwin Robert House as “patently ridiculous” and “the biggest waste of time I’ve ever seen.” Undaunted by this, Byron Wilson left RobCo to found his own company, Wilson Atomatoys, to produce his creation. The first Giddiyup Buttercup rolled off the assembly line in 2042. Wilson Atomatoys launched a highly aggressive advertising campaign which included stunts such as a rodeo on which beautiful cowgirls rode Giddiyup Buttercups and launching a long ranged probe that contained nothing but a Giddiyup Buttercup because “even little girls on other worlds want one.” Despite it’s astronomic price tag, the toy proved an unparalleled success and Wilson Atomatoys shot to the head of the toy manufacturing market in little more than four months. This success was redoubled the following year when Byron Wilson, who by then had taken an interest in miniaturization, produced the much more affordable Giddiyup Buttercup dolls. This success drew the attention of elements within his former employer RobCo, who managed to pressure a reluctant Robert Edwin House into purchasing Wilson Atomatoys and folding it into RobCo the very day it went public. Back under RobCo employ again, Wilson turned his abilities towards popular RobCo patented robots and produced an entire series of RobCo Combat Ready Action Toys for Boys. The most popular among this line was Sam Sentry, a fully functional RobCo Sentry Bot complete with operational gatling laser, produced at 1/10th scale. Though the RobCo toy line proved moderately successful, none of them equaled the success of Giddiyup Buttercup and, following the rather lukewarm reception of Patty Protectron (Pink Painted Guardian of Little Girls Secrets), Robert Edwin House closed down the RobCo Toys subdivision. Though out of work, Byron Wilson was by this time already independently wealthy and rather than pursue work elsewhere, retired to his ranch in Cold Creek where he would continue to work on numerous toy projects in private as a hobby and spent time with his wife and daughter. When longtime friend and fellow Cold Creeker Horus Mills returned home and began trying to convince locals of the immediate threat posed by Communist China, Byron reluctantly helped him found the Cold Creek Civil Defense Initiative. Though not as earnest about it, Byron considered creating a safe place for the children of the Cold Creek community to take refuge in case of a disaster to be worth investing in. After Vault-Tech took over the Communal Bunker, Byron Wilson was assigned as Vault 25's head engineer though he also doubled as the Vault’s instructor until his death. Giddiyup Battlecup (Companion, Pet): One of the last creations of Byron Wilson before his death, Giddiyup Battlecup was originally intended to combat the naked molerat invasion in Vault 25s lower floors. Giddiyup Battlecup is a heavily modified Giddiyup Buttercup (his daughters, specifically) which features armor plating, electrified shock-hooves, and twin lasers installed into it’s eyes. It also features an extensive AI upgrade to take advantage of these features and an eagerness for battle, though it retains it’s original directive to adore children. Giddiyup Battlecup proved overwhelmingly successful at containing the naked molerat infestation until Vault residents were able to begin capturing and domesticating their offspring for the Vault. With no external threats to the Vault since then, Giddiyup Battlecup has been harnessed for a variety of tasks, but mostly to give rides to children. The Courier could convince Vault residents to allow him to take Giddiyup Battlecup with a high Speech check OR after making a Science check to discover that inside Giddiyup Battlecup, Byron Wilson had hidden the location of at least a dozen Giddiyup Buttercups buried in the Nevada desert after RobCo Toys closed it’s door. The Courier can then offer to to locate and convert them all to defensive robots in return for borrowing Giddiyup Battlecup. As a companion, Giddiyup Battlecup can carry considerable weight compared to other pet companions and grants the Pest Control perk, granting bonus damage against mutated bugs and animals. It's weapons, however, are somewhat ineffective against well armored targets. Giddiyup Battlecup’s personal quest is “My Kingdom for a Horse” and centers the mysterious fate the buried Giddiyup Buttercups.

I figure I might as well throw my two cents in here. NCR I have mixed feelings about the NCR, though I do think they're ultimately my preferred faction. One thing demonstrated through out the game is that though the upper echelons of power in the NCR tend to be corrupt and even incompetent, the regular citizens and soldiers of the NCR are basically good folks who believe in what they're doing. It's actually a little bit too slanted on that point I think. We never see individual NCR soldiers committing war crimes or even just blatantly distasteful acts, even though such things happen in ever war. Nor do we get too much in the way of jingoism or propaganda spewing, which you'd really expect to see a least a little of. Even so, on the whole it gives a strong impression of what the NCR is like. That despite it's corrupt leadership, there is still a great propensity for good within the NCR even if it's just on the individual level. Individuals in the NCR will even go against the mandates of their leaders, if their conciseness tells them it's the right thing to do. They have the freedom to do so, assumed if not by law. This is both a great strength and a great weakness for them, as it leaves them somewhat less unified and disciplined than you would see under other factions, yet also saves them from the sort of insane adherence to dogma that makes so many other factions in the Wasteland just seem like a collection of crazy people. I do think that even with success at Hoover Dam, events in the Mojave are going to kick of what will be a swift burn out in their expansionist agenda. The great losses and massive cost of the war will pile heavily on the NCR. It's leaders will almost assuredly attempt to keep pushing onwards, which will only hurt them more. If they butt up against another rising power in the Wasteland like the Legion, they're more or less doomed to be forced back. They didn't really have the ability to even beat the Legion as it stood, they most certainly won't be able to take on a faction who are more comparable to them in terms of technology and equipment. The NCR is going to have to learn to consolidate it's holdings and it's a lesson it will unfortunately have to learn the hard way. The Legion In very sharp contrast to the NCR, the Legion seems to really have almost no room for individual good to take place, not even much place for initiative. Their actions are guided purely by their leadership. If the Caesar ordered them to build bridges, repair roads, and pet puppies, they would. If he told them to rape, pillage, and murderer, they'd to that too (which is pretty much what he tells them). The funny thing is that I can see their system working in the wasteland, if they were just somewhat less cartoonishly evil. A somewhat more benevolent dictatorship would have made for a much better opposition than this giant bag of mustache twirling goons we received. Ruthless by necessity, but not, as we seem to get, for the fun of it. It would have been wonderful to see the Legion building roads and bridges and leading relief efforts to desperate towns the over stretched NCR had all but abandoned. Instead we see nothing but rampant slaughter, needless duplicity, and a monstrous lack of basic human dignity. My real issue with the Legion though is that it's going to end up eating itself. Once Caesar dies, and he will either through sickness or assassination, if the Legion is lucky a single charismatic successor will rise and hold them together for a while longer. If not, multiple warlords will spring up all vying for power and what was once a mighty empire will dissolve back into a fractured collection of rude tribesmen poking each other with sticks. Even if they're lucky enough to, the fact is that no one in the Legion is being taught the sort of values that can hold their empire together for long. In all likelihood, any leader who follows after Caesar will be every bit as ruthless as he was, but lack all understanding of why he was so ruthless. They will see the power of their position, not it's responsibility. Other factions are clearly rising powers and with the Legion's approach to dealing with other peoples, they're going to end up making enemies out of everyone. They're not Rome or the Mongols or any of your other tribes of world conquerors who rose from tribal roots. They have no visible edge over anyone else. Their tactics are ruthless, yet crude and ineffective against determined or clever opposition. Their equipment is plentiful, but primitive. Their only advantage at the moment is numbers, which they will lose the moment any event (most likely Caesar's death) fractures them. Mr. House House is a figure I have the most thoughts on. My main problem with Mr. House is his fixation on an independent New Vegas. The fact is that there isn't really any need for an independent New Vegas. Beyond House just wanting it, it serves no purpose and betters nothing about the Wasteland. At best an independent New Vegas would have the unenviable position as forming a buffer zone between the NCR and the Legion, yet as both nations are considerably more expansionary than New Vegas under Mr. House seems geared to be, it is only a matter of time before they simply spill around him or, in the event that something happens to give one a clear advantage in resources over the other, merely over his boarders. Not even considering the possibility of the spectacular like the NCR and the Legion being so disgruntled by Mr. House's actions at the Dam that they're willing to set aside differences long enough to work against him together. An independent Vegas doesn't even better Mr. House's position, since he is still utterly reliant on NCR tourism and NCR money for his economy. His independence is purely semantic and the only thing his plan results in is having the NCR embittered by his actions at Hoover Dam. He virtually is a part of the NCR, whether he likes it or not, and will only become more so if the NCR's attempt to circulate currency in place of caps starts to take hold. Even considering that, his entire plan is predicated on the notion that NCR money will keep flowing into New Vegas after he assaults it's army and declares his independence. Mr. House seems to have failed to understand a very important thing. The NCR might occupy the same ground and might have been founded on the same principles as the United States, but it is not the United States. As appealing as the glitz and the glamor of Las Vegas might be, when push comes to shove the real reason so many people went there is because it was one of the extremely few places in the United States where you could gamble legally. This does not hold in the NCR. His actions at Hoover dam, which includes the murder of General Oliver (almost certain to be seen as a war hero back in California no matter how much of an incompetent twit he really was) and the numerous NCR soldiers, is absolutely going to have a negative impact with how the common NCR citizen views New Vegas. His plan is akin to Imperial Japan expecting Americans to vacation in Osaka in droves after Pearl Harbor. It's not going to happen. His main source of income is going to vanish. Where does he expect the resources for his space program to come from? It's not going to come from the Legion and it's certainly not going to come from the Wastelanders in the Mojave area, most of whom are barely scraping by selling salvage and gecko skins. More over, the NCR probably has the capability to build a rival casino-city, which it may well do if for no other reason than to keep it's citizens from going to New Vegas. Despite a clearly shifting diorama of life in the Wasteland, Mr. House has dogmatically stuck to this dream. He has adapted his strategy, but not his master plan. His dreams of launching a space program probably could have already been initiated if he had chosen to work with the NCR instead of scheming against them. There is the further point that his bold vision for the future also seems utterly untenable with the resources he has on hand. New Vegas has virtually no industrial capability, not counting a single foundry occupied by insane robots and a soda bottling plant (also occupied by insane robots). There is no educational among the population not brought by outsiders. In fact, most of the population are, by his own design, gangsters and thugs. Of course, this is all assuming these plans would have ever gotten off the ground to begin with. His fondness for snow globes more or less summarizes the problem with an independent New Vegas. It's ruled by a man whose one and only humanly pleasure is the sight of a tiny, unchanging world captured in a bubble. That, to me, seems like what New Vegas would become under Mr. House, if not what it already is; his attempt to merely recreate an over-idealized vision of what old Las Vegas was like and then to keep it that way forever.

[???] Broadcasting at 550 kilocycles, this is Lone Wolf Radio. If anyone is out there getting this transmission, wouldn't mind hearing from you. Thought I saw someone walking down the highway last night. At least I know I saw a light. Maybe it was a firefly (Nervous, somewhat frantic laughter). But no, really, if that was someone I saw and you can hear me? Please let me know. Come on up, even. I've got all kinds of supplies. I've got clean water. I've... (A long pause, then a shaky sigh) I've just really missed the sound of someone else's voice. I... okay, I'm going to switch over to the automated system for a little while. Play some music. If you don't like the song, well, I'm open for requests... (Distant frantic chuckle. Cue Music) So, the idea here is to make the Mojave airways a little more active and interesting to listen to. None of the stations would necessarily be full broadcast stations with news and updates on the various goings on in the Wasteland and most of them would have a very limited broadcast distance. Lone Wolf Radio Broadcast Distance: Primm Area. Audible with static at Goodsprings Source and Mojave Outpost, cuts out completely around Nipton and Goodsprings. Broadcast Content: A handful of pre-recorded messages from an unnamed broadcaster, 'Lone Wolf,' from days just after the Great War and a few country-western tunes mixed in. The station is on a loop and will replay the same messages and songs in the same order over and over. Lone Wolf's initial broadcasts begin as lucid attempts to contact others, but grow increasingly more frantic and finally despondent. His "final" broadcast indicates plans to commit suicide and players can now find a skeleton at the broadcast trailer with a poor quality 9mm pistol near by or (with Wild Wasteland) a pool cue through it's head. This station can be switched off from the ham radio located in the trailer. Number Station Enigma Broadcast Distance: Hidden Valley Broadcast Content: A loop of various real-world Number Stations. Very infrequently, it is possible to hear broadcasts from a digitized voice similar to a Protectron which identifies itself only as Agent White and reads several lines mismatched poetry. Agent White and Number Station Enigma are unrelated to the Brotherhood of Steel and can actually be found by accessing a hidden and locked door in one of the bunkers. Agent White will turn out to be a ghoul-ized Unamerican Activities Force (UAF) agent still attempting to broadcast to field agents decades dead. Agent White's mind is barely functional and he is utterly paranoid about 'The Red Menace' getting to him. One wrong word from the player can turn him hostile, though he is not particularly hard to kill. Killing Agent White will not end the broadcasts, but they can be switched off from a ham radio in his chamber. Alternatively, if the player plays along with his delusions and lets him know how limited his broadcast range is, Agent White may offer a mission to expand the stations range through relay towers scattered around the Mojave Wasteland. Completing this mission allows you to listen to Number Station Enigma anywhere in the Wasteland and nets you a large pile of pre-War Money, a pre-War Hat, sunglasses, a suit of pre-War Businesswear, a silenced 10mm pistol and some ammo, and the 'U-Man/Woman' perk, which provides a small bonus to Speech, Stealth, and Lockpicking. Classic Gas Broadcast Distance: Northern New Vegas, centered around the Poseidon Gas Station. Static tends to be strong unless you're virtually on top of the station. Broadcast Content: Classical orchestral music. The station can be seen physically sitting on the roof of the building, though not accessed (a downed ramp near by shows how it was set up in the first place). It consists of various pieces of radio equipment attached to fusion batteries, a table with a ham radio, and a few rusting metal shelves with assorted junk, food, and electronic parts. A skeleton sits at a chair in front of the table. If a player can somehow make it up there, the station can be turned off via the ham radio in front of the skeleton. Sputnik 97 Broadcast Distance: Mojave Wasteland, but only at night. Broadcast Content: Cold War era Soviet propaganda and patriotic music. A possibility related to this station is, if your Science skill is REALLY high (70+) at the end of 'Come Fly With Me' you could alter the trajectory on one of the Bright Followers rockets to actually shoot the satellite out of the sky. You could then later track down the crashed satellite and salvage scrap metal, a few laser weapons, and a mini-nuke from it. With the Wild Wasteland trait, you may also find the body of a dead dog with a Space Suit Helmet placed over it's head. Vault 19 PA System Broadcast Distance: The interior of Vault 19 and a small distance around the area, though extremely static filled unless inside the Vault. Broadcast Content: Vault propaganda and "soothing" muzak. Similar, if not lifted completely from the Vault 101 PA system in the beginning of Fallout 3. Additionally, there should be some minor feedback barely audible behind the regular broadcasts that sound like sinister whispering voices. There is no way to turn this station off. King's Crown Radio Broadcast Distance: New Vegas, centered on Freeside and fading quickly the further away you get. Broadcast Content: Recordings of Elvis impersonators of varying quality, both singing and speaking. The station can be found in a previously unoccupied room on the third floor that becomes stuffed with radio equipment. There is also now a small broadcast tower on top of the King's School of Impersonation, though this is difficult to see. All box radios in the School are changed to play this station. There is no way to turn this station off. Radio Free Mojave Broadcast Distance: Any NCR occupied area, with increasing static the further away you go. Broadcast Content: Generic patriotic American music, news on happenings in the NCR back west, and pro-NCR/anti-Legion propaganda promos from assorted NCR celebrities. Fade 'Hot Cat' Caliburn is the the radio's host, a popular shock jock style broadcaster back west who is "serving her country" to avoid being brought up on numerous violations of decency laws. Extremely bitter but on a tight leash, she audibly chafes and grinds her teeth at every content-controlled report she's forced to give. She can be found at Camp McCarran, her station set up within one of the tents on the tarmac and an armed Propaganda Officer standing near by. Most, though not all, radios in NCR bases are changed to broadcast Radio Free Mojave.

I made the suggestion in passing over in the Marriage Mod thread about how getting married and buying a house in Primm could lead to the scenario where you've settled down enough to satisfy the townsfolk you're fit to be sheriff. Someone else thought that while this was a good idea, it really belonged in it's own mod rather than as part of the Marriage Mod. Inclined to agree, I thought I'd make a request thread for it. The basic idea is for the Courier to take over as Primm's sheriff. This would net you a house in town, probably a small wage, and a discount at stores. One of your first steps would be to pick your deputy or deputies. Beagle and Meyers both would be avaliable and each offer their own benefits (Beagle is a useless coward in a fight but excels at gathering information, while Meyers is great back up but also extremely quick to leap to capital punishment) for a price, while Primm Slim could still be reprogrammed as a cheap but also less effective alternative. How well you care for Primm and the choices you make would have a wide spread effect on the town. Despite being a sheriff in name, you'd function a little closer to being a mayor as the final arbitrator on most disputes in addition to enforcing the law. How do you deal with a splinter tribe of Great Khans who recently set up camp near Primm and began making people nervous? If a child is kidnapped from town, do you hunt them down alone despite odds against you? Do you raise a posse from the citizens, even though it means putting them in harms way or do you take your deputies with you and leave the town unprotected for a few days? How do you deal with Layla and her deserters when they come into town, particularly when they offer to help you protect the area? Do you offer them amnesty even if it means angering the NCR? When you find a cache of caps the old sheriff was hiding do you use it to build a jail, a school, renovate the Bison Steve so you can open it for business again, or just keep it for yourself? The player should have to find themselves forced to make difficult choices sometimes. For example, Primm desperately needs a doctor and several choices come up. A Legion explorer offers to have one of their physicians secretly take up residence in town, a very young and naive doctor trained by the Followers wants the job as well, and so too does a jaded but brilliant older physician who effectively wants 50% of the Vikki and Vance casino. Any offer from the Legion is a double-edged sword, yet their doctor is competent. The Follower trained doctor is kind and earnest and works virtually for free, yet also inexperienced and may make mistakes, even cost lives later on, while the arrogant older physician will improve the health of everyone town, even though his price is astronomically steep. I could even see this going out of Primm, into the other small communities like Goodsprings, Novac, and maybe even a resettled Nipton. Sort of a 'Desert Rangers Reborn' style mod, though that's probably extremely ambitious. Not that this isn't already.

The only problem I might have with that is that it was stated in-game that people were highly resistant to accepting the NCR's attempt to begin using paper money. If people aren't willing to use NCR money, which is actually backed by water stockpiles (The Water Standard?), why would they use ancient pre-War money that isn't backed by anything anymore? Not to mention that if they're willing to continue placing value on pre-War money, why not place it on pre-War metal currency instead of bottlecaps? But, well, quibbling over fine points I suppose. Really interested to see what you end up doing with this.

Get married in Primm and buy a house. You've now laid down roots. What's that, Mr. Nash? You need a sheriff who is "like me, but will stick around?" Well...

Just to toss a couple of thoughts in. Certain junk-items in the game as it stands are overvalued and others undervalued. For example, pre-War Money and cigarettes of all forms (individuals, packs, and cartons). As it stands, pre-War Money sells for more than a pack of cigarettes. As it has no weight, it becomes even more valuable compared to packs or cartons. This makes very little sense, as the only uses pre-War Money would have in the Wasteland would be as toilet paper or pulp. In either case, we see so much paper merely left scattered on the ground that it's clearly not in so short a supply that people should be desperately shelling out money for a stack of aged bills. Cigarettes, by contrast, should be far more highly valued. They're coveted objects and odds are good that no one is making more of them just yet, meaning that they're in very limited and constantly shrinking supply. Cigarettes could almost for a sub-economy of their own, with wealthy elite stockpiling cases of them and goods and services being traded for a single smoke among poor citizens. Of course, the real problem to me seems to be equipment. Guns in particular, but also armor. They're too easily available and sell for too much. All you need to do to make a fortune in New Vegas is to walk through Fiend territory killing everyone in sight and looting the bodies. On even a poor trip, you'll still come out the other side with hundreds of caps worth of equipment to sell and more often it's in the thousands range. With the NCR apparently making it's own firearms and a local mass-producer like the Gun Runners right there in New Vegas, there is no reason for firearms to be worth as much as they are. It should only be the rare, hard to find relics of the pre-War world that fetch a great price and such items should be SO rare that almost no one who owns one is willing to part company with theirs. Most forms of armor, too, have no excuse for their cost. Most are just made of leather, which is something even small Wasteland communities are capable of producing for themselves. The only value on it should be it's craftsmanship which, once more, outstanding examples should be rare, The glut of cheap leather goods being tooled out in every town and village in the Wasteland should keep the market prices low.

You're right, about the Boomers/Brotherhood. I hadn't really given thought to the sheer logistics of the situation and how difficult it would be to arrange the pieces to make that confrontation happen. I do think you might be counting the Powder Gangers a little short and perhaps even overestimating the strength of the Crimson Caravan in the Mojave though. Nearly everyone forced to confront the Powder Gangers mention how much better equipped and organized they've proven to be than anyone expected. Almost as often, we hear about how tenuous the Crimson Caravan's position in Mojave is, hampered as they were by poor leadership. As you say, they are engaged in a small trade war already and don't seem to have access to the same resources and clout as they do back west. The rise of a substantial and well organized raider faction, particularly given how poor a job the NCR is currently doing protecting trade routes, would put even more strain on Crimson Caravans. They'd be forced to devote an increasing number of resources towards protecting themselves. Part of a Powder Ganger/Crimson Caravan confrontation could even be expanding their strength. Making backroom deals with the Gun Runners or the Von Graffs for equipment, charming or strong arming smaller raider groups like the Vipers and the Jakels into joining, forging an alliance with other major groups like the Fiends or the Great Khans, and generally taking steps to make them a more sustainable presence in the Mojave. I suppose in a sense then what I'm suggesting is less of a Powder Ganger vs Crimson Caravan scenario and more of a Raider vs Crimson Caravan scenario with the Gangers, being the first of these groups you encounter, offering the player an entrance to the conflict.