An Idea (Alternate ending to Dead Money)

[darkus37]

About the Sierra Madre tech, yes I know it was invented at BigMT. however it was only practically used outside of a secret facility, at the Sierra Madre. This is why Elijah decided to go there. The cloud in particular interested him. From the wiki:

 

 

At the far end of the room is another terminal on a round Overseer's-type desk. It has 2 messages for Vera from Sinclair, but the first one says "file not found", it was the holotape out in front of the Vault that Sinclair ripped out of this computer which was to tell Vera that she is now trapped and has become the "heart" of the Sierra Madre but he obviously had changed his mind as to her fate. The second message is also from Sinclair who apparently had a change of heart (that was too late) in spite of knowing what Vera and Dean were planning. There is also one for Dean on the computer (labeled Sinclair's Personal Accounts). There is an actual message here that you can read, but reading this message causes you to be trapped within the vault and ending the game, thus continuing from your last game save.

 

 

The Sierra Madre vault is not a Vault-Tec Vault, but simply a reinforced secure storage area.

 

It is possible to lock yourself inside the Sierra Madre's vault. This is done by accessing Sinclair's personal accounts, upon doing so the player will find a message that was meant for Dean Domino to read. This will cause the vault to lock. If this is done, the game will play a scene in which you hear the voice of Vera Keyes explaining the events after the Courier had been trapped in the vault. She explains how the casino had actually created a new hologram to fill out duties in the likeness of the Courier. After the scene you will see your character die in-game and the game will load the last save file.

 

Elijah is not interested in the gold but in the Cloud itself, to release it in the Mojave and crush the NCR once and for all.

 

The true purpose of the vault:

 

However, the vault door seals within seconds of entrance. Lift the lockdown using the left security terminal, then use the monitor in the back to look up the word 'Vera'. This reveals that Sinclair in fact designed the Sierra Madre Vault not to protect valuables, but a small number of people as per a Vault-Tec Vault through the Great War: namely himself and Vera Keyes. Learning that Dean Domino planned to rob the Sierra Madre with Vera's help changed these plans. Sinclair left a warning for Vera, and a trap for Domino: a file marked "Sinclair's Personal Accounts", the reading of which activates a system which permanently seals the vault.

 

At the end of Dead Money, after dealing with Elijah (I sealed that S.O.B. up), with the place exploding around you, you get to the elevator in time and escape. That whole end-game section was not just about the collar, but that the elevator seals off permanently when the vault is triggered. This was part of the security measure designed by the Sierra Madre's creator, Frederick Sinclair to first protect Vera Keyes, then seal off Dean Domino, then protect Vera again.

 

The Sierra Madre Casino was to be his ultimate gift to her, a shelter from the inevitable nuclear war with China that he predicted was to come, its vault serving as a bunker. But events didn't pan out the way he had hoped. Dean Domino introduced Sinclair to Vera Keyes, with whom Domino once had a torrid affair, if the tabloid press was to be believed. Sinclair was suspicious, and rightly so.

 

Sinclair discovered evidence of a plot by Domino and Vera that involved breaking into the casino vault and taking the treasures that lay within. Sinclair set about preparing a trap, and had the builders design the casino so that the vault, once accessed, would be impossible to escape. Vera eventually confessed her betrayal to him, overcome by guilt, and Sinclair decided enough was enough and it was time that the casino be returned to its original purpose. Although he no longer loved her and he was left hollow by her betrayal, he could not bear to kill her, so he returned to the vault and removed the entry intended for her, replacing it with an apology. Subsequently, he attempted to jury rig the electronics of the shelter to remove the trap by directly accessing them from the pipes, but due to a leak in the system, he succumbed to the poison cloud intended to protect the Sierra Madre.

 

In other words, this is mostly about the cloud, a defensive and offensive weapon that Elijah could use to conquer the Mojave if he got his hands on it. One of the possible endings for Dead Money (non-canon) is him doing just that. If you leave the cloud intact, Christine remains as well.

 

I suppose you can make a quest to shut the place down, i.e. go here and blow up several machines all over the place that will remove the cloud permanently (using the new areas you were talking about devinpatterson), but that still leaves the ghost people, the cloud already there, and the advanced tech lying around. Maybe I'm just missing something here, but I just don't see a way of not destroying the place. As for the rest of it involving BigMT and the Think Tank, I personally don't see a point to it, but since that's what Kataspie wants, I guess that's what she should get.

Edited August 9, 2012 by darkus37

[devinpatterson]

Awesome about the permission for the reunited mod. Just wanted to let you know if I seem slow in answering or flaky it is only because I'm trying not to let a bout of depression get to me too much. Hence my stronger meds to help me keep my cool.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your depression. My X had it at one time (her's was related to a medical condition as well), and I think it's hard for most people that havn't experienced it to understand how insidious it is. How it creeps into every aspect of your life, and how debilitating it can be. this is just a game (something we do for fun), so don't let this thread weigh on you like a responsibility. Focus on getting better....that's the important thing. This thread can wait, and if it takes a while for you to get to, everyone will understand, no worries.

 

 

Maybe I'm just missing something here, but I just don't see a way of not destroying the place. As for the rest of it involving BigMT and the Think Tank, I personally don't see a point to it, but since that's what Kataspie wants, I guess that's what she should get.

 

I pondered going over each of your points, continuing the debate....burning more time. But the simple fact is, I don't want this to degenerate into us spinning our wheels, much like hte independent new vegas thread.

 

The concept of closing off entrance to the vault and thereby releasing Christine from her stewardship (and reuniting her with her lost love) is a solid story line. I think your focus has become too myoptic and you need to move past this issue. Instead of arguing for destroying a worldspace ad infinitum, lets use this discussion to contribute positive ideas that will enrich the mod & accelerate it's development......because that is really the purpose of this whole thread.

[darkus37]

Agreed. Since I can't seem to move past this point on my own, have fun guys!

[VaultPi]

a quest to find orphans in the wasteland to bring to the serra madre.....

[devinpatterson]

Agreed. Since I can't seem to move past this point on my own, have fun guys!

 

Here's something that might help (and if it doesn't there's no harm in simply agreeing to disagree).

 

If you swap your POV from Elijah to Christine you might get a better sense of where we're coming from. For instance Christine doesn't know about the alternate possible timeline of the toxic cloud, she knows that Elijah wanted the vault and the technology he believed was in it. So what we're doing is making a slight shift (small creative license) from Christine staying as a "Warden" (which is the canon reason she stays put, according to the end slide...nothing to do with the cloud) to a guardian of the vault. I think everyone will buy that, story wise. Then removing the need to guard the vault restores mobility to her.

 

So I think if you take your POV out of Elijah's head and place yourself in Christine's shoes you'll see that the toxic cloud isn't on her radar in re: to being used against the NCR. And if not, no harm in agreeing to disagree.

 

 

 

On different note, it might be nice to script a last dialog between Elijah and Christine and/or Elijah and the Courier before the vault shaft is blown (assuming you'v trapped him as opposed to killing him).

 

Christine will return as the warden of the Sierria Madre if she's dismissed, in much the same way Veronica will return to serving the brotherhood and it's causes (if she's not alienated from them) if she is dismissed (or if the courier was killed). Which also may mean their love is on borrowed time. I don't think Veronica will give up the brotherhood unless she's already been alienated from it through her I could make you care quest. And I believe Christine will never return to the brotherhood/circle of steel due to her experiences with hunting Elijah and her need to care for the Sierra Madre (she's destined to be the warden of dead money, canonically speaking). So in the end this may be one bright/brief reprieve in a life of duty that separates them......lasting only as long as the courier's and their adventure together.

Edited August 10, 2012 by devinpatterson

[devinpatterson]

a quest to find orphans in the wasteland to bring to the serra madre.....

 

Bring them *to* the Sierra Madre? That's one field trip that's going to require permission slips, seeing as it's filled with toxic gases, ghost people etc.

Edited August 10, 2012 by devinpatterson

[darkus37]

First, here's the text of the end slide:

 

Christine, her mission complete, found new purpose as the Sierra Madre's warden. She watched over it silently - by choice. Over time, the ghost people came to see her as one of the Holograms. They would watch, silently, as she walked among them. At times, Christine thought of the Courier, who had kept Elijah's hand from her throat. The Courier reminded her of the other courier she had met in the Big Empty, and wondered if the two had found each other at last. She did not think of them again until she heard the legends of the Divide. The Divide, where the two messengers, the two couriers, fought beneath an ancient flag, at the edge of the world.

 

Nowhere does it specify anything about the Sierra Madre's vault - that is because the vault is inaccessible due to it blowing up in the end game of Dead Money.

 

Second, another idea has occurred to me. Here are some reference materials:

 

Circle Of Steel

Circle Of Steel (Van Buren)

 

This is very rough, but essentially, Christine is being hunted by the Circle of Steel, the internal affairs of the BOS. The reason is that they are afraid she was either working with Elijah or trying to keep the tech for herself, otherwise why stay in the Sierra Madre? She contacts you for help in dealing with this new threat. Upon learning of the Sierra Madre and it's technological wonders, the Circle decides to take over the area, and sends in their paladins. The paladins use experimental power armor designed to withstand the cloud and use cloaking devices to infiltrate the Sierra Madre. While Christine is able to withstand their might through guerrilla tactics and using the holograms and ghost people for ambushes, she realizes that it's a lost cause. This is where the courier comes in. Once the PC fights off the paladins and their leader, Christine decides that it's not worth defending this place anymore. I still think you should blow this place up, but perhaps you can figure out an alternate path. Oh, and this should probably not start until you beat Lonesome Road. As for the rest, getting healed, restoring her mind, I still think you should use the KISS principle and stick with Dead Money resources.

 

VaultPi - this is not meant as an insult, but taking anyone here willingly would be like sticking a baby in pool of piranhas.

Edited August 10, 2012 by darkus37

[VaultPi]

a quest to find orphans in the wasteland to bring to the serra madre.....

 

Bring them *to* the Sierra Madre? That's one field trip that's going to require permission slips, seeing as it's filled with toxic gases, ghost people etc.

 

Actually I was figuring if Christine was guarding the place and Veronica could hang out with her, dropping future trainees off with them....

 

 

no, not thinking of creating a small army of child soldiers...

[devinpatterson]

Nowhere does it specify anything about the Sierra Madre's vault - that is because the vault is inaccessible due to it blowing up in the end game of Dead Money.

 

Exactly, from my previous post;

 

So what we're doing is making a slight shift (small creative license) from Christine staying as a "Warden" (which is the canon reason she stays put, according to the end slide...nothing to do with the cloud) to a guardian of the vault.

 

Do you still feel like it wouldn't be something you could get behind? I respect your choice, in any case, but this makes a much cleaner story line for me to work on, and won't cut off the DLC. And since we both agree she stays behind (canon) to act as the warden of the Sierra Madre, the only point of contention would be our change (the creative license I mentioned above) of sealing the the vault via explosives (good because it gives the player items to collect on his/her quest and a part in Christine's "freedom")

 

Second, another idea has occurred to me.....This is very rough, but essentially, Christine is being hunted by the Circle of Steel,

 

It's an interesting idea, she's circle of steel herself if I remember right. Could certainly add a additional variable to the mix with Veronica (I'm not sure what her and this chapters opinion of the COS is).

 

The paladins use experimental power armor designed to withstand the cloud and use cloaking devices to infiltrate the Sierra Madre.....

 

It's an interesting idea, but I tend to think if they could have done that, they would have....long ago. So I'm inclined to keep that in reserve for now.

 

But maybe a variant of being hunted, like an COS assassin, much like Christine (or small 2 or 3 person strike team), to neutralize her might be a more realistic approach (and can add some padding to the dead money side of the mod). By using stealth they would probably be much more successful than more traditional small military squad tactics. Plus I can build up the suspense by having them use hit and run as well as stealth tactics. Christine can by the couriers ace in the hole, telling him/her what she thinks there next move is, their tactics etc since she has the same training.

 

As for the rest, getting healed, restoring her mind, I still think you should use the KISS principle and stick with Dead Money resources.

 

I appreciate your concern for potential complications, but the experiment that was done on her and the tech to fix her is in OWB so that one pretty much writes itself.

[devinpatterson]

no, not thinking of creating a small army of child soldiers...

 

Yeah I was just being a little flippant/joking with you, because it seems like such a strange environment to bring children.

 

On a related topic I wonder if Veronica could ever join Christine at dead money if she hasn't already been alienated from the BOS quest through her I could make you care quest.

Edited August 10, 2012 by devinpatterson