The COMPLETE History of Fallout New Vegas

The Complete History of Fallout: New Vegas

Welcome to MojoPlays, where we’ll be doing a deep dive into the detailed worldbuilding and lore of “Fallout: New Vegas”.

A lot of fans consider “New Vegas” to be the greatest game in the franchise. Few debate the claim that it’s a masterpiece, on account of its incredible storytelling, characters, and setting. There are four primary paths in the main storyline, leading to a huge quantity of endings, determined by your interactions with every single faction. This presents a massive issue for the Amazon “Fallout” TV series. It means they’ll have to figure out a canonical ending before venturing to New Vegas in season 2. So, we’re going to explore the location’s detailed history, so no matter what happens in season 2, you’ll be completely caught up.

Our story begins with the king of New Vegas, Robert House, aka Mr. House. Before the apocalypse, House was the CEO of tech giant RobCo Industries. He predicted a nuclear war due to escalating global tensions. Importantly, House disliked the vaults and their tight spaces, so he worked to defend his home city, Las Vegas, alongside placing himself in a life-support device. One key aspect of his defenses was the platinum chip, which would’ve upgraded his Securiton robot army. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t arrive before the Great War began, and was lost for two centuries. House ended up in a decades-long coma, but thankfully, Vegas was virtually unscathed. Eventually, he awoke, then began carefully plotting his next move, hiding in the shadows for ages.

While House was biding his time, New Vegas came under the control of vault-dwelling tribes. To the far west, the New California Republic formed at the end of the first game, in 2189. Their hometown was Shady Sands, and they quickly became a dominant democratic power in California. In 2274, they stumbled upon Hoover Dam. This freaked out Mr. House, who decided to dispatch his Securitons to the local raider tribes. He made them an offer to join him, leave, or die. Three groups accepted, who then became known as the Three Families: the Charimen, the Omertas, and the White Glove Society. The Kings and the Great Khans refused, the former moving to Freeside, the latter to Bitter Springs. The Khans raided the NCR for decades, until the NCR retaliated, perpetrating a massacre upon them. House became cautious that the NCR would invade, so he struck a deal with them, allowing them to control Hoover Dam in exchange for power.

Meanwhile, in the East, Caesar’s Legion was formed by Edward “Caesar” Sallow and Joshua Graham. They are an extremely far-right totalitarian regime and slave state, inspired by the Roman Empire. They spent years growing in power until 2277, when they formed Fortification Hill overlooking Hoover Dam, hoping to seize it for themselves. This led to the First Battle of Hoover Dam, soon after, between the Legion and the NCR. They were led by Graham, but ultimately failed. As punishment, he was set ablaze and thrown into the Grand Canyon. Caesar began to consolidate his forces, waiting until an opportunity to strike again arose.

Todd Howard’s favorite tech cult also makes an appearance, albeit a minor one. The West Coast Brotherhood was overwhelmed by the NCR after the Enclave war. They sought to claim Enclave technology, an idea the NCR disliked. In “New Vegas”, only a small chapter remains in the Hidden Valley Bunker. They were previously ruled by Elder Elijah, who took control of solar power plant HELIOS One. Rather than simply preserve it, Elijah opted to improve it, a controversial idea for the Brotherhood. This failed when the NCR attacked the plant, pushing them into the Hidden Valley. Elijah vanished, and McNamara took control. In the game, the player can choose to massacre the Brotherhood or aid them. They can be convinced to strike a truce with the NCR, aiding them in the fight for Hoover Dam, but the majority of the Brotherhood’s endings aren’t positive.

Now it’s time to discuss the humanitarian organization, the Followers of the Apocalypse. They were formed in the NCR, but cut ties due to the Republic’s aggressive conquest. The Followers aim to provide education and medical services to all who need them. Many of their members come from various factions, such as the Enclave, and in “New Vegas”, can be found in Freeside. There, they aid the neglected locals, with Julie Farkas leading the operation. Here, players can befriend Arcade Gannon, a former Enclave soldier, potential followers, and a fan favorite.

If you played “Fallout 2”, you’ll already know the Enclave, an ominous faction that considers themselves the rightful American government. Before the Great War, the US President and this faction hid in fortified locations. In “Fallout 2”, they come back and attempt to genocide the whole planet, barring a minority of humans they considered pure. This fails because of the Chosen One’s actions, and they’re mostly destroyed in the West. A few remnants can be found in “New Vegas”, but they’re all ancient except for Arcade Gannon. The player can convince them to fight at the Second Battle for Hoover Dam, which becomes their last stand.

The Vaults are a particularly enticing piece of lore, with each one having a unique and often creepy story. Six exist in New Vegas. First, there’s Vault 3, which was a normal vault with no experiments. A water leak in the 23rd century made them open up to the world. It didn’t take long for raiders known as the Fiends to trick them and take over. Next, there’s Vault 11, where residents had to elect 1 member annually to be sacrificed. Understandably, this turned into a disaster, and only five dwellers survived. They refused to be sacrificed, prompting the computer to congratulate them, ending the elections, and stating that it had been an experiment all along. Next, there’s Vault 19, whose inhabitants were given intense paranoia via abhorrent means. It’s unclear what happened to them, but escaped NCR convicts called the Powder Gangers now rule it. When they found it, it was already empty. Vault 21 is simply a Hotel and Shop, located in the heart of the New Vegas Strip. Gambling was how they solved all issues, making it a tiny Las Vegas in a Vault. It was opened up by Mr. House, who then filled half of it with concrete. Vault 22 is unique, as it housed scientists, not civilians. They experimented with crops, hoping to prevent future famines. This all fell apart due to Beauveria Mordicana, a fungus that infected the entire population and turned them into spore carriers. The vault would be abandoned by the start of the 22nd century. Finally, there’s Vault 34, which collapsed due to overpopulation. It had a well-stocked armory, huge recreational facilities, but almost no living space.

This is where the Boomers enter our story. Vault 34’s overseer eventually tried to control the population, but they rebelled. These rebels looted the armory and fled, becoming the Boomers. In the wastes, they stumbled upon Nellis Air Force Base, which locals believed was too irradiated to call home. The Boomer’s Geiger counters told them otherwise, so they moved in. To keep their home safe, they decided to fire off nukes and bombs at anyone who wanders nearby. They became hyperfixated on repairing a crashed B-29 bomber, abandoned at the bottom of Lake Mead. It’s up to the player to decide whether they want to help them or not, but it’s totally worth it when you see their repaired bomber flying over the skies above Hoover Dam. Of course, in traditional “New Vegas” fashion, you can massacre them all, as is the case for everyone in the game.

Our next topic is the Big MT Research Facility, a pre-War research center and the central location of the “Old World Blues” DLC. Before the Great War, a failed experiment by Doctor Klein turned it into an immense crater. As of “New Vegas”, Klein is the facility’s leader, alongside five other scientists. It’s also been decades since they were human. Now, they live as brain bots and are some of the most unhinged characters in the franchise. They’re responsible for some of the wasteland’s greatest horrors, like night stalkers and cazadores. When the player meets them in “New Vegas”, the Think Tank has been betrayed by Doctor Mobius, who commands an army of robot scorpions. Also, they have stolen and lost the player’s brain. The major twist is that Mobius isn’t evil at all; he has altered the Think Tank’s memories to prevent them from experimenting on the entire wasteland. They sought to move their own brains into host bodies, which Mobius hoped to stop. The player can choose between convincing them to stay in Big MT, or they can instead destroy them all.

So far, we’ve hardly discussed the player themself, better known as the Courier. The Courier was tasked with finding the Platinum Chip and returning it to Mr. House. The game begins after the Courier has been intercepted by Benny, who shoots and buries them, stealing the chip for himself. The Courier fully recovers, barring their lost memory. The game’s first act centers on the Courier retracing Benny’s steps around the Mojave Wasteland, eventually catching up with him and retrieving the chip. It’s up to the player to decide who to give it to. Turns out, Benny wanted to create an independent New Vegas, free from the clutches of Mr. House, the NCR, and the Legion. This can be done regardless of Benny’s fate, using his hilarious Securiton Yes Man. The chip can be used to strengthen the Securitons, which is important if you’re doing either a Mr. House run or an independent run. Alternatively, you can blow up House’s secret army of Securitons, which is Caesar’s preferred outcome. This means that for most endings, Mr. House has to die. So the rest of the game has the Courier travelling all across the Wasteland, trying to either unite or destroy the Mojave factions. One of the most interesting parts of this game is that you can kill literally every adult character, except for Yes Man. It leads to a horrific ending, but it’s amusing that it’s possible.

If you thought the Courier was underdeveloped, thankfully, the DLC “Lonesome Road” explains their backstory. They were one of six couriers hired by Mr. House to deliver secret packages. The Courier was the only important one, being given the platinum chip, with the rest being duds to divert attention. After completing the first three DLCs, the Courier is contacted by Ulysses, another courier who refused to deliver the chip earlier. The Courier is tasked with travelling to Ulysses’ home, the Divide, a huge canyon settlement that used to be prosperous. The DLC reveals that years ago, the Courier had delivered them a deadly package. It transmitted detonation codes to missile silos hidden beneath the Divide, which exploded and destroyed the settlement. The Courier was entirely unaware of this until “Lonesome Road”. Ulysses is enraged, so he seeks to get revenge by forcing the Courier to nuke either the Legion or the NCR. The DLC ends with the Courier either killing him or persuading him to calm down. Then, they can decide whether to nuke the NCR, the Legion, both, or to prevent the launch entirely. This is likely to come back in the “Fallout” series, but it’s unclear which decision will become canon.

After all this walking around the desert, the Courier completes the game in the Second Battle for Hoover Dam. It’s fought between the NCR and the Legion, but if you seek either a Mr. House or Yes Man ending, then it’ll be a three-sided battle. It finishes with up to 29 ending slides, most of them having many different varieties depending on player decisions. This allows for an immense number of endings, with few players having identical outcomes. The developers intended it to be playable after completion, letting you see the results of your actions. Unfortunately, this had to be cut due to time restraints, but it can be added back in with the help of mods. Over 15 years since its release, players are still arguing over which ending is the best. The general consensus is that the NCR is the best, as the most factions can side with them. They’re still a morally grey democracy, however, and the series’ first season revealed their capital has been nuked. The Legion is considered the worst, as they will undoubtedly enslave most of New Vegas. On the other hand, crime is relatively low in Legion provinces, but the means arguably don’t justify the ends. Mr. House thrives on wealth inequality, only caring about bringing money into his city. So, it’s easy to see the flaws in his ending when you see the poverty of Freeside. Finally, the independent ending is super appealing, but it feels too tenuous to last long.

So it’s currently unclear which ending will become canon. Potentially, they’ll introduce a major event following the Hoover Dam battle, making all endings redundant. The decision to nuke a faction is one of the biggest issues, alongside the outcome of Mr. House. The character is confirmed to be in series 2, but it’s unclear if this will be only in flashbacks or if he survived the events of “New Vegas”. It’s set 15 years after the games’ conclusion, so there’s plenty of time for all sorts of shenanigans to alter the landscape.

What ending do you think is the best for the Mojave, and what do you think is most likely to be made canon for the series? Let us know in the comments below!