Why was the PC near Goodsprings?

[formalrevya]

This is one of those things that could be admittedly blamed on the developers never counting on someone having as much free time to throw away doing fact checking, but bear with me for a moment.

 

the entire thing that gets the courier involved in the mess he starts the game off in, is that he's trying to deliver the platinum chip to new vegas.

 

now according to Mr House, the platinum chip was made in Sunnyvale the day before the war. For those of you who don't know this, Sunnyvale is based off a real world city of the same name in the Silicon valley, which is located in San Francisco california, you can actually use Google maps to plot a course from Las vegas to Sunnyvale.

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&gl=us&daddr=Sunnyvale,+CA&saddr=Las+Vegas,+NV&panel=1&f=d&fb=1&dirflg=d&geocode=KdF99aSCt76AMaN5s9Xm1cw6%3BKTtd0KlFto-AMaLDfN0m-412&ei=D0wTUb2-Moj29gSB1ICoAg&ved=0CDEQ-A8wAA

 

 

Which I did here. ((If It doesn't show properly simply type get directions, and Sunnyvale, CA in the empty directions box))

 

Now if we compare it to the New Vegas In game Map

 

http://images.wikia.com/fallout/images/e/e1/Fallout_New_Vegas_Map_v0.03.png

 

It's obvious that the courier would have had to enter through the Mojave Outpost. which leaves him with two options for how to get to New Vegas.

 

Now the short route would be in fact the road that leads through goodsprings, however, It's made abundantly clear that everyone in the area has been avoiding that road for the past few weeks due to the outbreak of cazadors and DeathClaws up that road, So why in God's name would the courier have taken the most dangerous route?

 

We know that it's been established as a dangerous route to travel, because of the fact that benny, who was traveling with an armed group of great khans at the time, opted to take the round about way instead of heading directly through. We can assume that he had at least 4 other people with him, because that's how many great Khans are encountered in Boulder City.

 

Setting that aside, the short route also happens to take the courier by no less than three gang infested areas, the great khans, the vipers, and the fiends. all of whom it can be safely assumed, would have tried to gut the courier on the spot for whatever he was carrying. and only one friendly town to speak of.

 

The other road, happens to have been populated with several NCR outposts and friendly towns.

 

Why in the hell did the courier go anywhere near goodsprings?

 

At best he would have shaved a half a day off his trip, but every other scenario I can play out, leads to him being either murdered by wildlife, robbed blind, or kidnapped and injured.

 

I really have to question their intelligence, and Benny's for picking that place as an ambush spot.

[TheNeglected]

From Joshua E. Sawyer on Formspring:

The area between Goodsprings and Vegas is super dangerous, though. No courier would pick that route, right? Or is the idea that the Courier didn't know about that when setting out?

 

JESawyer 29 Mar 12

The Courier was unaware of the danger, in part because the NCRCF breakout and Deathclaw explosion at Quarry Junction were relatively recent.

Also, Benny only took the long way around on the way back. On the way to Goodsprings they passed Chance's Map, and Tribal Village as seen in the graphic novel All Roads, meaning the road was passable until very recently. All Roads actually implies that the cazadores were drawn there by the slaugther at Tribal Village.

Edited February 7, 2013 by TheNeglected

[formalrevya]

From Joshua E. Sawyer on Formspring:

The area between Goodsprings and Vegas is super dangerous, though. No courier would pick that route, right? Or is the idea that the Courier didn't know about that when setting out?

 

JESawyer 29 Mar 12

The Courier was unaware of the danger, in part because the NCRCF breakout and Deathclaw explosion at Quarry Junction were relatively recent.

Also, Benny only took the long way around on the way back. On the way to Goodsprings they passed Chance's Map, and Tribal Village as seen in the graphic novel All Roads, meaning the road was passable until very recently. All Roads actually implies that the cazadores were drawn there by the slaugther at Tribal Village.

 

Honestly that raises more questions than it answers. Though it makes a little bit more sense this way.

[Bulldog4223]

The courier started from Primm, and probably didn't know about the new dangers along the path he was taking. The deathclaws on I-15 showed up only a few days before the courier, and Doc Mitchell never exactly says how long, a couple of days, is. Bethesda's intention for doing this, as they have said for all their games, is that they want you to build your own backstory of why you think your character ended up in that situation. That is what was said in several interviews and is apparent in games like Oblivion, Skyrim, and New Vegas because you are just thrusted into the Mojave.

[Kodiak412]

Sunny Smiles gets lonely. Need I say more. :)

[Graeystone]

One way to look at it - Maybe Mojave Express/Couriers are not the kind of people one messes with-

 

1) The various factions talk about wiping out their rivals/taking over the Wasteland. . .yet the Express/Couriers, while can be considered a Faction of sorts isn't in anybody's equations about revenge or conquest. Maybe there is a bit of a 'Leave us alone(Couriers/Express) and we'll leave you alone(everyone else)'. Between Benny and couple of other character who 'forces' the Courier to do one thing or another gets the Courier involved in major events he/she would normally not bother with.

 

2) Ancient Tradition/Real Life History Lesson - Once read that in ancient Greece, the Greeks would be fighting an enemy. Then during a battle a Messenger(Courier) would be seen running near the battlefield on a job. Both sides would STOP FIGHTING until the Messenger was safely and far enough away from the battlefield. When the Messenger was safely away, the battle would resume. Yeah, a Courier's route can run through a Legion Camp with no problem as long as Point Number 1 is in affect. This is the same Legion who has no problem razing a town to the ground while forcing a hellish lottery on people. So the Legion for the most part keeps the ancient tradition of 'Do not interfere with a Messenger(Courier)'.

 

3) The expressions on the faces of the two Khans in the intro movie show that what Benny was going to do and did do(shoot the Courier) was a really, REALLY bad idea. These are the same two Khans(one of them anyway) who had no problem kidnapping a couple of NCR soldiers which pissed off other NCR soldiers just to force a stalemate. Yet when the Courier shows up, the Khan in question freaks out that the Courier did in fact survive a bullet to the head and is actually more scared of the Courier than the NCR.

 

4) The Samus Aran Effect. Ever play a game where your character starts out uber-strong only to have something happen to lose all that power and you have to start from scratch and regain it all? The same thing can be said of the Courier by means of getting a bullet in the brain. That kind of damage has to play havoc on what makes up the SPECIAL including Charisma(which in part is the ability to properly speak) on top of the other physical and mental(Intelligence) stuff. I don't think one of the Great Khans simply ran up to the Courier from behind and knocked him/her out that fast. I think there was a small fierce battle beforehand and someone eventually go the knockout blow in.

 

So what does this have to do with the Courier's original route that no other sane person would take? Simply put the Deathclaws in the area were about as much as a threat to the Courier as some idiot mugger hopped up on Jet flinging his/her arms around without even Hand Bandages to use as a weapon would be. However getting a bullet to the brain took all those abilities and skills away forcing the Courier to take the longer route to Vegas.(Number 4)

 

Now all that does seem like a giant exaggeration and it may well be but here are some other possibilities -

1) The Courier needed to stock up on fresh supplies and that meant fresh water. The Courier went to the Goodsprings Water Supply(where Sunny takes the Courier to kill Geckos) to get some fresh water.(1) Benny and the Khans tracked the Courier there and when the Courier began drawing water, that's when the ambush happened. Then Benny and Khans dragged the Courier to the Graveyard where events were set in motion.

2) The Courier's original plan was to evade the Deathclaws but also that town the Legion razed to the ground near Primm(forgot its name). That town was considered a cesspool by everyone who mentions it and the majority of people wanted nothing to do with it. Its probably so bad that Couriers don't go there unless they have no choice like a job. There are other possible routes, although longer, that evade both Deathclaws and that town. One of the possible routes took the Courier to Goodsprings at night where the ambush happened.

 

(1) Always felt the Courier suffered partial amnesia from the bullet to the head. Granted things have to be spelled out for the players(especially new players) so they'll know what is going on, but story wise, the Courier oddly didn't know the kind of things one would expect him/her to know. In this case not knowing Goodsprings getting its name from having a radiation free water supply which an experience traveler like a Courier should know.

[laclongquan]

Benny go the Tribal village way prolly because he start out wesward from Vegas to get some helps in Red Rock Canyon (great Khans, major supplier of drugs to Vegas region)

 

Nipton railroad could be a fast way to go IF the convicts in NCRCF didnt just break out and block the route. originally, troopers in mojave outpost can R&R in Nipton (as stated in mayor's journal and computer notes) since going to vegas is too far. with they blocked the route, NCR caravans will either go the way of Primm/Sloan, or Primm/Goodspring/farms or go the really long way of searchlight Novac. Goodspring is the only 4source of clean water in the inner region south of Red Rock Canyone's spring. So a courier with good skill will choose to move this way for fast time instead of going the Sloan way infested with Deathclaw, or the really loooooooong way of Searchlight/Novac. And Courier should choose the Goodspring because of the equal threat of wildlife/raiders there or mostly raiders from the other way. at least this way is faster.

 

Since they start from Vegas-->Red rock canyon, goodspring is a logical place to ambush Courier first. if they havent catched target there they would have move down to Primm to investigate. And the Great Khans is reasonably familiar with the area south of the Canyon, they can risk a much quicker route to go there. Raiders? Great Khans is a major supplier of drugs for the whole region, AND the toughest gang around, they will give the group a wide berth unless there's compelling reason not to. It's quite logical, really.

 

Of course, no one in their right minds mess with Cazadores swarm. When the y are lured to the tribal village, the group dare not return the old way and have to go the long way around. PLUS, since Benny want to doublecross them, going the long way around serve him better. Notice that he dropped them off at Boulder City, surrounded by most of ncr patrol post. They are really lucky to get out of there alive and back to the Canyon.

 

I dont argue the points about Courier's toughness and him scared the GK silly. It's plausible.

[peadar1987]

It's possible that the Deathclaws weren't blocking I-15 by the time the courier was shot, by all accounts the deathclaw infestation is relatively recent, and Primm-McCarran-Freeside's East Gate, avoiding Fiend territory, is the best route in that case, sans powder gangers and deathclaws, it's pretty much a free run if you cut east after Black Mountain.

 

That being the case, it's possible that the PC was nabbed from the road somewhere around Jean Sky Diving, and taken away from the road so Benny and the Khans wouldn't be disturbed.

[laclongquan]

The ambush at goodspring source make sense, because it's on the border of the town but not yet into Powder Ganger territory. It's pretty logical route for a prudent courier to take to avoid unnecessary fighting.

 

The Sloan blockage could be longer because people far and wide know about the deathclaw, isnt it?

[Davrehck]

You all make some really good points. I do agree that it’s plausible for an amnesiac person to forget the skills he/she has learned. I don’t know much about brains only that if you get shot in the head you die, and with there being energy weapons perhaps that had an effect, like a sort of electro-shock therapy which forces the amnesia, and makes him/her forget what he or she had learned.

 

With the Mojave express being closer to Good springs, I have thought and wondered what if instead of one delivery the courier had to make it had been two? What I am saying is this. What if the courier was given the chip, but with another courier being very sick or injured/old that he or she couldn’t make it to good springs, perhaps being a good person that Six was he or she decided to take along the other’s delivery, letting him rest and recuperate.

 

This thought process is because I have found stuff in mail boxes, and perhaps the courier was the one who delivered them. What do you all think?