damn welcome back!

Rolled 9 (1d100)

Rolled 18 + 3 (1d100 + 3)

>Military

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>industry
oh god

>>6420531
I guess I am mostly referring to the legion with the whole year thing, since we have been in bed with them more or less from the start. We've had a series of clandestine and direct dealings with Caesar. It's probably been like close to half a year since we started actively bringing in Frummies? Enclave I think closer to four or five months tops? That was a lot of time for us to be able to step back and actually think about how to resolve the inevitable conflicts between our evil cohorts and allies like Boone, Veronica, Farkas, Chen, The King, etc. I know canonically Raul and Lily are neutral about the Legion if you choose to go that route, but I'd find it hard to believe they would be understanding of our cozying up with Enclave remnants. Not like Daisy or Moreno who have moved on and need a bit of convincing to put the power armor, but people like Hoover who were actively maintaining a conspiracy to preserve the group until they could re-establish themselves. We were given a lot of rope but we just never made it a priority to fix things.

Kinda delusional of Six to try and stretch these lies and walk that tightrope forever.

File: 1741577709296101.jpg (14.0 KB)

So anons, just to be clear, we are voting to break down and confess EVERYTHING, including dealing with Caesar, to Boone, the stone-cold killer with anger issues who hates Caesar and anything Legion more than he hates himself? This might work with Veronica or even Cass, but how do you guys think Boone is going to react?

>>6420580
..................Yes.............................................................................................................I am just making this spoiler block extra long so you go into it thinking I am responding with something more nuanced........

Reread your post and tell me you are talking about him as if he is one of our best friends that we would and HAVE EVEN taken bullets for, rather than another obstacle to overcome or enemy to dispatch.

If we do anything else we are developing Courier Six into an explicitly evil character, and a coward as well. Let's be brave and kind. That's more important than 'winning'.

>>6420633
>more important than winning
ehhhh?

>>6420633
I get you anon, but it's a bit different when your best friend is basically a professional assassin with serious mental issues of his own. i.e I don't want to trigger his extreme disgust and hatred of the legion and provoke him into pulling a gun on us. Which he has warned us in the past he will do. And this is the wasteland, the last time someone tried to be brave and kind New Canaan got razed and salted.

>>6420645
Vote for your alternative then, my friend.

>>6420647
My vote IS the alternative, telling him that second chances work for everyone or no-one, which he of all people should know. >>6419769

>>6420654
If we establish it firmly that the Courier never had or has intentions to hold Enclave or Legion members accountable and coming to NVD is a blank slate, no strings attached second chance, I think Boone is much more likely to violently defect. More lying is... Going to get us killed. Not by Boone. By everyone else. So, for those reasons I really disagree.

Maybe more anons will show up and see things your way. I have to admit I don't feel strongly at the end of the day, we are going to suffer the consequences of our actions now or later. The story will be interesting either way. It'll be worse later. Maybe more interesting though.

>>6420661
I mean, Boone still hasn't answered for Bitter Springs as far as I'm aware. Where do we draw the line on accountability? How do we decide that peoples sins still mar them versus when they no longer matter? We only have people's word to go on, and our own judgement. And sure, we've made mistakes, like with House, but we've had the Remnants who've done so much for us, Ulysses, hell, the Jacobstown mutants are hated by just about everyone else in the wasteland, and rightly so, but we've chosen to take them in and forget everything they did while in the Master's army. Are we to say that supermutants can turn a new leaf while the Enclave and Legion can't? If we begin condemning people for what they've done in the past now we'll be an even bigger hypocrite and liar than simply pretending that there's nothing wrong.

>>6420674
I think you are making as strong a case as you are able. But we still can't keep lying to him about Caesar. It's too late for that.
As for other arguments: our society has forgiven certain super mutants, and is happy for most of them to live separate. Our society has not been given the opportunity to forgive the Enclave, or Legion, and their crimes are a lot more present, and recent. Also... The Legion is still active. The Enclave was still active until we took them in, however shrunken in influence. They might still be actively conspiring, at least a fifth of them probably are. So it just isn't really comparable to the mutants. Also, we are capable of conducting investigations into past war crimes. The world is not that primitive, New Vegas and NCR are plenty proof enough of that. There are criminal investigations in all of the games, it isn't unprecedented for there to be evidence. Probably a terminal somewhere. Officers willing to collaborate and technology to measure veracity.
I think individuals like Boone and Ulysses redeem themselves by constantly risking their lives. I would be satisfied with having all Enclave refugees by drafted to the front lines of all military conflict? That would be a good comparison to how Boone and Ulysses atone.
Good debate, anon, you may have counters to these points but I have to bow out, I just don't feel strong enough for another big post but I do feel committed that we need to open up and eat shit on this if we are going to succeed long term.

>>6420684
Fair enough. Fun chat.

Though I will say I am dead against telling Boone about the Caesar thing more than anything, because that I believe will make us a target for him. Best case he'll demand we kill Caesar or he's gone. And in the worst case scenario he defects and goes tattling to the NCR which we don't want at all. We can't keep the frumentarii secret, but being Caesar's heir is more than possible because we and Caesar are the only ones who know about it.

File: IMG_3849.gif (21.3 KB)

Telling Boone the WHOLE truth wins

File: GA-All-Bets-Are-Off-Losers-Liars-and-Recovery-from-Gambling-Addiction.jpg (31.2 KB)

Quest Added:
[ALL BETS ARE OFF]

>>6421460
We better roll good on the speech check.

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>6421470
You know, I was originally not going to have rolls here but that wouldn’t be very fun of me, would it?

1d100+6, BO3

Rolled 54 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>6421478
Watch this

Rolled 94 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

>>6421478
Hm
>>6421470
I kind of fucking hate you right now anon!!!

>>6421484
Thank fuckening God our dice chose the right time to work.........

>>6421484
Dice don't lie yall

>>6421484
Unnatural 100, not bad. Won’t make miracles happen but will soften the blow

One more roll

Rolled 6 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6421478
There's still time for a nat 1

>>6421495
You fucking tried it, huh

>>6421484
Saving our bacon anon, the NVD is in your debt.

>>6421508
I also wrote the big write-in, my ID just changed because it's my day off and I am waiting for this restaurant to open so I can head to the zoo(^: so I am feeling very responsible for whatever happens next.

File: IMG_3850.jpg (193.6 KB)

[QUEST STARTED: THE COURIER ALWAYS WINS?]

For the first time in a long while, you’re boxed in. You briefly consider killing Boone but immediately banish that thought for multiple reasons.

You then consider lying again but to what end? You may get out of this specific encounter but you’ve run out of road. The only way out is through and the only way through is telling the truth.

[Boone, I may be a little bit in over my head here.]

He stares at you but doesn’t say anything. You continue.

[Do you remember how just over a year ago we walked the Mojave, turning player against player? We tricked House into thinking we activated those Securitrons for him and convinced Caesar into thinking we blew that Securitron vault up. The high I felt playing with those stakes and coming out on top…I literally can’t describe it. ]

You certainly don’t mention tricking the NCR or throwing Oliver off the dam.

[Well, it worked out so well before so I did it again. Why not let the hot hand run the table? Think about it, the NVD is nestled between the behemoths of the wasteland, the absolute only way we’d come out on top is if we played to win. And the only way to win is by throwing it all on red, every time.]

Again, he says nothing but his predatory eyes keep a close watch on any movement you may make.

[So here it goes. Daisy, Kreger, Moreno, Dr. Henry and Johnson are all former Enclave. They’re Arcade’s adoptive family and he vouched for them. And after a year, I trust them with my life. I really do.]

Boone: Continue.

You’re not sure if that’s a good sign but in for a bottlecap…

[I met the leader of these Enclave immigrants when I helped conduct raids on organized crime in Freeside. A man named Cyrus Long was here to learn about New Vegas and made contact with me with an offer. That offer was to begin moving his group from New Reno to the NVD to begin again. I know about the Enclave, heard the stories, but these men and women seem a far cry from those raining death from vertibirds. I gave them a strict framework for them to move here, including the vetting and tracking of every member who enters the NVD. Their only goal right now is to integrate, to follow our rules and customs and to realize they’re no longer the Enclave. They’re citizens of the Directorate.]

Boone: Jesus Christ.

[How many people do you think live in New Vegas that were born there? I’ll tell you, it’s less than you would guess. This entire region is made up of people coming here for something different, ideally a better life. One of these immigrants, Tiffany Hoover, can’t be older than 25 yet she should be executed because her grandfather *may* have committed crimes?]

Boone: Crimes against humanity, Six! These fuckers killed, raped and pilled indiscriminately! Children and women!

File: IMG_3851.png (1.3 MB)

[And if I find out any of these immigrants were responsible, they will be held responsible! But I cannot damn an entire group of people because of the sins of their fathers. That war is over, the Enclave is done. The NVD is a place to begin again.]

Boone says nothing as he stews in contemplation. The cloudy desert night pants his features in dark, shifting shadows.

That was the easy part.

[But that’s not all. You know how much the NCR wants New Vegas. If they truly decided to take it and didn’t care about the consequences, we could do nothing to stop them. So I made another bet, maybe the most dangerous yet. Caesar was sick during the Mojave Campaign, a brain tumor that was set to kill him in just months. His sudden death would potentially have torn the Legion into pieces and allowed the NCR to bring the full brunt of its power on us.]

Fuck, it sounds so much worse coming out of your mouth. Maybe you actually did make the wrong decision, and not just with telling Boone.

[So I went all-in when I was invited to visit Caesar in his Capitol. I thought maybe I’d try to assassinate him, but the fear of the NCR kept that decision at bay. Once there, I realized he invited me out to operate on him, to remove the tumor. Again, I thought about letting him die but that happens and the Legion splinters…]

The usually stoic sniper replaces his stony facade with one of shock bordering on horror. You quickly hold up your hand before he can interrupt.

[Yeah I know. A literal deal with the devil. I fixed the tumor for a very lucrative payment in return but something unusual happened during his recovery. He came out of his rest rambling about me being the heir to his empire and how there was some vast conspiracy to kill him. I took this as a sign and leaned into it, informing him of admittedly real offers to have him die on the operating table by my hand.]

Boone can’t help himself now. He stands up and aims his rifle at you.

Boone: AND WHY DIDN'T KILL HIM! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH HE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR?

You don’t attempt to disasm him, you don’t even raise your hands. Instead, you level your gaze with the fire in his eyes.

[Because that doesn’t help the NVD. It would have been the right thing to do, the moral and ethical thing to do. But it would have probably sealed the fate of the NVD. This is the game we’re playing now, Boone! I know you have personal feelings clouding your judgement, I don’t blame you. I’d probably shoot me if I were in your boots but tell me I’m wrong.]

He doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t lower his gun either.

[So now Caesar thinks I’m his heir, and I’ve been feeding him rumors and lies about the vast conspiracy against him. It started the purging of his empire, including the killing of Vulpes Inculta, the leader of the Frumentarii. That was done with my bare hands, for what it’s worth.]

File: IMG_2850.jpg (15.1 KB)

This does have the effect of cooling Boone’s temper and he stops pointing his rifle at you. Instead, he slams the butt of it into the rusted metal near him.

Boone: FUCK!

That’s putting it lightly.

Boone: What else are you doing with the Legion?

[Caesar sent a team of Frumentarii to New Vegas to be killed but we instead are using them to train our own spies. Obviously they’re not that good if they were discovered.]

Boone: Courier, do you have any idea how dangerous this is? How delicate a house of cards you built?

[If there’s anyone who knows the stakes and the danger, it’s me. But what scares me the most is, I love it. I’ve never felt more alive than when I’m shaking Kimball’s hand with my right and dealing with Caesar with my left. It’s intoxicating.]

This explanation doesn’t go over too well with Boone.

Boone: Oh you’re a gambling addict? That justifies what you’ve done?

For some reason, this really annoys you. What does Boone truly understand about what you’re doing here? You could have taken the money from House, the power from Caesar or the fame from the NCR. Instead, you chose the hard and thankless path and you have, from day one, tried your best.

But now is not the time for political philosophy and what’s truly necessary to lead.

[No, but maybe it explains my mindset. There’s not a lot of people like me in the Wastes but you’ve spent more time with me than anyone. Can you truly say I’m a bad person?]

Once again, Boone doesn’t respond immediately. Instead, he begins slowly pacing while mumbling to himself.

Boone: I don’t know anymore. Maybe not, but it doesn’t mean they’re the right choices. You’re the smartest man I know, Courier. But maybe this is too much for you.

[Maybe. I kept this from everyone because part of me wanted to assume the responsibility, to take the burden. But I’ve gambled too much, all my chips are wrapped up and I think I need help.]

Boone: You’re not going to get any sympathy from me. I don’t even know what the fuck to think about this. Jesus Christ, Courier.

You don’t have much to say. Instead, you let out a shaky breath. A very unusual reaction from you.

File: IMG_3853.jpg (119.9 KB)

Boone: But I’m not going to be the judge, jury and executioner. Here’s what’s going to happen. We will finish this mission and you will stay far the fuck from me. As soon as we return to New Vegas, you will call a meeting of your companions, governors and secretaries. You’ll tell them exactly what you told me.

[Thank you, Boone. I’m glad you were the one to finally get me to realize how deep I’m in the hole.]

He stands up and spins his hand in a circle. Off in the distance in a bluff, you see movement. You assume it’s part of BTO keeping an eye on you two.

Boone: Don’t thank me yet, Six. I haven’t decided what I’m doing about it yet. Damnit Six, you were…

He doesn’t finish and begins to walk towards camp. You’re smart enough to give him time and distance. In the quiet of the desert at night, you think more on how you got here. All the decisions you made over the last year in power.

But no silver bullet hits you, no sudden realization that enlightens you to a new answer you hadn’t thought before. Because as bad as it sounds without context, there is almost NOTHING you would have done differently.

You leave the rusted out hulk and begin the walk back to camp. You’re the Director - Courier Six - and you take full responsibility for everything you’ve done. You’ll answer to those under you, it’s their right to know, but they’ll learn what it truly takes to lead.

>>6421646
>You quickly hold up your hand before he can interrupt.
>[This is the game we’re playing now, Boone! I know you have personal feelings clouding your judgement]
>>6421649
>Boone: Courier, do you have any idea how dangerous this is? How delicate a house of cards you built?
>[If there’s anyone who knows the stakes and the danger, it’s me.]
How did we go from earnestly apologizing for our lies and compulsive risky behavior without justifying it, and asking seriously for help now that we know we are in too deep... To justifying everything as being for the good of the NVD, insisting we know better than Boone because our judgment isn't 'clouded by emotions', not even mentioning (much less saying sorry for) the deception, and explaining everything away as soon as we admit it?
>For some reason, this really annoys you. What does Boone truly understand about what you’re doing here?
You know who the Courier REALLY sounds like here? Walter White.
>"No, you clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not IN danger, Skyler. I AM the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!"
The scene that the infamous One Who Knocks monologue comes from is one where Walter has the opportunity to admit he has taken all these risks and lied so much ultimately for his own ego, and that things have escalated out of control. It's a chance to be her husband, to be a team and fight their way out of the problem. But he doubles down. He is annoyed by the implication that he was wrong, or that he isn't still in control, and when he insists that he is 'the danger', he is lying to himself as much as he is trying to put Skyler back in her place.
I mean...
>>6419777
>It is the Courier looking himself in the face and acknowledging that he has fucked up
>>6421670
>Because as bad as it sounds without context, there is almost NOTHING you would have done differently.
So... I'm definitely surprised. If this is the kind of tone and posture needed to justify a 100 and passing the check - whereas sticking to the original write-in more by being conciliatory, remorseful, and vulnerable would have ultimately caused Boone to simply shoot - then I will roll with it. Boone isn't Skyler, after all, and so maybe that approach could never have worked. Maybe Six needs to stick to his guns here and break it down for Boone as the boss to get to the other side of this. Real shame though, dude seems to be in such a dark place, mentally. I thought this could be a starting place for Six to reckon with this compulsive behavior and dishonesty. Seems to just be his excuse to continue down a selfish, self-destructive path.
That'll still make for an interesting story. It's very, very Western, and very noir, which are definitely the two biggest genre influences when you brush past the scifi set pieces.

At least we didn't get brained. For now.

>>6421676
I mean, these things are already done, there's no taking them back now. We're not some dude cooking meth, we're the head of a middle-power that's wedged between two great powers that hate each others guts and us for existing. Whoever governs New Vegas must have that iron in him. We've spent a whole lifetime building this and as long as we're in charge, nobody is going to knock it down.

>>6421752
There is no taking them back, but we're allowed to feel remorse for lying to our friends or running high-stakes and ethically compromising gambits on the fly. We can have iron in us and still be self-critical, or develop into a more honest, trusting friend.
>We've spent a whole lifetime building this
I mean, it's only been a couple of years, buddy, we used to be a mailman. But, I am with you on fighting to the death to keep what we've got!

It did go for now. Now to show where our worth is.

Yeah in that meeting we better talk of more.... like the developments with the BoS (goodybe Hardin) House (starting an hunt of the guy?). Maybe a talk of the treasuretrove thats under Hawthorne...

>>6421676
>How did we go from earnestly apologizing for our lies and compulsive risky behavior without justifying it, and asking seriously for help now that we know we are in too deep... To justifying everything as being for the good of the NVD, insisting we know better than Boone because our judgment isn't 'clouded by emotions', not even mentioning (much less saying sorry for) the deception, and explaining everything away as soon as we admit it?
The development so far makes sense from Six's own self-rationalisation.

>>6421784
I think this is as good a time as any to start thinking about adding some checks and balances into our government

>>6421676
At risk of this sounding like cope, the Courier’s “voice” is something I’ve struggled with in both iterations.

Because while the mechanics are civ-like, this really is an exploration of Courier Six and how he grows into the role of the director. And as a downstream effect, how others and the wasteland react to that.

There is also the reality of running it like a quest where different players have different views of the courier and what he should do. Instead of having whatever direction chosen by players (reacting this way instead of that way) play out as the only option that was possible, I let the disagreement the players have bleed over into the struggles that Six has.

So that at this point in the quest, and by the end of it, he’ll be a product of your inaction and action while also having the same internal struggles you all have.

So this plays out in these deeply personal moments because Six himself is still human and he’s a deeply divided person who is still trying to do his best.

From a personal standpoint, my imprint is obviously on this quest and my beliefs and views are imprinted throughout. All that to be said, I know I’ll never make everyone happy here all the time but I still appreciate everyone’s time and effort with this.

>>6422050
Sure, and that makes sense to me. I will maintain that the write-in itself is hinged on genuine remorse and accepting serious failure, but even a lot of the voters that supported it with +1's also added flat justifications or arguments that rationalize the decisions Six made - if that is all being considered and folded in, I would definitely agree that sentiment made up a larger part of the discussion than saying sorry or being regretful.
And if the majority of us are approaching this from that perspective (whether I think the winning vote itself was or not), and that makes its way into the story this way, that's ultimately not a bad thing.
I really do think the Courier here is just like Heisenberg - he is calmly explaining why he is right, how much more he knows about the situation than this mere critic (who happens to be one of his closest loved ones), and the way he is literally irritated by his genius being called into question. Instead of Walter's refrain of 'I do all of this for the family!' we get 'this is what I have to do for the NVD!', which has often been the justification in our votes for morally questionable moves.
And yaknow what? Breaking Bad is a great TV show because people really like to watch Walter White spiral into this void of chaos and treachery because of his incessant need to be the smartest (and eventually most powerful) person in the room. I didn't even have him in mind when I pitched a confession to a sort of gambling addiction, but it really mirrors how at the end of BB Walt finally confesses that he was doing it all for himself, because the criminal antics made him feel alive. Six is recognizing as much about himself here, but clearly doesn't:t have any regrets. Maybe he will!

More than anything man, you're the QM and I think you oughta just trust your instincts when illustrating the MC, even if they sometimes baffle players a bit, which is something I think I've done sometimes myself - as a writer you gotta keep an extremely firm grip of a character like this in order to keep momentum in the story. Once I lose even a small part of my contact with a character's psyche, it becomes three times as hard to write them, for me, and I think that's generally a big challenge in collaborative storytelling mediums.

>>6421784
I think what you said here is a bit circular - the goal, for me at least, wasn't to rationalize everything, Six has already been doing that the whole time. The idea was more that, finally being confronted in this way, he would break down and have the full realization that his behavior (specifically his tendency to lie directly or by omission to the ones closest to him, and repeatedly take huge, morally compromising, high stakes risks) is at this point second nature, compulsive, and may genuinely need to be healed. Rationalizing is a good way to win an argument if you're the better speaker and have the sharper intellect (which Six enjoys both benefits), but going back to my comment above about this being partially informed from my experience with group therapy... It's also a good way to lose everyone you love and destroy your life. Boone may not have shot us, but he doesn't trust or like us anymore because we didn't give him a reason to. That's really compelling stuff, though, it really affected me emotionally to read because I feel like I have experienced this kind of breakdown in friendship a few times in my life. So, again, I don't wanna sound totally like I'm bitching. It's good storytelling.

I do want to point out amidst all this soul searching, that we are a head of state communicating with a military subordinate. Operational security and the prerogatives of leadership allow us to compartmentalize information and withhold things from said subordinates in line with our own judgment and the needs of the state. I hate to sound like an autocratic prick, but this is basically a benevolent dictatorship, and quite honestly I think we had very good reasons for both letting in the Enclave remnants as well as subverting Legion personnel and leadership in the interest of the NVD's long term security. Boone is a soldier, he doesn't need the whole picture and in fact given it to him does nothing but cloud his mind and subvert him from his correct purpose, which is to be the state's instrument of war. Keep in mind he committed war crimes, murdering Khanate women, children, and noncombatants because NCR leadership told him to, so for him to clutch pearls at us accepting Enclave soldiers who followed orders from their own chain of command is both hypocritical and borderline insubordinate. Hate to sound like an autocratic prick about this but it is what it is and we are who we are. All this mopish navel gazing is downright uncourier-like.

As far as the legion stuff goes, if he can't see the upside in our positioning not only to remove the legion as a long-term threat but providing us a potential route to parabolic expansion via inheritance, while simultaneously taking out their head of Intel and gaining experience for our own intelligence apparatus via the frumentarii, then he's not the steely eyed special ops squaddie I understood him to be. To turn the enemy's forces against themselves is the height of the art of war, but to to bring the enemy's strength and landholds within one's own grasp without firing a shot is the absolute apex. Boone needs to take a Calma and get back in line.

>>6422105
>Hate to sound like an autocratic prick about this but it is what it is and we are who we are. All this mopish navel gazing is downright uncourier-like.
No single one of us gets to define Six, and if your vision of him is as a remorseless autocratic prick, I have to say that is who he has become through gameplay and chosen to be in this moment. But even in the game, there are tons of empathetic, humble, kind, and honest dialogue options that can be chosen. In fact, if the Courier hadn't chosen dialogue options that are empathetic and kind, he would literally not have been able to unlock Arcade's companion quest and rally the Enclave remnants - that's canon in this story. Same for Veronica and Boone, as I recall, you literally have to choose to be a good, moral person as you travel in order for them to open up enough to initiate their companion quests. In THIS quest, there is always an opportunity for Six to change his perspective, or open up emotionally to the people close to him. He has been doing that with Cass, actually, though I am interested to see how she handles this revelation. I suspect she won't take kindly to being told she needs to 'get back in line'.

>>6422105
>>6422108
This got me curious enough to reread the details and dialogue for some of these companion quests. Seems Cass is the only companion that will abandon you based on Karma, bailing if you go 'very evil', and the rest are affected mainly by faction rep, and occasionally certain specific choices - I remember losing Arcade myself one time when I activated ARCHIMEDES, he was totally incensed, though maybe it was just the huge NCR rep hit.

Anyhow, man, you are definitely *not wrong* to look at it this way.
>we are a head of state communicating with a military subordinate.
>Operational security and the prerogatives of leadership allow us to compartmentalize information and withhold things from said subordinates in line with our own judgment and the needs of the state.
>Boone is a soldier, he doesn't need the whole picture and in fact given it to him does nothing but cloud his mind and subvert him from his correct purpose, which is to be the state's instrument of war.
These things are all essentially true...

But it is a *fact* that Boone is (was, I should say) one of our best friends, too. It is a *fact* that for our Courier to have completed all of the companion quests and rallied the Enclave remnants with Arcade, he would have to have conducted himself with positive karma overall by the time of Hoover, and would have had to choose kind, empathetic, options consistently, on at least a dozen occasions. I think mathematically, since we did not kill Vulpes or Caesar prior to Hoover, Six would have actually HAD to save the crucified soldiers at Nelson instead of mercy kill them, for the extra +1 loyalty point, meaning he took big personal risks to do what was right instead of what was easy or pragmatic, in the past. So it's more complicated than that, or at least inaccurate to say it's 'uncourier-like' to care about his friend's feelings or being honest with them, or even doing what is morally correct at his own expense.
But he isn't just The Courier anymore, it's been a year, and through our votes we have made him into The Director, and that's a man that... Well, wants his instrument of war to get back in line while he 'compartmentalizes information'. Far from the first to be hardened by the task of nation-building... Edward Sallow is a topical example of the same arc. Again, sad as it is, good storytelling.

>>6422108
>us a potential route to parabolic expansion via inheritance

I really doubt that will happen easily, or if at all. Not only have I never seen most of us interested in changing the NVD or ourselves to fit Caesar's mad mind of us being his "Augustus", but we are in no condition to be a possible target of the looming internal disaster of the Legion. Already, we are heavily occupied in fixing the Mojave and building the NVD. I don't see us wanting to deal with the heavily armed shitshows of warlord generals that will spawn from Edward Legion hordes. Besides, in one way: defense.

We have only gone behind Caesar's idea of heir to shield the NVD from any potential predations, and also to create internal disorder in his lands. Actually accept being his true heir ? We are not prepared for that, because we aren't the wet dream heir of all his generals and warriors, even if we showed ourselves to be great soldiers/commanders and kicked around even the NCR, we have little of the Legion in us (culturally and socially). Really, Edward will drop a social bomb on his generals' heads when he publicly picks us. That will likely break the Legion back, if the other internal events going on inside it don't do it first.

Which is good since we have no reason to go behind Caesar's madness, beside for keep the lie going with him. We want to shield ourselves as long as possible, but we will likely not be his "Augustus" in truth. We will be what we are now, the Director.

>>6421670
Its bad, But honestly not as bad as I was expecting which was gunfire.

I hope Boone swings around to see it, and I really do hope the deals with the devils we've made pays off.

However we cannot have fucking Veronica at the meeting with our 'companions' the fucking snitch.

>>6422105
Yeah... I didn't want to outright say it but all the sudden regret and emotion is unbecoming us as a character and head of state. We're not some guy goofing off with our friends and making mistakes and causing drama, we're the damn head of an entire nation and we have responsibilities to that nation, arguably more than we do to our friends. We don't have time for regrets, not when we're still building it up. If we didn't want those regrets, then we (as a character) shouldn't have embarked on the journey at all and let House run things instead.

That isn't to say that we need to be an emotionless autist like House, there's a reason we decided to take over instead of letting him run it, but by the same token we can't be naïve about what we're doing and what we've done. There are going to be moments when we do things that will upset people. There will be moments when we will be a real cold bastard because sometimes talking things through doesn't work. We cannot, and should not try to please everyone, especially if they start questioning decisions that have already been made. Are we going to try and take those decisions back? If not, then what's the point of getting emotional over them? And again, it doesn't mean that we should be emotionless, we should be open to our companions perspectives, get their input, and try to do good for everyone, but ultimately, the buck stops with us because we are the one making the hard decisions, not them.

>>6422220
>Veronica
We're going to need to crack some heads on that one lol. Especially given the Brotherhood's recent activities, she may be an actual security liability.

>>6422310
>Are we going to try and take those decisions back? If not, then what's the point of getting emotional over them?
Because when normal people betray their friends and lie to them about it, they feel remorse, and reconsider their actions, maybe even try to salvage the relationship by showing contrition and seeking to change or reconcile.
You guys are both saying Six doesn't need to be an 'emotionless autist' or you 'hate to be an autocratic prick', but in the same breath justify him being an emotionless, sociopathic, autocratic autist prick. Regardless of whether you hate it, or whether he needs to be, Six is one, now. You might as well just own it, since you think the juice is worth the squeeze? I was the one here genuinely trying to swim the other way, but now that we're here, I am not uncomfortable just leaning in. A lot of the best fiction out there revolves around malignant narcissists, and I think it is a reasonable headspace for Six to end up in.

As much as you wish it to be, you can’t just skip time until after the inevitable confession to your closest friends and confidants. Neither can you skip the arduous process of walking north to Zion and back.

To add further insult to injury, Operation Fulcrum is more or less a failure. The day after your confrontation with Boone, Team A runs into the first patch of Boomer Blight up in the mountains. A forward deployed squad was walking through a thick patch of brush ahead of the main force when the ground itself opened up and the five soldiers fell in. What was assumed to be a minor sinkhole or old mineshaft revealed itself to the gaping maw of a…creature…that swallowed the squad in one gulp.

-5 Soldiers

It attempted to sluggishly bury itself back in the sand to relocate but the screams of the consumed soldiers did alert the Ulysses and his force. Unfortunately, the lack of any heavy weaponry made the process of bringing the monster down a lesson in patience. Team A then had to track it down and pepper it with gunfire, trapping it in a rocky canyon as it squirmed just below the surface. The Securitron team from Team B slowly made their way across the desert until the robots could rain rockets down into the valley. Even then, a squad of particularly brave soldiers had to climb down into the rubble-strewn valley to ensure the monster was truly dead. While it was killed, it’s impossible to know the length or size, or what it looks like outside of the gaping mouth ringed with jagged teeth and a green, slimy coating that corroded at the touch.

When this was reported to you on your entry to an abandoned town, you cursed the losses but assumed it would be the worst it would get. Unfortunately, Operation Fulcrum still had some surprises.

Beaver Dam sits along I15 and is inhabited by a small group of traders who profited greatly when New Canaan was still around. Even just a few months ago, it was inhabited by nearly a hundred people who were nominally under Legion authority but in practice, were an independent group. The small but flowing river made it an important rest stop for travelers.

The scouting group was then surprised to find the town completely abandoned. The immediate belief is that the increased radiation from the Zion bombing chased them away as the river held unhealthy levels mostly due to runoff from the nearby hills. There was evidence of violence and conflict but aside from some blood splatters and bullet casings, no bodies were found.

That was until a Private Pulwasky from the second platoon wandered down the stairs to the boiler room of an old motel. Inside was a scene almost without belief. In fact, you didn’t believe it until you went yourself.

You walk down the cement stairs into the stuffy, humid darkness. In the far corner, tucked halfway behind an old blown boiler in the was an amalgamation of flesh, bone and sinew that lost all shape and sense. Light shone on the greenish-grey mass makes it recoil, but the lump can’t move as it had no appendages. In fact, it seems stuck to the wall through a sticky residue. Legs, arms, digits and stumps sprout out all over the misshapen body but they have no apparent use other than to squirm in reaction to external stimuli.

Worse than this are the faces of the victims plastered along the unnatural curves, twisted in agony. It’s unclear if they were once women or children, legion or bandit. Now they’re joined together in an absolutely abhorrent form. It takes you a few minutes until the horrible realization sets in for you.

This is a living organism built from the bodies and biomatter of animal and man. All along the floor are sprouts of the same type of plant matter consistent with Boomer Blight and the spore cloud in the basement is so thick it leaves a dried crust on equipment when exposed to the Mojave sun.

As you have no scientific personnel or equipment, there’s nothing more to learn from this ghastly creation. You set your mini-nuke to detonate and evacuate your force from the area. The explosion wipes nearly half the small settlement off the map, while the Securitrons demolish the remainder with their rockets.

The destruction of the town had the unfortunate side effect of riling up what spore carriers were hiding out in the town. An unfortunate squad of soldiers were ambushed while clearing an old health clinic and ripped to shreds before the Securitrons could roll in and eliminate the threat.

-5 soldiers

>>6422364
Oh God. The Blight is evolving into the Flood. I vote next thread we scream at the BoS to get this shit cleaned up ASAP or we're kicking them out of the bunkers. Or maybe get the Enclave folks to start working on some agent orange we can load on the boomers plane.

>>6422418
why not both
talk to the chinese as well, maybe they have stockpiles of ancient plague rat piss or something we can use

>>6422364
It was already quite bad the other time. I still remember telling people that i doubt it would be the end of an "arc" and that it would hardly just sit and die because of a nuke. This pretty much confirms it.

Unmanageable losses, considering relevant CBRN equipment was lost. Damage done : irrelevant. This is very easy to say, if the Blight is close to a river it would be smart and have more than one connection. Meaning : the death of one monster of this size and a nest quite away from Blight origin point mark that this it has survived and has already earned again a considerable production capacity of units.

Just retreat in a ordered way, we specifically have written down to not push in case we had a risk of losses, and to act conservately. We suffered multiple casualties and barely acted that way, get out now.

But do order to grab burned evidence. So we can tell ..... heh nah. We are doing this on our own. The BoS will not give a fuck, everyone else cant be trusted. Dont grab anything beside our dead equipment if possible.


>>6422418
It was already kind of like this, merely adapted more after rads. What should have us scared is not the slightly changed aspect, its the fact that it fully survived and its unit production capacity has been steadily regained. The fact its near a river with 1 auxiliary nest should be also a source of fear.

I am not sure I want to trust the BoS with helping us, they have left the previous checkpoints as soon as it was convenient. At this point we might need to swap research and go full on Blight death, while also asking the Boomer to prepare in defense and us supporting them.

Nah we need something that kills it in full. No more half measures like a bomb, a chemical agent, a gas. Lets find how to kill it for sure with research, with a 100% efficient result and no adaptations born from it.


>>6422493
?
The Shi are more on a technological mechanical/industrial/computer aspects of science. They are not specialized for this. It would also just be an insult someone for free, especially with something the Blight has no issue in integrating already since it assimilated many wastelanders and wasteland creature which would include rad rats. I am not sure whats the angle.

>>6422512
See, the problem with doing all the research ourselves is that it takes up valuable resources with no long term benefit to ourselves. We do all the work for the rest of the wasteland and we get nothing back in return, which is why I want to fob it off to the BoS.

Or maybe we get the Think Tank to tell us how to make more of the Sierra Madre's cloud? That is pretty good at killing things, the only worry I'd have is that the Blight evolves from that, so to avoid that we'd need samples for testing, experimentation, etc. Which would be a headache. Maybe we can turn Vault 22 into a biolab? Then again, that's basically asking for this whole situation to turn into Resident Evil.

>>6422527
Well I see a long term benefit : this thing dead and dusted, and not having to read more about how much it survives/adapts and how much it wants to infest and expand. I think its a wonderful benefit.

>rest of the wasteland and we get nothing back in return
Yeah but what you want to do. The Blight either gives up temporarily on infesting us and spreads on another location, or double downs on trying to infest the Mojave, the nearest source of biomass and with large amount of water too. We have a shaky political situation with the NCR, an unclear one with the Legion and Lost Hills think we are their ideological enemy. Of the three only two can provide scientific help and at this point, i am not sure we can afford for even send them samples of this thing. Its too dangerous. I am not sure they would like the idea to work together in a lab owned by us either for example. Times have changed. Would they realize a 2nd time that we need their help for deal with this nightmare ? That they must look the other way and help us again even if they really dont like us ? I am not fully sure.

>which is why I want to fob it off to the BoS.
After their latest stunts, fully giving them the objective to research a way to kill this thing is not something i want to do. I can accept their help if we can monitor it and if they actually give said help.

>Maybe we can turn Vault 22 into a biolab?
I am thinking of doing that. We cant have one in NV for obvious reasons (need a proper well-built structure, sanitation situation kept in balance, no proper housing, water problem, sewers not fixed, colonies of very dirty animal pests etc...). Its probably a bad idea since Vaults are all old and broken hyper costly giant turds made by Vault-Tec.... but it beats being a biolab in our capital.

With Beaver Dam demolished, Team B continues towards St. George along I15 while Team A takes the tougher terrain and heads down south. However, the rads continue to only tick higher and halfway between the ruins of Beaver and St. George. While the CBRN suits protect our soldiers, the stuffy outfits make travel slow and tiring. You, Boone and a Securitron creep closer to the town to scout it out before Team B moves in.

St. George was a Legion settlement in name only but was settled by Mormons and some surrounding tribals. They took advantage of I15 and Highway 18 that are pretty lucrative trade routes through the region. That’s what you were told by Daniel and Secretary Garret, of course. This is the first time you’re laying eyes on it and what you see fills you with a heavy sadness. It’s obvious there was a healthy population here centered around trade and even some robust agriculture and animal husbandry. But no more.

Brahmin and bighorners lay dead in their enclosures while a series of poorly-dug graves sit just outside the town. You and Boone walk through the outskirts checking for life, but the fallout from your bombing has killed just about everything, including the foliage. While some weeds and shrubbage still exist, the crops are dead in the fields and the lack of scavengers is shocking. While most animals in the wasteland have built up a resistance to radiation, the Mojave isn’t one of those areas and the fallout around St. George was hit particularly hard.

You and Boone say nothing as you both leave the town and return to your Securitron, radioing back to Team A to begin the trip back to New Vegas. There’s nothing here for you.

Operation Fulcrum is a success, even if it doesn’t feel like it. The strike force did clear the area and eliminated multiple booked blight contaminations even if it resulted in the loss of 10 soldiers. The Toxic Avengers also got valuable combat experience and learned much about fighting the monsters of the Boomer Blight.

You also learned much more about how the Boomer Blight spreads in the wild. While you have no explanation for the flesh pile, it’s clear the Blight needs bio matter and bio matter tends to need water to thrive and dies very quickly in the arid desert of the Mojave. This goes for their spores as well, with the dry desert quickly killing them if not contained in a moist, darker environment. The Blight system also can’t expand much outside of already existing ground so there’s very little fear of the Blight making the desert into some green hell. This makes it much easier to search for any infestations though you shudder for the potential of a widespread outbreak in New Vegas. You make a mental note to check in on the joint NCR-NVD project to see if they have any new developments.

Of course, you have a more pressing and potentially-existential crisis to deal with.

>>6422527
We do benefit from it though, thats experience in learning how to deal with wild and fucked biological horrors which is fairly common in well any fallout game. Not just that but by not partaking in it or atleast working with others, that gives THEM power over us which we really don't want to lose out.

Also the BoS 'pulled back' once we dropped the nuke and didn't send shit in to verify its all dealt with. So trusting them blindly is the same issue we got into every other mess.

ya ya pot calling kettle black.

>>6422611
gee, I wonder what would happen if we made it rain somehow

>>6422719
We should probably make sure folks now how to swim just on the off chance now that you bring that up or what to do during flooding/flash floods.

>>6422727
how about we bury the damn doomsday machine until the Blight has been well and truly dealt with instead?
also, maybe it's time to invest more into those antifungal plant creches or whatever they were

>>6422731
>doomsday machine
Wait, I thought Rain won?

>>6422733
it did
I thought it was a bad idea from the start and now I feel vindicated in the worst way possible

>>6422735
and by it I mean the weather machine

>>6422719
Do you really think the QM would apply that kind of a huge drawback to using the technology he had one of our main science NPCs tell us to investigate right after we finally start to do so? Like, he kicked us this plot hook, surely he wouldn't punish us with a Blight outbreak wherever we fire it up on the first go?

...right?

>>6422742
you don't have to jump at every bad idea, you know
you could jump at good ideas like antifungals
five minutes of thinking would have told anyone as they told me that it is a huge waste of scientist time in the first place, and that it can backfire in about six ways, and that it will never live up to the hype
but you have to play the meta don't you
maybe take this as a hint that the meta ain't what you think it is?

>>6422749
By your own logic, There is no good choice ever because there will always be a 'possible' negative effect and thus no reason in partaking?

>>6422749
What are you talking about?