Mod to spare Benny without being an idiot?

[tnu]

I’ve been stuck on this issue for a while. In the quest involving Benny, it feels like the only options are to either kill him or let him trick you and escape. Is there truly no way to resolve this part of the quest without resorting to violence or letting him screw you over?

Edited Saturday at 09:04 PM by tnu
fixing typos and cleaning up writing.

[laclongquan]

Why, exactly, would you want to leave Benny alive after the man put bullets on your head?

This question is very central to the core of Mojave main quest. And you dont escape this, as the escape are, as foretold, paved with players' curse and abandons.

I know, you dont want to obey the central tenet of other people's writings. So you want to turn it upside down.

Then do it! Write a full fledge disclosure to this road! You are going to add more, or replace, or rewrite major events to YOUR design. That's what it take to turn to your course of not killing Benny.

This need dedication and actions from YOUR side, not others. Others wont write to your specification. because, after all, you are wanting something opposite to other people's writings, already in place.

After all, we are sitting here peacefully eating popcorn, watching you trudging on that road of yours. Asking us to walk on YOUR road would be a bit much, innit?

Edited Saturday at 02:50 PM by laclongquan

[tnu]

5 hours ago, laclongquan said:

Why, exactly, would you want to leave Benny alive after the man put bullets on your head?

This question is very central to the core of Mojave main quest. And you dont escape this, as the escape are, as foretold, paved with players' curse and abandons.

I know, you dont want to obey the central tenet of other people's writings. So you want to turn it upside down.

Then do it! Write a full fledge disclosure to this road! You are going to add more, or replace, or rewrite major events to YOUR design. That's what it take to turn to your course of not killing Benny.

This need dedication and actions from YOUR side, not others. Others wont write to your specification. because, after all, you are wanting something opposite to other people's writings, already in place.

After all, we are sitting here peacefully eating popcorn, watching you trudging on that road of yours. Asking us to walk on YOUR road would be a bit much, innit?

I hope you don't mind me asking, but could you clarify what you meant by your earlier comments? I want to emphasize that my intention isn’t to cause frustration—I was simply trying to explore options for using Benny Returns in a way that avoids both killing him and feeling forced into what the game presents as an unavoidable trap. To me, it feels like an unnecessary limitation, and I thought tweaking this scenario could offer more player agency, similar to how other mods adjust dialogue or quest outcomes.

I completely respect your perspective, but I’m struggling to understand the concern about this idea. Since this is purely a personal preference—not something I’d expect others to adopt—I’m unsure why the analogy of ‘making people walk my road’ applies here. Many existing mods cater to niche preferences without impacting others’ gameplay, so I’d genuinely appreciate your insight on why this case might differ. Thank you for taking the time to discuss this!

Edited Saturday at 08:41 PM by tnu

[JimboUK]

I don't think it's possible to add other options without changing who Benny is as a character, he's a murderous snake so he's never going to be someone you can trust, were the player to let him go after recovering the chip the player would likely end up with a second bullet in the head, he's not the kind of guy who'd just walk away, at least not at that point.

[tnu]

What about non-lethally subduing him either in the Presidential Suite or in his own suite? there have to be smarter no n-lethal alternatives to just letting him escape to The Fort with the chip.

[JimboUK]

His people would soon find and free him, there was an encounter that suggests he was written to be irredeemable, he tries to kill the player after the player helps him escape the Fort, yeah it was cut from the final game but the fact that it was created in the first place gives an insight into the thinking behind the character. 

 

[tnu]

Is Benny’s personality truly a decisive factor in crafting an alternative pacifist route to secure the Platinum Chip—one that doesn’t require the player to willingly march into a blatant, immersion-breaking ambush? Let’s dissect this. If the goal is to empower players to resolve conflicts through cunning and diplomacy (core pillars of role-playing!), then Benny’s characterization should enhance flexibility, not restrict it. Consider this: Persuading Swank to betray Benny already neutralizes the threat of his allies retaliating. This creates a logical pathway for a non-lethal resolution that the game’s current design overlooks.

The contradiction here undermines player agency. Why force a ‘gotcha’ ambush scenario when mods like Benny Returns exist to expand narrative possibilities? By integrating Swank’s betrayal as a trigger for bypassing the ambush entirely, players could organically confront Benny on their terms—using dialogue, stealth, or strategic alliances. This wouldn’t just fix a plot hole; it would reward creative problem-solving and align with the game’s ethos of choice-driven storytelling.

Edited yesterday at 02:41 AM by tnu

[laclongquan]

You are refuting with all your mind the preconditioned background design of Benny. Despite we telling you about his importance.

You want to change his importance? Fine, it's your right as a player or modder do have. We wont argue about that. Technically, I support your effort to accomplish that. Hell, Dust project redefine Courier Six's personality and achievement, after all, and I am an avid fan of Dust. OR Tale of Two Wasteland incorporate DC content, which provide Courier Six with a fixed past/beginning. Again, I am an avid player and modder of TTW.

But to support your idea will need many extra, additional writings to change Benny's position in the dialog/stories/characters.

Can you spend your effort to do that? Cause we wont do it for you. You are not a patron paying commission for others to accomplish your ideas after all. (I have never accepted commissions before so this route also closed to you).

[laclongquan]

You are refuting with all your mind the preconditioned background design of Benny. Despite we telling you about his importance.

You want to change his importance? Fine, it's your right as a player or modder do have. We wont argue about that. Technically, I support your effort to accomplish that. Hell, Dust project redefine Courier Six's personality and achievement, after all, and I am an avid fan of Dust. OR Tale of Two Wasteland incorporate DC content, which provide Courier Six with a fixed past/beginning. Again, I am an avid player and modder of TTW.

But to support your idea will need many extra, additional writings to change Benny's position in the dialog/stories/characters.

Can you spend your effort to do that? Cause we wont do it for you. You are not a patron paying commission for others to accomplish your ideas after all. (I have never accepted commissions before so this route also closed to you).

[JimboUK]

18 hours ago, tnu said:

Is Benny’s personality truly a decisive factor in crafting an alternative pacifist route to secure the Platinum Chip—one that doesn’t require the player to willingly march into a blatant, immersion-breaking ambush? Let’s dissect this. If the goal is to empower players to resolve conflicts through cunning and diplomacy (core pillars of role-playing!), then Benny’s characterization should enhance flexibility, not restrict it. Consider this: Persuading Swank to betray Benny already neutralizes the threat of his allies retaliating. This creates a logical pathway for a non-lethal resolution that the game’s current design overlooks.

The contradiction here undermines player agency. Why force a ‘gotcha’ ambush scenario when mods like Benny Returns exist to expand narrative possibilities? By integrating Swank’s betrayal as a trigger for bypassing the ambush entirely, players could organically confront Benny on their terms—using dialogue, stealth, or strategic alliances. This wouldn’t just fix a plot hole; it would reward creative problem-solving and align with the game’s ethos of choice-driven storytelling.

Everything that happens is in line with Benny's character, I'm not saying that you can't reimagine him but as he's written what unfolds makes perfect sense, he really is a nasty piece of work, he cut the throat of his old boss then poisoned the Singer and Chance before the game even starts, and diplomacy isn't going to work on him, we know that because if you try to discuss things with him he'll ask you to wait in the presidential suite and then send goons in to kill you. 

Player agency is important but characters staying in character is also important, the alliance between House and the Brotherhood was cut from the game because it's not the sort of thing someone like House would ever agree to, it's a good example of sacrificing player agency to keep characters consistent.  

Making the changes you suggest would be possible but it would be a ton of work and for what? players don't have to kill him and this is the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about the player character being tricked by Benny, the guy is supposed to be charismatic and the player character at that point in the game is inexperienced and naive.