History FalloutNewVegas / TropesCToD

* DropTheHammer: The sledgehammer and Super Sledge. Strangely, the tool hammers cannot be used as a weapon. Perhaps the best melee weapon in the game is the unique Super Sledge, Oh, Baby!, which can just about two-shot deathclaws. Also, the X-2 Antenna from ''Old World Blues''.

** In the backstory, the first Battle of Hoover Dam also ended in a humiliating defeat for the Legion, grinding their campaign of conquest to a halt and forcing them back across the Colorado to reorganize. Dialogue with certain [=NPCs=] reveals that the only reason the NCR didn't wipe out the Legion entirely in this battle was because their recent battle with the Brotherhood of Steel at HELIOS One and the loss of their supply route through the Divide left them too undermanned and stretched thin to pursue the Legion further.

** Dr. Mobius, who deliberately plays the role of a BMovie villain and even admits to watching those films, is voiced by Creator/CamClarke, whose father Robert Clarke was best known for acting in that sort of film.

* CashGate: Entry to the Strip through the Freeside gate requires you to have 2000 caps minimum on your person, or pay 500 caps to purchase a forged passport (which can be negotiated down to 375 with a high enough Barter skill), though there are many ways around this like taking the monorail from the NCR's HQ at Camp [=McCarran=].

** The Boomers sidequest "Young Hearts" does this to the time-honored Fallout tradition of "Speech checks make everything better". Partway through the quest, when you're speaking to Janet, a Speech 50 check pops up. If you choose it, however, the Courier lies and tells her it's safe to go back to Nellis - which leads to her being reduced to her component atoms by the Boomer artillery because they didn't know she was coming, failing the quest on the spot.

* DaysOfFuturePast: In addition to the "retro 50s" feel of all surviving pre-war culture typical to the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' franchise, Caesar's Legion is obviously inspired by the Roman Empire, in-universe and out.

** As well as the Ripper, a full-sized chainsaw can be found [[spoiler:in Vault 3, wielded by Motor-Runner, or on high-level Legionaries]]. Thanks to its incredibly high-damage VATS attack (high enough to completely ignore a Ranger's DT and kill him in one hit), it is one of the best weapons for Sneak Attacks in the game. Despite whatever common sense may tell you about using a bulky, awkward and loud weapon for stealth work.

*** ''Old World Blues'': Big MT looks LighterAndSofter and DenserAndWackier, but its conducts inhuman experiments and has a Chinese-American internment camp full of human test subjects.
*** ''Lonesome Road'': Set in one of the worst places of post-War America, a nuclear hellhole inhabited by pain-maddened NCR and Legion soldiers who have been skinned to the muscle by the constant radioactive sandstorm in the region ''[[FateWorseThanDeath that refuses to let them die because the radiation keeps healing them]]'', Morlock-like monsters that tunnel up from the ground and would be an existential threat to the Mojave if they ever left the area, an a mysterious wanderer with a vendetta against ''you specifically''. [[spoiler:And it's [[UnrelliableNarrator (probably)]] all your fault that it got like this, since you unwittingly delivered the launch codes that activated the underground nuke silos and blew this once thriving hub of civilization back to the Stone Age.]]

*** ''Lonesome Road'': Set in one of the worst places of post-War America.

** [[ColdSniper Boone]] is trying to reconcile with his [[DarkAndTroubledPast memories of Bitter Springs and Carla]].
** [[MrFixit Raul]] is trying to [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife find meaning in his life]].
** [[FieryRedhead Cass]] is trying to deal with the loss of her caravan.
** [[NeverMessWithGranny Lily]] wants to recover [[MysteriousPast her memories of her past]].
** [[WrenchWench Veronica]] wants to save the Brotherhood since she's the [[OnlySaneMan only person willing to look beyond the bunker's walls]].
** [[{{Cyborg}} Rex]] has a brain that's over 200 years old and needs replacement or he'll die. Two of the three brains are fine for Rex, but the third will invoke more of this on him as he will develop a multiple personality disorder, psychotic rage and a hunger for human flesh.

** [[GadgeteerGenius Christine]] wants to [[ItsPersonal finally deal with Elijah.]]
** [[GreenEyedMonster Dean]] wants to finally complete his [[TallPoppySyndrome revenge against Sinclair.]]
** [[BadassPreacher Joshua Graham]] wants to avenge his tribe and [[TheAtoner redeem himself]] from when he was a Legate.
** In ''Lonesome Road'', [[RobotBuddy ED-E]] wants to find Navarro, fulfilling his creator's last wish.
** [[PlayerCharacter The Courier]] has shades of this as well. They explicitly say in ''Lonesome Road'' that the reason they left the NCR was because not even home felt like "home." [[FridgeHorror Make of the that what you will.]] Add in the fact that gay couriers have to deal with the NCR's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and the fact that the companion romance with Rose of Sharon Cassidy was dropped and replaced with an ending (for male couriers) where she goes to make love with him but he's already left, you get the feeling the Courier gets the short end of the stick despite being the Hero of Mojave.
** 200 years as brains in jars with access to a lot of drugs has not been good for the Think Tank's collective mental health, and by all accounts they were completely devoid of morals or ethics to begin with.
* DynamicEntry: [[spoiler:General Lee Oliver of the NCR]], complete with big-ass explosion [[JumpScare out of nowhere]].

* CashGate: Entry to the Strip through the Freeside gate requires you to have 2000 caps minimum on your person, or pay 500 caps to purchase a forged passport (which can be negotiated down to 375 with a high enough Barter skill), though there are many ways around this like taking the monorail from the NCR's HQ at Camp McCarran.

** Via WordOfGod, the series' central theme is that you need to let go of the past. In base-game ''New Vegas'' in particular, there is a direct correlation between a faction's evilness on the Karma Meter and how tightly they cling to the values of the past. This even extends to all of your human/humanoid companions including those in the DLCs.

* CaneFu: A favourite melee weapon for the White Gloves. While that doesn't sound too dangerous, remember that you have to go in bare-fisted unless you have a high enough sneak skill (50 or above if you want to ''really'' be prepared, as most are improved holdout items) or can rob the cashier's room without getting caught. If your Unarmed skill is crap, you'll have a hell of a time doing the quest for their casino (the right way, at least).
* CaninesGamblingInACardGame: In the cyberdog training area of the Big MT (Old World Blues DLC), the Wild Wasteland trait means the dogs can be found learning how to play poker.

* CashGate: You to have 2000 caps on your person in order to enter the Strip, or pay 500 caps to purchase a forged passport (which can be negotiated down to 375 with a high enough Barter skill), though there are many ways around this.

** Creator/KrisKristofferson was one of the Highwaymen, a country music SuperGroup composed of himself, Music/WillieNelson, Music/WaylonJennings, and Music/JohnnyCash. Their song "Highwayman" includes a verse sung by the ghost of a dam-builder who was killed while building the Hoover Dam. Kristofferson voices Chief Hanlon in this game, and the Dam can be the death of him once again.

** Mr. House, an eccentric billionaire played by Creator/ReneAuberjonois, being an AlternateCompanyEquivalent to Andrew Ryan from ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'', played by Creator/ArminShimerman. Aside from both playing expies of Howard Hughes, these two actors played against each other in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', and their respective characters of Odo and Quark have certain traits that filter through to their billionaire characters: Andrew Ryan embodies Quark's avarice, while House fulfills Odo's obsessive need for order.
* CatchPhrase: The Yes Man thinks this trope page is absolutely ''great!'' And he's not just saying that because he has to!
* CattleBaron: Brahmin Barons in NCR are still quite powerful. In the game, there's Heck Gunderson who at first seems like a likeable enough character, but it's possible to meet a former rancher that he's stolen land from. Chief Hanlon, head of the Rangers, laments that the influence of the ranching and agriculture barons means that most of the NCR's best forces are still chasing small-time raiders from threatening their land, while the major threat of the Legion grows in the Mojave.
* CattlePunk: The closer you get to big cities, the more it becomes like a gangster flick, but the more rural areas have a definite old west feel to them. What do you expect, it's set in Nevada. Let us count the ways: ''Two'' cowboy robots (Victor and Primm Slim), [[RevolversAreJustBetter prominent revolvers]], cattle barons, extra-big bighorn sheep, moody guitar riffs, "prospectors" as a euphemism for "scavengers," a Cowboy perk that makes you better at all things Gunslingers ought to be, a chain gang on the run... and these are all just in the first few hours of the game.
* CavalryBetrayal: The goal of the House/Independent version of the Battle of Hoover Dam is to pull one off on the NCR with the Securitron army. Nobody wants the Legion to win, so making the NCR think that the Securitron army are their allies, only to use the chance to turn and force them out, ensures that things go how the side the player chooses goes.

** Via WordOfGod, the series' central theme is that you need to let go of the past. In New Vegas in particular there is a direct correlation between a faction's evilness on the Karma Meter and how tightly they cling to the values of the past. This even extends to all of your human/humanoid companions and to all of the DLC.

** The game also heavily tackles the topic of Hegelian dialectics. Caesar uses this to describe his relationship between his Legion and the NCR, but also described the relationship between the factions based on pre-war history and the Courier.
** Side note: Caesar doesn’t grasp Hegelian dialectics anywhere near correctly.
* CerebusRetcon: The ending to the first ''Fallout'' game says the Brotherhood of Steel began peaceful relations with the outside world, slowly reintroducing lost technology to the world; ''Fallout 2'' shows this as happening and also implies that their territory became a state in the budding NCR. This game retcons that the Brotherhood and NCR have a history of war.
* ChainOfDeals: The quest "Come Fly With Me" basically amounts to this. Upon arriving in Novac, the Courier is still pursuing Benny, and is told to talk to Manny Vargas, who may know where to find him. Manny asks you to first clear out the REPCONN test facility, which is infested with ghouls. The ghouls are a religious cult, led by a ghoul prophet named Jason Bright, who is readying his followers for a pilgrimage, but they can't leave until someone clears out the "demons" (nightkin) also inhabiting the building. To get ''them'' to leave, the Courier has to creep around the basement and deal with both the Nightkin's leader and a trigger-happy ghoul survivalist, and ''then'' help the ghouls with their "Great Journey". At every point along the way, the player has the option to say [[CuttingTheKnot "screw this"]] and resolve things violently, while still being able to deal with the other parties involved peacefully. Cutting the chain short is especially likely to happen since the Nightkin leader can be dealt with non-violently, but only if you talk to him before getting into combat with any of the other Nightkin.

** Hardcore Mode, which makes you have to eat, drink and sleep reguarly, and stimpacks and Rad-aways heal you over time rather than instantaneously.

* TheChainOfCommand: The elder can be demoted form his position in the Brotherhood of Steel for violating the Chain That Binds, because the Elder skipped ranks when giving orders concerning the security of the bunker.
* CharacterDevelopment: [[spoiler:The Enclave Remnants]] really humanize the faction of [[CardCarryingVillain Card-Carrying Villains]] they were in ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' and ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' as does [[spoiler:ED-E's creator]] from what we hear.

** As you're poking around your would-be gravesite in Goodsprings, you'll likely come across a bunch of Distinctive Cigarette Butts, as well as a distinctive lighter off a named Great Khan in Boulder City. Keep these items, they become useful when convincing Swank to turn on Benny.

* CrookedContractor: Terminal entries in ''Dead Money'' reveal that the surrounding villa was built by a different construction crew than the Sierra Madre Casino proper to save money. The villa crew's foreman, Mr. Yesterday, intentionally built everything slipshod to squeeze every penny he could out of Sinclair. He embezzled money from shipments, covered up construction accidents, and smuggled in hard liquor and chems for the workers. It's also implied he murdered a subordinate who tried to blackmail him into getting a higher cut and [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident Made It Look Like an Accident]].

* CrookedContractor: Terminal entries in ''Dead Money'' reveal that the surrounding villa was built by a different construction crew than the Sierra Madre Casino proper to save money. The villa crew's foreman, Mr. Yesterday, intentionally built everything slipshod to squeeze every penny he could out of Sinclair. He embezzled money from shipments and covered up construction accidents. It's also implied he murdered a subordinate who tried to blackmail him into getting a higher cut and [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident Made It Look Like an Accident]]. He was also in cahoots with [[spoiler:Dean Domino]], who was smuggling in hard liquor and chems for the construction workers.

* CrookedContractor: Terminal entries in ''Dead Money'' reveal that the surrounding villa was built by a different construction crew than the Sierra Madre Casino proper to save money. The villa crew's foreman, Mr. Yesterday, intentionally built everything slipshod to squeeze every penny he could out of Sinclair, covered up construction accidents, and threatened to withhold supplies from the police chief unless he let the workers use alcohol and chems.

** One day a group of Spanish-speaking refugees arrive in the valley, and he decides to watch over them after saving one of their members and sneaking medicine into their camp. One day, the refugees get into a conflict with a group of vault dwellers from Vault 22 (who or what started the conflict is unclear), and they are all wiped out, with the women and children being killed and eaten by the dwellers. Afterwards, Randall goes on a one-man guerrilla campaign against the dwellers, wiping out over 100 of them (more than two thirds of the group) in just ten months.

** Averted in ''Honest Hearts'', which prominently features a post-apocalyptic Mormon sect founded in "New Canaan" (the town that sprung up in the ruins of Ogden, Utah), with the Joshua Graham and [[FirstNameBasis Daniel]] serving as missionaries to the Dead Horses and Sorrow tribes. The .45 Auto Pistol (based on the Colt M1911) is referred to as an ancestral weapon of the Canaanites that all are trained in, as it was [[HistoricalInJoke designed by "one of their tribe" over 200 years ago]].[[note]]Specifically, John Browning, firearms designer and Ogden-born Mormon.[[/note]]

* CavalryBetrayal: The goal of the House/Independent version of the Battle of Hoover Dam is to pull one off on the NCR with the Securitron army. Nobody wants the Legion to win, so making the NCR think that the Securitron army is their allies, only to use the chance to turn and force them out, ensures that things go how the side the player choses goes.

* CavalryBetrayal: The goal of the House/Independent version of the Battle of Hoover Dam is to pull one off on the NCR with the Securitron army.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Jeannie May Crawford really likes the hometown spin of her home of Novac, so much so that she took an immediate dislike to Carla Boone when the woman constantly turned her nose up at their frontier way of life. How did Crawford handle this? No, she didn't bite back with some acerbic wit or simply ignore Carla. [[spoiler:She flat-out struck a deal with Caesar's Legion to have the ''pregnant'' Carla kidnapped and sold into slavery for a thousand caps. Even worse, she was due to receive a further 500 if and when Carla's unborn son came of age, and would have if Boone hadn't decided to [[BoomHeadshot end Carla's misery himself]].]] She never even showed remorse for the act, instead deciding to cook up a story that [[spoiler:Carla eventually got fed up with Boone's decision to live in Novac and abandoned him]]. '''''Wow.''''' Many a player no doubt felt the satisfaction of cold, hard justice done if they helped Boone bring down the same fate she ultimately brought on Carla.